Shade saw Miranda, Lucien, and Abel—only three of the six.
"Where are Tiffany, Asher, and Lily?" he asked.
"In the Dream Realm. We secured their bodies in the Rhino," Abel responded.
"Alright," said Shade, his voice betraying a trace of relief. A powerful impact shook the ship as if something had struck it from below.
Shade looked at the Rhino. If necessary, and the ship sank, they could use it to stay safe, or he could directly take the form of a dark creature to save as many lives as possible.
Shade looked towards the armored walls. He had verified their hardness, and undoubtedly, even he would have a bit of trouble opening a hole inside.
Although he didn't distrust, something was wrong. His instinct told him that something was about to happen. This left him a bit uneasy.
"Get comfortable for a while. Possibly by tomorrow, everything will be over."
"C-captain, what exactly is happening?" asked Lucien, a bit nervous, feeling the ship shake again.
"Oh, nothing really serious. Just that something terrifying might emerge from the water to destroy the convoy, but the members of the House of Night are dealing with it and have everything under control. I even saw the Saint join the fight."
At this, Lucien's eyes lit up.
"Really? What was it like?"
"A huge orca, a few dozen meters, I think," he responded, not very sure.
"I'd like to see one fight."
"Believe me, it's not very pretty. They're terrifying. If they join the battle, it's because the situation is bad."
"The Captain says it as if he's seen a Saint fight up close," said Miranda.
"Oh, of course I have," he said without going into details. For a moment, his mind traveled to his second nightmare where he had seen some Transcendents fight the corruption spreading through the city.
Shade snapped out of his thoughts when another powerful impact shook the ship.
Shade looked down with a furrowed brow. His Aspect allowed him to sense darkness since he was a Sleeper, but now that he was an Ascended, that connection had become much stronger, allowing him to identify presences.
"Strange," he murmured.
"What's happening, Captain?" asked Abel.
"Well, I'm not sure, but there's something surrounding this ship. It's big and strong."
Another impact made the metal groan audibly in a metallic sound.
Hundreds of people in the hold got scared. For a few seconds, the world seemed to calm down before something struck the ship, trying to sink it from the bow.
"Well, this is going to be a problem."
People began to scream upon hearing the creaking of metal.
BANG BANG BANG!
Three devastating blows were heard. The metal of the wall bent inward as if something was trying to enter from the outside.
The wall showed a crack where a small black drop fell slowly. However, a black wall rose and then solidified somehow, preventing the drop from falling to the floor and the metal from breaking. However, Shade felt something strange.
He immediately used the darkness of the hold to enclose that black drop while reinforcing the wall with an extra layer of protection. However, this would only be temporary.
"Lucien, summon your weapon. Abel, I want you to use your barriers to protect everyone in this place. Miranda, stay in the Rhino," ordered Shade.
His subordinates followed his orders. Lucien summoned a halberd as well as armor. Abel summoned a sword and a shield while a golden aura enveloped all the other nervous soldiers.
Shade looked towards the soldiers.
"Hey, you," he said forcefully, making them look at him.
"Start grabbing that equipment now. I won't be able to hold on much longer. When the wall falls, it'll be a battle. If you don't want to die, prepare. That aura enveloping you will protect you."
The few Awakened and the mundanes looked a bit strange, but another impact shook the ship, making them react. The Awakened summoned their Memories, and the mundane soldiers took up their weapons, just in time when a devastating impact opened a hole in the hull, destroying Shade's darkness. He clicked his tongue.
The outside was in chaos with a rain of yellow blasts falling in all directions. Several figures leaped in—they were humanoid creatures with a fish-like appearance, eyes full of hunger and madness.
Immediately, the fish-men attacked, but several dark tendrils pierced them, throwing them back into the sea.
[You have killed an Awakened Monster, the Drowned One]
Soon more emerged from the waters, boarding the interior, starting a battle between the Awakened and the nightmare creatures.
Thanks to Shade buying them time and giving orders, the Awakened were ready for combat, beginning to eliminate the creatures.
Since most of the attack was concentrated on the forward part of the convoy, there were few focusing on the area where Shade and Abel were, which was unfortunate because all the abominations focused on Abel due to his Flaw.
Shade could sense a creature lurking around the ship; at least it was a Tyrant.
So far, he had two options: the first was to stay in the hold, deal with the invaders, and seal the entrance with a wall of darkness; the second was to eliminate the creature.
'For now, I'll take the first option,' Shade thought, transforming into a formless dark cloud that descended upon the nightmare creatures, eliminating them completely.
Those that escaped were quickly eliminated by the fighters.
After finishing off the last creature, Shade returned to his human form and sealed the large hole with a thick, dark wall, much more reinforced than before.
"Now we wait," murmured Shade, maintaining the wall that blocked access from the outside.
The ship continued to shake from the fierce confrontation of the Awakened of the House of Night, who reached where the creature was, starting a fight in the depths.
After a few hours, finally, everything had ended.
Shade was grateful not to have had to fight yet. He had spent a part of his essence surrounding the entire side of the ship with shadows to eliminate the creatures that tried to attack.
Dispelling the darkness, he let out a sigh of relief.
Everything had finally ended.
Soon a team of engineers arrived to assess the hole that had been opened in the lower hold, beginning to move equipment to repair the wound in the ship's hull.