The Great Southern Sea

[Kotomine_Rin]

The Great Southern Sea

A vast expanse of saltwater where man and creature fear to thread. It is thanks to the naval expertise of Albion and its neighboring isles that eyes, hands, and ears have finally begun to search an uncover the mysteries of this aquatic domain. But beyond the shores, beyond all that, the sea expands and deepens, and when miles become leagues, and when even the scantest scrap of land is but a dot in the horizon, even the light of the sun quakes and ceases to be.

Beyond the safety of the city, beyond civilization, even the sea takes a darker color. Strange aquatic creatures become monstrous beasts of the sea. Monstrous serpents, krakens and indescribable creatures roam the skies and seas, and mere relics become forgotten artifacts of old. Even the air turns vile, toxic and impossible to survive for normal living organisms without tools or special abilities to thread these unhospitable waters.

There is a great number of wreckages where man has tried and failed to thread. And yet, there is a promise and a lure of something grand, something greater than what anyone should hope to hold. Wonders from different worlds, different times, have sunk to the bottom of this sea. Great fallen temples and monuments of ancient civilization, now nothing more than nests for dark beasts.

But beware, adventurers. For sometimes, the sea is more than a refuge. It can be a prison. One that keeps the wariest of sailors trapped.

Or one that keeps the ones beneath the depths away.

The Curse Of the Southern Sea - A passage of an old adventurer's memoir:

"And I  saw it... in all it's glory. In all it's terror. Aaaah! [REDACTED] Damn ye! Let Neptune strike ye dead, [REDACTED]!
Hark! Hark, Triton. Hark! Bellow, bid our father, the sea king, rise from the depths, full foul in his fury, black waves teeming with salt-foam, to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye,
engorging your organs till ye turn blue and bloated with bilge, and brine, and can scream no more.
Only when, he, crowned in cockle shells, with slithering tentacled tail, and steaming beard, takes up his fell, be-finnèd arm,
his coral-tined trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest, and plunges right through your gullet, bursting ye, a bulging bladder no more,
but a blasted bloody film now, a nothing for the Harpies, and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon, only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the dread emperor himself.
Forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god, or devil, forgotten even to the sea,
for any stuff, or part of you, even any scantling of your soul, is [REDACTED] no more, but is now itself the sea."

[Kotomine_Rin]

? ? ? ? ?

Aruna was flying away from the heavenly palace for some time, traversing the wild seas below with the freedom of her wings. It was a bitter irony, she had come far since that day, and yet she wasn't any closer to her goal than before. The fake demon still sneered cruelly at her struggles, intent to raise her up to the skies to bleed her dry of any value. The Archon of Resistance, Orcus, already had an eye on her - his goals still a mystery. Even the alliances she had built, valuable as they were... had they truly fulfilled Aruna's desire to the brim?

That was a question only Aruna could answer.

However, she'd have little time for that. For a bit, there was a strange aching on her left arm - as if the grace was trying to warn her to something. But even that was for naught. Because suddenly, the seas split open beneath her, revealing a black beast of shadow and metal. A black one-winged knight was riding the helicopter, grabbing onto it like a steed. It rushed across the water like a beastly shark, only to soar into the heavens with a murderous howl.

The voice was almost familiar but impossible to truly recognize.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The demon's mind wandered towards the graces, light and dark itself.  The words of Orcus echoed through her mind.  "Vision comes from light. If the world is a painting, then we may see it only because something shines on it. But is the light monochrome and the canvas where colors rest, bereft of shade or clarity by themselves? No. There is no such thing as black light. It is the eyes with which we see that cast color on the world painted in tiny dots of black and white, constantly at war with one another."

Then... that means that....

"And who gave angels their fire?"

Aruna gave a snappy response before, but that was only thanks to her ability to posture.  As she flew away from the ruins, she finally realized the full implications of this question.  Angels were given "fire" and fire by god.  Maybe it was time to come to terms with one truth to her identity she hadn't quite yet.

The demon was so lost in thought that when the grace on her arm screamed at her, she barely even noticed the feeling of fear creeping up on her until her entire body started shaking. Then, she heard a howl.  It was a voice she remembered, yet one that seemed distant from the memory that the shriek clawed at.

Stopping her flight across the water, she shot into the sky to avoid the splitting waves.  "Impossible....  it couldn't be you....  your dead."

