Arc | Chapter. 68: Supreme Water Control

Heya all, retcon to chapter 67: Escalation

The Dragon of Water knew, he knew that his actions were for lack of a better word counter-productive in the eyes of the other dragons, and especially in Arc’s eyes. After all, why would he initiate in wanting a deal only to immediately create animosity with the other party.

However he had his reasons, and they required him to be the villain even if his reputation amongst the dragon elders would be permanently tarnished. And it all began with finding out more about the Heroine of Frost, while at the same time ensuring his own safety.

His eyes narrowed looking at her.

How could he let go of a hero’s important information just like that after all?

This is at the start of the chapter. 

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Chapter. 68: Supreme Water Control

The Dragon of Water narrowed his eyes looking at the Heroine of Frost, she stared back undaunted; her gaze fierce, her body posture indicating she was more than ready for anything that he could throw at her.

Perhaps he would get quite injured from this, but at the same time he didn’t believe himself to be completely helpless against the heroine. And

Amongst all of the dragon elders, he wasn’t the strongest, nor was he the weakest, however the ability of his element was the most unique, the question was…

Would he have to use it?

It was too early to tell, and perhaps it didn’t matter, there was a deal in place, which meant that she wouldn’t be killing him regardless of circumstances.

Which meant that he didn’t have anything to worry about.

Inwardly grinning to himself, he dug his claws onto the ground and whipped his tail, the mana within his body whirled into action.

Then with a screech he casted the first skills of many, [Everflowing Rain], in a single moment the dome of water surrounding the arena deformed and dozens of sharp water needles shot in Arc’s direction. The ground exploded, was evaporated in a single moment by the water was the dust exploded all around⁠—

And a wave of frost swept through the arena, the rain was immediately dissipated as the needles shot in all directions, hitting the water dome and beginning to freeze it.

Then a moment later he saw the woman glaring at him from where she stood, the ground below her untouched by the disaster that had befallen her surroundings, and she too was unscathed.

The sight wasn’t surprising to him, but it still made the Dragon of Water lightly smile to himself.

Of course it was far from simple.

And then, Arc disappeared, vanishing in an instant.

* * * * *

Yasin didn’t know what happened, one moment he was standing in the arena and the other ⁠— after the dragon showed up ⁠— he was standing amongst the spectator stands. All while the surrounding crowd panicked and evacuated as soon as possible.

But he… he wasn’t fearful for his life, instead the fact that a real hero was present was still simmering in his mind. However, now something else happened a real fucking dragon had appeared in the fucking arena. And if Yasin hadn’t misheard and if his knowledge wasn’t wrong it wasn’t any dragon either but the Dragon of Water in the flesh.

A Grand Dragon Elder.

Unlike other dragons, they had elements they were attuned to since birth. While some of the Grand Dragons were also attuned to elements in the same way, the elders were those that had reached the peak of their mastery. In short; they were the equivalent of heroes.

And now, one was going to fight the Heroine of Frost. But Yasin had his doubts, normally frost and water were evenly matched, but if the two mythical existences wielding those elements fought…

He didn’t know the result.

Yasin blinked and next thing he knew was that the water dome was frozen over, within its transparency he saw the grand silhouette of the Dragon of Water there, then he saw movement and a moment later the Dragon of Water was thrown⁠.

Yasin blinked. What⁠—?

And the dome of ice shattered as the Grand Dragon Elder went up into the air, then the Heroine of Frost appeared looming over the dragon, her foot up in the air. And a realization hit Yasin all of this time.

“Weren’t those who used the elements mages⁠—”

And she kicked down⁠— a squeal resounded and the ground of the arena shattered, dust and debris exploded as the people around screamed. Yasin shivered from the sheer strength of the attack, the hit feeling like a small earthquake to his feet. He knew it was unsafe here, but he had to watch⁠.

His heart was rushing, his entire body was shivering, and his senses were at the edge⁠— this was the thrill of the colosseum. And after so many years he was experiencing it again… His eyes looked around to see if there was anyone that could relate to him, but everyone was panicking⁠—

Everyone but a small group of individuals who looked at the fight with a mixture of emotions. For some reason, it clicked in Yasin’s mind.

