The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 59: The Siren's Call ⊱⊰

Upon hearing the Queen's words, Arisa couldn't help but think about the Water Goddess. Something in their belief sounded familiar.

I'm seen as a goddess.

Arisa's eyes widened as realization was slowly flowing in her veins. Could it be?

"Since the islanders believe that the Water Goddess will send someone to help those children get what's theirs," continued the Queen, washing away Arisa's thoughts, "We couldn't ignore that algae's warning. Thankfully, it said it would ask a friend to help it guard that area while we took care of the one who was given Pisces' powers by mistake."

"This can't be good," said Garoh. "The algae creature, I have a feeling that it's Virgo."

The team gazed at him with their brows raised. Arisa curled her fingers as worry flowed within her.

"For once, I would like to pass by a world without those monsters wandering around," said Thelma, sighing. "I wonder who's this friend she's brought along with her."

"It's probably..." Kazuya examined his surroundings. "We have to go."

Thelma nodded. "Yeah. At least this time we found our friend before their surprise attack. We should leave this world before it's too late."

As the team prepared themselves and gazed at Caris as if they were telling her to come with them, the Queen called her daughter, who quickly swam towards her. The princess spoke to her mother in a language Arisa couldn't understand.

When the team turned around to swim away from the area, they found themselves surrounded by guards.

"Unfortunately, you can't leave," said the Queen. "You're a danger to Maré. Lena."

A soft voice brightened the atmosphere. As the peaceful melody filled Arisa's ears, she turned around and saw that the mermaid with long white hair was the one singing. Hearing that graceful voice, for some reason, Arisa felt peace in her. Watching the princess, she felt as if her problems had vanished and her good mood had increased, feeling relaxed.

Staring at the singing princess, Arisa thought that she looked like an angel that called her to join her. She slowly swam towards the mermaid.

"Cover your ears," said a voice in between the tune. "Don't fall for it. Cover your ears."

Arisa stopped. As the princess kept singing, Arisa attempted to cover her ears. She struggled to control her arms. It was as if a heavy boulder was pulling them down.

"Cover your ears," persisted Caris. "You can do it."

Arisa fought against her arms and after several seconds she succeeded in covering them, only hearing a faint tone. She examined her surroundings and saw that the Queen had raised her arm and was concentrating. It didn't take long for Arisa to spot several sea creatures joining the Queen.

Arisa heard loud cheers as more creatures swam towards the Queen. Arisa saw that the creatures had various sizes and appearances. Some had a monstrous figure, others looked friendly but their size could intimidate any small being.

As the princess stopped singing, Arisa dropped her hands from her ears, her heart hammering.

"Since you're already here," said the Queen calmly, "I don't think we'll need the algae creature's help. We can deal with you ourselves."

The Queen dropped her arm and as soon as she did so, the creatures standing behind her swam forward. The team quickly summoned their weapons and protected themselves against the threats.

Arisa felt the heaviness in her arms as she blocked one of the creatures' attack. Examining the monster behind her blade, she saw that it was large and gray with multiple razor fins and thin teeth. 

She attempted to counter-attack but was too slow thanks to the environment. She swam sideways as the creature opened its mouth to pierce her with its sharp teeth. The creature's head met the floor, allowing sand to mix with the water. Arisa swam forward and tightened her grip on her weapon, focusing her strength.

Before her opponent could regain its posture, her blade traveled through its thick surface. Blood flowed in the environment as the creature shook its body and cried in pain. Arisa attempted another attack but swam sideways to dodge a sudden attack from another creature.

She tightened her grip on her sword, breathing heavily. It hadn't been a few minutes since the battle started and she was already feeling heaviness in her body.

Could it be because I'm underwater?

Arisa's eyes widened as she felt heaviness pulling her heart. She gazed up and saw a snake-like creature approaching her at high speed, aiming its horn at her. She quickly swam away and saw an arrow of light pierce the monster. She didn't take long to see another one, targeting the snake-like creature that cried in pain.

Arisa glanced over her shoulder. Not far from her, she saw Thelma summoning the arrows of light. Behind her, she saw Arielle and Malu, who looked around with fear.

As Arisa prepared herself to attack another opponent, she saw Kazuya attempting to strike with his double-bladed staff every creature that targeted at him. Arisa noticed that he was struggling piercing his opponents as his movements looked slower than usual.

Returning her focus on a potential threat, Arisa attempted to swim upwards as a creature aimed at her. She ended up dodging the attack by swimming to her left side as she felt as if something was pushing her down when she swam upwards. She tightened her grip on her sword again, attempting a counter-attack. Failing to strike her target, Arisa swam sideways as the scaly creature attempted an attack.

Finding herself on another side, she spotted Garoh handling his opponents by summoning his element. Even though he was succeeding in defeating the monsters, looking around, Arisa thought the battle wouldn't end so soon.

She sighed, telling herself to be strong. Before she charged forward to strike another opponent, Arisa saw that the water in the battlefield was gaining a greenish-blue tone. Looking at her surroundings, she saw that the stream with that color was concentrating on the creatures targeting the team. As soon as that stream disappeared, she noticed that the creatures had stopped attacking them. It was as if they were frozen.

"What's going on?" Arisa wondered.

Whistles suddenly broke the silence. Arisa looked around and saw more creatures joining their area, only that this time those creatures had beings riding them. Looking at those creatures, she thought that they looked like large sea-turtles with shells filled with flora.

Arisa felt something metallic curl around her hand. She looked by her left side and saw the marine blue armored Caris.

"Quick, we have to go before they wake up." Caris swam forward, holding Arisa's hand.

"Wait," said Arisa as Caris swam at full speed. "What about the others?"

Caris glanced over her shoulder. "I spoke to aunt Rayanne. She'll make sure my brothers leave this side of the city with them."

As they distanced themselves from the area, Arisa could hear the crowd shouting what was going on and why the soldiers weren't doing anything to stop the Children of the Sea. Noticing that Caris was swimming at a high speed, Arisa took a deep breath, wondering where she was taking her.