The Kappa and the Bicorn simultaneously spawned before their Summoners. As always, Elem could sense the Kappa’s anger but this time his connection with the Summon somehow felt deeper. Apart from the Water Summon’s desire for a scrap, he noticed a certain familiarity with his Kappa; a sense of understanding or perhaps even some form of respect. Elem realized that each time he called the Summon, it seemed to go a little easier. The Kappa’s Essence no longer felt like some mysterious foreign energy and instead began to to feel like an integrated part of Elem's own being.

He peered at Aja’s Summon, it had been a while since he’d last seen the Bicorn. The Void Summon reared up and loudly neighed, its horns shining in the dimly lit woods. It was a remarkable Summon Elem thought; a creature with a truly otherworldly presence.

However, the two men standing in front of them seemed less impressed.

“You’re not the only Summoners around here,” scoffed the largest thug as his eyes turned to copper. “I Summon the Ogre, Earth Summon; Relentless Juggernaut of the Swamp!”

“Let’s put these kids in their place,” added the other man. “I Summon the Daemon, Void Summon; Winged Child of the Night.”

Moments after the incantations, the Ogre sprouted up from the earth like a breaching whale, catapulting chunks of dirt into the air in the process. Meanwhile, the Daemon emerged through an umbrakinetic vortex.

Elem felt stupid for running into this trap like scared cattle being driven into a pen. The Manananggal, that ghastly flying Summon, had really caught him off guard. He took a deep breath, mustering up all the Essence he could find within his body. Elem hadn’t anticipated dueling so soon after his previous match. But this time, he didn’t have much of a choice; he would have to suck it up and battle his way out of the situation.

“Two versus two,” he murmured, realizing that this would be his first-ever double battle. “This should be interesting.”

Elem ran his eyes over the opposing Summons. Unlike the Manananggal, he had learned of these Summons before. The Ogre was a massive, green beast with large tusks and keratin-based spikes protruding from its knuckles and elbows. It was incredibly powerful but had a tendency to be sluggish in its attacks. The Daemon, on the other hand, was small and nimble. Horns coiled from its skull while its almost comically short wings kept it a flight. This Summon was mostly known for its fire-based ranged attacks.

Although he wasn’t going into the battle completely blind, Elem remained cautious. Double battles were all about synergy and the robbers’ Summons appeared awfully compatible with one another. While the Ogre was the main opponent to worry about, the Daemon, being a flexible lightweight, could play a valuable supporting role.

Meanwhile, Elem wasn’t sure how his Kappa’s attributes would work with those of Aja’s Bicorn but at least he would be fighting alongside his best friend.

The Ogre was the first Summon to attack. The Earth Summon rushed at Aja’s Bicorn like a charging gorilla, its armored knuckles smashing trenches into the forest ground with every step.

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Aja didn’t need much time to react and immediately sent her Bicorn forward to meet the threat head-on. As the Void Summon ran, it lowered its head and aimed its dual horns at the approaching Ogre. When the two Summon crashed into one another seconds later, Elem could feel a shockwave ripple through the air.

However when the dust settled, both Summons remained unscathed. The Ogre had blocked the Bicorn’s horns with its armored forearms, forcing the two to keep pushing in a restless stalemate.

Elem took the moment as an opportunity to strike. During the commotion he had lost sight of the Daemon but the Void Summon didn’t seem to be nearby. If the Kappa was quick enough, it would be able to do some proper damage on the occupied Ogre before his opponents could respond.

”Kappa!” he commanded. “Now!”

Pulsing his Essence to the Kappa’s webbed claws, Elem directed the Water Summon to aim for the Ogre’s eyes. The Kappa lunged into the air, nails pointed at its target.

But before the Kappa could strike, the Daemon appeared from behind the Ogre’s back. The Daemon stretched its arms, sending flaming orbs at Elem’s Water Summon. As the Kappa smacked to the ground, the Daemon sent another volley of fire attacks at the struggling Bicorn. The Bicorn flinched for a split second, enough time for the Ogre to violently slam it to the ground.

“How about you give up and we try not to hurt you as badly,” chuckled the robber controlling the Daemon. “What do you say? Ready to pay up?”

Elem winced, feeling the Kappa’s pain. It was as he’d expected, their opponents had a thought-out integrated strategy. He glanced at Aja. Both of them knew their approach wasn’t working; if they wanted to win, they’d need a solid plan of attack for themselves.

“We need to separate them,“ he suggested softly, hoping the robbers wouldn’t overhear. “That way, they can’t work together.”

Aja nodded. “If you take care of the Daemon, I think I can outspeed the big one.”

The Daemon waited on the Ogre’s shoulders, ready to fire off another series of orbs. However this time, Elem and Aja were prepared.

The Bicorn raced across on the battlefield, quickly darting past both the projectiles and the Ogre’s swinging fists. For now, it would focus on making the opposing Summons miss.

Elem and his Kappa, however, had a different approach. Although slower than the Bicorn, the Kappa was quick enough to avoid the Ogre’s attacks. However, it could not outrun the Daemon’s fireballs so the Water Summon squatted low as it ran, blocking the incoming fireballs with its shell. Then, after deflecting one of the Daemon’s attacks, the Kappa returned fire with a water beam.

“Nice try!” the robber laughed while his Summon flew up from the Ogre’s shoulder, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The Daemon landed further down the forest ground and immediately launched a series of fiery orbs. This time the projectiles hit the Kappa on the shell covering its stomach, dropping the Summon to the ground.

Elem could feel his Summon’s frustration but tried to brush it off. The Daemon’s attack wasn’t powerful enough to pierce the Kappa’s armor and as long as he kept shooting back nothing would be lost.

The dish on the Kappa’s skull began to glow and a moment later, the Summon launched a luminous water strike from its beak. The attack was vigorous, apparently strong enough to blow a hole through a large tree, but the Daemon easily avoided the move nevertheless.

Elem gritted his teeth. The winged bastard was quick, far quicker than any of the Summons he had faced before. How was he supposed to hit his opponent if the bloody Daemon kept flying away every time the Kappa launched an attack?