As Nereus made his way through the quiet paths back to his residence, the memory of the day's events replayed in his mind.
'After Triton's performance today I'd say he finally has the confidence in himself necessary to stand beside me as my subordinate, I suppose this means that I must come up with a suitable cultivation technique for him now...'
The pride he felt for Jonny and Triton was palpable. Both had proven themselves, not just to the sect but to themselves.
But as he swam through the winding coral pathways, an unsettling feeling grew within him.
The once serene path suddenly seemed more foreboding.
Shadows seemed to stretch and twist in unnatural ways.
Nereus's senses heightened, and all too familiarly he could feel the presence of three powerful sea essence signatures approaching. With the hairs on the back of his neck standing on full end, he instinctively knew that he had to prepare for an imminent attack.
'Another ambush ?! Whoever's behind these must really want me dead...' thought Nereus as he prepared himself for the imminent attack.
Seemingly from the shadows, three figures emerged, their presence cold and menacing. They were cloaked in green and black armor, their eyes glowing with malicious intent.
Nereus recognized their cold demeanor; they were members of the notorious mercenary group known as the Abyssal Eels, the feared and shadowy organization that previously had a trio of it's members make an attempt on his life.
Nereus's eyes narrowed, his heart pounding in his chest. "Who sent you?"
At that moment the tallest and most imposing of the figures, stepped forward. "You'll never know" he hissed, his voice dripping with venom.
"Your rise ends here, and this time it's personal" he said before launching into an attack. The two other assassins followed suit, their movements swift and deadly.
"Revenge huh? Oh well, lets go I guess!"
Nereus dodged the first strike, feeling the rush of water as a blade missed him by inches. He countered with a powerful blast of water, pushing one of the assassins back. But the fight was far from over.
These assassins were skilled and coordinated, far more so than the last, suffice to say their attacks relentless.
Drawing upon his Leviathanic bloodline, Nereus summoned his sea wraiths.
In the blink of an eye, three ghostly forms materialized beside him, their presence a chilling reminder of Nereus's power.
The assassins hesitated, their eyes widening in shock and fear.
"What are those?" one of the assassins whispered, his voice trembling.
Nereus of course didn't respond.
Instead, he directed his wraiths to attack.
The wraiths moved with terrifying speed, their ghostly forms phasing through the water and striking at the assassins with ethereal claws. The assassins fought back, but their weapons passed through the wraiths harmlessly.
'Time to see what you can do...' he thought while quickly closing his eyes in concentration.
As the wraiths kept the assassins at bay, Nereus called forth the newly evolved sea banshee. Almost instantly, the water around him seemed to darken as a haunting melody echoed through the depths.
At that moment, from the seal mark on his forehead, the sea banshee emerged, her form more humanoid and feminine than the wraiths.
She wore a flowing gown made of dark, shimmering seaweed that clung to her ethereal form. And her long, translucent gray hair floated around her like a ghostly halo, her eyes aglow with a fierce otherworldly azure light.
The assassins stared in horror as the sea banshee approached. "What is that?" one of them gasped, his voice filled with terror.
Wasting no time, the sea banshee's lips parted, and she let out a disorienting and concussive sonic wail.
Quicker than the attacking party could react to, the sound waves rippled through the water, hitting the assassins with a force that left them reeling.
"Argh" grunted one of the attackers while trying to cover and protect his ears from the ghostly wail.
''A sonic attack?!' thought the other assailant incensed, ' The intel on this brat said nothing about all this!'
With their minds clouded, their movements slowed considerably as they struggled to regain their bearings.
Seizing the opportunity, Nereus focused on the biggest foe.
"Oof!" the tall Mer exclaimed in pain.
With a swift and powerful earth pillar strike to the face, Nereus subsequently knocked him out and then created earthen cuffs around his wrists, pinning him to the ground.
The sea banshee then maneuvered over to the fallen assassin, her eyes gleaming with malevolent delight.
"You will tell me who sent you," Nereus demanded, his voice cold and unwavering.
The sea banshee's mouth twisted into a cruel smile before she then descended upon the assassin, her ethereal form seeming to enveloping him.
"Ugh! No! Argh, Please stop!"
The assassin's screams were muffled as she devoured his sea essence, quickly leaving behind only an empty shell.
The other two assassins still reeling from the sonic attack and contending with the three pestering sea wraiths could only watch on in horror, their fear all but paralyzing them.
''It has been quite a while since I'd last seen a sea banshee's might in battle but they're just as fearsome as I'd remember. Hm these creatures will sure be of great use to me until their next evolution, thought Nereus as he looked on in pleased contentment, 'Now, let's see it's most impressive ability...'
Upon taking the Abyssal Eel member's life the ghostly light within the sea banshee's eyes seemed to intensify as she also gained access to the fallen enemy's thoughts and memories.
Moments later, the sea banshee withdrew, her expression one of grim satisfaction. She then turned to Nereus as the information she had gained was relayed to him.
"So you all were sent by Devran huh?" Nereus's eyes hardened. "Good," he said softly. "Now that he's bared his fangs I'll do the same. Finish the rest."
The sea banshee turned her attention to the remaining assassins. Her form shifted, becoming more menacing. She let out another sonic wail, disorienting them further.
At that moment, the sea wraiths closed in, their ghostly forms beginning their relentless assault.
One by one, the assassins fell, their minds and bodies unable to withstand the combined might of the wraiths and the banshee. Though in truth any well timed attack of even a minor level would surely destroy the entities as their intangibility had a time limit, their foes were unaware of this fact and their fear had already degraded their logic and reasoning skills.
As the last assassin succumbed, the sea banshee absorbed his essence, her power growing further from the two Mer's essences she had consumed.
'Oh? What's this?' thought Nereus as his eyes noticed a peculiar scene.
Nearby one of his sea wraiths began to glow, its form shifting and evolving as it entered a watery cocoon. It too was becoming a sea banshee.
The transformation was both beautiful and terrifying, a testament to the power Nereus wielded.
With the battle over, Nereus took a moment to catch his breath. The sea banshee hovered beside him, her presence a constant reminder of the dark power he commanded. He knew that Brutus and Devran would not stop until they had eliminated him.
He turned his gaze towards the horizon, his mind already planning his next move. The Inner Core Disciples Selection was far from over, and he had no intention of letting his enemies win.
With his newfound power and the support of his friends, Nereus was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, with the power of the sea wraiths and the sea banshee by his side, he knew that he would emerge victorious.