Garden Of The Abyss

"I'm not a high spirit! I am a divine spirit!"

Hearing this proclamation backed by the tangible, cloud-splitting words of the golden-furred warrior, both of the executioners readied their blades shakily while feeling the immense strain of being within Sun Wukong's overwhelming aura.

"Heaven itself could not hold me! So tell me; what good do you think your puny splashes of water will do? What can they accomplish that the golden clouds could not? Nothing!"

Slamming the bottom of his wielded pole against the ground, the world-shaking impact dispersed the cage of water into a rain of failed tears. With the malevolence of the divine spirit came a whirlwind that inhabited the main deck, making it a herculean task just for the two to not slip away into the winds.

All of this wind...just from a simple movement like that?! So, this is a divine spirit, Leon thought.

"It seems I've squeezed all the fun I could out of you weaklings. Still, I will commend you for fighting, even if in vain, that much is admirable. Now then, feast your eyes! The true might of the Monkey King himself, The Handsome, The Beautiful, Heaven's Equal, The Victorious Buddha, Sun Wukong himself, in the flesh!"

Calling out his true name and titles, his voice alone commanded the winds to applaud his very existence, spiraling violently around the vessel. A golden, heavenly aura emanated from his form as he raised his trusty pole to the air, his kilt made of a tiger's hide danced in the howling winds.

Extending up into the unseen heights of the sable, star-filled sky, the celestial rod too released a seraphic light as the gathering power shook the airborne territory.

"Run, idiot!"

Falling to utter awe in the face of such overwhelming divinity, Leon was suddenly tugged to the side by his comrade's grip, stumbling alongside him as they began to ride toward the side of the ship.

"Thirty-Three Layers of Destruction!"

Shouting out with his utmost, the divine Monkey King pulled the towering pole downwards, slowly descending upon the ship's frame as each moment brought upon it a new level of spiritual energy coiling its form.

"Where are we going?!"

"Right off the side of this damned ship!"

Manfred answered as he grabbed Leon by the collar of his uniform, pulling him forward and against the black steel that made up the exterior armor of the vessel.

"From this height?...Crap."

Looking over the side, it looked hardly as welcoming on the surface of the grand forest; flames crawled through the endless sea of trees, portions were wiped out, and the sounds of battle roared out from beneath.

"Suck it up and jump!"

Grabbing hold of the silver-haired young man's arm, Manfred guided him off the side of the sky-high ship as they were now enveloped in the vacant, cold winds together.

"...Woah!"

Not ready for this, Leon flailed for a bit before regaining his composure, looking over at his blonde companion whose light-hazel eyes were glowing with adrenaline.

"Ha-ha-ha! This is what living in the capital is all about!"

"We're not in the capital...idiot!"

Finding it hard to speak as the rampant winds stole his voice from his throat, Leon watched as Manfred laughed like a complete madman, embracing the fall. Swiping his arms through the air and spreading them wide, the hazel-eyed young man continued to laugh out, flipping through the air.

"I couldn't imagine doing anything else! This is the proper way to live! You agree, right?"

Looking over at Leon, who seemed a bit more focused on surviving than enjoying the peruse through the winds, the silver and brown-haired executioner ignored the question, keeping his eyes on the quickly approaching ground.

"...We can talk after we don't die!"

"Calm down! We just survived an encounter with a divine spirit! They're going to be singing about us in taverns for the next year!"

Manfred has always been like this. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but how could I? His unique magic directly boosts his vigor--his life energy in general. So when he uses it, this is sort of a side-effect; pure, boundless energy and excitement, Leon sighed.

Looking back as an all-encompassing hum called out from the location of the Vessel of Melancholy, they both witnessed as the attack the Monkey King had manifested laid waste to the ship, completely destroying it with that singular swing as an explosion inhabiting the palette of a rainbow took place in the sky.

"Holy...that monkey wasn't kidding around! Do you think he's going to follow us down?!"

"He doesn't really have anywhere else to go but down, and we're right in his path!"

Leon answered as his heart throbbed in his chest from witnessing such a fantastical, horrifying display of raw power.

"Well, we should use that then!"

"Is that even authorized?! We're still just Exec--"

Before he could even finish his response, his words were halted by the determined, vitality-filled eyes of his most trusted comrade as they both fell through the wild skies.

"Are you kidding me?...Look at the situation, Leon! Nothing is off-limits now; it's a battle of life or death, and we're not losing, you hear me?!"

"...I hear you!"

Finally nearing the surface of the forest, the two braced for impact as they sank into the depths of the towering trees native to Grandueve, branch after branch smacking against their arms and somehow tagging their faces despite their raised guards.

