The people of Valkara hurried along the path to safety. Every now and then, the wails of children echoed into the night, a testament to the horror that dwelled within the heart of man. Odin had hurled himself across the Archipelago to face an abominable creature, and although none could witness the carnage of the battle, its impact was felt across the entire sea.

  The ground quaked every two heartbeats, and the walls of water trembled as though they would come crashing down at any moment.

  A lot of people refused to go on. They fell to their knees, kissing the floor and confessing their sins in the hopes of a less painful death.

  “Don’t ye stop, not for nothin’!” A haggard pirate bellowed. “Here ain't where we fall!”

  No sooner had he spoken did a saw-toothed creature leap from one of the walls of water to bite his head clean off.

  The pirate's body fell to the ground with a thud.

  “Ah, we're doomed!” A woman burst into tears, the instant that blood splattered across her face.

  The creature that resembled an amalgamation of a giant eel and a hawk lunged for the woman, but was split in half with a swift sword slash.

  The unknown swordsman sheathed his weapon and cried out, “Bloody wretches! He said don’t stop, damn ye!”

  “Move yer legs! Follow Four-Eyed Iago clear till the end!”

  ..

  At the forefront of the mass, a lone green flame flickered in the darkness. Iago’s thin hands wound tightly around the strange torch as he took slow steps forward.

  I'm tremblin’...

  He walked on.

  I'm scared.

  In front of him, there was nothing but darkness that threatened to consume everything he held dear. Behind him, tens of thousands followed with heaviness in their hearts.

  And to his sides, the walls of water only rose higher and higher, so much so that it blotted out the moon completely. The enchanted flame wouldn't be snuffed out, no matter how violent the wind. Still, it did nothing to temper the trembling in his bones.

  Rather, all it did was illuminate the figure ahead.

  Iago squinted his eyes.

  There was a large rock barring the path, and on it sat a graceful feminine figure in a transparent gown. Her body was nothing to be scoffed at, yet what grabbed the most attention was the deep melancholy of her face.

  She looked like the most sorrowful creature in the entire world.

  Iago’s heart skipped a beat.

  “No…” He stumbled backward, but a little boy's hand supported him.

  “Mister, what is that?” The boy pointed towards the lady on the rock.

  Iago glanced at the mother and child behind him. His expression immediately broke into a regretful grimace.

  It's her… I've ta run! We're all going to die!

  However, seeing the boy's childish gaze, Iago quickly realized he could not back down here. His head was screaming at him to bolt—to leave everyone behind and save his own skin—but his entire being begged otherwise.

  “Oh, Mother Goddess…” He shut his eyes in prayer, “Who be it that’s tryin’ so wickedly to destroy us?”

  With cold air escaping his mouth, Iago carefully lowered the torch and raised his fists. It was foolish to think he could last a fleeting moment against this mournful adversary, yet he stood firm, for he would not give up his role until his last breath was drawn.

  A hand rested gently on his shoulder then.

  “Blessed art thou who lays down his life for another.”

  Iago turned his head to look, his eyes widening to see the only other person in the Tempest Sea on par with the Stormbringer. Perhaps even stronger.

  The star who fell from the heavens, and into the depths; Saturn Of The Deep.

  She said to him, “You did well by not abandoning them. I'll take it from here.”

  Iago’s lips trembled, and tears fell down his face. He had not cried because help was here. Rather, he sobbed to scorn his weak resolve.

  For when it came down to it, Four-eyed Iago was unwilling to lose his life.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Saturn stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she gauged the opponent.

  The Wailing Woman... She thought.

  This being—creature—was one of the handful true oddities of this world. She was neither a spirit creature, nor a mythical existence. Still, her powers veered completely from what scholars of age had set forth. She wasn't a Graced, and she did not belong to any Ascent either.

  Almost as if she fell from a distant place, somehow finding herself in the realm of Bia-Bi-Ye.

  Saturn slowly took off her red coat, revealing thin white straps of cloth that bound her chest. On her lower back was a remarkable tattoo of a bleeding eye. As she walked forward, she had a thought:

  If this abomination dares to wail, the thousands behind me will all die. I have to seal off our battle.

