Intrepid Danseur of the Sea

Kou gradually pushed his way through the surging waves in the light action between Ralphie and Ayuka who fought at the surface after his determination to save Tomomi from the underwater's horrible experience. Ralphie kept the remaining 'Sun Soldiers' distracted on the shore, and Ayuka jumped into the water, risking everything, to save both Kou, and Tomomi from drowning. It was only a matter of seconds, but Ayuka successfully defended Kou and destroyed the shark in the blink of an eye, retreating from beneath the ship.

Bow swung his arm behind his back and created a light arrow that shone bright gold, peering back at Ralphie who successfully defended Ayuka a few seconds earlier.

"The cook seemed to be in command of a formidable combat spirit. That Kizu jerk had already lost his temper and had been hit without even realizing it. Trap, I'd rather not fight so rashly at this hour, but as soon as I fire this arrow at that cook, make sure to strike."

"You intend to use the arrow to deliver the numb injection to the cook's body? Since that skill only lasts a few seconds, I see the usefulness and the reasoning. Don't worry, as soon as I see the arrow penetrating him, I'll deal with him."

Trap took a solid stance in front of the stormy sky, his arms held out in front of him and his fingers pointing up. "Yes, you must hit one of his critical points in his body for this reason alone. Aim for the legs; if you can weaken them enough, he won't be able to move or kick us."

"Yes, just tell me where his weakest spot in the leg is, and I'll make sure he gets that crucial point."

As he examined Ralphie's physique and legs for the weakness, Bow's vision quickly got distorted. Ralphie's thigh had a red light in the center of it, which he noticed.

"The thighs are the simplest targets, but you'll need to strike it from behind to get a critical hit. I advocate striking the gap between his knees, but with his lengthy garments and inability to see his legs from the front, this may be too difficult."

"I see your point. I should slam the opening behind both of his knees. You don't have to be concerned; unless you don't trust me, Bow, I can hit that target from miles away if required."

"So, there you have it. Between striking his opening behind the knee and thighs, he has a 60 percent to 90 percent risk of collapsing. Make certain to land that hit."

Ralphie kept his distance from Bow as he grabbed his bow and rapidly aimed it forward, while Bow sat on the spot and prepared to attack.

"Well, if you're planning to fight from afar, then this is the perfect opportunity to strike from close range!"

Bow tied the arrow to the string and pulled it back at the moment of Ralphie's decision, who sprinted forward. In the midst of Ralphie's approach, Bow immediately fired an arrow at him that flew at breakneck speed, but Ralphie detected it and quickly sidestepped, causing the arrow to miss and sail by.

"A high-ranking member of the 'Sun Soldiers' would be expected to be precise with his weaponry, but I presume they have a low possibility of going missing. You'd think I'd be aware that I'd avoid the arrow!"

But, just as Ralphie thought he was safe, he was confronted with an unexpected event. The launched arrow twisted around and headed back in his direction, poised to puncture his mid-back. "I'm not missing..." Ralphie shifted his sight behind him and was caught off guard when he discovered the arrow was barely seconds away from hitting its intended target. Ralphie attempted to reply by sidestepping to the side, but the arrow swooshed through his spine and became trapped in it, throwing him off balance and causing his entire body to go numb.

With his torso collapsing to the floor, he fell quickly into the sand, scraping his chest on it while losing control of his limbs. Trap prepared to deliver a critical hit and upon seeing Ralphie's body stopping in the sand, he disappeared using golden flash and suddenly flickered behind Ralphie's lying body with an opened palm, rotated to the side.

Meanwhile, Kizu began to emerge from the water, agitated, with his hair completely messed up and his clothes soaking wet. "That idiotic cook! He had to appear out of nowhere and attack me with such carelessness. I'm going to cut off his limbs because he's such a disrespectful beast!"

Kizu straightened up as he reached for the blade on his back, only to find Trap crouched behind Ralphie, amassing enough energy to attack.

"Trap, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm capturing him."

"Don't you dare steal my prey! That cook deserves some beating, and after what he did, the only person who can strike him down is me! Get out of the way, fool!"

Trap fully ignored Kizu's words and moved his arm behind, finally prepared to strike the critical hit, but just then Kizu stepped forward and disappeared using the golden flash, and immediately flicked behind Trap's crouched body.

"Are you dumb?! I told you, that he's mine!"

Kizu slashed forward, crosswise and fended off Trap who jumped out of the way, by flipping into the air and landing away from Kizu, whose obvious anger completely started to derail their plan, which was enough to irritate Bow.

"What do you think you're doing, Kizu?" Trap straightened himself after landing and exchange views with Kizu, who appeared to be the only obstacle in the way from capturing the cook.

"I won't tell you again. This cook made fun out of me by giving me that stupid blow. I am the only one who has the rights to repay the debt! Now, stand back and don't get in my way!"

Kizu whirled around in an instant and looked down at Ralphie, who had a serious and frightened expression on his face. He was sweating profusely and couldn't move his body, but he gradually regained his senses.

("I can't move my limbs, I've gone all numb because of this arrow... Come on, how much longer, Ayuka?")

By taking a step closer and seizing his sword, then lifting it above his head, Kizu demonstrated his displeasure with Ralphie's calm demeanor and expressed his desire to strike. "Dumbass, that kick hurt a lot. It's time for you to pay back the favor by being killed!"

