"Oh, you have to be kidding," Cinister said as he watched the slick transformation.
["One of the Three Great Whales" - "Zephyriel"]
"This isn't even a boss?" Cinister asked as he swam toward Alya.
"I'm guessing it's something like the lizard evolution," Alya said.
"Look, can you make me a straight path, okay?" Cinister asked.
Alya formed a path with her [SwiftGale], and Cinister prepared a [FireGun], charging it for ten seconds before firing. The shot struck the Whale, erupting into a massive explosion.
BAAM!
The Whale came crashing down, but standing on top of it were Vitale and the red-haired, hooded silhouette. An Arena of [SwiftGale] formed around them.
"What are you doing with her!" Cinister shouted at Vitale.
"Oh, nothing. She wanted me to come here, that's all," Vitale replied.
"Bullsh*t!" Cinister yelled.
"Duh. Obviously I won't tell you the reason," Vitale shouted back.
Driven by rage, Cinister dashed forward to attack the hooded girl, but Vitale struck first with a Tobi-mawashi-geri, a jumping roundhouse kick straight to Cinister's liver.
Cinister slammed into the wall and coughed up blood.
"Why are you protecting her!" Cinister demanded.
"I don't have to tell you," Vitale said as he launched into a Triple Strike Combo.
Alya used [Sneak] and tried to stab Vitale, but he disarmed her instantly and threw her into the wall.
"Tell me, Cinister. Who do you think wins in this world? The strong or the weak?" Vitale asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Cinister said as he struggled to stand.
"It's the weak. Want to know why? Because nowadays the higher-ups are scared of the strong, so they limit their power. But I want a world where the strong prevail and win," Vitale continued.
"The strong deserve it. This Tower was formed before time and space. The strong were brave enough to step inside and face it head-on, while the weak were too scared," Vitale said.
Vitale struck Cinister with a Hiza-geri knee strike.
Cinister blocked it and asked, "Let me ask you this. Where do you think you are?"
"Obviously among the strong," Vitale replied, continuing his knee strikes.
Cinister sighed and activated [FireRing Double], but this time both rings burned with blue flames.
Cinister stared at him with murderous eyes. "Are you sure about that?"
Vitale hesitated, then shouted, "I AM POWER!" as he activated [Quicksand] beneath Cinister's feet.
As Cinister sank, he activated [AshenVeil], forming a semicircle. Vitale swung his foot through it, but when the kick finished, his foot disappeared.
"See, I don't have a goal except finding out what happened to my parents," Cinister said.
A flashback appeared.
Cinister's mother was taking care of him, teaching him fire techniques.
"Look, Cinister. This move is really hard to learn and can't be learned from scrolls," she said as she lit her hand with fire and sliced through a tree.
"This move can cut everything, so please be careful," she warned.
The scene returned to the fight.
"I guess I should use this," Cinister said, lighting his hand with blue fire.
"Yes! You look just like him!" Vitale shouted, remembering Duvant defeating him for the first time.
"Shut up," Cinister said as he walked forward.
Vitale jumped, creating a massive DustBreaker wall, but Cinister cut straight through it and severed Vitale's hand with his flaming strike.
"So, are you weak or strong, Vitale?" Cinister asked calmly.
"Compared to you, I'm weak. And I'll admit it gladly," Vitale said as he leapt one final time.
Cinister cut straight through Vitale's heart.
"Goodbye, Vitale," Cinister said softly. "I hope you can change for the better."
Cinister turned toward the hooded girl, who was healing the Whale.
"So you're next, I'm guessing?" he asked.
She shook her head and began walking away.
"Get back here," Alya said, but Cinister grabbed her arm.
"Let her go. We have bigger fish to fry," Cinister said as the Whale finally rose and called out to its brothers.
"Okay. I trust you," Alya said as she activated [Sneak] and swam toward the Whale.
The Whale charged, but Cinister used [Pyroclasm] to blast it away.
It crashed into another Whale, and the two merged into a massive, more powerful form.
["2 of the 3 Great Whales" - "Abyssion"]
"Talk about annoying," Cinister muttered, looking at his bleeding hand. "This new [FireRing] has a lot of backlash."
Alya leapt onto the Whale and stabbed its eye, but it shook her off. Cinister caught her mid-fall.
"I don't think we can beat it," Alya said.
"You may be right," Cinister replied. "So we're doing a Conjoined Nexus."
"But I only have [WindBlades]," Alya said.
"It's fine. We'll make it work."
Alya cast [WindBlades], and Cinister followed with [HeatWave], buffing the blades and sharpening their senses.
They dodged and attacked in perfect sync until the Whale dropped [Sea Anchor], making everything one hundred times heavier.
"Damn it," Cinister said. "This is bad."
The Whale swung its tail. Cinister ignited his hand with [FireKnife] and sliced the tail in half. It regenerated instantly and wrapped around him.
"Nice one," Cinister said dryly.
Alya cut through the tail, and Cinister grabbed it. With all his strength, he tore the Whale in half.
It regenerated again but backed away.
"So even that doesn't kill it," Cinister said.
The Whale stood still, waiting.
Cinister cast [FireGun], creating a smokescreen. The Whale cleared the smoke with its breath, only to find nothing there. It backed up.
Cinister appeared behind it.
"Let's see you survive this," he said as he grabbed the tail and burned the Whale with blue flames.
The Whale struggled violently.
Then, a lone knight appeared, rushing in to save the day.