{[ April 20, 102 A.A. ]}
{[ Southern Harbour, Great City Avina ]}
It was evening now as Athelei stood shoulder to shoulder with a large number of Adventurers of all ranks and strengths.
An incomplete moon was shining overhead, bringing illumination to the humans who stood under the clear night sky. A breeze was blowing, bringing shivers different from those of nerves or excitement. The night was cold and somewhat haunting.
Gruuuuu!
A deep, bone-rattling groan shook the harbour. Some massive sea beast had probably engaged in an underwater scuffle again. It was becoming a common phenomenon each night the beast tide drew even closer. The Adventurers, who had been venturing into the sea night and day to hunt, had grown used to it. The warmongering fishermen were peacefully sharpening their blades and spikes on the side.
The commoners and nobles, however, couldn't get used to it. Those booming groans shook the ground beneath their feet, making them restless in their sleep. Their worries grew, and thus some nobles had already begun luring in more Adventurers to kill sea beasts through silvers and goods.
Even the greedy ones among the nobles who only offered awards in coppers were somehow contributing. The Adventurers were taking all they could get.
Starwhale pearls, sea serpent skins, and rainbow venom flooded the markets. Rare sea materials had now become a common sight, creating a lively economy. The Adventurers whose equipment were being destroyed or lost at sea always had better quality items to restock with.
Even Athelei now had a cloak of starwhale skin. The stars that were scattered around his cloak were shining brighter than the stars in the night sky. A few other Adventurers had similar equipment, as they slung brutal-looking harpoons and serrated blades on their backs.
'I wonder how many would die tonight?' Athelei wondered absently as he looked around him. He had lost quite a few party-mates due to varying circumstances. A few nights ago, one died due to a poorly aimed arrow, yesterday he lost an acquaintance to a falling mainmast, and just an hour ago, some drunk idiot drowned in the harbour.
'Mortal lives are... fleeting,' He thought about those unfortunate enough to meet their ends in such a manner. It was a sight to see.
A lull occurred throughout the noisy crowd. It was then that the sea suddenly grew brighter.
"It's starting!" An Adventurer yelled out from within the silent crowd, and everyone's focus was directed to the previously dark waters.
Vibrant reds, sapphire blues, deep greens, and many more colours flooded the seafloor. The surface of the sea looked like an abstract oil painting with every colour on the palette splashed onto the canvas.
The corals had lit up beneath the waves, creating a dreamy sight for any beholder.
"Set sail! Follow the colour trail! Tonight we seek the Life Sea's holy grail!" A voice thundered, and Athelei knew who it came from.
'Miss Cammille has grown more confident ever since she made it to B-rank...' Athelei chuckled as he boarded a large ship, carrying his own personal harpoon. Chains jingled from its handle, and a few other nameless Adventurers gathered around him.
Cammille had unearthed the underwater relic she had been looking for, and through it, she discovered a mystical underwater structure. It was built out of coral and basalt, brimming with energy and colour.
Nobody knew what it was. There were no records of such a place, nor were there any legends or myths about it.
But a lot of people agreed that it was some sort of treasure. Mystical Energy swirled around the volcanic area the Coral Pavilion—which was a name the Adventurers came up with—was found in. Sea beasts, both mutated and unmutated seemed to flock there.
The officials of Avina were hoping that by claiming whatever lured all the beasts, they could prevent the mysterious incoming beast tide. They had dispatched their sailors and elites, and the Adventurers all around were just here with hope for fortuitous encounters and to maybe strike it rich.
It was an expedition.
.
.
.
Athelei was meditating as the Adventurers, sailors, and fishermen sailed into the night. Every now and then, he would have to help put wind into their sails, using the Mystic Pattern, Gust, which he had come to master.
Many lights were still illuminating the ships from under the sea. A few starwhales with their dark, starry bodies could be seen as moving blobs of darkness. Some beasts had tried attacking their ships, but they were all slain and stripped of their skins, scales, and flesh.
But the frequency of beast attacks was growing rapidly.
There were ship-sized beasts that appeared every fifteen minutes, and dozens of smaller beasts trying to snack on the people on board would arrive every minute.
