The ocean trembled violently as Nereuson concentrated an overwhelming amount of energy within its cavernous jaws, the sheer force of the power creating a gravitational pull that distorted the surrounding waters.
"HRRRRR!"
With eyes blazing with murderous intent, Nereuson unleashed a deafening roar, drawing torrents of water inward. A second, smaller maw materialized, voraciously consuming everything caught in its relentless pull, sparing nothing in its path.
Countless Atlanteans and thousands of corrupted sea creatures were powerless against the sudden, overpowering current. They were dragged into the vortex, crushed and torn apart, forming a gruesome slurry as they were pulled toward the merciless dragon and devoured, reduced to a grisly mixture within its gaping maw.
The attack in Nereuson's primary mouth suddenly swelled in size, as though the god-like creature was using the consumed matter as fuel. Space itself seemed to shudder under the weight of this devastating power.
William felt a deep foreboding in his chest as he witnessed the attack build to a critical point. Shaking off the daze caused by the previous disorienting roar, he surged forward, positioning himself in front of the city with his sword raised in both hands, his gaze unwavering.
WHOOSH!
Morganna's blood-red blade was enveloped in controlled orange flames as William channeled more and more of his fiery energy into the blazing gem embedded in the pommel. As he poured his strength into it, the flaming blade began to grow, transforming from a hand-and-a-half longsword into a two-handed longsword before expanding further into a greatsword, where it finally stabilized.
TSSSSSSSSSSS!
Massive clouds of steam erupted around William as the intense heat radiating from the blade clashed with the icy ocean water. Despite the torrents pouring over it, the blade's searing heat remained undiminished, its mysterious flames defying all logic. Shrouded in the swirling veil of steam, William braced himself for the inevitable confrontation.
Aquarius appeared beside William, offering a brief nod to the young hero defending his homeland. His gaze turned hateful as he stared into the distance, sensing the presence of the Dragon his people had sealed away long ago. With a determined gesture, he thrust his royal trident toward his ancient foe.
WENG!
Water surged into the trident like an unending tidal wave, condensing into a marble-sized sphere at the weapon's tip, its size unchanged no matter how much water flowed into it. Aquarius's eyes glowed with a faint blue light as he summoned the full power of his bloodline, channeling it into a final, desperate attack to protect his home, his people, and his family.
The ocean itself trembled, and Rain turned his attention toward the Atlantean king, feeling an inexplicable pull as if his very essence was being drawn in.
"Does that trident absorb water to fuel its attacks? If so..." Rain's thoughts trailed off as he propelled himself forward, his body becoming less corporeal and taking on a liquid form. This transformation amplified his speed, allowing him to reach Aquarius in moments. The king, startled by the sudden appearance of a man seemingly made of water, was even more astonished as Rain began gesturing toward the trident. The already immense torrent of water surged further, transforming into a raging maelstrom. Aquarius's veins bulged as he strained to wield the legendary trident under the mounting pressure.
Eve wasted no time and swiftly moved to the city's defensive walls, channeling the full extent of her power to construct a massive pink barrier around the city. She meticulously reinforced its structure to the utmost degree, and when her work was complete, it formed a translucent pink dome encasing the entire city. The awe-inspiring display left civilians and soldiers alike gasping in astonishment at the remarkable sight.
Williams' veins bulged beneath his skin, throbbing with ominous intensity in his arms and neck, as he raised the colossal, flaming greatsword high above his head. His bloodshot eyes blazed with unrelenting focus as he locked his gaze on the distant horizon, where his adversary prepared to unleash its most catastrophic attack.
The overwhelming forces at work triggered violent earthquakes in the surroundings, while the dissipating clouds unveiled the full scale of their offensive and defensive preparations. The dragon's eyes momentarily widened in astonishment before reverting to their usual expression of malevolent hatred.
The ocean seemed to hold its breath.
Every ripple, current, and living creature froze, as though the abyss itself dared not disturb the impending event. Even the corrupted swarms, twisted grotesqueries of life, paused their relentless assault Atlantis' walls. Their deformed forms hung motionless in the water, captivated by the monumental forces converging before them.
Atlantis, normally teeming with the vibrant rhythm of the deep, was suffused with an oppressive silence. Soldiers on the walls gripped their spears with bloodless knuckles, their wide eyes reflecting the fiery glow of William's greatsword and the radiant energy at Aquarius' trident. Beneath Eve's shimmering protective dome, civilians huddled together, their murmured awe lost beneath the crescendo of power building around their defenders.