With a less than pleasant landing that reverberated through their bones, they successfully landed on their feet. Giving his partner a thumbs-up and a smile, Manfred only received a slight nod and a hesitant smile from the silver-haired young man.

"Alright...well, we're not exactly rich on time here, so let's get to it!"

Slapping his hands together, the mess of leaves sticking to his sable garments parted from his form as a mass of magical energy gathered around him.

"Right!"

Following his partner's actions, Leon pressed the palms of his two hands, covered in black gloves, together as his magical output matched Manfred's own.

In perfect unison, the will and mana of the two comrades manifested a spiraling magic seal in the space between them, taking a cosmic complexion of an ominous abyssal void filled with sparklings glows.

"By our authority, blood, and magic, that which is bound to us, the hunters, the Argonauts, heed our call!"

It's a miracle. Plain and simple. It was only last week that we received the authority to access the Vault of Jason; I just hope this works...if we lose a valuable spirit, we'll never hear the end of it, he thought.

With both of their chants being called out in synchronization, the seal emanated with a vibrant pulse, unleashing an ear-filling hum as the trees swayed under the new pressure.

I can feel it...the mana is being sucked straight out of my body. I hope Manfred knows what he's doing--he's the man I chose to follow, I won't doubt him now! Leon thought.

All he could do was trust in his comrade as he felt his energy be inhaled by the summoning circle, coalescing into a pit of purified mana that embedded itself into the hieroglyphics that ran along the length of the seal.

"Defiler of the lands, enemy of the great powers of the world...Take which you wish to hold!"

As the chant continued, the two felt sweat leave their pores forcibly as a supernatural heat set into the atmosphere; the surrounding evergreen decayed into a lifeless silver, withering away into the winds as the trees began to collapse as the soil rotted under the rising presence.

"Destroy and desfile: Vritra!"

A pillar of the gathering mana rose from the circular seal, unleashing a set of vibrations that let loose howls into the wind; the dense, dark clouds which released their held waters spectated the event. Both of the youthful men fell to their knees as the summoning reached completion, huffing as sweat coated their stressed exterior, watching as the veil of forming magic finally dispersed, revealing the entity which they anchored to the world.

Standing taller than their heights combined, the being resembled a human only in appearance, its long, spike-covered tail of a deep blue fell to the ground as the entity stood there with their muscular arms of a golden tan folded across their chest.

"...You two."

His voice was as deep as the depths of a canyon, powerful and solidified. Messy locks of the same complexion as his tail nearly reached his shoulders, standing tall with his body layered in tattoos.

"Y-Yes?"

Manfred was the only one of them that managed to stammer out a single word within the suffocating presence of Vritra, gawking at the simple, yet lavish garments of a silken black, decorated with golden accents that wrapped around his bulky form.

That's really him…"Vritra of The Drought", one of the most powerful spirits in possession of the Argonauts. Out of all our options, this was the best choice...Good thinking, Manfred. Vritra possesses an anti-divine nature; against a divine spirit like Sun Wukong, this might just work! Leon thought.

"You're my masters, correct?"

"...That's right."

Nodding his head, Manfred managed to stand to his feet, while Leon only frantically stood himself after receiving a side glance from the diamond, divine irises of the mighty being.

"Then stay out of my way. That one smells of trouble…"

​ Squinting his eyes towards the sky, Vritra remained unmoving as he spoke with his commanding tone, prompting the two Argonaut underlings to exchange puzzled glances with one another. The subtlest movement of the summoned divinity's head caused his sable, hooped earrings to jingle, decorated with minuscule, but shining sapphires.

"That one…?"

Leon asked for both him and his companion, but the answer became obvious as a golden light filled the already volatile skies, soon accompanied by a boisterous, will-bending laugh that challenged the will of self-proclaimed warriors.

Without any further words exchanged, Vritra took in a deep inhale that sent the dormant, decayed leaves into a flurry, puffing his chest that was lightly covered in somber scales out. Just from the intake of air, the hollow soil rumbled beneath them.

"What is he…?"

Quietly muttering his puzzled words, Leon's confusion was only met with the same unknowing shrug of his blonde companion. Once more, he learned that the summoned personification of the drought was a being of actions, not words as an azure haze gathered near the draconic man's maw.

"Rraaah---!"

Unleashing a skull-shattering roar that instantly brought both young men's hands to their ears, Vritra's yell released a wild tunnel of black and azure flames that launched directly into the air towards the Monkey King as he descended.

"Well, well, looks like an interesting foe has issued a challenge to yours truly!"

Descending the skies inhabited by the battles of the Argonauts and Outlanders, the Monkey King watched with his golden eyes as the roar of flames greeted him amidst the air.

"Let's reenact a battle of legend; divinity versus divinity!"