The pressure changed the instant the general took that single step backward. It was no longer just brute force imposing itself on the battlefield. Now there was something different, a clear intention, as if he had decided to take the fight seriously for the first time. The ocean around him ceased to be merely an environment and began behaving like an extension of his own body.
I felt it immediately. The way the water moved had changed, becoming heavier, denser, as if every movement required twice the effort. Scarlet was still recovering from the previous impact, but she was already getting back on her feet, her eyes fixed on the general. Rai'kanna maintained a strategic distance, assessing the new flow pattern. Lyannis was breathing with difficulty, trying to keep up with the constant changes in pressure. Liriel reinforced the barrier, but now with more caution than before.
The princess stood beside us, her expression tense.
"He's not testing us anymore… he's starting to fight for real."
The general slowly raised his hand.
And the ocean responded as if obeying an absolute command.
Massive currents began forming around him, rotating in multiple layers, like living gears made of compressed water. Each layer seemed to operate at a different speed, creating a distortion effect that confused the perception of depth. The ocean floor around us began reorganizing itself again, but now in a more aggressive manner.
Lyannis widened her eyes.
"This isn't just area control… he's reshaping the entire battlefield."
Scarlet tightened her grip on her weapon.
"Then we destroy it before he finishes."
She advanced again, but this time her movement was intercepted before she could even get close. One of the rotating currents moved with absurd precision, blocking the attack and throwing Scarlet aside with enough force to make her spin in the flow of the water.
Rai'kanna immediately tried to react, firing multiple consecutive attacks, but each one was deflected by the layers of currents as if they had been anticipated. The feeling was that the general was not merely reacting. He was calculating everything in advance.
"This is wrong," she murmured.
"He isn't looking… he already knows where we're going to be."
Liriel intensified the barrier at the same moment another wave of pressure came toward us. The impact was so powerful that the space around us trembled. Even with the protection, we felt the shock traveling through our bodies like an internal vibration.
I advanced.
Unlike the other times, I did not try to attack directly. Instead, I began observing the pattern of the currents around him. There was repetition, but it was not simple. It was as if the ocean were being divided into layers of intent, each one responding to a different part of the movement.
"He doesn't control everything at once," I thought.
"He divides the field into systems."
"And each system reacts independently."
Scarlet returned to the battle, now more cautious.
"Then he isn't invincible."
Rai'kanna immediately followed the reasoning.
"If we break one system, the others might lose stability."
Lyannis confirmed with a quick nod.
"There's a sequence. If we attack out of order, he corrects it. But if we hit the right point…"
Liriel completed the sentence.
"We can create a chain collapse."
The general seemed to hear everything. His presence did not react with haste, but there was a slight change in the flow of the currents. As if he had understood our strategy.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Interesting."
And then he attacked.
The currents moved in synchronization, but this time they were not merely blocks. They were direct attacks. The entire ocean seemed to transform into compressed blades of water, cutting through space in multiple directions at the same time.
Scarlet narrowly dodged one, but one of the pressure waves struck her side, throwing her against the ocean floor again. Rai'kanna tried to cover the opening, but was forced to retreat. Lyannis managed to divert part of the flow, but not all of it.
Liriel kept the barrier active, but now it was constantly trembling.
"He's accelerating…" she said with effort.
"We won't be able to hold for much longer."
I advanced again, now directly toward the center of the currents.
The general responded immediately.
Two layers closed at the same time.
But this time, I did not retreat.
The sword cut through the first layer with precision.
The second came immediately afterward.
And I diverted the flow with a minimal sideways movement, using the pressure itself against it.
Scarlet noticed.
"Now!"
Rai'kanna launched a synchronized attack at the same instant.
Lyannis adjusted the opening.
Liriel stabilized the pressure for a single second.
And we managed to strike a critical point in the structure of the currents.
The ocean reacted violently.
For an instant, the entire field lost stability.
The general took another step backward.
This time, more noticeably.
But his expression remained calm.
Then he raised his hand.
And everything changed.
The currents did not expand this time. They collapsed inward.
The space around him began compressing into a single point, as if the ocean were being folded over itself. The pressure reached a level we had never felt before.
Liriel shouted.
"I can't maintain the barrier!"
The impact came immediately afterward.
Everything was thrown away at the same time.
I lost my sense of direction for a moment, feeling my body being pressed from multiple directions. Scarlet was thrown away again, Rai'kanna lost control of the flow, and Lyannis struggled even to remain conscious.
But then something changed.
I stabilized my breathing.
And focused only on the central point.
The sword responded.
Not with light.
But with resonance.
I advanced once more.
Straight against the core of the compression.
The general did not move.
And when the attacks collided, the entire ocean seemed to stop.
For one absolute moment, everything fell silent.
Then the pressure exploded outward.
But this time, not only from him.
From us as well.
The impact created a massive wave that swept across the entire battlefield, breaking through part of the currents and disrupting his formation for a few seconds.
When everything stabilized again, we were all separated.
The general was still standing.
But now there were slight cracks in the structure surrounding him.
He looked directly at me.
And for the first time, the ocean seemed colder.
"You… are not ordinary."
The pressure slowly began to rise again.
But now the battle had changed.
It was no longer about survival.
It was about surpassing our limits.