The frigate pressed closer, Robert standing tall at the helm, his hand raised as the sea bent to his will. Waves surged against The Frosted Lantern, tossing the smaller ship violently. Sabrina stumbled but caught herself, her years of naval experience keeping her steady.
“Hold fast!” Miura shouted to the crew. She turned to Sabrina, her voice calm despite the chaos. “You said he’s telekinetic…”
Sabrina nodded grimly. “He doesn’t need the cannons. He’ll use the ammunition directly.”
As if on cue, a flaming cannonball tore through the air, aimed straight at the mast. Miura reacted instantly, summoning a spiralling column of ice that encased the projectile before it could hit. The frozen ball shattered on the deck, its velocity terminally altered.
Sabrina’s jaw tightened as she watched Robert, his movements precise, almost playful. “He’s toying with us,” she muttered, a mix of frustration and dread in her voice.
“Then it’s time to stop playing,” Miura declared, stepping to the centre of the deck. She moved with fluid precision, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air. The temperature plummeted, and the sea answered her call, surging into a towering wave that shimmered with a crystalline frost. The wave creaked and groaned as it froze solid, transforming into a jagged wall of ice rushing toward the frigate.
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Robert’s smirk widened, his eyes glowing with a faint aquamarine light as he thrust his arms forward. “Did you forget what ice is made of?” he bellowed, his voice carrying unnaturally over the storm.
The seawater within Miura’s creation began to rebel. With a loud, resonant crack, the icy wave shattered mid-air, breaking into millions of glittering shards. The seawater, free from its frozen prison, surged back into a liquid form, coiling like serpents around Robert’s ship. The once-lethal assault was reduced to harmless mist and spray, the frigate remaining unscathed.
Miura’s eyes narrowed as her breath fogged the air, her magic pulling at the moisture to reclaim control. But Robert raised a single hand, his telekinesis forcing the liquid droplets back into the ocean with a flourish. “You can’t fight the tide, Courtesan,” he sneered. “Snow and ice are born of water. And water obeys me.”
The frigate pressed closer, unyielding, as the waves beneath it rippled unnaturally in Robert’s favour. Miura gritted her teeth, her defiance undiminished despite the setback. Sabrina grabbed her shoulder, steadying her. “He’s not invincible,” Sabrina said firmly, her own steel resolve hardening. “We just have to be smarter.”
“Is that all you’ve got?” he called, his voice cutting through the storm. “You think you can challenge me, Sister? You’ve always been a fool.”
Sabrina’s fists clenched. “And you’ve always been blind!” she shouted back. “Blind to the cost of your arrogance!”
Robert’s smirk vanished, replaced by cold fury. He raised a hand, the sea churning violently as he prepared his next strike.