Steam spiraled violently around William, enveloping him in a tempest of fire and shadow. The molten gem embedded in Morrigan's hilt pulsed like a living heart, each beat sending waves of light that carved glowing trails into the surrounding water. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths, each one drawn as if it might be his last.
Standing beside him, Aquarius loomed like a vengeful deity. His trident radiated a brilliance surpassing that of sunlight piercing the ocean's surface, its marble-sized core of condensed water spinning faster and faster, emitting a vibration so intense it resonated within the bones of all nearby. Rain's essence merged seamlessly with it, his disembodied voice reverberating from the storm itself, amplifying the trident's unfathomable power.
Eve's barrier quivered, not out of frailty, but from the immense burden of repelling the ocean's unrelenting force. Her arms trembled, her complexion drained of color, yet her unwavering gaze remained fixed, unyielding, resolute, as she poured every ounce of her essence into shielding Atlantis from the surrounding tidal chaos.
And Nereuson…
The dragon's immense form dominated the abyss, its sinuous coils consuming even the faintest glimmers of light. The secondary maw within its throat yawned ravenously, churning with the remains of countless consumed souls. His horns flared with a malignant violet energy, and his cavernous jaws radiated a singularity of such overwhelming power that the very sea contorted and bent toward it.
A deep, resonant growl rumbled from his chest, darker than thunder, more piercing than an earthquake. His gaze swept methodically across his adversaries, pausing on William, Aquarius, Eve, and the shielded city behind them. Then, against all reason, the corners of his draconic maw twisted upward into a disturbingly human sneer.
The abyssal monarch spoke, his voice reverberating through the bones of every living being:
"Let the ocean bear witness… to the moment your hope is consumed whole."
For one agonizing moment, time seemed to halt.
The world hung in this suspended heartbeat, blade, trident, barrier, dragon, and a silence so acute it roared louder than any sound.
And then—
The silence shattered as Nereuson struck first. His immense jaws closed with a deafening CRACK, compressing the singularity of power within until it erupted into a beam of annihilation. The black-violet torrent tore through the abyss, vaporizing the ocean in its path, boiling water into steam, and carving a void-like tunnel as it surged directly toward Atlantis.
The sea convulsed chaotically, currents thrown into disarray as the dragon's attack distorted reality itself. The abyss blazed like a newborn star, its radiance a forewarning of total destruction.
William acted without hesitation. With a guttural roar that shredded his throat raw, he brought Morrigan down in a two-handed arc. The colossal flaming greatsword cleaved through the ocean like a blade forged from living fire. The orange gem in its hilt detonated with each pulse, its flames roaring outward until the weapon burned like a blazing continent. His strike collided with the beam head-on, sending molten sparks flying and turning the water around them into superheated storms of steam.
"HRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Aquarius followed swiftly, thrusting his trident forward with divine fury. The marble of condensed ocean energy burst free, streaking like a comet and smashing into the beam beside William's sword. It erupted into a spear of crystalline pressure, the surrounding waters condensing into diamond-hard density. This pillar of liquid crystal pressed against the dragon's annihilation with relentless force.
Rain's voice resonated through the torrent, his watery essence entwined with the strike. "You will NOT consume us!" His form rippled and merged with the attack, amplifying its power as if the ocean itself had joined the battle alongside Aquarius.
The ocean did not merely tremble before it shattered.
The collision erupted in a blinding CATA-BOOOOOM, unleashing a shockwave that obliterated corrupted leviathans into fragments and tore trenches wider than towering mountains. The impact etched a rift of brilliance through the abyss, a raw scar of destruction where the dragon's corruption and the heroes' defiance clashed in an unyielding stalemate.
Water roared to a boil. Magma surged violently. The barrier of Atlantis screamed under the strain, fracturing like shattering glass against the force.
At the heart of the chaos, William's knuckles split and bled as they clenched Morrigan's hilt. Aquarius' body convulsed under the strain of channeling every ounce of his power into the trident. Eve's eyes wept crimson tears as she forced her constructs to endure. Rain's voice wavered but refused to break, his liquid form disintegrating as he channeled every fragment of himself into the strike.
And still, Nereuson roared defiantly, his voice reverberating across the ocean like the laughter of a god immune to defeat.
"YOU CANNOT STAND AGAINST A GOD!"
The abyss burned brighter, as though the sea itself was on the verge of ignition.
The clash raged on, but it was far from balanced.
