章節 97: A Song of Water and Fire
While Bee fended off two of the three attackers, Fireshing was given the full force of the third. Bearing his menacing fangs, Sharkey cracked his whip through the air.
The teeth at the end of the cords wrapped around Fire's spear and dug deep into the wood. One of the sharp edges raked across her hand.
Fireshing was unable to suppress her scream. Her shriek cut the air just as Sharkey pulled back his weapon.
The skin of her hand ripped open, and she was forced to release the Aching Ember or lose more of her flesh.
Dismissing the weapon, Fire immediately summoned it back into her hand. The move kept Sharkey from taking hold of her spear but also left her defenseless until the Aching Ember could reform.
When the grey-skinned awakened lifted his whip to strike again, Fireshing needed to act fast. With her free hand, the redhead shot a ball of flames at her opponent's head.
Sharkey dodged, bringing a wave from behind him to douse the conflagration.
The two forces collided.
Both fire and water seemed determined to devour one another.
In the end, neither won.
With a burst of energy, the area around the two Awakened filled with scalding steam and boiling water.
Yet neither was burned.
Racing, Fireshing retreated, preparing to jump to the next barge. The shark-man was hot on her tail sending scalding balls of precipitation chasing after her.
Just as she was about to leap onto the adjoining platform, a wave of water shot up in between the two barges. But the duelist was too late to stop her momentum so she pushed harder into it.
The wave of water gripped her like an immovable force. It seemed determined to hold her in place, but Fireshing was more determined still. She swam, kicked, and thrust herself forward to make it out of the trap in time.
Sharkey closed his fist. The wave of water froze in place.
But the grey-skinned combatant was a moment too late. Fireshing was already coming out the other side. Only her foot was caught in the icy prison and even that was temporary.
The sandals were still blazing from her walk on the frozen flotilla, and so her toes slid through the wall of ice like butter.
She landed on the deck just as her spear was ready for combat once more.
'Keep calm,' Fire told herself.
This match-up was the one she had wanted to avoid at all costs. As a fire-wielder, she could produce flames from within herself, but her slippery opponent could pull water from the physical world.
So while it was clear what direction her fire would come from, the current arena had an ocean full of ammunition to shoot her way from any angle.
'Just great…'
Those kinds of thoughts were not helpful. Only survival was. And she had done that three times already since the battle began.
Sure, Fireshing's hand stung, but her quick reflexes had kept the wounds from deepening and slashing her tendons. She could still use her fingers.
'I've made it longer than most people thought possible against him. I cannot prove them right now.'
As soon as she got her footing, Fireshing wheeled around to face her attacker. She raised her spear.
The wall of ice shattered, sending shards sailing through the air. Amid the chaos, Sharkey crashed onto the deck with a smirk.
Fireshing was ready. Wisps of vapor filled the air where the ice pelted her body. She jabbed her spear, digging deep into the man's nondominant shoulder. If not for his last second shift, his exposed neck would have gotten the killing blow.
'Oh!' The beautiful redhead moved back to avoid a flick of the biting lashes, nearly making it to the end of the next barge.
As soon as the whip's crack sounded, Fireshing followed its backward swing back to the source. The shark man's bloodshot eyes opened wide.
Rather than risk the loss of his arm or a wound to the other shoulder, the massive Awakened went up on his toes. The burning spear sang against his scaly armor and skidded off, but not without marking the path of its journey.
Sharkey pushed back Fireshing with his huge fist and then wrapped his whip around one of her ankles. Snapping the weapon backward, he sent countless small wounds across the woman's left calf.
Fire fell to the ground with a grunt. Seeing his chance, the grey-skinned Awakened cracked the teeth-laden weapon at Fireshing's ankles. He would drag her toward himself and finish the job at close range.
'No!' Fireshing leaned forward and tucked her legs under her. She turned her spear sideways and braced herself. The whip's cords spun and attached around the shaft, this time missing Fire's delicate fingers.
The slender female pulled with all her might.
The change in the girl's position as well as the sudden show of strength pulled the bulking brute off balance. The heel of his weapon slipped from his hand.
Sharkey lunged forward to grab it, but it was too late. Dismissing the whip, the grey-skinned hulk stepped back and leapt into a large gap between the barges.
'What is he doing?' Fire hesitated before moving to look for him in the water.
She caught sight of him below the azure sea. Was he swimming back to attack Queen Bee? No, the angle was wrong. He seemed to be biding his time to summon his weapon again.
'Must be nice to be able to breathe underwater,' Fire returned to the center of the platform.
If Sharkey wanted to sneak attack, the least she could do to protect herself was get as far from the edge as possible.
'He wants to act like a fish. Then let's go fishing.' Fire raised her spear over her head.
She scanned in a circle for the most logical entry point and poised herself like a fearsome huntress. Her ears were aware of the entire perimeter, but her eyes trained on the single spot.
Something in her told her this was the only place that made sense.
The water rippled. Fireshing braced herself.
Through the gap in the flotilla, Sharkey soared out of the ocean like a sailfish on the breeze. Bright, glistening drops cascaded from his armor, catching the sun in a brilliant display. But the glory was short-lived.
Like a harpoon, the [Aching Ember] landed in the soft flesh of sleek Awakened's neck. He crashed onto the deck, unable to gasp for air. His blood-filled eyes looked one last time on the beautiful Fireshing.
He raised his hand and, using his last bit of essence, sent as many spikes of icy sea water in her direction as he could.
The lady dashed away from the icy deluge.
"Sharkey has been eliminated." The Dreamscape's voice was music to Fire's ears.
'I...I did it!' Fire could hardly believe it, but as her opponent dissolved into a rain of sparks, she could not deny the truth.
Fireshing turned with a big grin toward Bee. No other announcement of elimination had been made, which meant she must be holding her own against GoldieRider and Lost.
Her smile quickly faded. Queen Bee was in serious trouble. Something about the way the vivacious Queen was fighting was seriously lacking.
She missed a block and mistimed a strike. It looked like the woman was fighting drunk.
'What is going on?' Fire ran toward the battle to help her teammate.
Stepping on the raft with the other three, she suddenly felt like she had been turned on her head. 'What in the world?'
'Bee, what is happening?' Fireshing asked through [The Other's Voice].
The Queen's response was warped and strange. 'It's Lost. I told you he would be a problem...'
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