The ships left a trail of carcasses and bloodied waters as they shovelled flesh off the decks of their boats.
Ssuk!
"Swordfishes!" An Adventurer roared when a single fish flew towards him.
Every single fighter was suddenly on alert, despite seeing only one swordfish. Because in the next second, suddenly the sky was full of them.
"Artists! Barrier!"
Athelei and a few other Artists hurriedly drew the requested Mystical Pattern. It was a simple one, but quite unbreakable. Many of the ships had several walls of light flicker to life, shielding the important parts of the vessel as well as themselves. Only the Artists were this synchronised though because their classes required it. Every other Adventurer had to worry about their own safeties.
Apart from the sailors and elites sent out by Avina as well as those Adventurers with their parties, it was every human for themselves. Evolvers and Dictators were slashing and parrying the blade-like bills the swordfishes were known for. They were waving their arms and dodging the rain of swords, as wounds developed on their skin and some were skewered.
Injuries were being incurred and a fatality or two had come with the charge of swordfishes. Many Adventurers and quite a few sailors were pinned into the ship's hull by their bladed bills.
It was only then that four Rank 2 presences made themselves known. Two Dictators, an Artist, and an Evolver, sprung into action.
A starwhale carcass was suddenly sent flying, providing a shield for some ships.
'Apple is here,' Athelei's eyes shone when he heard a familiar battle cry.
There was also a huge circle, filled with sequences of Mystic Patterns that manifested in the air. Chain lightning coursed through the fish-filled sky, frying and roasting the piscine rain wherever it touched.
Waves of purple Tangible Will was now pushing hundreds of those swordfishes back. Their jumps were falling short of the ships they once targetted.
Athelei was also devouring consciousnesses one after another. Under his cloak was a skeleton, as his grey fog spread across the battlefield, feeding off of the deaths of mortals.
'That subtle mental suggestion is still there,' He thought as he crushed another swordfish's consciousness. The same mental suggestion he found in the starwhales and in the beasts he had hunted on the previous nights was present in this horde of swordfishes.
'Perhaps the Coral Pavilion could really be the answer to stopping the beast tide...'
As the rain of swordfish came crashing down, half an hour passed before it waned. Thousands of fish deaths had occurred in that span of time. Athelei enjoyed a hearty meal about the size of a dozen nine-man squads of Nightwalkers.
The survivors bandaged their wounds and drank special concoctions as they recollected themselves. Their fleet had continued moving despite their raging battle, and they did not have much longer before another fight would break out.
Athelei stole a glance at the waters below, and he discovered an eerie clarity.
He could see the seafloor through crystal-clear water. He could see through the several-metre deep sea, to stare at a king crab scuttling around the glowing corals.
"There it is!"
"The Coral Pavilion!"
"We're here!"
Yells resounded across the entire fleet, as they looked into the distance. With the water being as clear as it was, they now felt like they were flying. A fleet of ships looked to be floating like spaceships above a colourful landscape of rainbows and Christmas lights.
And this fleet of ships had their crosshairs locked unto a mystical structure that lay, brimming with volcanic life. A long serpentine beast's body could be seen snaking through its coral pillars, as many more giant sea beasts hung around intimidating columnar basalt structures, looking like fortress walls and guards protecting the Coral Pavilion.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Yells passed down through the chains of command as every person began to stir.
BOOM!
A shockwave sent a ripple through the waters but amazingly did not stir up even a bit of dust and sand. Instead, a flurry of bubbles cascaded from the depths towards the surface of the sea.
And the sea beasts that seemed to guard the Coral Pavilion all roared, as if in reply to the volcanic eruption.
A humanoid shadow flickered from within the depths where lava lay. Apple, who was a few ships away from Athelei, was frowning deeply when he caught sight of it. His scars were all scrunched up in worry.
Lady Karire was standing beside him, with a similar expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a sigh escaped her lips.
"Did you see that? I wasn't hallucinating, was I?" Apple asked, his hands gripping the edges of the ship.
"You were not hallucinating this time, old friend." Lady Karire spoke with a foul mood, "The Exiled are indeed here."