  Then, without warning, she shot forward, hand folded in a fist.

  To the eyes of many, it seemed like the sun itself had descended to the battlefield, as golden light poured from the point of impact.

  A deafening crack shook the giant walls of water, knocking hundreds off their feet.

  Saturn withdrew her fist, her eyes locked on the Wailing Woman, who had used a single palm to withstand the force of the blow. However, the sheer force had blown the rock apart, and the Wailing Woman was forced to stand upright.

  Her melancholic eyes flashed with sorrow as she glanced around, seemingly in search of something. Failing to find whatever it was, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

  It's coming! Saturn's expression turned grim. The golden light that poured from her figure rapidly assumed a tangible texture to form a giant cube around both of them.

  At the same time, the Wailing Woman parted her lips, and out came a sound so profane, it shouldn't exist in this world or any other.

  Saturn Of The Deep clamped down with her teeth as she powered through the wail that threatened to rip apart her very being. It was both a blatant physical force and conceptual mar, forcing the Radiant Paragon to bend a knee, sustaining damage to her body, mind and spirit.

  It was an attack that could not be defended against.

  The golden cube trembled violently, struggling to contain the sheer force of the unsettling noise.

  “How annoying,” Saturn exhaled when the terrible wail finally ceased. She spat out a mouthful of blood and glanced behind.

  Seeing the mass alive and well—albeit afraid—she grinned.

  “You can't use that awful scream repeatedly, right? From here on out, I'll pummel that sorrow out of you.”

  The Wailing Woman's expression didn't change a shade. With that same penitent gaze, she sprang forward, and thus began a contest of physicality.

  …

  At the borders of the Archipelago, another terrible battle was unfolding.

  Odin's physical composition was almost completely gone, replaced with deep streaks of lightning. His hand that held a gleaming trident thrust forward, hurling giant ice spikes towards the sky-blotting adversary.

  The Obinimi roared, and from its depths came a pure beam of Essence which reduced the spikes to flickering gems.

  Then, the giant creature swung its tail. The air trembled with a vicious cry as the clouds overhead split apart, revealing swirling bolts of lightning that rained down on Odin.

  The Paragon wove around the devastating blue forest. He halted a good distance away from the Obinimi and flicked his fingers. A myriad of near-invisible lines shot out to cleave the creature, however meeting resistance due to its reinforced scales. All they managed to do was leave a few scratches.

  Odin dodged another lightning strike from above. Despite the fact that he also lorded over the same domain, he made good care to have none of those bolts so much as graze his skin. And that was because of the insidious trait of entities on the level of Paragons and beyond.

  Every strike, be it physical or conceptual, contained fragments of their Essence. Accumulating another Paragon’s Essence imprint on your shell, mind or spirit was tantamount to claiming a loss.

  However, there were ways to rid oneself of another's Essence, and it was especially easy for Radiants, as they could manipulate all forms of energy. Essence, ultimately, was energy. God and man’s energy.

  That was why figures like Saturn could battle more recklessly, as they could directly expel the opponent's Essence from their being.

  As for other Paragons, they had to use a more troublesome method. And that was to actively control every drop of their Essence to repel that of the opponent's. In other words, while a contest of raw power was ongoing, another silent battle was taking place in an unseen world.

  Beneath the gathering clouds, the Obinimi's jaw opened up to devour the Stormbringer. Compared to the vast maw of the terrible creature, Odin appeared like a single speck of dust. However, that speck of dust soon shed its human form completely.

  In a single heartbeat, Odin's skin broke apart and gave way to an amalgamation of calamities.

  A giant hand birthed from ice grabbed the Obinimi's upper jaw at the most crucial moment, weighing it down with cruel force. Then, another giant hand born from lightning wedged itself deep in the creature’s throat, before releasing a blue sphere that ruptured without delay.

  With a boom, the Obinimi's head erupted in a vicious display of flesh, blood and dark essence.

  Odin, whose colossal figure was now a mix of hail, hurricanes, and lightning, reached forward to deal another brutal blow. However, the sea below warped in that instant, growing into a whirlpool that violently dragged the Paragon into the depths.

