Two days later, we had fully gathered our forces and were currently on our way to Ripper Isle.
Operation Armageddon.
Vakra organized the military for such a thing as a last resort to defend Delvandal from an existential threat.
Currently, there were one hundred aircraft carriers, three hundred destroyer-class battleships, about two hundred fighter aircraft, twenty-four destroyer-class airships, and one transport airship. The Astrum.
The force was slowly moving towards Ripper Isle, but since that would take over a month, Vakra had a different idea.
Using my magic, combined with the raw power from the Heart of the World, and finally, Vakra's abilities and intellect, we could transport the entire military force close enough to get a preemptive strike on Ripper Isle.
That way, Cain wouldn't have any clue what was happening until it was too late.
Vakra was actually pretty damn smart.
To test if it would be effective, we would transport the Astrum to Rastair's current coordinates. Vakra was handling all of the necessary calculations.
And to generate the necessary power, he connected a prototype device he made a few months back to the container on my chest.
"Let's see...the coordinates she gave us were...latitude...hmm...longitude..."
"If you need more power, I can always connect myself as well," Isabella said.
"I only need to transport this ship there and back. Then move the military as well. I'm not trying to end the world. One of these legendary stones is more than enough," Vakra said.
"I see... Well...carry on then."
"It's not as fun as it looks," I said.
Isabella held my hand and smiled warmly at me.
"Is there anything I can get you? Are you hungry? I could cook something for-"
"I'll pass. I'm not ready to die..." I mumbled.
"My cooking isn't that bad! I know just how to season things! I'll add as many tasty ingredients as possible!" Isabella said.
"You made a cake. It wasn't supposed to be spicy. It wasn't supposed to move, either!" I said.
"Well...I have a unique way of making dishes, is all!" Isabella said.
"Yeah...very unique..." I said.
I should stop remembering this... It was traumatizing...
Before anything else could happen, Vakra looked up.
"Aaaand done. Alright Mizik, use the spell I had you make," Vakra said.
I quickly began channeling the strange magic Vakra asked for and as soon as I did...
Vakra raised his hands and allowed the energy from the Heart of the World flow into him.
"Excellent...hold on tight. If it doesn't work, we could end up in one of the outer realms. So be ready to fight Eldritch horrors," Vakra said.
"El...dritch...?" Isabella said.
"That's not even close to worst-case scenario, either," Vakra said.
Before I could ask what the hell he was talking about, I had a brief sensation of floating and a feeling like my feet impacted something.
Vakra checked his watch and tapped it a few times.
"Good. It worked. No one has to be sacrificed," Vakra said.
I glared at him for a moment and he began making adjustments to the machine I was connected to.
"Someone get Rastair onboard. That might be important. I don't really care, though," Vakra said.
Isabella walked away quietly to allow her on the ship.
A few minutes later, she came back and Rastair was holding onto her arm with tears in her eyes.
"You have to help me!!! That monster killed everyone!!!" Rastair wailed.
"We will... We just need a bit of time to transport the military. Like I told you twice already..." Isabella said.
As soon as Rastair saw me, she made a beeline and nearly tackled me to the ground.
"GAH!"
"MIZIIIIIIIK!!! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME KILL THAT GUY!!! I'LL DO ANY OF THOSE DIRTY THINGS THAT YOU-"
"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN PERVERTED GIANT WOMAN!!! I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO DO ANYTHING WITH ME!!!" I shouted angrily.
"UWAAAAAA!!!! I'M NOT A GIANT!!! I'M JUST REALLY TALL!!! STOP MAKING FUN OF MY HEIGHT!!! Unless this is foreplay... In which case it's a bit odd, but I can totally get behind-"
"SHUT UP!"
"Okay... That's enough, Rastair. Mizik is kind of busy right now. Maybe you should calm down?" Isabella said.
Rastair just dropped to her knees and kept crying.
"He...he killed everyone... Him and that monster dragon! And those other monsters... He killed them all!!! I only have like two guys to help me run the Leviathan right now! THEY'RE NOT EVEN ABLE TO FIGHT!!! THEY'RE JUST SWABBIES!!! THEY ONLY KNOW HOW TO CLEAN THE DECK AND THEY'RE REALLY STUPID!!! I'm talking...really stupid, too..."
"Yes, yes... Let it all out..." Isabella said as she hugged Rastair.
