A meteor trailing a long tail of fire crashed down with a thunderous boom, gouging a crater in the sea. The heat instantly vaporized vast amounts of seawater, and white steam rose to blanket everything for miles.
At almost the same instant, a shrill scream rang out. Anyone who could see through the steam would have witnessed an astonishing sight: the Flame Angel struck the sea but did not plunge into it. With a light beat of her wings, she changed direction in midair, abandoned her attack on Redscale, and flew straight at Little Black.
A heartbeat later, the Flame Greatsword flashed past, severing the tentacle that connected the girl to the top of the huge black fish's head.
The huge black fish let out a shriek of agony. The girl, her connection severed, looked equally pained, but she immediately clung to the fish's head and cried, "Redscale! Save me!"
But the fish-headed monster named Redscale did not move. He watched the Flame Angel grimly. Though they were both High-Level Legendary, he could sense that his enemy was stronger. Or rather, he had grown weaker and weaker over the years without the Sea God's blessing. Before the Sea God fell, Redscale had been a formidable Sea God Guard, even reaching High Calamity Rank. Countless years of decline had since left him with less than a tenth of his former strength.
Redscale kept his wary gaze fixed on a point in the mist. He stood on the sea as though it were solid ground, knees bent and hand hovering over his sword hilt, ready to strike the moment the Flame Angel charged.
Then a sense of danger gripped him. Redscale whipped his head around. Dozens of yards away, a powerful surge of Psychic Energy erupted from the mist, followed by a