The Power of Water

"I don't have time to play tag with a crackhead." Lyrica wiped the blood coming out of her nostril and told Jaka, "Piss off, you minor villain."

Jaka, with a maniacal cackle, fired the chain that was mysteriously coming out of the palm of his hand to Lyrica. The chain managed to wrap itself around Lyrica's right arm, only this time, the girl let herself get caught on purpose so she could cut it.

"Ha!"

Lyrica chopped the chain with her left hand with haste.

"You can't do the same thing to me twice, moron."

The girl faced the high commander. She did not receive a reply, only that same manic grin remained on Jaka's face.

"...!"

That's when Lyrica took notice of the chain connected to Jaka's palm still afloat. And at the end of it, a spearhead took shape.

"What?"

Still aiming for Lyrica's head, the now spearhead chain strikes!

Pierce!

"Urgh!"

The spearhead chain punctured Lyrica's left wrist.

"You damn crackhead."

Lyrica attempted to chop off the chain just like she did earlier. However, another spearhead chain came flying at her and strangled her other arm. Lyrica is immobilized!

"Come here!"

Jaka pulled the chain back to him. Along with It, Lyrica was helplessly being pulled to the high commander.

"How troublesome!"

Lyrica's head is wide open, an opening for Jaka to land a punch in her face the moment she gets close enough!

"Tch! 50db...!"

Sting!

Lyrica tried to activate Heavy Metal to protect herself. But suddenly, she felt an agonizing pain coming from her gut. She glanced at her shirt and saw how the white cloth was slowly being painted with her blood.

'Damn it! My wound opened! It must have been from the fall...!'

At that moment, Lyrica foolishly let herself get distracted. It was only a split second, but the distance between her and Jaka made every millisecond at that moment critical.

"Take this!"

Pow!

"Lyrica!"

Jaka's fist struck and buried itself on Lyrica's face. The crowd is left frozen with their mouths open, however...

"Eh?"

There was no force in Jaka's punch, Lyrica barely felt it at all. But why? It was supposed to be a clean hit, and on top of that, she was flying towards his fist.

She panned her eyes to the high commander's face, and there she saw a hand grasping Jaka's head. That hand was from none other than the prinsepe of Reilaea who came just in time to save Lyrica!

"Aran?"

"Urk!"

"Hurah!"

With all his might, Aran pummeled Jaka's head to the ground.

Crash! Crumble!

"T-That's...!"

"The Prinsepe of Reilaea!"

"Prinsepe Aran!"

The crowd was bewildered by Aran's presence. But Lyrica? Certainly not look like it in the least.

"You're not supposed to be here." Lyrica uttered coldly.

"Is that how you say thank you to the person who just saved your life?"

"I never needed your saving. I could take that hit."

"Is that right?"

The spearhead chain that pierced Lyrica's wrist and the other one keeping her other arm immobilized have both disappeared.

'Taking that much damage is not in the plan.'

Lyrica may have avoided receiving a fatal attack, but she still lost 5% out of her remaining 40% HP. Not only that, it kept on decreasing with every drop of blood she's losing from her gut and her wrist.

'How troublesome. I'm gonna need to hurry and get there.'

"Your magic is the key to this raid, but it looks like you can no longer go into battle." Said Aran as he released Jaka's head before distancing himself from him.

"This is nothing once I get to that mountain."

Lyrica pointed her finger toward a mountain residing on the east side of the town. When Aran asked what was there out of curiosity, he learned from Lyrica that there was an unguarded beehive full of honey of Wither Bees.

"Wha—!"

"Shh!"

Lyrica silenced Aran's mouth with her hand and kept his surprised reaction to himself.

"I know it's worth the shock, but I'd rather not let everyone else here know about it."

The girl took her hand out of the prince's mouth, allowing him to breathe. Then, she declared that she's the one who cleared the beehive and therefore the honey is hers alone.

"Once this is over, I'm gonna take it all and have a feast."

She nodded to herself enthusiastically with anticipation.

'She's drunk...' Aran said in his thoughts while watching the girl seemingly reminiscing her first time tasting the Wither Bee honey. 'For someone who has a harsh mouth, she sure makes quite an angelic smile...'

Either he's being attracted or whatever, Aran could not take his eyes off the girl's face. Realizing that he's been looking at her longer than he should, Aran shook his head and looked away, trying to hide the feeling of embarrassment visible on his beet-red cheeks.

"L-Looking at you now, we better not be here because you just wanted to drown yourself with honey."

Lyrica's body jolted as she fluttered her eyelids rapidly twice. She then cleared her throat.

"Don't be stupid," Lyrica replied as she returned to her usual stoic self. "As I said before, I'm here because I want everyone to be free from Uruk. Although getting the honey all for myself would be a great bonus. Anyway–"

"Kuehehehea..."

Almost quickly, both Aran and Lyrica shifted their gaze at Jaka.

"That hurt... You're strong, Aran, son of the Light of Reilaea, Reyna Amaya!"

Jaka forcefully pulled his head out of the concrete, his face covered in blood and saliva as he continued to laugh maniacally. The high commander should've stayed unconscious for a while longer, considering the damage he received in the head. That's what Lyrica thought until Jaka started getting himself back up.

'I guess being insane makes one strong enough not to go down easily. But!"

It remains the fact that he received an attack strong enough that trying to stand back up is difficult for him. A chance! Jaka could be just an insane person, but that is why Lyrica could see the need to get rid of him for good!

"Knocking him unconscious or killing him, we have to get him out of the game while we can!"

Lyrica leaps forward! She who doesn't want to regret not doing what she could do find killing Jaka necessary, and she has to do it while she still can. But then!

Grab!

"Wha?"

Before she could get close to the high commander, Aran grabbed Lyrica's uninjured wrist and stopped her!

"Don't go rushing into things just because the enemy is acting weak!"

The prinsepe of Reilaea pulled the girl back and told her to observe.

"An opening is not always an opening."

The girl did and saw the look on Jaka's face while gazing back at them. Jaka kept his manic grin, but the veins in his forehead tell that he was angered by Aran's actions just now.

"Good eye, Mahal na Prinsepe!" Jaka turned to both Lyrica and Aran. "Had that little brat approached me, I would have impaled her heart with my Iron Spear."

The spear came out of his hand just like the chains earlier.

"What? Who are you calling little, you damn crackhead?"

With Jaka's words triggering Lyrica, she tried to move forward once more. But Aran's hand blocked her path.

"You..."

From that same hand, a sphere of liquid water took shape. Jaka was oblivious of this.

"Now then, let's continue the game!"

Jaka threw the Iron Spear at Aran like a javelin.

"Eat this!"

But instead of avoiding, which would have resulted in the spear following their tail anyway, Aran let the water from the palm of his hand create a wall in front of him and Lyrica.

"Huh? Water?"

The water started moving like an endless current going back and forth as it rapidly gain speed and created pressure.

"Water gives life. Nothing living can survive long without it. But..."

The spear struck the wall of water. However, the moment it did, the spear of iron easily shattered to pieces.

"What?!" Jaka could only do so much as to doubt what he just witnessed. Though the reason why it shattered is due to the strong pressure of the flowing wall of water.

"What gives life..."

Lyrica and the crowd wordlessly observe Aran as he unsheathed a golden sword with a sun symbol for a pommel.

"...can also take it away."

Aran's sword slashed through the water wall and sent four sharp, spinning water blades flying to Jaka.

"Ugh...!"

Without time to protect nor move out of the way, the sharp waters strike!

"Urgah!!"