The King's Beloved

[Music Recommendation: "The Sea of Eden" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST) - available in Spotify or Youtube]

"That would be troublesome if that happens," Rania replied. "Is there a way to counter it?"

"A mermaid can only control those who are weaker than her. So as long as we\'re all stronger, there won\'t be a problem," Luna shrugged. "That\'s IF we are stronger. Unfortunately, the monsters lately have only been getting stronger and harder to fight."

"Hopefully, we have enough."

"Yeah."

After a few hours, the team finished resting and was able to recuperate all their energy—both physical and spiritual. They discussed their strategy first before heading out. Like the previous shrines, Rania and Luna would focus on defense and counter-attack, while Elliot and Bruma, whom they\'re taking to the innermost part of the shrine this time, would focus on offense.

Eres and Bronte were left outside the shrine to fight off the remaining monsters. Once they were done, Elliot instructed them to follow them inside should anything happen. Fauna and Amare were assigned to fight those inside the shrine and told the same thing. The rest continued forward to the innermost place where Aqua\'s blue crystal obelisk was erected.

As the team went deeper into the shrine, they noticed how the pavement and stairs led downward. And by the end of the hall, a vast lake welcomed them. The crystal obelisk was located at the center, but they would have to cross the waters. Crossing it was not a problem but the fissures—wouldn\'t they be underwater at this rate?

"No wonder the obelisk looked smaller compared to the others," Elliot sighed. "The other half is submerged in water."

"We\'ll have to swim while fighting and cast magic, so we don\'t drown—or just form a barrier? But it can quickly break. It\'s better to cast magic that will enable us to breathe underwater. Haah… I should have known." Luna complained.

"It\'s alright. We can do this!" Rania cheered them up.

"One moment," Bruma stepped in. "Let me try something."

She then raised both her hands and parted the water until the dry ground could be seen at the bottom. The rest of the water stood up like walls around the edges. Then, with a strong gust of magic, the water walls turned into ice. And from beneath, as they predicted, was the mermaid they were supposed to fight—a Dark Syreni.

This time, the boss monster was not huge like the early ones but had the same size as them. Her skin was pale, and her dark golden eyes shot glared at them as soon as all the water became ice. She was probably trying to use the surroundings to her advantage seeing she had her sparkling blue tail on. But because of what Bruma did, she instead released a strong aura and turned her tails into feet. With nowhere to swim, she made her body float in the air and screamed at them.

"AAAARRRGHHH!" the Dark Syreni\'s voice was pretty but enraged and deafening to hear.

Her eyes glowed red, and soon enough, rains of magic attacks fell on the team one after another. As planned, they all took their positions and started the fight. Bruma\'s ice magic was really helpful, seeing how she easily froze her water attacks, much to her annoyance. It was great they were able to avoid fighting underwater, or else it would have been an entirely different ordeal.

Getting more and more desperate, the Dark Syreni soon changed the temperature of the water attacks she used. Due to this, it became harder for Bruma to freeze them. Rania, Elliot, and Luna helped out by using ice elemental attacks on the monster, but the water temperature was too hot and easily melted their ice. It wasn\'t even fire, yet she was able to control them in a way that water didn\'t evaporate and was still hot enough to melt ice magic.

That was not all—while fighting, the Dark Syreni started to sing. Her enchanting voice was pleasing to the ears but deadly. It strengthened her attacks and sent waves of headaches towards the team.

"It\'s the Siren\'s Melody!" Luna shouted. "She\'s trying to control us! Be careful!"

Everyone created barriers to protect themselves, but the Dark Syreni managed to break them as soon as they were cast. Unable to protect their hearing, their headache persisted, and their body started to feel heavy.

"Ugh… How come her voice affects us?" Elliot asked Luna and Bruma. "I could sense her spiritual energy, and we\'re still stronger in terms of power, but why… ugh."

They all covered their ears and pressed their temples.

"I\'m not sure, master," Bruma responded. "Perhaps her mind strength is stronger than ours, or it could also be the opposite. Our mind waves are near—on the same frequency, thus creating resonance and making it easier for her control."

