BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM C.1030: High Waves, Higher Stakes (3)

Erik was trying to find a solution to this situation. The Thaid was fast and strong, and was avoiding the artillery attacks easily. It was clear Erik needed something faster and stronger to deal with the creature.

"Who said they saw the beast?"

"Me sir!"

"Me too!"

"Me, sir!"

That was good. Three Chimaeric demons saw the beast. This meant that they now had the means to fight the monster.

"Two of you must turn into the creature and kill it! The thaid is strong, but I think it isn't as physically strong as you Chimaeric Demons! You shouldn't have problems with two of you." When the clones shapeshifted into something, they kept their strength and power, and since they had very high statistics, it was clear the monster would be at a tremendous disadvantage. "All of you," Erik said to the Chimaeric Demons. "Look at your brothers transforming! We will need more of you to shapeshift to kill further threats!"

That, and of course, the attacking monster in case things went badly. <System!>

<Yes?>

<Analyse the monster as soon as it appears. Is that clear?>

<Yes.>

Erik wanted to do this power more often, but there was no need at that point, because there weren't many enemies able to fight him on equal terms on the Mannard continent, and analysing several opponents, like the blackguards, who fought against him in droves, would not be simple nor useful, but for sure very stressful, since he would be overloaded by those windows.

However, Erik would go to the Mur continent after being done with Hin, and if here, thaids were already this powerful, he was sure... No; he needed to know against what he was fighting.

"June!" Erik said. "Keep the ship in this direction!"

"Yes, master!"

The Chimaeric Demons then jumped into the water.

"Don't use lights!" Erik said. If the Chimaeric Demons did, the scales of the enemy thaid would simply blind them.

The scales were releasing a lot of light, just by absorbing the faint rains reflected by the moon. Even in the darkness, those rays were enough to make the creature easy to be spotted.

Of course, during the day, it would simply blind anything that saw it, and that was precisely what Erik wanted to avoid.

As they were in the air, before touching the water, their bodies began to transform into a whale-like creature.

The transformation was swift. Each clone's body elongated and expanded, their limbs morphing into powerful flippers.

Their skin became scaly, shining with blues and greens that moved in the light just like the real monster.

Their mouths opened wide, showing many sharp teeth made to cut through tough meat. Erik could only wonder how big the other creatures were for this thing to be so big. Clearly, there must have been small ones. However, the fact he mat such a large one so soon could be an indicator of what the ship was going to find often.

But speculating never helped him, because without proof, everything could be said, everything could be thought, and everything, bad and good things, could be true.

The clones hit the water, their scales catching and scattering the light in all directions. However, everyone on board saw the form they assumed, despite the lights making it difficult.

While the two Chimaeric Demons took care of the monster, the other clones on the ship assessed the damages done to the deck hull.

"Damage report!"

One of the Chimaeric Demons approached him. "The last waves breached the part of the hull that was damaged by the monster, Master. We're taking on water, but the pumps are keeping up for now."

Erik nodded. The situation was complicated. Erik didn't expect it to be like this so soon. That spoke volumes about the sea dangers, yet they were still afloat.

Erik turned his attention back to the waters. The Chimaeric Demons must have engaged right now. He was confident the Chimaeric Demons were strong enough to fight the monster, but he couldn't be sure of that if he didn't analyse the monster first.

The fact the clones saw the creature was a lucky event, because until that point, their only means of defence and attack were the ship's artillery, and those could be avoided pretty easily by the beast. But with them being able to morph into the creature now, the situation would change. Not only now, but even in future fights.

The two Chimaeric Demons plunged into the waters. Their new bodies felt alien and unwieldy. The feeling of water pressing against them was simply disorienting after a life spent on land and sometimes in the skies.

One of the Chimaeric demons thrashed his powerful tail, propelling himself through the waters. The motion came instinctively, but fine control was another matter, and he knew he needed it. He overshot in his intended direction, nearly colliding with his brother.

The other one fared a little better. He opened his mouth to communicate and was rewarded with a rush of salty water flooding his mouth.

He couldn't even make a screech. The feeling was strange, but not unpleasant. However, the weirdest thing was the fact that he could breathe while its mouth was filled with the blue liquid, if that could be called breathing to begin with.

The two clones quickly landed their eyes on their target. The sea thaid's scales glimmered as it circled back towards the ship. It hadn't noticed them yet.

The two Chimaeric Demons exchanged a glance. They knew each other very well and knew what they had to do. It couldn't be otherwise since they were Erik's clones, and an unspoken plan formed between them.

They'd flank the creature, attacking from both sides. It was a simple but overly used strategy that yet worked wonders.

The two clones moved, and that caught the sea thaid's attention. It whirled around, its eyes widening in surprise at the sight of two creatures identical to itself rushing towards it. Then, one of the Chimaeric Demons struck.

He rammed into the thaid's right side, his teeth sinking into the monster's scales. The taste of blood filled his mouth, metallic but dulled because of this strange environment. Though that proved Erik was right, the beast was weaker than the clones. The only problem it posed was that it was within the sea waters. But that disadvantage had been erased by Erik's quick thinking. At least partially, since the clones still needed to get used to this sort of fights. The thaid thrashed, its tail whipping around and catching at the Chimaeric Demon's side. The impact sent the clone spinning through the water, his sense of direction all over the place. That proved something else, that the creature wasn't THAT weaker than Erik's clones, and that was a problematic surprise.

The clone flailed, trying to right himself, but his unfamiliarity with this body and the environment made the task complicated.

Meanwhile, the other clone seized the opportunity. He lunged for the thaid's gills,

remembering how it had reacted when hit there earlier.

His jaws clamped down, and he felt a surge of triumph as the creature trashed in the water.

The beast tried to gather some distance, but it was far from defeated.

It twisted its body and then charged toward the clone with surprising speed. The creature then must have used its brain crystal power because its scales started shimmering despite the moonlight not reaching the depth well, and it blinded the clone.

Panic set in as the Chimaeric Demon felt his newly formed ribs creaking under some sudden pressure. He thrashed, his tail beating against the thaid's body, but he couldn't break free

from the beast's maws.

Its brother, having oriented himself, saw his dangerous situation. He charged forward, but in his haste, he misjudged the current. Instead of ramming the thaid, he found himself overshooting again, his momentum carrying him past the grappling pair.

Frustrated, he circled back. This time, he approached with less vigour, fighting against his

instinct to rush in to help his brother. He positioned himself above the thaid and then dove, using gravity and the water pressure to add force to his attack.