  While the Obinimi was growing a head anew, Odin was being assaulted by an unknown force. He was pulled further below as strange holes began to spawn on his calamitous form.

  What in the bloody abyss is this?! A Spirit being? Odin's icy left hand was instantly devoured by a starving gyre.

  He let out an inhumane roar that made the sea boil all around him. Then, his hand forged from lightning shot downwards, illuminating the depths.

  Down there, hidden in blackness, was a strange entity in the form of a giant totem. The totem was that of a face, with a wide open mouth and downturned eyes. Tiny hands grabbed at the mouth from multiple corners, trying to expand it even further.

  And from that gaping mouth, another gyre shot out, aimed at the Paragon.

  The Spirit of Greed… Odin sneered. Now that he had found the source of the strange ability, he wasn't too worried anymore.

  He ignored the swirling holes that hungrily ate at his form, instead gathering Essence on his tightly wound fist. The lightning arm crackled even more fiercely, seemingly charging up the entire sea.

  Then, he swung. “Begone.”

  The Spirit of Greed assumed an incorporeal form to evade the blow, yet, it still encountered a destructive force that blew its very existence to naught.

  Bubbles rose to the surface in a wave of extreme heat, and the face of the dark film welcomed scalding mist.

  It did not matter if a creature possessed no physical form. Essence was both tangible and conceptual. In the hands of a Paragon, even physical blows could transcend states to strike the very meaning of a target's existence.

  They just had to have the unyielding will and might to do so.

  That was why, despite how powerful Luminaries were, the gap between them and Paragons was like heaven and realm. It could never be bridged by mere skill.

  After ending the Spirit of Greed, Odin swam back to the surface. When he emerged from the water, he was welcomed with a fierce beam of pure Essence.

  Odin’s figure burst apart just in time, evading the attack, and re-emerging above the King of Leviathans. He wore a giant shell of ice now.

  “How many heads do you have left? I reckon six?” Odin threw in a taunt.

  The Obinimi turned its gigantic head. Its eyes flickered with a certain emotion, and a strange silence ruled the night then.

  The Stormbringer’s eyes narrowed.

  Ah, looks like I've pissed off the bastard. It must be gearing up for more devastating attacks now. I should start preparing to use my Deviation too…

  Actually, I cannot understand why I did not go all out from the very start. That damn Saturn. She's rubbed off on me. I've begun to brute force my way through problems.

  He chuckled. “Perhaps that is the proper way to do battle. No tricks. No fancy gimmicks. Just raw power!”

  With that, he charged at the creature once more.

  And when he did, the Obnimi strangely grinned.

  From behind its colossal form, wriggling tentacles burst forth to grab the Paragon.

  Odin frowned, immediately changing his course. However, despite having turned, he found himself still heading straight for the giant serpent.

  “What the…”

  Before he could fully understand what was happening, the tentacles latched onto his body, preventing him from moving or so much as rearranging his current form.

  Held in that position, he was completely susceptible to the Obinimi's magic.

  The King of Serpents wasted not a single moment. It veered downwards with great force, its abysmal maw widening ominously. With a shrill hiss, it sank its jagged teeth into Odin's icy figure.

  “Argh, bastard!” The Paragon let out a spiteful curse.

  His back caved in, and web-like cracks ran along his frame.

  Still unable to move, Odin could only be thrashed around by the colossal Serpent. He was struck again and again with the creature’s gigantic tail, until his body began to chip off bit by bit.

  Except, it wasn't simply his shell that was unraveling. His spirit was also constantly being assaulted by the Obinimi's Essence.

  From behind the vast serpentine mass, another giant creature finally revealed itself. It was a humongous squid that had twelve eyes and multiple tentacles which seemed to fold the very frame of reality.

  Odin's eyes flashed with hatred.

  “Genod!”

  The second most powerful Leviathan in the Seven Seas had joined the fray. Both creatures lashed at the Paragon of Storms, poised to end his reign once and for all.

  Odin gnashed his teeth.

  You fucking monsters… I have a friend of my own…

  He opened his mouth, and he screamed:

  “RAINMAKER!!”