Call of Poseidon

This job now involved two things Vandrad greatly disliked; boat rides and a snake.

It was a wonder that he had agreed to take the job in the first place. He had known pretty much from the beginning that he would be forced to take a boat to Ca-Elum – it was just a bit too far of a flight for him to properly make it across the water without falling in. And frankly, it was assumed that taking the full three trip there, completing the job and then taking three days back was a sort of… vacation for himself and Mercury. Ever since their second venture in the Silent Glaciers, his demand that she be his training partner had been accepted and experienced. Every other day she arrived to Fairy Tail, ready to throw hands with him in the name of training. But constant training, even for him, did get dull without a little outside adventure. So when he’d found a job that promised a thrilling challenge, he had accepted it on both their behalves.

And for the most part, it had started out well. Vandrad was surly from the moment he stepped on the boat but no more than usual. He didn’t pretend to hide his feelings and chose to spend a lot of his time meditating or likewise distracting himself from the rocking waves. The first day had passed by without incident and the second one had been on its way to the same result when everything had changed. From the depths of the ocean emerged an absolutely gargantuan sea serpent, blessed with a size that would put a full bay city on high alert, let alone a small ship like theirs. With it came a storm of epic and tumultuous proportions, bringing heavy rain, thunder and lightning and wind that threatened to blow the ship right out of the ocean.

Of course a giant beast like this was unusual but to the two wizards, not an unwelcome challenge. While Vandrad held absolutely no love in his heart for snakes of any size or make, that simply made his desire to burn the monster to a crisp surge higher than usual. But as they started to work their way into the battle, it very quickly became obvious that this creature was not something they could just push aside. Its strength was unrivaled against other enemies and the ferocity in which it hunted them and the ship was tremendously terrifying. This wasn’t a battle to test themselves anymore – they were truly fighting to stay alive against a beast that wanted nothing more than to sink the ship and consume it beneath the waves.

Vandrad soared over the swell of a massive wave, his form glowing in its full golden light as he dipped over the ridge of the water and surged downwards. His magic wrapped around him and thrust him faster through the air, utilizing the wind in an attempt to add speed to his strength. He growled as he came upon the side of the monster, his arm pulling back and getting in position before he hit. The punch that launched itself forward seemed to echo with thunderous vibrancy, though that was probably just the natural rumble that had rolled through the clouds above. He’d expected to feel, see and hear the creature react to the attack, its entire body rolling through the ocean from the strength of his punch. But as he pulled his arm back, all he saw was… a dent. He had merely dented one of the scales he had smashed his limb into and it was such a small depression that it wasn’t even worth mentioning.

He snarled and snapped his arm out, sending a blast at the crater in frustration. He was not surprised that the result was barely even a scorch mark. As he pulled himself away from the creature, arcing up into the torrential sky, the bud in his ear crackled to life with the sound of Mercury’s voice, hoping that he had managed to find somewhere to hit it. "If I had done so, it would already be dead,” he yelled loud enough to be heard over the roar of thunder above. He turned his body back and dove downwards towards the monster once more, his aura flaring up higher as he used gravity to aid in his next attack.

But this time the creature saw the glow coming towards it. It roared and swiveled its body around, its massive tail coming around towards him. It came at Vandrad at such an angle that he had no way to escape it, so instead he turned his body and charged right at it, throwing his legs out in hopes of dropkicking the fin. Instead, he hit it and was immediately sent flying backwards as the creature’s might easily outmatched the Prince’s.

Vandrad spun wildly but managed to flare his energy enough to balance out, though he’d been knocked nearly fifty yards away from the creature. "As much as I dislike the idea, its eyes may be a place to focus on. Though I’m not keen on getting near its teeth.”

Vandrad was always up for a little danger but this was ludicrous. This monstrosity was beyond the measure that they would properly get a handle on and no matter what they did, it didn’t seem to work. The Prince of Bellum had brought down entire buildings with physical punches before and yet this serpent was barely even having its scales dented. And Mercury seemed to be having just as much trouble as he was; so blunt and piercing attacks weren’t going to cut it then. It’s bulk was just too thick, which made for a very dangerous situation. If they couldn’t find somewhere to hit it, it would easily overwhelm them.

