Both cast their lines. Polyethylene strands flew over the water, undulated like waves, and drew two twin arcs. Both casts— a cast of sport, a cast of commerce— were perfect in each’s own right, and the moment they hit the water, both got a bite.

The same bite.

Alucard and Satan reeled back in lockstep. And they didn’t stop reeling. The fish had no say in the matter. It was only a matter of seconds before the two reeled it in. Their taut lines hovered in the space between their boats. And in the center was an orca whale.

“So this is our claim,” said Alucard.

“So it is,” said Satan.

They stared at each other. The orca stared at them. The tension between their gazes matched the tension between their lines. A million infinitesimal vibrations per millisecond. Satan felt every one. Could Alucard feel it too? Certainly he could.

His muscles tensed. Alucard increased his force. Their strength was in equal and opposite harmony, and if no outside force acted upon them, they would certainly remain inert forever. But they didn’t have that much time. Not in the Davy Back Fight.

Even their neurons were in sync. In the very same second, both crouched down their boat’s motors and bit down on the rip-chord. They wrenched back their necks, engines roared to life, the world began to spin, faster and faster, Satan stood up, gazed ahead at his opponent, and at the orca between them. They were his anchor. They remained affixed in place, and all else was whirlwind. Satan pulled yet again and inched the orca just an inch closer. But Alucard’s grinning face stayed the same. It was hypnotic, even.

- Ragnarust Round 2