Chapter 136: Crimson Beam

The system analysis flickered, the text materializing slowly as if the system itself was hesitating.

[THALASSARCH — Level 45]

HP: 2800 / 2800

MP: 900 / 900

Threat Level: EXTREME

« Analysis »

A juvenile Thalassarch, one of the ancient apex predators of the abyssal zone. The Thalassarch lineage predates most known species in the Abyssal Veil, and even juveniles possess power that rivals mature leviathans. Its body is composed of compressed shadow and crystallized mana, granting it resistance to physical and magical attacks alike.

« Weakness »

Its eyes, though closed, are the conduit for its mana sensing. Damaging or blinding the eyes disrupts its perception and reduces its combat effectiveness.

It is young. Inexperienced. Its aggression can be exploited.

Gray’s blade-tentacles curled tight. The analysis painted a clear picture.

’This thing is stronger than the Sablemaw,’ he thought. ’Stronger than the Tri-Cephalon and it’s just a juvenile.’

He drifted backward, Phantom Cloak still wrapped around him like a shroud. The Thalassarch hadn’t moved, its eyes still closed. But the crimson veins along its flanks pulsed faster now, matching the rhythm of his own heartbeat.

’It knows I’m here.’

The realization came a split second before the attack.

The Thalassarch’s eyes snapped open.

Twin pools of crimson light flooded the chamber, and the creature uncoiled with terrifying speed. Its body was a blur of shadow and blade, its fins slicing through the water where Gray had been hovering a heartbeat before.

Gray activated Current Dash and dissolved into the water, reforming ten meters away. The vortex he left behind pulled at the Thalassarch’s fins, but the creature barely slowed. It twisted mid-lunge, its crimson eyes locking onto his new position with predatory precision.

’It tracked me through the dash!’

The Thalassarch lunged again, faster this time. Gray fired Needle Storm on instinct, the paralytic needles shooting toward the creature’s face. The Thalassarch didn’t dodge. Its shadow scales absorbed the needles, the paralytic toxin seeping uselessly into its hide.

[NEEDLE STORM — 42 DAMAGE]

[THALASSARCH — HP: 2758 / 2800]

[PARALYZE — RESISTED]

The creature’s jaws opened wide, teeth like black needles. Gray pulsed sideways, but a blade fin caught his bell margin, slicing through his carapace.

[-72 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1218 / 1290]

’Its fins are as sharp as my blade-tentacles!’

He fired Void Reaper’s Lance, the void-edged spear tearing through the water. It struck the Thalassarch’s flank, cracking the shadow scales.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 148 DAMAGE]

[THALASSARCH — HP: 2610 / 2800]

[BLEED — 10 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

[60% DEF PENETRATION — APPLIED]

The Thalassarch screamed in pain but it didn’t back down. Its crimson eyes burned brighter, and its aura intensified.

[Crimson Pulse — ACTIVE]

[All mana-based abilities weakened by 25%.]

Gray felt the pressure immediately. His mana channels stuttered, his skills flickering as the aura pressed down on him.

’It’s disrupting my skills!’

Without rest the Thalassarch charged aggressively, its fins spread wide, its jaws aimed directly at his bell. Gray activated Phantom Cloak, dissolving into the darkness. The Thalassarch’s jaws snapped shut on empty water.

But its eyes didn’t lose focus. The crimson light swept the chamber, tracking, searching. And then it locked onto something.

It shouldn’t have.

Phantom Cloak made Gray invisible to sight, electroreception, thermal, and vibration. But the Thalassarch’s crimson eyes pierced through it.

’It can see me!’

The creature lunged at his exact position, jaws gaping wide. Gray activated Current Dash and dissolved again, reforming behind the Thalassarch.

’How is it tracking me?!’

The system flickered, providing the answer.

[Crimson Pulse — Analysis]

The Thalassarch’s mana aura disrupts all mana-based abilities within range. While Phantom Cloak is active, its mana cost is continuously drained, weakening its effectiveness. The Thalassarch senses the drain itself, allowing it to track the user’s position.

’So it’s tracking the mana drain from my own stealth!’

He deactivated Phantom Cloak, letting his presence flood back into the water. The Thalassarch spun toward him instantly, its jaws opening wide.

Gray didn’t dodge and he fired Arcane Burst directly into its open mouth.

The pulse of disruptive mana erupted from his body and slammed into the Thalassarch’s throat. The creature convulsed, its crimson eyes flickering, its aura stuttering.

[ARCANE BURST — 178 DAMAGE]

[THALASSARCH — HP: 2432 / 2800]

[CRIMSON PULSE — DISRUPTED]

[Mana abilities restored.]

’There we go.’

The Thalassarch thrashed, its blade fins lashing wildly. One caught Gray across the bell, another sliced through his tentacles. He took the hits, ignoring the pain, and fired Void Reaper’s Lance point-blank into its exposed flank.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 186 DAMAGE]

[THALASSARCH — HP: 2246 / 2800]

[BLEED — 10 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

The creature roared, its crimson eyes blazing. It lunged, faster than before, its jaws clamping down on Gray’s trailing tentacle.

[-128 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1090 / 1290]

[LACERATION — 8 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

Gray gritted through the pain and activated Grip Jaw, wrapping his tentacles around the Thalassarch’s head. The creature thrashed, its teeth grinding through his carapace, but he held on.

’You want to bite me? Okay!’

Overcharge detonated directly into its skull.

[OVERCHARGE — 192 DAMAGE]

[THALASSARCH — HP: 2054 / 2800]

[STUN — 3 SECONDS]

The Thalassarch went rigid, its jaws springing open. Gray tore himself free and pulsed backward, his HP dropping from the laceration.

[-8 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1082 / 1290]

’It’s stronger than the Sablemaw and it resists almost everything I throw at it.’

The Thalassarch recovered from the stun faster than expected. Its crimson eyes snapped open, burning with fury, and it lunged again.

Gray braced himself, his blade-tentacles spreading wide.

’I need to end this before it wears me down.’

Gray activated Current Dash and dissolved, reforming fifteen meters to the left. The creature’s jaws snapped shut on empty water.

’Missed.’

But the Thalassarch didn’t recoil. It didn’t twist or turn or reposition.

It just... opened its mouth wider.

Gray’s blade-tentacles snapped taut.

Inside the Thalassarch’s throat, something was building. A sphere of crimson light, pulsing and growing, its surface crackling with concentrated mana. The same violet-crimson as its eyes, as its veins, as the Mana Heart Crystal itself.

’Oii, oii, you have got to be kidding me.’

The sphere reached critical mass.

The Thalassarch’s head snapped toward him, and the sphere discharged.

A beam of pure, concentrated crimson mana shot from the creature’s mouth. It was a lance of energy, so fast and so bright that it painted the entire cavern in violent red light.

Gray activated Current Dash on pure instinct. His body dissolved into the water, reforming ten meters to the right—

The beam carved through the space he’d occupied a heartbeat before. The cavern wall behind him exploded, molten rock spraying outward in a cloud of steam and debris.

’What the hell?!’

He reformed, his bell ringing from the shockwave.

[-42 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1040 / 1290]

The Thalassarch’s mouth was already glowing again as another sphere formed and the second beam began to charge.

Gray stared at the creature, his mind blank with disbelief.

’Is that... a fucking BEAM?!’