Chapter 198 :

Episode 38 : Semifinals (4)

"What did you do wrong?" I asked Behemoth who was wrapped around with a blanket to keep him warm.

Behemoth's eyes didn't focus on me since he kept looking elsewhere, avoiding my gaze purposely. "Master knows I despise the water."

"I know you do. But to overreact and cause a nuke to occur?"

"Meow! I held back a little though!"

"Held back? A giant wave the size of a mountain was tumbling down on a child. Is that what's called 'Held back'? Now, repeat those words you just said."

"Mrow..!!!" Behemoth flinched, shivering as he hid under the blanket.

Seeing as Behemoth was acting this way, I exhaled a sigh before averting my glance over to Noel who was sitting on the desk.

With a grumpy look, Noel had his arms crossed while grumbling on his own.

I can already tell what Noel is grumbling about, so I didn't bother asking him or leaning in to hear him better.

Plus, I got Behemoth to deal with. 

Not only did Behemoth unleash a nuke upon this place, he also put my son in a dire situation. 

Even though Noel can swim a little, he isn't fully ready to actually swim. So imagine the shock he felt from witnessing a large wave coming his way.

‘Speaking of waves, there's literally water everywhere now. Should I be glad there is water covering a little of the area?’

I pondered while taking something out from my inventory. ‘It should be a balanced match for the next round after all.’ 

Afterwards, I stared at Etheldreda who was patting her turtle, smiling happily even after all the misery she experienced in the past.

I narrowed my eyes. ‘To form a smile that is brighter than her past, how courageous and optimistic must she be?’

‘Well, she's bold enough to ask me to do 'that', even if it's her duty.’ I scowled.

"Father!" Suddenly, Noel uttered. "I want a rematch!!"

"Meow!" Behemoth popped his head out of the blanket which led me to immediately spray water at his face.

The object that I bought out of my inventory earlier, as I was thinking, was a HP bottle by the way. 

In an instant, Behemoth hissed when liquid hit his face, rubbing himself with the blanket.

"Noel, you lost." I stated loud and clear to Noel, seeming how he had eyes that were burning in passion?

Not liking my statement, Noel grunted and got off the desk after Mirai's treatment as he went to where Noelle was.

Watching Noel leave, I slowly put my attention back to where it should be, which is Behemoth's punishment for nuking the area.

"Behemoth, brace yourself." I spoke when I saw Behemoth flinching underneath the blanket.

‘How long does he want to stay under there? Is his fur not dry yet? Well then, it won't be dry soon.’ I thought before yanking the blanket away.

Upon surprising Behemoth, I swiftly dragged him away and flung him right into the sea where his punishment shall be.

"May you survive from the deep." I jokingly saluted to Behemoth while he was whooshing into the sky, staring at me with a hiss.

"MASTER!!!!!!!!!! HOW COULD YOu do this to meeeeee?!!!" Behemoth's voice was faintly fading into the distance.

As I looked at Behemoth's direction, I watched him splash into the water and struggled to swim since he was mainly focusing on fighting the water.

"Pfft.. Fufufu~" Mirai giggled in the sideline, mostly beside me. "Captain's way of punishment is hilarious."

At the moment when I smiled at Mirai, I was interrupted by Etheldreda gazing at me. "Are you sure he's okay?"

Etheldreda meant the drowning Behemoth in the sea. 

I replied casually, ignoring the fact that Behemoth was submerged completely into the ocean. "He'll be fine."

"I will notttttt!!!!!!" The cry of Behemoth in the background was ignored.

———

After a short break, the last round of the semifinals started with the last contestant who was just Noelle.

With no one to fight with, JoonChul had it already covered after he had asked someone to be the fighter for Noelle.

Someone that no one knows except JoonChul and his comrades, was a mermaid with the name, Etheldreda. 

No last name, by the way.

"Sate, sate! For our last match with our last contestants, whether this is going to be a long or short one, let's watch it together, everyone!" Raiden began his commentary.

"To our left, we have our shy and quiet contestant, Noelle Absolute, while to our right, we have a mermaid riding on a turtle!"

"Allow me to introduce you to this lovely mermaid, Etheldreda!"

And then, Raiden started speed talking this statement, shocking others except his comrades. "Further information about her is kept a secret for now until it is necessary, but don't worry, she's nowhere near dangerous." 

‘Ay.. Sensei, why did you turn into one of those disclaimer guys who talk fast?’ Alaine was confused. 

 

"Hey..!" Etheldreda exclaimed from below after hearing Raiden's statement.

