"Oh, And would you look at that! Team Sachi is off to a rough start, losing their captain right out of the gates!"
Zephyr and Serendelle watched as the brutish Ragnar snatched Sachi off of his own boat, and dropped him into the abyss below.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence between the two.
"Serendelle…"
He looked to her already pale face, but her expression was still determined.
"Sachihiro is not dead, because I am not dead. He'll come back."
Zephyr leaned back in his seat.
'Can he really..?'
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A burst of coughing and hacking emerged from Sachi's lungs. His eyes opened to reveal a red, flesh-like surface beneath him.
He coughed up what felt like gallons of water, and pushed himself to his feet. The area around him was massive - like an open cavern. The walls were all crimson red, lined with faded white lines.
Sachi was inside of the sea beast's stomach, and it didn't seem like he was the only one.
Just a bit further from where he had awoke, he could hear the crying sound of a child behind a red lump.
Sachi put his hand on his blade just in case, and began to approach the noise. Just as he rounded the lump, he was met with more than just the crying of a child, in front of him was an actual child.
A young boy, perhaps around the age of ten sat crying into his knees. His short black hair was sopping wet, along with his yellow t-shirt and black sweatpants.
Sachi released the grip he had on his weapon, and crouched down to meet the boy.
"I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die here…"
Sachi grit his teeth.
'What the hell is this? Champion or not, this is just a kid! Why was he anywhere near this thing!?'
Sachi grabbed the boys shoulder. "Hey, what's your name? How did you get here?"
The boy sniffled, slowly raises his head to me Sachi's eyes dark eyes.
"Im… Ray. I was with Joshua and the others… they said they'd keep me safe and we could all go home together…"
'Another team…'
Sachi tightened the grip on his blade again.
'No, that's not right.'
He let go of the handle on his hip.
'He must've fell when the other two got in a conflict…'
Sachi stood up from his crouched position. Ray was still sobbing endlessly.
The ground beneath him began to shake, he braced himself against the mushy and slimy wall to his side.
'Ugh, gross.'
The shaking grew worse, then quickly followed by a surge of water flowing around them. The lumpy wall that he braced himself against shielded them from the incoming wave.
The ground stabilized, and Ray began to cry even more.
"We're gonna die in here..!"
Sachi flicked the slimy substance off of his hand.
"Ray, you're a champion aren't you? Who's your god?"
Ray looked back up to Sachi, his eyes filled with tears.
"The God of Speed, Velocis… I can continually increase the speed of any person or object I touch, but… I can't use it on myself."
Sachi turned away for a moment. 'That's not gonna be of much use if we have no where to run…'
"How much faster can you make someone?"
Ray balled up further, trying to sound out the words. "I dont know… Velocis said it was ex-po-nen-tial."
'Exponential..!?'
Sachi crouched down in front of Ray again.
"We're gonna live Ray. You're gonna live." Sachi pointed to his own back. "Hop on, and keep your power going."
[Skill Activated: Haste]
"Huh!? What are you going to do?"
"We're getting out of here."
Hesitantly, Ray climbed on to Sachi's back.
"Keep a tight grip. Don't let go, no matter what."
Sachi could feel the vibration of Ray nodding his head, the grip around his neck was almost suffocating.
But that's exactly how it should be.
A strange magic flooded through Sachi, emitting a golden glow around him.
'This is power is insane… I feel unstoppable!'
Sachi stepped out away from the lump, and faced the mouth of the beast. He drew the Kazekiri, and steadied himself towards the entrance.
He couldn't tell if it was Ray's power or if he was just nervous, but his heart was beating exceptionally fast. He steadied the shaking in his hands, and waited.
[Skill leveled up!]
[Gale Slash lvl 2]
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"We just need to hold out until Sachi gets back!" Lyra struggled to hold herself up, firing a barrage of arrows at Ragnar's boat.
"Are you serious!? He's just a Lesser Champion, he's dead already, we need to focus on ourselves!"
Lyra ducked, a returning barrage of arrows as knives soared over her head, and some narrowly missing Dion at the helm.
"Sachi won't give up that easily! He'll come back, no matter what!"
A sudden shock thrusted the boat sideways, throwing Lyra rolling towards the other side.
"Shit! They're boarding! Get ready, Lyra!"
Desperately, Lyra grabbed the Phoenix Talon dagger in her hands. If her time spent in that dojo meant anything, it would surely show itself here.
Dion abandoned the reins at the front and hopped back into the rickety boat, preparing to draw his oversized sword.
Two people boarded their boat, one being recognized as the ruffian Ragnar, and the other was a woman with a despicable air about her.
Ragnar began to laugh, his scraggly beard bouncing with each chuckle. "Let me kill 'em both! I'm gonna be the strongest Champion!"
He drew both swords on his hip, and began to charge Dion.
The woman, on the other hand, was up to something much more dangerous. She sported a dark leather trench coat, reaching inside to grab something small.
In her hand, she held a grenade. With a tug of the pin, she lightly tossed it directly in front of Lyra.
'Where the hell do you even get these in this world!?'