Capítulo 392: The Beginning Of The End [LIV]

The arena reacted instantly.

The ground cracked open with a deep rumble, and a violent surge of water erupted from below. In a single breath, the shallow flood transformed into a raging ocean.

The stone floor vanished beneath crimson waves, thick and heavy, rolling endlessly in every direction.

The water wasn’t blue… instead, it was dark red.

Every wave carried a crushing pressure, dense enough to bend the light above it.

The sky within the barrier turned dim, clouds swirling low and fast as if dragged down by the sea itself.

Aestrea stood still as the water rose to his knees, then his waist, then his chest.

The pressure hit next.

It pressed against his body from every direction, squeezing, grinding, trying to crush him into the sea.

Vanya floated above the blood-red waves, supported by a massive current beneath her feet. Her hair and cloak drifted freely in the heavy air as she looked down at him, her expression sharp but excited.

“Let’s see how steady you stay in my world,” she said.

She raised one hand.

The sea answered.

A massive wave surged forward, its front hardening into a thick wall of compressed water. It slammed toward Aestrea with enough force to shatter mountains.

Aestrea bent his knees slightly and drove his foot forward.

BOOM!

The wave split apart, water exploding to both sides as his step sent a shock through the sea itself. The pressure eased for a split second before snapping back.

Vanya laughed, her eyes shining with pure excitement.

“Good! As expected from you, unlike most people, who drown before they even move, you can easily split the sea apart!”

She twisted her wrist, and the blood sea churned violently. From beneath the surface, long spears of water shot upward, aimed straight at Aestrea’s torso and limbs.

Seeing this, Aestrea leaned forward and stepped onto the surface.

The water didn’t swallow him.

It hardened beneath his foot just long enough to support his weight before collapsing again.

He moved forward in quick steps, weaving between the rising spears as they tore past him and shattered behind.

One spear curved sharply and stabbed toward his back.

Aestrea turned halfway and struck it with the back of his hand.

CRASH!

The spear burst apart, splashing red water across the air.

Vanya narrowed her eyes.

She lifted both arms, and the sea rose with them. Thick currents wrapped around Aestrea’s legs and waist, pulling downward while waves slammed into his chest from the front.

His body dipped slightly into the water.

For a moment, it looked like he was being dragged under.

Then he straightened.

The water binding him trembled violently before tearing apart, the currents snapping as if cut by invisible blades. Aestrea stepped free, water streaming off his clothes as he walked forward through the sea.

Vanya’s grin twitched.

“Tsk…!” she clicked her tongue before pointing downward.

The water beneath Aestrea collapsed, forming a spinning pit that dragged everything toward its center. The pressure increased sharply, pulling at his balance and twisting his body.

Aestrea allowed himself to sink for a moment.

Just as the pit closed around him, he kicked off the swirling water and launched upward.

Vanya blinked.

Aestrea appeared above the sea, his body twisting midair as he came down.

He slammed his fist downward.

BAAAM!

The impact flattened the vortex instantly, sending a shockwave across the blood sea. Waves rolled outward violently, rocking the entire domain.

Vanya landed farther back, her feet skidding slightly across the surface.

“…You’re really full of surprises,” she muttered.

Her smile returned, sharper than before.

She swept her arm in a wide arc.

The sea responded by rising behind her, shaping itself into a massive trident made entirely of compressed blood-red water.

It towered over her, vibrating under its own weight, then, with a sharp motion, she hurled it forward.

The trident tore through the air, splitting the sea as it raced toward Aestrea.

Aestrea didn’t dodge immediately.

He waited, and at the last moment, he stepped to the side and caught the trident’s shaft with one hand.

The force pushed him back several steps, water exploding around his legs as the weapon struggled to break free.

His grip tightened.

The trident cracked down the middle and shattered into heavy waves that slammed into the arena walls.

Vanya stared at him, then burst out laughing.

“Seriously? You’re making this look unfair.”

She inhaled slowly, her expression finally turning serious.

The trident symbol in her eyes burned brighter.

The blood sea began to rise as the waves started growing taller, faster, and more violent. From beneath the surface, shapes moved, massive and heavy, swimming just out of sight.

Aestrea felt the pressure spike again, but that didn’t make his calm expression change whatsoever.

