“Fang, can you still hold on?!”
I couldn’t spare a moment to look behind, so I just asked her through the Mental Scape. A short pause later, her voice echoed through the link.
“(I’m still fine, Leader. The deeper we go, the fewer the attacks that reach us, so it’s becoming easier if anything!)”
Although her reply was positive, I could feel the large amounts of energy she was expending. Despite saying that it was getting better, the intensity of the jellyfish’s attacks was something else. It feels like a small mistake on her part could lead to either or both of us getting injured.
“I’ll increase the pace!”
Although I’m already working near my maximum capacity, I could still extend beyond that. Activating all the strength buffs from Igni and Fang with the speed buffs from Hekate, the rate at which I was digging into the jellyfish doubled in an instant!
“…!”
Suddenly, its body began vibrating, enough that I could tell it from the short instances my energy blade touched its body. In accordance with the change, the walls of “meat” around us began to shrink.
“Sh*t! It’s planning to trap us!”
The rate at which it was closing in on us was slow, so I could still fight against it by increasing my speed even further. Soon enough, the path behind us closed completely.
Fang was finally able to relax, with no tentacles to fight off, but our problem remained. We’re currently locked inside the gelatinous body of the jellyfish. Furthermore, it was slowly trying to crush us with its own regenerative speed!
When Fang realized the pinch we were in, she began to help me with shaving off the walls around us. Her addition managed to reach equilibrium with the regeneration, making it possible for me to increase the pace of digging deeper.
Slowly but surely, we’re coming closer to the glowing stone in the middle of the jellyfish’s body. It was something that we couldn’t really see without literally going in since the surface of its body was glowing with various colors.
“That must be its core!”
I strongly believed so, and that’s why I increased the pace even further, causing the suit that Ember made to give off dangerous sounds. It’s not going to give out midway, would it? I hope not.
A minute passed, and we were finally halfway through the jellyfish’s body.
The vibration and regeneration suddenly stopped, causing us to wonder what was happening. Then, at that instant, I saw the shadow of its large tentacles move… piercing through its own body!
“F*ck! Fang!”
As if not needing my input, Fang was already moving before I even called. She concentrated her dark tentacles, creating a thick wall and blocking the path of the incoming tentacle. From its size, it was probably one of the few thick tentacles that were the longest among all its appendages.
“(Ugh!)”
Fang groaned at the link, making me realize the power behind the attack. The thick barricade that she made was literally mowed down in an instant!
At the last moment, Fang moved the tentacles to the side, trying to parry the attack. Thankfully, she succeeded, and the large tentacle barely grazed past our bodies.
However, I could see the few other tentacles start to wind up, about to do the exact same thing. At this rate, the attacks will reach us sooner or later.
“No choice!”
I paused my continuous attack for a moment, concentrating and gathering the energy into both blades. It was the first time I used this skill, so I’m a little worried about how it will go. I crossed the two blades before me, like they were scissors or something, with their tips meeting. After a deep breath, I sharpened my concentration to the limit.
“[Heaven’s Path, Fifth Sword: Piercer]!”
The two blades released a blinding flash, sending the refined energy and creating a powerful beam forward. The attack’s strength was beyond expectations, creating a clear path through the jellyfish’s body. However, the core remained intact despite being in the middle of the attack.
“As expected, it’s tough!”
But nothing is tough under a continuous barrage!
I once again created a gravity tunnel, zooming through the hole that was created by my attack and reaching the core in a literal blink of an eye.
“Fang!”
“(On it, Leader!)”
Without needing an explanation, Fang separated from me and waved both hands. A pair of daggers came out of a small pocket dimension, which she grabbed instantly.
Matching our breaths, we started the onslaught towards the core, a large reddish-purple crystal about three times as big as I was. Each slash of my energy blade merely left a few scratches, while Fang’s daggers could only chip away a small fragment about as big as a thumb.
Although our attacks were basically ineffective, each slash only took roughly 0.01 seconds. In short, every second, we could slash at it a hundred times!
“HAAAAAAH!”
“(BREEEAAAAK!)”
After we broke what seemed like an inch-thick protective cover, the inner part of the crystal became softer. Suddenly, the vision of victory appeared!
“Fang, get behind me!”
I combined both swords into one before stabbing it through the small hole that we made. It was able to reach deep enough, but that wasn’t enough to end it.
“Haap!” .𝒎
I then pushed it deeper with my palm, letting the blade become completely embedded. As soon as I confirmed that it was deep inside the enemy, I grabbed Fang and exited the location through a portal that Ember prepared as if reading my mind. It was a perfectly timed assist!
When Fang and I exited through the portal, returning right before the satellite, we quickly turned around to see the result of our handiwork.
A soundless, blue flash of the explosion spread. It wasn’t an explosion of fire, of course, but rather of pure energy. The energy swords I slammed inside its core detonated, causing the inside of the core to rupture. Then, the excess energy caused a chain reaction, causing the large body of the jellyfish to shatter into pieces.
“Phew…”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but I didn’t dare lower my guard. We might’ve been just unlucky for meeting this one, but that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be another instance of it.
“I guess we’ll need to equip this satellite with heavy firepower too…”
Well, I do hope that no such giant monsters appear again.
Tired, Fang and I entered through the decompression chamber, before finally entering the satellite once more. Everyone congratulated us for destroying the enemy, but Ember wasn’t smiling. I guess she, too, figured out what we needed to do.
Well, for now, I just want to relax…
𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