Grinning at Etheldreda as Raiden waved at her, he resumed. "For Etheldreda's convenience, she'll have her turtle with her the whole time, and no restrictions will be placed on her!"

"So I assume Noelle is fine with this, yes?"

Noelle nodded.

"Good, good! Then we shouldn't wait any longer and begin this battle between Noelle and Etheldreda!"

At the same time, Noelle stood quietly by herself with her hands firmly together, opening her eyes to lay bare upon her opponent.

With a thought, Noelle figured. ‘Why.. isn't she..? She hasn't gotten off her turtle this whole time.. I wonder if..’ 

"3!"

An opponent who Noelle has no clue of or has ever seen her fight before, meant Noelle was at a disadvantage.

However, it's the same for Etheldreda.

‘She.. can't use her tail.’ Thought, Noelle as she gazed at the beautiful mermaid tail.

"2!"

Meanwhile, Etheldreda was thinking. ‘I heard that she can't hear very well. Am I allowed to feel pity for her when I should be pitying myself?’

Since Etheldreda knew Noelle wouldn't hear her, she kept to herself for Noelle's sake by not talking at all.

"1!"

On the inside, these two were planning away their strategies while on the outside, their weapons which were a Glaive and a Chrakram were grasped firmly with a resolve to win.

"Fight!"

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Frozen Grace’ Lv. MAX.]

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Hidden Skill, ‘The Ocean's Symphony’ Lv. MAX.]

Not even a second passed from Raiden's declaration that Noelle and Etheldreda unleashed their might to begin their fight, countering each other's skills in the process when both of them activated their skills at the same time.

‘I'm sorry, but JoonChul made a promise to me, so I must win this match for my kingdom's sake!’ Etheldreda mused with a determined gaze.

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Ice Fog’ Lv. MAX.]

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Ice Field’ Lv. MAX.]

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Hidden Skill, ‘Hydrophobia’ Lv. MAX.]

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Skill, ‘Water Parade’ Lv. MAX.]

In the department of fighting, Etheldreda and Noelle weren't specialized in that even though they knew how to fight hand-to-hand combat.

From the skills these two had thrown to each other, it was clear that their roles were more on the supporter's side.

And thus, it was only natural that Noelle and Etheldreda understood their roles in this fight already.

From that point on, a battle fought between two supporters who wished for their own victory, utilized everything they got in their wide range of arsenals. 

Whoosh!

By doing nothing but summoning a tsunami of skills, it would take quite a while just to see the end of this one match as it should be compared to the rest of the previous matches.

..Clink!!

In a blink of an eye, Etheldreda extended her glaive to sway away the halved Chakram that was thrown to her side.

Amidst that, Etheldreda turned around instantly to block Noelle's other halved Chakram before it could even reach the former's shoulder.

Swoosh!

With the assumption of Etheldreda being disabled, it enabled an idea for Noelle which resulted in her trying to push Etheldreda off the turtle.

If Etheldreda were to lose her only way of transportation, she would just be crawling around, unable to move like a fish flopping on the land after jumping off the water.

‘Rude, don't you think?’ Etheldreda grumbled.

Smiling instead of panicking, Etheldreda parried Noelle swiftly. ‘This ice elf.. She's smart, but I'm used to this tactic.’ 

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Skill, ‘Hyperhydration’ Lv. MAX.]

"Urgh!" Noelle unexpectedly coughed out water that was forming inside her body, gusting out continuously.

Feeling full from the water inside her, Noelle sensed how her body was trembling, along with her ears, nose and mouth flowing out with water.

Fwooooshhh!!!

As Noelle coughed and coughed, Etheldreda swung her glaive onto Noelle's Chakram, knocking the latter to the ground.

With Etheldreda's hidden skill, ‘Hydrophobia’ that she used earlier, it was forcing Noelle to shiver in fear of water, staggering while she tried to stand up.

‘Two.. can.. play it that way.’

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Hidden Skill, ‘Cryophobia’ Lv. MAX.]

In a mere second, Etheldreda became chilly by the slight touch of a cold breeze, shaking a lot by the false fear of ice imprinting in her brain.

CLING!

Glaive against Chakram. Noelle fights with clever tactics while Etheldreda defends herself against those tactics.

CLASHING!!!

Every second was just clashes between two females, freezing and bombarding the surroundings with frost and water.

If water spawned, frost froze them in one second, building up layer upon layer on the floor which prompted Etheldreda to be more on the disadvantageous side.

Clink! Cling!!!

Concentrated on fending off Noelle, Etheldreda needed to widen the distance between her and Noelle or else she would be in a far worse position than she was now.

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Hidden Skill, ‘Aqua’s Domain’ Lv. MAX.]

