Lucia's Point of View

Eye of the Storm

All of us waited in suspense as we expected something to happen. It wasn't until a foul magic began to cover the area that my eyes widened. Snapping back to Arthur, I saw blue lightning form on his body as it shot about here and there. It didn't take long for everything to fall apart. Literally.

Arthur slammed onto the shield with his feet as his sword blocked some manner of attack. It appeared to be a stream of water but was strong enough to push the entire airship back as Arthur defended us. Many fell once again at the sudden shift. Cries of panic could be heard as the barrier began to crack, and we were being pushed back into the storm.

Webs shot out across the barrier as all the Elves struggled to keep their magic going. "Arthur!" I called out to him before the barrier shattered, and he was hit full force with the attack.

The masts of the ships were destroyed as Arthur's body was sent flying through them. Without him to hold up the ship, we began to fall, and the Elves were all unconscious from the magic backlash. To my surprise, Alwin activated his magic and grabbed hold of the ship, and slowed our descent.

"Get the generators on!" The Captain bellowed.

"Hurry…" Alwin strained as his hands were held out.

"What about Arthur!?" Ziah shouted as the boys screamed.

Alwin grunted as he struggled to keep the ship airborne. "We can't worry about that right now! Lucia…" He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I need your help…" His arms shook as he concentrated.

Before I could help him, he turned back toward the bow, and his eyes widened before his jaw dropped. "Alwin?" I asked in concern.

A deafening roar could be heard, and I dropped the Vithari Queen as I screamed and covered my ears. Falling to my knees, I clutched my hands over my ears and felt my forehead dig into the deck. It felt as if the roar was shaking my entire body and brain. My nose began to bleed, and my eyes became hazy as I was on the verge of passing out.

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Eventually, it came to a stop, and I breathed heavily as I looked around. However, when I did, I saw that the ocean was right in front of us. Glancing at Alwin, I saw that his magic was still active, but he was vomiting. Slowly, he looked back up in fear. Following his gaze, I looked above the waves that were tumbling down before us.

My eyes widened as my body started to convulse in fear. A creature stood before us, thousands of feet in the air. If someone told me a creature the size of Helmsforth existed in the ocean, I never would've believed them, but this thing towered over our airship.

"What-" It released another roar from its maw that was lined with teeth several times the size of our ship.

Alwin passed out, and we began to fall. The creature's roar was cut short this time, and our ship was quickly caught. I assumed the generators were back on but assumed wrong as Arthur was back and floated above us. Gusts of wind shot from him and into the creature. Cuts formed as the creature cried out in irritation as it backed away slightly, but given its size, it didn't seem like much.

It appeared to have a corrupted humanoid form. The main body matched that of a human, but it had large gills across the entirety of its neck. Tentacles shot into the air all around us and squirmed maliciously. A sickly greyish skin shimmered in the sunlight while fins jutted out of several places around its body. I could only see its chest and up, but I didn't even want to look at it in the first place.

Arthur saw something he didn't like because he quickly grabbed me before the entire ship split into pieces. Water cut through the ship like a sword, and I saw Captain Adam turn to red mist in an instant before he was gone. Even with my ears ringing, I could still hear the splintering of the wood. We were falling as Arthur no longer held up the defunct ship. He protected me and a few others. Arthur grabbed me first, and I was helpless to do anything besides hold onto him.

"Lucia, the boys!" He roared loud enough for me to hear him despite my loss of hearing.

Alwin was also falling. Gritting my teeth, my magic activated as I grabbed them midair. Ziah flew over to assist with the Vithari Queen. I was panicking and couldn't hold my magic. To my surprise, Arthur let me go, but I grabbed onto his leg before I could fall. He looked down at me with a grim expression.

"Aim for the portals." Was all he said, and I had to read his lips before he shook his foot.

"What?!" I cried out to him as he shot off towards the creature, and I spread my wings. "Arthur, you don't have to do this!"

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "It's why I'm here." Flying off towards the creature, the sounds of battle began.

Looking down towards the debris, Alwin, Ziah, Allen, Typhon, Austin, and the Vithari Queen were all falling. Using my magic, I helped direct them to the portal. I could only hope Arthur put it someplace where they would be safe on the other side. Looking back to Arthur, my eyes widened as I saw magic begin to flow from his body as he roared in return. Lighting shot from his body and struck across the sky.

The creature, in turn, started to summon a monstrous amount of magic. It shot from its body like a wave, and I watched in horror as it began to expand slowly over the entire area. My eyes darted down, and saw another portal opening and closing below us. Several had already appeared to have fallen through. Others were dead or unconscious, so I quickly went to aid them and aimed for the last portal with them in my magical grasp.

Fear took hold of me as the wave of Demonic magic closed in on me, and I thought for sure I was going to be evaporated in the sheer density of it. Squinting my eyes as a shadow appeared before me against the light, I could only make out a silhouette, but it had wings. My mind assumed it was Arthur, but he didn't possess wings. Whoever it was, they protected me while the rest of us went through the portal, but it could only have been him... Only Arthur…

"ARTHUR!"