Author's Notes:
Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.
Secondly, some reviewers asked how Leviathan could be a Heretic God since he is a biblical monster and not a God per se, so allow me to explain that in Canon Campione! any being that possesses a 'Legend' can become a Heretic God.
Just for a few Canon examples: Black Prince Alec slayed the Angel Ramiel for his 'Black Lightning' Authority; John Pluto Smith slayed Oberon, the King of the Fairies from Shakespearian lore, for his 'Lord of the Elves'; and Madame Aisha slayed an unspecified Christian Saint for her 'Charm or Curse' Authority.
Just from those three examples we have a biblical being, the angel, a historical figure, the saint, and a mythological character, Oberon, as proof that any being that possesses a 'Legend' can become a Heretic God.
Hope that answers your questions.
Thirdly, I would like to give a special thanks for all my followers, for Skittering Campione now has over a thousandth followers! Thanks for the support!
Lastly: I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".
\V/
Raging Tides
Despite the relentless rain battering her body, the fierce winds furiously lashing out against her lithe frame, Taylor stood perfectly still, her steely gaze unwavering from the beast down amidst the raging waves, from the shadow of her past that was once again threatening the lives of countless innocents, silently waiting for the signal that the Council had finished evacuating the local population.
"All Civilians have been removed from the port and the agents of the Council are retreating as well." Anit relayed to the young Campione at her side, as she listened to the reports from her earpiece.
"Good, make sure they keep it that way." Taylor firmly stated, her eyes never straying from the massive sea serpent down bellow. "You should also retreat to a safe distance Anit."
Giving a nod of acknowledgment the Egyptian mage prepared to leave the rooftop, magic gathering inside her body, before stopping and giving Taylor an uncertain look for but a moment, an uncertain look that was swiftly replaced by steel hard determination.
"Taylor, take care and good luck." She simply stated, her voice carrying nothing but truth in her words, before leaping out of their perch, her enchanted winds leading her away from the raging sea and the monster that now dwelled inside it.
Despite not turning her head Taylor kept track of the young mage until she left the range of her Eternity's Sight, a rueful grin appearing on her features for the briefest of moments.
She sincerely couldn't remember the last time someone outside the Undersiders had truly wished her well, wished for her safety with no ulterior motives or hidden agendas. It was quite the novel feeling.
Shaking off such thoughts she focused at the task set before her, at the battle that was soon to unfold.
Gazing at Leviathan's massive body, its long coils easily shattering steel hulled freighters as if they were made out of wet cardboard, and the ever growing, stone shattering, waves all around the beast, Taylor had to clamp down at an instinctual urge of activating her Shards of Infinity and claiming a Brute power in order to protect herself.
For while Anit had explained that, besides their high levels of magical resistance, a Campione had a far stronger constitution than normal humans, possessing what amounted to a far more durable body and an superior healing rate, which allowed a Campione to weather blows that would shatter a normal human's bones and recover from injuries, which should take days to heal, in mere hours, that wouldn't be nearly enough if she needed to match Leviathan in a contest of strength.
From what she had gathered from the mage's explanation, in a manner of speaking being a Campione had granted to her what amounted to a natural Brute three ranking, maybe a four, which really wouldn't be nearly enough for her current situation.
But granting herself an defensive power would not only deplete one of her Authority's charges, but also, based at what she was currently seeing of the sea serpent's strength, she could assume with some certainty that nothing less than a Brute eight would do in order to allow her to directly weather the beast's blows, meaning that she would only be able to enjoy said protection for eighteen minutes at best.
'It would be a far too wasteful gamble, too much cost and risk, for far too little gain'. She thought with finality, deciding instead that it would be far better to rely in one of her old, tried and tested, battle tactics.
Avoid and evade.
And thankfully, if what she had managed to understand in regards to her newest Authority held true, then implementing such a tactic now wouldn't even deplete one of her shards.
"Come forth guardians of the desert; arise keepers of the wastelands; Heed my call; from the shifting dunes I summon you; emerge I command you; for the billowing sands are my domain!"
She intoned the spell words, the divine power contained within her shifting to follow its newest command as sand started to swiftly appear out of thin air all around her, floating around her body for but a moment before rushing forward, completely ignoring the raging storm, gathering together right in front of her in ever growing quantities.
