Niagara (3)
Thwack!
Two empty waterproofing agent vials popped out from my neck brace with a refreshing sound, soaring into the sky. I immediately bought two new ones from the Spirit Shop and jammed them into my poison glands.
"This is the power of bonds, alright."
The Spirit Shop was practically a symbol of the bond between Aqua and me.
[Of course it is!]
Aqua replied with an exclamation, firing off a water arrow.
Whoosh!
Niagara raised a Water Shield to block the water arrow. It shook a little, but the wall was plenty thick.
As expected of a Spirit King-level spirit. One or two doses of waterproofing agent aren't enough to faze him.
Even Aqua had needed four doses to lose her spirit power. For a Spirit King, it'd probably take at least double that.
I summoned a Water Shield under my feet and leaped toward Niagara. To feed him the agent, I had to get close.
[You pest!]
As I approached, Niagara swung his hand viciously. I felt something ferocious rushing toward me from beneath the sea in its wake.
"Aqua!"
Aqua churned the waves below me. Riding that swell, I reshaped the Water Shield under my feet into a surfboard.
Blocking Niagara's attacks head-on would be tough. Dodging was the better play.
My body slid swiftly along the swell Aqua created.
Splash!
A water sword erupted from the spot where I'd stood moments before.
[I won't miss!]
Niagara swung his hand at me again.
Whoosh!
But instead, he had to block Aqua's water arrow once more.
[Aqua……!]
Niagara bit his lip, glaring at Aqua with a face full of frustration. And with equal fury, he turned his demonic gaze on me.
[It's you……!]
Niagara swept his hand wide.
"Aqua!"
Once again, I dodged his attack by riding the wave Aqua made. Swords, spears, hammers, arrows—water weapons of every shape poured toward me.
A few grazed my body.
Ting!
But Aqua's Control weakened them just before they hit. Splash! The diminished attacks couldn't pierce my A-rank Poison King suit.
[Like a damn rat!]
Niagara suddenly swung at Aqua.
Boom!
The water beneath her exploded.
[Kyaaak!]
At Aqua's scream, Niagara's face filled with regret as he glared savagely at me. To disrupt our flanking maneuver, he'd tearfully targeted Aqua.
But Niagara was too swayed by emotion.
Aqua won't go down to something like that.
And our pincer wasn't just a simple two-pronged attack.
Pfshk!
Two waterproofing syringes stabbed into Niagara's side from a direction he never saw coming.
[What……?!]
Niagara swatted them away in panic, but the contents were already injected.
It was water manipulated by Aqua that had delivered the syringes.
Niagara stared incredulously toward Aqua, who stood perfectly fine in her spot.
She countered his explosion with one of her own in that instant.
Aqua's power wasn't just Control. Her Destructive Force could momentarily cancel out even Niagara's might.
Niagara clutched his side where the agent had pierced, staring at Aqua in disbelief.
[Aqua! You……!]
Aqua snorted and crossed her arms.
[Don't make that betrayed face! You're the one who first abandoned our spirits' hearts!]
Niagara's face twisted.
[I was trying to save you all!]
[We never asked for that!]
[A king exists to see what you cannot! Everything I do is for your sake!]
[I'll choose for myself what serves me! The other undines deserve that freedom too!]
[You moths drawn to human warmth—what choice is that?!]
Niagara exhaled in rage.
[Fine. I won't seek your understanding anymore.]
Rumble……!
A massive sound rose from beneath the sea.
[No more gentle persuasion. Now I'll face you in earnest.]
Niagara was powering up to full strength.
"We have to stop him!"
I slid toward Niagara on a wave. He swung at me, a thick water whip now in his grasp.
Whoosh!
The whip's tip lashed toward my head in an instant—too fast to deflect with a Water Shield.
I summoned one large enough to envelop my entire body.
Bam!
Even then, I was flung sideways into the sea.
Splash!
Before I could flail, Aqua's spirit power yanked me back to the surface.
