The constant, looming threat of battle peeled his senses away from the overarching force hanging above his head; feeling the world rumble beneath his feet as another blast of the ship's cannons were thrown against the colossal barrier.

Fleisch laughed heartily, spreading his arms wide as he embraced the ferocious impact that shook the winds and trees.

​​

"You hear that? That's the melody of destruction! Beautiful, isn't it? Navigator is talented, ah...So relaxing."

What the hell is relaxing about this? I can feel the pressure of the blast gnawing at my bones; the entire Grandfather tree is even trembling under its force! Donatien thought.

The sky harboring the night was illuminated by the Vessel of Melancholy's assault; a verdant light stretching itself across the horizon of the valley as the squeals and roars of the forest creatures rang through the domain.

As soon as the continuous blast dissipated, leaving a plethora of cracks and blemishes to scale the length of the magical barrier; a frown took over Fleisch's mouth as he blew air through his lips.

"The pretty song is over for now, I guess the only thing I can do now is hurt you...Don't worry, you can hurt me too!"

It was that same deceiving joyfulness to him; going from happy-go-lucky to complete bloodlust at the drop of a hat. The wicked Argonaut threw his body forward, revealing once again the mysterious substance unveiling itself from beneath his dark cloak.

As Fleisch drew within striking distance, keeping his stance low to the ground--Donatien saw it; flesh sprouted from the man's skin, wrapping around his form like a layer of armor.

Muscle fibers? What kind of spell is that?--No, this can only be the result of an innate ability, Donatien concluded.

"I'll let you in on a little secret…"

Talking while going in for an attack?--This guy is something else, stupid, strong, crazy; maybe stupidly, crazy strong, Donatien thought.

Without any time to cast a spell of his own, Donatien conjured raw ice beneath the soles of his feet; sliding himself backwards as the incoming strike to his abdomen smashed against the raw; manifesting a shockwave that shattered the nearby winds.

That would've been bad if it landed; this guy has terrifying strength beneath that frail exterior, Donatien thought.

"Ah, you evaded it...I guess I'll tell you then...Me and the other guy, we were told to take just one Outlander on each."

"...You said you didn't know our numbers were dwindled though."

"That's right; Avdima...He came here prepared to take the rest of you on, all by himself."

Letting go with this piece of information, Fleisch smiled wide, letting out a muffled cackle between his sealed lips. It was clearly meant to crack away at the cold-sealed composure of the navy-haired Outlander; such was obvious as Fleisch smiled with full cheeks as if trying to hide his laughter.

"By himself?..."

Although the information temporarily took hold of his better judgment, Donatien shook it off--preparing for his own counterattack.

It's a waste of time trying to make sense of a lunatic's words; I'll finish him quickly and assist the others, Donatien took in a calming breath.

"You're about to show me something cool, aren't you? I want to see; show me! Show me!"

Like an overthrilled child, the Argonaut waved his hands as if welcoming whatever Donatien had planned--completely reading the fierceness now present in those hazel irises of his.

"...Skadi: Ice Age."

The air itself had no choice but to succumb to the drastic drop in temperature; a frosty wind pushed across the clearing--shifting the trees, soil, and wind into vessels of the cold.

"That's much better; I feel right at home now."

Donatien cracked his neck side to side, flexing his entire body as his reinforcement seemed to bolster many times over within the heart of the frost.

"Cold!...Cold!"

Encompassed in the ferocious winds harboring winds below zero, Fleisch's teeth chattered uncontrollably--opting to bite down on his own tongue to prevent the motion from continuing. Blood squirted out from his tasting appendage as he bit down on it without any hesitation, holding an elated smile as his warm arterial fluid ran down his chin.

"Ah...Warm, so warm…"

Only a depraved mind would resort to that, Donatien watched.

Grabbing onto his cloak, the frail-seeming Argonaut tore his cloak from his body--leaving his bare torso exposed to the harsh, biting elements. His body was anything but "normal"--covered in deep scars, so pale it seemed he lacked any blood running through his veins--Donatien found himself disgusted at the sight, watching as strands of muscle began to leave his pores.

Leaving his body like a series of tendrils, the unnatural muscle came together into an armor around the entirety of his upper body. The constant squelching of flesh accompanied the ambience traveling winds; Fleisch let out twisted moans as he allowed his body to be caressed by these layers of pure muscle.

"…It's always something new in this damn world."

Donatien muttered to himself, witnessing the grotesque sight before him.

Muscle manipulation?—No, I'd venture to say it's more than that, perhaps "Muscle Generation" is more fitting, Donatien thought.

"Ah, so warm, so hot—when I'm like this, I can't hold it back anymore! My chains are broken, shackles are shattered. It's free! My bloodlust is free!"

Only his mouth was left uncovered by the lively flesh, cackling with delight as his head was protected in a dome-like helmet of muscle. The scrawny form of Fleisch was completely lost within the bulky, tanky build now inhabited with this fleshy ability.

"This is your innate ability, is it?"

"Did you say something?! It's hard to hear, really hard to hear right now! The ringing, it's growing--growing so much!"

Beginning to lumber towards Donatien, the muscle-armored man was lost in his own world, clearly only driven by a thirst for blood now.

It looks like he lost any sanity he had left, it's do-or-die, Donatien thought.

Not allowing the beast of flesh to strike first, Donatien swiped his hand, sending an array of spear-shaped icicles directly towards his opponent. Each of these deadly piercers matched the size of actual spears; dancing through the air at a rapid speed before plummeting against the Argonaut with a visceral impact.

"Ah...Ah, that hurt…"

Lodged into the living muscle, the icicles were stopped short of fully piercing through the organic armor, leaving Fleisch to let out a groan that shifted into a drawn-out moan. Extending out, strands of muscle plucked the icicles from his armor, allowing them to fall to the ground as they seemed to have already begun an expedited melting process.

