The pressure hit like a wall. Diamond-rank intent flooded the chamber in a suffocating wave, the water itself trembling as if reality had briefly forgotten how to hold its shape. The abyssal eye dilated, its vertical pupil narrowing as it fixed entirely on Mera.
The eye felt extremely hungry, letting out constant pulsations as it stared at Mera.
Albedo didn't hesitate.
Mana surged through his limbs as he took one more step forward, boots skimming against water held solid by his will. His presence snapped outward, not killing intent, but declaration.
'You're not touching her.'
The chamber reacted. The tendrils embedded in the walls convulsed violently, veins of black-violet light flaring as the core pulsed once, twice, and then it spawned.
The water ruptured.
~SHRRRRAAAAK!~
A crack tore open beside the chamber wall as the first beast emerged, a massive eel-like creature plated in abyssal bone, its body segmented with glowing runes. Immediately after, another breach formed, then another.
One became three and then three became seven. Peak Amethyst Rank signatures detonated outward like flares. Low Diamond pressure followed.
Elektra swore under her breath.
"They're birthing them directly into the chamber."
Mera raised both hands, eyes glowing soft pink as the water around them shifted.
"Linking us."
Threads of luminous mana unfurled from her core, weaving around Albedo and Elektra alike. The moment they connected, their senses sharpened, mana flow synchronized, reaction time compressed.
'Supportive Anchor: Tidal Concord.'
Albedo felt it instantly. His mana circulation smoothed, regeneration accelerating as if he were breathing liquid energy, "Good timing," he muttered.
The first wave struck.
Three Amethyst eels lunged simultaneously, jaws splitting open into rotating rings of teeth as abyssal lightning crackled along their bodies.
Albedo blurred forward and Havoc roared in Infernal Mode.
~BANG!~
The first eel's head detonated in a violent bloom of crimson fire, shockwaves rippling through the water. Before the body could even start regenerating, Ruin snapped up in Graviton Mode.
~BOOM!~
The compressed slug struck its torso and folded it inward, collapsing the entire creature into a compact mass that imploded silently.
Elektra charged past him.
Her form expanded mid-motion, muscles thickening as Titan runes ignited fully. She met a Diamond-rank crusted leviathan head-on, its armored body bristling with jagged spines.
She didn't dodge instead going head on and hitting it. Her fist slammed into its chest with world-shaking force.
~CRACK!~
The shockwave pulverized stone behind it as the beast was driven backward, armor fracturing like glass. It screeched, claws flailing and Elektra caught one and tore it off.
Golden light surged down her arm as she drove her knee into its core, collapsing its mana circulation completely.
It went limp but didn't die, just shutting down instead.
Mera moved continuously, never stationary.
She hovered at the center of the formation, tail coiling as she rotated gracefully, palms glowing as layered spells bloomed outward.
One hand flared.
'Tideweave Barrier.'
A translucent dome formed briefly around Elektra as a Low Diamond aberration fired a beam of compressed void-water. The beam refracted, dispersing harmlessly into mist.
Her other hand flicked,
'Coral Mend.'
A wave of restorative mana surged into Albedo just as an abyssal barbed limb grazed his shoulder, sealing flesh and purging corruption before it could take hold.
"Left flank, more incoming!" Mera called.
Albedo was already moving. Fractal Casting activated. Eight micro-circles bloomed around his hands simultaneously.
Infernal, Graviton, Mana-Drain and Abyssal. Shots erupted in a controlled storm.
Three Amethyst beasts were incinerated mid-charge. Two were crushed into themselves by graviton implosions. One Diamond spawn absorbed multiple Infernal rounds, and screamed as Ruin's Abyssal Mode round followed, its own corruption destabilizing violently.
Mana-Drain siphoned the excess straight into Albedo's core.
Perfect Adaptation filtered it instantly.
He redirected the surge outward.
~BOOOOM!~
Crimson Apocalypse Flames detonated in a wide arc, vaporizing lesser spawns and forcing even the Diamond-rank ones to recoil.
The eye pulsed again, even harder this time as the chamber shook violently. More ruptures tore open as larger forms began emergingโhulking horrors with layered limbs and reinforced cores.
"Enough," Elektra growled.
She slammed both fists together.
Titan Authority surged.
The water around her condensed unnaturally, forming a gravitational crush zone.
She threw herself into the densest cluster of enemies.
~KRAAASH!~
The impact shattered the chamber floor beneath her as three Amethyst beasts were reduced to nothing but drifting fragments. A Diamond spawn tried to rise, and she planted her foot on its skull and twisted.
The core snapped and it dissolved.
Mera gasped softly as a backlash of abyssal energy lashed outward, and she countered instantly.
'Aegis of the Tides.'
A layered defensive matrix enveloped all three of them, dispersing the shock cleanly. Her breathing quickened slightly.
Albedo noticed this and called out, "Mera."
"I'm fine," she said firmly. "Keep pushing."
The eye shifted and its pupil widened. The tendrils embedded in the walls began retracting, redirecting energy inward. It was changing tactics.
"No more spawns," Albedo said quietly, "It's consolidating."
Elektra cracked her neck.
"Good. I was getting bored."
The remaining beasts charged in one final, desperate wave.
Albedo didn't give them the chance.
"Clear the field." He said, casting a massive spell using Crimson Apocalypse Flames that crashed down onto all of those beasts, incinerating most of them.
Those who remained were quickly picked off by Havoc and Ruin, alongside Elektra also taking down the stragglers, until they were all dead.
Mera steadied herself, glow dimming slightly as she immediately cast a wide restorative pulse, reinforcing both of them.
"Field's clear," Elektra said, eyes locking onto the massive eye still embedded in the core.
The eye stared back, unblinking as its surface rippled, the suspended mermaids twitching faintly within the translucent mass.
Albedo stepped forward again. This time, there were no distractions. No swarms or intermediaries, just the source.
He raised Havoc and Ruin together.
Mera floated closer behind him, hands already glowing, mana coiling in layered support arrays.
Elektra took position at his flank, Titan aura flaring dangerously bright.
"Alright," Albedo said calmly, eyes locked on the pupil.
"Now we kill this fucking thing,"
