The war banners of three armies flutter in the salty sea wind. On the western shore, the forces stand ready to board: Julie's Underworld Legion, three thousand strong in obsidian armor; Boreones, the human emperor, with twenty thousand soldiers in gleaming steel; and Nike and Bia at the head of ten thousand Sky Legion warriors.
Three ships wait at the dock. One is a giant vessel decorated with intricate wooden statues and equipped with massive crossbows. Another is slightly smaller but equally impressive. The third is a pathetic wreck, little more than rotting wood, seemingly on the verge of collapse—assigned to the Underworld Legion.
Boreones and his soldiers point and laugh, their jeers carrying across the water. "Hahaha! Careful when you board, Underworld dogs—wouldn't want your mighty warship to crumble under your pride!"
The Sky Legion soldiers join in, the mockery washing over Julie's ranks. She stands perfectly still, but a muscle feathers in her jaw. Mia leans in, her voice a whisper lost in the din. "They're baiting you. Looking for an excuse."
"I know," Julie breathes out, the words tight. She doesn't look at Mia, but catches Elfir's eye and gives a sharp, almost imperceptible nod.
Elfir steps forward. He doesn't roar or shout; he simply drives his fist, wreathed in sudden, silent flame, into the hull of the wreck.
BOOM.
The ship doesn't just break; it vaporizes into a cloud of splinters and ash. A geyser of water erupts, drenching the front ranks of the laughing soldiers. The sound—the laughter, the jeers—is severed. In its place is a ringing, profound silence, broken only by the patter of falling water. Two thousand faces turn pale, their eyes wide as they stare at the space where a ship had been, and at the unassuming soldier who now dusts off his hands.
Julie steps into that silence. She doesn't look at the horrified crowd. She simply tosses a marble into the sea. A small whirlpool forms, and from the depths, a leviathan of a ship erupts. Its hull is forged from stygian iron, decorated with gold, and a statue of a golden phoenix graces its prow. The flag of the Underworld flutters proudly from its mast.
Julie turns a sweet, terrifyingly bright smile directly at Boreones. "Mia," she asks, her voice carrying perfectly in the new quiet. "The punishment of souls falls to whom, again?"
Mia sighs, playing her part. "The Underworld gods and their Legion."
"The Underworld," Julie repeats, her smile never wavering. "I'll see you soon, then."
Boreones's face mottles, purple with suppressed fury. The leather wrappings on his sword hilt creak in his grip. "What are you all gawking at?!" he bellows at his frozen army, his voice cracking with rage. "BOARD!"
Boreones and his army quickly sail south. Nike and Bia set their course north, the Underworld ship sailing parallel to their own.
---
The sun hangs directly overhead when the light suddenly dies, swallowed by a dense, yellowish fog that rolls across the water. The world falls into a dead, muffled silence. The gentle lap of waves against the hull becomes distant, as if heard through wool.
A young soldier on their deck coughs, then clutches his throat, his skin taking on a sickly, greenish hue.
"Julie!" Mia's shout is sharp with alarm from the deck below. "It's toxic!"
Julie's eyes narrow, her instincts screaming. "Mages, Aegis, now! Sylphy, get this filth out of my sky! Amar, purge the poison!"
The response is instantaneous. A dome of shimmering energy snaps over their ship, and a matching one flares to life over the Sky Legion's vessel. Above, Sylphy's Aerynders swirl into the fog, their bodies moving through the thick air as if it were a current, summoning a gale that tears the poisonous veil to shreds. As daylight returns, Amar's angels rise, their forms radiating a serene, warm light that washes over the ships, the golden rings above their heads burning away the last vestiges of the miasma.
Nike and Bia stand at their ship's rail, amazed by the swift, efficient response. Nike murmurs, "The Underworld Legion is in another league." Bia meets her gaze and gives a single, solemn nod of agreement.
"Commander! Orthys is near!" a voice shouts from the watch post.
Soon, the jagged outline of the enemy island appears. As they make landfall, Nike and Bia's army departs for the western land.