In a matter of seconds a massive, monstrous form appeared before her, a form she was extremely familiar with.
It was a massive beetle-like creature, easily larger than a minivan, six and a half feet long, five feet across and five feet tall, standing atop six pincer-like legs, two forelimbs with what looked like praying mantis blades, and a single large horn that curved outwards from atop its head.
All in all, what most would consider a nightmarish sight, and yet the appearance of said gargantuan beetle could only bring forth a small, sad, nostalgic smile to Taylor's face, as the young Campione remembered her former mount.
"Hello again, Atlas." She softly spoke to herself, glad to confirm that the construct's divine nature was protecting its sand body from the pouring rain.
Nimbly climbing atop the sand creature's back, right behind the horn, even as its shell opened up to reveal a series of diaphanous sand-like wings, which immediately started to beat up with ever growing speed, she allowed a fierce, predatory, smile to enter her features.
Ignoring the loud thrumming coming from behind her as her steed took flight, Taylor directed the sand construct towards the bay where Leviathan was now rampaging, all the boats in the harbor now long gone as the sea serpent swiftly moved towards the buildings alongside the docks.
As soon as they approached enough for Leviathan to enter her Sight's range Taylor immediately started to parse what information she could glean from the Heretic God's body, even while guiding Atlas ever closer.
Her earlier musing about the beast's strength and resilience had been spot on, it's massive serpentine body being literally covered in extremely thick scales and coils of densely packed muscles, both of which she had no doubt the serpent could flood with divine power at a moment's notice to rise it's power and resilience.
'Well then, let's get its attention.' She decided while flexing her already active Authority, eyes fixed on Leviathan's form down bellow.
All around her sand started to appear amidst the storm, swiftly gathering into very familiar shapes, coalescing into the form of large, dog sized scarabs. By the dozens they formed, wings already stretched and buzzing, flying alongside Atlas, until, in a matter of moments, a full blown swarm was following her through the air.
Another mental command and the swarm descended, hundreds of sand-scarabs dive bombing straight towards Leviathan's raging form, even as more of their brethren keep forming around Taylor's body.
She had no delusions regarding the scarabs' ability to kill the Heretic God, for despite the fact their bladed limbs being able to cut through steel with ease, she knew the sea serpent's massive body could most likely endure a lot more punishment than they could deliver.
But that did not mean her swarm didn't have a function in the coming battle.
And so, commanding Atlas to keep his distance, the young Campione focused all her senses, both mundane and divine, upon her opponent, silently analyzing it as her swarm rushed it from all sides.
Khepri's sudden regeneration had nearly been her end, but it had also taught her a invaluable lesson, to not underestimate an Heretic God, even for a moment. And so she waited as her swarm started to do what she commanded it to do, to distract, probe and harass.
'Let's see how you respond to this.' She thought, eyes locked at the sea serpent down bellow, analyzing it's every move. She would not be caught off guard again.
\V/
"Keep the perimeter tight, we cannot risk civilians nearing the sea! Make sure all the wards are properly placed and erected!" Anit shouted so that she could be overheard amidst the ever growing storm, issuing orders towards a mage of the Council, which up until mere days ago had utterly outranked her.
Even as she swiftly analyzed the incoming reports a small part of her mind couldn't help but laugh incredulously with a tinge of hysteria at the situation at hand. Less than two days ago she had been right at the ground zero of where a Heretic God was about to rampage, setting up wards in order to keep the growing situation contained and the civilian population safe.
And now, once again, here she was, less than two miles away from an rampaging Heretic God, coordinating the efforts of erecting all the barriers and wards that were being put in place in order to avoid the gargantuan beast down at the harbor from claiming innocent lives.
But despite the near identical situations, one major diverging fact had presented itself, and it was exactly that point of divergence that was seriously testing her self control as that small, unhelpful, part of her mind kept breaking down in near hysterical laughter.
For before she had been shunted into that particularly hazardous situation due to the fact that, despite her impressive skills as a mage, her young age and lack of connections made her completely expendable.
But now, now she had somehow been put in charge of this, newest, particularly hazardous, situation, as the overseer of the whole operation; her new position as the Eight Campione's sole servant somehow bumping her straight to the top of the food chain.
And the irony that somehow, despite her complete and absolute reversal of her place in the command chain, she was still practically in the same position as before, made part of her want to laugh at the irony of it all.
