Chapter Forty-Six

Elysia’s core fluttered as she stared downward.

Again, her bond reconnected, confirming what she sensed. Sereia was below them. Forgetting about the approaching army, she ushered Ione down.

Like her mother, Ione sensed a familiar aura below them. She expanded her senses, ignoring the approaching disgusting fake elementals in favor of pinpointing what she felt. As soon as she located the source, she rushed toward it as if under a siren’s lure.

So tasty, beyond anything she had ever sensed. This wasn’t some snack or treat. It was an entire delicious meal.

Suddenly she skidded to a halt near the cave to the water underbelly of Mezo. No, this wasn’t a meal. She was her aunt. She was off limits for eating. Though a little snack of her essence couldn’t hurt. Her mother didn’t mind when she nibbled on hers, so she was sure her aunt wouldn’t either.

Elysia ran her hands down Ione’s back, not caring that her hands came away red. Her eyes focused on the cave, tempted to enter, but she held off as her sister could reach them any second.

At a steady beat, their bond reconnected and disconnected, as if stalled at the edge of its range. Though she knew that wasn’t the case.

Impatience finally got the better of her. She hopped off Ione, who was also staring at the cave, drool building in her red-coated mouth.

She forced her trembling hands to still as she approached the cave, mind flashing back to the monstrous creatures dwelling below.

However, the moment she entered and peered over the edge, any anxiety vanished as a giggle escaped her.

Flailing like a fish out of water, Sereia frantically reached for the cave wall, hoping to find purchase before inevitably sliding back into the water.

A few seconds later she shot back into the air, fish tail trying to act as a wing as she flapped it in the air as fast as she could, but like the dozens of other tries, she crashed back under the water.

On the third try since Elysia arrived, Sereia locked eyes with her at the peak of her jump. Her face instantly reddened, not even bothering to reach for the cave wall before falling back into the water.

Several minutes passed before Sereia appeared once more, this time only poking her head above the water, face still reddened with embarrassment. She sent begging eyes to her sister, throwing away her pride as a water elemental in favor of help.

Unfortunately, with most of her body submerged in the bond distorting waters, any messages fizzled out and being hundreds of meters away, a conversation would be impractical. All she could do was stare up at her sister pleadingly in hopes she could help.

A civil war played through Elysia’s mind. Her hands itched to embrace her sister after so long, but giggles bubbled at her predicament.

Naturally, like any proper sibling, she released a fit of giggles as her sister stewed in the water.

Sereia gradually sunk deeper into the water, now with only her eyes and the top of her head showing above the dark waters to hide her raving blush. Though any animosity toward her twin never materialized as despite her embarrassment, joy bubbled in her core from their reunion after such a long journey.

Unfortunately, all too soon, the sound of dozens of footsteps broke her amusement.

As she turned toward the cave entrance, her eyes narrowed to slits, she sent a message to Ione to retrieve her sister while she took out the trash.

Lightning danced along her skin, lighting up the dark cavern in an ominous purple. For once, she didn’t fight her elemental instincts, as they aligned with her feelings.

She didn’t care if they were thrown at her against their will. They committed a grave sin. No one interrupted her twin time. Even her father knew better and now so would they.

Now that she had her sister, she didn’t care what happened to the Changed. There was no more running to be done. Her sole reason for leaving Mezo no longer mattered. She would claim this island as her own.

Before the first camouflaged person even appeared in the small cavern, Elysia raised her right hand and called forth a chain lightning. This time, instead of weakening it to stun, she pumped it up to double. The cavern turned blindingly bright as the supercharged bolt of lightning released from her hand with a crack.

Even if they saw it coming, which they didn’t the first group of Changed stood no chance. The moment they stepped into the cavern, the lightning struck the first of dozens. Ozone filled the air as the lightning jumped from one Changed to the next in rapid succession, leaving charred husks in its wake.

Within seconds almost fifty Changed ceased to exist, now piles of carbon.

Rage still bubbling in her core at their grave sin, Elysia strode forward with purposeful steps, sounding much louder to the surviving Changed frozen in terror.

A normal chain lightning finished off the remaining Changed in the tunnel leading outside as she walked past.

Even in the daylight, she didn’t look any less terrifying. Her veins shined blindingly bright, eclipsing the sun as she surveyed the surrounding Changed with blazing violet eyes looking at them as if they were insects.

They were so weak. Why did she ever run? She could kill them all on her own, as was expected of an elemental of her stature. Were they worth the charge, though? If she didn’t finish them off, they would continue to hunt her. Even now, the fear they felt from her massacre diminished almost unnaturally so. Their eyes seemed to be blank, as if no one was home.

All the more reason to finish them. If they couldn’t control themselves, they were nothing more than drones for their slave master. She’d rather die than become a slave and she would grant them the same mercy.

Like a Roman Emperor, she raised her hand to proclaim judgment, but instead of a downward thumb, she released another overpowered chain lightning. Another followed a blink later than another. Her arm ached as the fourth chain lighting ripped through it, prompting her to stop and watch the aftermath. If she was to deliver judgment, she would watch the sentence carried out. She owed them at least that much.

