Chapter 8

  The Man Dressed in Silver

  Tyrian

  The water crashed against the shore violently as a man came to the scene. Steps heavy with strength followed him, with his white hair shining in the now blue moonlight. His grey eyes scanned the area, checking for any activity. Quickly after, another man walked up to him.

  He was panting. “Officer Tyrian, as you requested, we found where the creature was located.”

  “And where would that be, Faramond?” These creatures have been trying to attack this isnd for as long as he was a kid. Only more showed up each year, and he was pnning to attack from the source of them all. The man was named Thassir, one of his greatest enemies.

  Faramond pointed out in the distance, and then to a map of the isnd they were on. On the map was a rge X on the left side. “Over on the left outskirts of the Eirini sea. Troops will be active until you come back.”

  Tyrian looked at Faramond with a long pause. Afterward, he only said one word. “Understood.” He positioned himself on the wall of a cliff, unching forward and using pure energy to bst off into the distance, leaving Faramond alone at the shore. Tyrian sliced through the wind with no time to waste.

  As the man flew past the waves with extreme speed, he couldn’t help but wonder if this all had more to do with it. Sea creatures attacked the isnd often, but something about this one was different. He sensed that this mission would differ from the others. Not only were they closer normally, but this one was almost going in a different direction entirely. Regardless, he continued to the location for any threat that needed to be dealt with. It was his duty to protect the isnd. They had taken him in at his weakest point regardless of the danger, therefore he vowed to protect everyone there with his life. Especially his father, the one who saved him from his old home.

  After some time, Tyrian had been within range of the creature. He charged forward, creating an isnd of metal to be his ground. No fear went through his mind, only irritation. In the distance, the creature emerged from the ocean, with sounds of snapping and cracking followed.

  It was the size of a building, with a crab-like body and armored scales everywhere on its body. The crab had light green jagged scales, thick enough to protect from massive explosions. With a grin, the crab went straight from him. Four colossal arms snapped at Tyrian, trying to get a grasp on him. Shockwaves burst the water into the air, mini explosions on their own. It wasn’t much of a problem for him, though, easily dodging the attacks. Despite the size of the creature, he didn’t have a problem.

  He continued to dodge every attack with ease, getting closer with each moment. Deciding when would be the best time to kill it, he took it by surprise, flying straight through its defense. Punching it in the face, the creature blew up into several pieces with smaller versions of the crab appearing. Tyrian knew that he would have to destroy these smaller crabs because they could pose a threat ter on. Quickly, he crushed each one in mid-air before they were all destroyed. Before anything could react, he already won the battle.

  When he thought it was over, one remained. It was the smallest of them all, but bold with confidence. Tyrian looked down at the creature.

  The crab spoke, almost ughing. Not all creatures could speak, but if they did, it only meant something bad. Because they were all controlled by Thassir, messages were only to reveal a trap to Tyrian. “Now that you are here, you have a choice to make.”

  None of this was interesting to Tyrian, these were just mindless games to him. Unamused, he asked. “What would that choice be?”

  “You see, you have always been a nuisance to our pn. Protecting that city at all costs has been a problem for our leader. I ask you, does that city mean more to you than your father?”

  Confusion filled Tyrian’s face, with realization kicking in quickly after. This only could mean one thing, it was a trap. He sensed from afar that his father was in trouble. Without a second thought, he crushed the crab and sprinted toward his father. He jumped from the waiting ptform and into the air, going as fast as he could. No doubt about it, his father was in danger.

  Tyrain raced as quickly as he could, running so fast that he walked on the water. Several smaller sea creatures got in front of him, trying to use whatever they could to deter him, but were all destroyed by his sheer speed. They didn’t stand a chance against him, and he was in his own league.

  One of them was different, though. Far rger than the crab or the others, it was a serpent, almost five hundred feet long. Its blue hide camoufged greatly against the ocean, just now revealing itself. Dark green eyes stared at his every move. It charged at Tyrian, forcing him to redirect in a csh. The serpent rammed him straight into the water, trying to do as much damage as it could to him. He threw as many punches as he could, with the hide making them useless. He understood where the creature came from. It was one child of the greater serpent, and it was going to be difficult to take down. But taking time wouldn’t be an option, and he had to think of something fast.

  He continued to use metal arms and punches, but it didn’t do significant damage. The serpent shrugged the metal arms forcing them to fall apart, continuing its attack. It would always regenerate the attacks from its hide, almost instantaneously reshaping its body to heal. He needed a way through that regenerate, all the while being smmed into the ocean. Still trying to figure out an attack fast to kill the monster, he realized he did have an attack that could do such a thing.

  It was something that he had beforehand been practicing to master. It was one of the best attacks he had, being able to end about every opponent from one attack. Only some of the strongest could survive the attack at all. He was pnning for it to be a move they wouldn’t know, but it would have to be used. Metal formed into a ball around his hands, before turning into a molten ball of metal. Immense heat radiated from it, with any water within a few inches vaporizing.

  Tyrian aimed it at the creature, saying out loud. “Amplification, Molten Star.”

  With those words, the molten sphere increased both in size and heat. And now unched, everything in its path evaporated. The molten metal bsted right through the creature in an instant. Its limp body was now vaporized, with everything being destroyed that the ball hit. The serpent fell back into the sea, defeated. Its eyes still glowed in the darkness, slowly reforming. He couldn’t truly destroy it, he was in a hurry.

  After a few minutes, he arrived at the ship. He used the metal isnd that had followed him to keep the ship from sinking. Every part of the ship was carried, and he made sure of it. Another creature was attacking his father and another man, and it was a double-headed centipede. It tore through the ship's hull and was staring at him now. Without wasting time, he made metal arms to crush the creature.

  Tyrian jumped down, checking if his father was okay. His father on the floor, bloody and limping, looked up to him. What he didn’t notice was that the other person on the ship had passed out by now, but he wasn’t able to detect him. He shrugged it off for now. “Father, are you alright?’

  His father, who was Si-yeir, replied while coughing and shaking. “Yes, we are fine, but shouldn’t you be more worried about Eirini?”

  “What do you mean?” He was confused, and what did his father mean by that? Could there be something wrong with the city he swore to protect?

  Si-yeir pointed out the isnd, with creatures running rampant. Tyrian realized now that this was all a distraction. The small crab had told him, too, that the creatures were to divert him from the isnd. They saw homes and shops being destroyed, with a man at the center of the entire city. He held a silver trident and water flowed around him, making a vortex of water attacking anything in its path. It was Thassir, without a doubt, and he was heading straight towards the rgest tower in sight.

  “Oh.”