Miss Danist's lips twitched:
"This is one of the rare times I've taken you along on an operation. Come with me. This projected body of mine doesn't contain much power, but it should be able to help you."
Her eyes glowed faintly in the night. After placing a hand on Shade's shoulder, the two of them lifted off from the red beach and flew toward the lake.
Suddenly, a massive black tentacle shot over from the distance across the water like a cannonball. Before Shade could act, the faintly visible Red Moon in the sky cast down a clear beam of red light, causing the tentacle, which Shade had not even seen clearly, to rapidly rot and decay.
"Remember, the Red Moon represents flesh and reproduction. Though it shares most of the Moon's attributes, its truly unique power is the ability to affect flesh."
Flying over the waves and reefs, she whispered into Shade's ear, then smiled again:
"All this time, that seemed to be the first real piece of Red Moon knowledge I have taught you. No wonder you never wanted to call me Teacher."
Shade had no answer to that. They gradually moved away from the dock. Beneath the churning green lake surface, countless tentacles, corpses, and even stranger aquatic Chimera monsters tried to attack them. But Miss Danist's ability to manipulate flesh into exploding meant that Shade did not need to act at all:
"I've also always been busy with my own affairs. Once the Green Lake matter is over, I'll go to the Academy every day and focus on attending your lectures."
That was all he could say. Miss Danist smiled. Though this was a projected body, due to the nature of the Red Moon and her own spellcasting characteristics, it was remarkably real. Shade could