The Sapphire Expanse was finally living up to its name as the most relaxing beach in existence.
Maya lay comfortably under the shade of a massive mythril umbrella, sipping a perfectly chilled celestial piña colada. Leo was stretched out on a nearby towel, snoring softly with a glossy magazine draped over his face to block the sun.
Down by the shoreline, the three most bloodthirsty generals of the Demon Vanguard were currently on lifeguard duty.
Pavan, Karthik, and Aman were waist-deep in the crystal-clear water. To ensure maximum safety, they had all conjured bright orange, magical inflatable duck floaties around their massive, spiked waists.
"Watch the undertow, Aman!" Pavan barked, floating awkwardly. "If the Young Miss gets seawater in her eyes, Lady Maya is going to turn us into surfboards!"
"I'm watching! I'm watching!" Aman grunted, trying to keep his balance as little Elara happily splashed water at his demonic armor.
Elara giggled, her pale yellow sundress floating around her. She scooped up a handful of water and dumped it on Marshmallow. The tiny Fenrir pup shook his head, his fluffy white fur puffing out to twice its size, before paddling furiously in circles.
Okeanos, the Supreme God of the Seas, stood at attention near Maya's lounge chair, gently waving his palm-leaf fan. He had managed to suppress his divine pride entirely in the name of self-preservation.
Then, the ocean began to bubble.
The serene, crystal-clear water a hundred yards out suddenly turned pitch black. The temperature of the sea dropped to freezing. A massive, terrifying shadow rose from the depths, blotting out the celestial sun.
It was the Jörmungandr-Class Abyssal Leviathan. A legendary sea beast that only awoke once every ten thousand years to consume continents. It had scales like black iron, dozens of razor-sharp tentacles, and eyes that burned with the dark fire of the deepest ocean trenches.
The Leviathan breached the surface, towering five hundred feet into the air. It unhinged its massive, cavernous jaw and let out an apocalyptic roar that shattered the sound barrier and sent shockwaves across the divine beach.
Maya's piña colada rippled.
Leo stopped snoring. The magazine slid off his face. He sat up, his eyes narrowing as he cracked his knuckles. "Okay. Calamari for dinner it is."
Maya slowly set her drink down, reaching for her flip-flop. "It interrupted my tanning time. Vaporize it."
Down in the water, Pavan, Karthik, and Aman screamed, frantically trying to paddle backward in their duck floaties to shield Elara.
But Elara didn't scream.
Her golden eyes lit up like stars. She gasped, pointing a tiny finger at the world-ending horror of the deep.
"A big fishy!" Elara cheered, clapping her hands. "Mom! Dad! Look! It's a ride! Can I go on the ride?!"
Okeanos's heart completely stopped.
The God of the Seas looked at the humans. Leo was literally condensing a ball of anti-matter in his palm. Maya had her sandal raised. If they killed the beast, Elara's "ride" would be ruined. She would be disappointed. She might even cry.
And if the child cried, Okeanos knew his entire divine ocean would be boiled into a sauna.
"WAIT!" Okeanos shrieked, his voice cracking with pure panic.
The Sea God threw his fan into the sand, sprinted past the patio, and dove into his own ocean. He swam at Mach 5, launching himself out of the water and directly onto the snout of the roaring Leviathan.
The giant beast blinked in confusion as the God of the Seas put it in a desperate, frantic headlock.
"LISTEN TO ME, YOU OVERGROWN EEL!" Okeanos hissed aggressively into the monster's ear, actively wrestling its massive jaws shut. "YOU ARE A POOL TOY NOW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! YOU ARE A FRIENDLY, RIDEABLE ATTRACTION OR THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH WILL TURN US BOTH INTO SUSHI!"
The Leviathan, a beast of mindless destruction, didn't understand. It thrashed, preparing to fire a beam of dark energy.
THWACK.
A perfectly aimed, coconut-sized rock hit the Leviathan squarely between the eyes. It wasn't thrown by Leo. It was thrown by General Pavan, who was paddling furiously toward the beast.
"PLAY ALONG, YOU STUPID FISH!" Pavan roared, his demonic wings splashing in the water. Karthik and Aman were right behind him, aggressively grabbing the Leviathan's deadly tentacles and tying them into safe, rounded knots so they couldn't hurt the kid.
The Leviathan looked past the sweating God of the Seas. It looked past the terrified Demon Generals. It looked at the beach.
Maya had pulled her sunglasses down. She was holding her flip-flop, staring directly into the ancient monster's soul with an aura so terrifying that the Leviathan's ancient, abyssal instincts immediately screamed: SUBMIT.
The apocalyptic sea beast let out a high-pitched, incredibly un-intimidating squeak.
"Yay!" Elara cheered, paddling out toward the beast.
What followed was the most absurd spectacle the Eight Kingdoms had ever witnessed.
The Jörmungandr-Class Abyssal Leviathan, a creature meant to herald the end of days, was currently floating gently in the shallows. Elara was sitting comfortably on top of its massive, iron-scaled head, laughing as Marshmallow ran up and down the beast's back.
Okeanos was swimming frantically in circles around the monster, making forced, cheerful "Woosh!" and "Splash!" noises.
"Look at the friendly fish, Young Miss!" Okeanos forced a terrifyingly wide smile, sweating profusely underwater. "It goes up! It goes down! What fun!"
Aman and Karthik were holding the beast's massive fins to make sure it didn't accidentally roll over, while Pavan was acting as a highly aggressive tour guide. "Hold on tight to the spikes, kid! This is the premium VIP experience! Don't forget to rate us five stars!"
The Leviathan whimpered softly, a single, massive tear rolling down its scaly cheek, entirely terrified to make a sudden move.
Up on the beach, Leo let the anti-matter dissipate from his hand. He chuckled, leaning back and putting his magazine over his face again.
"You know," Leo murmured, getting comfortable. "I really misjudged the Gods. They put on a hell of a show for the tourists."
Maya smiled, picking up her piña colada. "Five stars, definitely. But if it splashes my towel, I'm still making calamari."