Tendrils of angry Essence danced around Elem’s body like smoke rising from a burned out car. Although invisible, he could feel the energy and it was just as real as the sea’s winds and the sun’s glow although much more intense. Thus far, Elem had regarded the master of the Unagi School with much respect but the reverence he had for Zorya was now rapidly fading.

The Siren’s song was not a fair move. By employing it, Zorya had infiltrated Elem’s mind and had used his deepest fears and insecurities against him. It was an ingenious way to break an opponent's resolve- that much Elem had to admit- but the psychological effects of the attack cut so deep and were so hurtful that he couldn’t see it as anything else than a dirty, underhanded tactic. And by employing the move, Zorya was showing her true colors.

“Is this how you want to win?” he asked her as he pointed at the master’s Water Summon. “Wouldn’t you prefer to beat my Kappa in actual combat?”’

A smile appeared on the Unagi Master’s face.

“Actual combat?” she asked with a smirk. “Did what you just went through not feel like actual combat? Are you not hurting with every fiber of your body right now? Don’t make me laugh. Capable Summoners know the mental aspect of a duel is more important than anything else.”

Elem wanted to shout something snarky in response but managed to keep his emotions under control. For now, he had to focus on the match. Rather than winning a pointless argument, his energy was better spent on avoiding the Siren’s next song.

It was clear that the move reached his mind by leveraging the spiritual connection he had with his Kappa. Knowing this, Elem figured that if he could somehow block off his Summon’s eardrums, he’d likely be able to prevent the next attack from taking control over him.

But how? Elem thought as he scoured his surroundings.

The battlefield was still filled with seawater which had dragged along a large quantity of kelp and seaweed. Maybe that would be enough to do the job.

“Stuff it in your ears!” Elem shouted at his Summon, pointing at the floating seaweed and the Kappa immediately grabbed two handfuls of leaves, smushed it together, and crammed it into its reptilian ear holes.

The action had come just in time, as seconds later, the Siren began its second song. The opposing Summon’s voice rang as eerily and unsettling as before, sounding somewhere between a dying sea creature and a creaking ship on the verge of going under. The melody sauntered its way towards the Kappa, and while the seaweed was able to block much of the sound, the insulation proved not enough to fully ward off its effects.

It didn’t take long before Elem started to feel drowsy and while the attack was delayed, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Siren would take full control of his mind again.

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“No!” he shrieked, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. “Not again!”

Elem had only barely survived the first attack. There was no way he could go through the mental horror another time, that would surely break his mind.

However this time, the Kappa came with a solution of its own. Perhaps inspired by its summoner’s idea, the turtle-like creature pulled two swats of luminous water from its dish-shaped skull and used the liquid to seal its ears.

“Sound moves even quicker through water than through air,” the Unagi Master chuckled. “Underwater whale calls can travel for thousands of kilometers, those droplets won’t do a thing.”

Elem let out a chuckle of his own, once again electing silence over a rebuttal. Under normal circumstances Zorya would have been right, but Elem knew that the Kappa’s dish-like skull contained no ordinary water. The liquid carried by the creature was special, loaded with the creature’s own Essence and served as an extension of its body. This allowed the Kappa to control it and make the water as dense as steel; thick enough to block the melody’s soundwaves.

Zorya’s eyes widened when she noticed her spell was losing its potency.

“Louder!” she yelled as droplets of sweat began to gather on her forehead. “Sing louder! Now!”

Instead of waiting for the Siren to try and pierce through his summon’s defense, Elem sent his Kappa forward to interrupt their opponent’s move instead: the Kappa rushed through the water like a charging hippo and tackled the Siren at full speed, crashing into a nearby boulder.

Gravel rained across the stage as the Kappa pinned the Siren against the stone with a barrage of vicious punches. Watching the violence, Elem let out a rage-fueled scream, pouring all of his frustration into the onslaught. Zorya deserved this, he firmly believed. She should have never used his father’s memory against him.

The Siren yelped and moaned as it was forced to incur strike after strike. After a while, the Unagi master wobbled from side to side like a drunken sailor but Zorya refused to give up.

While Kappa kept punching, Elem began to feel his body tingle and his muscles cramp. He was expending a large amount of unbridled energy and without managing the flow of Essence passing through his nodes, he was beginning to lose control.

Expending more Essence than Elem could cultivate, the Kappa began to run out of steam, allowing the Siren to leap to the side and slither back into the water. At that moment, Elem locked eyes with his opponent and for a brief moment he sensed weakness in Zorya’s gaze.

Was she suddenly afraid of losing? Did she perhaps realize that she may have underestimated him?

Elem ran a quick cultivation cycle, rejuvenating his Essence levels the best he could without letting his guard down.

Regardless, Master Zorya didn’t give him much time to recuperate.

“So this has become a real fight,” she noted. Although panting heavily, her voice remained calm and somewhat steady. “Let’s see if you can withstand our storm.”

Elem narrowed his gaze. After he had witnessed the Siren crack the previous challenger with a small cyclone, he’d been expecting this attack to come and he was ready for it.

“Stay focused,” he told himself quietly as he took a long, deep breath. “Whatever happens, stick to the plan.”