<Huh. And here I figured he would use the "Y-form" for his first fight as an Aether Grandmaster...then again, I guess our lord is still trying to maintain a cover...>
=Indeed...Pathos...what does the "MY" in our lordâs armor stand for? You never informed me.=
<Oh shit, I didnât?>
=No, you just started laughing like a gremlin while our lord was testing out the "M-form" and "Y-form" with the kaijin. Then started laughing even more when our lord developed this thousand yard stare as he realized something he didnât want to share with me.=
<Oh yeah...hehehe!,> Pathos laughed like a gremlin, <alright, super quick, you know how Iâve been playing that game series in the "JRPG" section? So weird to have an entire genre dedicated to a specific country, but damn are they good.>
=I...think so? Youâve been playing a lot of game series lately.=
<Well, I have been playing through this one series called Phoenix Task, excellent games with great stories, anyways, each of these games take place in wildly different time periods and worlds, but they do share a few commonalities,> Pathos began to geek out, <namely a roster of colorful monsters, excellent weapon designs and two character roles that are always in conflict. Although, some of the graphic novel content that we extracted from our lordâs memories show these two roles in more...intimate relationships...creative horn usages...>
=Oi, focus!=
<Right, thank you. Back to the topic at hand, every single Phoenix Task game has two characters that are always destined to clash: the hero, the character I play as, and, get this, the demon lord.>
=Okay...our lordâs old world had different definitions for such things so that makes sense, what does this have to do with the MY driver?=
<I am getting there,> Pathos told her logical counterpart, <so I used the term "demon lord" and "hero", but the thing is, in their original language, the words are "maou" and "yuusha".>
=What does-wait...=
A smile akin to a Cheshire catâs quickly formed on Pathosâs face as he saw the gears in Logosâs head turned.
Once the realization had fully dawned on upon Logos, she let out a reverberating sigh.
<Is something wrong?.
=If we werenât incorporeal...I would strangle you, for your puns.=
<Boo~ You know you love me.~>
=Doesnât change the fact that I still want to strangle you.=
<Fair enough and kinky.>
________________________________________________
"You bastard!," Zhen Shi shouted at Grand Fisher as he watched the latter knock out three of his sons with barely any reposte. Angered by the sight, Zhen Shi felt something in him surge as he suddenly dismissed his shield and lashed his chains forward, knocking Grand Fisher backwards.
"How dare you hurt my sons?!"
Zhen Shi ended up taking a few more hits as a result of suddenly dismissing his defense, but strangely, none of those subsequent hits ended up distorting his armor any further.
In fact, if one were to stare at Zhen Shiâs form at this moment, one could barely make out the giant shadowy image of a mammoth overlaying him.
"What ho? Your sons?"
Grand Fisher was surprised at this outburst, but quickly regained his composure and even proceeded to taunt Zhen Shi.
"Those three bottom feeders tried to interrupt our most noble of conflicts. It is only right I make them pay for their crimes."
"Most noble of-You sent an army of coral monsters!"
"That you singlehandedly defeated! In that case, consider this a return of the favor."
"You did not just-! That is not the same thing!"
"Enough talk! We continue this hunt!"
Grand Fisher proceeded to readjust the grip on his, holding it as if he was preparing to throw it. As he did, Aquarri aether began to condense around it into the shape of a strange looking shark with a hook-like tail.
On top of that, Grand Fisher then infused the completed shark with another type of energy, something that seem to shine like a rainbow, but also consume all light around it like darkness.
Once all the energies were mixed, he was ready to strike.
[Isonade Rage: Grand Tide!]
With a gargling roar, Grand Fisher threw his harpoon at Zhen Shi, causing the hooked tail shark to go charging towards Zhen Shi as well.
"Wanna play with sharks? Fine!"
In response to this encroaching threat, Zhen Shi let out more of his chains and proceeded to manipulate them until they were weaved into the shape of a sharkâs skeleton.
With the framework complete, Zhen Shi infused the chain with aether, causing water to condense and form into the body of a shark and then ice to freeze where the head and teeth would be, creating an armored shark.
[Polar Thrash!]
ROOAAARRR!
Once his icy creation was completed, Zhen Shi threw the shark directly at Grand Fisher, more specifically, into the path of the latterâs hook-taik shark.
Focusing solely on the sharks made of aether, this entire scene looked like something one would see in nature.
Two apex predators crossing paths, where the outcome was either life or death.
Grand Fisher and Zhen Shi didnât exchange anymore words as their respective attack arts swam towards each other, this was the point where they would only let their fists do the talking.
Roar!
As Zhen Shiâs armored shark got closer and closer to Grand Fisherâs hook-tailed shark, the latter proceeded to suddenly flip and attempt to slam the armored shark with itâs hook-like tail.
Mirroring the movements, Grand Fisher pulled the rope attached to the harpoon, a clear indicator that this was a deliberate motion on his part.
On the other side, Zhen Shi pulled his chains to move manipulate his armored shark, but instead of willing it to move forward or dodge, he moved it so that it would slam itâs armored skull directly into the incoming tail hook!
"Break!"
Splash!
"Huh?!"
As the ice armored skull of Zhen Shiâs shark slammed into the hook tail Grand Fisherâs shark, the latter proceeded to explode into a deluge of water.
This in turn caused a ripple effect that broke apart the entire shark and sent the harpoon flying.
Grand Fisher for his sort was stunned that his attack was dismissed like that especially since he infused the attack with a touch of [Chaos].
"Bite!"
With his path now cleared, Zhen Shi sent the shark surging forward once more and had opened itâs jaw wide, exposing several dozen rows of razor sharp teeth made of ice.
As this shark came closer and closer to consuming Grand Fisher, he soon realized why his own attack ended up breaking like waves against the rock when it collided with this armored shark.
It was also infused with a touch [Chaos].
[It canât be! This old serpent canât be...no. Itâs only the icy parts that...bah! No time for that! [Guillotine Wave]!]
While his harpoon was still airborne, Grand Fisher suddenly channeled even more aether into it until the Aquarri aether around it condensed into a heavy chopping blade that he then pulled downward as if he dropping it.
Splash!
The armored shark was soundly decapitated in one fell swoop as the water blade slammed down at the only parts that werenât covered in ice, and just like the hooked tail shark, the armored shark exploded into even bigger deluge.
"Thanks for clearing the path! [Narwhal Knuckle!]
"Bah!"
Unfortunately for Grand Fisher, Zhen Shi used the moment to launch himself forward with the sharkâs momentum and subsequent beheading to punch him square in the face.
Well, to pierce the guyâs face with a narwhal horn made of water and ice aether, if weâre being more precise.
Granted, he didnât manage to run Grand Fisher completely through with his attack, due to the fish man being able to juke his head to the side at the last minute.
"How are you able to use [Chaos]?!"
Zhen Shi was about to tell the fish man it was none of his business, but then remembered a line he used once against the Wolfe Grand Elder.
"Because fuck you, thatâs how!"