They were other dragons…

He didn’t know what was going on, and it didn’t matter. He turned back to the arena and⁠—

“[Judgment of the Ice God]!”

The Heroine’s voice boomed and a moment later a gigantic spear of ice exploded, ripping through the air and the ground, annihilating whatever was its target. Yasin could only stare, his jaw fully clenched as his body trembled in excitement⁠— rocks and debris flew around him, the sand of the desert beginning to show below the ground.

And then he felt it, a change in the wind. The ice began to disintegrate, turning back to water and converging into a single point to the side. Yasin saw a man, in a blue mushroom hat with a weird tunic, his extremities covered in bandages and at his hand was a black staff with a resplendent blue gem at its tip.

His bandaged hand was covered in shining rings, and  at his neck three different intricate necklaces rested⁠— every single thing was a priceless artifact, Yasin instinctively knew that, and even more excitement welled within him as he watched yet another battle begin with the Dragon of Water and the Heroine of Frost.

* * * * *

It was weird…

I appeared to the side of the Dragon of Water, swinging an ice sword upon him that instantly disintegrated into water falling apart as it hit empty air. He backed off and launched a stream of hyper pressurized water that was instantly frozen as soon as it came close to me.

It was odd…

I used [Quick Step] to reach him in a single moment, throwing a kick that he blocked with his staff. The Dragon of Water was launched across the arena, only coming to a stop as he hit the wall. Immediately he recovered and swung his staff, a tidal wave of water coming my way. It was enough to make me feel danger but…

I swiped with my hand and it was instantly frozen.

I found it so odd.

It wasn’t the fact that I could stop any of his attacks with minimal effort, nor the fact that he himself could stop ice attacks by simply turning them back in the water. In fact, it had nothing to do with the strange dynamics of our elements, but rather with him⁠— the Dragon of Water himself.

The ice shattered and I stared at him, who held his staff on guard. I could see it within his eyes. Even though there was a hint of scorn, something was missing.

Hostility.

And I didn’t understand it. Not one bit. Yet he tried to attack again, a slash of pressurized water that disfigured the ground and rock that it came in contact with but was immediately brushed aside by the frost. All this time I had thought the Dragon of Water was out to anger me, even the way he had agreed to the battle, and sure it did bother me that the battle lacked any sort of real sense.

But, it also puzzled me. If he didn’t want me to fight him to the death, then…

What did he want?

That single question made me carry on, except this time I wasn’t going to be nice. I used [Quick Step] once more and without hesitation I used [Broken Stasis] my mana was barely consumed and then⁠— I attacked.

The Dragon of Water flinched, failing to properly block my kick as he was pushed back, the momentum pausing for a moment as I caught up and punched⁠— it connected with his chest making him let out a grunt of pain. I charged, immediately following up with another swing but this time he managed to properly block it.

His breathing was odd as he muttered.

“[Fast Flow of Time].”

And he attacked fast, the flickers in his movement barely non-existent as he engaged in hand to hand combat with me, his staff swinging in an attempt to hit me, but even though he was faster, my skill still weighed him down enough for him to struggle. I didn’t understand it, and decided I would let it go on for a bit⁠—

But after a few seconds I grew tired of the boredom and the pointlessness of the battle.

This was enough… I began to mutter enhancing skills under my breath.

Then, the Dragon of Water swung and I ducked, using [Stasis] for a moment to close the gap, and then I⁠— punched. My fist collided with his face, I felt it slightly cave in as a pathetic squeal left him, and then he was launched, rolling through the ground as blue blood splattered around the arena.

I shook my head, my fist now dripping with his ichor, before I turned to him who was slowly standing up. However, contrary to my expectations he was the first to speak as he wiped his mouth.

“You really are quite annoying aren’t you?”

I scowled. “Are you stupid?”

