"Access code verified. Limiters released. Access permitted…"
Amid that cold, dull synthesized voice, a wooden fast craft broke through the iridescent light curtain hanging down from Olympus, the Interstellar Mountainous City's mountain range, as if preparing to dock.
But as the distance closed, the Argo didn't slow in the slightest. Instead, it brought its protective spells fully online and surged forward even faster.
It looked like they were about to smash straight into the shore, yet the Argo, spreading its pair of wing-like wooden decks, rode the roiling airflow. With Magecraft and wind driving it, the ship climbed sharply and lifted into open air, skimming over Atlantis' harbor like a bird in flight and casting a huge shadow across everything below.
That was clearly the work of the master craftsman Daedalus. As for the forward-thinking idea of wing structures that cut the air like an airplane's, that had obviously come from Samael's quiet guidance behind the scenes.
"Climb continues! All systems normal! Approaching the Interstellar Mountainous City! Distance to glide point… 1500 meters!"
On the lookout, Atalanta called out the status with crisp precision, fingers still pinching an arrow, held on the bowstring.
Inside the captain's cabin, Jason had the Interstellar Mountainous City's design laid out flat. At the report, his spirits lifted, and he looked eagerly to the heavily marked, circled spot on the fish-scale chart.
The glide point was a platform built into the Interstellar Mountainous City to receive flying units coming in from the sea. It was also the fastest route to the Great Altar, and relatively safe.
Meaning they wouldn't have to take the greater risk of moving through Atlantis' ground-level city on the Mu Continent.
After all, even though they had the fortress's access code, their encounter at sea had made one thing clear: the true machine gods left behind here had most likely had their programs rewritten by the interstellar vanguard, and would exterminate any external enemy on sight.
Who knew what they'd run into if they tried the ground route.
"Spells stable and active!
Wings functioning normally!
Wind speed and direction normal!
Distance 1000… 900… 700… 500…"
On the lookout platform, Atalanta's clothes snapped and fluttered in the gale. Her emerald eyes stayed locked forward as she continued the running report.
Jason, receiving the updates, tightened his grip on his sword hilt and barked toward the Magecraft arrays.
"All hands to position! Ten seconds to touchdown. Brace for impact!"
In a solemn, breath-held silence, the Argonauts steadied themselves, waiting for the jolt of landing.
Staring at the glide point rushing closer and the Interstellar Mountainous City swelling across his field of view, the captain felt a chill crawl up his spine. He instinctively hunched his shoulders, forced out a dry laugh, and reached to pat the space beside him.
"I'm telling you, buddy, I've got no experience with stuff this insane. In a minute, you've got to keep me safe, Heracl—les…"
But his hand met nothing.
That emptiness snapped Jason back to himself. He pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and silently tightened his grip on sword and shield. The fear in his eyes ebbed away, replaced by a hard-earned resolve.
With landing only moments away, the tension in Atalanta's chest finally eased a fraction. In a clear, steady voice, she reported again.
"Airspace clear! Contact countdown… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… lan—"
"Crack…"
At the exact instant the Argo was about to slam into the glide point, the crisp, tearing sound of wood rang out in everyone's ears.
Jason's nerves were stretched to the breaking point. The moment he heard it, he jolted up in alarm, his expression warping.
"No! It's underneath!"
At the same time, the Argo's hull split open. A sharp stone spike, a hundred meters long, speared straight through the cabin and kept growing upward.
Creeeak…
The ship let out a teeth-aching groan. The damaged light patterns flickered between bright and dim, and the Argo looked like meat skewered on a spike, waiting for the chef's knife.
"The Arrow that Eclipsed the Somber Sky—Tauropolos Skia Thermokrasia!"
At the critical moment, Atalanta leapt from the lookout, sliding down the tilting hull at an angle as she drew Tauropolos to its limit. From the other, feral aspect of the Moon Goddess, a violent surge of power flooded straight into the arrow.
Boom!
In an instant, a razor-sharp beam of purplish-red light screamed downward, striking the main body of the stone spire. The unleashed divine power detonated and blew it apart on the spot.
"Move! Abandon ship! Jump now!"
Jason burst out of the captain's cabin, bracing himself against the rail as he roared, his expression fierce and his decision absolute.
Shrill whistling filled the air!
Before anyone could act, a dense barrage of piercing impacts followed. Slender earthen spikes shot toward them in a storm.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The two makeshift wings hastily installed on the Argo shattered first, pierced clean through and torn apart by rampant divine force.
The hull, which had barely managed to stay aloft, immediately lost stability. Like a kite with its string cut, it plunged toward the ground amid explosions, trailing thick black smoke.
"Boss, watch out!"
Seeing Atalanta about to be thrown from the slanted side of the ship as it spiraled out of control, Circe dove without hesitation. Beating her wings, she caught the huntress and arced back toward the Argo.
Thud! Thud!
But the incoming spikes were relentless and vicious. In the blink of an eye, two of them brutally punched through the hastily raised defensive spell and pierced Circe's wings.
The Eagle Witch cried out in pain as blood scattered through the air, her body spinning helplessly as she fell.
At the same time, Medea, fighting alone, could no longer reverse the Argo's descent.
"Half-open the dome! Use it as a deceleration valve! Maintain full defensive and levitation spells! Everyone, prepare for an emergency landing!"
Jason knew that reaching a proper glide point was no longer realistic. Without hesitation, he spun back to the main control platform and took the helm himself. He nearly snapped the control lever in half, grinding the battered hull through a rain of damage, but finally forced the ship through the dense spike barrage. The Argo lurched and plunged toward the ground.
"Magus, apply levitation! Warriors, watch your timing. Be ready to jump ship if you have to!"
The ground rushed up fast. Wind howled into the cabin, tearing loose planks from the hull and sending them flying. Jason shouted commands to the magecraft array while wrestling the controls.
"Captain, what about you?"
The Calydonian Prince, quicker than most to react, couldn't help but ask.
"Even if you're jumping, someone has to stay here and pick you a decent landing spot, right? Stop whining. Looks like it's finally my turn to step up!"
Jason kept his eyes locked on the rapidly sharpening cityscape below, making final, minute adjustments to the Argo's impact point as he laughed and cursed under his breath.
Most of the Argonauts carried divine blood, but its purity and strength varied. Not everyone would survive a fall like this.
"Don't give up yet! It's not over! Theseus said it himself. The Argo is the finest ship, and you're the finest captain! He's never been wrong!"
The Calydonian Prince, respected for having led the Calydonian Hunt, struck his shield to rally the crew, taking command on his own initiative.
"Castor, Pollux, you two stay with the captain! Don't leave his side! Everyone else, follow me. Release divine power downward and counter the impact!"
Their morale surged. Without hesitation, the Argonauts split to either side, using every means at their disposal to slow the Argo's fall.
Fine. If you idiots are brave enough to believe in this, then I'll go all in with you.
Jason clenched his teeth as he swore silently. His hands danced across the controls like butterflies among flowers. Without realizing it, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and the heavy gloom weighing on his heart eased, just a little.