"This is not good," Luna added. "At this rate, we\'ll… Ughhh."

"N-No… we can\'t—"

Soon enough, their hours of fighting and defending went down the drain.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha," the Dark Syreni laughed menacingly.

Before her, Elliot, Luna, and Bruma\'s eyes glowed red, marking the success of her mind control. The three stood still like puppets waiting for her command.

Feeling like she defeated the whole team, the Dark Syreni laughed ecstatically. Her voice echoed in the silent shrine.

"All of you… fight each other to death!" she commanded.

And just as she said it, Elliot, Luna, and Bruma started attacking each other. How very amusing it was for her to see. Her evil laughter continued as she enjoyed watching them hurt each other.

"Everyone, please stop this!" Rania dashed in the midst of them and created a barrier to stop and separate them.

The Dark Syreni was appalled seeing someone manage to get away with her mind control.

"H-How in the world… this can\'t be."

Her eyes glowed once more, analyzing Rania\'s body, trying to make sense of how someone could escape her melody.

"A human?… How can a human—tsk!"

Furious, she commanded the three to halt and changed her instructions to them.

"All of you," she said, glancing at their way, "KILL her!"

With that, their eyes turned to Rania. With a sudden jump, they all lounged at her, ready to attack. Their lifeless eyes glared at her, much to her heartbreak.

Not wanting to hurt her friends, Rania only tried to defend herself and avoid their attacks. At one point, she tried to make them sleep unto which they did, but when the Dark Syreni saw it, she woke them up like it was nothing.

"Elliot, Luna, Bruma, please wake up," Rania pleaded with all her heart.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she saw them, completely unfazed by her words.

\'How?\' she asked, praying in her mind. \'How can I free them from their mind control? And how can we defeat this evil monster?\'

Driven to a corner, she tried a risky move.

She waited until the three were near her to the point that Elliot was just an arm\'s length away and could easily kill her. Brushing her hand gently to his face, she told him in a sweet smile.

"Elliot, I love you."

Then, she cast an Absolute barrier trapping the three inside. Just mouthing the words from her mouth already cost her a lot of her spiritual energy and exhausted her body. Still, she persisted and faced the Dark Syreni alone. Floating in the air, she glared back at her, who was very surprised by what she had done.

"You have toyed with my comrades long enough," her angered voice reverberated to the monster\'s ears. "This battle is not yours to win."

Along with it was a holy glow that emanated from her body, making the Dark Syreni tremble. For the monster, she was merely human, weak and powerless against her. She was even thinking of amusing herself more by prolonging her agony. And yet… how? How could such a weak mortal give her immense pressure?

The Dark Syreni unconsciously prepared a barrier for herself while stretching both of her hands to attack with a vast amount of spiritual energy.

Rania did the same and gathered all the energy around her at an alarming speed. Sparkles of light gathered around her, forming a highly concentrated magic ball. In a wave of a hand, it shot straight towards the monster and fast, making her unable to evade!

Rania\'s magic was so strong that it penetrated towards the monster\'s barrier, destroyed the magic she cast as a counter-attack to hers, and penetrated her skin, boring a hole to her chest.

Blood splattered around. The Dark Syreni quickly tried to heal herself, but the wound refused to be healed nor regenerated.

"T-this… why is it not healing?" the Dark Syreni\'s voice trembled. "What the—holy energy? How… why… Ack! Cough… cough…"

The Dark Syreni tried to escape, but Elliot blocked her path.

"Ah! You there! Help me!"

But Elliot\'s eyes reflected nothing but silent rage towards her.

"This is impossible. I\'m not dead yet. The melody will only be canceled if—AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

A thousand ice blades suddenly came out of nowhere and pierced her body from head to foot.

In a menacing tone, Elliot\'s voice trembled in deep anger.

"How. Dare. You. Make. Me. Hurt. Her."

And with a final touch, Elliot ended the monster\'s life.

"Disintegrate."