Headed by a Snake

Imperia turned away from the savagery, baring her teeth in a grimace... "I don't understand. Krysaos is using... water magic?"

"What's not to understand?" Tycon raised an eyebrow. "You... are also a water-type mage."

Imperia pursed her lips... "But the Corallidae... my spells are ineffective against them?"

"Ah, that. Take it as a lesson, Imperia," Tycon nodded. "Krysaos' aptitude over his spells is enough to pierce Wonderboy's rockflesh without leaving enough residual mana in his wounds to activate his regeneration."

He gave the young lady a polite smile, "Your skill will reach this level in your lifetime... and with enough practice, sooner, rather than later."

"Krysaos' magic..." The dark elf nodded quietly in thought, "Huh..."

Granted, the precision of Krysaos' spells was largely influenced by the Heart of the Ocean's weapon spirit, Mina... but that wasn't something Tycon felt the need to emphasize.

Krysaos stabbed his rapier down towards Wonderboy's chest, but right before that fellow was justifiably murdered, he quickly somersaulted backward.

Having regained his footing he sent a horizontal slash at Krysaos that the Captain ducked. However, a second, diagonal cut-- Krysaos was forced to block, staggering him three steps backward.

Wonderboy's eyes again glowed with the Elven Ancient's might. He crushed the mana-eel biting his arm with his bare hands and stood tall, brimming with catalyzed energy.

"[Captain Krysaos, you-- hrrhnnngh...]"

Suddenly, the Coral Boy doubled over... groaning in pain.

Behind him, the meditating elf's closed eyes were twitching. Drops of sweat ran down his forehead in droves.

Krysaos massaged his wrist with his opposite hand, "Hey, uh... you okay, guy?"

"[This... is a DUEL... Captain Krysaos,]" Wonderboy moaned... "[This... KING... needs not thy... bountiful m... ergh... mercy.]"

The crowd had gone eerily quiet... until the silence was broken by a young half-elf child.

"Daddy, why's he holding his private parts like that?" It asked.

"That man has taken great injury," The father responded... "Out of respect, we grant him this moment of peace."

"Tycon..." Imperia whispered, "Can... can Krysaos actually win? My sovereign can't use his magic..."

"Doubtful," Tycon shrugged. "Observe the two combatants' fighting positions."

Imperia furrowed her brows... "I... don't get it."

Tycon sighed. The young Princess did not have a well-developed sense of martial combat.

"Other than Wonderboy's escape from Krysaos' last strike, the Coral Boy had not moved from his original position."

The dark elf's expression darkened and she returned her attention to the fight.

"Well-- I appreciate it, tough guy," Krysaos nodded as he whirled his rapier, "⌈Water Lance⌋."

From behind him, Tycon could hear Mina whisper... "⌈Sudden Spell⌋ ⌈Razor's Edge⌋ ⌈Twin Lance⌋ ⌈Triple Spell⌋..."

She wasn't holding back, either.

The two made an excellent team.

Tycon counted eighteen, bending, curving ⌈Water Lances⌋ as they sprung up from a pool of water behind the human Captain. Each of them rocketed towards the radiant-eyed Wonderboy with fantastic speed and unerring accuracy.

Wonderboy righted his posture and... the incompetent buffoon closed his eyes. Each potentially lethal projectile, he slipped, dodged, or cut down with a slash of his swords.

"Hey, wasn't that guy blinded?"

"This is IMPOSSIBLE!! Who ARE these people?!?"

"They're going so fast-- how can anyone follow those movements?!"

"(So this is the power of the human named Krysaos...)"

The crowd gasped in awe and horror... speaking in hushed tones, a mix of Common and Elven. Their reactions, however, were far different from the Coral Boy crew of the Neptune's Revenge.

"'URRY UP AN' DIE, WONDERBOYYYY!!"

"HIPPITY HOPPITY, EH?! CHOW'S IN LOIK 'ALF-A-BELL!!!"

"I 'OPE DA CAP'N 'ITZ YOU IN DA BALLS AGAIN!!! LOIK FI'TTY MORE TIIIMES!!!"

Even though King was clearly again in control of Wonderboy, it didn't stop the fellow from loudly weeping tears and... blood, "I-it 'urts so BAAADDD, I wanna die! HONESSST!"

"Ey boyyzz... if Wonderboy kicks da bucket," Catshit sneered, "We'z gonna be takin' 'iz rack."

"WOTTTT?! NOooOO!!"

"We'z da wun SLEEPIN' next to da git! WE'Z GET 'IZ RACK!"

"An 'ow 'bout 'iz share o' da rations?!"

Tycon decided to stop paying attention to that side of the circle.

Wonderboy... steadily crept forward. For each sword swing and ⌈Water Lance⌋ deflected, he took a step. For each slip or dodge, he pirouetted diagonally, ever towards Krysaos, who was deep in concentration.

Tycon saw the unease in the Captain's eyes. Close combat might have been his forte... but engaging with the current Wonderboy was a potential disaster.

At the very least, Wonderboy had learned better than to gloat. He continued to sob loudly as the Elven Ancient willed his stony body to brave the endless barrage.

"H-how could Wonderboy move like that?" Imperia furrowed her brows, "Is... is my sovereign-- tell me truthfully, Tycon. Is he using his movement techniques?"

"He is not," Tycon shrugged. "The Ancient is merely utilizing the Coral Boy's body at the peak of his abilities, without fear or... concern for bodily harm."

The man known as King was utilizing Wonderboy much like a rented horse or carriage. It wasn't his... so subconsciously, he was acting with a high degree of recklessness.

Worse still... in order to make up for the low affinity between the caster and target, the Ancient's control-type magic was forcibly overriding Wonderboy's functions...

Tycon once force-activated his ⌈Commander's Strike⌋ on the late Sol Invictus member, Levi Wolfrider, to attack an opponent against his will.

...Once or thrice.

The young man's body sustained great injury in the process, straining muscles and connective tissues, and even damaging his mana circuits.

Levi would have taken weeks to recover... if he hadn't died shortly after.

The way Wonderboy moved, flipping and hopping about-- should have been impossible considering his range of flexibility. If Coral Boys had bones underneath their rocky exteriors, then many of that fellow's joints had certainly been broken.

Wonderboy was also actively fighting against the Elven Ancient's control... likely hoping to surrender as quickly as possible to avoid sustaining further injury.

The damage to his spirit would not be small.

If he were to survive... his fighting ability would be crippled for the next few weeks, even considering the physical regeneration granted by his bloodline.

More likely, Wonderboy only had a few minutes to live. He would die on his feet, swords in hand.

But in such a case... Captain Krysaos would be left the victor.