Celestial Saga: Exiled To Earth III 13 Stage Thirteen: The Phreinian Of The Sea

"Keon! What's that!?" The pirates began to panic, trying their best to maneuver the ship. They have encountered sea monsters the past few months and had no problem defeating them. But the one in front of them towers from the rest.

Before them emerged a tall, grey-skinned woman with long brown hair and blood red eyes, shrouded by a dense, dark aura. In no time, the frozen water keeping the entire ship from rocking melted. The ship started shaking violently again, they could barely stand. The shark monster started tackling the pirate ship once again.

"We don't have a choice…" Alaric summoned bolts of lightning from above, instantly electrocuting the shark monster in the water. He succeeded! Surprised by how effective it is, the runemaster conjured more lightning bolts, making sure that the shark monster dies for good. A couple more strikes and he finished the gigantic shark in one last blow.

"Is he really the rune master that time?" Keon thought, impressed with the runemaster's power. Just as when the crew started celebrating, Kirin shushed them. The woman controlling the monster disappeared, and that is worrying.

"My lightning bolts didn't harm the woman." Alaric confirmed. Kirin nodded. The ship temporarily ceased its violent rocking. But in just a few minutes, it started shaking again, this time, even stronger than before. The crew dropped the anchors, but it didn't do much.

"Lenfiare!" Astrid called from inside the medallion, "Can you touch the ship's pole with your hand? Or any wood on the ship and concentrate a portion of your aura into it?" Freyja did as advised. She used a bit of her aura to cover her palms before touching one of the ship's poles. As soon as her hand touched it, there was a strong spark, she instantly jumped away in surprise.

"I knew it. That phreinian is possessing the entire ship! She's one with the ship right now!"

They heard the woman's voice from nowhere, and it confirmed Astrid's suspicions.

"Almighty Lenfiare, you are supposed to be a deity, aren't you? Why can't you even tell where I am?" The voice echoed. "So, it's true that your power and your memories have been sealed. How convenient."

Freyja clenched her fists, unable to think clearly. The ship started tipping, the crew could barely hold its balance. Wooden crates and planks started flying around, hitting some of the crew unconscious. "You're after me aren't you!? Don't involve them in this!" Freyja angrily shouted and the phreinian just laughed. "You can't even protect your comrades? So, it's true that you are terribly weakened— like a normal human, that is." Freyja was tempted to wreck the ship, but if she did, it might actually sink. She can fly, but she can't lift the entire ship, or that many people with her. If she did, the pirates, Keon's comrades will die.

"A child! the feared Lenfiare that will take all of Celestia for herself and will tear the dimensions apart is nothing but a child. Why don't you use your wings to fly? You can, can't you?"

"I can't possibly leave them…" She thought, frustrated. "And I can't destroy the ship! d.a.m.n THIS!" Freyja thought of distracting the lady with conversation, hoping that she, or Kirin would soon come up with a plan. "Phreinian! Tell me, who is behind this!?"

"Behind this? You really are clueless, child. The name Freyja Lenfiare, that face, that aura, is the trophy that every phreinian wants! The phantom lord, master Ahrin will open the gates to Celestia with your very blood! Master Ahrin will help us tear the dimensional barrier of Phrein. Not only Celestia, but the hundreds of dimensions will be under our control!"

"Ahrin? Phantom Lord!?" Kirin thought, knowing very well that HE is the phantom lord. "Why would Ahrin lie and claim himself to be the phantom lord? Unless… he wants to use these phreinians against us!"

"Ahrin is… the phantom lord!? The… the one who killed my father…" Freyja's vision grew red, feeling rage stir her stomach and climb up to her head. Losing it, she summoned the celestial sword Astrid at once. "ASTRID!" as soon as the sword took its form, she plunged it through the ship deck's floor, destroying floor of the deck "ARGH! Are you planning to sink this ship with your friends? Hahaha." Though badly hurt, the phreinian possessing the ship made sure Freyja is unable to do anything against her. The phreinian took this chance and bound the girl into the pole with levitating pieces of wood from the broken floor. Freyja was pinned against the pole, wooden debris holding her still. A sharp wood then began to fly towards the immobile Freyja to thrust right through her heart. Kirin summoning his dark aura sword and shattered the wood into pieces before it could hit her. "This is still no use, we can't destroy the ship or we'll all die!" Alaric said, none of them could come up with a plan.

"Kirin, Keon, Freyja, calm down. She cannot possibly distribute herself into the entire ship. I mean, we are clueless about phreinians' abilities but following aura logic, there has to be a spot in this ship where she's concentrated a big part of herself. She can't possess something this large and have an even control over it. That's why all she can do is shake the ship and tear pieces of wood." The runemaster's broad knowledge of spells gave them hope. "So, what do you suggest we do?" Keon asked, signaling his crew to act on Alaric's suggestion.