Instead, he calmly looked at her and spoke:

“I’m going to increase my power a little.”

As he said that, he rolled his shoulders once and took another step forward.

Vanya’s lips curled up immediately. Her grin widened, eyes sharp and excited, as if she had been waiting for those words.

“Oh?” she uttered, laughing out loud.

“I’m already waiting for this!”

But the moment a black sword formed in Aestrea’s hand, her expression changed.

THRUUUUM!

The air around Aestrea shifted instantly, and the waves that had been roaring a moment ago collapsed inward, crashing down as if something had pressed them flat from above.

The currents lost their rhythm, breaking apart into chaotic swirls.

Vanya frowned for the first time.

She clenched her hand and forced her authority down into the domain.

The sea answered, shaking violently as it tried to rise again, water grinding against water under immense pressure.

“That sword again…” she muttered.

“Alright. Let’s do this!”

She thrust her arm forward.

The sea surged upward, forming dozens of thick water blades that shot toward Aestrea from every angle. They twisted and curved midair, closing in on his body at once.

Aestrea stepped forward instead of retreating.

Fwip!

His sword moved, as a single horizontal slash cut through the air.

The blades of water split cleanly in half and collapsed before they could reach him, splashing down uselessly around his feet.

Aestrea didn’t stop moving.

Vanya’s eyes narrowed as she raised both arms.

The sea rose again, this time forming a massive current that wrapped around her body and launched her forward like a living projectile.

She appeared in front of Aestrea in an instant, water spinning around her fist as she drove a punch toward his head.

Aestrea tilted his upper body slightly and let the punch skim past his cheek. As she passed him, he turned and struck with the flat of Midnight’s blade.

The impact landed squarely against her side.

BOOM!

“Kugh!”

Vanya’s body was sent flying across the sea, skipping over the surface before crashing into a rising wave. Water exploded outward as she forced herself upright, sliding back to a stop.

Her grin returned, sharp and wild.

“That’s more like it!”

She stomped her foot.

The sea beneath Aestrea’s feet surged upward, forming thick chains of water that snapped around his legs and waist.

The pressure tightened instantly, trying to crush him and drag him under.

Aestrea planted his foot and pulled, causing the chains to snap apart as if they were made of glass.

He vanished from where he stood.

Vanya’s eyes widened slightly.

“Up here,” Aestrea reappeared above her, descending fast.

“Shit!”

She reacted immediately, pulling a wall of compressed water up in front of her body.

Fwip!

Midnight came down.

The wall split cleanly down the middle, water bursting outward as the blade continued through.

Aestrea landed in front of her and drove his knee forward.

It slammed into her stomach.

“KAAGHHH!”

The force sent shockwaves through the sea, throwing Vanya backward.

“Cough… argh…” She coughed once and flipped backward in midair, barely steadying herself with a stream of water beneath her feet.

Her grin faltered as she wiped the blood from her lips.

“…You really weren’t joking.”

Aestrea didn’t answer.

He stepped forward again.

Every step sent ripples across the blood sea, the pressure around him pushing the water away instead of pulling it in.

Vanya swung her arm, sending a spiraling torrent toward him, but Aestrea simply cut through it as if his sword could destroy anything that came his way.

She raised a second wave, but as expected, he cut it too.

So, she tried to pull distance, forcing the sea to rise and separate them.

Aestrea crossed it in two steps.

BAAM!

He appeared in front of her and struck with his sword handle, smashing into her shoulder. The hit knocked her off balance, sending her sliding backward across the surface.

“D-Dammit!”

Before she could recover, Aestrea was already there.

He struck again, this time with a downward slash that sent a crescent of black pressure tearing across her body.

SPLASHHH!

Vanya crossed her arms and blocked, but the force still drove her into the sea, submerging her completely.

The blood sea churned violently.

For a moment, nothing surfaced.

Then Vanya burst out of the water, breathing hard; her grin was entirely gone. Her eyes burned with focus as she stared at Aestrea.

“…S-shit, you’re much stronger than I thought,” she licked her lips, as she gripped her trident made of water hard.

Aestrea lowered his sword slightly.

“Don’t worry. You’re already quite strong,” he nodded lightly.

However, before Vanya could say anything, her smile instantly dropped as she saw his sword pressing down again.

“Oh god dammit…”

BAAAM!

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