Chapter 327

Chapter 327. Trap (4)

The lightning that rampaged beneath the ocean held immense dominance, extending further and further away.

The mana I possessed emitted lightning powerful enough to electrify the entire massive aquarium built by players.

As a result, the monsters that swam towards me, as if to devour, began to float lifelessly.

It seemed that over half of them were either dead from electrocution or paralyzed.

The rest were highly resistant 5 or 6-star evolved species or of the general-rank.

I hunted those ones directly.

Of course, I didn’t forget to continually disperse lightning even in such a situation.

Thanks to this, it wasn’t long before there was a reaction.

I saw a massive shadow approaching, crossing the dark deep sea.

It seemed to think it was being stealthy by concealing its mana tightly within its core.

‘The entire area was already filled with my mana.’

Even the scattered currents, having lost their form, were under my control.

Hence, I noticed their approach immediately.

I implemented a lightning storm without hesitation, and the surrounding monsters were shattered.

The black blood spilled by the dying creatures densely covered the surroundings.

It resembled a situation where black ink was splattered everywhere.

While my vision was obstructed, so too was the vision of those targeting me.

Amidst that, I stretched my hand towards the closest presence.

Eventually, as the black blood began to whirlpool suddenly,

‘Lightning Spear.’

The lightning spear, about three times longer than its basic form, was materialized.

Immediately, the golden spear was sucked into the creature’s gaping maw that rushed at me.

The spear embedded deep into the nemesis-rank creature, which had swum rapidly intending to engulf me whole.

Grrr, bubble!

The creature thrashed in apparent agony, and its violent movements made the black blood swirling around even more chaotic.

To block its large maw, much bigger than me, I erected Vetroban’s spear vertically.

Letting attribute mana flow through the spear was a bonus.

Caught midway between me and the spear, it couldn’t close its jaws and had to endure continuous pain from the lightning spear and lightning.

Even in this situation, it tried to implement Water-based Magic multiple times to drive me away, but disabling the creature’s magic was now a trivial matter for me.

An instant message about infection appeared as its black blood soared from its nemesis-rank body, but this also posed no problem for me.

‘A well-developed Alpha is truly versatile.’

I had plenty of leeway, even enough to entertain stray thoughts during battle.

As a result, I remained unflustered, purifying the pathogen while continually ramming additional lightning spears into the nemesis-rank’s body.

「Successfully eliminated the enemy.」

「The opponent’s status is stolen.」

After dispatching one nemesis-rank creature, I felt a chilling presence from behind.

Without delay, I retrieved Vetroban’s spear and leaped from the nemesis-rank’s corpse.

Immediately, black blade-like forms slashed the corpse of the fallen nemesis-rank into pieces.

‘There’s no visible mana arrangement.’

This meant it wasn’t magic.

It seemed they resorted to using Kerax on me after confirming my proficiency in countering magic.

Even though it couldn’t be neutralized in advance, such projectiles didn’t threaten me significantly.

Eventually, a close combat ensued with the newly emerged creature.

‘So, the legion commander had crossed over.’

Could this creature have been among the three nemesis-rank that were newly sighted?

It was possible the search team had made an error, considering the countless stars above its head.

‘Regardless of the reason, it’s a welcome development.’

I faced off directly against the legion commander, who had limbs like a human.

Monsters usually took the form of beasts, known as monster-type, or evolved into a form closer to humans, known as human-type.

The first creature resembled a catfish or whale, with a long and immense body.

The next creature appeared to have fins on its limbs, yet still closer to a human form.

Since it evolved underwater, engaging it in close combat wasn’t easy.

Its movements underwater were notably quick and precise.

Every time its limbs with fins flexed, it moved almost like a bullet being fired,

and I, not accustomed to underwater combat, couldn’t dodge or block all of its moves.

Physically, our capabilities were likely not drastically different.

I modified the Lightning Prison to create a temporary shield.

“Gahhh!”

Was it frustrating to be blocked repeatedly?

The legion commander opened its mouth wide, baring its bloodshot eyes.

Dozens of kerak masses spewed from its open jaws towards me.

Naturally, the moment it opened its mouth, I countered with the Lightning Prison.

As a result, the kerak it expelled was trapped within the Lightning Prison, unable to escape.

Attempting to pierce it with a lightning spear infused with divinity, I felt a rapidly rising presence from below.

No sooner had I lowered the spear tip did I see two massive nemesis-rank beasts.

Unable to evade them underwater, they collided with me and began swimming towards the ocean surface.

“Ugh!”

The faster they swam, the stronger the water pressure bore down on me.

The oppressive force subsided only after they succeeded in pushing me out beyond the surface.

“Phew!”

No sooner had I shot into the air than I spat out the brine.

“Roarrr!”

Simultaneously, I turned towards the two massive nemesis-rank beasts that emerged, creating enormous splashes.

Both resembled whales, their glaring blood-red eyes fixated ominously on me.

But I wasn’t one to retreat.

‘I’ll kill them all first and investigate the bodies.’

I stood on my mana in mid-air, extending my hand.

“Kerax.”

「The spear imbued with Kerax’s thought returns to its bound master.」

The spear, which should have been lying around in my room, popped out with a slight motion.