Mercury chirped over the ear bud, lamenting the fact that if the eyes weren’t its weak point, then down its throat was their only option. He growled in annoyance as he swung his body around to soar towards the front of the monster. She was right through; creatures with this impregnability on the outside had specifically adapted to protect a soft, weaker coating inside. Of course that meant one or both of them would need to dive down into its body and attack there. It was certainly not an ideal situation; causing damage to the body from the inside could create complications very fast. The serpent’s body could contort in agony and trap them as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Worse was that it could jerk around and knock them out, essentially signing their death warrants.

Another voice chimed in as he made his way, the sound of the captain’s frantic cries blazing in his ear. It took a moment to find the ship, as it was barely staying on the surface of the water. The mages on board were doing their absolute best to keep the vessel from sinking beneath the waves but the swells were getting worse. And if the serpent turned its attention away from them and focused back on the ship… it was game over. Mercury roared over the speaker, ordering him to take the eyes while she went to take care of the ship. "Don’t let me have all the fun,” he called back in a sarcastic tone, though still agreeing to the plan. It would probably be days after this that Vandrad realized how easily he had taken a command from her and rolled with it. Ironic, considering how against almost anything she said he was usually.

He swung around the front of the serpent, his glowing form catching its attention instantly. Magic flowed into his hands and he began to pump his arms forward like pistons, unleashing blasts of compressed magic right into its face. The creature roared as its vision was taken up in fire and smoke, temporarily paused by the pesky attacks hitting it. Vandrad continued to throw spells at it, repeating the process over and over to keep up the distraction. But the serpent began to push forward, its immense size rushing at him with an open mouth ready to swallow him whole. Even through the smoke he could see that his blasts had barely done anything, the monster’s eyes fixated on him clearly.

He shot out of the way of the creature’s maw, putting some distance between him and it. But it swung its head around at him and roared. This wasn’t the normal screech of an agitated creature though; there was intense wind magic laced within the bellow that quickly caught up to the Prince of Bellum. It smashed into him with such force that his body bent awkwardly, like he’d been struck in the spine and wrapped around the impacting object. His armor shattered into thousands of pieces and his jumpsuit was torn to shreds as the wind ripped through it, leaving the back half of his body bare, bruised and bleeding. Vandrad was sent flying into the sky, spinning wildly like a leaf caught in a hurricane. And as he came off the hump of the roar, he fell down from the sky, his body limp and dangling. It wasn’t until he struck the water and disappeared beneath the waves that he had any sense of feeling.

The pain was extraordinary – the worst he had ever felt. His entire body had shut down and slowly the surface of the water was beginning to fade farther away. His Empowerment flickered and then faded away, casting him completely into the darkness. Internally, he fought against the impending defeat. He’d come this far in life, fought against numerous perils and challenges, and it was an overgrown sea snake that had managed to bring him down. The very idea infuriated him, an emotion that wasn’t alien to the man but felt different this time. It was a fury that seemed to resonate from a different place – a place that refused to be defeated. It took him a second of introspection to recognize the feeling, burning red hot in its unwillingness to die. This is what had overtaken him in Desierto, what he had only managed to touch upon on other occasions without taking it fully in hand. It hadn’t been his rage at Mercury at all – that’s why he’d never been able to replicate it.

It had come from within him. A resistance to defeat. The willpower to look death in the face and spit on it.

He took hold of the rage and let it consume him, embracing the emotion with full consciousness and awareness. His body ignited in crimson red flames as his hair and eyes quickly were overwhelmed with the same color. His Empowerment had ascended finally to this new level once again and already the energy he was drawing in worked to repair him. His body came to life and with a bubbling grunt, he surged up through the water and back into the air. His eyes snapped to the creature, its attention now on the ship. But Mercury had followed through on her plan – she had erected massive walls of metal to act as a corral for the ship. And within it, engines that churned the air and sent their ship through the sea at an alarming rate. In spite of the situation, he couldn’t help the small smirk that tugged on his lips.