Firmly locking that particular line of though away so she could revisit it much, much, later, she focused at the task at hand, following her King's command in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Alexandria from Leviathan's wrath.
Her personal mental breakdown regarding how her life had suddenly turned upside down could wait for another, far more opportune, moment.
Dispatching another veteran mage, whom she was positive had outranked her to a truly ludicrous degree earlier that week, to reinforce the barrier near the southwest side of the port area of the city, Anit kept her sharp eyes turned towards Taylor distant form.
The young Campione had taken flight atop a truly massive scarab, rising through the stormy winds, swiftly moving towards the rampaging God down in the harbor.
For a moment Anit wondered what Taylor was doing, until she noticed countless shapes forming amidst the ever growing darkness of the storm. With a sudden jolt the Egyptian mage finally recognized what she was seeing, as, by the dozens, Taylor summoned forth the very same sand scarabs Khepri had used against the young Campione, an army ready to respond to their master's command.
In a matter of moments a massive swarm cluttered the skies above Alexandria, and yet, despite their massive numbers, more kept appearing with every moment that passed, dozens, hundreds, thousands, a literal biblical plague darkening the sky.
Anit had but a moment to watch in awe, before, as if a single being, the entire swarm dived towards the sea, as if a tidal wave of sand rushing forth to clash against the surging waves, as if the desert rushing forth in defiance of the ocean's wrath.
She watched as they collided against Leviathan's gargantuan form, countless bladed limbs scratching, stabbing and cutting against the beast scaled hide, searching for weak spots as the swarm skittered over the beast's body, constantly moving, never stopping their onslaught.
It was a daunting sight, the never ending swarm rushing towards the massive sea serpent, unminding of the danger represented by the now enraged God, uncaring for their safety, dozens of them being swiftly smashed by its twisting coils, dozens more being crushed by its fanged maw, and yet they never wavered, an army of suicide warriors focused only on bringing down their enemy.
Watching as a new wave of scarabs literally hurled themselves against Leviathan's eyes, bladed limbs outstretched as they impacted, sacrificing themselves in order to deliver the blow, Anit was suddenly very thankful she was aligned with the young Campione.
A loud bestial roar reverberated throughout the city, windows shattering as a literal wave of sound blasted forth from Leviathan's irate form, crushing hundreds of the sand scarabs with the strength of its shockwave alone, forcefully pushing hundreds more of them back, only to allow hundreds more to take their place in their relentless assault.
Anit thought for a moment that this was it, that the biblical primordial monster of the sea would simply succumb in face of the swarm the Eight Campione was commanding, buried under their unending numbers.
A thought that was swiftly crushed as the sea surged forth all around the beast, all but exploding upwards, crushing everything in its path, before forming dozens of water tendrils, each over ten feet wide, over a hundred feet long, surrounding Leviathan amidst a swaying mass of watery whips.
And yet, despite their massive size, the water tendrils moved with terrifying speed, crushing everything that dared to approach the beast, slamming hundreds of scarabs by the second, their crushed remains being swiftly washed away by the torrential rain, effectively blocking the swarm from reaching Leviathan's form.
'It's a stalemate.' Anit swiftly realized as she watched the clouds of sand scarabs trying to penetrate Leviathan's watery defense, striking from all sides, only to be swatted out of the sky by the lightning fast tendrils.
Taylor's swarm couldn't penetrate the sea monster's defense, but at the same time it appeared to not have located Taylor yet, the young Campione flying high in the stormy sky, far above the tendrils reach, and so Leviathan could not stop the source of the scarabs.
Wondering if Taylor would be forced to use the golden form she had used to defeat Khepri, Anit wasted a moment pondering if her King had any other Authorities at her disposal, but her musings were cut short as a frantic shout came forth through her earpiece.
"Tidal wave incoming! Get to high ground, now!" One of the Council's mages frantically shouted, the sound of heavy breathing and the rushing sound of wind indicating said mage was following his own advice as swiftly as possible.
Turning her focus towards the sea Anit immediately paled at the sight before her eyes, as she took in the over eighty feet tall tidal wave that was rushing towards the shoreline, a wall of water intent upon crushing everything upon its path.
"All ward teams, deploy barriers immediately!" Anit shouted to her fellow mages even as she herself started to channel her own magic to aid in the effort. "Do not allow that wave past your positions!"