It's a lot more durable than I expected--that's not just normal muscle at all; he's reinforcing all of it, Donatien thought.

"My turn! My turn!"

Suddenly spiking into complete aggression once more, his thick, muscle-bound arms were thrown up into the air--preparing for his retaliation. Enacting caution before the twisted enemy of his, Donatien didn't waste a moment squeezing his fist to silently manifest another spell.

Before Fleisch could charge towards the man with laughter guiding his step, his legs were already seized by frost.

"Huh? I can't move my legs...I can't move my legs. No fair, no fair--it's my turn to attack! My turn!"

As the angered Argonaut attempted to shatter the ice encompassing his walking appendages, the growing frost ran up the entirety of his body, covering him in a layer of pure ice as his movements were halted entirely.

The cracking and splitting of the frosty material multiplying itself was audible, taking hold of every strand of muscle that made up the man's body.

Ice Coffin; once you're covered, it's already over, Donatien thought.

"Ah...So cold, again...It's not fun, I thought it'd be fun fighting an ice mage...Oh, well, I'll just kill you…"

He's still talking?! The Ice Coffin should've completely taken hold of his body by now--how?! Donatien gasped.

Steam began to fill the cold air, emanating from the icy statue that became of Fleisch as he groaned and moaned.

His damn disgusting muscle-armor! It's naturally hot! I didn't account for that, Donatien thought.

"My turn...My turn…"

As he spoke with his distant tone, the flesh-brute let his jaw hang, releasing a sharp gurgling sound as Donatien watched in disgust.

It was impossible to tell at first glance that it was even an attack that Fleisch was cooking up, causing Donatien to react late as he prepared his counter.

A simple spell from Ice Age won't do the trick—whatever he's preparing is going to hit hard, Donatien thought.

Raising his arms in a cross-guard, icy winds spiraled around the slender man.

"Skadi: Majestic Gate!"

Invoking the desired spell, the dancing particles of pure coldness coalesced in front of the Outlander, forming into a tall-standing wall of azure ice. It wasn't just a slab of manifested frost; an intricate design was made of the gate, grooves and designs etched into its form, meeting at the center to create a seal representing the head of a bearded warrior.

"Here it comes! Here it—"

From the maw of Fleisch, concentrated crimson shot out in a powerful, pinpoint stream that instantly collided against the frost gate.

Blood?! I didn't hear an incantation—I doubt it's blood magic…Is this also part of his ability? Just what is the true nature of it? Donatien thought

The hissing that resulted from blistering cold and scorching heat meeting fell upon his ears, witnessing bountiful steam fill the surrounding air. While the beam of concentrated blood pressed itself against the cold shield, the grooves of the wall began to fill with an azure radiance.

There is one advantage to fighting a lunatic--they don't exactly think clearly. Even now, he probably hasn't noticed yet, Donatien thought.

Attempting to bruteforce his way past the thick, protective shield of frost, Fleisch's jaw parted more, beginning to tear the edges of his lips as the release of crimson amplified.

"Ahh-----!"

His forced groan-yell filled the air as he shot this attack from his accursed bowels, causing the faint, blue lights to grow brighter.

Now! Donatien concluded as his eyes widened.

Pressing both of his palms together, something within the wall triggered; the bearded face present on the center of the wall had its mouth part--presenting the core of the azure light, growing more and more as the ground began to rumble.

It is foolish to invest in a spell solely focused on defense--when against opponents possessing greater strength than yourself, putting a stagnant wall results in only depleting your own mana. That's why--I learned this, Donatien thought.

"Assimilate and Release, Majestic Gate!"

At his command, the birthed light of beautiful blue filled the domain bitten by the cold reach of Donatien, completely pushing back the beam of crimson with a blast of its own.

As his eyes rolled back into their normal state, finally coming back to reality--Fleisch released his hold of the bloodburst, leaving chin dripping with the crimson essence.

"Ah...So pretty, maybe ice mages are fun after all…"

Smiling with blood running along the entirety of his mouth, he merely stood there and welcomed the embrace of the azure retaliation, spreading his wings as it soon enveloped him.

Ravaging the soil as it tunneled forward, the cobalt crashed against Fleisch with enough force to crack the surrounding winds, temporarily shattering the sheet of ice covering the ground before it was quickly replaced.

"Rghh!—It burns, why does it burn?!"

Clawing at the energy that pushed against his torso, the Argonaut wailed as his flesh armor was shredded by the visceral frost.

Majestic Gate was able to absorb a high amount of power thanks to his blood beam. It retaliates with force and cold greatly amplified beyond that which it took in, Donatien watched.

Even so, Donatien found himself both in shock and awe as Fleisch was able to hold his ground against the wave of raw magical energy, planting his muscle-wrapped soles against the soil. From the absurd amount of organic material being shredded, Fleisch generated more muscle strands as they were being eviscerated, mincemeat and steamy blood sprinkled through the frosty winds.

"Raaaah!"

Finally, the monstrous, flesh-bound Argonaut lost the match of strength against the blast, being flung deep into the forest as the beam desecrated the evergreen in its path.

"I was lucky my opponent was a fool…Now, I need to regroup with the others. If Avdima is half as strong as the rumors…It will be troublesome."

Muttering quietly to himself as he pondered, Donatien wiped the lenses of his glasses as they grew foggy from the icy air.

It was only the beginning of the cold night; the grand Valley of Grandeueve--the ferocious land humbled by the Outlanders--was now under assault by the ones who stood as their greatest nemesis: Argonauts.

An attack launched at their most vulnerable hour; it was the start of a rural war.