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Its teeth bloodied, the sea-serpent struck again and again, taking a mouthful of meat each time, stripping the flesh off the cartilage and bones. As the carcass sank into the red water, the sea-serpent circled.

Paddling with all his strength, Nemo had put some distance between his raft and the frothing combat. He had his cutlass and his pistols, but he doubted either would be sufficient to defeat the remaining monster. As the sea serpent turned its head, its obsidian eyes spotted the mushroom raft and the young man paddling. The sea serpent glided toward him.

Nemo got to his feet, cutlass in one hand and pistol in the other. He glared at the beast, as if his anger alone would be sufficient to drive it away. He shouted a blood-curdling scream. He had come too far and fought too hard to end up in a mindless animal’s belly.

The wind increased, flailing his shaggy hair around his face, but a defiant Nemo stood to meet the oncoming monster. The sea serpent circled the raft, more curious than hungry after its feast of the Ichthyosaur. The sinuous neck rose up like a mammoth cobra’s.

Unflinching, Nemo pointed the pistol at what he hoped was a vulnerable point for his single lead shot. The sea serpent opened its jaws and struck as if it expected no struggle from this morsel. Seizing the opportunity, Nemo screamed another challenge and fired the pistol into the pink flesh of its mouth. The sea serpent jerked back with a roar, startled as much from the loud bang as from the bullet sting.

Nemo dropped the now-useless pistol and yanked the second one from his belt, knowing he’d have no time to reload. Only one shot remained. After that, he would have to defend himself with the pirate’s sword -- and he vowed to hurt the monster as much as possible.

The sea serpent lunged again, faster this time. Nemo tried to remain steady on the rocking raft as he aimed for the beast’s eye. When he fired, the puff of smoke obscured his vision at first, and then he saw that he had missed. Just barely. A bright splatter of red appeared below the sea serpent’s left eyelid, perhaps enough to blind the beast from that side -- certainly enough to cause it further pain. And rage.

Thrashing, the sea serpent submerged and doubled back for another attack. Nemo grasped the cutlass, turning in slow circles, feet spread on the uncertain deck of his raft. Around him, the thunderous cracks grew louder, and the wind howled as the magnetic storm grew in intensity.

With an explosive thrust, the sea serpent surfaced under the raft. Its armored head crashed through the tough mushroom structure, snapping Nemo’s braided vine ropes. The raft broke into matchstick pieces in the water. The mushroom-cap pontoons broke free, and debris drifted in all directions. Nemo somehow held onto his sword as he plunged beneath the surface, taking an unexpected gulp of bitter water. He thrashed about, unable to hide in the ocean. He tried to reach the raft debris, where he could continue to fight.

At any moment he expected to find himself in the gullet of the sea monster, crushed in those jaws. He struggled to a floating toadstool cap and hung on with one hand. The enormous sea serpent rose beneath him, its head brushing against Nemo’s legs. Out of instinct and fury, he swung with the cutlass and struck a deep gash across the beast’s snout.

The sea serpent withdrew, and Nemo hauled himself into the bowl of the buoyant mushroom cap. The storm had turned into an electrical gale, and liquid lightning sparked through the air all around. The mushroom cap twirled and bobbed, nauseating him. He could see no way out of the crisis.

The serpent lurched up again, dripping blood from minor wounds. It looked straight down at Nemo -- yet it came no closer, turning its head uneasily.

Gripping the puny cutlass, Nemo waited for the killing blow, tensing to make a final thrust. He planned to die fighting, never giving up. Instead, the dinosaur’s serpentine head dipped beneath the water and vanished from sight.

Knowing it was sure to attack again, Nemo clung to the frilled sides of the mushroom