“Roooar!”
The Lake Master let out another deafening howl.
A shockwave of such epic proportions kicked up waves towering a few meters high. Eluka, covering her ears, still couldn’t shield herself from the horrendous pain of the sonic shock.
“Is this the death scream you make before you kick the bucket?” she muttered, eyes squinting against the roar.
But An, the Magician, seemed completely unfazed, holding her sickle high as though the Grim Reaper himself has descended to harvest souls.
In the reflection of the Lake Master’s eyes, she saw An’s impassive face. A flicker of human fear slipped through — the Lake Master had never faced a human this powerful before.
Yet that fear quickly twisted into wild, desperate madness!
“Even in death, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Lightning flashed—white lightning, crackling around the Lake Master.
But its singular horn, the weapon it used to unleash the storm, had already snapped off. All it could do now was gather the lightning — but how could that possibly harm An?
Or was it, perhaps, just trying to delay its death with this suicidal stunt?
An furrowed her brow slightly, her grip tightening on the sickle, pausing mid-swing.
She was waiting—for the Lake Master to tire out, for the lightning to disperse.
But no sign of the lightning waning. Though visibly drained, the Lake Master’s storm of electricity grew brighter and more dazzling.
“This isn’t right… this is very wrong,” Eluka sensed something was off.
She heard it — the heartbeat.
A rapid heartbeat, pounding as if about to burst from the chest.
There was only one possibility:
“Run! It’s going to self-destruct!”
Realizing the Lake Master’s plan, Eluka hurriedly shouted at An, panic in her voice.
Self-destruct?
An’s eyes flicked sharply to the Lake Master.
That was when she saw the crazed, mocking gleam in its eyes.
“Ha! Did you underestimate me?”
In that instant, the lightning swirling around the Lake Master exploded with ferocious intensity.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence, a blinding flash illuminating half the sky.
……
……
“Are… are you alright?”
Eluka floated on her spell, watching the blinding brilliance of the lightning like a tiny sun, then it vanished as fast as it appeared.
Blackened flesh scattered from the explosion’s center—like a meteor shower, but decidedly less romantic.
The Lake Master had clearly controlled the blast radius, so Eluka, at her distance, wasn’t harmed — but that only made her more worried.
Less area means more damage, after all.
It was obvious: the Lake Master’s final act was meant to take them all down together.
“Please be okay, miss…” Eluka silently prayed, eyes fixed on the epicenter of the blast.
Steam and water vapor cloaked the explosion site, making it hard to see clearly.
Fortunately, the rain continued without pause.
The mist quickly dispersed in the heavy rain, revealing what was left in the aftermath.
Since the explosion happened on the lake, the Lake Master’s self-destruction hadn’t left much of a bloody mess—merely some melted steel thorns, once used to trap it, now cooling in the lake water—traces of molten white and red marks where the high temperatures had done their work.
The Lake Master was gone—probably splashed into the lake along with some fragments during the meteor shower.
Above the broken steel thorns, a massive, shiny metal sphere floated silently, exuding an eerie beauty.
“Is… that…?”
Eluka’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Um… Miss, are you okay?” she whispered cautiously.
Suddenly, the metal sphere split open with a neat circle.
An stepped out from inside. She turned to Eluka, her expression calm and composed, as if the near-death experience never happened.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Eluka finally relaxed, letting out a long breath. The tension draining from her body made her feel almost drowned in exhaustion.
“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself—my name’s Eluka. And thank you for saving me just now!” She bowed deeply, fighting to keep her composure.
“An, you don’t need to thank me,” An replied.
“Hitting that beast was just because it was blocking the way,” she said plainly.
“Well, even so, thank you, Miss An!” Eluka puffed out her cheeks, earnestly.
“Later, I’ll bring my companions to thank you properly. Please don’t refuse then!” she added eagerly.
Silence fell. An’s cold gaze flicked over Eluka’s face.
“Hey, did I say something wrong?”
“No—I was just thinking. Aren’t you worried about your companions?”
“Oh! My companions!”
Eluka suddenly remembered—she had two others missing.
“They’re over in that direction,” she said, pointing.
“Thanks!”
Eluka hurriedly bowed and strapped her floating spell to her back, then sped off towards the spot.
After she left, An withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, and rubbed her temple in frustration over the vast lake.
“All that’s left—the nuisance’s dealt with. But how do we catch fish now?”
……
……
“Rod! Tia! Are you okay!”
Following An’s directions, Eluka searched along the shoreline and finally found Rod and Tia.
Rod saw Eluka approaching and immediately brightened:
“Eluka! You arrived just in time! Heal her quickly—Tia, she…”
“Wait, what?”
Eluka finally saw that Tia wasn’t crackling jokes or mocking her usual clumsy self. Instead, she was lying shirtless on the ground, pale as a ghost, clearly in pain, with blood leaking from her lips.
“She must’ve been hit by the shockwave earlier, damaging her organs. Eluka, use your healing magic now!”
“But… I’ve already used all my magic…”
“All gone?”
Rod’s eyes widened. Without hesitation, he dashed over and grabbed Eluka’s collar, shaking her fiercely.
“What do you mean? No magic left? Not a single drop? Then what about the recovery potion?”
“Argh, you hurt me…”
Eluka pushed Rod’s hands away, gasping for breath, and said roughly:
“My magic’s completely drained, and Tia’s healing potion is supposed to be managed by… Tia…”
“I checked her backpack just now. It’s not there.”
“If she forgot to bring it, then… I can’t help it.”
“Damn it!”
Rod slammed his fist into the ground.
“As a Mage, how could you forget to bring your magic potions?”
“…”
Isn’t it obvious? It was Tia’s responsibility to manage the potions.
And I don’t usually waste magic like she does. If things hadn’t gone so badly… I wouldn’t have run out.
In the end, isn’t it Tia’s fault for not carrying the potions?
“Can’t be helped. I’ll take Tia to the guild now,” Rod declared, hoisting her onto his back.
“I’ll go with you,” Eluka said hurriedly.
“Just stay here and rest,” Rod replied without looking back.
“You’re just going to hold us back!” he retorted.
Eluka watched as Rod disappeared into the distance with Tia.
Rain fell harder, stinging her eyes.
Unconsciously, Eluka’s fingers sank deep into the mud, leaving menacing marks before the rain blurred them away.
She felt so useless—so in the way.