But the serpent was moving to catch up. Vandrad’s aura melted into his arm and he fueled even more magic into it as he launched himself forward, swiftly closing the distance between himself and the monster. He followed alongside it, his limb vibrating and shimmering from the amount of magic he had compressed within it. As he came along the side of its face, he suddenly jerked himself towards it and rushed in with the empowered punch. And this time, the attack caused the serpent’s head to snap to the side, the thunderous sound of the impact silencing the heavens for a brief moment as the monster was suddenly knocked off course. Its entire body slowed to a stop as a growl rumbled out of its mouth. Vandrad swung himself around in front of it, placing himself between the monster and the boat. Slowly the creature brought its head around, the impact zone full of broken scales and drooling dark blue blood. An injury… but still far less than he had hoped for.

The serpent roared again, now even angrier than before. This time it wasn’t wind that hit Vandrad but pure lightning. He brought up his arms to form magical shielding over but the impact was too strong. The protective film shattered and the Prince of Bellum was once again sent spiraling through the air, his body crackling with electricity that was not its own. Out of nowhere came Vandrad, tearing through the three sails before slamming into the aft of the ship. His impact dented the wood with such force that it was a wonder he didn’t just drive right through the vessel itself.

Groaning, he forced himself out of the wooden crater and back to his feet. Blood was pouring from several different wounds all over his body, a fresh cut on his forehead that coated half of his face in plasma. He growled as he raised his crimson gaze back and saw the serpent, enraged, swimming quickly after them. They were several miles away but that was nothing for a creature of its size. It would be on them in minutes, if that. He cycled his magic and launched himself into the air again, heading back towards the monster. "The eyes are a no-go. It looks like we’re aiming down its throat. I have something that might work but I need time to charge it up.” He hated having to admit that he needed time but it was not an easy spell. It would almost completely drain him.

He swung himself away from the serpent slightly, loosing a blast at its face to keep its attention on him rather than the boat. It roared and adjusted itself to be swimming towards him, buying the boat precious time to get away. The Prince came up near Mercury, enough that he could see her collapsed on her disk. "You’ll have to distract it. Are you up to the task?”

Vandrad was venturing into unknown territory. This new form was still fresh enough but now he was already focusing onto an entirely new spell. Back in Desierto, he had summoned forth a wall of destructive magic that had reduced the fighting pits to ash. It had been magic he hadn’t even thought about – something that had formed almost instinctively. He wasn’t entirely sure how well such an attack would work on this creature’s outside but perhaps, if he focused the attack into a compressed orb, he would send it flying into the creature’s gullet and explode it from the inside. But he would have to focus on it; compiling a spell out of nowhere was a bold strategy no matter what but with the high volume of explosive energy he was going to pushing together, he didn’t want to accidentally blow himself or Mercury up.

So that meant she had to serve as a distraction. They were essentially swapping roles, albeit with the protection of the ship now satisfied. He’d glanced at her to ensure she was ready for this because based on how she looked, she wasn’t. She had worn herself dry and was stumbling up to her feet, a bad gust of wind away from toppling over her own device. But she insisted that she could handle it – in fact, she sounded almost thirsty for it. Her tone inferred just how maniacal she seemed at the time and it even give Vandrad pause, staring at her even as she descended upon the beast. But he didn’t have time to sit there and gawk. His right hand snapped out and held itself forward, his palm and fingers flat as they faced outward. Digging deep into his core, magic surged through his veins and out towards the limb. A light blue ball formed in the center of his outstretched palm, swirling softly at first as it started to grow. More and more energy continued to pool into the orb, getting bigger with every passing moment and every ounce of magic he funneled inside.

As he focused, he kept his attention on the Silver Wolf mage. She charged right at the monster, sending volleys of grenades at the spot he had already injured. The full strength of her magic was on display now; the blasts that exploded against the serpent’s face far outdid the size of the previous grenades she had used prior. A sure sign that up until this point, she had carefully kept her use of magic to a moderate pace at best. She mocked the creature, screaming at it and blasting it to draw its attention fully on her. And it succeeded; the growl and fervid look in its eyes said just how much it wanted to crush the pest that was attacking it now. The creature began to summon forth another roar of magic and Mercury seemed to be keen on staying right in its line of sight.

