Chapter 119: Dolphin Conqueror
The dolphin's tail came down just as they moved. Not hitting the barge. Just like before, it was toying with them. It created a wave that crashed into the barge.
Its eyes, as large as plates, focused on them. It ignored the few people who were in the water and once again created a wave. The booming sound hit the barge, sending containers and people crashing into the water.
Kain looked at the water, at the dolphins that were playing. The constant clicking sounds, whether a call for companions or a simple laugh, he wasn't sure.
All he knew was that they needed to take care of this problem, now.
The dolphin finally gave them some breathing room. Whether it was because it was tired or for another reason they didn't know and didn't care.
It gave them the time to devise a plan.
Kain thought quickly about what he needed to do.
"Ice, fire, wind, and possibly lightning, that's what we need, and that's the only way I can see us getting out of this with the barge intact."
The statement was meant for his group, but Gene, who was standing nearby, heard every word.
Another thing he wasn't told beforehand was about the elements. The only information he got was that his strength would improve enough to beat the creatures. Now, in the back of his mind, he understood strength alone wasn't enough.
So when he heard Kain saying such things, he was confused.
"Amy, you, Jaylin, Paige, and Verdana go to opposite ends of the barge, freeze the water, and secure the barge. We need this thing to be stable. Make it rough, jagged, whatever you need to do to keep it in place. Make it thick enough so the mutant will have a hard time breaking through."
Next, he pointed at three people. "Marcus, Jon Vincent, I need you to use wind. Try to put pressure on its lungs when it jumps over. Close the blowhole with pressurized air. Knock it unconscious if you can."
Point to the last two, he said, "Ian and Claire, you two use fire. I need you to create steam. Use the water on the barge and the water around its face. Create enough steam to blind it for a little while.
Steam first, then wind. If it's possible to do it at the same time without the steam drifting, then do it.
I'll be the lookout. If anything needs adjusting, I'll tell you."
The four women ran to four opposite sides of the barge and began freezing the surrounding waters.
Coming up for air, the dolphin saw the changes. It hesitated for a moment, but when it saw the people who were still overboard, its expression became firm.
Kain caught the contemplation and frowned. Mutants weren't particularly intelligent, but then again, he was dealing with a dolphin. It's always been considered intelligent, even before it became a mutant.
It dipped below the water. The moment it jumped, Kain shouted, "Now!"
A curtain of steam hit the dolphin in the face. It couldn't stop its actions. It had already launched itself.
Two compressed bursts of air hit it, but unfortunately, the blowhole wasn't covered. The dolphin jumped over.
They would have to try again.
The four women were doing their best to keep the ice thick.
The people in the water were pushed to the edges, but the freezing water being so close was making them shiver.
The dolphin, angered, made a second attempt; this time, it wanted to destroy the ice.
The attempt was successful, but the women formed ice faster than it could be smashed.
That didn't mean the barge wasn't affected. The hull groaned under the dolphin's attack and the stabilizing force from the ice.
But they were running out of energy. It wasn't evident at first, but the more the dolphin rammed, the less ice they could produce.
It noticed and sped up its assault.
Suddenly, it dived.
Kain watched the mass moving under the water. He knew it was smart. He wasn't sure what it was trying to do.
He watched it go back and force under the water.
Then it sped up.
It moved through the water like a torpedo. Just when Kain thought it was going to ram the ice again, he watched it go under the barge.
His brows knit. His body tensed. It was doing something.
Then he felt it. Everyone felt it. The tremor under the water. It wasn't trying to ram them from the side; it was using its tail under the water to lift the barge.
"Wind, steady the barge!"
They felt the barge lift out of the water. The three men used the wind element to catch the barge, but their strength wasn't enough. They didn't have enough training in controlling the wind element.
The barge was still falling quickly.
Kain released the wind element when he saw this. A quick swipe of his hand, and the barge was steady.
His heart clenched.
He shouldn't have been able to do that. As a Level 5 Awakened, his power was relatively strong in relation to others, but not this strong.
Now wasn't the time to evaluate himself. The barge steadied itself, but the dolphin wasn't done. Seeing that its first attempt didn't work, it decided to try something else.
Rather than jump over, it decided a belly flop was in order. It didn't move as quickly as it would. It jumped out of the water before it even reached the barge.
Seeing its plan, Kain didn't have time to think. Rather than elemental energy, he found himself using spiritual energy.
The same trick Dominic used when he had Avery floating. It came to him in that moment, and he tried it.
Unexpectedly, it worked. He let out a disbelieving laugh. The giant dolphin, seeing it didn't meet its target, kept flopping.
Kain felt the pressure in his mind.
He wasn't used to using spiritual power. He moved the dolphin away from the barge.
Gritting his teeth, he called out, "Stop staring, kill it, stab it in the brain."
The Nightfall members, who were astonished, finally came to their senses.
Attacks hit the abdomen and brain of the dolphin. It let out a high-pitched wail and clicked before going silent.
Before long, Kain had no choice but to let it fall into the water.
"Captain", he called out, face pale. "Are you waiting for me to tell you to retreat?"
Captain Gene still had his mouth open, catching flies.
Hearing Kain's voice, he came to his senses and quickly had them drive the barge away. He didn't ask about the body.
He didn't ask anything. He fished out the people in the water who weren't already dead and left.