"Hoo……!"
Thanks to the timely barrier, I wasn't badly hurt.
[Are you alright?]
Aqua asked without taking her eyes off Niagara, her voice dripping with worry.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
Niagara glared at me, whip in hand. His other hand was outstretched toward the sea, preparing some massive technique.
"We need to interrupt him."
[Of course.]
The problem was that whip. It slithered around Niagara like a living serpent. Without dealing with it, I couldn't get close.
I whispered softly.
"Aqua. Destruction Orb. Let's cut that whip with it."
[Got it.]
As I prepared to ride another wave toward Niagara, Aqua suddenly clung to my back.
"Aqua?"
[I'm coming too!]
"But……."
Aqua looked down at me. I knew what her eyes meant, so I couldn't argue.
We'd been operating separately for the pincer, but it had drawn all of Niagara's attacks to me. I was glad for it, but apparently Aqua hated leaving me to take the heat alone.
"……Alright."
I couldn't stop Aqua with eyes like that.
"Let's hope Niagara goes easy on us."
[Don't worry! I'll protect you!]
With Aqua on my shoulders, I tilted the surfboard-shaped Water Shield.
Splashhh!
Aqua jetted water behind us. The boosted speed propelled us toward Niagara.
He lashed his whip sharply.
But our Destruction Orb was ready.
Vreeee!
A razor-thin water jet shot from the orb. No need for activation words anymore—hundreds of practices had perfected our timing.
Schwick!
An eerie sound, unbelievable for water on water, severed Niagara's whip at the waist.
[Hm?!]
Niagara's brow twitched. He quickly regenerated it, new whip sprouting from the stump like a severed tentacle.
[Hmph!]
He swung again, this time with full power—mindful of Aqua, but no longer holding back.
Vreeee!
Our Destruction Orb was faster still.
Schwick!
It halved the whip again, letting us close in right to Niagara's face.
As I raised my fist for the injection—
Niagara bared his teeth with a growl.
[Not a chance!]
He slammed the severed whip down at his own feet.
Glurp!
Immense spirit power erupted from it.
Was he prepping this attack?!
I reflexively curled into a defensive ball.
But Niagara's strike didn't hit us.
Instead, the sea beneath our feet vanished.
In response to his whip, seawater for meters around receded far away.
Whoosh!
We plummeted defenselessly toward the exposed seabed.
"Whoa!"
[Eeeek!]
We hit bottom in an instant.
Boing!
If Aqua hadn't swiftly spread the wet sand into a bed-like cushion with her spirit power, we'd have been seriously hurt.
I scrambled up fast. The terror of this attack wasn't just the fall.
Living by the beach, I'd played in the water enough to know.
Rooooar!
Water was already surging in from all sides. The dispersed waves were reclaiming their place.
Getting caught in that current will tear us apart!
The power of water—especially tons of seawater—was beyond human imagination.
"Aqua!"
I hurriedly deployed a Water Shield, rounding it to enclose us both. It was the best defense I could muster now.
Boom!
The waves battered it fiercely.
"Nngh!"
For a split second, the mid-tier Water Shield of a contractor to a supreme spirit buckled under the force.
Rooooar!
The seawater rampaged like a torrent, demanding its territory back, slashing at us.
It felt like a giant had trapped us in a water barrel and was shaking it wildly.
"Urgh!"
Even as a C-rank awakener, taking hits from tons of seawater from every direction was impossible to endure.
I dropped to my knees inside the Water Shield.
[Hold on just a bit!]
Aqua rapidly used her spirit power to seize control of the surrounding water.
"Aqua, not like that!"
I bit and swallowed the Healing Orb hidden inside my cheek, saying.
It was a potion orb gifted last night by Jeong Ri-on as encouragement from the knights.
"Don't try to dominate the water—use it! Like surfing!"
[Aha! Got it!]
Aqua gently waved her hands.
