UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 34 : Clever

“Mom!! Now, do it....attack him!!”

Susanneth saw the opening her son had created, the one chance to end this fight. She swung her sword with every last ounce of her strength.

Zzzzzzaaaaaaak!!

A colossal red energy wave burst from her blade, ripping through the air like a murderous cyclone, racing straight for the head of the Marine Army’s special investigation captain.

At that very moment, Marcus drove his claws into the man’s neck, blood spraying across his face. Then he leapt back at once, narrowly avoiding the range of his mother’s devastating strike.

The captain’s head twitched for a heartbeat, eyes half-lidded and barely comprehending what was happening, before he was utterly overwhelmed...

Whoosh!!

His head shot skyward.

It spun once... twice... three times, then came crashing down onto the deck in a gory explosion.

Splaaash!!

The massive body wavered for a moment, sank to its knees, and finally pitched forward lifelessly, a thin smoke curling from it like the last breath choking out of its lungs.

Marcus stood there panting, sweat and blood dripping together down his forehead and chin, eyes locked on the headless corpse. Then he lifted his gaze to his mother.

Susanneth was standing, panting, her body trembling slightly, before she suddenly doubled over and began coughing violently.

“Koff... koff... koff!!”

Each cough spat out drops of blood that dripped down her chin, but she didn’t back away. Slowly, she lowered her sword, resting its tip on the deck to support herself. Her left shoulder was shaking badly, the side of her robe torn, bleeding from a deep wound that wouldn’t stop.

“Mom!!”

Marcus ran to her, his voice a tangle of panic and exhaustion. He immediately slid an unsteady hand behind her back to keep her from collapsing.

Susanneth whispered, her voice ragged,

“I’m fine...”

But Marcus looked at her pale face, her eye barely staying open, and rasped harshly,

“Stop lying... you’re in terrible shape.”

At that instant...

Craaack!!

The captain’s torso...what was left of it, shuddered suddenly. The headless body twitched as if refusing to die.

“He’s... moving?!” Marcus gasped, quickly placing himself between his mother and the corpse.

But then the body finally collapsed, this time without resistance, like the last spark inside it had gone out.

Silence fell...

It was heavy, filled only by the scent of blood and smoke, and their ragged breaths.

Susanneth wiped the blood from her mouth and slid her sword back into the sheath on her hip. She rested a hand on Marcus’s back, gave it a faint pat, and whispered,

“Don’t worry... those last movements were just the electricity you drove into him.”

Then she added with visible strain,

“We... need to get out of here now...”

Marcus nodded, speaking softly,

“Yeah... let’s get out of here.”

He let his transformation fade, returning to his human form.

Susanneth looked at his missing wrist, sorrow clouding her features.

“You’ve... been through so much...”

But Marcus exhaled and managed a faint smile.

“That doesn’t matter... what matters is that I’m still alive, right?”

Susanneth let out a small laugh... then tears suddenly spilled down her face, streaming in hot rivers.

“Yes... what matters is that you’re still alive...”

Marcus supported her as they moved toward the stern, where the small sailboat she had arrived on was tied. There was no sign of the pirates who had been with him, they’d taken advantage of the chaos to flee.

He helped her aboard, untied the rope, and pushed the boat off with his foot.

He hoisted the sails under his mother’s guidance, letting the wind carry them away from the shattered ship.

But then he suddenly said,

“Mom... I’ll be right back.”

Before she could say a word, he had already leapt into the sea.

“What is that boy up to now...?”

she wondered in bewilderment. But her surprise didn’t last long. Under her wide eyes, a gigantic serpent like the legendary sea kings of old tales, suddenly broke through the water, tearing into the ship from below and destroying it completely.

“Clever...”

she murmured, relieved, watching Marcus make sure to erase all traces. She tied a bandage around her deep wound and whispered,

“That will buy us some time... but we’ll have to change where we live if we want to stay safe.”

She watched the ship slowly sink into the sea, then raised her still bloodstained hand and stared at it with a dark expression.

“I don’t know... how much longer this sick body will last...”

she whispered bitterly. Her mind drifted to the day she first learned she had the wasting sickness, the disease that had robbed years from her and her husband as they searched for a cure they never found.

“At least... I have to stay alive until Marcus is grown.”

She stopped thinking and closed her eyes to rest a little.

Not long after, Marcus lifted his head from the water beside the boat and opened his mouth, spitting out several treasure chests all at once. The boat rocked under the weight.

He simply said,

“These are treasures I found on the ships.”

Susanneth opened one of the chests, saw the gold coins glittering inside, then quickly closed it again. She looked up at the giant serpent and asked,

“How long can you keep that form?”

Marcus thought for a moment, then answered in his deep, rumbling voice,

“I still have energy... I can hold it for another three hours.”

Susanneth clapped her hands once and adjusted the sail’s angle.

“Perfect... then push the boat for us. Get us far away from here.”