Rastair continued crying into Isabella's chest.
"Umm...don't get the wrong idea, okay Isabella? I'm just using your chest like a pillow to cry on... I don't like girls..."
"I wasn't going to get the wrong idea! Besides, I'm married and I don't like girls either!" Isabella said angrily.
"That would certainly be fun to watch..." Vakra mumbled.
"One more word, and I'm playing kickball with your skull, Vakra!" Isabella growled.
"Noted... That was an unrelated word. And so were those...and that..." Vakra said.
"Please just shut up," I said.
"Mhm... Okay, it looks like my calculations are complete. I've set the point of destination outside of the striking range of this particular contamination zone. At least I hope so. It's just a few miles away," Vakra said.
"Then let's get started..." I said.
Vakra smiled... At least I assumed he did. He was a skeleton at the moment.
* * *
After a couple more hours of preparation, the fleet was assembled and we were ready to attack.
Rastair, Isabella, and I stood at the helm on the Leviathan. Since it was Rastair's island that was attacked, she wanted to be first into battle.
Unfortunately...this meant that her ship would most likely be destroyed.
Next to us was a large sheet of ice floating on the water. Zangriol had perched on it and calmly waited in place. He used his wings to move himself forward by placing them in the water.
Slowly, we approached the region surrounding Ripper Isle.
Then...it hit me like a truck.
An intense wave of impending doom washed over Isabella and me.
In the distance, I saw that the sky had darkened over the island.
"I really would have liked to have seen this island before all of this. Sorry I never got the chance..." I said.
Rastair remained silent.
I could tell she was still hurting.
As much as I wanted to just try and be nice, I knew I wasn't helping. Besides, we were about to have one hell of a fight.
I kept a few of those potions I made in my inventory. I planned to drink one during the battle to boost our divine energy output.
I had since modified the potion. It was a dark blue liquid that tasted like tea with salt in it instead of sugar...but it was much more suited to my own abilities.
We sailed closer into the maelstrom of Corruption until we reached the edge.
I could feel an incredible pressure coming from it. I knew for a fact that I would have to get serious here.
"Are you ready, Mizik?" Isabella asked.
I nodded.
"He wants a war? We'll give him one."
"Give the order and we'll sail into hell," Rastair said.
"Kill them all...burn it down..." I said.
My status menu flashed before my eyes and flickered as I spoke. I paid it no mind.
Rastair took a deep breath and glared at the Corruption.
"CHAAAARRRRRGE!!!!!" She shouted.
She slammed her glaive into the device next to the ship's wheel and the Leviathan lurched forward.
It shot through the water at high speed and the Astrum followed us overhead.
Zangriol took off and followed as well in the sky.
I stepped up and changed my swords into shotguns.
"Flames of rage! Wrath!"
After I used my skills, I manifested thousands of flaming lances in the sky to rain down on the Corrupted sea serpents that began rising out of the water.
At the same time, Isabella blasted several pulses of light to purify the water. When she did, it twisted and formed into swirling geysers full of iron spears and spinning blades.
Leiso was paying attention, it seemed.
Suddenly, a larger serpent came out of the water.
"I didn't think I could stall you forever. Very well...COME TO ME!!! LET'S SETTLE THIS, YOU BASTARD CHILD!!! FACE THE WRATH OF THE DARK ARMY!!!!" Cain's voice shouted from it.
As soon as he finished talking, a massive black shadow shot up out of the water.
It was the shadow dragon.
"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
She flew up in an arc and flapped her wings once while in the air.
Then fell straight down to us.
Rastair's eyes went wide.
"Ah...WHAT!? ISABELLA!!!" She shouted.
Instead of waiting for Isabella to shield us, I teleported the three of us back onto the Astrum using a crystal I had left onboard.
We saw the shadow dragon fall on the Leviathan and completely obliterate it... For a moment, I forgot about the two swabbies below deck. Oh well...
"My...my ship...! You'll pay... YOU'LL PAY, YOU DAMN SHITTY BASTARD!!!!! I'LL KEEL-HAUL YA AND SKIN YOU ALIVE YOU ABOMINABLE DRAGON!!!" Rastair screamed in fury.
"Stand back for now. We'll handle this," Isabella said.
The shadow dragon came out of the water from below the Astrum. She intended to ram it, but Zangriol blasted her away with a mighty breath from his mouth.