The pressure on the Water Shield eased bit by bit. The seawater still roared for its place, but we were no longer at the torrent's heart.
Groooowl! Pop!
We burst up to the surface on a surge of water density, soaring several meters before crashing back down noisily.
We recovered from the impact and repositioned instantly.
Splash!
Niagara's whip lashed toward us.
Vreeee!
The Destruction Orb sliced it again.
[Huff…… huff…….]
A short distance away, Niagara panted, glaring at me. My breaths were ragged too, but I forced a relaxed smile.
"Tough going, huh, Spirit King?"
I feigned a slip with an "Oops," correcting myself.
"Wait, former Spirit King?"
Niagara narrowed his eyes.
[Petty taunts won't work on me.]
"Yeah, figured."
But that brief exchange was enough for the potion to restore me. I swiftly reshaped the Water Shield into a board.
Aqua jetted water behind us. Destructive Force pushed our backs, Control cleared our path.
[Hm!]
Niagara swept his hand from below upward. Sharp water presences flew at us from underneath.
[Don't worry!]
Aqua waved gently, and the water swords rose a handspan off course from us. She'd deflected them softly using the sea's power, not clashing directly.
Niagara's brow twitched.
[Aqua! Don't interfere!]
He raised both hands. Seawater rose in their wake, forming weapons that hurtled toward me.
My turn!
I thinly spread the Water Shield along their trajectories. The deflected weapons plunged harmlessly into the sea. Aqua blocked what I missed.
He's definitely weakening.
Niagara's attacks lacked their initial sharpness and power.
[……Tch!]
Realizing it himself, he abandoned the offense and erected a water barrier around himself.
[Too thick!]
Aqua cried after testing it with her spirit power.
I circled Niagara on my board. He glared from behind the barrier, then slowly raised one hand.
Pfshk!
And stabbed it into his own chest. No resistance, like plunging into water.
What’s he doing?
Moments later, Niagara extracted a piece of his body through his chest and flung it away.
[Ah!]
Aqua shouted.
[He's separating out the waterproofing agent!]
Niagara was manually removing it himself.
"Hoo……."
I tried not to panic. Rushing now would ruin everything.
I rapidly sorted what I should do from what I could.
"Aqua. Eat this."
First, I bought a Spirit Stone from the Spirit Shop and popped it into her mouth.
[Yup!]
Aqua snapped it up. Sensing her spirit power refill, Niagara grimaced again.
[So that's how a mere spirit user like you handles Aqua…… tricks!]
Ignoring his fury, I whispered a quick plan into Aqua's ear.
[Understood!]
We fired a Destruction Orb at Niagara's barrier.
Bang!
It cracked the thick wall somewhat, but it reformed instantly.
We circled and bombarded it with more orbs.
Vreeee!
Splash!
Niagara focused on repairs.
In that instant, Aqua and I split apart. Pincer time again.
Niagara's eyes flicked between us.
[Niagara! Look at this!]
Aqua called out. He glanced dismissively—then his eyes widened.
Mandu nestled in her arms.
[Chit!]
Mandu, our ace wildcard hidden in my pocket until moments ago, now with Aqua, gaped his tiny mouth wide.
Rooooar!
He spewed flames—a brilliant breath worthy of the salamanders from the Flame Corps training grounds. Who knew such fire fit in that little body?
[A baby salamander in the human world……?]
Startled, Niagara reflexively concentrated his barrier's water there.
His mistake.
Vreeee!
The Destruction Orb jetted from me behind him.
Bang!
The weakened barrier burst.
[Such……!]
Niagara whipped around.
Too late.
Thwack!
My fist smashed into his face.
Shoo!
The neck brace's agent emptied in a flash, injected via the fist's stinger.
[Guh!]
Niagara staggered and fell. His water barrier collapsed.
Aqua sprang forward, wielding a massive water hammer.
She grinned and swung with all her might.
[I claim the Spirit throne!]
Thwack!
The hammer smashed Niagara into the surface.