He released a pulse of kinetic force from his bracers. The frozen, compressed sphere of Lady Shui exploded. She didn't die—elementals were hard to kill—but she was scattered into a billion snowflakes of ice, her consciousness fragmented and broken.
[Target Neutralized: Lady Shui.]
The Tide-Shapers, seeing their mistress shattered, faltered. Their collective spell broke. The pressure normalized.
"The assassins!" Valeria shouted, charging out of the dissipating golden light. "They're flanking!"
The remaining Syndicate agents had abandoned the bomb tactics. They drew void-blades and rushed the center.
Alvian landed on the dais. He stood back-to-back with Valeria.
"Left side, three targets," Alvian said.
"Got them," Valeria replied.
She swung her claymore. "[Titan's Cleave]!" A wave of golden force cut through the water, knocking the three assassins back.