The frozen water around the ship's deck kept Kou and Tomomi's comatose bodies in place, while Ayuka seemed to have been sunk deep beneath the surface, peering toward the coast from the depths of the ocean. Her body became shadowy, and her eyes began to glow blue.

("I never tried this before, but I've been improving it ever since fighting those underwater beasts...")

~ ("What is this abomination? It's abrasive as hell, and its jaw stinks to high heaven! I won't be able to accomplish anything underwater, but I must save Tim!") She felt her body's power ebb away, but she held on tight and continued to hold its jaw open. She was being dragged around like a vortex underwater, unable to accomplish much. She fought hard, but her strength couldn't defeat the shark's jaw, no matter how hard she tried. ("As if I didn't already have enough experience with jaws! Now I'm supposed to cope with yet another?")

The shark was losing focus due to her constant rubbing of her blade against the top of its jawline, so it continued to try to crush her in its jaw. She, on the other hand, grabbed the sword with both hands and sliced over. The blood was able to freely mix with the water. The shark's agonizing roar echoed over the ocean, nearly damaging Ayuka's ears, but the anguish was enough to convince her to let go. She slashed its stomach with another slice and killed it in a flash. ~

As she moved her arms in front of her chest, one behind her, Ayuka's gaze pierced out a blue flare from the underwater. The water around her began to behave strangely, and currents began to flow toward Ayuka's body, spinning around her legs at breakneck speed.

When Ayuka increased the pressure and used the water to her advantage, the fish around the parts swam away. ("Jet...") She locked her gaze on the water's surface, and in an instant, she began to speed up to the surface, whirling through the water and using it to gain more and more speed.

She was able to move at the same pace as a black marlin and easily caught up to the surface, while Kizu slashed downward in the hopes of killing Ralphie, but just then Bow spotted a vortex in the water that became bigger and bigger in an instant.

"Kizu, get out of the way, now!"

He burst out laughing and screamed angrily. "Absolutely not! Right now, I'm going to kill this jerk! To hell with you!" He swung down with a powerful stab, but came to a halt when he saw a tremendous vortex of water shoot into the air from the depths, through which Ayuka had launched and spun high into the air.

"Torpedo!"

She let out a loud shout and moved both of her hands to her hip, where the vortex exploded into splashes of water, forming a lengthy current of water that flowed around her wrists. "And now..." She slid toward the coast and landed on the sand, her hands moved near her hips. "Raging Flow!" When she swung both of her palms in front, the water from the ocean began to rise into the air, and a medium-sized wave of water crashed down onto the three members of 'Sun Soldiers.'

The wave slammed down on them with such force that they were unable to prevent it, dragging them and Ralphie into the forest, where they screamed battle cries.

When the water was pressing against Ralphie and the 'Sun Soldiers,' she eventually let go and released a blast of frigid air, freezing the water and capturing everyone in it. They were unable to move, and Ayuka smiled as she looked at their frozen bodies with heavy breathing.

"It worked! It really worked! I can use Water Release, hooray!!!"

She was overjoyed and hopped on the ground, but she suddenly realized she had forgotten about Ralphie and became humiliated when she noticed him trapped in the ice. "I forgot about Ralphie! Wait up, I'm coming!" She dashed over to him and quickly cracked the ice with her palm, despite Ralphie's body remaining as still as a tree.

"Ralphie, hello! Is everything okay with you? Please accept my apologies; I didn't mean to-!" Ralphie hastily shook his head before turning his gaze to pink hearts before she concluded. He promptly lifted his arms and cheered for Ayuka. "Ayuka-dear, that was as sexy as the coolest ice! I had no idea you could use Water Release!"

Ralphie's attitude embarrassed her right away, and she moaned in disappointment. "Whatever the case may be, the ice will eventually melt. We still have to get the ship back to shore, but somewhere away from here. Now that there's two of us, let's dock it somewhere else."

While Ralphie swiftly raised his arms in the air, she turned around and sprinted for the ship, freezing the water beneath her feet to create a route. "Ayuka-dear, whatever you say!" He sped up behind her and skidded over the ice like he was in an ice skating competition.

Ralphie seized the steering wheel and waited for Ayuka to grasp the anchor and lower the flag once Ayuka unfroze the ice that held the ship in place.

"Turn around and sail behind the mountain's coast. The ship should be docked somewhere else, and there should be a place to do so!"

"Anything for you, Ayuka-dear!"

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The frozen water that Ayuka had made burst under Bow's strain as the ship was docked below the mountain, and as a result, he released all three of them at once, with each of them finally stepping back up, but finding that Ayuka and Ralphie had left with the ship..

"Damn it! That stupid girl! Who'd think that she'd be able to utilize the water to her advantage, and now they escaped! Those jerks!"

Trap crossed his arms in front of his chest as Kizu whined. "Because of your negligence, Kizu, they were able to flee. We don't have time to look for the girl any longer. Let us go back to the castle. The 'maiden selection' will soon begin, to serve as Muro's cadre, and we must be present when he does so, so a little rest won't be too bothersome."

Kizu then shouted out loud in the air with rage, his voice echoing.

"I'm going to kill you, you water-girl! I swear to the 'Sun's Order' that I'm going to kill you, and your stupid friends!!!"

To be continued...