Dianna dashed forward, and ended the Shadow Form spell to give herself a chance to attack. Unfortunately, she could not cast any spells that could damage Finn directly- she’d have to hope that her daggers would strike true. By now, Finn’s own ability to react had recovered, so she needed to be extra careful not to waste any magic. Her timing would have to be perfect, but perfect was what she was.

Dianna swung both of her daggers out towards the Morro, her attack’s speed severely handicapped by the weight of the water. She thought on her feet, and used this to her advantage, letting the slowness of the daggers improve her timing. She watched Finn’s movements closely, analyzing him for any measure of counterattack. Unfortunately for her, she was not looking where she needed to.

A tentacle coiled around her, and hoisted her rapidly upwards towards the maw of the squid. Thanks to the effect of Slipstream, she was able to promptly wiggle out of the grip of the creature’s tentacles, but it put her a good distance away from Finn. She closed the distance as best she could, and then turned around to face the kraken, occasionally glancing backwards to watch Finn.

Lawrence casts Lionfish Lancer

An advanced spell that summons a lionfish with the form of a mounted knight, which excels at mowing down foes with charging attacks. Those that manage to survive a joust with the lancer suffer immediate poison from the fish’s venomous spines.

A man that seemed to wear armor stylized after a lionfish appeared, riding a lionfish beneath itself and wielding a long lionfish’s spine in either hand. Lawrence proudly gestured forward, and the lionfish charged forward. Though he would never admit it in front of Finn, with his kraken, this was Lawrence’s ace.

The Lancer dashed forward, unfettered by the weight of the water, towards Finn. Now that Dianna was a good distance away, he had no need to fear hitting her, or any counter of Finn’s accidentally hitting her. The knight rode forth, its paired lances poised to strike down the Morro pirate.

Finn casts Dagon’s Edict

A hieratical spell known only to the upper echelons of sea-dwellers, which exerts supreme control over sea creatures with Intelligence less than 10.

The eye of a great fish appeared across Finn’s chest, and it blinked shut. Immediately, the Lancer began to skid to a halt, its lances pulled away from their would-be target. Lawrence felt the urge to serve settle into his brain, but he shook it off- unfortunately, he looked ahead of him in horror to see his mollusk guardian turning to face him, and slowly backing away.

Shit, Lawrence thought to himself, I was gonna keep that guy around to block another round of the kraken’s attacks- I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to get out another one…

The Lancer turned around to face Lawrence, but Finn directed it towards Mina. Its lionfish mount reared up, and prepared to charge.

Mina shook her head, clapped her hands against her cheeks and shook the nerves out of herself. Something about being on the verge of death cleared her normally anxious brain- it gave her something to focus on, an immediate threat she could direct all her attention towards.

Mina casts Thunderstorm

A supreme spell that invokes a thunderhead directly overhead by stirring up electrical fields and concentrating water pressure. Allows the user to call down a bolt of lightning periodically.

Woodcarver: Mina channels Thunderstorm

At the peak of the ocean, as far in the air as it could be summoned, with a cascade of thunderclaps and flashes of lightning, a great hawk appeared. Even beneath the waves, it seemed to ride atop a cloud of storms, and each flap of its mighty wings echoed like the crash of thunder.

Immediately, every creature in the battle felt their bodies begin to feel number. Simon and Dianna’s grips on their weapons weakened, and Finn began twitching. The electrical currents generated by the stormclouds were being rapidly dispersed across the volume of the water they fought in, and while the strength of the current was greatly neutralized, it still had an impact on those present.

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Thunderhawk casts Lightning Bolt

A basic spell that causes electricity to jump from one location to another, transferring a great amount of energy in the process.

The current of the bolt welled up within the hawk- and then immediately disappeared. In that moment, everyone fell limp. The kraken collapsed down onto the ground, and the humanoids present fell to their knees. The current had struck all of them equally, with enough charge that Lawrence feared his heart may give out.

Finn staggered to his feet, unable to act beyond that.