"I said distract it, not get yourself k—“ he hissed between clenched teeth quietly. It was right before she practically whispered into the mic, demanding the creature hit her with everything it had. Whatever plan she had, it came to fruition. The monster’s lips sprang open and its roar shook the air as lightning burst out from its core. It struck Mercury dead on, enveloping her in a globe of lightning that completely hid her from sight. But as the Prince of Bellum watched, the orb began to shrink into her, its energy passing down into her core. And then with a bellow of her own, her entire body was wrapped in a black-purple hue and her own form of lightning crackled in the air around her as her form hardened with metal

A slayer then. Vandrad had worked with enough of them to know when he was watching a slayer at work. He’d had his suspicions for awhile but it honestly seemed like she switched between multiple magics. It was possible that was the case but no doubt, she was some kind of slayer. She moved and in the air before her appeared large, robotic arms that had materialized from her magic. With the massive phantom limbs now granting her a means of battering the serpent on equal grounds, it looked as if she had gained a temporary foothold. But her boost in power wouldn’t last for long. These things had a time limit and he doubted she would possess enough strength to throttle the creature to fully die. He’d honestly be amazed if the combination of both their powers would be enough.

The blast in his hand was becoming volatile, the entire limb holding it shaking violently. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand to steady himself, as magic continued to pour into the blast. Even he had to admit that he was intimidated by the feeling of it. One false move, one lost moment of focus and he would most likely be utterly vaporized by the chain reaction. His eyes shifted over to the ball so that he could keep his attention there, the moments leading up to its completion now more important. He could hear her through the headset either as she roared and growled and hissed like a wild animal, bludgeoning the beast as best she could. It was when she demanded that it keep its mouth wide that he finally looked away, noticing the phantom hands grabbing the creature’s jaw and wrenching it open.

Right as the tail came around to smash into her, devastating both the Silver Wolf wizard and her device, Vandrad felt the harmonious semblance that verified the charge’s completion. His aura shot to life as he rushed down towards the mouth, stopping drastically as he took aim at the open maw. His eyes snapped to Mercury, falling down towards the sea, for only a brief moment before he loosed the blast. The effort of doing so knocked him backwards, his magic having to quickly right him. Down the ball went, the bright orb falling towards the earth. It passed by the lips of the creature just as Mercury hit the water and the magic hands diminished. The serpent roared and clamped its mouth shut.

Then all hell broke loose. The explosion was unlike anything he’d ever felt or seen before. The shockwave slammed into him with such force that his magic went haywire and he was tossed through the air like a ragdoll. He did the best course correcting he could, giving himself enough of a view of the mushroom cloud that now enveloped the entirety of the area the serpent had taken up. But his thoughts weren’t on the creature now. No, his aura flared up around him as he dove down towards the ocean, bursting under the water swiftly to find the wayward Mercury. At first all he saw was pitch darkness, his head swiveling around to catch some sight of her. But then a soft glow, barely outlining the female form floating deep in the darkened sea. He flew through the water towards her, even as the glow began to fade. He reached out and pulled her to him, taking her body in his arms as he then rocketed to the surface.

The storm that had been raging all around them had warped around the mushroom cloud, seemingly being sucked into the vortex of Vandrad’s lingering energy. The Prince of Bellum soared across the surface of the sea towards the boat, needing a solid surface to get her down on. As soon as he reached the back of the galleon, he set her down on the private porch that ran along the back of the captain’s cabin. He fell to his knees and let her down, looking her unconscious form over. How many minutes had passed since she hit the water? It didn’t matter.

He reached up and pulled open her mouth. He inhaled deeply and pinched her nose before putting his mouth on hers, delivering air down into her esophagus. Then he pulled back and reached down, placing his hand on her chest. Locating the prime spot, remembering his training from the military, he formed his hand into a fist and gave her a firm hit before starting compressions. All the while he stared into her face, waiting and hoping…