Hundreds of Changed collapsed to the ground in charred and twitching heaps within seconds, but the chain lighting wasn’t done as it continued to hop to new prey, reaping more and more lives. When the last of her chain lightning fizzled out over half of the thousands strong Changed army laid on the ground in heaps, some still twitched from the remnants of electricity but all dead.

As she raised her hand to finish the remaining Changed who stood like drones awaiting their execution, she paused and glanced over her shoulder toward the cave opening.

Her anger vanished instantly as she laid eyes on Ione’s now clean silvery white form trotting out from the cave, pride radiating through their bond. Atop her back was her beloved sister, who scanned the devastation with a wrinkled nose, disgust leaking through to her through their now wide open bond.

Contrary to expectations, she appeared unbothered by the corpses, but instead pinched her nose. “What’s with the smell? Why did they smell so disgusting? It’s like my very being rejects them.”

Elysia turned her back to the remaining Changed, who received reinforcements of another thousand, smiling at her sister. “Well, they are corpses isn’t that normal? Though, they do smell better than the rotting corpses we found while hunting with father.”

Sereia shook her head. “No, not the corpses. They don’t really smell like anything.” She pointed at the gathering army. “What are they? They look similar to us but feel disgusting, like an abomination that shouldn’t exist.”

After a glance over her shoulder, still unbothered by the growing numbers, she returned her attention to her sister. “Those are what the humans call Changed, but the system identifies them as elementally infused humans. I was one too before I ascended to elementalhood. I’m not sure why they stink to you, but to me all I feel is mild discomfort from them. Definitely not a pleasant feeling, but hardly disgusting.”

Despite Elysia’s admission of her previous race, Sereia appeared unbothered by it as she stroked Ione’s silky, soft fur. Though despite her reluctance to dismount from the soft feline, she still sent veiled, distrustful glances down at the feline. “Whatever they call themselves, could we remove them, please? They ruin the atmosphere.”

Not needing to be told twice, Elysia queued up another chain lightning as she turned back to the army, now nearly two thousand strong. Even with the absurd numbers, their tight grouping was their downfall.

Lightning tore through their numbers like a knife through butter, downing each of them even faster than the birds. Unfortunately, pain shot through her right arm, forcing her to switch arms. Though the only unfortunate part was the slight delay as her left arm proved just as effective at delivering payloads.

As Elysia delivered violet death upon the drone like Changed who just kept marching toward them, Sereia and Ione made their own moves.

Sereia stumbled a few steps after dismounting from Ione, unused to having legs, but upon catching her balance, she focused on her surroundings, smiling at the humidity. Despite her inner gamer calling for her to use her skills, the humid air presented a more effective option. At least she thought it was from her limited experience.

With a swirl of her right pointer finger, the air drained of all moisture, leaving it as arid as a desert. At the same time, a swirling mass of water gathered above Sereia. A sudden wave of weakness hit her, causing her to sway, but she kept her focus on her collection of water.

She spun her finger faster and faster, turning her collection of water into a mini cyclone. Above them, the sky darkened as her suction of moisture drew in clouds. Enabled by the lightning charged air, violet lightning writhed around her cyclone and the clouds above.

On instinct, Elysia stopped her lightning assault and glanced upward then at her sister’s creation, eyes widening. She looked back at the still several thousand strong army that somehow never weakened despite the slaughter before an idea sparked.

Like her sister, she could sense her element in the air. Unlike the concentrated and unruly lightning attuned essence within her core, she easily latched onto the lightning in the clouds and around her sister’s growing cyclone.

Before she acted, she sent several images through their bond to give her sister a heads up. After receiving a nod, she yanked on all the lightning at once, sending a spike of pain through her mind, but the lightning followed her wishes, gathering around the growing storm above Sereia. Some of the lightning weaved into the rushing water, electrifying it as the rest writhed around the edges.

Despite not being either of their elements, wind kicked up, whipping across the battlefield, leaving gashes in the soft ground and ripping leaves and small branches off the surrounding trees.

Still, the army continued to march forward to the slaughter. They didn’t even use their elemental magic, just letting the sisters monopolize the magic. Unfortunately, the sisters didn’t notice this fact as they put their entire focus on their creation.

Ione, on the other hand, paused her own slaughter, finding the hunt unusually easy. With her unparalleled senses, she looked past the army to find a small gathering of a couple dozen not as disgusting fake elementals surrounding the green lightning man watching the slaughter at a distance. Warning bells rang through her mind at the casual demeanor. It was like they didn’t care their allies died in droves, as if that was the plan all along.

Her feline head shot back to her mother and aunt, who worked together, creating a truly marvelous storm of destruction. Pride radiated through her, but worry nagged at the edges upon spotting signs of exhaustion from both of them. Neither of their veins glowed with the same radiance as before and a slight slump to both of their shoulders didn’t portray a sign of strength.

Temptation built to hunt the worthy prey, but her instincts warned her off telling her it would be a terrible idea.

Instead, she retreated from the army, who were now standing still, awaiting their deaths with blank gazes.

Whatever the green lightning man planned, it didn’t matter. She would ensure her family remained safe, no matter what.