Chapter 60: Chapter 60

Eren hissed in pain when another creature bit his shoulder the moment he landed on another ship, it was an attack he couldn’t evade for he was in his human form, holding back most of his demonic scent for he knew that it would hide the faint one that attracted the monsters to him instead of the humans.

Not his own, but the scent of Sara’s blood.

It was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with or the monster’s weird attraction toward him, to the point where they ignored the humans and chased him from one ship to the other, because he was the one who consumed her blood directly, taking a bigger portion than anyone else, and he was a hybrid, his human half was unable to hide the strong divine blood like a pureblooded demon would.

But why? Eren asked while jumping to another ship, his bleeding wounds leaving trails of his blood for the monsters to smell and follow, he knew he was losing too much blood and that it would weaken him with each spilled drop but he still let himself bleed, the pain was intense but so were the loud questions and the need to answer them.

He couldn’t understand the reason behind the creatures’ attraction towards Sara’s blood, it was certainly not because of her human half for the creatures were not attracted to Henry who had the same father, which meant it was probably because of her mother, Historia. But why would the creatures of the Gods attack a Goddess? A mighty one at that!

Maybe it was because of Sara herself! Was she a threat to the Gods? Possible, Eren thought, sending one of the creatures flying back to the sea with a strong kick only to have another creature dig his long canines in his stretched leg, taking a good portion of his skin and muscle in the process, and causing the Shadows’ lord to stumble as a pained expression settled on his face and a pool of blood formed under him, one which he kept on ignoring even though his vision was becoming blurry.

The Gods might be threatened by the hybrid, fearing that she might, one day, attack them.

But at the same time, Sara was a hybrid, even if they didn’t know her in person and know how frail and delicate she was with no fighting skills nor abilities, they surely knew that she wasn’t a match to a full God, she should be weaker than the rest of them, not to mention, alone.

Was she really a threat? Maybe not on her own, maybe the Gods feared that she would be but the head of an army formed by humans and demons who decided to unite and line up behind her.

The thought filled Eren’s heart with light and optimism, for he knew that their alliance was of worth, that the Gods were indeed afraid of them, and that it was indirectly because of his fair lady.

Eren barely had a fragment of a second to look back at the fleet, relieved that the human king was taking full advantage of the distraction he provided to lead the ships out of the hellish circle, Henry was managing the situation in the best way it could be managed, the shadows’ lord knew that the task wasn’t easy, that besides how quick the tables have turned and how urgent the decision was made, the human king had to deal with the angry demons who would not easily follow him, however, he believed in the man, not because of his fighting skills nor sharp mind, but because Henry came with them, shedding off all the teachings, believes, and enmity their kinds shared for centuries, he put everything he was told aside and defied his people and his family, and answered the call.

He was going to do great! Eren concluded, placing his full faith in the human king, and trusting him to lead the troops to victory, through the illusion fog, and through the mysterious barrier hiding the island, he knew the human king had enough mental strength and will power to deal with that situation, and with that conviction, Eren regained his focus, landing on the last ship whose entire crew was killed, the sea monsters were following him like starved hyenas tracking a wounded animal.

Truth is, he was beyond wounded, only that he wasn’t an animal, he was a beast, a monster, and the most dangerous predator in the world.

Bending on the ship’s board, Eren let out a terrifying growl, one which was purely animalistic and predatory and pierced through the silence of the sea, loud enough to force the creatures surrounding him to step back instinctively, allowing him to take his deranged demon form.

Wounds healed as if they were never there in the first place, Nails turned into sharp claws, teeth turned into canines, and the smooth skin was quickly covered in black fur as the shadows’ lord stood on his back paws, his head turning into that of a wolf, once the transformation was over, he charged at the creatures with all his might, taking them down one by one, not showing them the same reluctance he did earlier.

The fleet was already out of the circle, far enough to not attract the creature's attention, which meant that he didn’t have to hold back anymore, shedding off the clothes of the humanoid lord and unleashing all his predation and ferocity, Eren attacked the creatures before they had the chance to wake up from the distress they felt at the loss of the previous scent, his human side mixed with Sara’s blood.

Eren tried to stop thinking and focus more on the battle, for he knew that he barely had few seconds of being the one at an advantage before the creatures give up their attempts in finding the attractive scent, in these few seconds, he had to kill as much as he could for he knew he couldn’t kill them all by himself, and therefore, he did, launching himself at the creatures without a second thought, without waiting to think about the odds which were going to turn against him in a matter of seconds, without thinking about the ugly situation he was going to face once they do, and without thinking about the heavy cost of his sacrifice, he refused to think, to him, it wasn’t the time to think about any of those things, it was the time to kill and kill, and killing was what he did best, for the creatures were piling up under his feet as he took them down like flies.

However, once the seconds of confusion were over and the ferocious instincts returned, the monsters hissed loudly and attacked him all at once, giving him any opening, he fought the thousands of them all by himself, his fists punching and grabbing and smashing with much force and speed, not holding back in the slightest.