[Kotomine_Rin]

- However -

Ah, but if only things were so simple.

ZEKE

And just as Aruna's sword slashed at him a couple of times, he kicked away from the sword despite the gash that it opened up - and unlocked his magic to blast away straight past the demon. He avoided the full combo, but just for a moment, the gaping abyss and Aruna's gaze met.

And the abyss looked back, with something utterly unseen sleeping inside.

Spoiler for Hiden:

And it spoke.

"Mael is alive."

And with a burst of light, the comet boomed to fly away

? ? ? ? ?

But the black beast gave Aruna no quarter, it chased her across the waves while clawing at the air, its rage utterly unbridled. Had he survived only to be swallowed up by madness? Or perhaps some monster had laid claim to his body and power. No, it didn't matter.

Right now, the one-winged knight's wing stretched to the skies, soaring above to blot out the sun - and fire a volley of machinegun fire.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"Why... why won't you say anything..."

The bullets flew at the demon, ripping her apart.  The young girl shook as the bullets ripped through her frail feminine body before she fell unceremoniously into the water.  A hand was held out, as if to reach for the creature floating before her.  Aruna's lips moved, as if she was trying to say something, but the bullets had pierced her lunges.  A splash massive enough to match the size of the waves marked her decent into the sea.

Although she wasn't dead.  No, she had never actually been hit.

Gils grew on Aruna's body, allowing her to breathe freely in the depths of the ocean.  Indeed, she had actually created holes in her body slightly larger than the bullets, allowing them to pass right through her.  Chains emerged from the water, threatening to wrap around the mysterious one winged creature.  No portals had been created yet.  There was no time, so the chains had been spawned from Aruna's body.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Mael

But the plane didn't relent. Burning through the skies, it fired down on the chains with a terrifying salvo of blackened bullets, as it turned and swayed away from their grasp with a graceful dance. It was a beautiful, glorious set of movements, flowing expertly across the obstacles as the plane lowered once more.

Its hateful eye narrowed, and the knight punched the cockpit, grabbing something from inside. She couldn't see it through, not until it was too late and he already threw it.

A grenade. No, not just a normal grenade... the moment he touched it, it became a ravenous weapon, both heavenly and demonic. Or perhaps... neither. It'd explode violently, even underwater, and swallow her whole with destructive light.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The water split, or rather evaporated in the presence of the granade's raw power, creating a hole where watery mass once existed.  But there was nothing there to find.... is what would normally have happened, but the demon's eyes stared as the light pierced the coat of darkness that she had cast on herself, her form appearing as a sort of specter in the center of the hole.  The whisper wasn't yearning words for the one winged creature, but instead a chant for herself, the coat of darkness that protected her in battle.  Although it peeled back in the face of overwhelming power, the light of god.  Aruna had sunk down further into the depths to dodge the grenade, then rose into the crater, thinking her coat still protected her.

Thats why the glare she gave him had all of her frustration and vulnerability.

Aruna's cheeks were flushed, her eyes watery, the grace on her arm glowing faintly.  A scowl pushed her lips downward, destroying the pretty face of a young woman that she wore.  Shooting directly into the sky, her voice echoed through the clouds.

The endless fire grows, consuming all.
Carved from the endless void, I yearn for power!
As my body grows stronger, I find freedom!
As I find freedom, I yearn for salvation!
Light, oh so absolute in your power,
Feel the weight of everlasting darkness!

A dark swirling void surrounded the arm glowing with light, filling her palm with a radiant dark energy.  The energy then condensed and morphed into a sword.  The surrounding sea crashed on the hole with a roar.  That magic, it was his after all, but it was darkness too.  Could it be he already found the answer she was looking for?  If she survived this, perhaps the demon would find her answer.

[Kotomine_Rin]

? ? ? ?

As soon as Aruna's light intensified, the moment her lips uttered the chant, the black knight roared to the heavens. The sudden charge shook the skies and seas alike with unbridled hatred, cursing the one in front of him.

Samael, Demon Lord of The Round Table

Asmael, Fallen Archangel of Despair

No, right now, it was neither. It was a force that sought Aruna... or whatever was inside her. A storm approached.

