Meanwhile,
Jake stared at the cracked core.
Dark energy still leaked weakly from the wound where his sword had pierced it, but the once-threatening pulse had clearly weakened.
The bloated body of the Drowned Stalker remained still in the water, no longer thrashing or releasing its oppressive pressure.
Jake’s grip on the hilt tightened slightly before he pulled his sword free.
The blade slid out with a faint resistance, trailing a thin stream of blackish fluid into the surrounding water.
He watched the core for another second and noticed that it no longer reacted.
Then a quiet sense of relief spread through his chest.
’...Haa... It’s over.’
Without lingering any longer, Jake turned his body and kicked off the water, swimming upward toward the surface.
The darkness of the deep gradually lessened as he rose, the faint light above growing clearer with every stroke.
He kept his sword in hand, still alert out of habit, but the tension in his body had already begun to ease.
The battle was finished.
...Or so he believed.
Then—
Almost by pure instinct, Jake’s body suddenly moved on its own as he swung his sword behind him in a sharp, confused motion.
Zing—!
The blade cut through the water with a sharp flash of light.
There...
A long, grotesque neck had silently stretched toward him from below.
The elongated flesh stopped just short of his back, the tip of the neck ending in a half-formed, twitching mouth that had nearly closed around him.
Jake’s eyes widened in confusion.
’...What?’
He quickly turned his head to look back at the main body.
And froze.
The bloated corpse he had just pierced through the core was still floating in place...
Yet a thick, fleshy neck had already stretched out from its body, reaching all the way toward him through the dark water.
The cracked core was still visible.
But he could tell that the creature was clearly not dead.
Why did he know that?
...Because that thing was... smiling at him.
Jake’s blood ran cold.
In the next instant, his entire body snapped back into full alertness.
The brief sense of relief vanished completely as he tightened his grip on the sword and kicked away from the stretched neck, putting more distance between them.
His eyes locked onto the smiling face of the Drowned Stalker.
’How is it still alive...?’
Jake’s expression hardened.
Something was wrong... deeply wrong.
He had clearly pierced the core. yet the creature was still alive.
Jake never believed that Grace would lie to him as he trusted her completely... which only meant that this one here was probably special.
This was no ordinary Drowned Stalker.
Before Jake could think further, the main body began to change.
The bloated, jelly-like form that had been floating motionless suddenly twitched.
The cracked core pulsed once... then again and more violently.
Dark energy that had been leaking from the wound suddenly reversed and was sucked back inside.
Then the body started to grow.
It expanded rapidly, the soft, melted flesh swelling larger and larger.
The once-loose, formless mass hardened and twisted, reshaping itself into something far more grotesque.
Within seconds, the Drowned Stalker no longer looked like a melted jelly.
It had become a giant, pulsating tumor.
The smiling face stretched wider as the entire mass ballooned in size, veins of black energy crawling across its surface.
Then, without warning, the enormous mouth split open to an unnatural degree.
FWAAAAAH—!
A violent burst erupted from within.
Countless long, writhing necks shot outward like a swarm of fish, filling the dark water in every direction.
Each neck ended in a twitching, half-formed mouth that snapped open and closed hungrily.
"...!!"
Seeing this, Jake’s heart grew cold.
But his eyes widened as he realized something even more terrifying.
Those necks... were no longer attached to the main body.
They moved independently, swimming through the water like a school of predators, already spreading out to surround him from all sides.
Jake’s grip on his sword tightened as he kicked backward, trying to create more distance.
But then his eyes caught something even more alarming.
Through the writhing mass of independent necks, he could still see the giant tumor-like body.
And at its center, the cracked core was no longer broken.
The fracture lines began to close at a visible speed, the damaged surface knitting itself back together.
Within moments, the once-cracked core had fully repaired itself.
Soon, a newly formed core pulsed in its place.
It was stronger, redder, and more complete than before.
Jake’s heart sank.
’Fuck! You’ve got to be kidding me! A second phase!?’
Before he could fully process the situation, the first wave of independent necks rushed at him.
The long, writhing appendages shot through the dark water from multiple angles, their half-formed mouths snapping open hungrily as they closed in.
Seeing this, Jake gritted his teeth.
His eyes turned sharp and cold.
’Fuck it. You’re not the only one with a trump card!’
In the next instant, he began channeling everything he had.
Light Manifestation surged through his body while his aura roared to life at the same time.
The two forces intertwined, refusing to remain separate... becoming something more powerful.
BOOM!
Then a beautiful white light mixed with pure golden aura erupted around him.
The radiance cut through the dark water, illuminating the surrounding swarm of necks as the combined power coated his entire body and sword in a brilliant, dual-colored glow.
Jake raised his blade, the white-gold light pulsing with dangerous intensity.
Even his brown eyes began to glow golden.
This was what happened when he mixed Light Manifestation with Aura.
Back when he was still at the Rare class, attempting this fusion had been extremely unstable and nearly impossible to control.
But after advancing to Elite class, the process had become noticeably smoother.
The two powers no longer violently rejected each other the moment they intertwined.
Not only had the color changed.
Jake could clearly feel that the destructive power of the mixed aura was far greater than using either ability alone and faster as well.
But it wasn’t without cost.
When the two forces were combined, the burden placed on his body was far more overwhelming than expected.
The strain on his muscles, bones, and internal energy pathways was severe.
If he used this fusion mode constantly to boost his strength and body, he estimated that he could last at most ten minutes without suffering real internal damage.
That was exactly why he had always kept this technique as a trump card.
At that moment, the swarm of independent necks reached him in the next instant.
Dozens of elongated, writhing necks shot in from every direction, their half-formed mouths gaping wide as they tried to tear into him from all sides.
Jake’s glowing golden eyes narrowed.
In a single smooth motion, he adjusted the angle of his sword.
The white-gold light coating the blade condensed tightly along the edge, the dual-colored aura humming with restrained violence.
Then—
’Aura Slash!’
FLASH!
A blinding arc of pure white-gold light erupted from the blade.
The slash cut through the dark water like a radiant scythe, leaving a trail of shimmering golden particles in its wake.
The nearest cluster of necks was cleanly severed in a single stroke.
Blackish fluid and shredded flesh burst outward as the cut pieces floated lifelessly for a moment before dissolving into the sea.
But Jake didn’t stop.
His body twisted mid-swim, the white-gold aura flaring again as he followed up with a second, third, and fourth slash in rapid succession.
ZING!
ZING!
ZING!
Each swing was precise, fluid, and devastating.
The fused power of Light Manifestation and Aura turning everything surrounding him into a whirlpool of death.
One by one, the approaching necks were cut down under the radiant storm of his blade.
Yet even as he fought, something else was happening.
While Jake was busy dealing with the independent necks surrounding him...
...The main body of the Drowned Stalker began to change once more.
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