The Demon Lord And His Hero

The mer king squared his shoulders. His thick muscles rippled with strength. Easily dwarfing the mage, the mer was thrice the size of Syryn. The muscles in his arms flexed when he lifted his trident and stabbed it hard into the sand.

The noises decreased when the king threw away his weapon. It was an insult and a challenge. He was showing them that he didn't need a weapon to beat Syryn.

"I'm not doing this," Syryn told the mers. "It takes brains and good subordinates to rule a kingdom. You had a brawny king for all this time so it's no wonder that Silisia has stagnated in so many ways. You're not even allowed to visit the surface because this brute of a king refuses to look past the actions of a few humans, so much so that he won't even make an attempt to secure diplomatic relations with the surface kingdoms."

Rowan applauded Syryn's strategy. Going up against the powerful mer king was suicidal while the mage remained ignorant of his abilities.

"For someone who speaks like he thinks he's smarter than everyone else, you glaze past the idea that physical strength and intelligence aren't mutually exclusive. As for Silisia and its people, my decisions have protected the people from the treachery and pollution of humanity. What does a human know about the affairs of a mer kingdom? Nothing."

The highly anticipated fight to death had turned into a debate because Syryn had insulted the King's abilities to rule. He had pointed out some important matters that the mers were already secretly resentful about. If he didn't clear the matter immediately, it had the potential to cause problems in the future.

"I've lived here long enough to know that if the humans decide to invade, you're all doomed. Ah, wait," Syryn made a face like he had realised something. "We've already invaded Silisia. Just Rowan and I, and we already have you at a disadvantage. If my friend here decides that you're annoying, you do realise he can kill you with a snap of his fingers, don't you?"

The mer king wanted to strangle the human whose every spoken word managed to infuriate him. Propping Rowan up against him, the mer king appeared weak even.

"A king fights his own battles. That is the warrior's way. What will you do when war comes knocking on your door? Will you hide behind your soldiers and let them die? Or will you lead the war and inspire them to greater battle fervour?!"

The mer king's voice rose and he looked around, rousing the spirits of the soldiers.

"Silisia doesn't want a cowardly ruler!" The armoured guard in charge of training shouted in support of the king.

"Silisia cannot be ruled by a human!" Another shouted. "Die! Human!"

The others joined in unison to create an uproar that annoyed Rowan.

"Why are you wasting time here?" He asked Syryn, barely being heard above the din that surrounded them.

"Revenge and fun. What better way to waste my time?" Syryn replied.

"You can have both without wasting time arguing with the fish. Kill him or let me do it." It seemed that Rowan was getting impatient.

"Is someone waiting for you up there?" Syryn asked the blond.

Rowan was worried about Artemus who was on Coop island. Any extra second spent on that godforsaken place was another second spent risking his life. The anti mage was in a hurry to send a message to Artemus so that the dark-haired man could leave the island.

"There's someone who cares about you very much, whose life may in danger at the moment. We have to send him a message. He's searching for you on an island that has a reputation for even killing the toughest of people. We must hurry, Syryn."

"I see," the mage replied. He was surprised but happy to know that there were more people who cared about him. Whoever this person was, he was risking his life for Syryn so the mage was now obligated to wrap things up quickly. However, the mers were still screaming bloody murder.

Command the waters to obey you

The sage told Syryn.

[How?]

I will take over your body. Pay attention to the flow of mana when I draw magic.

Syryn relinquished his body to the sage. He was more than eager to learn water magic.

Rowan felt a shift in the passive waves of magic that flowed around them. His head snapped towards Syryn who had a strange look in his eyes. The mage was staring at his palm above which the water seemed to move.

A thin independent stream of water began to circle Syryn's hand lazily.

The anti mage was taken aback because Syryn had never been known to possess water magic. At this point, the mer king had also noticed what Syryn was doing.

"How pathetic," he said to himself. Such a tiny stream of water was nothing. Even the baby mers with an affinity for water could do the same. He wanted to rush at Syryn but was held back by his fear of Rowan's power. He had to pull the mage into a willing fight as it was the only way to keep the blond guard at bay.

You have a strong mana pool. Good. The spell I am about to pull off will drain most of it though so be prepared to face a backlash.

[What sort of a backlash?]

Extreme fatigue. It may not necessarily happen though.

"Syryn, if you do not accept my challenge then my army will proceed to kill off the both of you. As powerful as your friend may be, there is nothing he can do against an entire army of mers. Either surrender or face me like a warrior!"

He was ignored by Syryn who continued to stare at his hand like he was in a trance. Rowan was slightly worried by the aura that Syryn was giving off. It wasn't like the mage at all.. Even without his memories, Syryn had still felt like Syryn but right now, there was something suspiciously un-Syryn like about him.