Throwing all the power she could muster into the barrier that was being deployed, Anit swiftly took over the growing ward matrix, putting all of her considerable skill into the task at hand, despite knowing it was a doomed effort from the very beginning.
There was simply no way their barrier would be able to stand up to what was most certainly an Authority, as Leviathan brought forth the fury of the seas themselves forth in an attempt to crush its enemies, but even so she did not waver.
She would give it her all no matter that doing so would most certainly doom her, making sure the tidal wave would squander most of its strength upon the barrier, hopefully preventing it from reaching too far into the city.
She would safeguard the innocents that were hiding away from the storm inside their homes, blissfully ignorant to the possibility of their looming end, no matter what.
But her grim thoughts were cut short as a brilliant flash of white suddenly cut through the ever growing darkness of the storm, as if a lightning bolt slashing away the gloom that was permeating the stormy skies.
Blinking away the spots in her eyes Anit searched for the source of the phenomenon, only to stop, mouth agape, at the sight that was displayed before her eyes.
The tidal wave was gone, an wall of pure ice, stretching from one side of the bay to the other, as if some sort of titanic wave breaker having taken its place, completely neutralizing Leviathan's attack.
Even as she realized that Taylor had somehow stopped the massive wave, a part of the young mage's mind could not help but fix itself upon a single fact, incredulity overpowering all other thoughts for a moment.
'Where the hell did she get an ice based Authority?'
\V/
Letting out a shuddering breath Taylor lowered her hands, relieved that her Shards had managed to provide her something to stop the massive wave.
Thanks to her Eternity's Sight she had known the amount of kinetic energy that thing had been carrying, and that if it managed to hit the city, Alexandria would have quite literally been washed away from the map.
Thankfully the blaster nine power she had been granted had proven itself more than up to the task, even if that meant the clock was now ticking for one of her three charges.
Shaking her head once, she refocused on the enemy down bellow. Her ice beam power would be extremely useful against Leviathan's water based powers, so she best make the time she still had with it count.
Making Atlas dive towards the sea serpent she focused upon her target even as most of her swarm dissipated back into sand, the scarabs having already done their job, forcing Leviathan to show his abilities, one arm raised and pointing straight towards the beast and the other grabbing her mount for stability.
A flash of white surged forth from her outstretched hand, as what looked like a pure white lightning bolt darted through the air, crossing the distance between the two enemies in a single heartbeat and immediately freezing the thrashing water whips around the beast's body.
Even as another bestial roar cut through the air Taylor felt as the creature's eyes focused upon her, marking her as the source of the attack.
'Got its attention, now to make sure to keep it that way.' She inwardly stated, guiding Atlas past Leviathan's thrashing form as the beast freed itself from the icy tendrils all around it, her hands swiftly moving towards the small backpack she had been carrying.
"Hey you overgrown eel!" She shouted as loud as she could so she could be heard over the storm, her hand grabbing the coconut sized spherical object that had been inside her backpack and raising it high. "Looking for something?"
The reaction was as immediate as it was brutal, a truly titanic wave of sound reverberating through the bay as Leviathan roared upon laying eyes upon the Ocean's Orb, the sea beast immediately rushing after Taylor with speed that belittle its gargantuan size.
"You dare!" A loud bestial voice resounded, fury clear in each word that was shouted. "You dare flaunt what was stolen from us! You dare to defy us!"
'Might've worked a little too well.' An unhelpful part of her mind could not help but remark as Atlas started to have to fight the suddenly increasingly furious storm, the harsh winds and torrential rain seeming to increase their intensity by the second.
Aiming her mount towards the large ice wall that had formed from the tidal wave, the young Campione focused her beams towards the sea around the frozen structure, enlarging and solidifying it, intending to try and bait Leviathan out of the water.
As she forced Atlas to fly faster, even as she created more of her scarabs in an attempt to slow Leviathan down, her sensing Authority immediately locked into the pearl she was still carrying, as the blue jewel lit up in with an azure glow, as something that had been dormant within its depths slowly awakened upon sensing its creator's power.
'The hell?' She thought in confusion, sensing that the jewel's power appeared to be identical to the power of the Heretic God she was facing, as if a shard of its power taken out and given physical form.
