Whatever it takes, I have to win.

"Come on. Let's take it to the sea." Her voice rolled out like a tide under moonlight.

"Right… could you let those people go? At least the ones they say are innocent…" The words tasted thin, like mist on my tongue. They’re fishermen, and I’m pleading with a fish for fishermen—how absurd.

"Doesn't matter. Just keep them out of my sight. If it happens again, none of them will leave alive." Her tone was a calm blade, cold as brine.

"…Thanks."

"If you really want to thank me, how about you throw the match for me later, Little Night, Linghan?" Her smile tugged like a hook on water.

"My name is Ling Yehan. And on this one thing, I won’t hold back." A lifetime’s wager doesn’t bend; it carves its path like ice.

"What a pity."

As we broke onto open water, a freighter in the distance fled like a spooked shoal. I froze for a breath.

"Mm. Looks like those ‘friends’ of yours dumped you and ran. So much for your good heart. Boo-hoo." Her mock-cry felt like a pebble skipping waves.

"What, you want them to stay and wait for death? I jumped first into the sea. Maybe they think I bailed already." My tone was steady, but the thought scraped like a barnacle.

"Oh? Your voice says different than your words."

"Frostwhisper, warn them. Tell them to never come back to sea. Say something’s got eyes on them. If they don’t want to drop dead one day, they’d better roll far, far away. Please."

Frostwhisper nodded, then dissolved into blade-form and arrowed back toward the ship, a silver streak over slate water.

"Kindness seldom pays. People—no, any thinking creatures—rarely learn." Qingyu slipped into the mer-tongue, her vowels drifting like kelp.

"???"

Forget it. It’s not important. I won’t say it twice. The thought brushed past like a faint current.

After a while, Frostwhisper returned, her presence cool as dawn.

"Thank you." She shook her head. Silent snow.

"And I’ll need you for what’s next."

"Then, ready, Little Night, Linghan?"

"Ling Yehan."

I won’t give her time to breathe. Frostwhisper flowed back into a light-sword in my hand. I closed my eyes. When they opened, my pupils were blue-green, like glacial lakes.

[Coldwind Frostshade]

I lunged. A blizzard lifted around me, white wings spreading. My form split—one to two, two to three, multiplying like frost flowers across glass. The sea skinned over with thick ice. Time nearby slowed, as if the cold had tightened its fist. Shadows multiplied and pressed toward Qingyu Mengyin.

She only smiled, soft as rain on bamboo, like this was playtime with a child.

[Softwater Shield]. Ice around her cracked with a sigh. Sea water curled up, wrapping her in a snug, translucent shell. My frost-shadows struck, but the shield was plush as cotton and refused to tear.

What is this? That water shield feels like a pillow. Damn. Drop the temperature first.

[Shadow Converge]. [Strength Surge]. [Edge Keen].

"This is the first move."

Under my assault, Qingyu still didn’t blink. Yes, she was smiling. [Water Shield—Refit]. Her shell unfurled, strands weaving into a vast net that shimmered like moonlit tide lines.

You’ve got to be kidding me… Fine. Straight through. It’s only the opener.

I surged. Every frost-shadow folded back into me, a storm coalescing into a spear.

Breath held. [Riftcleave].

What the—this net won’t cut? Even [Riftcleave] can’t shear it? Then that shield’s practically everywhere. No gaps.

"That’s cheating! You’re forcing seawater into your shield!"

Qingyu sighed, more amused than angry. "You never said I couldn’t use the ocean."

"Unfair! You’re playing dirty! As long as the sea doesn’t run dry, your mana’s unlimited! How am I supposed to fight that?" Heat spiked under my ribs, like steam under ice.

"I didn’t say I’d keep it up forever. And terrain matters. You picked the sea, didn’t you?"

"Also, I wouldn’t recommend we fight on land. I can’t promise what would happen if I went ashore…" Her tone was mild, but something deep shifted, like a whale’s shadow.

"Ugh! I’m not changing the venue. I’m just calling you out for borrowing external power!"

"In that case, shall we continue?"

"Of course." I can’t hold this divine guise for long. No hard limit, sure, but the backlash bites. I need this finished fast.

Borrow the ocean, huh…?

On the continent, no creature attuned to water has appeared in nearly a century. Water spells barely work ashore, and elite mages across races have failed to learn them. It’s like the land cut itself off from water’s breath. Rain’s been retreating for a hundred years. Nations dig wells by the thousands.

I was born attuned to ice. Ice and water share a source; the control isn’t the same. Water can freeze into ice, but not all ice is born from water. My gift is to draw certain materials in space together and make “ice,” not summon water elementals. But… I was born attuned to water too.

"You’re not the only one who can move the sea. That earlier trick was support. Now I’ll show my real strength." I ignored the look she gave me—like watching a little brother she’d raised turn into a little sister—and closed my eyes. I pulled seawater as she had, gathering it around me.

[Cold Condense: Shapeforge]

Above me, a mass of water shaped itself into a frost dragon spanning thousands of meters. Every scale was etched sharp. A pale pressure radiated from it, and the sea trembled like a harp-string.

"Meow!!!"

"???"

"Ahhh—wrong call! Dragons don’t meow. You should go ‘hoo~’!"

"Roar!!!"

"Is this all you’ve got?" Qingyu’s expression dipped, like a light rain losing interest.

"That’s it?"

( *・ω・) Anger doesn’t have to show on the face.

"Azure Dragon Shakes the Sky!!!"

"Roar, roar, roar!!!" The huge frost dragon dropped from the clouds, a white avalanche, charging straight for Qingyu Mengyin.

"So… that’s how you use the water element." Her voice carried disappointment, like dusk fog. "Fine. Let me teach you what elemental affinity is really for."

Domain: [Nethersea Serenade].

Suddenly, everything slowed, syrup-thick. A song rose around me, beautiful and hushed, endless as the deep. For a heartbeat I felt myself fall, alone in a trench of night. Nothing existed but that music.

The dragon, almost upon her, couldn’t close the last step. Its jaws hung open, exhaling cold that spread like winter ink.

"There’s plenty of water element in the air. You didn’t know?" Her words chimed like shells.

She snapped her fingers. Around the dragon, chains bloomed out of thin air, massive links forging themselves from mist. The dragon’s invincible body split with cracks. In moments, it collapsed, a glacier breaking into floes.

"From the start, you never had a chance to win. The gap between us is too wide now. Do you understand?" Her gaze was calm as a still lagoon, and it swallowed the sky.