Chapter 277: Reprise

"It's a damn tough life....full of toil and strife.."

"We whalermen undergo...♪!"

A song. A Shanty. Anne and Harvard stopped themselves to hear such words, feeling his grip loosen and fall down from the air after such a beating, seeing Calico bellow out such words. Despite such a stanza, the Card Magician understood his plea, taking a deep breath as he'd fall on the ground, catching himself to prevent further damage. The boy pointed towards a nearby spot on his side, being that of Fusion and Monster Magic. The First Mate looked upon the child in surprise, silently questioning why would he do such a thing, yet his expression more than explains everything. He wants to fight on equal footing, so equal footing it shall be.

"And we won't give a damn, when the gale is done..."

"How hard the winds do blow~♪!"

He'd take up on his advice, stepping onto the two spots, attaining both spells and casting it on himself. As he did though, he would stretch his arms, aiming for something else entirely. Harvard's mask still remain unchanged, but deep down, he was shocked at seeing Calico take aim on the two monsters in the board: Conquest and Sandalphon. Gusts began to blow as the two were being absorbed, dragged across the ground and fused within him, his body quickly straining and struggling to keep the two inside, tears and cracks being made in him. "OI! THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN CALI-" She'd yell, but she stopped himself as he kept singing, despite the strain. His voice was still clear, still profound, still strong.

He was succeeding in this style of Fusion, the power to harness two monsters at once in a single body.

"For We're homeward bound from the Arctic Ground..."

"With a good ship taut and free...♪!"

"And we don't give a damn....when we drink our rum..."

"WITH THE GIRLS....OF OLD MAUI~♪!!"

"Rolling down to Old Maui, me boys!"

"Rolling down to Old Maui!"

"We're homeward bound! From the Arctic Ground!"

"Rolling down...to Old Maui~♪♫!"

His body began to crackle bolts of lightning as his body formed a solid set of armor, his shoulders now adorned with orbs that carry such charges, his arms possessing crossbows to fire Conquest's arrows, his skull now changed into his proper face, a face that Anne missed for so long. He'd charge forward, his strength and speed now doubled with the boon, despite the physical tears across his chest and back. He'd throw a left hook and a right straight, aiming to fire one of the arrows across his chest and impair him in order to get a cleaner shot across his head. Harvard would counter this by utilizing the Sun God, Ra, his body heating up in order to burn away the lightning-infused arrow and blast Calico back in a swarm of heat. He'd follow this up with a sweep, yet Calico retaliated by a jump and a knee straight to Harvard's face, cracking the mask he wore, aiming another shot at his eye so that he can break it in half. Harvard would grab against the ground and utilize Geb to sink him low enough to dodge the attack, bending the land into a slant so he can get up easier and grapple him by the stomach to slam him back into the board. As Harvard prepared another deity, Sobek, in blasting him down with the Nile, Calico continued to sing as he'd fire more shots, letting the lightning trail up at the water to electrocute Harvard.

"Once more we sail, with a Northerly gale..!"

"Through the ice, and wind, and rain...♪!"

"Them coconut fronds, them tropical shores..."

"We soon shall see again...♪!"

"For Six hellish months we passed away...!"

"On the cold Kamchatka sea...♪!"

"But now we're bound from the Arctic ground..."

"ROLLING DOWN TO OLD MAUI~♪!!"

Harvard would be forced to cut off the stream, yet the damage was already done, stunning his arms long enough so that Calico closed the gap and barraged him, firing arrow after arrow to pierce through his body, breaking through parts of the mask faster and faster, tearing off such ribbons to expose the dried, decrepit skin underneath. Despite such injuries, Harvard still pushed on, grabbing ahold of Calico by the neck and used the waters once more, now coating his body, forcing him to take the shock in exchange to trail the lightning back towards the Pirate, frying both of them at the same time, the health bars dropping as the lightning pierced through each other's bodies. The Pirate still kept firing, assuming that he would be able to deplete his health faster to survive the onslaught. When he looked up, however, he noticed his bar would cease its depletion besides the lightning, which even then, was getting slow. He realized quick with what caused it, prompting him to fire an arrow to pierce across his arm and have it be lobbed off, before launching a roundhouse kick and sent the Card Magician flying.

"Rolling down to Old Maui, me boys!"

"Rolling down to Old Maui!"

"We're homeward bound! From the Arctic Ground!"

"ROLLING DOWN...TO OLD MAUI~♪♫!"

Calico kept singing as he'd got onto a sprinting position, bolting quickly towards the boy, trying to attack him while he is down. As he did so, however, he would feel something touch against his body, a talisman on his back, quickly sealing his strength further and further. He'd look to his side to see Anne with her spells, casting both of them at once, the seal to bind it within his soul, and the paper-like virus, slowly losing its strength, its build, being fragile enough to crack in half and force him to be tripped over. He was reaching the end of his rope, yet he still cannot help but smile. He'd try to get up with one of his hands, staring at Harvard, preparing another shot from his crossbow, until the boy closed the gap once more, a backhand to stun Calico from his shot, a sweep to trip him over, followed by a kick to his neck, and a second kick straight across his chin, launching him far away, a visible tear across the wounds, having the Pirate reel back and took a stance on one knee, his crossbow now finished its preparations. As he was about to pull the trigger, he would see faint figure float around the child. The deities that encircled around him, each one with their own design, their own magic. Harvard would tap into one of them, Sobek, in order to unleash another torrent of water, as well as Atum, in order to make a fissure against the earth, melting the golden land in a slim position to prevent him from escaping the flood.

All Calico would do is simply take aim, charge it, and fired his shot at the incoming river, letting the lightning pick up its pace once more.