Brother (1)

The waves crashed violently against the docks of the city, each surge feeding the chaos of the growing storm—a tempest born of Leviathas' fury. His presence twisted the sea into a weapon, the sky darkening in his wrath. With a swift swing of his trident, he summoned miniature whirlpools that spiraled toward the group, battering them relentlessly.

Though weakened, Aralia gritted her teeth and leaped high into the air, her greataxe raises, aiming to cleave his neck clean in one powerful strike. But just as she was about to land the hit, a sudden burst of water erupted from Leviathas' outstretched hand, striking her midair and sending her crashing to the side.

"Aral—!" Theo's shout was cut short when a violent cough racked his body, blood spilling from his lips. He dropped to his knees, his strength faltering as the multitude of stab wounds finally caught up to him.

Jae rushed to his side, pulling out a painkiller leaf from her pouch, her hands trembling as she worked. Meanwhile, Sticky sprouted a mass of tentacles, each forming into sharp, glimmering blades. Yuni, still catching her breath, raised her eyebrow, her voice tinged with both mockery and genuine curiosity,

"So, the daggers are useless now? Impressive." she quipped, watching the transformation unfold.

Sticky let out a defiant gurgle, ignoring her comment, and surged forward, their bladed limbs slicing through the air as they closed the distance toward Leviathas, searching for an opening to strike.

"Impudent creature." Leviathas muttered, his voice cold and stoic, devoid of the seething hatred it once carried. His icy tone echoed through the chaos as if all emotion had been stripped away.

The water surrounding him twisted and coiled, forming into massive dragon-like maws. They surged toward Sticky with terrifying speed, aiming to crush the slime at both sides. Yet, before the watery beasts could reach their target, they dissipated into harmless droplets under the relentless fury of Sticky's tentacle blades, moving with such precision and speed that they seemed to have slice through reality itself.

More of the water surrounding Leviathas twisted and roared, forming an unrelenting horde of dragon-like maws. They surged toward Sticky in overwhelming numbers, their sheer force and combined might was too much for the slime to handle.

Sticky's tentacle blades slashed and parried, but it was impossible to fend off the relentless assault entirely.

Seizing the opportunity, Leviathas turned his focus elsewhere. With an ominous calm, he began to shaping a massive spear of condensed water, its surface crackling with energy. The weapon loomed ominously, its target clear—the heart of the palace.

Meanwhile, far off in the city, Volhcard knelt to prayer, his hands trembling with determination as he begged the Gods for safety of those fighting inside the palace.

Beside him, Idol and the city guards worked tirelessly, guiding terrified citizens through the chaos and out of the city, their resolve unwavering despite the storm tearing the city around them apart.

—

The relentless barrage finally overwhelmed Sticky, sending them crashing to the ground. The dragon maws surged in for the killing blood, only to be shattered back into the water by Aralia's greataxe, her movements swift and fierce.

Theo coughed violently, blood staining his lips as he forced himself to speak,

"We... need to stop him... somehow." he rasped, his voice strained and barely audible. "If he destroys the palace... the city will be next."

He weakly leaned on Yuni's shoulder, his breaths shallow but determined. Yuni clenched her jaw, her sharp eyes narrowing as she looked toward Leviathas, who was preparing his devastating spear of water, "Then we'd better figure out something, fast." she muttered, her grip tightening on the duck, which quacked softly in response.

Whoosh!

In the span of a few seconds, Jae transformed into a thunder wyvern and soared toward Leviathas, weaving effortlessly through the swirling torrents of water. Aralia, her expression unyielding and fierce, clung tightly to her back.

Though they moved with precision and speed, Leviathas seemed to anticipate every maneuver. Without so much as a glance, he conjured spears of water, each one aiming to impale Jae mid-flight.

But Jae was quicker. She twisted through the air, narrowly evading the deadly projectiles, and Aralia seized the opening. With a powerful leap, she detached from Jae's back and swung the greataxe down in one clean motion, slashing Leviathas' shoulder. The force of the strike caused him to stagger, momentarily causing him to lose control of the swirling water around him, which cascaded to the ground in a wild torrent. 

Blood splurted from Leviathas' shoulder, but the wound itself sealed itself almost instantly, flesh stitching back together in unnatural speed. Yet Aralia gave him no chance to recover. Without hesitation, she swung her greataxe again, aiming straight for his throat before driving the blade into his stomach, testing it open with brutal precision.

Crash!

