(Heartfelt thanks to Yume no Shouyou, Sui Feng Qi Wu, Xu Jing Ji, and Seven Sins Shattered for their tips!)
The waves on the sea were neither turbulent nor imposing, merely maintaining an extremely slight ripple as they rolled toward the nearby beach...
Such a sea could not be called calm, but neither could it be called surging. It could only be described as fairly tranquil.
However, that tranquility was ruthlessly shattered before long.
"Boom!"
Above the sea, a pitch-black airship suddenly appeared without warning. Struck by a violent blast of magical power, it fell straight toward the sea like a crashing airplane.
"Bang!"
With a tremendous crash, the tranquil sea, into which this enormous object had been thrown, exploded into a towering splash. Amid the sound of rushing water, it fell back onto the surface.
"Boom!"
Yet before the splashing water had completely fallen back into the sea, a chaotic shockwave erupted from where the black airship had crashed, blowing away all the surrounding water and raising an even greater spray.
Immediately afterward, the pitch-black Archer shot out from within and landed atop the sea.
"Gyaaaaaaaaa—"
A layer of murky black mud spread beneath Archer's feet, contaminating a small patch of the clear sea. Like a platform, it became Archer's foothold.
"Gyaaaaaaaaa—"
Archer raised his head and looked at the figure floating in midair, the one who had knocked him into the water, letting out a howl filled with fury and hatred.
Beneath Archer, the murky black mud spreading over the sea responded to his roar and began to tremble violently.
In midair, Wu Yan noticed the black mud's violent agitation. He clenched his hand, and magical power surged from it. The magic within his body was being drawn out frantically, as though it cost nothing, all of it