The Serpent Made of Water Roars

The large body of water started to elongate as it turned into a serpentine-like creature that coiled around the gray Lurl in a defensive posture as it stared down William and Ed, who both turned pale at the sight of the beast.

William started to sweat bullets as he faltered, "Is that thing at the upper-stage Fledgling Magus level?"

"I guess we can only find out," Ed grimaced.

The serpent made of water abruptly charged at the pair, who dodged the initial charge, but before they could breathe. The serpent flicked its tail which slammed into William, who was sent hurtling into the side of the cave wall, which shook the cave wall slightly as particles of dust exploded into the air.

Faint shards of what seemed to be a fiery red barrier lay scattered around his body as a trickle of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Raz, who had stayed quiet all this time since he didn't think that his father nor Ed was in danger, suddenly gasped.

Even though he was mentally older than his father, Raz still felt a bond and kinship with his father that most sons had, which is why when he saw him injured, he yelled in encouragement, "Dad! Get up!"

As William looked toward his son, Ed himself was sent flying into the lake as the serpent attempted to break the ice shards embedded within its hide. As it heard Raz yelling, its bright blue eyes locked onto him and charged forward like a rampaging bull chasing after a red cloth.

Seeing the serpent try to attack his beloved son, a primordial feeling erupted from William telling himself to let go, to unleash his fury, to fight or be forgotten as he roared, "YOU DARE!?!"

Ignoring his internal injuries and bruising, William rose to his feet in an flash like he had been possessed by the devil as dozens of arrows made of fire appeared behind him and whizzed forward like heat-seeking missiles.

Feeling some form of danger, the water serpent paused in his charge and coiled back into a defensive posture before attempting to spray the fire arrows with water which managed to catch half of the arrows while the other half managed to curve themselves around enough to dodge.

As the remaining arrows hit the serpent made of water, a searing sound emanated as the serpent writhed in pain and roared with such sheer intensity that the sound shook the cave to the brink of its stability as small rocks and dust started to shower onto the ground.

Not giving the serpent a breather, William had already taken an expensive-looking scroll out of his sack and injected all the mana he had left into the scroll while giving a small smirk.

Before the serpent could move another inch, dozens of fiery ropes seemed to tear through the air like a vicious animal as they curled around its body and began to slowly entrap it in a tangle of fire.

The serpent roared, seemingly in pain, as it tried to escape but to no avail as its body slowly started to evaporate and shrink into steam from the blazing ropes.

With the beast stopped in its tracks, William glanced toward Raz and gave a thumbs-up as he reassured him before he fell back onto the ground, "Don't worry. Dad's got it taken care of!"

Ed, who had pulled himself out of the lake, looked at William, who seemed to be drifting in and out of unconscious as his wounds, fatigue, and lack of mana caught up to him before seeing the rampaging serpent attempt to escape its binding.

Gritting his teeth in anger and frustration, Ed's brown eyes turned an icy blue as a wave of front slowly crept from his hands towards the edge of his greatsword as it continued to spread until the sword had almost doubled in length.

Tensing his muscles, the black armor creaked as Ed seemed to have absorbed the dense amount of mana surrounding the air from the lake as blood started to stream from his blood due to handling such an amount.

Jumping forward dozens of meters with his greatsword outstretched in a vertical position, Ed roared like a monster unhinged.

Ordinarily, Ed wouldn't even be able to deal any serious damage to the serpent, let alone kill it. Luckily, William's bindings of fire constantly weakened it until it went from the equivalent of an upper-stage Fledgling Magus to a lower stage, which was just enough for Ed to land a lethal hit.

Forearms bulging from the strain, Ed raised his greatsword with fervor and swung, sparks flew upon impact as the serpent roared in the direction of Ed, who was also still bellowing with fervor.

Time itself seemed to stop as a battle between Ed's greatsword and the defensive prowess of the fire serpent was on full display. Both seemed to have resolved themselves with the worst as the Serpent appeared crazed while Ed was gritting his teeth so hard blood started to spill.

As the intense battle between offense and defense reached its peak with only willpower to be the deciding factor, as both sides seemed evenly matched, one side finally faltered.

It was just a momentary, split-second weakening of spirit, but that's all it took.

Ed's body disappeared into the body of the water serpent as he made a clean slice through the center of its long body made of water that slowly started to freeze over from the site of the wound before it completely stood still like a statue as it hit the ground and shattered like a piece of glass.

Seemingly out of strength, Ed fell to the ground with his sword still outstretched as he dropped to his knees while holding onto his greatsword for support as he panted heavily, and his eyes returned to their normal coffee-colored form still slightly bloodshot from the sheer effort exerted.

As if remembering something, grunting with effort, Ed managed to stand as he prepared himself to fight the gray Lurl, but when he saw it, he let out a sigh of relief. The gray Lurl had collapsed and became a dried husk that looked like it had been dead and rotting in the sun for days.

Ed finally collapsed onto the ground to rest as he cheered, "Luckily, it seemed as if the Lurl sacrificed his life for that spell."

Ed got up and walked over to William before rummaging in the sack until he pulled out a red potion that glittered ever so slightly before opening William's mouth to pour the concoction down his throat.

After a cough or two, William seemed to appear more lively and better as he came to consciousness while clutching his back.

"Is that shitty water beast dead?" William responded in anger as he coughed a tiny bit.

Wheezing, Ed responded, "Of course it is, but what were those ropes?"

"That was a scroll given to me by my father as a safety precaution given to me when I reached Fledgling Magus. He imbued his magic onto an extremely expensive parchment to retain the effectiveness of the spell. It was quite expensive to use, and I never thought I'd use it, but I'm glad everything's done." William explained.

As things seemed to come to an end, William walked over to where Raz was and started to pinch his cheek as he teased, "Did you get scared?"

Rolling his eyes but smiling as he enjoyed the moment, Raz responded with stars in his eyes, "Magic is SO cool!"

William laughed as he nodded, "Truly my son, haha!"

Looking at the lake, William pondered, "My question is, what else is hidden in this cavern beside the mana lake? After all, mana lakes usually bring good fortune."

Just as William said this, Ed, who had been looking in the water of the lake, suddenly resurfaced from diving and had an astonishing face as he got William's attention and hollered, "William, I don't know how you called it, but there's a Flower of Beginning in the lake!"

As William heard that, his mouth went wide in shock before he started to chuckle.

He turned to Raz with a smile and announced, "You lucky chubby baby. Not only do you have talent, but even fortune favors you!"