Uncharted Domain. The Abyssal Depths.
Unlike the storm-choked, sunless surface, this unfamiliar stretch of the deep ocean was illuminated by millions of luminescent jellyfish, scattering light like a galaxy of stars. It looked like a breathtaking dreamscape.
At the edge of this dreamscape lood a massive, dormant underwater volcano. Nestled directly within its crater was a glittering, sunken tropolis.
This was one of the primary strongholds of the Sea Folk demigod, Kuray. Since the bastard was hiding, Orion, Leonidas, and Kraken had decided to start here, tear the place apart, and smoke him out.
"What a gorgeous city. Sha it's about to be reduced to rubble," Leonidas sighed, staring at the tropolis protected by a massive, water-repelling ward. He put on a horribly unconvincing display of reluctance. "If they had just handed this place over to Squiddy as reparations, think of all the ti and resources we would have saved."
Dropping the fake pity, Leonidas flashed a vicious, bloodthirsty grin. "Squiddy, you're up. That scaled freak tried to orchestrate your murder. You need to send a proper thank-you gift."
"Boss, my thoughts exactly."
Orion said nothing, silently endorsing the impending slaughter.
Kraken blurred, shifting into his true leviathan form—a colossal octopus. His massive tentacles uncoiled, whipping through the water with terrifying, earth-shattering force. Instantly, his movents churned the abyss, sending a violent torrent of bubbles racing toward the surface.
BOOM!
A deafening thud echoed across the ocean floor as Kraken latched his enormous body onto the city's defensive do. His tentacles hamred relentlessly against the magical barrier, fracturing the ward.
"Who dares assault the palace of my Lord?!"
Kraken's violent assault imdiately roused the High Lord guarding the city. A furious roar erupted from within the do as a Triton High Lord rode a surging water current out from the city center.
He was pitch-black from head to tail. His corded muscles and scales glead with a dark, tallic sheen, and razor-sharp fins protruded from his back and elbows. He had a humanoid face, but his webbed hands lacked distinct fingers, ending instead in vicious bone-hooks. From the waist down, he possessed the powerful tail of a deep-sea predator.
This wasn't a common Fishman, nor was it a standard rfolk. This was a Black Triton—a brutally aggressive and incredibly rare offshoot of the deep trenches, infamous for their feral ferocity and deep-seated vulnerability to blinding light and arcane fire.
"Well, look at that! A rare Black Triton!" Leonidas, well-versed in oceanic lore, imdiately recognized the creature's lineage. "I've heard that the oil rendered from Triton fat is incredibly fragrant. It burns exceptionally well—perfect for fueling eternal flas."
Leonidas was practically vibrating with excitent before Kraken even had a chance to react. "Squiddy, process him nicely for ! I'm going to use his blubber to light my sunken palace back in the World of Eldoria."
Orion watched impassively. His divine senses confird that the Black Triton was rely a mid-tier High Lord. Against a monster like Kraken—a leviathan brimming with hidden trump cards—the Triton didn't stand a chance.
"Brother," Leonidas nudged Orion, "once Squiddy boils him down, I'll split the oil with you. Fair share for the audience."
Orion simply nodded. The Black Triton was just an appetizer. The real catch they were trawling for was Kuray.
And with that, Kraken went to work. On his own, the colossal octopus wouldn't have been able to breach the city's ward, as it was woven from Kuray's own divine power. But after Leonidas covertly struck the barrier's weak point, the ward shattered. Kraken flooded into the city, violently clashing with the Black Triton.
As the two High Lords collided, the terrified Sea Folk citizens scrambled to evacuate the dood city.
Every single one of them failed.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Orion erected a new, impenetrable do of divine power, sealing the city tight and cutting off any hope of escape. They were here to use the city's wealth and its inhabitants as bait to force Kuray's hand. Letting the hostages flee defeated the purpose entirely.
"Now that's fair!" Leonidas laughed. "Kuray tries to murder Squiddy, so Squiddy gets to butcher his congregation. An eye for an eye."
Leonidas and Orion hovered outside the barrier like two aloof, rciless gods, utterly unmoved by the one-sided slaughter unfolding below. Kraken was Leonidas's protégé, and Leonidas was fiercely protective of his own.
"The commotion isn't loud enough."
Just as Leonidas was proudly critiquing Kraken's massacre, Orion's cold voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"Brother? What are you getting at?"
"Simply intimidating Kuray isn't enough. We need to send a ssage to the rest of them," Orion replied. He spoke with glacial detachnt, completely indifferent to the lives below.
Leonidas looked down at the sprawling underwater tropolis, deep in thought. A mont later, his eyes lit up, and he turned to Orion with a wicked glint. "Just wait, brother. Watch put on a real show for you."
Leonidas extended his hand, and a sphere of pitch-black fire blood in his palm.
"The Eternal Fla," Orion noted. He recognized that dark fire instantly; it was drawn straight from Minor Hell—a fire of pure death and ash.
"It's excellent for forging weapons," Leonidas grinned. "Before you descended to this realm, I was worried Arthas wouldn't be able to hold the Ever-Burning Volcano, so I siphoned off a core of its fire. This entire city is built squarely inside a dormant volcano. If I use this fla to jump-start the core... what do you think is going to happen?"
Leonidas laughed, the sound utterly demonic.
"I look forward to finding out," Orion said.
His quiet approval was like a shot of adrenaline, thrilling Leonidas to the bone. "I'll be right back!"
Leonidas blurred into a draconic phantom, slicing through the water and plunging directly into the earth, rocketing straight down the volcano's dormant shaft.
Seconds later, the seabed shuddered violently. The already churning waters began to boil. Thick, choking plus of ash and smoke erupted from the crater, entirely enveloping the sunken city.
Simultaneously, the bedrock beneath the city splintered. Fissures tore open the seafloor, spewing geysers of dark crimson magma directly into the elegant streets. It was as if soone had just lit a powder keg.
The mont the superheated magma hit the ocean water, the violent reaction was catastrophic. A deafening, apocalyptic hiss tore through the deep. The water instantly flash-boiled, generating colossal clouds of blinding, scalding steam. To the man-made massacre, a primal, natural disaster was added to the mix.
Feeling the water temperature skyrocket to lethal levels, the Sea Folk abandoned everything, desperately fleeing in every direction in search of a safe haven. But with Orion's divine ward sealing the crater tight, they were trapped in a pressure cooker, boiling alive like ants trapped in a searing skillet.
"Hahaha! Well, brother? What do you think of my masterpiece?" Leonidas's telepathic voice bood over the destruction.
"Absolutely venomous."
Rather than taking offense, Leonidas bead with imnse pride. "That's exactly what I was going for!"
Boiling seas and burning depths. Orion could think of no better phrase to describe the literal hellscape playing out before his eyes. It was total, terrifying annihilation.
Down below, the Black Triton had foolishly attempted to stall Kraken, only to be instantly enveloped by the leviathan's crushing tentacles. It didn't take long. With a sickening series of crunches, the Triton's bones and tendons were pulverized. His physical body died on the spot.
However, beyond his physical form, the Black Triton possessed an Avatar of Faith. A spectral projection with the torso of a fish and the tail of a serpent tore free from the mangled corpse. The Avatar flickered and wavered, its translucent nature proving that the Triton hadn't accumulated much faith at all.
User Comments
0 comments from readers