Once I grasped it, I conducted the unnamed magic created with Aghel.

Judging that there was no need to use divinity, I poured only mana into it.

The moment a blinding light burst forth, kerax’s Spear left my hand and plummeted into the ocean.

Swish.

Initially, it seemed only a light breeze passed by, just a sound of the passing wind.

Crackle.

Next came the sound of the magic hastily constructed by the nemesis-rank shattering.

Plop.

Followed by the sound of the spear piercing through the surface and sinking into the water.

Unable to endure the impact generated as Kerax’s spear swept past, the nemesis-rank beasts exposed above the water were shredded to pieces.

Yet, their black blood didn’t stain the sea.

“Argh!”

“Vortex, ah!”

“Raise the ships! Ships, ships!”

“Protect the vessel!”

Splashhh.

Before that could happen, sounds akin to waterfalls echoed, and the sea began to split apart.

The sea seemed to erupt or recede, like witnessing a recreation of Moses dividing the waters, centered around the path Kerax’s spear had carved.

Thanks to this, I could see the legion commander, who should have been in the ocean depths, quite clearly.

With the sea, which was a nuisance in battling the creature, removed, I could now proceed seriously with interception.

The instant I unleashed the saved authority and mixed it with mana, Flame Strikes continuously rained down over a dozen times.

Within golden flames that filled where the sea should have been, I briefly heard screams and curses.

「Successfully eliminated the enemy.」

「The target’s status has been seized.」

For a battle that concluded after a half-day’s wait, it felt somewhat anticlimactic.

However, I was satisfied with the result of the battle.

‘Three nemesis-rank creatures and a legion commander; it feels like I’ve bolstered my status after a while.’

I vividly sensed the growth in my status, which had been in a stagnant state. I even contemplated seeking out the legion commanders for more rapid growth myself.

Though, it was a consideration for after dealing with matters in this place first.

‘Let’s secure the corpses first.’

Just in time, the seawater that had been artificially repelled began to surge back.

I connected my mana to the legion commander’s corpse and reeled it in.

After carefully gathering up the other nemesis-rank corpses, I returned to the vessel where Yang Taeho awaited.

“Where are you rushing off to…?”

Immediately upon setting foot aboard the ship, an unfamiliar voice greeted me.

Turning my head, I saw an elderly woman with dark, curly brown hair and vivid golden eyes.

“Camellia Fyond.”

“K.”

“It’s been a while. Were you assigned to Danang? How’s life there?”

“Quite good indeed. In fact, I always wished to spend my later years in a warm country.”

She was someone I was acquainted with—a former apostle who had evacuated to Earth.

She had served Finelpenia, a god with authority over reading past records.

Beside her was a timely arrival, Gilenios.

“Don’t companies give bonuses for good work? Was this a good job? Do I get a bonus?”

I nodded naturally at his mischievous remark.

“You’ll receive it as part of your year-end bonus; check your pay statement later.”

Gilenios’s eyes widened in surprise, perhaps not expecting me to actually accept his proposal.

But I would gladly award generous bonuses to those who worked well.

It wasn’t merely to motivate.

‘It also provides justification to work them even harder.’

Leaving a delighted Gilenios at the news of a bonus behind, I spoke to Camellia.

“I apologize for bringing you here on short notice. I’ll formally make amends for today’s intrusion later, but for now, could you check these creatures’ records?”

They seemed to have been planning something, but there was no way to discern what.

It was time to resort to authority to find out before anything further developed.

Camellia’s gaze landed on the deeply scorched legion commander and the fragmented nemesis-rank corpses.

Soon after, she began using her authority, serenely as if it was the natural thing to do.

While standing by with arms crossed, only briefly,

“These all belong to the messeo… which means there are no records from before they crossed the Hole.”

It was as expected, not surprising.

Surely they’ve obscured the records with corrupted divinity.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t as if there was entirely no gain despite their ploys.

“But this one, this one dropped something into the sea immediately upon crossing over.”

She pointed to the first nemesis-rank to appear.

What could it have dropped?

“Could you verify its appearance and purpose?”

“Hmm… It looks like a disk, and as for its purpose, I’m not too certain, not being a mage. I can sketch what I’ve seen if there’s paper.”

At her words, Yang Taeho promptly brought out paper and a pen.

Camellia, having received them, began drawing.

Was it due to spending so much of her life conveying what she witnessed?

Camellia’s drawing was remarkably detailed.

The pattern etched on the disk, roughly 50 cm in diameter, appeared vividly, as if seen with the naked eye.

Thanks to this, I could identify it right away.

“A magic circle…”

The characters and the structure were unfamiliar, unlike any I’d seen before, but it wasn’t hard to identify it as a magic circle.

‘I’ll need to summon Ahel.’

Simultaneously, there was something else to do.

“Could you make additional copies for distribution?”

“Of course.”

With Camellia confirming, she began drawing again. I handed the initial drawing to Yun Jihye and said,

“Players, let’s start the search right away.”

“… Search? For what? You’re not saying that? In that sea?”

For some reason, it felt as though Yun Jihye was cursing me with her gaze.

Damned System