“No matter the size, shape or form, all that is alive originates from the sea. Thou that does not is thus an abomination.”

An age long ago. Before the time as we know it today, in a land where magic exists, Gods and monsters roam freely, protecting kingdoms that worshipped them. From the deepest reaches of the Earth to the darkest depths of the ocean, unbelievable things were idolized. But whispers in the wind told of a dark force moving across the land like a flood. A monster of complete and utter evil. Nobody knew what it was. It just was. It served no purpose but to destroy. With a complete lack of empathy, it moved from land to land, leaving death in its wake. Rumors said the thing was an unholy fusion of a demon’s heart with a dragon’s body. Others said it was a demon whole, born from the fiery hells of the lands below. Some say it was a God from a distant land, from a nation far East that vowed to destroy Japan. Nobody knew for sure what it was…

It was annihilation incarnate. The personification of death… the Devil’s favorite pet.

It had been given the name Bagan.

There were those that tried to reason with it. Others tried to beg for mercy. Some even tried appeasing it and worship it as their God. But this unholy creation had no interest in such trivial ideals. Like everything before it and behind it, they too were introduced to their untimely doom.

Kingdom after kingdom fell, and now word had been spread that the darkness had set its vicious gaze upon the seaside kingdom of Mu. Muans were a somewhat peaceful state, but they were proud. They refused to die on their knees begging for salvations like others had. No. They’d fight to the very last man before their lands were devastated. They would never tried appeasing it and they wouldn’t let themselves go out without some sort of fight. Thus, as the darkness engulfed their lands, their protector awoke. Emerging from the calm sea, their draconic guardian waited for the arrival of the dark lord. It didn’t take long.

Soon, the blue skies turned black. Not even stars could penetrate for even light was afraid of the thing that had begun a siege on the world.

On the coastline, Manda lay in wait. The serpentine protector of the seaside civilization hissed, tasting the air with its forked tongue. The air reeked of decay. The air seemed to be dying as the enemy of life approached. Manda was accustomed to the darkness of the ocean, but not even it could see far into the blackness that consumed the lands. It could hear the sound of thunder, but there was no lightning to go along with it.

Manda hissed, its cat-like eyes blinking as it looked around. It growled, flicking its tongue once more. The smell of death was growing nearer and the ground shook.

A sudden flock of birds erupted from the trees, causing Manda’s head to spin around…

No sooner than the birds flew into the darkness, a titanic bellow sounded. Manda flicked its tongue again. He was here…

A colossal form appeared in the distance, only visible due to the ghostly power radiating from its jaws and shoulders. It was a draconic thing, a monstrous apparition that towered over everything around it. The thing was far larger than anyone had believed. Its sheer size dwarfed the surrounding hills. Each footstep generated tremors that shook the kingdom and left tremendous holes in the Earth. Bagan’s cruel eyes, burning hotter than its blood and gaze colder than its darkened heart, spotted Manda beyond. He blinked, confused. His head tilted, grinding needle-like teeth as he gazed upon the serpentine guardian of Mu.

Manda lacked the strength of Atlantis’ Gamera, skill of the Azumi Kingdom’s King Caesar, the raw firepower of Seatopia’s Megalon and the viciousness of Nilai Kanai’s Dagahra. All of them had fallen to the dark one. How could the serpent stand up against such a relentless force of evil in its purest of forms?

Manda hissed as Bagan approached, his long tail cutting a gash upon the face of the planet. The serpent reared up, trying to make itself seem larger with its branching antlers and long body. Bagan continued onward, unfazed as Manda stood its ground. The horror’s jaws split apart, the light causing the air around it to warp. Manda hissed, eyes narrowing before a stream of unholy power was shot forth. It engulfed the Muan protector in a baptism of fire. Manda flew to the side, body skidding across the beach. Its overlapping scales began to glow, catching a flame while the white beam shot again, missing by mere inches and hitting the sand. A patch of glass was formed as the sand was melted.

Manda lifted its head, flicking its tongue. Bagan growled. Why would it challenge him? How could it even believe it stood a chance? The demon snorted, shaking his horned head. Manda’s lips curled, revealing serrated teeth and its forked tongue. The guardian lashed out like a viper, but its teeth simply bounced off of Bagan’s mighty, skeletal-like armor plates. The abomination rolled his shoulders and chuckled. His leg kicked out, pummeling the head of the sea serpent. Manda’s skull struck the ground, impacting the glass crater Bagan’s ungodly light created.

Before it could rise, Bagan’s foot came down like a hammer. Manda’s head was crushed, pushed into the glass and sand. The demon continued his rolling, haunting taunts of roaring laughter. He grinded his foot, using the glass to skin the scales from Manda’s face. The serpent’s antlers began to break away, bit by bit as the glass began to turn crimson. Manda’s body and tail wrapped around the side, coiling around Bagan’s flank. The monster scoffed, releasing the serpent’s head to step away. His arms came down, powerful fingers and razor sharp claws digging into the diamond-shaped scales of the Muan deity. The serpent’s head lifted from the crater, bits of its flesh and scales dangling from its face. Its tongue lashed out, spitting blood as it tasted the air once more. Manda snarled and lashed out as its body continued to ensnare Bagan’s mid-section and arms. The snapping jaws of the serpent clamped around Bagan’s throat, but again its teeth merely bounced off of its armor plating.

Bagan was simply too tough to penetrate.

