Chapter Forty-Five

“Hello young elemental. I would like to make a deal with you. In exchange, I will grant your greatest desire.”

Sereia pause mid-flap, then narrowed her eyes at the suspicious wording. That sounds like a deal with a demon. Even she wasn’t desperate enough to sell her soul to reach her sister. She knew she would make it eventually, so what was the point of becoming a slave to some demon just to reach her faster? The goal was to join her sister, not to ruin herself in the process of reaching her.

A giggle sounded in her head, causing her tail to straighten stiff. Did it read her mind? Please tell me it didn’t.

“Definitely sisters. Your twin reacted the same way. Always distrustful of the friendly Urus offering to help.”

Sereia perked up at the mention of her sister, only to flash to anger. “What did you do to my Elysia!? You better not have hurt her!”

More giggles were her response. “Oh yes, definitely sisters. Did you know she begged me to save you from the pesky water elementals? You aren’t the only one spying. She’s been following your progress for a while now, to the detriment of her team.”

Her anger vanished in an instant as fuzzy warmth fluttered her core.

However, suspicion rose at the last part. “Team? Elysia is horrible with teamwork. Why would she want to join a team?”

“Oh, she didn’t want to. I had to bribe her, in fact.”

That definitely sounded like her Elysia. After the soccer season disaster, she couldn’t see her doing anything involving teamwork with random people. Not because of the people but because of her sister’s habit of not sharing. She didn’t understand the concept of passing the ball to the detriment of the team. She loved her super talented sister, but team work just wasn’t something she was capable of.

“Yes, I’m well aware. However, she is a talented young elemental, so it is worth the risk.”

“She is an elemental like me?”

“She had a different journey to become one, but yes, she is an elemental though lightning instead.”

That actually made sense. She loved to run in thunderstorms. It was a miracle lightning didn’t strike her. Not that she was much different. Father had a hell of a time wrangling them in. There was a high chance at least one of them was frolicking in the rain. Though she drew the line at heavy rain. Thunderstorms were a little too dangerous to frolic through. The sound and feel of rain was too enticing to ignore. It wasn’t out of the norm for both of them to wander out into a storm as if lured by a siren song, even as toddlers.

Sereia shook away her train of thought, knowing that the rabbit hole would lure her in for hours. She’d rather create new memories with her beloved sister instead of dwelling on old ones and in order to create new memories she needed to reach her sister.

Sensing the shift, Urus spoke again. “So, about my offer. I can expedite your reunion, but I need something from you.”

“What kind of something? It better not be my soul or my sister’s.”

The presence fluttered in amusement. “Of course not. I am an honorable colossus. I only dabble in soul magic occasionally. Besides, while potent for your age, neither you nor your sister’s souls provide enough value to harvest yet. Better to nourish for a later harvest.”

Urus paused, then giggled when Sereia didn’t take the bait. “Fine enough joking around. Elysia is safe for now, though that may change soon if we don’t act. In fact, she is currently on my shell, but by the time you reach us, even with my help, she will be on an island known as Mezo.”

Sereia’s fishtail whipped in impatience. “So, what do you want from me?”

“Well, some forces plan to threaten people under my protection, and I’d like your help to ensure their safety. As a water elemental, you have some advantages you may not be aware of that would be essential in my plans.”

“If you are as powerful as it seems, why not act on your own? I doubt anything I could do would match you.”

“In most cases, you would be right, but if I were to act, things might become messy. If someone of the High Elemental’s position took direct action, so could I, but if not, I would open myself and those under my protection to an alliance against us. Right now, their target is not my people and I would like to keep it that way. However, I don’t want them to get caught in the crossfire, and that is where you come in.”

She nodded along, having played enough games and watched enough fantasy shows to understand the classic predicament. “So in exchange for allowing me to reunite with my sister faster, I will have to help evacuate your people from somewhere?”

“Correct. This somewhere happens to be Mezo, a dungeon island. The very same island your sister will be on. Unfortunately, I doubt your sister will be with my people by that time. As you can probably guess, she won’t stay with her team long probably before the need of evacuation arrives.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as an obvious issue popped into her head. “So if Elysia is still on your shell, that means they didn’t travel to this Mezo place. Why send your people there if you know forces will force you to evacuate them?”

“Experience both mentally and physically. Those sent to Mezo are young and need to face challenges. Dungeon islands are rare, so even if they can’t experience the full term, it will be valuable to their future.”

Sereia’s anger sparked to life once more, but with nothing to direct it at, she just glared forward while whipping her tail violently. “And you sent my sister there? She isn’t one of your people. You put her in unneeded danger for no reason.”

“Yes, I did, but the forces involved already had an interest in her. They would try to find her eventually, anyway. Besides, young Elysia might benefit from this experience more than my people combined. If you two play this opportunity perfectly, you may come away from this far stronger.”

Her anger simmered as she fell silent. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Just the fact this Urus endangered her Elysia made her public enemy number one in her book, but Elysia was her older sister and as such could make her own decisions. Knowing her, she knew the dangers but wanted to take the risk to improve herself.

