[Lifespan Remaining: 17 hours, 42 minutes.]
Leviathan made the first move.
The Disaster Spirit opened its jaws, gathering the surrounding floodwater into a sphere between its fangs. The ball compressed until it became darker than the night sky.
’That attack will destroy the entire port!’ Sylph warned.
’Then we can’t let it finish.’
With a single sweep of his hand, hundreds of wind swords shot across Altaire in a flood of green light. The first blades struck the sphere and shattered instantly, but each explosion released another burst of compressed air.
There must’ve been at least a few dozen swords converging upon a single point. And finally, like a needle popping a balloon—
BOOOOOOOOOM—!
The compressed water split in half before detonating above Altaire, creating a rainstorm that covered the entire city.
Though that did little to stop Leviathan’s momentum.
Its enormous tail swept across the port, shattering several ships while an entire wall of water rose behind it, tall enough to engulf Altaire from one end to the other.
A blue streak shot upward from Central Square.
Lenia hovered above the frozen barricade, both hands raised toward the approaching wave. Seven magic circles rotated behind her, each holding a bit of the load she would need to maintain such a powerful spell.
"Do you have any idea how long that wall took me to make?!"
?Magia Frost — Glacias Camellia?
[A Camellia’s Dance]
’Not even a chant?’
The temperature plummeted as the approaching wave froze from the top down. Millions of tons of water transformed into ice, creating a wall that resembled a flower, towering above the city.
Lenia brought her hands together.
CRRRRACK—!
But Leviathan was not done. Dark water formed from inside the cracks, turning into countless serpents as they descended upon the city, each one large enough to swallow a building.
Noct spread his arms, regrouping his swords while creating new ones at the same time. They all launched toward the attack, intercepting the serpents above the port.
Others protected the central square, while the smallest blades hunted down anything that slipped between the buildings.
But there were simply too many for him to handle. Every serpent he destroyed returned to Leviathan and formed again.
[Lifespan Remaining: 16 hours, 28 minutes.]
’Your life force is dropping too quickly,’ Sylph warned.
’I know.’
’You can’t protect the entire city and fight Leviathan at the same time!’
Noct looked toward the witch’s direction.
"Lenia!"
"What?!"
"Can you protect Altaire for five minutes?"
The Witch of Black Ice stared at the endless creatures descending upon her city. Then she cracked her knuckles. "Make it ten."
Rows of ice spears formed above the rooftops before launching into the serpents. Wherever one struck, the creature froze from within and shattered across the flooded streets.
Noct recalled his distant swords. The entire arsenal returned to him, leaving streaks of green light throughout the sky like shooting stars.
"Noelle."
She lowered herself against the broom.
"I’m ready."
"I’ll draw its attention and expose Faust. Once you see a path, don’t hesitate."
Noelle looked toward the body suspended inside Leviathan’s chest. "Understood, Young Master."
Noct lifted one finger, causing a wind sword to appear beside Noelle and align itself with the broom. "I’ll use this to guide you."
"You can control the broom?"
"No. But I can control the current around it."
Leviathan turned toward them, its voice booming across Altaire like thunder. "You borrow the authority of a Lord, and believe yourself equal to me?"
"Ridiculous! Even a Lord answers to the King!"
Dark clouds began gathering around its horn. Noct fell upward from the city, returning to the storm above.
"This world shall become my ocean. Just like all the worlds before it!"
Several pillars of water descended from the sky while more rose from the flooded city, trapping Noct and Noelle between them.
Noct’s right eye shone, and like he was looking at a map only he could see, Noct navigated through the attacks with precision.
Noelle and the broom vanished into a streak of black and green, passing through converging pillars a fraction of a second before impact.
Noct followed through to another sword, his body disappearing and reappearing hundreds of feet above Leviathan.
The Disaster Spirit immediately looked up.
Exactly as intended.
Noct brought a hand down, signalling for every blade in his arsenal to descend upon Leviathan’s head.
Some shattered against its scales. Others penetrated and released storms from inside its body, ripping apart the currents holding its manifestation together.
"GRAGGHHHK—!"
Enraged, the creature tried to pursue Noct through the city, its enormous jaws snapping at each sword he used to reposition himself.
Noct leapt from one to another, each carrying him across the sky at around the speed of sound. Green trails formed between his swords, creating a vast constellation above Altaire.
He reappeared beside its chest and swept one hand forward.
"Cut!"
Thirty swords crossed simultaneously, exposing a section of Leviathan’s chest that had burst apart.
Water scattered across the sky, revealing Faust for a brief instant before the water began closing around him again.
"There!"
Noelle drove the broom forward.
Leviathan sensed her approach. Hundreds of watery tendrils erupted from its body, weaving together into a wall between Noelle and Faust, trying to stop her by any means possible.
But Noct simply broke right through. His swords pierced through the wall one after another, creating a narrow tunnel in which Noelle managed to enter.
Leviathan’s currents closed behind her, and darkness swallowed everything. Only the pale-blue light of the broom remained.
Luckily for her, Noelle thrived in the shadows.
The broom plunged as several rows of fangs formed within the passage. Using the darkness created from inside, she simply dissolved her form into the shadows, allowing the fangs to tear through empty air.
But as the broom entered deeper, Noct could feel the connection between himself and the current next to Noelle growing weaker and weaker.
’I...can’t...let...it—’
The halo-like rings behind him separated and spread across the storm clouds. Green mana passed between them, creating a vortex that loomed over Altaire.
’Noct, this is too much!’ Sylph shouted.
’Then help me control it.’
’Your body will—’
’Sylph!’
[Lifespan Remaining: 10 hours, 36 minutes.]
[Lifespan Remaining: 9 hours, 36 minutes.]
[Lifespan Remaining: 8 hours, 36 minutes.]
’Fine. But don’t blame me when this hurts!’
?Fae Regalia — Sovereign’s Tempest?
Its base surrounded Leviathan while its upper half swallowed the sky. The winds rotated in opposite directions, tearing at the Disaster Spirit’s body and stripping away layer after layer of water.
[Lifespan Remaining: 2 hours, 36 minutes.]
[Host, your lifespan is at a dangerous level. Further actions are unwise. Please seek a method to prolong your lifespan as soon as possible.]
[Or else—]
[You will die.]