The Grand Fortuna rocked violently, responding to the wild winds that had grown more ferocious. The ocean raged as if rejecting their presence, towering waves rolling with the force of the strengthening gale. This wind was no ordinary wind—it had purpose, moving with intent, like a living creature hunting prey.
Vanta stood calmly amid the chaos, his body seeming to blend with the wind. His bird-shaped mask concealed most of his face, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes that radiated terrifying intent. In his right hand, he gripped a spinning weapon, which whirled at high speed, releasing a spiraling current of wind around him.
Mia aimed her air rifle carefully at Vanta, firing sharp bullets of compressed air. But her shots never touched him. Before they could reach him, Vanta's body vanished into a vortex of wind, twisting to the side with such speed he became nearly invisible.
"Mia, watch out!" shouted Ravi, his eyes locked onto Vanta's movement.
Mia barely turned before the wind struck her with immense force. She was thrown back, nearly tumbling off the ship's deck. The wind spun violently around her, hurling her body in an uncontrollable spiral. Pain coursed through every fiber of her being, but the worst part was the helplessness—the wind gave her no room to breathe, no space to resist.
"Damn it!" Ravi yelled, rushing toward her.
He swung a massive iron frying pan—an improvised weapon he always carried for protection. As Vanta swooped in again to strike Mia, Ravi lifted the frying pan and deflected the gust with a strong, coordinated motion.
A thunderous clang rang out as the pan clashed with the force of the wind. The wind split, then blasted outward in all directions, forming an unstable whirlwind. Vanta staggered back, surprised by Ravi's ability to block the attack so cleanly.
Mia, who had fallen onto the deck, rose with difficulty. Her face was pale, her breath labored, but she didn't give up. "Ravi, be careful! His attacks are stronger than we thought!"
Vanta, now a few steps back, looked at Ravi with a strange admiration. For the first time, he felt a hint of challenge. He wasn't used to seeing people withstand his wind-based attacks, especially not with something as absurd as a frying pan.
"I won't let you interfere any longer," said Vanta in a voice that was barely audible, like a whisper in the wind only those truly listening could hear.
He spun his weapon again, the wind swirling faster and faster, forming a massive vortex that danced through the air. This time, he wasn't relying on a single strike. Everything around them—the ship, the waves, even the sky—seemed to join in his assault. All spun with Vanta's will.
"Ravi!" Mia shouted again, seeing the vortex draw near.
Without warning, Vanta surged forward with a piercing rush of wind. In an instant, he was beside Ravi, attacking with his spinning weapon. Ravi had to retreat, feeling the sharp wind skim dangerously close to his body.
Mia, seeing an opening, pulled the trigger again—this time firing a larger, faster air bullet. Vanta was forced to dodge, vanishing once more into the wind.
But in that moment, the wind around them surged. The vortex grew even larger, as if trying to drag everything into a dreadful wind abyss. Bastien, watching from the deck, looked on with worry. This wasn't a normal attack—this was destruction in motion.
"Juno!" Bastien called out. "Control the ship!"
Juno rushed to the ship's helm, activating the wind pressure gauge. The needle spun rapidly, indicating the wind's force had reached dangerous levels. She bit her lip, struggling to keep the vessel stable.
Meanwhile, Ravi and Mia continued their desperate defense against Vanta's onslaught. Despite her injuries, Mia kept firing her wind bullets. But Vanta was cunning. Each time Mia shot, he dodged in unexpected ways, vanishing in the vortex and reappearing elsewhere.
Ravi spun his iron frying pan, trying to create a wall of defense by redirecting the wind. Each gust that came their way was deflected, but the pressure kept building. Ravi's body began to tire, his legs growing unsteady.
"Hold on!" Ravi shouted, trying to stay focused.
But in the midst of the growing storm, the wind suddenly stopped. Every movement, every sound, seemed to freeze in an instant. Vanta, once surrounded by violent gales, now stood still.
He hovered in the air, facing Ravi and Mia with an unreadable expression. He remained silent for a moment, then the wind whispered once more.
"I will return," he said softly. "When the storm demands it."
The wind began to swirl again, but this time, Vanta had already vanished, leaving behind a suffocating silence. The vortex slowly faded, returning the once-churning sea to a calm state, as if nothing had ever happened.
Mia, who had fallen several times, finally managed to stand, her body still weak. Ravi clutched the frying pan with trembling hands, adrenaline still rushing through him.
"He... he really knows how to control the wind," Mia said, breathless and stunned.
Ravi simply nodded, eyes fixed on where Vanta had disappeared. "He won't give up that easily. This was just the beginning."
Bastien, who had been observing from a distance, approached them. His face was serious, though a hint of relief flickered in his eyes. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, but that attack was stronger than we thought," Ravi replied.
Bastien nodded, already thinking ahead. "We need to be careful. Vanta will return. And when he does, we'll have to face a far greater storm."
In the distance, the wind that once raged now faded, leaving behind traces of tension that had yet to dissipate. The Grand Fortuna slowly sailed forward, braving an uncertain future, while the crew knew full well that the real battle had only just begun.