Simon remained limp on the ground. He feared his held breath may give at any moment. He felt fear, fear that he might die to any number of things in this fight, fear that he might let his family down, fear that this could be the end of his story, and above all else fear that he never learned what it meant to be a true leader.

Simon casts Break the Chains

A supreme spell that briefly makes the body immune to both damage and status effects, as well as filling the body with inhuman strength. Usable only when the caster is at risk of death.

Simon gritted his teeth, and nearly let out a defiant cry before remembering he was, in fact, still underwater. He felt the weight of the water disappear from his body, the current of electricity loosen its grip on his heart and muscles, and most importantly the fear leave his mind. He felt but one purpose in his life: to strike down this pirate.

Simon lunged forward, leaping across the surface of the ocean floor as easily as if he was born down there. He closed the distance on Finn in an instant, but not quickly enough for Finn not to be able to begin to swim away. Simon brought down his halberd, and Finn swam to the left. Simon pulled his halberd back, and then lunged forward, and Finn swam to the right. Simon switched his grip, and spun around into a full-circle slash, and Finn swam over it and then away from it. Simon lept after him, bringing his halberd down, as Finn wove between the Lancer and Shielder that were now his to command. Simon slashed them both apart as though they were nothing, and even as the numbed kraken attempted to bring its tentacles up in a feeble barrier between him and Finn, Simon cleaved through the coiled appendages with ease.

Simon finally cleared a path straight towards Finn, who was now backed against the wall of the room, and at last lept towards him, his halberd proudly brandished overhead.

Finn casts Bobbit Worm Bisector

An advanced spell that summons a benthic worm. As the worm is summoned, it lunges at a creature, with enough force to cleave it in half.

Bloody bubbles escaped Simon’s mouth as he coughed. The worm’s powerful pincers dug deep into his sides, threatening to crush him in his armor, if not splinter the armor itself. In his mad assault, Simon failed to realize exactly how much time was passing. In truth, Dianna, Mina, and Lawrence had all shaken off their numbness, and Finn once again had time to act. And in that time, the spell’s effect wore off, making him once again mortal.

“Nice try,” Finn chuckled between labored breaths. “But I’ve seen better.”

Simon’s arms slowly fell to his sides. Mina raised her hand to her mouth, shocked to see a friend part so soon. Dianna steeled herself, prepared for a fight that would only be more difficult from here.

A great pillar of blue light erupted from Simon. Finn staggered backwards, pressed up against the wall of the room, and gestured with his hand for the worm to tighten its grip. Simon brought down his halberd, cleaving the worm’s head apart, then front-flipped over its head, landed onto its body, and raised his head to stare down Finn. Simon’s left eye exploded, bursting into pulp and blood, in a burst of blue light.

Simon casts Kamaitachi

An advanced spell that originates in Kagami. The user creates a vortex of wind that cuts through the air ahead of it, allowing it to pierce a target at inhuman speeds.

A bubble of air appeared around Simon, who quickly caught his breath, before kicking off of the worm. Slicing through the water with speed faster than Finn- or anyone- could perceive, Simon had already impaled Finn upon his halberd by the time the sound of Simon’s kick reached the Mina, Lawrence, and Dianna.

Finn coughed up blood as he felt the halberd pierce his back, embedding him into the wall behind him. He understood what had happened- only, he wished he spent these last few precious seconds evading Simon’s attack instead of putting the pieces together.

With his life on the line, something changed in Simon. He felt the weight of the world, of his family’s expectations, and of his own expectations of himself, lift off his body. He felt freed in death, and in that moment gained enough Experience to level up. And that’s exactly what he did. He advanced to Battlemage level 2, and learned the Talent Last Resort, which allowed him to sacrifice a body part to cast another Battlemage spell. By sacrificing his left eye, Simon was able to cast Kamaitachi, and kill Finn.

Or so he hoped.

“Gack-” Finn coughed. “Can’t believe… a bunch of shitty newbies… are making me use this…”

Finn casts Absolution: Hadopelagic Zone