Lyra fumbled with the grenade in her hands for a moment, the ticking ringing louder in her head than the clashing blades next to her.
Ragnar's boat circled back, and the woman leaped back into their boat.
'She plans to kill her captain along with us!?'
Ragnar has been too occupied furiously slashing at Dion to notice. Dion used his sword as a shield, holding his position for as long as possible. The boat began to push away from them, but the opportunity wasn't gone yet.
Lyra was an athlete, she participated in many sports more than just track, only one idea had come to her.
She judged the distance, pitched her arm back, and despite the wooziness she felt, she used her entire body to throw the grenade back towards Ragnar's boat.
The grenade soared through the air, but it hadn't made it back to its sender. In the middle of the air, the grenade exploded, releasing bits and pieces of it flying.
One of the pieces had struck their own boats captain, Ragnar.
"Ack..!"
Without a moments hesitation, Dion took this opportunity to switch to the offensive. He swung the Giant's Night Blade across the body of Ragnar, completely severing his body in two.
"What a twist, folks! Even without their captain and missing a person, Team Sachi is holding their own against the favored Team Ragnar!"
Lyra grunted as she dropped down in the rocking boat. "Could he take any longer..?"
Dion huffed as he kneeled down beside her, watching the corpse of Ragnar dissolve in front of him. "He's not coming back, he's dead. Now get up before they come back around."
He tried to push himself back up, except he was met with a relentless shaking that shoved him back to the wooden floor. He wasn't the only one either, the other teams and even the whole stadium noticed the rumbling.
"Keep your hats on, everybody! It seems our resident sea beast has a much larger appetite than we had anticipated!"
The shaking began to dissipate, leaving the combatants stumbling to regain their ground.
Dion pulled himself up against the edge of the boat. "Damnit… We're in a bad spot."
Team Ragnar's boat began to turn back towards Dion, with that same mischievous woman holding another grenade in her hands.
Just as she pulled the pin and began to reel her arm, something jumped out of the water, flying high into the sky.
The sheer force sent Ragnar's boat away from Team Sachi's, the boat itself almost entirely flipped.
The grenade dropped out of her hand and into the basin of her own boat.
The announcer's shocked voice sounded as the source of the wave became clear.
"I-I can't believe it! The Lesser Champion who was thought dead nought but minutes prior is now sailing through the air! And it's not just him, he has another gladiator with him!"
Dion stared up into the air in pure disbelief. "Y-you're kidding!? How is he..?"
Lyra held a smile on her face. "It's about time, Sachi."
The occupants of Ragnar's boat dove into the water just before an explosion, completely destroying it in the process.
"And following the return of our undead captain, Team Ragnar is the first to be eliminated!"
Lyra hurdled the front of the boat, claiming the reins at the front. "How the hell do these things work!? We need to catch Sachi!"
Dion followed her and snatched the reins out of her hands. "Move! I'll deal with him, just keep the others off our trail!"
Dion was right, the wave created by Sachi's grand entrance separated the other two teams, and now their targets had changed.
Lyra drew her bow, using the cusp of the boats side to steady her aim. Each arrow whizzed by the remaining teams, but her barely managed sea sickness and the rocking of the waves was far too random for her to land any consistent shots.
Still, Dion ran the kelpie as fast as he could to reach where Sachi was heading.
Sachi's long hair fluttered as his upward momentum subsided. From his peak, he could see the stunned expression of both Lady April and the young announcer, holding a grin and eager to report on the next event.
He began to sink through the air, spinning as he fell.
The young boy on his back was shouting. If Sachi wasn't so determined to figure out how to land safely, he'd be doing the same.
With his sword in hand, he swung downward.
[Skill activated: Gale Slash lvl 2]
A solid blade of wind extended from his sword, shooting downwards like a bullet. The gale was now much bigger than it was previously, and in turn much more powerful.
The sheer pushback of the skill halted their descent for just a moment, only for their fall to continue immediately after.
Ray was still stuck in Sachi's back, the only choice he had was to cushion Ray's fall with his own, bracing himself for the impact.
He shielded his face and prepared to land against the body of water.
The fall seemed impossibly long, as if he had been falling forever, unable to hit the water beneath him. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was unable to hit the water beneath him, because now he laid in Dion's arms amidst the rickety boat.
"Have you died of shock or something!? Hurry up and help us out!"
Dion dropped Sachi onto the boat, falling face first into the wooden surface and being smacked again by Ray falling on top of him.
'Such a warm welcome...'
Ray and Sachi picked themselves up, now witnessing the dangers that rushed towards them. Both teams boats - Connor and Joshua's - were now barreling in their directions.
Joshua's boat slid up next to theirs, with a young man perched on it's side, with his hand extended. His ruffled blonde hair shimmered in the stadium lights, and his red scarf fluttered against the air.
"Ray! Take my hand, They'll kill you!"
Ray struggled to keep himself upright. "Joshua!? But..."
'Sachi saved me... Didn't he?'
Ray glanced to Sachi, seeing a smoldering fire in his eyes with his teeth bare at Ray's former team.
'...Didn't he..?'