Shhaaa..

Out of the blue, a sphere emerged before Etheldreda, extending toward Noelle as it alerted her to fall back in caution.

Of course, it would be tactless of Noelle not to pull a trick when retreating. 

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Sleet’ Lv. MAX.]

Ice pellets forming onto the aquatic sphere weakened Etheldreda's skill as it was slowly changing into a crystal sphere.

And with how Etheldreda was in the effect of fearing ice, it forced Etheldreda to lose focus and precise manipulation of handling the sphere.

CLATTER!

Not within a second for the sphere to finish freezing, Noelle crushed the sphere immediately to get closer to Etheldreda again.

SCATTERING!

The shattering sound rang into Etheldreda's unprotected ears when it tormented her with its deafening noise.

With this chance, Noelle was given a moment of opportunity to strike Etheldreda down, yet instead of that, she chose to grab the turtle and pull it back to cause Etheldreda to fall.

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Ice Cream’ Lv. 5.]

As soon as Etheldreda fell, Noelle gently placed the turtle down to the melted layer of ice ground before roaring down an ear-splitting scream into Etheldreda's already ringing ears.

SHRIEEEEKK!!

"Argghhh!!!!" Etheldreda's hands that should be for crawling out of this situation, were used to cover her bleeding ears after letting go of her glaive.

It was cruel, but it got the job done.

That was all Noelle wanted when she was screaming at point blank range toward Etheldreda. 

Until suddenly, while she was standing upright, Noelle perceived a bite from something.

Something or someone was grabbing hold of her dress, pulling Noelle back only by a little, but not enough to move her.

As surprised and puzzled as Noelle was, she paused herself from yelling and looked to whoever was trying to prevent her from ending this fight.

Although Etheldreda was left alone and was already far too damaged to fight, it was still a foolish decision to do, yet Noelle turned her back to her opponent anyways.

Noelle thought. ‘Eh..?’

Looked in awe as she witnessed Etheldreda's turtle biting on her clothes, nudging at the best of its ability to save its owner. 

"So sweet.." Muttered, Noelle. "You.. did this for her, didn't you?"

Crouching down to remove the turtle's mouth from biting, Noelle slowly moved her hands onto the turtle's head before patting it affectionately.

"Good.. job." Noelle told the turtle that reminded her of Crystal. "You're a good friend.. to Miss mermaid."

For her to talk this much, Noelle let her guard down and just casually talked to the turtle who enjoyed Noelle's comforting hand. 

Eventually, Noelle apologized with a frown. "I'm sorry for the horrible acts I did to your owner.."

"If you're worried about me hurting her, I won't anymore.. Okay? I'm very sorry, sir turtle."

SWOOSH!

"..!" Realizing her mistake too late, Noelle finds out about Etheldreda swinging her glaive after seeing the shadow casting down on her.

In no time, Noelle quickly remained calm and stretched out her hand at where the glaive should strike, dumbfounding Etheldreda who expected Noelle to defend with her Chakram, and not her actual hand.

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Ice-bound’ Lv. MAX.]

The second the glaive landed on Noelle's hand, it stopped not because of Etheldreda, it was because of Noelle's hand that was frozen solid with the glaive between her fingers.

Concerned the moment Etheldreda laid eyes on a hand that was nothing but ice, she asked Noelle. "Isn't it cold?! Won't you get frostbite?!" 

"..f..fine." Noelle, a little shy to new people, mumbled to herself.

"..? What did you say, sweetie?"

Not able to repeat her word again due to her shyness, Noelle's hand that was frozen, had created a grand entrance for her veins of ice to sprout forth from it.

Bewildered, Etheldreda was, she couldn't dodge a single ice vein since she was too preoccupied with the shock. 

But..

Etheldreda is a very strong mermaid, so even if it were the shock that caused her to be injured for a moment, it shouldn't be enough to prevent her from evading Noelle's attacks.

What causes Etheldreda to stay in that one spot without having the ability to defend?

‘I'm stuck!’ Etheldreda yelled in her head as her glaive wouldn't move an inch after being frozen with Noelle's hand. 

And since the fear had an effect on Etheldreda, the ice on the glaive and the cold breeze of the surroundings caused Etheldreda to shiver and panic more.

It was to the point where her hands were getting numb and her mind was getting duller with fear.

But even so..

"I will not lose!!" Etheldreda bawled loudly.

Her determination has a reason. A purpose to bring salvation to her kingdom was no doubt the resolution she needed to start getting back up again.

FWOOSHHH!!

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Skill, ‘Hydrokinesis’ Lv. MAX.]

