Jyorta unleashed an aura beam by expending half his presence, creating a powerful spiralling vortex that blasted towards his foes. As the Lava Turtles were spread out, he couldn't concentrate the beam enough, intending to suppress them with the first attack before focusing on each.
But, as if they had expected it, the Lava Turtles unleashed more than twenty geysers, meeting the aura beam in the air, the collision of which resulted in the victory of the Lava Turtles. The geysers then slammed into the River Whale, sending it reeling back until it crashed into the wall at the entrance.
The force spilled all the water from its film of water; the River Whale suffered from the impact. It hadn't been able to divert all the geysers, for the quantity and momentum surpassed what its Trait could control. The slam into the walls sent Jyorta flying; just when he was about to crash into the walls, the Bundle Flea grabbed hold of him, creating a cushion using its hairs.
"Ugh," Jyorta infused psychic energy into his body to negate the inertia, grunting as he felt pain all over. His capabilities as an Esper only allowed him to negate a fraction of the inertia. The River Whale slid over the walls, falling to the ground.
The Bundle Flea landed on it, carrying Jyorta. On seeing three geysers fly their way, the Bundle Flea used the wall as a foothold while making its hair act as springs, springing forth in another direction to evade the attacks.
Unfortunately, the River Whale was unable to evade, taking the brunt of the impact. Jyorta commanded the other three Frenzy Beasts to move as the Bundle Flea crashed into the boiling waters. He continued to expend psychic energy to shield himself from the boiling water while healing his internal injuries.
The Rigordile swam through the shallow waters, activating its Tier 2 Skill as it lunged towards the nearest Lava Turtle, meeting the jelly-like tentacles of a Hunter Clam on its back. It was soon engaged in a deadlock, unable to swiftly defeat the other party.
The Hunter Clams possessed an advantage, retreating into the Lava Turtle's shell to dodge attacks while emerging from the numerous holes on it to retaliate. One Tier 2 Hunter Clam and twenty Tier 1 Hunter Clams retaliated against the Rigordile, preventing it from damaging the Lava Turtle.
In the meantime, the Lava Turtle stored enough heat in its body, breathing out a hot breath of air that ignited into a stream of flames, slamming onto the Rigordile. The Rigordile screamed before retreating into the water.
Transparent patches fell off from its body, making plopping sounds as they broke like glass. The Lava Turtle and Hunter Clam under Jyorta's control arrived at the scene, unleashing flames all over the place.
The flames were met by geysers that swiftly extinguished it, with the remainder slamming into the Lava Turtle. The Hunter Clams on its back formed a shield to defend against the geysers, getting damaged in the process.
There were more than thirty Tier 2 Lava Turtles at the scene, with all of them focusing on Jyorta's party the moment they entered. They spammed their long-ranged attacks, combining them into a whole to negate Jyorta's attacks before pinning the River Whale down.
The River Whale crashed into the shallow water, raising to a tide. Numerous geysers followed suit, slamming into it, not giving it a breather. Patches of the transparent layer on its body cracked and shattered like glass before falling to the shallow water.
The River Whale had been knocked unconscious. Jyorta had fallen a fair distance away from it when he was carried by the Bundle Flea, so he couldn't attempt to rescue it. The River Whale's massive stature painted it as a big target for the Lava Turtles. So, the place surrounding it was filled with slamming geysers.
'At this rate, it would die.' Jyorta noticed the Rigordile, the Lava Turtle, and the Hunter Clam he controlled struggle to fight, facing attacks from all sides. They were close to getting overwhelmed. After all, they were just regular Frenzy Beasts at Tier 2.
The Rigordile swiped its claws, shredding the neck of a Lava Turtle while shrieking, for when its claws came in contact with the Lava Turtle's blood, they began to melt. The Rigordile looked at both its claws, watching that they had become blunt, with more than half of it had melted. Patches on its skin peeled off, with even the muscles falling off at places, showing the bones beneath.
The Bundle Flea paddled through the shallow waters, arriving before the River Whale as it created a shield using its hairs, preventing any boiling water in the geysers from leaking through. Jyorta inserted his two Soul Corneas into the River Whale's soul, giving it a mental cue using a couple of memory fragments, sending it to its brain.
