The waves spread wide like a mountain, wanting to eat her alive. Elise's eyes glared brighter with hint of redness as she raised her hand, letting jet to burst out from her palms, creating a barrier wide enough to cover the boat from being consumed by the waves. While Elise wanted to breathe out in relief, she realized it wasn't the end as the serpent had quickly arrived behind her, rushing toward her. 

Elise clicked her tongue, pushing herself on the other end of the boat and duck down as the serpent was about to take a taste bite on her. During the fight, the creature didn't help her. Instead, he continued to row the boat as if her life didn't matter to him but then Elise didn't expect him to. As she was about to board the boat, he had made it clear to her that her life isn't his protection nor his concern.

And it seemed the creature was also correct about how all the creatures roaming under their boat would only attack the living, in this case, it was her. 

The serpent once again came out from the water after lurking a while. Elise quickly pulled out Jett as her blade to carve a wound on the snake's torso when she saw Jett had moved on its own to reflect the tail of the serpent that had came behind her, ready to attack her.

"It's intelligent," Elise whispered to herself as she saw how the serpent quickly disappeared back to the sea as if knowing that now wasn't the correct time for it to attack. For it size and appearance, the serpent was nimble and was greatly brilliant. It appears to have known the power balance between it and her. Though Elise was certain she could kill the serpent, the condition of her surroundings were terrible. Her balance continue to stagger and it was difficult to do anything much less to fight the serpent when the latter could control the sea itself. 

"That… is expected," finally the creature spoke, fastening it's rowing pace so the boat wouldn't be swept up by the rough waves. "The serpent is a creature of the abyss… created by God. To cross between the sea as a living is not anything God would want, therefore the difficulty is to be expected."

"What is exactly the abyss?" Elise asked as her eyes stared closely at the sea, expecting every movements from the ripples that were difficult to predict.

"The… between. You are doing well but the serpent have never failed on its prey. Beware."

As the creature had spoken, Elise could feel another shaking on the boat again. Her hand clutched tighter toward the boat, the shaking and tremors made her dizzy and woozy. She controlled herself and her sight, focusing on the floor of the boat when she saw smaller snakes begin to crawl inside the boat.

Startled, Elise had used her heels to stomped the snake before kicking it out of the boat. But as if it was a prelude to the next calamity, more snakes begin to crawl over the boat, it shapes differ in it's largeness and shapes. The creature spoke then as if he was enlightened, "True… I am late to mention but the serpent and the sea snakes are one body. It can heal over times."

"You mean that those sea snakes I defeated earlier could come back?" Elise was baffled as she questioned the creature. 

"I… suppose," the creature answered in a bleak tone. 

Elise was now pushed to the edge of her seat. She threw the rest of the snakes, killing them when in time, it was three large sea snakes that had appeared in front of her. Elise prepared herself with two blades, as two swords would always been better than a single one. She crossed both of them, letting her instinct lead her as where to kill the sea snakes. 

The boat shakes when she had killed the third sea snake and Elise who was unprepared for the tremor, fell forward when she felt herself being pulled from the back. Looking behind, she noticed it was the creature who had pulled her by the back of her elbow. He didn't comment on anything before looking forward and begin to row the boat again.

"Thank you," whispered Elise. It appears the creature still do have a little concern over who rode his boat though he didn't answer, Elise had expressed her thank you.

Elise looked at the serpent who had came again. Looking around, Elise was once again thrown forward when the serpent hit the boat using its tail. Elise plunge forward again and the serpent who had expected this to happen seemed to have smiled as if it had seen its own victory. As the serpent opened its mouth, snapping it wide to devour her, Elise lifted her chin and fearlessly touched the serpent by her hand, causing the scaly body of the snake to turn darker in time. The serpent was shocked by what had happened and as the part of the serpent's body that Elise had touched crumbled, it slowly turns into softer dusts, turning even faster in time into ashes. 

Elise took a step back when the serpent threw it body back to the sea, crying in a howling pain. As the serpent struggled on the sea, it realized that there was no stopping to it body that slowly turning into ashes. 

Elise watched how the Serpent's red eyes glared in anger at her. Now, the serpent didn't care whether it was to fill it hunger. It only wanted to harm Elise for the pain she had inflicted on it. 

Elise who had been watching the snake closely, could tell the rage on the serpent's eyes. The serpent weaved it's body underneath the boat as she frantically searched for where the serpent had gone to. A slither sound started from the middle of the boat when Elise saw the serpent wreathed its body all over the boat. The snake's mouth then snapped widely over the boat intending to eat her regardless of the creature who it wasn't supposed to attack. 

Elise was now faced with the snake's four sharp teeth, not knowing where to go as she had stood in the edge of the boat. 

As her eyes closed, her lips can't stop the habit she had always done whenever she was in danger. 

"Ian," she whispered, her eyes closing when a heavy weigh covered her shoulders. The weigh felt warmth and accompanied by the warmth was a familiar fragrance that never failed to put her in ease. Her heartache raised but at the same time joy that could stop her heartbeats. With her head pressed to his body, Elise could hear the soft heartbeat dancing against her ears.

The voice finally came, the voice she had been waiting for, and the voice that she yearned. 

"Now, how dare you bully my wife, little snake."