After several minutes of Sereia calming herself down, she broke the silence. “So how much faster are we talking? At my current swim rate barring detours, I should reach her within the week.”

“By tomorrow. Any later and I’m worried we won’t have enough time to evacuate my people. The first wave of invaders will arrive within the next six hours, and by the following mid-morning they will have the island surrounded. As long as we evacuate before they surround the island, we should be fine.”

Sereia frowned. “What about my sister? If they surround the island, how will we escape?”

“If you plan your cards right, you won’t have to escape.”

“What if we don’t play our cards right?”

“Then you will have to be creative. Between you and Ione, you should have little issue escaping an island.”

The water surrounding Sereia suddenly rippled as her veins glowed brightly, eyes narrowing. “Who is Ione?”

The presence fluttered in amusement, having expected the reaction. “Oh, you don’t know? I figured your spying sessions would’ve shown her.”

In an instant, Sereia turned to the East and connected to the bond. An image of Elysia laying on her bed while stroking a silvery white cat no bigger than a Maine coon appeared in her mind. Her eyes narrowed on the feline who suddenly perked up and seemingly stared directly at her radiating smugness.

She glared ahead for several seconds as her mind focused on the image before releasing a sigh, knowing it was pointless to get worked up over her sister’s cat. Still, it gave her the last nudge, wanting to reach her sister faster than ever. Something about that cat threatened her.

“Fine, I’ll help. If what you say is true, my Elysia will be in trouble soon.”

Suddenly, a jet stream sprang to life under her. A quick check told her the stream led directly to her sister. A flap of her tail sent her downward, but before entering the stream, she poked her finger inside to test it. The current yanked to the east in an instant, forcing her to pull it back before it dragged her in.

Sereia stared at the current, scared it would rip her apart, but knowing it was her chance to reach her sister faster, she closed her eyes and flapped her tail to propel herself forward. The moment her body broke into the current, she shot to the east. She flailed, spinning wildly. Her tail worked overtime not to propel herself but to try to correct her orientation.

Finally, after several minutes, she centered herself and let her arms rest at her sides as she wiggled her tail at an even cadence, making sure she remained parallel with the surface a dozen meters above. Despite the ridiculous speed, she barely felt any resistance as if the water parted for her while she rocketed toward her destination.

As her mind fell into a trance solely focused on the perfect tail wiggle cadence, the hours passed, her destination nearing by hundreds of kilometers per hour.

The closers she came, the stronger her bond became. Soon she could almost feel her sister’s feelings as well as a faint second, more animalistic connection. Unfortunately, when she tried to connect with the bond, she began spinning, forcing her to focus on remaining centered despite her desires. Soon she would have all the Elysia she wanted. She just had to follow the current.

Another several hours passed now less than 500 kilometers from her sister before the current weakened, then dissipated. Annoyance sparked as she whipped her tail, wanted to reach her sister faster but without the help of the current it would take her much longer.

A similar masculine voice sounded in her mind now much fainter than it was when he saved her from the water elementals. “I’m sorry, young elemental, this is as far as I can take you. My sister will handle the rest.”

As the presence dissipated like the current, Urus returned, now much stronger than before. She could feel it weigh her down just by existing as Urus spoke. “Now I know you want to rush to your sister, but we have a deal. First, we need to rescue my people. Before that, however, please use your bond to warn your sister of the coming threat. I am unable to communicate with those inside through the dungeon barrier, but I can piggyback off the telepathic pathway and direct my people.”

A series of images showing a fleet of ships appeared in her mind, which she pushed through her bond with her sister. Something resisted her, but after pushing harder, she felt the images reach her sister, though distorted. She tried to speak with her, but found the barrier prevented any coherent messages.

Annoyed at the rejection but buoyant being so close to her sister after such a long trip, she waited for Urus’s next instructions.

She didn’t have to wait long as a few minutes later the powerful presence of Urus returned. “Excellent job.”

Another series of images appeared in her mind, directing her to an underwater cave to the northeast. Why not super speed her? It would take her hours to swim that far.

Expecting the question, Urus spoke in her mind. “This close to our target magic of that scale will tip our hands. In fact, my brother’s current tunnel sped up our timetable. The water elemental fleet chasing you isn’t far behind. Unless you move quick, you might not make it in time.”

Not needed to be told twice, she shot off in the indicated direction, tail pushing her faster and faster.

A while later, she felt a change in the currents, causing her to glance upward to find the hulls of dozens of ships. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be following her, but still she fearing the worst, she swam even faster. Soreness radiated through her tail, but she ignore it as she outpaced the fleet, reaching the cave far faster than she thought possible.

Just before entering the cave, Urus boomed in her mind once more. “Stop for a moment. After you enter the cave, the rest is up to you. I cannot speak to you beyond. My people will be waiting for you at the surface inside the cavern. All you need to do is escort them down here and I will take care of the rest.”

Sereia glanced upward, finding she beat the ships before swimming into the cavern. She passed through a barrier.