Manda hissed as it pulled its face away from Bagan’s, but it was too late. With its body still constricting the horrible thing, Manda was trapped. Bagan’s claws held it tight while his other hand reached up, grabbing Manda’s throat. The serpent hissed and struggled, but it was caught. There was no escape. Bagan’s nightmarish muzzle opened wide, breathing the stench of a million lost souls upon Manda. From within its gullet, brilliance brighter than the sun began to gather.

Manda’s eyes grew wider. Its tiny legs tried to scratch and fight, but it was to no avail.

Bagan’s horrible attack fired point blank. Manda’s cries of agony were quickly muted as its head was swallowed up by fire. The flames raced down its draconic form, setting it ablaze. Bits and pieces of Manda’s flesh launched in every direction just as Bagan released his hold. The serpent’s twitching body fell, seemingly headless, to the beach…

Bagan tucked his arms into his sides. His horned skull reared back and ugly mouth parted as wide as its jaws would allow. He roared, declaring his next victory and claimed soul to the world. It was a noise that would haunt those within the nearby kingdom of Mu for eons. But as the roar continued, something caught the abomination’s eye. Manda’s body moved. It wasn’t a death rattle. The serpent’s head lifted from the fire, the antlers completely blown off. Many of its teeth were shattered and its eyes were white, now completely blind at this point. Bagan tilted his head, watching curiously as the serpent began to slowly crawl away.

Something was calling Manda. It was beckoning him. It was coming from the sea. It was a call that the serpent couldn’t refuse. It made its way into the water. As soon as the cold water touched its scarred visage, the water began to boil. Thick clouds of misty steam rose up.

Bagan’s mouth formed a sadistic look as he began to slowly follow. He allowed Manda to dip into the cold embrace of the Muan sea. Manda either didn’t realize Bagan was following, or it didn’t care. Bagan wanted to watch it suffer, to extend its agony to its utmost potential. He wasn’t accustomed to the water, but he’d follow it…

And follow it, Bagan did.

The darkness overhead never ceased, thus making it impossible to tell how long and how far they went out. The demon moved slowly through the water, using his powerful tail and limbs to paddle across the ocean as Manda gained speed. Occasionally, Bagan would try blasting the serpent, but the Muan guardian glided across the water like a hawk in the sky. Before he knew it, the killer of life lost track of time, Manda, and his surroundings. He was blinded by his addiction of carnage until it was too late…

Bagan looked around. How long had it been? How long had he given chase? Days?

So arrogant and lustful for his opponent’s demise that he let himself be drawn into a new abyss. Unlike the flames and torrents of hellfire that consisted of the void he was born into, now he was in the cold, endless stomach of the ocean. He could see for miles in eternal darkness, but here, he could see no land. There was nothing to gain a footing. Bagan was stuck, trapped in a world he wasn’t able to understand nor ready for. For the first time in his existence, Bagan’s limbs were growing tired. He was feeling heavy. The ocean was pulling at him. He looked around. He was lost, not sure of where to go. The water was just as dark as the skies… he was lost.

Deep into the depths, Manda’s forked tongue lashed out. He was blind, but he could still smell the horrible stench of all those killed by the abomination. It was a scent that the serpentine beast would never be able to forget. Bagan had stopped. Manda shot upward as fast as its body would allow. The serpent erupted from the water behind Bagan. Faster than lightning, Manda’s body constricted the demon. Bagan’s thunderous sounds called out in the abyss, but there was nobody around to hear them except for Manda. The demon’s arms were pressed against his sides and, at last, the ocean swallowed up the monster it was so desperately hungry for. Bagan’s eyes remained wide as they filled with salt water. He was pulled down into a new darkness, a darkness he was unable to see in. The demon was now in a new type of hell. They continued to go further down. Bagan’s powerful light shined in the darkness of the depths, briefly illuminating it before fizzling away. For what seemed like an eternity, Manda dragged Bagan down. The demon struggled, but something else was different. He didn’t know what it was.

Manda’s body loosened and, just as fast it constricted him, it released him. The serpent began to circle Bagan, forked tongue continuously lashing out. Bagan’s jaws parted, spitting its white light at the swirling darkness. Every shot missed. The monster looked around, realizing that it was no longer moving up nor down. He was hovering in what seemed like mid-air. His limbs and tail began to move about, but he couldn’t move. The darkness of the depths was confusing him.

Bagan continued to fire, not realizing that even he had basic living needs, such as breathing. And under the water, he was unable to breath.

This was a fact that Manda wasn’t oblivious too. The serpent was born of the water, designed to thrive in the cold and fathomless depths of the deepest reaches of the ocean. Bagan was an abomination, something that originated elsewhere. Something that had never even been in the water. He had no idea what it was.

Bagan’s eyes began to roll in their sockets as he was denied oxygen. His clawed hands came up, grasping at his throat. Bagan’s tail and legs thrashed as Manda continued to circle. There was no more need to attack. Bagan tried to scream, but no sound came from his throat. Instead, a flood of sea water spilled down his esophagus and into his lungs. His eyes finally closed, the burning rage of the enemy of life extinguished. His arms fell from his throat and dangled at his side. He remained steady, hovering in the depths of the ocean.

Manda’s tongue lashed out once more. He began to head back to the coast and the kingdom that worshipped him as a God. Now, they had every right to. When his head poked through the surface, the darkness was gone. The sun was shining brightly. The devil’s reign of terror was finally ended, but not entirely by a monster. No, it was simply the ocean that allowed the world to awaken from this nightmare…