Julie watches them go, her voice a low murmur. "We have to be quick."
She turns, her voice ringing in the sudden stillness. "Attention!"
Every soldier snaps to, their focus absolute.
"Two objectives!" Julie shouts. "Win the battle with zero losses! And protect our allies on the western front! To do that, we end this—now! No holding back! Unleash your true strength! Do you understand!?"
"YES, MA'AM!" The roar is unified, shaking the very ground.
As the soldiers begin their final checks, Mia falls into step beside Julie. "A bit dramatic, don't you think?"
A faint, wry smile touches Julie's lips. "You start to enjoy it after a while. Even the cringe."
"You're starting to sound like the Skullhead," Mia notes flatly.
Julie's smile doesn't fade. "Now that's just harsh." Mia simply shakes her head and moves away.
"Scouts," Julie orders, her tone all business again. "Disarm the traps. Report enemy movements."
Hundreds of soldiers melt into the jungle without a sound.
---
Shadows flit at the edges of the dense foliage. A scout phases through a giant spiderweb, its strands coated with a neurotoxin that glistens purple, without even rustling a leaf. Another spots the subtle tension wire for a rockslide, carefully clipping it with a tool that absorbs the kinetic energy silently. The path is not just cleared; it is made to look as though no trap had ever existed.
The Underworld legion arrives at the battlefield. An army of thousands stands arrayed against them. At the center, a giant with bronze skin sits upon a massive boulder, knuckledusters of dark iron on his hands.
Julie's gaze sweeps over him, barely registering the threat, and fixes on the white temple atop the distant, cloud-shrouded mountain.
'The Northern Pillar. Atlas', she thinks. 'I'm not ready to confront you yet. But I will be. I will surpass you.'
"Hahahah! Only this much?" the giant booms, his laughter scornful. "Are we really at war?"
Julie lets out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, for fate's sake. I am so tired of these nutshells."
Mia's voice is calm and analytical beside her. "Brontar. A giant among Titans. Divinity of iron skin and iron fist. From his aura, he's a peak high god. The same as you."
A spark of interest finally lights in Julie's eyes. "Peak high god level…" She raises her voice, clear and commanding. "Raise the flag. Formation!"
As her order echoes, the Underworld flag is hoisted high. A moment later, a battle horn rings out from the Titan ranks, answered by a deep, resonant blast from the Underworld Legion. The air crackles with impending violence.
The Legion moves with practiced precision. Tylon and Geo take position with the vanguard unit, soldiers clad in heavy armor bearing giant shields. The cavalry unit positions itself at the center, lances ready. The remaining units form up behind the protective wall of shields.
"Buffs and debuffs—execute!" Julie commands.
A symphony of magical energy erupts from the Legion's ranks. Golden light washes over their forces—regeneration, enhanced strength, and stabilizing weight for the vanguard. Simultaneously, sickly green and purple energies streak toward the enemy lines, carrying debuffs of disorientation, sluggishness, and creeping fear.
Mia's voice cuts through the organized chaos. "Terrain alteration ready."
Julie doesn't hesitate. "Quagmire, now!"
The ground beneath the Titan army groans. Solid earth turns to thick, grasping mud as Genomes and Sirakels work their magic. The massive Titans, burdened by heavy armor and weapons, sink rapidly.
"My foot's stuck!"
"I'm sinking!"
"Archers, volley!" Julie commands.
Harley's archer unit looses a barrage of arrows that darken the sky. The Aerynders catch the projectiles, weaving currents of air that accelerate them to terrifying speeds.
SWOOSH!
The arrows rain down, piercing Titan flesh with sickening thuds. Cries of pain and anger echo across the field.
Brontar roars in frustration, tearing himself free from the muck. "Cowards! Using dirty tricks! Do you not have any honor?!" He surges to his feet, and with a bellow that shakes the very air, his entire army—bipedal monsters, Titans, hybrid creatures, and dragons—charges.