Welcome to Mezo.

Current Score: 1023

Current Ranking: 7th

What was that about? How did she already have a thousand points? Maybe she automatically joined her sister’s team. If she did, how wasn’t she in first place? Her Elysia always won. Whatever the reason, once they reunited, she was sure they would shoot to first place. She refused to have it any other way. No one would match their combined efforts.

Before she got carried away, she refocused on her surroundings. Inside, the waters felt much warmer, as if she flipped from deep ocean to the warm tropics, but she put it out of mind as she swam down the tunnel.

A few minutes later, it opened to a massive cavern, as Urus said. In the dark waters she spotted movement, but like when she swam through the ocean, whatever lurked made distance, as if they feared her for some odd reason.

Maybe that was why Urus needed her. Whatever swam away was huge. Was she the queen of the sea? She was a blessed water elemental, so maybe. Nothing bothered the water elemental fleet either, though, so it might be a hidden racial bonus.

Whatever the reason, she was glad. She didn’t have time to fight some scary deep ocean abomination. Maybe after she reunited with her Elysia. They could hunt them together. She could slow it down with her water magic and her sister could strike it down.

A goofy smile formed, but she shook herself. She had a mission to complete. Then she would have all the Elysia she wanted.

Still, temptation got the better of her, prompting her to test her bond only to find nothing to connect to as if something blocked it. Panic shot through her but after looking deeper, the connection still existed but she couldn’t connect to it.

Wanting to complete her mission as fast as possible, she kicked her tail, propelling herself upward toward a barely visible light hundreds of meters up.

In seconds, she breached the surface. Like a dolphin, she shot airborne. As gravity took hold, sending her back to the water, her eyes widened as she spotted an ice platform filled to the brim with a hundred armored lizard people.

Once back under the surface, she paused. Urus didn’t say they were human but lizard people, really? As long as they didn’t join human politics, it didn’t really matter to her. There were enough of them there already.

A giggle escaped her, which she smothered in favor of poking her head above the surface. Her eyes landed on a tall red lizard person who froze in surprise as they took in her face. Recognition flashed in his eyes, but it soon turned to confusion.

The lizard person probably met Elysia. Maybe they were part of her team. Whatever, it didn’t matter. The sooner they followed her, the sooner she would reunite with her Elysia.

With a voice tinged with impatience, she broke the silence. “Urus sent me to escort you. Please follow me.” Sereia’s eyes wandered down to their clawed feet, all devoid of boots. “I hope you guys can swim.”

Expecting her, they jumped into the water in an orderly fashion with a pretty prismatic scaled lizard person dissolving the ice platform going last.

After ensuring they were all in, Sereia turned toward the tunnel deep below, then flapped her tail, but not as strong as she normally did in case the lizard people couldn’t keep up.

Her assumptions proved false as the group easily kept pace with her, tempting her to move faster, but several creatures lurking nearby warned her off. They didn’t approach but stayed near, as if waiting for one of the lizard people to drift too far from her.

Those things would gobble the lizard people in seconds. At their current pace, she doubted they would have a chance of out swimming them either. With how fast some of them darted in the darkness, she wasn’t even sure she could, at least if she had to dodge.

Straight line, there was little chance anything could catch her in the waters other than another mermaid water elemental. Even then, she had a feeling she was superior. Not that she wanted to test that theory. She’d rather do the chasing than be chased.

Nothing dared to attack her lizard person collection as they reached the tunnel far slower than her arrival.

Confident nothing was inside as the tunnel was too narrow for the creatures lurking just out of sight, Sereia waved them inside, then stood guard as they swam inside in groups of two.

She gave the darkness a glare which seemed to be effective when several flashes of movement followed as the creatures she sensed retreated, giving up on their hunt.

Once every lizard person entered the tunnel, she followed but remained at the back, just in case.

Suddenly, she crashed into the lizard person in front of her as the stream ground to a halt. Annoyed, Sereia flapped upward to find the lead lizard person blocked by an invisible barrier. However, a moment later, an almost visible parting of said barrier happened, then all the lizard people shot through as if sucked by a vacuum.

Curious Sereia followed, oddly unaffected by the vacuum. As the last lizard person shot through, she peeked outside the cave just in time to see the last few lizard people vanish, as if teleported away.

A thankful flutter of Urus’s presence reached her, then the barrier snapped closed, cutting her off from the outside world.

Still curious, she prodded the exit of the cave, only to find her hand meet a solid but invisible barrier like the lizard people before her.

She only dwelled on the oddity for a moment longer before turning back and shooting off, a smile spreading.

For a moment, the bond reconnected, showing her sister was only a kilometer away near the bottom, causing her to swim faster, but it winked out just as quick.

Determined to find her sister, she shot through the cavern, looking for her as the creatures dwelling within scattered from the mermaid zooming in random directions.

Unfortunately, several hours of relentless searching left her empty handed. She must have just missed her.

Sereia swam upward, hoping to find her elusive sister beyond the cavern.

Soon she would reunite with her Elysia. She just had to be patient.