The black-violet annihilation beam did not simply endure, it advanced. Bit by bit, Nereuson's relentless torrent consumed their combined strength. Morrigan's flames faltered at the edges, smothered by the dragon's abyssal corruption. The crystalline pillar summoned by Aquarius began to splinter, fractures spreading like a spiderweb as the ocean itself groaned under the immense pressure.
William's arms trembled violently, tendons on the verge of snapping. His vision blurred crimson as blood poured from his eyes and nose, tracing molten streaks down his face. He leaned into the overwhelming force, every muscle shredding, veins bulging like taut cords, yet his greatsword still slid backward against the current.
"Hold...!" Aquarius gasped, his voice lost amid the deafening roar of clashing energies. His body convulsed as the trident quaked in his grip, threatening to pulverize his very bones. The royal bloodline's power coursed through him like liquid fire, each heartbeat an explosion. He could hear the voices of his ancestors screaming, not in triumph, but in dire warning.
Rain's form began to unravel, parts of his body dissipating into vapor. He fought to maintain cohesion, but the corruption gnawed at him, eating away his essence. Every moment within the fray felt like being submerged in acid. "He's… tearing us apart...!"
And Eve, her barrier was beginning to fracture.
They were being consumed.
The abyss howled as if the weight of all creation collapsed into a singular point of unbearable pressure. Their united assault, flames, crystal, water, and radiant light, was no longer an offensive force but a fragile barrier, barely withstanding the relentless storm. Each moment they held their ground, the line faltered, inching backward.
William's knuckles split open around Morrigan's hilt, hot blood trickling over the sword's obsidian guard. The gem at its pommel pulsed erratically, mimicking the rhythm of a dying heartbeat. With a feral roar, he leaned forward, yet the once-mighty flames erupting from the blade now sputtered weakly. Each flicker of fire was devoured by the dragon's corruption before it could extend even a few feet. His body screamed for rest, but he forced himself onward, driven by sheer determination.
Aquarius was in no better condition. The trident resonated with unstable vibrations, each ripple surging up his arms until his bones felt as if they might shatter. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths, his veins faintly glowing under the strain of his inherited power. Echoes of Atlantean kings reverberated in his mind, their voices heavy with sorrow and reproach. You are the last to bear this burden, and like the others, you will fail. He snarled, defying the spectral accusations, but his knees buckled, his foot sliding in the sand as he struggled to remain upright.
Rain's form deteriorated, streams of his essence ripped away and drawn into the maelstrom, where they vanished upon contact with the dragon's overwhelming power. The process was agonizing, like being ground down piece by piece. His jaw clenched as he summoned what little strength he had left, forcing himself to regenerate. What remained of his body coalesced into a watery shield around Aquarius, absorbing some of the destructive backlash. Though it offered some reprieve, the effort took a devastating toll, Rain was visibly diminished, his frame gaunt and hollow-eyed.
Eve was deteriorating the fastest. Her constructs disintegrated more rapidly than she could restore them, fractures spreading like spiderwebs through her defenses until every attempt to summon more left her coughing blood. Yet, she kept her hands outstretched, screaming in defiance as she unleashed another burst of pink light into the torrent, even as her body trembled under the strain.
The ocean floor heaved violently. Stone pillars fractured and collapsed, plunging into yawning chasms as though the planet itself buckled beneath the immense forces clashing here. Sluggish, sludge-like currents pounded against the remnants of the Atlantean army, scattering them like insects before a tidal surge. The civilians behind the barrier pressed closer together, their hope fading as terror widened their eyes, watching their champions being consumed.
The balance had crumbled.
Nereuson's second maw stretched open even farther, doubling the beam's width. The abyssal light grew intolerably bright, obliterating all else in its overwhelming glow. The dragon's laughter resonated as a vibration rather than sound, shaking bones and rattling minds. This is inevitability, his presence boomed. "Your resistance feeds me. Struggle harder, bleed longer; every moment nourishes me."
William's strength failed, his arms collapsing as his sword drooped under the beam's crushing force. Aquarius screamed, channeling the last of his energy into the trident. Rain clung to him, barely maintaining form. Eve dropped to one knee, her light reduced to flickering embers.
The line was disintegrating.
And then—
A sharp, deliberate click echoed directly into Aquarius and Rain's ears, cutting through the chaos. A cold, clinical voice followed, steady and unmistakable:
"Target locked."
Through the haze of destruction, their eyes widened.
"Let's bring the hammer down."
[AN - Imagine Slifer the sky dragon when it comes to the double maw!]