Warlock of Oceans: My Poseidon System

Jesua remained unnervingly calm, tilting her head slightly, her sharp gaze locked onto the leader. "Well, aren't you all just a charming welcoming committee," she remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Sylus, his sword still drawn, tightened his grip, his body tensed to move at a moment's notice. He muttered under his breath, "I think charming isn't quite the word I'd use." Cyrus, meanwhile, was frozen, his eyes darting between the sharp talons and molten weapons, his instincts screaming at him to be ready. "Uh… do we say something, or do they go first?" The leader's molten eyes bore into Jesua, the corners of his mouth curling into a menacing snarl. He took another step closer, his claws tapping against the stone ground. The heat around them surged, and the trio could feel the air grow heavier, almost suffocating. Jesua smirked. "Looks like we're the ones under inspection. Try not to look too nervous, boys," she said casually, though the molten gaze of the lizardman never wavered. The tension shattered like glass as the lead lava lizardman let out a deafening roar. In an instant, the ground beneath the trio cracked and glowed from the heat of their attackers' sudden movements. The lizardmen moved with terrifying speed, their molten weapons and claws slicing through the superheated air. Sylus was the first to react. His blade, now shimmering with a faint blue light to counter the oppressive heat, intercepted the first swipe of a jagged obsidian sword aimed at his neck. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed. He ducked under a follow-up swipe, spinning on his heel to drive his sword into the lizardman's exposed flank. The creature's hardened scales absorbed much of the blow, but Sylus's frost-infused strike left a web of ice crawling up its side, slowing its movements. To his left, Cyrus narrowly dodged a fiery claw aimed at his chest, the heat from the swing scorching the air around him. He conjured a translucent aetheric shield just in time to block a downward slash from another lizardman. The force of the blow sent him skidding backward, his boots leaving grooves in the ashen ground. Gritting his teeth, Cyrus retaliated by channeling aether into his sword, releasing a sweeping crescent of energy that smashed into two approaching lizardmen, sending them sprawling but not out of the fight. Jesua, standing between them, grinned as a lizardman lunged at her. Without even moving her hands, black tendrils of energy erupted from the ground, slamming into the creature mid-air and pinning it to a nearby wall. "Not so fast," she teased, sidestepping another attacker. Her form blurred briefly, and she reappeared behind the creature, her palm resting on its back. A surge of energy rippled through her hand, sending the lizardman crashing to the ground with a pained screech. Sylus shouted, "Stay close! Don't let them split us up!" He backflipped away from a swipe of a molten spear, the ground where he had been standing melting under the weapon's heat. As he landed, he thrust his sword into the ground, creating a temporary frost barrier that slowed the advancing lizardmen. "Use their speed against them!" Cyrus nodded, leaping onto a jagged outcrop for a better vantage point. As a lizardman scaled the rock with terrifying agility, Cyrus thrust his aetheric blade downward. The blade didn't just pierce; it erupted with energy, blasting the creature off the ledge and into another group of its allies. He used the brief reprieve to channel more aether into his sword, reinforcing its structure. Jesua, still playing more defensively, used her eerie precision to redirect attacks. She deflected a clawed strike by sidestepping and using her black energy to pull another lizardman into the path of the attack. "Your teamwork could use some work," she quipped, her voice dripping with mockery. The lizardmen were relentless. One flanked Sylus, its claws grazing his arm and tearing into his sleeve. He hissed in pain but used the momentum of its strike to spin and land a clean slash across its chest. He followed up with a calculated kick to its knee, forcing the creature to stagger as he drove his blade into its shoulder, pinning it to the ground. Cyrus, now surrounded on his ledge, activated a pulse of aether, knocking his attackers back temporarily. He somersaulted off the rock, landing beside Sylus. "These guys don't know when to quit," he muttered, his blade spinning in a defensive arc as another wave approached. "They're testing us," Jesua said, her tone unusually serious. "Let's see if they can handle the real show." With a flick of her wrist, tendrils of black energy