Chapter 299: Visiting the Aftermath

"HOLD ON!" Someone yelled.

As the Asan crashed into the surface of the ocean, the resulting shock of displaced water spread outwards in a series of massive waves, the largest of which must have been hundreds of meters in height. Any one of them would have crushed their ship to pieces, so Mike needed to act fast to avoid a tragedy.

Since splitting the wave around the ship would require a massive amount of mana, given the sheer volume of water bearing down on them from above, he settled on moving the Huntsman instead.

Of course, this left him with two real options. He could use a burst of Water Magic to propel the vessel over the top of the wave, and then repeat that process until they were of a manageable size. It would be difficult, and might lead to a fair amount of damage if he couldn't get the timing just right, but he was fairly certain it would work so long as he focused. Alternatively, he could make use of the old swimmer's trick, and simply go underneath.

[Well, this will either be incredibly awesome or end in a shipwreck.] He thought before finally deciding on the later of his two options.

With a quick chant, he summoned an air shield around the ship, using it more as a delineating point for the next part than for its protective properties. He then sent his will into the seawater below them, pulling it around the ship to form a second barrier. Using that mass as a medium for his efforts. he pushed the resulting air bubble underwater.

With the panicked cries of the sailors ringing in his ears, the ship submerged, entering a strangely quiet underwater world. Once it became clear that they weren't about to die, the crew fell silent, staring in wonder at their surroundings.

Above them, the destructive waves ravaged the surface, but the violence was strangely distant and muted. The only effect they seemed to have on the ship's protective bubble was to cause a bit of gentle rocking.

Mike was a little disappointed that there wasn't any sea life to look at while he concentrated on maintaining his spells. He'd been hoping on letting his friends see something fascinating, but he contented himself with novelty of the submarine voyage.

As if sensing his thoughts, the Sea Serpent, which he refused to think of as Shipwrecker, swam into view, coiling up and around the ship's port side before diving past it's starboard. Seeing the draconic creature at its full length was awe-inspiring. It must have stretched for close to thirty meters from snout to tail, and its long, sinuous body featured a delicate looking frill that extended all the way down its back. Moving with a confident and easy grace that belonged to aquatic alpha predators, it slipped out of view once more.

[Well, that was pretty cool]

After a few minutes spent in that odd silence, he noted that the surface had calmed. Judging that it was probably safe to ascend, he flexed his will again, allowing the air bubble to slowly rise to the surface.

Their reemergence was quiet by comparison to their descent, and they gently slipped back into the open air with nothing more than a bit of displaced water to show that anything had happened.

By this point, the titanic waves had passed, leaving only some minor turbulence to overcome. There was a brief moment of silence as the crew looked around again, but it was swiftly shattered by relieved cheering.

"That…that was something." William commented a bit breathlessly, having emerged onto deck at some point during their time underwater. "I knew you were a powerful mage, but that…that was a feat straight out legends."

"Eh, that's nothing." Sera broke in dismissively. "Stick around long enough and you'll see some really impressive things."

Mike listened absently to the exchange, but otherwise kept his attention focused towards the ship's prow. Beyond it, he could see the jagged expanse of the Asan, which was apparently still floating on the surface of the ocean.

[Unless it has some large air pockets built in, I'm guessing whatever effect that allowed it to fly is still partially active. If we assume that the crystal spike was the source of that, then the island is probably on the verge of sinking.]

"What do you think?" Morris asked neutrally, as if he was trying hard to avoid betraying his thoughts.

Mike spared him a glance for a few seconds before answering. "I'm not sure, but the Asani probably don't have long before their island is submerged."

Staring out over the water, the bard murmured, "There doesn't seem to be any effort to evacuate, but then again it did fall pretty far before hitting the ocean. Who can say what sort of state the Asani are in, or even if any are still alive? Unless they were prepared for this kind of disaster, it's entirely possible that we are witnessing the end of their race."

"What do?" Tal asked with her usual emotionlessness.

He thought about his options, but he knew his conscience wouldn't let him just do nothing. Besides, he had a feeling this whole situation was in part caused by his luck. If that was the case, ignoring the disaster might have consequences he might have to deal with at some point.

That being said, he didn't have any idea how dangerous it might be.

Glancing back at his party members for a moment, he made up his mind. "We don't know enough about what's going on to really decide if we should get involved or not. So, I'm going to go take a look, and get idea of what the situation might be."

"Wait, what about the rest of us? What are we supposed to do?" Sera asked, obviously upset.

"Stay here." Mike replied over the sound of the wind as he lifted himself into the air. "I'll be back once I know more."

Before any of his party members had a chance to argue, he launched himself in the direction of the Asan. As much as he hated leaving them out once again, he couldn't bring himself to put them at risk just to satisfy his conscience. Resolving to apologize to them once he was back, he focused on the task at hand.

From his new elevation, he was able to see that the Asan was clearly not a naturally occurring structure. The mountains that made up the majority of the island's surface were laid out in a spiral pattern. Most of these were craggy peaks that would not have looked out of place in a common mountain range, if not for the unnatural way they were laid out. However, at the axis of the pattern was another of the crystalline spikes, this time pointing into the sky and looming over its surroundings.

Dotting the slopes and valleys of the island were pockets of buildings, which were in turn surrounded by sprawling farmlands. He flew over a few of the larger settlements on his way towards the center of the island, slowing down to get a better look.

