"But that should do," Lucas said, his brows furrowing.
Lucas looked up at the King of Aquaria as he stood up from his throne.
"Bring me shark tails," the king ordered. The guards closest to the king came running. One of them bowed down and presented a sword, its steel crafted in a zigzag shape.
The king took the sword from the guard and immediately made a swipe that sent shockwaves through the waters. The waves hit Lucas and sent him skidding across the ocean floor.
When Lucas raised his head, he found himself surrounded by guards with their weapons pointed at him.
"My name is Lucas from Kron, and I mean no harm," Lucas said, with the guards' weapons still pointed at him.
"Says the one who just tried to attack me. I am Marl, King of Aquaria, ruler of the oceans!" the king said. "What is your business here?" Marl asked.
"I'm just here for alpha energy. I promise I'll take only a little, and I mean no harm," Lucas said as he stood on his feet.
"What is this alpha energy you speak of?" Marl asked.
"It is life!" the seer interrupted.
"What! You want to take life away from us?" King Marl asked.
"No, just a little alpha energy," Lucas replied.
"Do not belittle 'life' by calling it an energy! How do you think we survive this deep in the ocean, where we can't extract oxygen due to the depth? There are no water plants, and how do you think we have light when the sun can't shine this deep into the ocean? How do you think we survive without the surface dwellers knowing of our existence?" Marl asked. "It is all because of this gift Mother Nature has blessed us with, and it is not to be shared with others!"
"Then I challenge you to a duel, a battle between me and you. Whoever wins will have his way with the alpha energy!" Lucas challenged.
"What's the need for me to fight for what I already possess? There's no point," Marl replied.
"I can see you're afraid I'll take the alpha energy away from you," Lucas said.
"Ahh, Kronians and duels. I'm not scared, so I accept your challenge," Marl replied. "I hope he's not thinking he can win this. A fight between me and a surface dweller in the ocean? How foolish of him to set a duel in this state when he knows I have the upper hand. This should be a walk in the park, but I can see he's determined and not ready to back down," Marl thought.
"To the Circle of Doom!" Marl ordered. The guards all bowed their heads and lowered their weapons.
They led Lucas through a giant door and eventually arrived at a large opening and a big circle, its lines filled with boiling magma. The guards pushed Lucas into the circle.
Another door opened as Marl walked out, wearing armor made of glittering steel. "Today, you will witness the power of the King of the Ocean. This surface dweller challenged me to a duel, and I will show him he made a wrong choice," Marl announced.
The creatures that were gathered around cheered for their king.
Marl walked into the circle with his sword drawn. "Are you ready, Kronian?" Marl asked.
"I'll need a weapon," Lucas said.
"Well, we do not have any spare swords, so I am sorry you'll have to fight with your fists," Marl said with a smirk.
"That should be okay. I know I have a chance of winning this. Now that I am so close to the alpha energy, I can feel my strength rising. This shouldn't be that tough," Lucas thought as he maintained a fighting stance.
"Come at me with everything you've got," Lucas said with a determined look and a smile on his face.
"You asked for it," Marl replied, charging in with full force that sent shockwaves across the ocean water. In an instant, he was by Lucas's side and then behind him. "You can never match my power here in the ocean!" Marl said as he swung his sword across Lucas's back, leaving a wide cut that gushed blood.
Lucas now realized he was no match for Marl in the ocean. Perhaps he could find a way to get him out of the water, but that seemed impossible. He didn't even know where he was or how to get out. Besides, he couldn't escape from a whole underwater civilization carrying their king, especially when it seemed impossible to defeat him.
Lucas was still in thought when he felt a sharp pain in his back again and realized he was still in battle with Marl. He immediately turned around and leaped from the ocean floor, ready to deliver a deadly punch to Marl, but Marl was not there. Lucas ended up delivering the punch to the sea floor, creating a crater beneath him.
Lucas felt another cut to his arm as Marl moved from one position to another within the circle with unimaginable speed that Lucas could barely keep up with. Cut after cut was made on Lucas's body as he struggled to match Marl's speed. He could only see him out of the corner of his eye, but before he could turn his body, Marl was gone.
Marl, on the other hand, noticed Lucas was putting up a good fight and was not as hurt as he had imagined. It was rare to find someone able to take cuts from his sword and still stand. "I thought he was weak and that I could finish him in one blow, but I guess I was wrong," Marl thought.
Lucas's body was pulsating with energy, and the tension of the water was barely slowing him down. He slowly matched Marl's speed as he threw punch after punch that Marl barely dodged.
"He's getting faster," Marl thought as he felt a strong punch to his face that sent him crashing into the ocean floor.
Marl knew this was getting out of hand as he swung his sword several times, sending sharp shockwaves through the waters. The shockwaves hit Lucas one after the other.
Marl immediately dashed forward, taking his chance as he followed behind the shockwaves and drove his sword through Lucas's chest.
Lucas felt the sharp pain as the sword cut through his body. He raised his head as blood gushed out of his mouth.
"I told you it would end this way," Marl said as he pulled back his sword from Lucas. Lucas's body fell to the sea floor.
Lucas could see himself in a vast place of white light as he heard the footsteps of someone. He immediately turned and saw a man approaching. He immediately recognized the man as his father, Elvis, who had appeared to him again.
"My son, you've come so far, and I believe in you," Elvis said as he placed his hands on Lucas's shoulder.
"I've failed you. I'm sorry," Lucas said as he bowed his head in tears. "You haven't failed me. Now go back there and show them what a royal Kronian is capable of."
Lucas opened his eyes and stood to his feet, ready to take what he had come for.