Chapter 942

‘...Got it. Below!’

In that instant, something writhed violently beneath their feet in the dark.

Before Yuder could even grasp what it was, he shifted the nature of the power he had been releasing for the search. The water surrounding the ten-plus members suddenly surged, pushing them away in another direction. At the same moment, something extended from somewhere—piercing through the water like a spear before pulling back.

“......!”

The members opened their mouths, bubbles escaping, swallowing back their screams. Had it not been for Yuder’s reflexive response born of long experience, one of them might have been struck by the attack. Fortunately, no one had lost the protective power around their bodies.

Confirming that the members were already reacting according to their training and scattering to respond, Yuder looked down.

Something was lurking faintly within the massive darkness that stretched endlessly below. Thanks to Steber’s power, its concealment had finally started to break, allowing its presence to be felt ever so slightly—but its exact nature remained unknown. Even when Yuder directed his power toward the direction of the attack, the result was the same.

It felt like trying to separate water from water. His ability had lost its usual sharpness, dulling his senses—and that fact only made Yuder more certain of what he was facing.

‘It really is a monster, then.’

Just then, one of the members scattered further away suddenly dodged once more. A blurry attack stabbed the space where they had just been, then quickly withdrew. Yuder sent his power in that direction, but the attacker vanished too swiftly for it to connect.

Similar incidents occurred several more times. Most of them targeted Steber. Though he dodged well, trying to evade attacks while simultaneously using power to reveal the monster’s identity clearly was clearly wearing him down.

‘And the members are approaching the limits of their endurance.’

As their protective power began to wear thin, their breathing grew labored and their movements sluggish. In the water, the faster one moved, the more resistance was felt—and here, in the crushing depths, it felt like letting your guard down for even a moment might collapse your body.

The members were already moving at half the speed they started with. Yuder was in better condition, but still hadn’t fully identified the enemy. At this rate, they would run out of time before making progress.

‘In that case...’

The decision came quickly. Yuder moved the hand wearing his glowing bracelet to signal the members.

— Fall back!

Normally, he would’ve confirmed their retreat before acting—but not this time. Without waiting, he gathered power. This wasn’t a situation where he could afford to make room for others.

‘No one’s been slacking on training—they’ll manage to dodge on their own.’

In his past life, he’d often thought the same, taking the lead and handling things alone. But the past Yuder, despite such thoughts, always kept contingency plans in mind for those who couldn’t escape in time. The difference now was that the present Yuder didn’t feel the need to do so.

One could argue he had become more careless and lax than before. But Yuder didn’t see it that way.

Back when he couldn’t fully trust those around him, he had never been able to concentrate solely on using his power. There had been moments when, in high-stakes situations requiring snap decisions, that lack of focus had put him in danger.

But now?

An overwhelming torrent of water—far greater than anything he had unleashed thus far—erupted around Yuder. He removed the bracelet from his arm and hurled it downward, blasting power into it.

— Gwooooo...!

Like being struck by a vortex-shaped cannon made of water, the bracelet flew downward and cracked from the impact. Despite the tremendous force, not a single ripple reached the surrounding members. That was the result of unwavering focus. Through the widening cracks, a brighter light than before began to seep out—until at last, the bracelet shattered completely.

They had worn the bracelets so they could distinguish one another even in the darkness of the deep sea. Yuder knew what materials had gone into crafting them.

Any magical tool designed to emit light in darkness required Nightstone. A rare type of Magic Stone, Nightstone appeared ordinary in daylight but glowed naturally in darkness. It was difficult to mine and expensive enough that even wealthy nobles avoided using it for its lack of cost-effectiveness. Only rare exceptions, such as the main Cavalry headquarters built by Kishiar with all his fortune, had walls studded with them in regular intervals.

The important thing here was: Nightstone was still a Magic Stone. And Magic Stones burn and glow when placed in a Mana Furnace. The principle behind lighting a mana furnace was...

‘Apply enough pressure in an instant to shatter the Magic Stone and ignite the first spark. Once it burns, the flame spreads to other stones of the same type and keeps burning.’

The bracelets they wore had been processed to endure the deep sea. But that didn’t mean they were unbreakable.

Just as Yuder had hoped, the bracelet shattered under his power and burst into brilliant light, illuminating the water.

— Fwoooosh---!

For a brief moment, the area around them seemed to boil with heat—but it was tolerable.

Before the massive burst of light faded, Yuder clearly saw what lay beneath in the now-brightened deep.

‘If I can’t sense it with power, then I’ll just look with my eyes.’

Even Yuder hadn’t explored this far—the true bottom of the ocean, unimaginably deep. He could now faintly make out the seafloor, dimly visible in the distance.

And there, revealed under the flickering light...

‘...A canyon? No. That’s... a rift...?’

A black, deep shadow lying at the very base of the deep sea.

At first, he thought it was a canyon because of its sheer size. But upon closer inspection, something about its shape felt off.

Yuder’s eyes trembled with tension.

He hadn’t seen it wrong. Several gigantic rifts—so vast they could be mistaken for canyons—were silently lurking at the bottom of the ocean. From a distance, they appeared small, but up close, each one looked massive enough to swallow them all whole.

It looked like a giant had slashed the water multiple times, leaving enormous scars. From those scars, something like transparent, elongated tentacles emerged faintly, swaying.

‘Is that... the monster Steber sensed...?’

What did I just see?

Before he could think again—another massive tremor came from below.

— Rrrrrrrrrumble...!

At the same time, just as he was trying to confirm the being more clearly, the light from the shattered bracelet quickly faded.

‘Damn.’

He had expected it to glow far longer—but maybe because of the tremor, its energy depleted far faster. And of course, it wasn’t like he could just ignite another fire down here. Using fire in water would only boil the ocean around them like before—and this time, far worse.

It could be done, if necessary, ignoring the fact that water and fire were opposing elements. But was this really the time for that?

The largest anomaly he’d ever seen. A monster he’d only barely managed to glimpse.

Should he retreat? Should he go forward alone?

In that fleeting moment of tangled thoughts, something small tapped his shoulder. Reflexively catching it, he found it was a bracelet—just like the one he’d thrown earlier.

Turning his head, he saw Steber waving and signaling with exaggerated gestures.

‘—Use that!’

“......”

Since gaining the Insight, Yuder could see far more in the dark than before—but the other members couldn’t. Without bracelets, they couldn’t distinguish one another here.

That was why Yuder hadn’t bothered retrieving another bracelet after using his.

Even with Insight and the ability to dive deeper than anyone else, he had only confirmed something after receiving Steber’s help. Was it right to risk the members by making that kind of choice?

Yuder stared at the bracelet, about to signal “no” and throw it back—but Steber, as if expecting that, shook his head and shouted silently with firm lips:

‘We can’t see, but you can see us! That’s enough! Use it! You need it!’

He proved he had no intention of taking it back by swimming away from Yuder without hesitation. While Yuder stared at him in disbelief—suddenly, another bracelet tapped the back of his head. Catching it, he saw it came from another member.

That member looked slightly surprised at hitting Yuder by mistake—but undeterred, just like Steber, they sent a hand signal.

‘Use mine too!’

Before Yuder could respond, another bracelet came flying in from a different direction. Then a fourth, a fifth—multiple bracelets wrapped in water energy floated gently around him.

‘Yuder!’

‘Use this too!’

‘Mine as well!’