Clearly, they had suffered something along the lines of a major earthquake, or perhaps floating island quake was a better term, which had left the fragile buildings in ruins. Some of the more robust ones had survived, though, which gave him some clues about the nature of their inhabitants.

The presence of artificial illumination sources (currently nonfunctional), glass windows (mostly broken), and elaborate and artistic architecture suggested that the Asani were a cultured and advanced species that had manufacturing capabilities comparable to many of the surface nations.

Judging by the shape and size of the doorways, the owners of the buildings were probably similar to most humanoids, with one notable exception. They apparently didn't need to rely on walking to enter their buildings, as most of the entrances were set at least a few meters above the ground.

[Well, Morris did say they were bird-like. Maybe that means they are capable of flight. Still, it's hard to imagine a humanoid creature that would be comfortable flying to the extent that they designed their homes based on that principle, but still have the manual dexterity necessary to build things…I suppose magic or some sort of innate skill might be the cause. Anyway, I'll have to wait until I meet one to know for sure.]

He'd yet to see any sign of the people in question. Even with Aerosense activated, he couldn't detect any signs of a living being larger than a mouse inside the ruins. It seems the Asani had evacuated at some point prior to the crash.

[While it's possible they abandoned the island when they realized the danger, they also may have moved into some kind of emergency shelter. Assuming, of course, they had sufficient warning.]

Figuring that the center of the island would likely be the best protected, and therefore the safest place to house evacuees, he headed towards the large crystal spike. As he got closer, he could hear a faint, discordant hum that seemed to emanate from its surface. It vaguely reminded him of the note he'd detected earlier, but it now had a sort of warbling, chaotic sound mixed in, which set his nerves on edge.

The base of the crystal seemed to serve as the focal point of the Asani settlements, with a large city built around its circumference. Here he began to get an inkling of what might have caused the island to fall.

The buildings were also damaged by the seismic activity stemming from the impact with the ocean, but there was additional destruction caused by something else entirely. Scorch marks, melted stone, circular holes bored into the side of the stone buildings, and even splashes of red fluid that looked like blood were present throughout the city. He'd seen enough warfare to recognize a battlefield, but wasn't able to locate any bodies.

Landing briefly, he examined a strange polearm-like weapon that was embedded in the ground near one such blood stain. It was one of several dozen in the area, although it was the only one that appeared to be intact. The long, metallic shaft was topped with a two-pronged, trident-like blade with barbed edges. While it didn't appear to be particularly useful in combat, he could imagine its victims have a rough time.

A quick Appraise told him a bit more.

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Kalingi

Mundane Weapon (Tier 2, Rank 1)

Crafted from Sky Steel, this polearm is one of the many traditional weapons of the Asani. Primarily used as part of the Tuling school of aerial combat, which specializes in fighting large, airborne monsters, it is designed to deliver painful and debilitating wounds in preparation for a lethal finisher delivered by a comrade.

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Mike left the weapon where it was, and took another look at the others in his surroundings. Based on the layout of the blood spatters and the other more damaged armaments, he began to get an idea of what happened.

[This seems to have been the site of a fight between Asani fighters and some kind of large flying creature. Maybe there are no bodies because they were eaten? Not sure if I want to run into anything with this large of an appetite.]

His thoughts were interrupted when his Aerosense, which he'd been keeping active, picked up the hint of a disturbance from a large building that practically abutted the crystal. Guessing that this might be his best bet for answers, he moved to investigate.

The structure had all the appearances of a fortification, being composed primarily out of massive blocks of worked stone. In comparison to the graceful and aesthetically pleasing architecture he'd seen on the rest of the island, this stronghold was almost crude. It resembled a cube made of smaller cubes, and Mike was reminded of a certain popular puzzle toy from his old world. There was no sign of any windows or adornments, so it had all the hallmarks of a final redoubt.

In the center of the building's outward facing wall was a single entrance. There, a hinge like apparatus was built into its upper side, which would have ordinarily lowered a large slab of stone to seal the opening and disguise it among the others that made up the wall. However, something had evidently gone wrong, since the melted remains of the door were lying some distance from the structure's foundation.

Mike flew up to the entrance and found that it led to a square tunnel which extended for a few dozen meters before ending in a chamber. The edges of the corridor were scarred, blackened, and melted, as if something hot enough to liquify rock had passed through here recently.

Keeping his mana at the ready, he flew forward, making sure not to come in contact with the warped surface of the stone, just to be on the safe side. The room turned out to be a simple squarish space that he guessed occupied the exact center of the building. With the exception of a circular opening in the floor, there was nothing else of interest. He floated over and looked down, using a bit of Air Magic to scout the passage with Aerosense.

It was a circular shaft which seemed to extend deep into the heart of the island, farther than he could make out with his sight alone. Much like the previous passage, this one was also damaged.

As he was examining the edges of the hole, his senses picked up the distant presence of living creatures in its depths. However, the picture he got from Aerosense was strangely distorted and confused. The best he could determine was that there was a large group of smaller creatures right next to something that was a great deal larger, but anything more than that was lost in the odd static.

He briefly contemplated going back and leaving the Asani to their fate. After all, he didn't even know the species existed an hour ago. However, he had a feeling that whatever was attacking them posed a threat to more than just this island. Where might it go, once it had finished here?

[I need more information before I can decide whether or not to leave. The last thing I want is to abandon this place, only to have a country destroying monster chasing us.]

The unusual air currents became more jostled and confused, and he thought he heard the distant sounds of screaming.

[I suppose there is really only one way to find out now.] He thought as he began his descent.