Outside—
far below the storm—
Aldric crashed into the Veil Sea.
BOOOOOOM—
The black ocean erupted upward in a catastrophic explosion of water.
His body skipped once across the surface—
then again—
before finally sinking beneath the violent waves.
Bones shattered.
Flesh twisted apart.
Entire sections of his body caved inward from the force of impact.
Then—
they healed.
Instantly.
Crimson veins spread across his broken body like flowing fire while shattered bones reformed with audible cracks beneath the water.
Aldric slowly opened one eye beneath the sea.
Silent darkness surrounded him.
Above—
silver lightning faintly illuminated the ocean through the storm.
Aldric's neck twisted sharply back into place.
CRACK—
"…Alright."
Blood spread outward through the water around him.
Not naturally.
Deliberately.
The sea itself darkened crimson.
Then—
massive wings burst from his back.
Dark.
Jagged.
Bat-like wings unfurled violently beneath the ocean depths.
The surrounding water exploded outward.
Aldric rose slowly from the sea.
Hovering above the violent black waves while storm winds screamed around him.
His wounds had already vanished completely.
Far above—
the Veil Serpent circled through the storm currents.
Watching.
Aldric rolled one shoulder lazily.
Then lifted a hand.
Blood mana gathered instantly.
Condensing.
Hardening.
A massive crimson poleaxe materialized within his grasp.
The weapon radiated dense killing intent while jagged veins of blood-red energy crawled across its surface like living arteries.
Aldric stared upward toward the ancient calamity towering beyond the storm.
Then he grinned.
Wide.
Ferocious.
"Round two."
BOOOOOOM—
His wings detonated outward.
The Veil Sea exploded beneath him.
Entire waves collapsed inward from the force of his ascent while crimson mana carved a spiraling tunnel straight through the storm currents above the ocean.
He shot upward violently.
Poleaxe in hand.
Dark wings spread wide behind him.
The storm itself screamed around his rise.
Far above—
the Veil Serpent moved.
Its colossal body twisted through the vortex currents like a living continent while silver lightning crawled endlessly across its scales.
Ancient silver eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching crimson streak below.
Then—
the serpent opened its mouth.
The storm froze.
For half a second—
everything stopped.
Clouds.
Wind.
Lightning.
Even the ocean below seemed to pause.
Then the sky ruptured.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—
A beam of condensed silver lightning erupted downward from the serpent's jaws, tearing through the storm like divine judgment itself.
Clouds vaporized instantly.
The sea below split apart.
Aldric grinned.
"Now we're talking."
His wings folded inward sharply.
The crimson streak vanished sideways just before the beam engulfed him.
The attack crashed into the ocean beneath instead.
BOOOOOOOOM—
The Veil Sea detonated upward in a continent-sized explosion of black water and silver light.
Entire storm currents destabilized.
Inside the ship—
every warning light exploded red simultaneously.
Extreme mana eruption detected.
Current destabilization critical.
Barrier collapse imminent.
Kaelira nearly slammed into the wall as the ship shook violently.
"WHAT ARE THEY EVEN DOING ANYMORE?!"
Draven's hands moved rapidly across the control arrays.
Blue mana surged through the navigation systems in roaring streams while the fortress struggled to stabilize itself against the collapsing storm currents.
Outside the viewing screen—
the sky had become pure chaos.
Silver lightning.
Crimson explosions.
Violent spiraling clouds tearing themselves apart around something enormous moving inside them.
Even Lyriana's barrier had begun to crack beneath the pressure waves from the battle.
Nia stared silently into the storm.
The cultist looked pale.
"…They're destabilizing the vortex itself."
Another explosion illuminated the heavens.
Then—
Aldric appeared again.
Directly above the serpent.
His wings spread wide as crimson mana spiraled around the massive poleaxe in his hands.
The weapon expanded.
Growing larger.
Denser.
Blood-red energy condensed around the blade until it resembled a fragment of a shattered moon.
Aldric swung downward.
"Move."
BOOOOOOOOOOM—
The strike split the storm.
Literally.
A crimson arc carved through the vortex clouds for dozens of kilometers while the Veil Serpent twisted violently aside.
Too slow.
The poleaxe slammed across its armored body.
Silver-black scales exploded apart.
For the first time—
the calamity bled.
Massive droplets of silver blood scattered through the storm like glowing rain.
The Veil Serpent shrieked.
The sound wasn't heard.
It was felt.
Inside the ship—
everyone froze as the scream rolled through their minds like an ancient nightmare.
The pilot collapsed unconscious immediately.
Kaelira clutched her head.
"What is that thing?!"
Aldric laughed.
Actually laughed.
Hovering within the heart of the storm while silver blood rained around him.
"There we go!"
The serpent's enormous eye narrowed.
Rage flooded the storm.
The entire vortex accelerated violently around its body while silver lightning multiplied across the sky in endless branching rivers.
Then—
the clouds split apart above Aldric.
Something massive descended.
Not the serpent.
A hand.
No—
a claw.
Formed entirely from condensed storm currents and silver lightning, large enough to crush mountains.
It descended toward Aldric with catastrophic force.
Inside the ship—
even Draven's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kaelira pointed toward the screen in horror.
"WHY DOES IT HAVE MAGIC NOW?!"
Aldric looked upward.
Still grinning.
"…Cute."
Crimson mana exploded outward from his body.
His wings expanded wider.
The poleaxe rotated once in his hand.
Then he flew upward directly toward the descending storm claw.
Like an absolute lunatic.
BOOOOOOM—
The collision tore the sky open.
Silver and crimson detonated together in a blinding explosion visible across the entire storm sea.
The shockwave struck the fortress moments later.
The ship dropped violently through the air.
Fragments shattered away from Lyriana's barrier shell.
The viewing glass cracked even further.
Metal screamed throughout the structure.
And outside—
for one brief moment—
the storm parted completely.
Revealing the true scale of the Veil Serpent.
Kaelira stopped breathing.
The thing wasn't merely enormous.
It surrounded them.
Its endless body coiled through the storm layers above the entire sea like a living natural disaster.
Silver eyes opened across different sections of its body.
Watching.
All of them watching.
The cultist's face lost all color.
"…There are multiple eyes…"
Draven's gaze sharpened slightly.
The black cat resting on his shoulder slowly lifted its head.
Its tail swayed once.
Then—
the serpent looked toward the ship.
Not Aldric.
The ship.
Every silver eye narrowed simultaneously.