It didn’t matter though, Eren thought, it didn’t matter that he was stronger, it didn’t matter that he was more skilled, for the creatures were way too numerous for only him to take, let alone that heavy substance that covered him entirely and slowed him down, the blood he lost earlier while trying to distract the monsters lacking in his veins and causing his body to protest in pain and exhaustion as he slowly lost the upper hand on the battle.

There was just no end to them, they kept on coming at him from the depths while he slowly grew weaker, he knew he was losing the battle and needed an escape, scanning the area around him to evaluate the situation, Eren couldn’t help but notice that while most of the creatures were surrounding him from all side in an almost organized pattern, some were staying behind, munching down on the ship.

And not just the ship he was on, but all the ships that didn’t make it out of the circle, the creatures were destroying them, trapping him there with no means to escape. He understood that it would be his end if the ship was destroyed, Eren knew it, but he also knew that something was strange with the creatures acts, it was way too organized and studied for the beasts they were, it could not be their doing, it would have been their army’s end if the creatures were able to come up with such a plan, but they were not, so far the creatures have been nothing but instinct-driven monsters, but at that moment, they seemed more…aware!

Did they suddenly grow smarter and more conscious of their surrounding? Or were they being controlled by something?

Or someone! Eren thought as he sensed the faint but threatening presence of a third party, one which was too strong, hiding under the surface of the water, one which wasn’t there minutes ago, his doubts were quickly proven to be real as an almost silent call erupted from the depths of the sea, one which sounded like the saddest chanting of the silkiest voice he ever heard.

As if their minds were taken by the silky voice, the creatures stopped their attacks before they all jumped back to the water, leaving the shadows’ lord alone on the sinking ship which was already half destroyed. He, however, knew that it wasn’t the time to worry about the ship, the creatures retreating the way they did was what put each and every nerve in his body on alert, especially as the threatening presence kept on approaching him.

Eren swallowed the nervousness, steadying his feet on the board and readying himself for what was to come, it was all futile though as what came out of the water exceeded all his expectations.

The sea monsters which acted individually before were now closely gathered in a huge cluster, too close to the point where they could be mistaken as a single unit, a longitudinal one that resembled a giant snake, moving all at once with impeccable coordination and precision, hitting with high force, and destroying the ship he was on with a single hit.

The attack came from under the water, too fast and sudden to be evaded and too strong to be dodged, Eren found himself flying in the air even before he could comprehend the excruciating pain he was suffering as the violent blow of the giant snake turned what was left of the ship into shreds.

Eren knew that the slim chances he had in survival were going to die out once he falls in the seawater which not only nullified dark magic but also hid the thousands of those creatures, however, his eyes couldn’t find anywhere to land as all the remaining ships were destroyed.

There was nowhere to run to, Eren thought, seeing his end right in front of his eyes, but then, the creatures changed their coordination, taking the form of a human, or at least the upper part of its body, with its hand reaching forward to grab the shadows lord’s body right before it fell in the water.

The creatures forming the hand tightened around Eren’s body to the point where he heard his bones cracking, and as if that pain wasn’t enough, the creatures bit his body all at once, sinking their sharp canines in his flesh, drenching his thick fur with his own blood.

Eren fidgeted instinctively, trying to free himself from the death grip, air was leaving his damaged lungs, and the previous presence was closer than before, too close, and too threatening!

Despair settled in the shadows lord’s heart, one he was too proud to admit but still knew was there, he knew that whatever was controlling these creatures was stronger than him, all while he was alone and wounded.

He did previously hope to take the one controlling the creatures down as it was his best chance in survival, but that looked like a fantasy now with the situation he was in and the threatening aura of the mysterious presence.

He was probably going to die! Eren though, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes, for he didn’t plan to go easily, not without taking as much as he can of the bloody monsters, and even the one controlling them if he could, focusing his senses, he tried to locate the source of the malicious presence he was feeling, which wasn’t a hard task as the person didn’t even try to hide.

The head of the cluster, Eren thought! Whoever was controlling the creatures was there, like a mastermind running the brainless monsters, all he needed was one attack, one that is strong enough to breach through the fist and the head and then take down whoever was there.

“Feisty little thing!” the same smooth voice chanted! Catching Eren by surprise, but his surprise didn’t last long as an agonizing pain settled in his chest due to the excessive tightness around his body and he felt the already broken ribs pierce his hollow lungs.

“So you can feel pain!” the feminine voice said in amusement, and with labored breaths, the shadows’ lord raised his head to look at the person speaking, only for his eyes to widen.

There was a gap in the cluster’s head, and inside it stood the thinnest person he ever saw, wearing the dirtiest rag on the palest skin, one which lacked all signs of life.

However, the shadows lord’s focus wasn’t on the strange woman’s figure nor rags, nor was it on the strange way she stood between the creatures who carried her as if she was their queen, it was rather on her long, tangled, silver hair.