Chapter 523 - Freezing Rhythm
"How do you feel now, young girl?" Rhea asked with a satisfied smile as if she already knew the answer.
"This is weird... It's just like I'm seeing an ordinary natural phenomenon. These thunders are indeed jarring and painful to hear, but why don't I feel scared and tremble?" Evelyn looked at her hands in confusion. She then looked at the thunderstorm vortex in the distance with a casual look.
"Hm, alright, you're fine now. Sea God, are your contaminated avatars hiding over there?" Rhea asked while staring at the thunderstorm vortex.
"Hm, yes. I can sense about a hundred or two hundred of them in that giant storm." Oceanid nodded in confirmation.
"What are they doing inside that giant vortex? This ferocious storm was caused by them, huh?" Elena put her cheek to her hand while trying to gaze deep into the storm. However, there were too many fast-moving objects, and it made her a little dizzy.
"I don't have any ideas either. So let's just get into that storm and find out what they might be up to. I have a concern, but I hope it doesn't happen at all." Oceanid sighed and gave a signal to Nell to enter the storm.
Therefore, Nell ordered her magic carpet to fly into that fierce storm after getting everyone's confirmation.
*Splash!*
A gigantic water whip suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slammed into their layered barrier.
"What? How could they have noticed our presence? We're still in invisibility right now, right?" Oceanid widened his eyes in surprise. He looked left and right, but he couldn't see where the attack was coming from.
"We're still in invisibility and covered in barriers. They're probably aware of your presence just as you detected them in this place." Elena answered with a solemn expression and stood up. She then swung her arm to the side to create a powerful gust of wind to clear their field of vision.
*Swoosh*
The surrounding storm was cleared, and the one at the center of the vortex was visible for everyone to see.
A strange giant creature that resembled an octopus with a jet black color of ink was rampaging. It was whipping its tentacles in various directions as if it was attacking blindly in rage.
*Boom!* *Splash*
The whip of one of the giant tentacles landed not far from Elysia's group. Still, no one had any intention of jumping into the battle scene just like that.
"What is that giant ink octopus doing? It's running amok? What made it so angry?" Elysia muttered while trying to analyze the surroundings. She suspected that there was another group besides them here.
"No, I think he's aware of our arrival, but not our exact position. He's attacking blindly hoping to hit us." Oceanid folded his arms with a frown.
That gigantic creature was actually hundreds of his avatars that had merged into a new, much more powerful form.
"This will be difficult and somewhat inconvenient. I can't get to intervene and get in direct contact with them, or else I'll be contaminated too." Oceanid sighed and shook his head.
*Boom!* *Rumble!* *Rumble!*
Thunderclap and flash became more and more fierce following the attack of the increasingly irritated black octopus.
"We'd better keep our heights first and think of a solution to this." Nell decided and ordered her magic carpet to soar high into the black sky.
They were so close to the cloud full of lightning and thunder. Because of that, Elysia decided to block the sound from outside because her ears were starting to hurt.
"That giant black creature is a collection of hundreds of your avatars? Can you estimate that creature's combat power?" Rhea asked with a neutral expression. She was unwilling to let Elysia and Elena plunge into such dangerous territory with no guarantee of safety.
"About more than two hundred have become one at the Emperor-level peak stage. This ferocious storm seems to be mixed in with some curse energy as well." Oceanid put his hand to his chin in thought.
He glanced at the fox girl, but this girl's extreme ice cold ability couldn't be used because the current situation was too dangerous for her.
Therefore, he looked back at Rhea and asked. "Do you have a solution to seal them off for a while? So, my saviors can help my poor avatars."
"I could freeze this ocean with no conditions and constraints, but I'm currently in the recovery stage. What should I do, um? I've used up a lot of magic energy in the previous battle..." Rhea rested her cheek against her hand as if she was in a complicated thought and dilemma.
"..." Nell didn't know what to say to witness that, but she screamed in her mind. 'Big, big sister uses the same trick as Elena to blackmail others!? My ever kind yet stern big sister is getting affected by Elena's character!? Oh, no...'