The River Whale jolted awake, unleashing a torrential scream as the water around it was riled up, forming a vortex before converging towards it. Absorbing energy from its soul, Jyorta recovered his presence as he unleashed concentrated aura beams upon every Lava Turtle, starting from the ones at the front.
The oddity he noticed was that the moment he faced his palm towards a Lava Turtle, a couple of Hunter Clams on its back would jump forth, coming in the way. They were the first to tank his aura beams, with the remainder born by the jelly-like tentacles the remaining Hunter Clams unleashed.
The aura of the Hunter Clams and the Lava Turtle then eradicated all the presence in his aura beam, rendering his attack useless. His attack only managed to kill two Tier 1 Hunter Clams. To unleash a flurry of attacks, Jyorta had resorted to using Aura beams. For, unleashing them was simple and instantaneous. All he had to do was unleash his presence while focusing it upon an area.
But, to unleash an Aura Personification, he had to erect certain preparations. Even though the blue soul could shorten it to almost an instant by making use of an existing template—created by condensing all memory fragments needed to activate the respective aura personification—to activate, it still needed some time. Moreover, without any rest, his mind wouldn't be able to keep up with the overload of switching aura personifications quickly.
The Rigordile, the Lava Turtle, and the Hunter Clam took the front lines, tanking the attacks of the Lava Turtles while trying to kill them. The Lava Turtle and the Hunter Clam fared the worst, for their enemies were the same as them.
Even when the Lava Turtle under Jyorta's control unleashed a flame breath, its opponents weren't damaged much. After all, their bodies too were similar and could endure the heat. The Rigordile, on the other hand, managed to kill two Lava Turtles. But, it had already sustained grievous injuries as a result.
Most of its skin had peeled off, melted by the Lava Turtles it fought against. It was panting, its body turning dry, losing moisture as it moved. Its claws had completely melted by now, leaving it to resort to punches and bites.
Every time it bit the enemy, its mouth burned. It lost its tongue with the first bite, now its throat had been damaged to the extent even swallowing water proved to be difficult. Due to Jyorta's orders, it had to continue the fight.
Finally, a jelly-like tentacle coiled around its arm as the Rigordile lunged at a Lava Turtle and ripped out its neck. Blood leaked out of its throat that had melted; the same happened in its stomach.
A group of angry Hunter Clams grabbed hold of its limbs, preventing it from moving as they coiled with greater strength, pulling it from all sides. The Rigordile shouted, its shouts soon decreased in strength as it had resigned itself to its fate.
It glanced at the scene of the River Whale converging the water around it as its vision split into two. The Rigordile had died. The moment it died, the pressure on the Lava Turtle and hunter Clam under his control further intensified.
The Lava Turtle was blasted by geysers from all sides, preventing it from even turning its head. The Tier 2 Hunter Clams on its back barely managed to hold themselves within its shell. The Tier 1 Hunter Clams had already been washed away, soon ganged up by the Hunter Clams on the back of other Lava Turtles they came across.
The Lava Turtles floated on the water, encircling the two Frenzy Beasts under Jyorta's control. They attacked it from all sides, making the Lava Turtle passively defend itself while taking damage continuously.
Jyorta had been attacking all along while the Bundle Flea shielded him from the attacks, but he too was tied down, unable to rescue his Frenzy Beasts. He felt pain when the Rigordile died, for he had invested a lot of effort and energy in it.
His expression morphed into one of anger, soon turning pale as the Lava Turtle and Hunter Clam too met their end. "Dammit."
Aura Personification—Hallucination!
In the hallucination, Jyorta didn't change anything among those they perceived, be it the environment, aura, and the foes. All he did was mask the presence of him, the Bundle Flea, and the River Whale.
The attacks slowed for a moment before Jyorta noticed his hallucination was disrupted. Moreover, a powerful presence slammed into him, making him shudder for a moment. The River Whale was knocked unconscious once again while the Bundle Flea unleashed its own aura, creating a blanket that protected it and Jyorta.
The encirclement of Lava Turtles parted way at the centre as a Lava Turtle swam forth, its expression brimming with fighting spirit as it gazed at Jyorta, treating him as a worthy opponent. Jyorta turned serious, muttering, "No wonder it was this organised. So, you were the one leading them."