Before she could follow through, the water dragon mouths surged forward, striking her with immense force and sending her crashing back into the palace floor below. Leviathas barely flinched as his body regenerated, the gaping wound in his abdomen closing as if it had never existed.

Above, the swirling water coalesced into an even larger spear, its form crackling with wild energy as Leviathas resumed shaping his devastating attack.

Bolts of electricity crackled through the air, piercing Leviathas' shield of water and driving into his chest, striking through his heart. Jae swooped around him in her wyvern form, her tail glowing with energy as she drove it straight through his skull.

Yet, Leviathas remained unfazed, He grabbed her grabbed her tail, yanked it free from his head, and with a flick of monstrous strength, hurled her toward the docks of Altissa. She crashed into the platforms with a deafening thud.

"No matter what you do," Leviathas said, his tone cold and emotionless as always, "you've only delayed the inevitable."

Spears of water formed around him in an instant, rushing forward to impale the group. But Yuni leaped into action, her daggers flashing as she slashed through every single one, reducing them back into harmless streams of water.

"Shut up, you emo fucker!" she snapped, glaring as she swiftly drew her bow and notched an arrow, aiming directly at his head.

For the first time in centuries, Leviathas let out a chuckle—a low, cruel sound that echoed through the storm. Without hesitation, he summoned hundreds of water supers that spiraled through the air, aimed directly at Yuni.

Fwoosh!

Before they could reach her, Sticky leapt in front, their tentacle blades slashing with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, every spear shattered back into harmless water droplets. Yuni drew her bow, her movements swift, and released an arrow straight toward Leviathas' forehead.

Fwoosh!

The arrow flew—but it veered off-course, missing him entirely.

For a brief moment, the entire group froze, staring at Yuni with collective deadpan expressions. Even with Leviathas, still hovering above with his ever present cold demeanor, tilted his head slightly.

With a deadpan tone to match, he spoke, "I suppose the title of 'Worst Archer in the Entire World' wasn't an exaggeration after all."

A visible vein popped on Yuni's forehead as she clenched her jaw. Without a word, she yanked three arrows from her quiver, stringing them with precision, her eyes blazing with fury.

"You're about to eat your own words, you smug, waterlogged bastard." she growled, her fingers tightening on the bowstring.

The arrows burst forth from Yuni's bow, slicing through the air with determination—only to miss their mark once again. Yuni's face turned red with fury as she stomped the ground in frustration, her movements so exaggerated that even the dire atmosphere couldn't stop the others from nearly bursting into laughter.

Leviathas raised an eyebrow, his cold gaze unwavering, "What kind of... whatever no matter." he said dismissively, his tone laced with boredom before he conjured a powerful bolt of water and hurled it at her.

Clash!

Sticky intercepted the attack their tentacle blades slicing through the watery projectile, scattering it into the harmless droplets.

Meanwhile, Theo staggered, his breathing labored as blood dripped from his wounds. Ignoring the pain, he raised the blunderbuss and aimed it at Leviathas.

Boom!

The bullet fired, but it was obliterated by the swirling barrier of water surrounding the ocean prince. Leviathas didn't even flinch, his gaze focused entirely on the group.

"You're all just delaying the inevitable." Leviathas sneered, his voice sharp and venomous.

The water around Leviathas swirled violently, coalesced into monstrous dragon-shaped mouths that shot toward the group, intent to crushing them with unrelenting force. But Aralia with a growl of determination, swung her greataxe with all her strength, slicing through the water dragons, scattering them back to the sea.

Whoosh!

In a flash, Yuni darted across the walls, using the floating debris as leverage, before tossing Sticky into the mass of swirling water that surrounded Leviathas. Sticky lashed out with their tentacle blades, slicing through his neck.

The water momentarily dropped, giving the group a brief window of hope.

With a steady breath, Yuni grabbed another arrow, stringing it with precision. She released it, and the arrow shot forward, piercing through Leviathas' forehead just as Theo's bullet pierced his heart. For a split second, Leviathas went limp, seemingly lifeless—but only for a heartbeat.

His body shifted and reformed as the water rose once more, crashing down onto Sticky and Yuni, slamming them back into the palace floor with a tremendous impact that cracked the stone beneath them.

"Strong," Leviathas muttered, his voice cold and mocking, "but not strong enough."

His gaze turned back at the city, his focus unwavering as he gathered the swirling waters and began to form the massive spear once more.

The ocean itself seemed to bend to his will, ready to tear the city apart.