After ripping into the Lou Carcolh’s slimy skin, the Siren adjusted mid-air and sliced into its adversary again as it came down. The giant snail barely reacted to the attack itself but its severed appendages helplessly squirmed on the ground and a lime green liquid sprayed from its wounds, burning holes into the places it landed on the battlefield.

“You can cut my Summon all you want but I'm afraid that won’t help you much,“ Hotto said while a smug laugh escaped his lips. He pointed at the Lou Carcolh, the creature stretched its body towards the sky, revealing that its cuts were healing and even its severed appendages were already growing back. “My great Summon’s skin is regenerative and its blood consists entirely of acid. By all means, please keep going but I am afraid you are only going to hurt yourself!”

Elem noticed Zorya’s face crumbling into a frown. It was clear that she was reevaluating her options. One approach was to keep pushing through and try to outpace her opponent. If her Siren could inflict damage at a faster rate than the Lou Carcolh could heal then she’d have a good chance of winning the match. While it could certainly work, this was a risky strategy that would cost her a ton of Essence, even if she executed the plan perfectly.

Instead, Master Zorya appeared to opt for another strategy. She sent her Siren to the other side of the battlefield where it repositioned itself on another rock. The Siren let out another giggle as it playfully swung its tail from side to side. Sunlight shimmered on the Water Summon’s fishy scales, emitting an enchanting turquoise glare.

“What’s it doing now? Is it preparing for something?” Aja asked. She poked Elem with her elbow but he had no idea what to tell her.

“Just be patient,” Dante replied. The man squeezed his large body between them, almost unintentionally pushing both Elem and Aja off the stage in the process. “You are about to witness the Siren’s signature move; the Mermaid’s Elegy. ”

“Now!” Master Zorya shouted. “Give them your song!”

The Water Summon straightened its back and produced a drawn out melodic moan. Hearing the Siren’s song, Elem felt his body tense up. The aria was an elegantly woven tapestry of flowing tunes and something about it was inexplicably beautiful. He couldn’t understand how a wordless song could evoke such strong emotions as loneliness, heartbreak and desire straight into his soul, but it did and Elem was in awe.

A part of him wanted to jump off the bleachers and run straight towards the Summon but he was able to restrain himself. Whatever Zorya’s Summon was doing, he realized, had to be some creative application of Essence manipulation. Some kind of hypnotizing spell.

“You can feel it huh mate? We all do,” Dante whispered. “But don’t worry. The move is not targeted at us so you won’t run into the sea. Master Zorya is just going after that ugly slug so only that thing will feel the song’s true effects.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I suppose they do not teach basic biology in this hamlet?” Hotto scoffed. The challenger ran his hand through his sea sprayed hair. It seemed that he had an answer for everything Zorya did. “Lou Carcolhs are gastropods. They do not hear the way other organisms do and are completely immune to sound based attacks. It is embarrassing that you would even try a move like this. Do you seriously call yourself a master?”

As Hotto spoke, his Earth Summon launched its appendages at the Siren. The tentacles engulfed Zorya’s Summon like a net, allowing its venomous slime to seep into the Siren skin.

The Siren shrieked and flailed around like a captured fish but the resistance was of no use. Its opponent’s grip only became tighter and tighter, and the Lou Carcolh slowly pulled the Water Summon towards its mouth where a sea of teeth eagerly waited to devour the helpless prey.

“You know it’s over once we begin to chew, right?” Hotto laughed. He seemed more amused by the match than he should have been. He almost appeared offended with having to battle Unagi’ School’s Master, as if Zorya and all her battle prowess and experience were simply beneath him. “And after my Lou Carcolh devours your little fish, your father is next!”

“Father…” Zorya mouthed quietly. Her eyes momentarily dwindled off deep into her thoughts.

Elem wondered what she was thinking, carefully speculating if she was contemplating resigning from the match.

But no, the opposite was true. The woman’s eyes lit up, shining as bright as two blue suns. Her Essence appeared to flare up and coursed through her body like a raging river. Zorya shouted. She roared; producing a wordless expression of rage and passion.

And along with her anger, came the ocean’s revenge. The waves crashed over the battlefield’s walls, consuming the entire stage with water. The salty seawater raced around the giant gastropod and ultimately trapped it inside a foaming whirlpool. Boulders were pulled from their sockets and smacked hard against the Lou Carcolh’s shell with an almost unimaginable velocity.

“Don’t let go! You better hold on, you hear me!” Hotto commanded, all confidence suddenly washed from his voice.

The Lou Carcolh tried but failed to hold onto the Siren. The mermaid slipped from the creature’s tentacles and swam along with the raging current. Once again, its song sounded across the battlefield but this time it solely seemed to accelerate the water.

“You’re just going to run and swim around?” Hotto yelled. “Be my guest, little girl. You won’t be able to escape me for long. I’ll poison this water!”

Watching the sharp rocks crash into the snail as it swirled around the battlestage like a piece of clothing in a laundry machine, made the challenger’s threat seem almost comically delusional. A dark green slime excreted from the Lou Carcolh’s skin but the poison was quickly deluded and washed away by the ocean’s force.

Hotto’s Earth Summon was already banged up but the Siren had only just gotten started. The fish-like Summon rose to a vertical position. Its arms spread wide, its hair triumphantly dancing along with the storm and its eyes beaming as bright as Master Zorya’s. Where the skies had been clear and blue only moments ago, flashes of lightning and a sudden downpour spontaneously added to the chaos. The storm worsened and worsened until the audience could no longer see what was going on and were limited to listening to the combined violence of the waves, winds and thunder.

Elem stared ahead in disbelief. This was what true power looked like. This was what he was up against.