Claws dug into the vehicle, eyes widened like pure hellfire, and the forces that bound the weapon to his command forced it to move downwards like divine thunder. Yes, a hail of machinegun fire and a salvo of rockets were suddenly crashing down on Aruna's form to smite her. Pure destruction, splitting the water apart with waves of death. The explosions would rip god's creations asunder, the bullets would riddle and tear them apart. And his fist punched into the glass once more, ripping a sniper rifle.

To hunt, one must force the prey to move and open itself. Tire it. Caress it with gunfire. Only then do you fire the final bullet into its heart.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna's eyes suddenly widened.  That trajectory, the accuracy.... he knew where she was?

The demon sunk back into the depths of the ocean, even as the water continued to split from god's wrath.  The bullets flew through her body just as before, not striking a single fragment of skin and merely passing through her.  Spikes emerged from Aruna's body, intercepting the rockets just as her back collided with the splitting tide.  Darkness finally covered her body, allowing her to disappear from mortal senses.  Although to anyone watching, it would look as if the rockets had disintegrated her body.  The question was whether she disappeared into the ocean or smoke clouds that the weapons had created.  A final pained voice echoed through the heavens.

"WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!?  ASMAEL?!  WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?!"

Yet despite those words, the chant had already begun.

[Kotomine_Rin]

? ? ? ? ?

Its teeth clenched. That name, that detestable name. With a cold grip that nearly shattered the helicopter's cockpit, the ungodly vehicle approached the water, its wings spinning like a hellish vortex. Waves crashed against one another, and lights flared to seek out the demon as the black knight started to regain altitude. Its eyes ever vigilant.

Closer than before, Aruna might be able to make out the vehicle better. Along with its weapons, it was covered in some sort of black mass, with glowing veins that coalesced into red and blue - giving birth to purple cores that shifted and moved like robotic signs. These lights were neither angelic nor demonic. And yet...

The light was almost heavenly. Was that thing... praying?

"Ουράνιοι οικοδεσπότες, σε γνωρίζω καλά. Ως κατηγορούμενος, έχω δει τις αυλές του ουρανού και της κόλασης. Όλοι αντέχετε το βάρος των πράξεών σας, αλλά δεν έχετε το σημάδι. Δαίμονας, Άγγελος ... δεν υπάρχει ανυπακοή ενάντια στον Θεό. Οι Χάριτες δεν έχουν αμαρτία. Και όμως -"

"Heavenly hosts, I know you well. As an accused, I have seen the courts of heaven and hell. You all bear the weight of your deeds, but you do not have the mark. Demon, Angel ... there is no disobedience against God. The Graces have no sin. And yet - "

The helicopter began to drop hellish flares. Lightning smashed the seas in heavenly indignation, and accursed napalm flares fell into the waters, flowing like a waterfall as they sank to seek the grace holder out. From a distance, a burning angel was descending from the skies, fires that'd burn even beneath the depths.

"Κύριε, η κρίση μου δεν έχει ακόμη ολοκληρωθεί. Υπάρχει ένας ακόμη όχι ανάμεσα στους εκλεκτούς που πρέπει να κριθούν ... αυτός που έχει διαπράξει τη σοβαρή αμαρτία της γενοκτονίας ... ναι, Κύριε, αυτόν που πρέπει τώρα να κρίνω .. είναι ο υψηλότερος θεός, ο δημιουργός μου ... Εσείς, YHVH! Αυτή είναι ... μια δήλωση πολέμου!"

"Lord, my judgment is not yet complete. There is one more not among the elect who must be judged ... the one who has committed the grave sin of genocide ... yes, Lord, the one I must judge now ... is the highest god, my creator ... You, YHVH! This is ... a declaration of war!"

And he'd give its weapons no quarter.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The chant finished, portals scattered around the waters, in the very sky that hosted their clash.  This backup tactic wasn't necessary.  Despite the angel's overwhelming power, Aruna had grown since their last encounter.  Her battles with Zeke, the bond she was developing with Lulu, even facing her own fears and ridding herself of the obstacle that was the light.  The creature was a raging beast of raw power, seeming to have both the powers of the light and dark.  A single decisive strike when he was the most vulnerable, like at this moment would be the way to end this fight, slice through him with the darkness sword and end his life.

But Aruna couldn't bring herself to kill Asmeal.

Gripping the blade within her hands, she felt a pang of anger towards herself.   "You speak nonesense.  Asmeal.... you are not well.  I see that now.  No, you never were well."