But before she could focus on it properly she was forced to divert nearly all her attention to keeping Atlas on its course, as the furious winds seemed to redouble in their intensity, even as the sea God water tendrils reformed around it, immediately destroying her swarm the moment they approached, not slowing her enraged pursuer in the least.
Turning her body backwards towards the swiftly approaching sea beast Taylor let loose a barrage of ice beams, attempting to hit it as it zigzagged beneath the waves, avoiding the blossoming spikes of ice that were exploding all around it.
"Surge forth, oh, blood soaked oceans! Sate thy thirst, oh, crimson seas! Respond to thy master's command and eradicate all in my path!"
Leviathan's enraged roar pierced through the noise of the furious storm as if it wasn't even there, a sudden change of movement coming from the thrashing waves and the buildup of power in the waters below warning Taylor to the incoming danger.
Making Atlas swiftly dive to the side Taylor watched with wide eyes as a large beam of water surged forth from the sea with impossible speed, a column of pressurized water, as large as her torso, cutting through the space she had been occupying but a moment earlier.
'Fast!' Taylor inwardly cursed as she righted Atlas. There had been barely a moment's pause between the attack starting and it cutting through where she had been.
If not for her supernatural senses she sincerely doubted she would have been able to avoid it, and considering the fact that normal, ordinary, pressurized water could literally punch through steel with ease, she had no desire to see what it's divine counterpart could do to her body, Campione constitution or not.
Widening her eyes she forced a burst of speed into her mount even as she aimed both her arms downwards towards the sea, as she sensed not one, nor two, but dozens of the water beams swiftly forming beneath the surface of the thrashing waves.
Freezing part of the ocean in order to stop five attacks from forming, while simultaneously pushing her mount out of the trajectory of seven others moments before they fired, Taylor furiously kept analyzing the sea down below, attempting to keep ahead of the barrage of attacks that were now filling up the sky.
Escaping by a hairsbreadth from an intersection of five different beams, while freezing solid seven more before they could fire and box her in into a trap, Taylor vehemently cursed all hydrokinetics to the deepest parts of hell.
She had to get away from the ocean, her plan of luring Leviathan into the ice wall appearing more compelling by the second, for as far as she had seen so far it could not control ice directly, only water.
Forcing Atlas forth as she kept dodging and blocking the God's barrage, Taylor kept obsessively analyzing the waves far beneath, seeing where the attacks would form so that she could avoid their paths before they fired.
Being almost exclusively focused upon the threat beneath, Taylor nearly gave herself whiplash as her head snapped forwards as she felt a sudden burst of power forming right in front of her, not down below at sea level, but actually at her current height.
"Shit." She succinctly summarized upon noticing Leviathan perched atop the icy wall right in front of her, dozens of water orbs forming all around it, carrying within them the same feeling of the beams she was already dodging.
Even as she made Atlas all but freefall to the side in order to avoid their path, while firing twin ice beams towards the beast, Taylor knew it would not be enough, her sensory powers allowing her to trace the incoming trajectories from the attacks that were surrounding her, both from the front and from beneath.
"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you!"
She started the familiar spell words even as her ice beams collided with five incoming attacks, stopping them on their tracks, while Atlas dodged seven more coming from beneath.
"Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need;"
She continued amidst the barrage, barely dodging seven more beams, three from the front and four from beneath, before coiling her legs and jumping away from her mount a split second before another beam from behind cut right through the sand construct.
"invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"
She finished intoning a single moment before a watery beam hit her straight through the chest, as she fell towards the crushing waves down below.
\V/
Author's Notes:
I feel like some of you may kill me for stopping the chapter here, but I truly feel like this was the best point to end the chapter at without affecting the flow of it.
Personally I think the first half of the battle with Leviathan developed nicely, flowing really well through the entire chapter. And rest easy, I'm already writing the next chapter, so you won't have to wait for long for what comes next, promise.
About Anit wondering if Taylor would use the Golden Hero despite it being still recharging, and so unusable at the moment.
In the story Anit and Taylor have known each other for less than two days, and as such the Egyptian mage has no knowledge about Taylor's Authorities at the moment.
Which also explains her surprise at the Eight's Campione display of an Ice Beam "Authority", since Taylor is a new Campione and, since they made contact in Egypt, most would suppose she slayed her first God in Africa, making an ice based Authority really odd.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.
