Chapter 385 - Amongst The Black Sea

Recognizing the imminence of battle, both the high elf and the Heavenly King seemed ready for battle, and he wasn't ready to fall behind. It was less than optimal footing, but the snowy-haired young man found no other option but to draw his blade. 

An idea crossed his mind, bringing his focus to the high elf at his side, "Fedrin, you can use water magic, right?"

"...That's correct," Fedrin confirmed. 

"--Then can't you create some sort of wave to crash against that ship? Better yet--you can use the water around us! There's a helluva lot of it!" He asked fervently. 

Though by the solemn look present on the elf's expression, he knew the answer he would receive would be ill-met on his fears. 

Fedrin shook his head as his flowing, black locks moved, "I'm afraid I can't. My mastery of water is serviceable, at best. And...I've tried to manipulate the water around us, but as you can see...it's not natural in the slightest. It is something dark and primordial...I have no hopes to control such a dreadful element." 

It was beginning to sink in just how helpless things were feeling; the environment in which to fight couldn't be any less compatible. 

"What do we do?" He asked, "...how do we even fight back? I don't think this piece of crap can survive us stomping a little too hard!" 

"You're right," Jae-Seong responded, "which leaves just one option." 

As he looked at Jae-Seong for a moment, he turned his eyes to Fedrin--trying to see if he wasn't the only one left out of the loop. 

"And that is?" He finally asked, gripping his sword tightly. 

The golden-eyed man smirked, cracking his neck side-to-side before glancing back at him, "We take the battle to them." 

"...Pardon?" He asked. 

Even Fedrin seemed to realize it truly was their only avenue as he hesitantly smiled, "Unfortunately, that may be our only path to victory...as risky as it is, it's far better than holding our ground here." 

On all fronts, it sounded like a plan bordering on madness; with a vessel that large, their numbers had to be in the dozens. 

Even worse...we don't even know exactly what's up with these orcs. Like Fedrin said: they seem more intelligent than normal, so who knows what they're capable of? Not to mention...we're really just going in blind if we hop on their ship, he thought. 

"Dammit...I guess there's no point in worrying about what could go wrong," he smiled wryly, "nothing left but to worry about winning."

"Atta' boy," Jae-Seong smiled. 

With such a reckless plan settled between the three, they could only wait as the massive, imposing vessel approached them--listening to the ominous, resounding drums as the roars of the orcs aboard the ship grew more audible. 

Even if they fronted confidence, he could see his companions were just as nervous as he was by the subtle trembling that exhibited itself from their hands. 

It was a foreign battleground for them all; stranded on a solemn hunk of wood in an abyssal sea, feeling the surrounding, enigmatic waters hum with the vibrations of the beating drums and the curtains from the weight of the approaching vessel. 

As they stood patiently, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, a question struck through his mind. It was an occurrence to the mind that came with common sense: why would they simply approach us and let the playing fields even out?

"What happens if they have bows?...Or cannons? Actually, any projectile magic, at all…?" He asked. 

Silence befell the dinghy for a moment as his question seemed to bring some form of light to Jae-Seong's immaculate plan. 

"Jae-Seong?" He asked, cementing his question. 

The curly-haired man finally answered with a trembling smile, "...If that's the case, we adapt."

"We...adapt?" He repeated the words that met his ears. 

Uncertainty brewed in the pits of his stomach more than ever now as he could tell the words that spilled from his companion's lips were nothing short of an improvisation. 

How long until it reaches our position? Five...no, three minutes? I can't tell--it's too damn dark to properly make anything out, he thought. 

The high elf's pointy ears flicked as if something inaudible to his human companions' own ears met his. 

"It's coming," Fedrin suddenly warned in a focused whisper. 

No further clarification was needed; Ren held both Belus and his sable, pearlescent dagger with a readied stance. Relying solely on his fists, Jae-Seong reinforced them with the brunt of his strength-enhancing mana. 

Just as the three stood readied for what was coming with a whispering breeze trickling by--the air hissed. 

It filled the abyssal skies like the celebrations of a nighttime festival; countless arrows lit with radiant flames launched into the air. As scenic as it was to witness the flaming projectiles take to the solemn skies, their curvature and downfall towards their position tossed to the side any fleeting distractions. 

It's now or never--I haven't had the chance to use this one in battle yet. Magic manifests in the heat of battle, right…? He hoped. 

"Get behind me!" He called out. 

Stepping to the very edge of the dinghy's front as the vessel rocked side-to-side from his swift, sudden movements, he raised his hand to the air. 

Back-to-back, Fedrin and Jae-Seong heeded his words as they planted themselves directly behind the pale-haired adolescent. 