shot forward, coiling around a lizardman's neck and dragging it into the path of its ally's weapon. The two collided in a burst of sparks, buying the group a moment's reprieve. The trio adjusted their strategy, using a mix of precision strikes, coordinated positioning, and quick counters to keep the tide of lizardmen at bay. Sylus's frost-infused blade became a critical tool, creating temporary barriers and slowing their molten foes. Cyrus, wielding his aetheric energy, provided bursts of crowd control, while Jesua's dark magic turned the lizardmen's aggression against them, manipulating their attacks to cause chaos within their ranks. Despite their efforts, the heat and relentless assaults pushed them to their limits. Every dodge, parry, and strike required razor-sharp focus. Beads of sweat mixed with ash streaked down their faces, and the room's molten glow seemed to pulsate with the rhythm of the battle. Even as exhaustion loomed, they fought with grim determination, each move a testament to their will to survive. The fight surged on, an unending tide of molten fury versus the trio's desperate precision. A lizardman lunged at Sylus, its molten claws glinting like sharpened daggers. Sylus sidestepped with the grace of a seasoned swordsman, the claws raking through empty air. Twisting his torso mid-dodge, he delivered a tight slash across its torso. Ice bloomed along the wound, causing the creature to roar and stagger back. Sylus pressed the advantage, pivoting on his left foot to deliver a spinning kick to its knee, forcing the lizardman to collapse with a hiss. Without missing a beat, Sylus brought his sword down in a precise overhead strike, driving the creature into the molten ground, its body frozen solid in the heat. Nearby, Cyrus was locked in a duel with two lizardmen. One struck high with a serrated obsidian blade while the other swept low with its flaming tail. Cyrus leapt into the air, his movements controlled and deliberate. His aetheric blade slashed down mid-jump, catching the high attacker across the face, forcing it to reel back. The other lizardman's tail missed its mark, and Cyrus landed, crouching low to avoid a follow-up strike. With a burst of aetheric energy, he propelled himself forward like a lightning bolt, ramming his shoulder into the second lizardman and sending it flying into a pool of lava. "Stay focused!" Sylus barked, his voice steady despite the chaos. He was already engaged with another foe, parrying a rapid series of claw strikes. Each attack was met with a calculated deflection, his blade turning the claws aside with precision. When the lizardman overextended, Sylus shifted his grip and delivered an upward slash, slicing clean through its arm. Cyrus grinned, now surrounded by three lizardmen. "No problem!" he called back, summoning a glowing shield of aether in his left hand. He blocked a simultaneous swipe from two lizardmen, their claws sparking against his shield. Using the force of their strikes, he twisted his body, the shield acting as a pivot point, and swept his blade in a wide arc, catching one lizardman across the chest and forcing the other to retreat. Jesua was toying with her opponents, her dark energy swirling around her like living shadows. When one lizardman charged her, she simply smiled and stepped aside, her form dissolving briefly into black mist. The creature stumbled forward, confused, only to find her re-materialized behind it. Jesua tapped its shoulder lightly. Black tendrils shot out from her hand, wrapping around the lizardman and squeezing until it collapsed, convulsing. She turned her attention to another foe. It raised a fiery spear, thrusting it toward her chest, but Jesua caught it mid-strike with one hand. Her fingers dug into the molten surface, her dark energy extinguishing the flames as she yanked it free and spun it in her grasp. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the weapon like a javelin, pinning the lizardman to a wall. "Aren't you two done yet?" Jesua taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. Sylus and Cyrus didn't respond—they were too busy surviving. A particularly large lizardman, its body glowing brighter than the rest, barreled toward Sylus. It swung a massive molten axe in a devastating horizontal arc. Sylus dropped into a roll, the axe passing inches above his head and sending molten debris flying. Coming out of the roll, he drove his blade into the creature's exposed side, ice crackling along its ribcage. The beast roared, swiping at him with its free hand. Sylus barely managed to duck, the claws grazing his hair as he pivoted and delivered another precise strike to its thigh, forcing it to one knee.