Zing!
With a final, clean slash, the last writhing neck was severed, dissolving into blackish mist around him.
For a brief moment, the area around him became clear as Jake cleared the first wave.
Jake floated in place, breathing steadily as the dual-colored light still coated his body and sword.
His glowing golden eyes scanned the remaining swarm in the distance before shifting toward the main body.
’...They’re weaker than I expected.’
Despite being independent from the main body, the individual necks were clearly far less durable.
Each one had been cut down relatively easily under the power of his fused aura.
Their movements were aggressive and numerous, but their individual strength was nowhere near that of the original Drowned Stalker before.
They were dangerous in numbers... but not truly threatening on their own.
Jake’s grip on his sword tightened as he looked toward the regenerating main body in the distance.
The real threat was still waiting.
In the center of the dark water, the massive tumor-like mass of the Drowned Stalker began to change once again.
The pulsating red core throbbed violently, sending waves of dark energy across its surface.
The bloated, formless flesh started to contract and reshape itself.
What had once been a giant tumor slowly compressed inward, the excess mass twisting and molding into a more defined structure.
Soon... limbs began to form.
Crack...!
Crack...!
Two thick arms stretched outward from the sides.
Then a pair of sturdy legs solidified beneath it.
The overall frame gradually took on a bipedal stance, the once-shapeless mass forcing itself into a rough humanoid outline.
Jake’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
Even as the transformation continued, a cold light flashed in his glowing golden eyes.
Without hesitation, he kicked off the water and rushed straight toward the thing.
Meanwhile, the proportions of the main body continued to adjust.
The height, the width of the shoulders, the length of the limbs... all of it slowly shifted until the silhouette floating in the dark water began to resemble something disturbingly familiar.
...It was mimicking him.
The Drowned Stalker’s main body was reshaping itself into a humanoid form that closely mirrored Jake’s own physique.
A rough, distorted reflection of his build now floated in the depths, the permanent smile still stretched across its featureless face... watching him as he charged forward.
White-gold light flared brighter around Jake’s body and sword as he closed the distance in a burst of speed.
The moment he entered striking range, Jake swung his blade in a powerful downward slash aimed straight at the transforming body.
A black arm suddenly solidified and rose to meet the attack.
The once-soft, tumor-like flesh of the newly formed limb hardened in an instant, turning rigid and dense as it blocked the white-gold sword head-on.
CLANG—!
Sparks of dual-colored light scattered through the dark water from the impact.
Jake’s eyes sharpened.
The humanoid form of the Drowned Stalker had already completed enough of its transformation to defend itself.
The permanent smile on its featureless face remained stretched wide as the solid black arm held firm against his blade.
Then—
A distorted, gurgling voice echoed through the water.
[...Jake...]
The Drowned Stalker spoke his name.
The sound was wet and unnatural, as if forced through a throat that was never meant to form words.
Yet the name was clear enough.
And for some reason, instead of a fake imitation, Jake felt like it was... truly speaking.
Jake’s pupils contracted slightly.
The smiling humanoid face tilted its head.
In the next instant, it attacked.
The solid black arm that had been blocking Jake’s sword suddenly surged with extreme strength.
With explosive force, the Drowned Stalker shoved his blade aside and lunged forward, its other newly formed arm shooting out like a spear toward Jake’s chest.
Jake’s glowing golden eyes flashed as he twisted his body, bringing his white-gold sword back around to intercept the incoming strike.
CLANG—!
Blade and blackened limb collided once more, sending another shockwave through the surrounding water.
But the Drowned Stalker wasn’t done.
The solid black arm pressed against Jake’s sword suddenly twitched.
In the next moment, multiple sharp spikes erupted from its surface, growing outward in an instant like jagged spears of hardened flesh.
Pff...!
Pff...!
Pff...!
The spikes immediately shot forward, rushing straight toward Jake’s face from point-blank range.
Jake’s glowing golden eyes narrowed sharply.
In that split second, he tilted his head to the side.
Pff...!
The nearest spike shot past his face, missing his skin by a hair’s breadth and only piercing through a few strands of his floating hair.
Then Jake gritted his teeth.
His grip on the sword tightened as white-gold light exploded around the blade.
Using the momentum of his slight retreat, he twisted his entire body in the water and spun.
The dual-colored aura flared violently as he executed a sharp rotating slash, the radiant arc of white-gold light carving a full circle through the dark water.
ZING!
The spinning blade tore through the extended spikes and continued toward the Drowned Stalker’s humanoid form in a single, fluid motion.
ZING!
The white-gold arc cleanly severed the solid black arm at the shoulder.
The detached limb, along with its remaining spikes, floated away into the dark water, dissolving into blackish mist.
Sensing the opening, Jake did not hesitate.
He kicked forward immediately, white-gold light surging along his blade as he thrust the coated sword of light straight toward the glowing red core once again.
The radiant tip of the sword cut through the water in a sharp, direct line, aiming for the center of the humanoid form’s chest where the newly regenerated core pulsed with intense crimson light.
Just as the blade was about to pierce into the Drowned Stalker’s chest—
Crack...
Another mouth suddenly split open across its midsection.
Without warning, a concentrated beam of pure darkness erupted from the newly formed mouth, shooting straight toward Jake at point-blank range.
Jake’s glowing golden eyes flashed.
He hurriedly twisted his body mid-thrust, changing his stance in an instant as he brought his white-gold sword up to intercept the incoming attack.
BOOOOM—!
The dark beam crashed against the blade, the collision sending a violent shockwave through the surrounding water as light and darkness clashed head-on.
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