The siren in front of him was clearly the same one he had encountered during his sea patrol.
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.
This creature's appearance now was worlds apart from before.
For one thing, its height alone far exceeded the siren he had seen in the sea.
If the previous siren was merely a combination of a normal human and a fish tail, then this one was a complete biochemical monster.
Its body had swollen at least twofold, its once-defined muscle lines now bloated and unsightly.
Most horrifyingly, its torso had been forced open on both sides, sprouting two additional long, twisted arms with sharp claws that glinted coldly in the moonlight.
"You freaking evolved?!"
Elias couldn't help but shout as he retreated.
"Are you a Digimon?"
However, the only response he received was a roar from that gaping, split maw.
And a tongue that shot out from its mouth, mutated into an ultra-long tentacle.
"Roar—!!!"
A foul wind, smelling like a mix of rotten seafood and an ancient sewer, instantly filled the air.
"Not only are you uglier than before, but you're also stinkier!"
Elias held his breath, fighting the urge to vomit.
When the smoke from the collision of the two energy blasts behind him cleared, Elias didn't hesitate to activate his 【Moonlight Veil】 again.
His figure became blurred in the night, like an ethereal ghost, as he began to move across the rocky beach.
Tactical kiting.
This was his preferred strategy when facing such power-oriented monsters.
He didn't know if this mutated siren could see him.
After all, a siren's visual system differed from a human's.
But he knew very well that the empty-eyed mystic behind him certainly could.
The stinging sensation of being watched always felt like a thorn in his back.
In his extreme tension, Elias's brain worked at high speed.
Think about it differently.
Although this mystic could see him, he lacked independent consciousness.
From the battle just now, this Scale Two guy was clearly being controlled.
His master was obviously this mutated siren!
Sirens were experts at mental control, a fact that had been proven in their previous encounter.
To think he had been brainstorming earlier about who leaked the information regarding his dream demon curse and who was plotting against him.
Who would have guessed it was this damn mermaid!
This monstrosity probably saw everything related to his dream demon curse while lurking near the lighthouse!
This thing really held a grudge!
So what if I broke one of your teeth?
Didn't they grow back already?
But if he killed it, perhaps the mystic would regain his senses.
Elias made his judgment.
To shoot the rider, shoot the horse first; to catch the bandits, catch the leader first.
With its current appearance, it was uglier than any toad monster he could imagine.
Sure enough.
Just as Elias expected.
The mutated siren did not possess the ability to 【Reveal Invisibility】 like the mystic.
As Elias's figure vanished, its murky fish eyes scanned the beach aimlessly, clearly losing its primary target.
Having lost its target, it became even more frenzied.
It roared as it crawled completely out of the seawater and onto the land, its four arms clawing wildly at the path Elias had taken.
Its massive claws struck the reefs, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.
On the other side.
The mystic, who had been maintaining a gentlemanly stance, seemed to receive a command.
He slowly turned around, those emotionless blue eyes once again locking onto Elias's blurred position.
He raised his hand.
This time, the energy condensing in his palm was no longer the violent white orb from before.
Instead, it was a sickly green light, flickering like ghost fire.
That color instantly triggered a memory of a certain Unforgivable Curse in Elias's mind.
"Holy crap! Old Edmond!"
Elias looked at that green light, his scalp tingling.
"What kind of move is this? That color isn't right!"
"It can't be a green ray, can it? If that hits me, I'll be lying right there next to you!"
"Avada Kedavra?!"
"Two against one, and they've got instant-death magic? That's cheating!"
Elias felt it was completely unfair that he had to face a two-on-one fight right after ascending to become a transcendent!
Where was his newbie protection period?!
"Not quite."
Edmond's voice sounded somewhat solemn, but his tone remained relatively steady.
This allowed Elias to relax slightly.
"But it is indeed a green ray."
"Is it really Avada Kedavra?"
"What Avada Kedavra? That's an 【Eldritch Blast】!"
Edmond corrected him, seemingly helpless against Elias's tendency to give spells strange names.
"It sounds powerful!"
Elias shouted as he performed a tactical roll behind a massive reef.
"It's a Scale One spell."
Edmond gave the answer.
"Huh?"
Elias was stunned for a moment.
The previous one was a Scale Two spell; how did he get downgraded mid-fight?
"That guy's spirituality is likely running low."
Edmond analyzed calmly.
"Maintaining 【Reveal Invisibility】 requires a continuous consumption of spirituality."
"Additionally, because he is being controlled by the siren, his spirituality is in a state of unrestrained overextension."
"He can no longer cast high-energy spells."
His spirituality is that low?
Elias felt a surge of joy.
This was good news.
Since he was a mage with a nearly empty mana pool, his threat level had dropped significantly.
He even felt he could find a way to use his positioning to make the guy completely exhaust his spirituality, turning him into a mere infantryman who could only use basic attacks.
"But you should still try not to take it head-on."
Edmond seemed to see through his thoughts and timely threw a bucket of cold water on them.
