TBATE| The Walking Catastrophe

Chapter 10 - In his element

Cordelia Aurelius Pov

It all happened so fast that I couldn't even see how the beast to my right died.

I grabbed hold of Callisto and backed away from my brother who was holding our father's trident. He took a small step forward and put himself between me and the horned beasts that were growling at us ferociously.

'When did my brother become so cool?

As far as I could remember, Aqua had always been a source of pride for me. I couldn't help but brag to everyone that I came across about my brother who awakened with a crest. But I always knew there was something different than that. He was able to do something that I couldn't figure out...something my father wasn't able to do. It was like he was a caster, striker, and shield all in one. He was so cool!

I'd always been impressed by the strength he wielded, and it almost felt like he was some untouchable mage...at least when compared to those his age. But now...that pressure that was leaking out of him, and the way he confidently placed himself between me and the beasts; beasts that I wouldn't have thought him capable of defeating before. I couldn't help but realize that something about him had changed.

Then, he stuck his trident in the air, and I felt an enormous change in the very atmosphere around us. Even the snarling mana-beasts in front of us could feel it as they backed away warily.

Suddenly, a bright yellow lightning bolt struck down from the heavens, followed by a thunderous boom that knocked me down to the ground.

Getting back up to my feet, I realized that I hadn't even hit the ground at all. Some sort of cushion made of water caught me and slowed my fall to the point where it felt as if I'd just jumped on my bed.

'Did Aqua do that?'

Rubbing the dust out of my eyes, I held my hand above my brows as I watched my brother emit an oppressive energy that even I, despite not being adorned yet, could feel.

'This must be mana.'

Looking past Aqua's form, quivering with power, I stared at the amazing weapon he held in his hand.

The trident crackled in a brilliant display of electrically charged energy as the lightning that had just struck it danced up and down its metal shaft, extending to each of its 3 prongs, threatening to escape...to wreak havoc.

I remembered myself wondering what the trident my father always kept locked away was for, but I never did give it too much thought. After all, I felt nothing towards it but mild curiosity.

With one powerful step, my brother thrust his weapon forwards, aiming at the middle of the line of beasts. A sonic boom even more powerful than the one from before slammed into me, but a wall of water rose up to protect me, mitigating the force of the impact, but the noise was still deafening.

A small crater had formed where the bolt struck and the grass around it had been lit ablaze. Over half of the beasts had been killed instantly, and to the best of my ability, I could tell that another had died from different circumstances.

The water that had formed in front of me began to quickly lose its shape as it gravitated toward Aqua, who was now 10 feet in the air, with his trident raised. He crashed into the dirt, landing with an impact that shook the ground, causing me to cover up my eyes.

When I finally unshielded them, I saw that 2 more beasts had fallen. The two remaining bear/cat monstrosities leaped toward Aqua, who had just pulled his weapon out of the ground. However, before they were even within arms reach of him, the water that had previously protected me split in two, forming two spears each taller than Aqua himself.