Julie's commands come rapid-fire. "Aerynders, Devils—air superiority! Angels, focus on healing!"
Dire laughs, a wild, joyful sound. "Finally! My turn!" He shouts to his devil unit, "Let's go, boys! Time to play with the flying lizards!" He launches skyward, his unit following like a swarm of dark locusts.
"Wait for us, Dire!" Sylphy and her Aerynders ascend in a graceful, swirling motion, ready to meet the aerial threat.
Julie turns to Mia. "Take command. I'll handle the giant." As Mia nods, Julie's form shimmers and vanishes from sight.
BANG! The enemy vanguard crashes against the Underworld shields. The sound of metal on metal echoes for miles, but the formation holds firm, unmovable.
"Vanguard, open! Cavalry, charge!" Mia commands.
Tylon leaps from behind the shield wall, his hammer smashing a Titan's skull with a sickening crunch. He begins spinning, clearing a circle of devastation around him. Nearby, Geo abandons his defensive stance, slamming his hands on the ground. The earth trembles as massive stone spikes erupt, impaling advancing Titans.
"HEIGH!" The cavalry thunders through the gap, lances piercing everything in their path.
Brontar stares in astonishment. 'What's happening? They're only 3,000 against our 40,000! Why are we losing ground?'
His thoughts are interrupted by a searing pain across his back. He spins, but sees nothing. "Aaargh! Show yourself, coward!"
Another slash cuts his heel. In a blind rage, he smashes his fists into the ground, sending columns of earth exploding upward. "FACE ME!"
"You really are thick-skinned," a feminine voice mocks from behind. As Brontar turns, a blade flashes, and one of his eyes goes dark.
"AAAAHHH! MY EYE!" He stumbles blindly, swinging wildly. His massive fists crush friend and foe alike in his agony.
Mia's eyes sweep the battlefield, analyzing everything. The coordinated movements, the controlled chaos—it's all proceeding according to plan. Her gaze flicks to the hourglass. 'Forty-two minutes.'
"Phase three!" she shouts. "Sound the disengage!"
A single, deep horn blast echoes across the battlefield. Instantly, the Legion's forces begin a disciplined, orchestrated withdrawal. The vanguard locks shields and retreats in perfect formation. Cavalry wheels away from the fray. Within moments, a clear killing field opens between the Legion and the confused enemy forces.
As the last soldier falls back, the air around the empty space where Julie vanished begins to warp. A corona of crimson energy, visible as a raging heat haze, erupts into being. Julie materializes, the playful cunning gone from her face, replaced by the serene emptiness of a reaper. When her eyes open, they hold no emotion, only the flat, dark promise of an ended thing.
Across the field, Brontar's pained roars die in his throat. A chill, profound and unnatural, sweeps through the sweltering air. The cacophony of battle seems to dampen, as if the world itself were holding its breath. His single remaining eye widens, his primal instincts screaming of a predator he had only just noticed.
"W-what...?" he stammers, cold sweat trickling down his temple.
Julie stands motionless as tendrils of scarlet mist—the essence of his fallen army—stream from the battlefield and flow into her. The haze around her grows more vibrant and dense with every passing second.
"FIRE!" Mia's command cuts through the unnatural silence.
Brontar looks up. Ten glowing arrows streak into the sky like falling stars, then arc downward. His world slows, dims, and turns silent. The last thing he sees is Julie standing amid the crimson haze, her form beginning to glow with terrifying power.
The enchanted arrows strike the center of the enemy formation. For a heartbeat, there is only brilliant, expanding light. Then the sound—a world-ending roar of pure energy that swallows Brontar's entire army in one cataclysmic sweep.
When the light fades, only silence remains. Julie stands at the epicenter, the last tendrils of red mist flowing into her. The air around her crackles with newfound power, and the ground at her feet blackens and crystallizes. She opens eyes that now glow with faint, crimson light.
"Low Chief God," she whispers. 'They feel right. The power feels right.' She turns to her perfectly organized, untouched army and gives a single, satisfied nod.