The Tempest (Demon Lords 2C)

Unfortunately, the Gesomon were too far under the water for Mythologomon to detect. While there had been ripples under the water by Valt, at this point they were submerged far too deeply to be seen with the naked eye. Fortunately, the naked eye wasn't the only resource the party had at their disposal. With Amelie commanding senses beyond the pale, she would sense two presences dwelling far beneath her. They didn't seem to be within range of her. In fact, the Gesomon swimming towards her rushed right past her position! It was only when they were directly beneath the ship that they changed their trajectory. The two Gesomon curved upwards, aiming to slam directly into the boat from beneath. The Gesomon closest to Amelie threw its whole body into a heedless charge, while the one further from her lingered somewhat behind. Instead of making direct contact, it would lash out with its tentacles to try and grab onto the deck.

In the Gesomon X's furor, it didn't even notice Valt's attack coming. The balls of lighting hit the oversized squid dead-on, causing it to howl in agony. Its tentacles stopped thrashing, too frozen up from the electrical discharge to even make impact. All three of its jaws split wide open, not even caring as seawater splashed down its throat. It faltered for a few seconds, then sunk beneath the depths. Was this all the Ocean King was capable of?

After a few seconds the Gesomon X resurfaced, its shrieks of pain giving way to a brutal roar. Its eye markings narrowed as it tried to focus on Valt's location. Smoke still rose from three large charred spots on its forehead, little embers seared between the cracks. After eyeing Valt up and down the Gesomon X sped away, slipping behind the nearest chunk of ice. In contrast to its animated thrashing beforehand, the sea monster had slowed down substantially. As it pulled its frozen cover closer to itself, its grip was weak and its tentacle trembled.

This weakness didn't mean that Gesomon X was out of the fight yet. As soon as it had gotten behind cover it poked its head out, a ball of rainbow energy building up in the back of its throat. Mere seconds after emerging Gesomon fired the energy in a wide beam, then ducked back behind the ice. The beam shimmered as if filled with glistening crystals, and the air around Valt would turn cold and misty as it approached.

Most importantly, the attack just didn't seem to be very forceful. Had Valt already wounded Gesomon X that badly?

The charging Gesomon was in for a nasty surprise, but it was far too busy hurtling towards the ship to notice. Rather than the satisfying crunch of wooden hull, the Gesomon felt painful rays of energy biting into it. Its flesh, too, started to glow red, Mytholomon's curse causing the squid to start feeling woozy. In response it thrust its tentacles in front of it, pulling its body back to try and slow its charge.

A pity it couldn't slow down fast enough. The Gesomon careened right into Heraldmon, and promptly wished it hadn't. Electricity shot through its body, sending its tentacles spasming in every direction. What started as a roar of pain pitched higher and higher, until soon the Gesomon sounded less like a wounded animal and more like a broken tea kettle. Whereas before its flesh was seared red from Mytholomon's curse, now its flesh was glowing red from the severe electrical burn. Its thrashing started to slow as black smoke began to rise from its body, and after wobbling back and forth it flopped face-down unceremoniously. Data hadn't started to flow away from its body, but it sure didn't seem like it was in fighting condition.

The other Gesomon was far luckier. Unimpeded by either fighter, it coiled one long tentacle around the ship's mast and used its six lower tentacles to adhere onto its side. Once it was tethered it began pulling with all of its might, the mast straining and groaning with each tug. It held its free tentacle in a guarding position, prepared to smash away Ryouta, Amelie, or Mytholomon if they did anything to try and stop it. The Swimmon crowded a far distance from the attacking squid, nervously eyeing first one another and then the Gesomon. Occasionally one started swimming forward, but promptly circled back to the pack. Had they already lost their nerve?

Valt was a lot less hesitant about his attack. He wasted no time in beelining towards Gesomon X, powering through its beam while charging up one of his own. At this point their battle was a contest of pure might. Judging by how Valt didn't even seemed phased by Gesomon X's best shot, the contest was already over. The Shining V-Force smashed right through the ice and into Gesomon X, blasting him clean out of the water. Now in full view, it was clearly larger than any Gesomon Valt had seen before. Its body was also covered in several battle scars, the faded remnants of old cuts and bites faintly visible on its off-white flesh. Its tentacles flailed as it sailed through the air, and instead of diving back into the water it landed gracelessly onto its back. It writhed, trying to right itself, but each movement caused it to seethe.

As Valt demanded intel, the Gesomon spoke for the first time. "Surrender?" it gurgled. It laughed, but more out of confusion and fear than anything else. "You were the ones to invade the new domain of the Ocean King! And yet you have the gall to demand I surrender? Ha!" It coughed, ink and data sloughing out of its mouth. "Yet if you usurpers want your intel so badly, I'll gladly provide. These seas are cursed, and you'd best turn back while you still can."

As Amelie looked towards the injured Gesomon, its disposition was all too quick to change. It threw its tentacles up in absolution, hoping that the currents of the water and its weakly undulating tentacles would carry it away from the Heraldmon before she could attack again. Unfortunately, she was far too deadly in her efficiency to care about such a submissive gesture. She zipped towards him as quick as a lightning bolt. It was an easy comparison to make, considering that lightning pierced Gesomon's body mere seconds later. Compared to the dramatic convulsions from earlier, this attack's effect was far more subtle. The Gesomon froze up rigidly, then began unfurling into messy clumps of data. The clumps scattered throughout the waters, each drifting off in a different direction. Needless to say, that Gesomon wasn't coming back.

The other Gesomon clung tightly to the mast, but before it could snap it in two Zachary had sprung into action. Blades of wind shot from Mytholomon's wings, severing Gesomon's tentacle clearly at the base. Unlike its brother in arms, this Gesomon was a lot more willing to cut its losses. It promptly dove beneath the waves, abandoning both its tentacle and its plan of attack. The trail of data it left in its wake would make its location obvious to any more bloodthirsty Digimon, but if Amelie and Zachary wanted to play more defensively this fight may have been over.

Unfortunately, while the wind succeeded at disarming Gesomon, it made staying the course a lot harder for the Diplomat. The wind from Mytholomon's attack sent the Diplomat spinning in circles, and the rigging keeping the sail held firm started to go slack. The wheel creaked as it spun freely, fighting against any efforts made to straighten it again. If the Diplomat continued at this rate, it would surely end up drifting in the wrong direction. And that was assuming the sails would even hold up against the heavy winds: who knew what kind of damage they'd endure at this rate?

The Ocean King didn't know about the blows dealt and sustained by his subordinates, and he didn't seem to care. He simply spat ink into the waters at Valt's demands. "You talking about the small fry?" he asked. "Prideful little bastards. Came to them looking for a place to stay, and they just laughed in my damn face. Should've gobbled 'em up to a man when I had the chance. But getting a home's more important than getting revenge."

Nevertheless, with Valt staring him down at swordpoint, the Ocean King knew when to fold them. He grumbled, but put his tentacles up behind his head to show deference. "Take me to your vessel. We'll talk more there," he grumbled. "Then I can warn your whole damn crew what fools you are."