The seafloorâuntouched by mankind since the birth of the worldâbegan to collapse, finally crumbling with a silent scream.
Rumble...
The pitch-black hole that had been hiding itself emerged. A dense, pale cloud of silt billowed upward like mist, and the pressure of the surrounding water spiked as it thickened.
Only then did the grotesque beings lurking inside the rift react. Amid the collapsingâor already collapsedâearth, they thrashed and howled, desperate to escape.
Under normal circumstances, their struggle would have shaken and ruptured the seabed, triggering destructive quakes. But thanks to Yuderâs power, the earth had already softened. The impact, while considerable, failed to spread wide enough to escalate into a full seismic event. Instead, the monstersâ attempts to break free only served to further accelerate the collapse initiated by Yuderâs power.
Even so, not all of the surrounding seabed had given way yet. Giant, ancient rock formationsâpillars that had held up the seabed for eonsâstill stood scattered like hidden reefs. When the monsters smashed into them, deafening shocks reverberated through the ocean, like the world itself was tearing apart.
Yuder felt his pores stand on end, as if the entire world was threatening to split open.
But in that chaos, he didnât blink. He remained utterly focused, pouring out every last drop of power he had.
His body trembled instinctively, teetering at the edge of pain. But inside his mind, there was perfect clarity. Stillness.
It was strange. Even while focusing with such terrifying intensity, it felt like his consciousness was somehow splitâas if he could also fully savor this fleeting moment of being together with Kishiar. As if he were grateful for it.
He was not afraid. He wasnât worried.
Yuder, like a man who had forgotten all else, drew out his power mercilessly. The energy around his body glowed faintly red in the darkness, violently pulsing. Even the seemingly immovable rocks of the deep finally began to weaken and fracture.
From within the rift, the monsters struggledâentangled in collapsing earth. Tentacle-like masses, barely managing to slip out, were crushed under the weight of soil. The next waves of flesh came to fill those gaps, only to be destroyed in turn.
It looked like a brutal contest of strength, a tug-of-war on an enormous scale.
Each time Yuderâs power clashed â đđšđŻđđ„đąđ đĄđ â with the monstrosities at the riftâs edge, the impact shook him to his coreâlike his body would be torn apart. Yet he didnât stop. No sensation could match the grounding grip of Kishiarâs hand, still tightly entwined with his in the dark.
â......â
As if Kishiar sensed Yuderâs thoughts, the hand grasping his tightened slightly.
Yuder responded, tightening his own grip as he closed his eyes.
And at lastâ
Rrrrmmmble, rrrrrrrmmmble...!
Yuderâs power pierced through the rift and gripped the seabed that had hidden it. The earth, surrendering to the strength of a single human, began to form a vast holeâlarge enough to swallow a cityâsmoothly, savagely, and without resistance. Had anyone been watching from above, it might have resembled sand sinking rapidly into a vortex, a stage collapsing from underneath.
As the buried rift was fully exposed, its contents threatened to spill out in a single, catastrophic wave.
But at the same time, it was also the moment when they had the best chance of forcing the monsters out without triggering a total collapse of the seafloor.
Yuder thought, calmlyâ
Now.
At that exact moment, Kishiarâs power was unleashed.
There had been no signal. And yet, perfectly in sync with Yuderâs intentions, Kishiarâs energy swept gently but swiftly past him, racing toward the rift. It struck a portion of the monster mass already emerging.
----!
The monstersâtoo massive for Yuder to properly engage on his ownâhowled in fury.
The formless chaos that had been pouring out without order or intent suddenly paused, as if grasped by an invisible hand.
Only Kishiar could interpret and respond to Yuderâs thoughts like this. Only he could use his power in this way.
Yuder hopedâdesperatelyâthat Kishiarâs power would be effective.
And thenâ
CRAAAAASH!
A roar erupted from below as the water currents reversed. The results appeared instantly.
Yuder instinctively knew: Kishiarâs power had connected.
What Yuder had asked of Kishiar was deceptively simple and incredibly difficult:
Before the monster mass could dig downward and trigger a quake, use the vacuum Yuder had created to redirect themâpull them, twist themâupward.
Kishiarâs power wasnât absolute. Even in full strength, it was doubtful whether he could manipulate such a massive being alone. But in the seaâonce something entered its flowâresisting the current became nearly impossible.
If Kishiarâs power could ride that current, if it merged with the natural flow Yuder had set in motion, then it didnât need to be overwhelming. That alone made this impossible task possible. Not for anyone elseâbut for Kishiar, it could work.
And it did.
At the perfect moment, Kishiarâs power met Yuderâs and didnât oppose the overwhelming flowâit rode it, fused with it.
WHOOOOOOSH!
The monster mass, which had been attempting to slither upward in a half-formed tentacle, suddenly recoiledâcaught as if struck in the back of the head.
Then the âpullingâ forceâcombined with the waterâs flowâgrabbed it.
Even the smallest pebble can trip a giant if it hits the right spot. Kishiarâs move had exactly that effect.
In an instant, the flow surrounding the rift shifted. The monstrous mass, which had once surged against the current in a chaotic rage, now lost controlâentangled in itself, flailing helplessly.
No longer did the creature emerge from the rift of its own volition. Now it looked as if some unseen hand was dragging it out against its will.
And this, miraculously, did not interfere with Yuderâs efforts. It aligned perfectly, amplifying the collapse, breaking the monstersâ advantage.
The water had become a battlefield. Thick with debris, completely obscured. Danger loomed on every side. The deadliest enemy was the one you couldnât seeâthe one poised to strike from nowhere.
Fighting here without armor, without rest, pulling power from your own body was no different than gambling your life.
Yet neither Yuder nor Kishiar retreated.
Their two completely different powers interlocked, striving for the same goalâprotecting each other, covering one anotherâs blind spots.
No matter how violently they were thrown around, no matter how much they bled, their powers never ceased. They never faltered.
In the chaos, in the disorderâYuder thought only one thing. It wasnât profound.
He didnât want to let go of this hand.
That was all. That thought alone remained.
The vibrations from the seabed finally stopped.
The Cavalry members, who had been spending all their strength just to protect themselves, finally allowed themselves a shaky breath.
Just resisting the upward surge from below had nearly killed them. The energy cost was severe. Steber, ignoring the fresh blood leaking from a new wound, clenched his jaw as he stared into the darkness below.
â...I donât even have the strength to wonder or worry anymore. Are Yuder and the Commander alright...?â
Even knowing how superhuman they were, it was hard not to worry after a quake like that. Yuder had said that if his plan worked, the monsters would come to them. Had it worked?
If it hadnât, then soon, the monsters would erupt from the buried riftâand a massive undersea quake would follow. Death would be inevitable. They would have to prepare for that.
âI made peace with that already...â
Still, he couldnât help but think of the family heâd left behind.
âI told them when I wrote my willânot to grieve too deeply. Just to be proud.â
Even if he went to the surface and survived, it wouldnât be a path he could be proud of. That was why he had refused to retreat, no matter how many chances heâd been given.
Just then, as Steber blinked painfully, he noticed the man whoâd come with the CommanderâMickâmouthing something and pointing downward.
Following his finger, Steber looked downâ
âand at that moment, an unmistakable surge of water and vibration erupted from below, shaking his entire body.
â----!â
From within it, a massive, serpent-like monster roseârushing toward them.