Tentacles of water spring out of the sea to protect Etheldreda from the danger of the ice veins, enveloping the veins entirely with the water tentacles and shattering it with intense water pressure.

Fast and furious, the water and ice crashed together with the castors' commands, overcrowding the vicinity with nothing but the sounds of crashes and the wind.

It was during this moment that Noelle took this chance to activate a skill whereas Etheldreda was too distracted by the battle.

[Player ‘137’ has activated the Skill, ‘Hibe—

BOOOOMM!!

Without a warning, a tsunami of water rushed to knock into the icebergs that were growing from the earth each time the ice veins hit the ground.

As Etheldreda lies dormant by the shivering cold, she surfs upon a waterline to help her escape from the area before the cold gets to her.

However, that's something Noelle has already expected from Etheldreda. It was no wonder why Noelle had activated her skill earlier.

Sooner or later, Etheldreda finally realized it all too late. "Huh..? Why do I feel sluggish?"

The skill, ‘Hibernation’ was what casted onto Etheldreda by Noelle before the sound of battle interrupted the system.

Fwoosh!!

Due to how wintery the atmosphere has become, Etheldreda has turned increasingly lethargic and stagnant by the time she was handling against the hills of ice.

"I.. can't win this…" Etheldreda uttered while her eyes were failing her even as she struggled to keep her eyes wide open. "I need to win..!"

‘Or else.. my kingdom will fall.. helplessly in the hands.. of..’ She gritted her teeth. 

‘I'm worthless! I know.. This is all I can do..’

Whooshhh!!

"That's why.. That's why I must win!" 

Biting her lips until it bleeds to remain awake, Etheldreda glared with determination toward someone. 

That someone was her salvation. No, it was the salvation of her kingdom. 

JoonChul sitting with a smirk on his face as if predicting the outcome already, really irked Etheldreda by how clueless she is of the end result only JoonChul could calculate.

‘..? What is he.. saying?’

As a response to Etheldreda's glare, JoonChul spoke, purposely mouthing his words so that Etheldreda could understand through his lips. 

"Your determination is remarkable."

A smile etched deeply onto his villainous face. 

"..Yet how remarkable can one be in face of their loved ones having been endangered because of them?"

"!!?" Shocked as Etheldreda was, she looked dumbfounded by what she could tell from JoonChul's moving lips. ‘Did I get it all wrong..?’

Screeching…

Out of the blue, a silent cry with one of the familiar voices that Etheldreda could recognize was resounding behind her.

Ever so slightly getting closer, Etheldreda slowly yet hesitantly averted her glance toward the voice..

In her point of view, Etheldreda's opponent, who she hasn't gotten to know much, had a shard of ice toward Etheldreda's turtle.

It was clearly a surprise to Etheldreda as she hopelessly witnessed her one friend who assisted her with everywhere she went, was being threatened.

‘Is.. this what he meant? That my turtle would get hurt..?’ Etheldreda wondered, looking wide-eyed.

"Ha..ha.." Etheldreda nervously laughed. 

‘Does he think a turtle's life matters to me..? When I have a kingdom to save?!’

‘It's only a battle! A match! My opponent wouldn't possibly hurt my turtle! She wouldn—’

With a gasp and a jolt, Etheldreda watched while her turtle's legs were having frostbite layering on its skins.

‘..!’ Etheldreda's eyes widened more and more. ‘...!!!!!!!!!’

No more strength was within her body after having been affected by ‘Hibernation’. She was already weakened..

"STOPPP!!!" 

And yet, the ear-splitting cry that was resonant, was the cause of Etheldreda letting go of all her might for her turtle's sake.

Etheldreda didn't care if she was too weak or too unenergized, it was only all for her turtle's survival that mattered to her.

"..stop.." 

And so, after using all her last drop of energy within her loud scream, it was no wonder that Etheldreda had fainted on the spot.

Fruitless, listless and defenseless. That was what describes Etheldreda who was laying down on the wet sandy ground.

With this, it was only a matter of time before..

SWISH~

"The match had ended!" Raiden exclaimed to declare the end of the battle. "We have a winner!"

"And her name is Noelle Absolute! Standing tall and strong, it was her who defeated a mermaid!"

The match ended in the expected result of what JoonChul calculated. 

‘Pitiful Ethel.’ JoonChul thought while resting his cheek on his hand. 

‘She was pointlessly fighting against someone who didn't use all their cards up their sleeve.’

‘Master, wasn't it you that put Etheldreda against Noelle?’ Lucifer, stating the fact, caused JoonChul to look away.

And JoonChul ignored Lucifer. Completely.

‘..Master..’