And he shook his head as I began to feel hostility coming from him. “You could’ve just fought me with all you got without forcing my hand, but now I won’t bother. I’ll just do it myself.”

Annoyance flared, and I realized that the Dragon of Water had intended to play with me⁠— for whatever reason. I used [Quick Step] arriving in a single moment to his side and throwing a punch that he caught with his hand, bruising it in a moment. Yet he looked at me without flinching, his blue eyes dead as he spoke simply.

“[Supreme Water Control].”

And at that moment, something snapped within my body. I immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood as the dragon elders to the side gasped.

In just a single moment, I saw a black shadow fly in my direction but with a flick of his finger, it stopped⁠— Malz crashed against the ground, rolling as she struggled to move. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, what I was feeling⁠— it was⁠—

“It seems you’ve realized your place,” the Dragon of Water spoke with scorn. “Perhaps you stood a chance, but now you truly are at death’s door.”

I coughed even more blood, annoyed⁠. Why could he do that⁠— I didn’t know. But it was clear what I had to do. I gathered my mana as the Dragon of Water made me stand up with nothing but his commands. His cold eyes met mine as he spoke with a terrifying voice. I could feel my blood being moved against my will as I glared at him, my life hanging at the tip of his fingers.

The dragon elders moved to do something, but with a swipe of his hand they were all incapacitated at once. The Dragon of Water turned to me, his eyes gloating in victory.

“So how about we make a deal?” He smiled. “For your life that is.”

* * * * *

It was… disappointing.

The Dragon of Water had hoped she would use her SS Tier skill, but now it didn’t matter. His goal was simple from the beginning. But now, he didn’t care. Had he thought too highly of the Heroine of Frost? Perhaps. Was his skill extraordinarily strong to the point very few people could overwhelm it? Also perhaps.

However, it didn’t matter. Arc was a puppet right now. She couldn’t do anything for her body wouldn’t respond to her. Taking her life was as easy as a thought for him. Of course, such a powerful skill was bound to have a long cooldown, and it did. But the Dragon of Water didn’t care, it was simply something he was going to use now.

The rest of the dragon elders immediately came to attack him but once more he flicked his hand and they were all incapacitated. It was simply put; a part of life.

All beings had water in them, while grasping it was hard, it was not impossible. And having control over it essentially made him… a god.

He shook his head and turned back to Arc who seemed to be staring fixedly at him. It was a weird look, but one that he truly loved. He was wary of the Heroine of Frost, but after fighting her just now, he didn’t feel that way. In fact, he felt nothing but pride.

A cold gust of wind reminiscent of frost swept the arena.

The Dragon of Water smiled. “Well now that you are powerless how about we negotiate for your precious life? We don’t want to trigger that resurrection skill after all⁠— though I was hoping you’d use your SS Tier skill the entire time.”

Normally he wasn’t one to indulge in such feelings, but the current one was different. Of course, he wasn’t going to kill her at all, he just wanted this to last before moving back to his goal.

It was as if his feelings had been put in stasis.

And he loved every second of it.

He turned back to her. “I’m sure that would be great, though I have to say I am disappointed. So much thought for so little.”

The Dragon of Water felt weird really, normally he wasn’t one to do something like this. In fact, he still hadn’t forgotten about his original goal, but right now it didn’t seem to matter in his thoughts.

If anything, he wanted them to last an eternity.

And finally he smiled. “Well enough of that, let’s⁠—”

Arc spoke. “[Prophecy.]”

The Dragon of Water froze. His body stopped listening to him as the whole world turned blue, as all of his senses screamed of danger, and as his mana itself came to a halting stop within him.

This was…

His eyes began to grow wide as Arc wiped blood of her mouth.

“You know, I initially just wanted to beat you up,” she said, shaking her head, then she met his gaze coldly. “Now I’m not so sure.”

The Dragon of Water shivered, then he saw Arc tilt her head and speak.

“So how about we make a deal for your life?”

And at that moment, the Dragon of Water felt all of the blood drain from his face.

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I don't know how to feel about this chapter, hope it was good.