"YOU WILL GO NO FURTHER, KELVASTIOL!!!"
"ZANGRIOL? YOU ARE A PATHETIC WEAKLING WHO DECLINED MY MASTER'S OFFER!!! YOU WILL PERISH HERE LIKE THE WHELP YOU ARE!!!"
"ABOMINATION!!! YOU HAVE BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A DISEASED ANIMAL!!! I SHALL EXECUTE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE CREATOR!!!"
"YOU ARE WELCOME TO TRY... GGRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The shadow dragon flew straight into Zangriol and bit him on the neck.
He immediately blasted her with ice and she let go of him.
"MIZIK! I WILL HANDLE KELVASTIOL!!! DESTROY THE SOURCE!!! PURIFY THE CORRUPTION!!!"
"DON'T LET HER KILL YOU, ZANGRIOL!!!" I shouted.
He nodded and flew after the shadow dragon.
After that, the other ships in the fleet entered the water alongside the air forces.
The shooting began as thousands of sea serpents rose from the water.
Isabella and I quickly got to work destroying as many of them as possible from the side of the Astrum.
Aldaril had already assumed his lich form and his lantern hung in the air away from the ship.
He summoned an army of undead to fall into the water from the sky above and combat the Corrupted enemies.
Skeletal dragons flew through the air shooting spectral fire at the horrors. Many of them went to help Zangriol.
Thousands upon thousands of undead swarmed the Corrupted monsters... He commanded them with no effort at all.
The Avatar of Death was truly a terrifying force to face in battle.
But...
I didn't want to be shown up by him.
Vakra, still in his skeletal form, currently flew in front of the ship.
He used gravitational magic and azure chaos energy to obliterate the Corruption in our path.
Isabella raised her sword and I felt my power increase even more.
"Good luck! I'll protect you from here, okay?" She said with a determined look.
I nodded and jumped out of the ship. I used my flight magic to circle the skies and let loose several explosively destructive spells to annihilate the Corruption.
At the same time, some of the abominations had managed to sink a few ships.
Fighter planes and jets flew around while quickly blasting deathwings and serpents. While dodging the flying undead and projectiles from Vakra, the Enforcers, and myself.
The scene before my eyes was utter chaos.
Even while on Ignitus, the battle against the Corruption wasn't like this.
Regardless, I wanted to strike before everyone got close.
I flew straight down towards the water and Isabella created a barrier to stop me from falling in.
I raised my swords and began channeling as much energy as I could
"I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" I shouted angrily.
As soon as I was finished charging the spell, I called out the name.
"ETHER STRIKE BARRAGE!!!" I shouted.
The spell wasn't as high powered as normal, but it was essentially the same as a nuclear cluster bomb.
I fired a single beam of pure magical energy into the air and it arced.
Once it got close to the island, it split and created several massive explosions...all with heavy shockwaves.
Then a tentacle with a mouth emerged from the water.
"YOU REALLY ARE AN ANNOYING ASSHOLE, MIZIK!!! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU AGAIN ONE DAY!!!"
"EAT SHIT, YOU ABOMINATION!!!" I shouted.
"OH! OOOOH! YOU BASTARD!!! I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!!!"
Hah. Good. I pissed him off.
After he spoke, the tentacle disappeared and several shockwaves of dark purple energy erupted from the remains of the island.
What was once a large island with a mountain in the center, was now a flat land covered in deep craters.
After the Corrupted energy finished dispersing, I heard screaming from all over our ships.
I looked back in time to see many of our soldiers warping into horrors...
Just before it got too bad, Isabella released a burst of light to counter the Corruption.
Many of our soldiers were outright obliterated by it since the infection had spread too far, but most others were cleansed and saved.
"Thank you, Isabella. I don't know what I'd do without you..." I said to myself.
I flew back up into the air and glared at the island.
From here, I could see a tornado of Corruption forming from a single point.
I used telepathy to contact Isabella.
"Make your way to the island. It's time to end this!"
"Understood. I'm on my way!"
Within minutes of the contact, a dropship was flying straight for me.
Several Corrupted Deathwings tried to shoot it down, but their attacks bounced harnlessly off of the barrier surrounding it.
I skewered them with magic spears and chains.
As soon as the dropship came close, I flew up beside it.
Then...we made landfall.