Already within the illusory ocean, Miss Viri showed no panic as she watched the tentacles struggle through the tide toward her. She held the white conch and blew a long, sustained note.
A lilting, dolphin-like sound rang through the illusory sea. Then the fish appeared.
One after another, fish emitting a soft white glow emerged. Only their outlines were visible; their details were impossible to make out. They swam merrily in schools, riding the currents swiftly toward the tentacles tipped with dead fish eyes.
Tens of thousands of Light Fish swept past Viril like a host of sea sprites, creating a dreamlike scene straight out of a fairy tale. They collided with the tentacles, and wherever they touched, that part of the tentacle abruptly vanished, canceling out the glowing fish along with it.
There were so many of these glowing fish that they surged forward wave after wave, "meticulously sculpting" the tentacles. Before long, the ugly, black, segmented appendages were riddled with holes, their forms obliterated.
The tide carried the schools of fish past the tentacles and crashed into the illusory gate, making its light flicker and the many magical markings and mystical symbols upon it flare and dim.
While Miss Viri dealt with Astuka, Sifa did not remain idle. He used a third Holy Light, bringing down an immense, blazing golden pillar that completely shattered the Bronze Gate Liana had summoned.
He looked at Liana. The chief priestess seemed to have fallen into a sluggish state. Sifa knew this condition well: she was under the control of the String-Pulling Marionette. It seemed Caven, hidden in the shadows, was preparing to turn Liana into a marionette.
However, as a Sequence 5 Gatekeeper, Liana was not necessarily helpless, even if her distraction had allowed Caven to gain temporary control of her