The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

[One hour before Calamity Struck]

General Nura arrived before the Three Elemental Sea with her four team members, ready to brave the harrowing vastness of the elemental sea that held so much danger.

They were Celestials, with General Nura being a Pseudo-Primordial, so naturally, they had no issue crossing the Outer and Inner Levels.

They knew their trial would begin when they entered the Core Level.

Auren, one of the people following General Nura, asked, ”General, you still haven’t told us what Lord Arshan wants from the Core Level. I know you said it is high-level and top secret, but come on, the chances of all of us returning are already slim. At least we should know what we are here risking our lives for.”

The others nodded in agreement. They had followed General Nura for many years, so they trusted her judgment. However, today the mission they were on seemed perilous, so they at least wanted to know why they were here.

General Nura took a deep breath and replied...

”We are after the Red Lotus Seed.”

These simple words alone made the four warriors turn pale. Clearly, whatever the Red Lotus Seed was, they knew better than to go near it. In fact, they hated the idea of even hearing about it.

Why? Because over the years, thousands had gone after it, and only a handful returned, barely alive. If they go, they won’t return.

”Relax, you all. The reason why we are going isn’t to retrieve it but to check something, or more like someone. The one who will go for it will be Lord Arshan himself.

Our mission is to reach the Core Level and figure out what has been causing the weird tides over the past few months. Lord Arshan has reason to believe one of the Elders is about to stir, so our mission is to figure out which of them it is and assess whether or not they are interested in the Red Lotus Seed.”

”Oh, I see where this is going,” Gorbag, one of the teammates, said. ”If what you said is correct, Lord Arshan wants to use the Elder that is stirring to get the Red Lotus Seed.”

”Indeed. Nobody knows who the guardian of the Red Lotus Seed is, but Lord Arshan believes that if someone as powerful as an Elder were to go after the Red Lotus Seed, he would be able to pull a fast one on them and take the Red Lotus Seed.

It is a risky move, but for it to succeed, we must succeed in our mission. So, as I said, we have to succeed at all costs, so bring your A-game.”

”We will, General.”

***

[One hour later]

”RUN!” General Nura screamed, her voice spreading across the churning sea. The four teammates didn’t hesitate and immediately turned around, running for their lives.

But they could only go so far before the sea rose, and all escape paths were sealed.

”Break!” General Nura unleashed a powerful attack, breaking a part of the seal and allowing herself and her teammates to escape temporarily.

The moment they left the seal, the sea rose further, and six jagged tails emerged from the depths of the ocean. They looked metallic, and each dripped with a potent poison. Just as they appeared, a colossal mantis-like beast rose, bringing with it a presence that caused even General Nura to turn pale.

Her speed turned sluggish, and her mind became clouded.

”Jaden, cast your mind resistance spell on us!” Her voice reached one of her four teammates. He snapped out of his sluggish state and quickly cast the spell, freeing his teammates from the intimidation attack they had been struck with.

”Focus on escaping, everyone!” General Nura had no plans to stop and fight the beast that had revealed itself. She had already been warned not to engage any of the Elders.

The moment one appeared, she had been instructed to run with her team. Atleast that can guarantee a small chance of escape.

There are many horrors within the Three Elemental Sea, one of them being the creatures called the Elders. According to the information gathered over millions of years, the Elders are high-level beasts, with most being Pseudo-Primordials and some even reaching the Sacred Primordial Stage.

The three races that live within the Three Elemental Sea have at least three Elders among them. Their power is so vast and devastating that whenever one appears, unless there are five people as strong as General Nura on the team, escaping is the only realistic option.

She understood that very well. When she received the mission to figure out which Elder was waking up, she already knew that running would be their greatest trump card.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that Elder to be the Six-Tails Elder Mantis.

The stories about the Elders claimed that the Six-Tails Elder Mantis was among the three most dangerous Elders in the Three Elemental Sea. Basically, nobody aside from the high-ranking warriors of the Elemental Garden would dare fight it alone, or even as a team.

”Don’t look back. Focus on escaping!” General Nura said, swinging her sword to sever a water spear that had been launched at one of her teammates.

Her attack was fast and deadly, but when it met the water spear, it was effortlessly destroyed. By the time the spear reached where her teammate had been, however, the person aimed at was already far away.

SCRRRRREEEEECH!

The Six-Tails Elder Mantis let out a loud screech, and at once, the tides began to change.

”General, I think it’s trying to pull us deeper into the Core!” Auren shouted, noticing his flight path rapidly converging toward the Core of the Three Elemental Sea.

”That cannot be allowed to happen,” Gorbag said, and the rest knew they had to do something before they were dragged deeper into the place none of them wanted to enter.

While there are the Outer, Inner, and Core Levels of the Three Elemental Sea, the Core Level itself is also divided into three segments that follow the same structure as the three levels.

Right now, they were in the Outer Segment, much closer to the Inner Segment of the Core Level. If they were pulled past that point and forced into the Core Segment, then their deaths would be swift.

”Fly west!” General Nura instructed, and as before, her teammates didn’t question her. They focused solely on flying while she remained behind them, doing her best to dispel every attack coming from the Six-Tails Elder Mantis.

---

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Western Region of the Three Elemental Sea, Kaden and his team had managed to enter the Inner Level and had already started regretting their life choices.

The currents had become far more powerful, and while killing the beasts was proving the only enjoyable part of the journey, the currents’ unpleasant nature kept making them uneasy as they advanced.

Still, they weren’t yet at the point where the sea currents would render them unable to move. In fact, they were still far from that stage, but that didn’t mean they were having a good time.

It would have been nice if, aside from killing the beasts, nothing else had hindered their progress. But then again, one couldn’t be too greedy.

Kaden was already nearing the Absolute Stage in his Water, Lightning, and Ice Elements. He could even sense that they had already begun their transformation.

Suddenly, Jane stopped and summoned the Star Map, drawing everyone’s attention to her.