Chapter 180: Chapter 180- Stage
Fey pushed herself back onto her feet, brushing off the dirt as if she hadn’t just taken a direct hit. Her voice was calm, almost annoyingly so. "All right. Time to strike back."
Lea gave an exaggerated sigh as she dusted her skirt, glaring at the massive turtle lumbering ahead. "Ugh, I hate that turtle. It’s slow, ugly, and it just ruined my outfit."
Emma tilted her head, a deadpan look on her face. "Fine, fashion victim. But do we actually have a plan? Or are we just throwing ourselves at the shell again?"
Fey crossed her arms, thinking for a beat. "...Lea. Can you push your skill to Stage Five?"
Lea froze, eyes widening. "Absolutely not."
Emma blinked. "Wait, what? Why not?"
Lea frowned, puffing her cheeks. "Because Stage Five makes me... brutal and unfeminine." She jabbed a finger at herself dramatically. "Do you really want this to turn into some kind of raging muscle beast?"
Emma nearly tripped over her own feet. "That’s the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard! We’re about to be flattened by a turtle the size of a house, and you’re worried about being less ladylike?"
Lea shrugged with a smug grin. "A girl has to have standards."
Emma groaned, throwing her arms in the air. "Unbelievable..."
Fey exhaled slowly, a trace of annoyance in her tone. "Fine... if you’re refusing to use Stage Five, then we’ll have to come up with another strategy."
Emma’s eyes flicked toward her. "What about your liquid control, Fey? Could you trap my fire inside and... turn it into, I don’t know, some kind of bomb?"
Fey paused, considering it carefully. "In theory, yes. If I create a dense containment layer around the flames, it will compress the energy until it destabilizes. Think of it like increasing internal pressure in a sealed chamber. Once the threshold is reached—"
Lea raised both hands, cutting her off with a baffled expression. "Nope. Lost me completely. Zero clue what you just said."
Fey pinched the bridge of her nose. "In short, I can turn its fire into a bomb. And more importantly, one I can control."
Emma’s face lit up with excitement. "Perfect! That’s exactly what we need. Let’s set it up!"
Lea tilted her head, suddenly suspicious. "Wait a second. Who’s going to distract that oversized turtle while you two prepare your little science project?"
Emma pointed without hesitation. "Obviously you, Lea. Who else? Time to make yourself useful."
Lea’s jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Useful?!"
Emma smirked. "Hey, you’re the one who didn’t want to go Stage Five. Consider this the consolation prize."
Lea muttered under her breath, stomping forward. "Unbelievable... this is discrimination against beautiful women."
Fey just sighed, already forming shimmering droplets of liquid around her hands.
Lea cracked her knuckles, forcing herself into Stage Three. Her aura flared, raw strength coursing through her limbs. With a grin that was half-annoyed, half-excited, she lunged at the massive turtle and drove her fist square into its shell.
Boom! The impact sent ripples across the beast’s body.
The turtle retaliated with a wide swing of its massive claw, but Lea twisted aside, darting under its arm. She slammed another punch into its flank, the echo resounding through the battlefield.
The turtle growled, water swirling around its body. In an instant, it released a powerful surge, a wave that burst outward like a cannon blast.
"Tch, seriously?!" Lea cursed, springing high into the air. She twisted mid-jump and brought her fist crashing down toward its head.
But before she could land a clean hit, a shimmering water shield expanded upward, blocking her strike with a thunderous splash.
"Of course! A shield. Because why wouldn’t you have one?!" she muttered, shaking her wet knuckles.
Undeterred, Lea dashed back a few paces, then charged in again, her fists glowing with surging power.
The turtle’s jaws opened wide, energy crackling. A focused beam of condensed water shot out like a laser, ripping through the air.
"Whoa, nope!" Lea yelped, twisting her body just in time to avoid being vaporized. She skidded across the ground, boots cutting lines in the soaked earth, then launched herself forward.
Her fist connected with the turtle’s side once more, this time leaving a crack in its watery armor. But before she could celebrate, the beast’s tail whipped around, catching her off guard and slamming into her ribs.
Lea gritted her teeth, coughing from the impact. "Ugh, damn it! That hurt!"
Still, even as she staggered back, she clenched her fists tighter.
While Lea was busy cursing and throwing punches at the towering turtle, Fey and Emma crouched a short distance away, working in a frenzy.
Fey’s hands moved quickly, conjuring streams of liquid that twisted and coiled like serpents in the air. She carefully funneled them into a transparent sphere that shimmered faintly with volatile energy. Beads of sweat ran down his temple as he stabilized its form.
"Alright... if I alter the molecular structure here and trap a layer of oxygen inside, it should create a pressure build-up. Combine that with a high-temperature ignition and..." She muttered to himself like a scientist in the middle of an exam.
Emma blinked, clearly lost. "Uh-huh. You’re saying words again, Fey. Just tell me, do I set it on fire or not?"
Fey sighed sharply through her nose. "Yes. You provide the ignition source. Your flames are hot enough to spike the pressure and, boom, it detonates under my control."
Emma’s eyes lit up, quite literally, small tongues of flame sparking around her fingertips. "Finally! Something fun. Just say when."
Fey gave her a tight nod, the liquid sphere now pulsing like a living heart. "Almost there... just a bit more stabilization..."
At that exact moment, Lea went flying overhead, crashing into the dirt right behind them with a heavy thud. She groaned, coughing out dust.
Emma glanced at her and smirked. "Still alive. Good. We need you."
Lea rolled over, wheezing. "What the hell are you two doing, building science projects while I’m getting murdered?!"
"Buying us time," Fey said flatly, still focusing on the orb.
Emma’s flames grew hotter as she leaned in, ready to light it. "Lea, just hold that ugly turtle off a little longer. Once this is ready, we’ll turn it into turtle soup."
Lea dragged herself up, muttering, "I swear, if I die before your little chemistry experiment works..." Then she cracked her knuckles again, forcing herself back toward the turtle with a scowl. "Fine!"