127 Another Path (2/2)
”Ed!” Tai excitedly landed and grabbed him by the shoulders. ”Was that the red path of water I just saw you using?!”
”Mm.” He nodded. ”I just mastered it and figured I'd give it a try, but it only made things worse.” He sighed while shaking his head.
”What about purple water?!” Tai questioned excitedly. ”Did you manage to obtain it?”
”Purple water?” Ed rose an eyebrow while rubbing his chin. ”I haven't tried it yet.” He admitted. ”I've tried using the other purple elements in the past but have had no success.” Knowing that a seventh of the blue section of his mana-core had turned purple, it made sense for him to now attempt it again. He rose his arms towards the ice and concentrated. Purple mana flowed through his body and concentrated on his hands. At first, purple flames appeared, likely due to force of habit or his body's memory. Focusing carefully, the purple flames vanished and were replaced by swirling balls of purple water.
”You did it!” Tai yelled ecstatically. ”Chimera bodies are truly amazing! A shortcut like this is a godsend! To obtain the origin element after mastering just a single path. Most espers must master seven paths before obtaining the origin element, and even then it isn't guaranteed. Someone is considered a genius if they can obtain the origin element in just four or five paths, but you only take one!” His eyes sparkled with envy as he stared at Ed.
”Right...” Ed nodded while returning to the task at hand. Shooting the purple water forward, he again managed to melt away some of the ice. Fortunately, it seemed the ice couldn't manage to freeze the remnants of the purple water, meaning that just like the ice, the purple water would remain in place until all of its mana naturally evaporated.
”Damn.” He sighed while shaking his head. ”It works, but it's still too slow. It would take weeks at this rate.”
”A pity.” Tai sighed as well, waving his fan towards his face. He thought for a moment before hesitantly making a suggestion. ”Why not try both purple fire and water at the same time?”
”I don't really see it making a big difference.” He shrugged. ”But why not. Not like we have anything to lose.” Concentrating again, he created purple flames in one hand and purple water in the other. Slowly, he brought his hands together and shot a stream of both elements forward. The purple water and flames mixed, quickly turning into purple steam that spread in all directions. Surprisingly, it seemed to work fairly well. It was accomplishing less work in a single small area, but more overall work in a large area.
”Interesting.” Tai's eyes sparkled with interest as he watched. ”It's still a bit slow though...” He waved his fan while glancing back at the ship. ”What if we have you concentrate only on creating steam while the other espers use ordinary wind to spread it forward?”
”Alright.” He agreed, choosing not to negotiate a price for once. He didn't wish to be stuck in the middle of the ocean any more than the rest of the espers.
Tai returned to the ship and began giving orders. Soon, nearly a hundred wind espers joined Ed on the ice. Ed concentrated on creating large quantities of purple steam. He wasted no effort in controlling the steam nor directing it. Instead, he left that job to the horde of wind espers.
The wind espers struggled to keep the purple steam contained and going in the correct direction. Their green and other colored winds were inferior in quality when compared to the purple origin elements, making their task extremely difficult. Fortunately, what they lacked in quality they more than made up for in quantity. Together, they worked to keep the steam just wide enough to form a path for the ship to take. They held the steam in place for roughly fifteen minutes at a time, melting the ice to open a stretch of the path forward.
Days passed as the espers and Ed continued their work. Over time, their efficiency and teamwork improved, greatly speeding up their progress. Finally, after nearly a week of effort, they escaped the frozen waters and returned to the normal ocean.
”Finally!” A esper screamed in celebration.
”I swear to god, once we reach China, I'm never stepping foot on another boat again!” Another esper yelled.
Many other espers celebrated or complained atop the ship until Tai interrupted them. ”Enough!” He shouted. ”Get back to your stations. All wind and fire espers can take a break, but the rest of you have been on vacation for two weeks! We're way behind schedule! Chop, chop!” He clapped his hands.
Much of the crew returned to work, unfurling sails, pulling ropes, directing the rudder, and more. Soon, the ship was sailing on its way, leaving the land of the nightmare far behind.
...
Later that night. Ed sat with Tai, Rubi, and some other important espers at a dinner table.
”A toast!” Tai raised his wine cup. ”Without Ed, god only knows how long we'd be trapped in that hellish frozen wasteland.”
”Cheers!” The other espers yelled as they clinked their glasses.
Ed sipped on his wine, internally wishing it was a bottle of rum instead. ”So, where are we heading next?” He questioned. ”I figured we'd need to stop for repairs, but the ship is in better shape than I expected.”
”We're going to make a pit stop at Japan.” Tai replied. ”We may be able to recruit some newly awakened espers from the nightmare attack, though we missed the best opportunity since we were trapped for so long. Besides.” His eyes narrowed as he smiled. ”The mutant we're hunting just so happens to be in Japan.”