Simon was dragged deeper into the Umbra Forest Pond. He tried his all to gain control of his movement, but the monster was not yet finished with him. The massive fish twisted its body, churning the water and forcing another wake to throw him off spinning.

  ‘Oof!’ Bubbles escaped his mouth.

  The fight had just gotten harder, but this was when the old man’s training kicked in. Simon was bound by it—he would never give up.

  ‘First, I have to stop spinning!’

  But the next attack was coming, a faster and harder-hitting one.

  ‘I can’t use my feet to generate a proper ssh… isn’t this bad,’ and moments before he recovered his posture, the fish unched itself at him once more, giving him no time to correct his stance.

  Guided by instinct, he used the shorter sword to glide along the bded trout’s body, redirecting himself.

  ‘Got you!’

  He didn’t need much force—just a steady grip on the bde, which was easy enough. As long as the longer sword stayed pressed against the monster’s fin, it would cut.

  ‘Ssh!’

  The right pectoral fin was torn clean off, but not without cost.

  Pain shot through his lower limbs.

  ‘Agh!’ A gash bloomed on his left hip—he’d been sliced by one of the fish’s protruding bones.

  There was a grumble of pain as the monster fish wailed in the water, losing its composure as it twisted and turned. But it only took a few moments before it began to maneuver for another angle of attack.

  ‘Same tactic… use its momentum against itself!’ Finally, Simon found a way to fight back.

  The monster propelled itself again in Simon’s direction.

  ‘Again!’ Using the same idea and moves earlier, Simon nded another strike to the left pectoral fin, cutting it off too. And this time, ‘BONES!’ he was wary of the bone, so he didn’t get caught again.

  Blood colored the waters, and as Simon was gradually losing air, the monster fish was also losing blood.

  ‘It’s really pissed off,’ Simon thought, just watching the fish go around, trying to swim off the pain. ‘Oh! It’s a distraction!’ Then it suddenly maneuvered back in his direction. ‘But I can do more now!’

  Relying on the only advantage he had, seeing the dark and trusting his instinct, he detected the direction of the next attack.

  He used the short sword to slide over the sharp trout, he targeted the fin on the monster’s head, and even grazed the upper part of the tail.

  The monstrous fish floated aimlessly as more of its blood painted the water with red. After a few seconds, it stopped moving and put its trout back in the boy’s direction. It emanated hatred and intelligence, too.

  ‘It underestimated me… and it seems to have learned its lesson, if only it would attack the same way one more time, then I would have finished it.’ Then Simon felt an activation of magic.

  The fish was getting serious now. It suddenly spun in pce, waving its tail in his direction.

  ‘Something is coming!’ he could subtly tell. It was unched when the fish waved its tail.

  Though Simon couldn't identify what the rge aquatic monster fired, his heightened magic sensitivity aided him.

  “Oof!” Bubbles escaped his lungs again as he instinctively intercepted the magic attack with his two Mantis Bdes.

  ‘This should be impossible!’ But now that it was face to face he could see it properly ‘A water bde made out of its blood! Bisa!’ Now that it clicked, Simon knew that receiving and dispersing the magic was within his capability. He pushed it off at an angle, changing its direction. The blood dispersed a few meters from him, diluted by the water.

  ‘I should get off its range, but that means I will be losing time… I can’t!’ Options began to dwindle for Simon.

  But the monster was far from finished—this was only the beginning. Simon felt magic surge again, stronger this time.

  With relentless intent, the monster continued firing blood bdes. Reacting instantly, Simon began deflecting them. By driving his weapon deeper into the point of contact, he broke its cohesion, allowing water to seep into the magic, dispersing some of the blood bdes.

  Just as he grasped the trick and found his rhythm, the shorter bde snapped in two.

  ‘Broke my sword and I’m halfway in my breath!’ he thought. Another blood bde surged towards him. Simon blocked it with the st remaining Mantis Bde, but without the help of the shorter Mantis Bde, it pushed him.

  He noticed that the fish began to move, capitalizing on him getting unbanced. It rushed forward, even spinning to unch another blood bdes.

  Simon smiled, as it got close to him, he dispersed the blood bde only to receive another one but this time. ‘Then I’ll send it back!’ The fish was closer. He deflected the blood bde and it hit the monster fish squarely. It’s attack missed as it twitched in pain and agony.

  It was now destined to bleed to death. Then suddenly in its stillness, it stopped.

  For a moment, Simon's eyes met the monster's... it was poised to attack with full force next.

  As the boy felt danger that could take his life, his blood pumped faster, and his focus heightened like never before. A battle of life and death, and he was so calm that he was surprised himself; then his sight became better, and he could suddenly see more in the dark underwater. 'What are those lights?' he thought.

  Flickers of light gathered around the fish’s body—then around him as well. A sharp pain nced through his head, and the lights vanished from his sight like a glitch. ‘What’s happening?’ Confused and hurting, he realized his focus had sharpened, every detail suddenly clearer than ever.

  Blood bdes began encircling the fish's body. Utilizing its tail, the only appendage functioning properly, propelled its body with all its might.

  He wanted to understand what had just happened, but there was no time. ‘Think first from the beginning of your movement and into its end, then move without hesitation,’ Simon reminded himself of the teachings of the old man.

  Simon began rotating his sword upwards. The fish observed, yet it persisted in its attack.

  Exerting power underwater surely took Simon’s air from his lungs. Their distance rapidly decreased as the fish, with blood bdes in tow, approached.

  But from the surface of the pond, a small whirlpool began to form. “Urggh!” Simon had to exert force at the beginning, but it became easier once the flow had begun.

  Then the blood bdes began to be drawn into the underwater vortex formed by Simon’s Mantis Bde. At the same time, it affected the monster fish’s trajectory, causing its attack—aimed at the boy's neck—to miss its mark and gash the boy's lower torso instead. Despite the setback, the creature didn’t give up. Using the st ounce of its strength, it propelled itself, maneuvering for another attack.

  But Simon was ready. With a swift swing, he deflected and guided the blood bdes back into the fish by just using his own power.

  With no room or ability to maneuver, the aquatic monster had no chance to dodge them. It was struck and sliced by the very blood bdes conjured. Simultaneously, with the swing, Simon evaded its final attack.

  It was the end... Simon wouldn’t let it suffer any longer. ‘Thank you for a good fight!’

  He struck for the head. Blood seeped into the water as he felt the monster fish’s life slipping away. Simon released his mantis bde.

  ‘Where is it?’

  He wasn’t safe yet. Kicking upward, he swam hard. When he called for the power he had stored, a faint light flickered in the distance.

  “Urgh!” He forced himself faster, swimming toward the dim glow.