"Master Jeran." Reith yelled through gritted teeth.
Despite his previous cold attitude, Jeran stayed to ensure he carried Isho out safely. There was no denying that he was truly a good man.
Reith clenched his fist and called out again, "Master Jeran!"
There was a hint of fear in his voice, Jeran wasn't moving at all.
Could it be that the man was dead?
A loud laughter resounded in the middle of the ocean.
Two teenagers floating in a life boat.
Two men standing face to face in a death match above the ocean.
The waves of the ocean crashed together and time seemed to stand still, the wind grew heavier, and the sky became darker.
A flash of lightning struck the waters, followed by a thunderous boom, and a storm arrived.
"Hahaha. Who would have thought that I, Hardy Regallo would rid the Regional Insignia's brother of an arm?"
A loud voice echoed through the ears of everyone present, filled with pride and arrogance.
The Wave Cruiser was sinking slowly into the sea, but eyes were focused on the people above it.
Hearing Hardy's words, Reith burned with anger, and his hands trembled. He wanted to punch that arrogant man deep in the face.
"At this level, there's nothing I can do." He muttered the painful truth to himself. He was still too weak, merely at the Initiate stage of the core realm. There was too much difference between him and what was going on between those two powerhouses.
Reith turned to Jeran, after hearing what Hardy said, his blood had grown cold.
"Do something Master Jeran. You can't give up here." He muttered, before turning to Isho. He was still asleep.
Reith looked up and appearing in his view was the man who stood against Jeran.
The man licked his lips, savoring the effect of the damage he had just caused.
A vein popped up on Reith's forehead. The aura around Hardy was sickening and it smelled like the graveyard.
He turned to Jeran and clenched, "Master Jeran, please don't give up." His voice was like a whisper but there was a fire in his heart.
If only he was strong enough, he could have stood by Master Jeran's side to take down that evil criminal.
The Wave Cruiser slowly sank into the ocean, and Reith pulled Isho closer to his side.
Hardy let out another laugh, pointing the thin blade of the sword of Dimitri to Jeran's face.
"Come on, royal blood. Let's see how you take me down with just one arm. Don't be angry, that arm had to go in order to rid your body of the extra useless weight." Hardy said with a small smirk.
Seeing Hardy insult Jeran riled up Reith, but he could only wait for Jeran to move, despite the man's blood dropping into the ocean.
Reith narrowed his eyes, he could slightly see something gathering around Jeran's body, even though it looked almost non-existent.
Isho stirred and his head burned. It was something about the tea Hardy had given him. His instincts had told him not to take anything from that strange man but when he got distracted, he had sipped from it.
Was that why his head felt so groggy?
Moving his hand, his fingers dipped into the water and he shot up.
"Where am I?" The words left his mouth in a harsh whisper.
Isho turned his head and his eyes widened when he saw Reith.
His best friend was here?
However, there was another feeling, a gaze that seemed to lick at his soul.
Isho raised his head, and right then, Hardy stared at him with snake-like eyes.
Hardy licked his lips. All he needed was that boy's soul and his cultivation path and then he would be able to repair the wounds brought by the corrupted cultivation and finally recreate his own path.
Noticing the hostility, Reith moved, coming between Isho and Hardy as if telling the crazed villain to go through him if he wanted to get Isho.
The waves moved wildly and Hardy smiled. He loved seeing the rigorous energy of a teenager and now that he had rendered this stupid royal useless, he could have his way.
Hardy raised his sword, "Learn to respect your elders, kid."
A smirk appeared on his face and lightning struck the sea.
Reith didn't back down, fear had crept into his heart a few moments back as he didn't want to die before finding his sister.
Ruach wasn't able to help him now due to his low rank but nevertheless, he wouldn't falter.
Hardy frowned, he hated this new kid and he would take much pleasure in ending him.
But right before he moved, something flashed past him.
It was a bright light, and it went right past him.
Hardy sharply inhaled and then he felt it.
A sharp pain in his waist.
"What…"
Before he could complete his sentence, his vision shifted, and in a quick process, he realised the sky was growing farther from him.
"My legs…"
There was confusion in Hardy's eyes as he stared at the remaining half of himself, falling beside him.
Behind that part of his body, a one-armed man stood, his eyes shone with a golden gleam.
The spear he was previously holding had turned into a long sword.
Disbelief filled Hardy's eyes and slowly a smile appeared on his lips.
He should have known, the royals were not to be played with.
Now he could finally rest.
"Forgive me, Liana. I couldn't avenge you."
The blurry image of a lady appeared in his head and although the rest of her features were blurry, he could see the smile on her face.
He was finally going to meet her.
His focus returned back to Jeran, and his mouth seemed to move. 'Thank you.'
With a loud plop, the two separate parts of Hardy's body dropped into the depths of the ocean.
Reith couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't even know what had happened.
The next thing he saw was a one-armed Jeran diving straight into the body of the ocean and before he could blink, the man shot up, holding the upper part of Hardy's body.
There was no time to think about what just happened, as an uncommon sense of joy filled the depth of his heart.
"Yes!" He fist pumped into the sky.
The turn up of events was too sudden but it ended well, and Reith was quite grateful.
Even Isho looked a bit dazed, but when he saw the happy look on Reith's face, he was more relaxed.
It was obvious his friend had a good history with the man in front of them.
"Let's go." Jeran muttered, entering into the lifeboat. He held the upper half of Hardy's body and placed it on top of his finger.
A flash of light covered the body, sucking it into one of Jeran's rings.
Isho drew closer to Reith with a smile.
"That's a spatial ring and it's used for keeping several items. Thank you for coming after me, Reith. Once again, I am indebted to you." Isho said, pulling Reith into a firm hug.
Reith snapped out of his daze, and hugged his friend back. Isho was finally safe, and it was what he was after.
"I'm glad you are okay, Isho."