"Kirin, Alaric, Keon… I'll distract that woman and you go around the ship and find it. We have to break her control over the ship first thing." Even before they could finish, the ship shook again, making Freyja fall and roll over to one side. "She's tilting the ship! Hurry!"

Keon and Kirin nodded at each other. The brothers took the opposite directions and simultaneously searched for that 'core' Alaric was talking about. Freyja and Alaric remained on the ship's deck to watch over the crew and to distract the phreinian.

"Is shaking all you can do? Do you think you can kill me with your flying wood planks? Don't make me laugh." Freyja's taunting agitated the woman. Immediately, the phreinian tore quite a number of planks from the ship and like a poltergeist, she sent them flying towards Freyja. Alaric and Freyja stood back to back. Alaric conjured his barrier while Freyja fended off the attacks with her aurreinforced sword.

The phreinian began shaking the ship harder and harder until she tilted it to the point that some of the crew, along with Alaric and Freyja are in danger of falling down the sea. Alaric had no choice but to freeze the surrounding waters again just to slow down the shaking. "My ice won't last longer… where are those two!?" Alaric winced, giving his all to hold the spell.

Meanwhile, Kirin and Keon focused as hard as they could to locate suspicious aura.

Kirin searched the front side while Keon searched the back. While Kirin found nothing, Keon sensed a strong lump of energy in one of the rooms. He was right, Keon found it. On the floor is an octopus-like black creature glowing with dense, pitch-black aura. Keon wasted no time. He pulled his twin daggers out and with blinding speed, he sliced the creature in half!

"ARGH!" The phreinian's scream, echoed around the ship as if she is in great pain. Just before Alaric's ice melted, they felt the phreinian presence slowly dissipate, and the ship fell upright again.

"THEY DID IT!" Freyja rejoiced. Now that the phreinian lost control over the ship, it slowly gained its normal buoyancy, with the help of Alaric's water and wind spells.

But it's not over just yet. The phreinian appeared right before Freyja, frustrated and desperate.

"It's my turn now." Freyja summoned Astrid in his human form. They simultaneously attacked the phreinian, trying to keep her from possessing anything or anyone again. With Astrid's speed and strength, it didn't take a minute before he caught the phreinian and bound her with his strong grip. "Lenfiare, now is your chance."

As Freyja walked closer, the phreinian began cursing the celestial, struggling like a helpless lamb from Astrid's grip. But it's too late. All too late for the phreinian. "I'll tell you something interesting." Freyja leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Had you appeared a few years earlier, you might have been able to kill me." Astrid transformed into the celestial rune blade, materializing in his master's hand.

"FREYJA LENFIARE! YOU DEMON! GO AWAY!" the phreinian tried to run, but there's nowhere left for her to escape. Behind was Kirin, on the sides were Keon and Alaric all prepared to strike with one wrong move.

"You're cursed! You're cursed, Freyja Lenfiare!"

"For badmouthing Celestia, for endangering my friends, for the time we wasted facing your stupid self, I sentence you to death." Freyja locked her piercing golden eyes with the phreinian's—full of hate, disgust, a strong desire to obliterate every last one of its kind.

"You tyrannical celestials do nothing but force us to submit!" The phreinian shouted, knowing full well that it is her last chance to say her peace. "Just because you were born with power, the only thing that we can do is unite against you… to fight with our lives for our freedom from your tyranny! What do you want, Lenfiare? Vengeance? For the wealth and status that you lost? If you were born a phreinian, you'd be the one saying your final goodbye!"

Freyja didn't let her finish. In one, quick, decisive strike, she pierced the celestial runeblade right through the phreinian's abdomen, sliced it further up to her chest, and pulled it out, spilling the woman's guts covered in bright green blood. Freyja's face blank, not a trace of flinching. For good measure, she bashed the phreinian's head, its face completely unrecognizable and its brains splattered on the floor.

Not a single word, nor sound, as they all glued their eyes on Freyja. Alaric looked away, Keon could not believe what he just saw. And Kirin, started trembling uncontrollably. He wanted to jump to her and tell her to stop, scold her like he normally would. But he couldn't. As Freyja turned her eyes to him, Kirin felt fear overwhelm his entire body, he instantly lost consciousness.

Kirin's collapse snapped Freyja out of daze. "Kirin!" Alaric and Keon ran to him, as well as some of Keon's crew. Freyja looked at him, startled for a few seconds before running to his aid.

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