"Araphel: Sunless Blossom!" He shouted out. 

It was a sensation he seldom felt in recent times, but it was familiar; the surge of magical energy through his body that resembled a pressure bottling up with him as if mana would simply burst through his pores. A side effect of casting a new, powerful spell that sat close to his limits as a mage. 

Invoking the unmastered magecraft sent a sharp pain through his arm, though it faded quickly as he sprouted forth a colossal, violet-and-black flower that blossomed into a multi-layered shield. 

...Come on! He gritted his teeth. 

Holding the shield with his complete focus, he stood his ground as the arrows finally descended upon them, crashing against the flower-based, mystical shield with tremendous force. Each impact caused the semi-transparent, sable petals of the mystical, defensive flower to flicker with a burst of magenta light--giving radiance to the dark surroundings. 

Those that missed the stretch of the flowery barrier sank into the black waters with dozens of plops, casting away the illumination of the flames as the abyssal depths swallowed the fire without hesitation. 

"Ghh…!" He breathed past his clenched teeth. 

Fedrin pointed his staff up, but his efforts were stopped by the young man's yell, "No…! We have to conserve our mana--! Just leave this...to me!"

The high elf was left silent for a moment, but Jae-Seong's lack of hesitation to trust in him helped the elf follow the same result. 

"...Alright," Fedrin nodded, "keep it up, Ren!" 

While the storm of arrows continued to cascade down upon the shield that blossomed in front of the fragile dinghy, the war-horns hummed out once more as the waters vibrated, allowing such pulsations to be felt through the floor of the wooden boat. 

"Sunless Blossom"...with Veil being practically obsolete, I learned this to make up for it. It's strong...that's for sure, and despite looks, it's cheap on mana. The thing is...it takes its toll in other ways. The damage the blossom receives...it transfers the equivalent pain to me. 

If I just grit my teeth and stand tall, there's no problem…! He thought. 

Roaring out, his yells battled the warring thud of the approaching drums as the volley of arrows finally came to an end. 

"...It's about time," he huffed. 

Letting his arm fall limp at his side, the black-and-purple defensive flower vanished into fleeting particles as he let out a heavy breath. 

A comforting pat on the shoulder came from Jae-Seong who brought the young man back, taking his place at the vanguard as he woke his knuckles up with melodic cracks. 

"Nice one, Ren. Looks like you bought enough time for the party boat to arrive," Jae-Seong smiled. 

It was an abrasive truth that was confirmed by the ear-filling beats of the war-drums filling the surrounding airs as the black-steel clad ship was now directly before their dinghy. Now within such a close proximity, the true size of the colossal vessel of the abyssal sea was displayed--looming over the three on their makeshift boat like a mountain over an ant mound. 

"We're really boarding it...right?" He asked again. 

Somehow, he wished for a conflicting answer to come from his words, but no such reprieve was available. 

Anchors were tossed from the side of the steel-embroidered warship as the flailing, black sails moved ominously. 

"Looks like they have the same idea," Fedrin spoke, standing by Jae-Seong. 

"Yeah," Jae-Seong nodded, "so let's bring the battle to them!" 

Without any further words as the ship came to a complete stop from the weight of the dense anchors, Jae-Seong leapt high into the air as Fedrin followed with a more graceful movement. 

...Let's do this, he thought. 

Following his comrades, he got a small, running start before jumping from the end of the dinghy with reinforcement backing his leap. 

Traveling through the brisk, dark airs, his stomach fluttered as nothing but the air separated himself from the unseen depths of the horrific, black sea below. 

Being in the air for a few, slow-moving moments, he could see what awaited in the main deck of the skeleton-flaunting ship belonging to the armored orcs: as expected, there were a large quantity of enemies awaiting. 

Not that I expected anything else! He thought. 

Landing just a moment after the other two, he landed with a smooth, seamless roll onto the main deck. 

They found themselves in the center of the large, main deck that still wasn't exempt from the rockiness of the dark sea, swaying as the clammy wood below assisted in creating an unnatural foothold. 

His first thought was just how bad the smell was aboard the grime-laden ship; a repugnant stench of wet, spoiled meat like a stomach-clenching pungence infiltrated his nose. 

Though the stench that clung to the clammy ship was the least of the worries as the stygian-armored, broad orcs surrounding them. 

"Looks like they prepared a welcoming party for us," Jae-Seong held his fists up. 

"...It's been quite some years since I've experienced a party of this scope," Fedrin added, flipping his lengthy staff before holding it up. 

He could only smile as fear was secondary when comrades were at his side, "Let's not disappoint them then!" 

It didn't need to be spoken that they had each other's backs, each facing their own direction before engaging with the crew of tall, red-eyed orcs around them.