"Even though it's Scale One, it contains necromantic energy. It'll hurt a lot if it hits you."
"My plan is to find a way to kill this siren!"
Elias quickly communicated his thoughts.
"This guy behind me is definitely being manipulated by it. As long as the source is dealt with, the puppet will naturally stop."
"Logically, this shouldn't be happening!"
Edmond, however, was stuck in some logical dead end, his voice full of confusion.
"Why did this siren become like this? Ordinary mutations wouldn't cause it to grow four arms."
"And how could it possibly control a Scale Two believer of magic?"
"Based on the level we encountered it at before, it should be impossible!"
"You're asking me?!"
Elias couldn't help but retort.
While the two were communicating rapidly in their minds.
"Sizzle—!"
A sickly green ray shot from the mystic's hand, accompanied by a hissing sound that corroded the air, accurately blasting toward Elias's direction.
Elias reacted extremely quickly. A second before the ray arrived, he performed a standard slide, gliding out from the other side of the reef.
"Sizzle!"
The green ray hit the massive black reef, instantly sending up a plume of foul-smelling white smoke. The hard stone surface was actually corroded into a charred pit.
"I can tell this fish-man really hates me."
Elias looked back at the mark left behind and swallowed hard, his heart still racing.
If that had hit his body, he would probably be missing a chunk of flesh.
And with the conspicuous green ray of the 【Eldritch Blast】 pointing the way, the mutated siren, which had been acting like a headless fly, immediately locked onto its target.
It let out an excited roar and dropped to all fours like a giant mutated gecko, charging madly in the direction indicated by the ray.
It was incredibly fast!
"Come at me!"
Elias moved forward instead of retreating.
He took a deep breath, and the revolver in his hand snapped up. The silver sights instantly locked onto that ugly, hideous fish head in the moonlight.
【Moonlight Enchantment】!
Bang!
The gunshot exploded across the beach.
This time, he held nothing back, pouring his spirituality into it, vowing to make it a one-hit kill.
However.
Just as the bullet wrapped in holy silver flames was about to hit the siren between its eyes.
The siren actually seemed to anticipate the danger, or perhaps it was due to the superhuman reflexes brought by its mutation.
Its massive, bloated body performed a movement that completely defied the laws of physics.
Its neck snapped to the side, and its entire upper body dodged with a bizarre, twisted posture.
Whoosh!
The bullet whistled past its cheek.
"I never said it had to be a headshot!"
Although it wasn't a lethal shot, the enchanted bullet still carved a deep wound into its mucus-covered face.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The holy power contained within the moonlight enchantment erupted instantly. No blood flowed from the wound; instead, it looked like it had been seared by a red-hot iron, emitting clouds of black smoke and the sound of roasting meat.
"Roar!!!"
The intense pain caused the mutated siren to let out a shrill scream.
But this did not make it retreat; instead, it completely triggered its ferocity.
Its pitch-black eyes instantly filled with blood and turned red. Ignoring the still-burning wound on its body, it charged like a maddened tank at an even faster speed than before.
"Even that didn't kill it?"
Elias cursed under his breath.
At this moment, the mystic behind him wasn't idle either.
"Sizzle—!"
Another 【Eldritch Blast】.
The stone serving as his new cover took another hit from the corrosive ray and looked like it was about to be blasted through.
Attacked from both front and back.
A desperate situation.
"I'm going for it!"
A look of ruthlessness flashed in Elias's eyes.
Since kiting from a distance couldn't kill it, he would have to play close-quarters and circle behind it!
He suddenly charged out from behind the crumbling reef. He wasn't running away, but rather doing the opposite—charging straight toward the mystic, intending to use the mystic's body to block the siren's attack path.
This move was called "diverting trouble."
However.
Just as he rushed out from the reef and prepared to flank the mystic.
The mystic, who had only been using long-range spells, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A strange, mocking expression seemed to flash across his stiff, expressionless face.
In the next second.
The hand that had been condensing green light suddenly clenched.
Buzz!
The previously dispersing green necromantic energy vanished instantly, replaced by a highly condensed, deep blue radiance.
The radiance did not fire outward; instead, it rapidly stretched and solidified within his palm.
In the blink of an eye.
A dagger made entirely of pure arcane energy appeared in his hand.
Instead of retreating, he advanced. The energy dagger in his hand carved a lethal arc in the air, slashing directly toward the neck of the charging Elias!
The movement was fluid and professional, like a master who had spent years immersed in the art of assassination!
"What?!"
Elias, who was sprinting at full speed, turned pale with shock, feeling a chill run straight to his head.
He braked hard, his body kneeling and leaning back, narrowly avoiding that lethal strike. A few strands of hair were cut by the energy blade and drifted into the air.
His eyes widened as he looked at the mystic holding the blade of light, and he couldn't help but blurt out:
"You're a melee mage?!"
"Who taught you to spend your skill points like that?!"
"Is it that white-bearded old man from Middle-earth?!"
Rate on N.U.