Chains emerged from the sky above, a few dozen threatening to wrap around the angel once known as Asmeal.  Rather than tie him up, the chains threatened to cage the angel.  No, he was always caged.  This was merely Aruna reclaiming a relationship that never was.

"Why do you come to judge me Asmeal?  I have faithfully carried your burden...."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Mael

The pain and desperation of prey was a sound he always detested. Even now, doing this made his stomach churn. Mael wanted to puke, but his resolve was already steeled. Yes, his war hadn't ended since that damned day. Until he did what must be done.

Yet something about that voice made him pause for a moment. Boiling water soared from the portals, and chains wrapped around the skies, trapping Mael and the chopper in a demonic gate. But he just glared at the seas where it hid, scowling as if tempering blades that screamed to crash down on his enemy once again.

Does this woman know me? Strange... The pit of vapor and burning air, how long would it hide that thing.

"You speak that name, but I don't remember ever asking you to take anything from me. Your voice is nothing more than a spew of shit and vomit to my ears, grace of <Purity>. Show yourself and be killed by me, or die and be silent forever."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"How dare you....."

The demonic teeth of the feminine angel emerged like fangs.  Her body lost its softness under the coat, becoming more rigid and muscular.  It was hard to call that form beautiful, at least by traditional standards.  It had far more in common with a monster.

"The one who cast this burden onto me does not even remember the deed?  Then what is the source of your anger?  You dare manifest your anger into wrath, when you do not even know me?  I'll show you true pain then.  I'll burn your existence to a crisp with the pain that comes with someone who has been cast aside."

A star was born within the cage, a light that illuminated the sea itself.  Fish far into the depths beyond the crashing waves were visible to all, the sea itself illuminated by Aruna's light.  An entire world opened up beneath them, yet Aruna's eyes were focused on Meal.  The star was born in front of him.  The blade of darkness was now in a completely different form, coated completely in light.  It was bigger and the light of the blade extended.  Already cocked back, Aruna attempted to thrust the sword into Meal's abdomen.

"This is your grace, your burden.  Do you want it gone from this world?  Would you rather it purged from the world?  Is that why you are angry?  I refuse to accept you as the one I knew.  Begone from this world!"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Mael

Darkness roared, light screamed. And yet-

"Aruna...?" For a moment, his wide-eyed expression hinted at an emotion he hadn't felt in years. Did he recognize her? If so...

SWING!

"No." The sword scratched his skin far too late. A palm smacked against Aruna's forearm to throw the attack off-balance, the black blur was already in motion - following up with an immediate elbow to Aruna's plexus. The impacts were unreal, with such precision and power that the air pressure twisted both of their faces.

"I see. So you survived then. It's been far too long, that piece kept me trapped in that pit for quite a while." The elbow that had been thrust extended like a whip to smash a fist on the devil's jaw, pummeling her on top of the helicopter with a fighting style carved by war itself. And for the first time, Mael's glare shot at her. No... her arm. "How long do you plan on mocking me, God's Trash?"

The light emanating from Aruna literally curved away from Mael, running back as if afraid of something.

His piercing hate was genuine. But... he extended a hand to Aruna nonetheless. "I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you from that distance, had I known..." There was some regret to his voice, but he closed his eyes.

"That apparition you saw was an illusion created by the grace. I was rejecting it for some time, there was no way it'd take no for an answer. To be honest, I thought you'd have died by now, it's already far too advanced for an ordinary demon."

That's right, the fighting stopped. This must have been a misunderstanding, but they were friends. Everything would be okay now.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

What the?!

The light swiveled to the side, creating an arc that turned around him.  In that moment, she saw life flashing before her eyes.  All the humans she met in the last few hundred years, every encounter washed away as the fear of the light came rushing back into her.  Her butt crashed into the helicopter, her sword in hand pressed against the hard metal.  She looked up, only to see the glare and hear those words.

"How long do you plan on mocking me, God's Trash?"

Tears streamed down Aruna's face, falling onto the ground in utter silence.  Aruna's head twisted in place, going back and forth as she heard the full weight of his words.  An illusion, an apparition, a fake?  Then....

"It just attached to me out of desperation to live.  My quest... everything is a lie."

Aruna held out her arm.  "Do you... need it back?  Is that why you have gone mad?"