Beesching The Power Of The Water God

"....."

Unawarely, an eerie silence grew on the battlefield where Ray and Alfred were standing.

For some inexplicable reason, both Ray and Alfred remained frozen in their places, not moving an inch.

Instead, their gazes were locked into each other's eyes, as if they were engaged in a silent battle of their very souls.

"Heh," Abruptly, both of them grinned, and in a blink of an eye, they vanished for their positions, leaving only free-moving air to blow.

Not long after, some sparks emanated from the sky as two figures reappeared, and in a fraction of a second, they collided, resulting in a massive shockwave erupting from their weapons.

*CLASH!!!*

"Hmph!"

Both of them drifted backwards as Ray twisted his blade, exclaiming,

"Golden Strike of Poison Claws."

Instantly, two more golden blades emerged alongside the main blade, encircled by a golden and green aura, and with a powerful swing, he roared, "Take this!!!"

"What a pain!"

Alfred turbulently swirled the spear and skillfully altered the trajectory of the blades, then gilded upwards.

"Running now? Such a wimp."

Ray sneered and chased after him. His primary aim was to break the device, but the only way to do it was by defeating Alfred.

'This is getting tedious,' Ray sighed inwardly, clenching his fist as another golden blade emerged.

'I better end it soon. There's not much intel about them, either. And this Alfred guy…' His gaze narrowed as he continued, 'His body holds far more divine essence than any other man out there.'

"Ding!"

[I've got a report, host!]

Suddenly, the system clanged amid the combat.

'What is it?' Ray inquired as he fired a bullet from his flintlock at Alfred.

However, Alfred skillfully dodged the shot and drifted farther away into the clouds.

[It seems my earlier reports turned out to be wrong. The Land of Honour does have some connection with this world; if not everyone, then at least some deities or angels do.]

"?!"

Ray's eyes were dilated by this utterly shocking revelation.

He halted in his tracks, and a stunned expression etched on his face. He seemed almost in a trance, mumbling,

"You're kidding…right?"

[No, I'm not joking. I understand it's quite shocking, but it's the truth. I don't know the reason for how it's happening, but it appears that the deities are attempting to dominate humans here.]

[This might explain why the White Devil Organization is meddling with planetary cosmic energy. After all, if the planet is affected, so are its humans, no?]

"..."

Ray was left tight-lipped after hearing this. He lowered his eyes, trying to compose himself.

Sigh!

He let out a deep sigh and raised his gaze towards the sky, remarking,

"I don't care…"

[What?]

The system responded.

A faint smile shaped his face, he added.

"Let them do as they please; in the end, the only thing they get will be their miserable death."

Completing his words, Ray shot up in the sky to track down Alfred.

'Hmm?'

Alfred looked back and realized there was no one in sight.

"Looks like he's gone, eh? Or perhaps—"

*Clank!!*

Swiftly defending his back with his spear, Alfred smirked as he noticed Ray's ambush.

"Amazing, aren't you?" He grinned and swirled his spear, sending Ray drifting backward.

"Indeed, I am."

Ray nodded and swiftly lunged toward Alfred.

As Alfred aimed his spear at Ray and thrust it forward, Ray managed to deflect the tip of the spear with his blade and countered a knee kick aimed at Alfred's belly. Anticipating the move, Alfred ducked and retaliated with a punch directed at Ray's chest. Ray skillfully dodged the punch as well.

The entire sky resounded with the cacophony of their fists and weapons clashing.

***

"...Who is this kid...?" Vincent wore a dumbfounded expression upon witnessing Ray's clash with Alfred. Ray's combat prowess, his fluid movements, and his facial expression gave off an aura of a gold-ranked human, even though he was just a bronze-ranked one.

Despite their battle amidst the clouds, the headmaster's abilities allowed him to witness it all.

"Stunning, right?"

Oscar rested his right arm on Vincent's shoulder and gazed at the ongoing battle, adding,

"He will be the key to our victory."

"B-but who even is he?"

Vincent asked, struggling to comprehend the fact that only one person could withstand the entire army of the White Devil Organization.

"Remember what I just told you? Observe more, ask less. It's better to let things be uncovered step by step, don't you think so, my friend?"

Oscar just evaded the question by giving his philosophical response, inadvertently leaving Vincent even angrier than before.

"Ah, just be quiet!" Vincent bellowed and then turned around, complaining, "I don't care, but if something happens to my students, you'll see how I'll wipe that smug smile off your face!"

"Eh?" Oscar was left dumbstruck by Vincent's comment. He realized that Vincent had thought that Oscar didn't care at all for his students.

He extended his right arm to stop Vincent, but before he could say anything to solve the misunderstanding, Vincent stormed out of the room while slamming the door closed.

"Ah…"

With a bewildered expression on his face, Oscar sighed deeply, mumbling,

"I messed up with my words again."

"You'd be better off saying you don't want to share yet, dopehead," Raven commented with an indifferent expression as if it were a routine occurrence for him.

"Ah, now even you're talking to me like this, Raven? I'm your leader, remember? It looks like I'm being a little too lenient with you guys."

Oscar then sighed and sat back on his chair, resting his head on the desk, mumbling, but audible enough for Raven to hear it.

"Those old geezers never cease to amaze me. I wonder how they'll try to dominate us now. Heh."

***

Meanwhile, on the battlefield,

Gripping tightly to the blade in his right hand, Ray thrust forward, while Alfred, on the contrary, also propelled, leaving them in a state of perfect equilibrium.

But that was until…

*Bang!*

"Tch!" Alfred was forced to drift backward as a bullet pierced his left cheek, leaving a notable scar with blood seeping from it.

"You damn brat…" Alfred grumbled as he placed his palm on his left cheek.

Anger was clearly showing on his face.

However, in response, Ray simply snickered, deftly twirling his flintlock around his fingers. He retorted, "What's wrong? Ever heard of the phrase, 'Everything is fair in love and war'? I think not."

"Is that how you justify your dirty tricks now?"

Alfred clenched his teeth and swirled his spear around him, creating a perfect circle, adding, "Fine then! I'll show you what I can do, you bastard!"

Completing his words, he closed his eyes, commanding,

"I humbly beseech your presence—breathe life into me with your divine power! Grace me with your gift—O, Essence of Aqua!!"

Responding to his plea, the sky began to render, manifesting as clear, crystalline water that descended upon him.

It enveloped his body, bathing him in its divine presence.

"?!"

Ray's eyes dilated as resentful memories surged into his mind upon seeing the water, particularly the divine water.

'Celestia is only mine, Requaniel. No one can stay with her; ONLY I am allowed to!'

'The moment you get closer to my Celestia, your fate was written to endure ceaseless suffering by my hands, Requaniel!'

Ray gritted his teeth after noticing a familiar yet despicable energy in front of him as he glared at Alfred, who was still undergoing a complete change, and muttered,

"So, this is it, huh? Seeking power from that wretched water god?"

Suddenly, he burst into laughter with his palm covering his face.

"Amazing! Truly amazing!"

Laughing like a maniac, as if he realized that the actual play started here.

He raised his head towards the sky, gazing from where the water was bestowing, and remarked, "Try me, Nerothen! Your time has come..."

Then, a dark grin spread across his face, and he added,

"..To die!!"