In the deep waters of the Oceanus, a massive cedar ship gleamed beneath the sunlight, cutting through wave after wave. Its shadow stretched across the sea as it sailed toward a circular island ahead.
"According to the drawing order, whose turn is it to scout this island?"
Jason raised his sword to signal a halt, directing the crew to drop anchor and secure the Argo while calling out to the others.
"Meleager, Caenis, and I will lead the team. The last four rookies who've never set foot on an island—stick close and stay alert."
Prince Meleager of Calydon tightened his gear and rallied the others. Together they lowered a small boat, hopping in one by one with shields and spears strapped to their backs.
But when it came to Caenis's turn, she was coaxed—reluctantly—into switching places with Pollux, the younger of the twin swordsmen.
The inseparable pair immediately glued themselves together the moment they reunited, the very picture of "orthopedic-grade" sibling closeness.
Watching his teammates reach the shallows and disappear into the bizarre, coral-like jungle, Jason's brows knit slightly.
"What's wrong, Captain? Something off?"
Samael stepped beside him, patting his shoulder as he asked casually.
"This place isn't on any sea chart. And the plants up there look… wrong. I've got a bad feeling something's going to happen."
Jason unfolded the parchment, comparing their surroundings with the map, unease creeping into his voice.
"Don't say that…"
Samael's expression hardened as he delivered his "advice."
"You're right. Maybe I'm just overthinking things."
"No. What I mean is, when you get that feeling, it's not 'maybe' something will happen—it's 'definitely' going to happen!"
Jason let out a helpless laugh, unclear whether to take that as praise or mockery. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Athena's favored foster son for guidance.
"Then should we signal them to pull back?"
"They're already on the island. Forget it. Just have the archers ready to cover them."
Samael thought for a moment and offered a compromise. Jason relaxed, nodding in agreement.
"Right. We'll be hitting the storm zone soon. Conditions there are worse than anything we've seen, and we don't know how long we'll be stuck. Stocking up on fresh water ahead of time won't hurt.
Besides, we've dealt with plenty of islands already. If we don't let this bunch of energy-addled nutcases take a little risk, they'll cause chaos back on the ship. They all have divine blood anyway—plus we have plenty of backup. They won't die."
He spoke with confidence—too much confidence, perhaps.
Since leaving the port of Iolcos, the Argonauts had drifted across the Oceanus for three months.
During that time, they had faced crisis after crisis, each survived through growing teamwork and coordination.
On Lemnos, they helped the old king quell a rebellion and stopped the crazed, foul-smelling women—cursed by Aphrodite—from slaughtering the island's few remaining men. They restored them to sanity and left behind the seeds of new life.
On the island of the Doliones, they repelled an attack by six-armed giants, earning the king's warm hospitality.
In the kingdom of Bebryces, Pollux—the twin girl swordsman—showed off her pankration skills by beating the brutal king who forced opponents into boxing matches and executed the losers. (Pollux was a famed Greek boxer, after all—and a beautiful one.)
In Salmydessos, they helped King Phineus—cursed by the gods for revealing prophecy—by shooting down the screeching man-eating harpies tormenting him…
Other threats—sea monster swarms, flocks of two-winged pterosaurs, two-headed serpents, scheming water nymphs—were either driven away or became trophies stored in the Argo's hold for bragging rights.
Three months at sea, more than fifty Argonauts, and not a single death. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Jason, basking in his self-assured luck, once more thanked the gods for their favor.
What he didn't know was that the "god" protecting them was standing right beside him.
If not for Samael's silent intervention, the Argo would have lost several men during the worst incidents. In one misfortune twisted by fate's curse, they would have even killed the hospitable king of the Doliones in the chaos, creating a disaster that would haunt their journey.
Samael's gaze drifted to the sacrificial inscription carved into the deck beneath his feet. A cold smile tugged at his lips.
A great altar?
Too bad. This place is under my protection. You might get to watch, Zeus—but you're not getting a bite.
After seeing disaster after disaster fall upon humans under divine hands, the Ancient Serpent grew increasingly convinced that Olympus had no right to exist.
"The island! The island's moving!"
Suddenly, among the archers already in position, Atalanta—perched high on the mast—saw her pupils contract sharply. She immediately shouted the alarm.
At the same time, clusters of bubbles surged from the sea nearby. Murky waves, mixed with sand and silt, spread outward from the deserted island.
That "island" was rising—rapidly—its surface covered in huge coral masses and tangles of deep-sea algae clearly hauled up from the abyss.
"Look down there! Something's coming up!"
Heracles, standing at the rail, looked into the unnaturally darkened waters and called out to the others.
Pffshh!
The sea swelled upward. A hundred-meter column of water erupted skyward, spraying mist and briny vapor into the air.
SPLASH!
A massive black tail fin—tens of meters long—shot out of the deep, then slammed down hard onto the ocean surface, raising a towering wave.
"Didn't expect a Leviathan whale to be hiding here."
Orion, in his puppet-like form, wriggled out of Artemis's arms and hopped onto her shoulder. Seeing the spectacle, he couldn't help muttering aloud.
Noticing the confused looks around him, the Sea God's golden-age son offered an offhand explanation.
"Leviathan whales are incredibly ancient beings. Rumor has it they existed even back in Pontus's era. Their bodies are enormous but their movement is limited. They feed, surface for air, then often stay still for years at a time. The creatures living on their backs eventually form living island-reefs that float at the surface."
He paused, a proud glint in his eyes.
"But this is nothing. The Leviathan Grand Duke Perseus and I encountered once could carry an island bigger than the entire Peloponnese.
And the first-born Leviathan Lords? They could support whole continents."
Everyone clicked their tongues in astonishment, their awe for the Mystery-shrouded Oceanus Sea deepening further.
"I'm just asking… they're going to be okay, right?"
Samael pointed toward the exploration team—who had caught the warning signal and were now frantically rowing away from the Leviathan's emerging shadow—frowning as he asked.
"They'll be fine, they'll be fine. Leviathan whales are usually gentle. Worst case, it just woke up and rolled over to breathe and—"
SPLASH!
Orion hadn't even finished the sentence when a gargantuan beast—hundreds of meters long, its head and neck encased in gray-white calcified bone armor—erupted from the deep. Its eyes glowed a sinister red as it lunged, jaws wide, straight toward the tiny boat carrying the fleeing explorers.
"Plague Arrow: Rot!"
"Dark Sky Eclipse Shot!"
"Nine Lives!"
Right as death closed in over the exploration team, Artemis, Atalanta, and Heracles—the three long-range snipers on the Argo—unleashed their power.
Brilliant arcs of light tore across the sky, cleaving through the drifting mist and hammering one after another into the hostile Leviathan whale.
...
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