"Huh? Oh, I see!" Oceanid was confused for a moment. He then dropped his fist into his open palm.
"To your service, milady. This is one that might help your recovery." Oceanid took out a blue box from inside his body and handed it to Rhea politely.
"What do you mean by this?" Rhea just glanced at Oceanid without even looking at the box.
"This is a form of my appreciation to you because you will help me even though you are in a difficult and inconvenient situation. Please accept this. Now, you can freeze this ocean and hundreds of my avatars without worry." Oceanid shrugged his shoulders with a smile. He was very generous to share valuables for the wholehearted help of others.
"If you insist, then I will reluctantly accept it. But, Elysia will save this for me." Rhea received the blue box and went to Elysia to give it. 'Master Elysia, Oceanid generously gave this to me while I was thinking about the best way to freeze the ocean down there. Inside this box is a blue crystal called Ocean Core. This can be used to produce water for body recovery.'
'Rhea, you...' Elysia was taken aback, and she didn't know what to say. Even so, the blue box was only placed in her hand.
After that, Rhea whispered something telepathically, and Elysia just obeyed without asking much. It was just a white bow with some blue gems from Nature Realm's treasury.
'Yup, it's a suitable bow. It's just a medium quality bow actually. However, this is enough to freeze the big creature down there.' Rhea received the white bow and examined it for a moment.
'You want to shoot an arrow and freeze the ocean with it?' Elysia looked at the ocean below, then at Rhea again.
'Yes, but not an ordinary arrow. With this, we can also give a demonstration to Yuuki on how to focus her extreme ice cold ability with the help of an intermediary. I intend to lend this bow to her. Is that all right, Master Elysia?' Rhea checked the bowstring while looking at Elysia's face.
'No problem on my side.' Elysia didn't mind in the slightest. If Rhea had decided to lend Yuuki that heaven grade magic weapon, then she and Elena had no other opinion.
After that, Rhea went to the edge of the magic carpet and aimed her bow down. "Yuuki. You are the one who is endowed with the power of extreme cold. Be careful if you cultivate your extraordinary ability because it can make your heart and mind cold as ice."
"!!!" Yuuki gasped. She put her hand on her upper chest and stared in disbelief. "My extreme ice cold ability can make my heart and mind icy cold? That's my terrible self..."
"That is your path. However, it may be far in the future. For now, you can try controlling your extreme ice cold ability using an intermediate like this bow. Watch and learn how I froze the ocean down there with this." Rhea looked at Yuuki with a gentle expression.
After that, her gaze became focused as she looked back at the ocean below. She pulled the bowstring and used her magic through that bow. A blue-white arrow emerged all of a sudden, following her movement.
"Nature changes at my will. Hear my words. Absolute cold falls into stormy seas. Freezing Rhythm." Rhea chanted and released the arrow in a graceful motion.
*Swoosh!*
The arrow with an unusually cold temperature shot toward the ocean below like a blue comet.
Cold air blew past everyone for a moment before Elysia closed their layered barrier again. It would be fatal if Rhea's arrow exploded inside.
At that moment, the arrow exploded in midair and created countless similar arrows that rained down on a vast sea area.
"Roar!" The black octopus looked up and roared in anger. It launched a high-level water elemental attack with no delay.
Unfortunately, Rhea's ice elemental divine magic was extraordinarily effective against the liquid creature.
*Crackle* *Crackle*
The black octopus didn't have a chance to fully launch its attack before the countless arrows rained down on the entire area and froze everything.
The giant waves were just frozen. The fierce storm also received the impact and slowly dissipated.
"Phew... It's not bad. Here, I'll lend you this. You can practice using this and ask anyone for guidance whenever you want." Rhea wiped her non-existent sweat and handed the bow to Yuuki.
"This, this, I, I... I am honored with the highest gratitude. Allow me to take care of this bow for you and use this bow as you suggest, O the Goddess of Nature." Yuuki knelt down and received that white bow respectfully.
"Good." Rhea nodded slightly and looked down again. Her attack just now had frozen a sea of twelve kilometers in diameter and three kilometers deep.. Another ice island was created.