My Overpowered Bunny Girls

The song faded slowly, swallowed by the green depths.

Nathan stood at the boat’s edge, the first two Tide Crystals warm in his palm. The Leviathan’s melody had stirred something in the water—for a moment, the Deep Ones had paused. Even the corruption seemed to hold its breath. Then the moment passed, and the sea grew still again.

Coral was trembling. "He hasn’t sung in years. Not since the seed took root. Something is changing."

"The crystals," Elise said quietly. "They’re weakening the corruption. The Leviathan can feel it."

Nathan looked at the horizon. The Abyssal Trench was somewhere below, a wound in the ocean floor where the third crystal waited. "Then we need to hurry. If the corruption is weakening, the World might start fighting back harder."

Coral nodded and turned the boat south. The Leviathan’s shadow moved with them.

---

The Abyssal Trench was not a place. It was an absence.

The water grew darker as they traveled, the green light fading into something black and cold. The boat slowed, and Coral guided it carefully. "The trench is below us," she said. "The Temple of the Deep rests at the bottom. The third crystal is there, in the heart of the darkness."

Nathan peered over the side. He could not see the bottom. The water was too deep, too dark. But [Hunter’s Insight] told him what his eyes could not—mana signatures below, dozens of them, moving through the depths.

"How do we reach it?" Garrett asked.

Coral produced a bundle of dark shells. "Tidecaller breath-charms. They allow you to breathe underwater for a time. The corrupted ones won’t expect you to come from below."

Nathan took one of the shells and turned it over. It was smooth and cold, pulsing with a faint blue light. "How long?"

"An hour. Maybe two. The corruption makes the water thicker near the temple. The charms will strain."

Nathan looked at the party. They were tired, but their faces were set. "We go down. We get the third crystal. We come back. No detours."

The party equipped their breath-charms. Nathan felt the magic settle over his face like a thin membrane. He could breathe, but the air tasted of salt and old magic.

"Let’s move."

---

The descent was slow and dark.

Nathan led the way, [Nimble Feet] letting him move through the water with surprising ease. The others followed—Mirko and Shiro gliding, Garrett and Dillon swimming, Elise and Smithy staying close together. The summons moved without difficulty; their bodies were not bound by the same limits as human flesh.

The corrupted creatures came from the shadows.

They were Tidecallers once, but the deep had changed them. Their bodies were elongated, their fingers and toes webbed into long claws. Their eyes were gone, replaced by growths that glowed with pale green light. They swam with the current, silent and patient.

Nathan activated [Hunter’s Insight]. The mana signatures were everywhere. Dozens. Maybe more.

"Don’t engage unless you have to," he said through the link. "We push through."

The party descended deeper. The pressure increased. The water grew colder. And the corruption thickened, pressing against them like a living thing.

Then the Temple of the Deep appeared.

It was built into the trench wall—a structure of black stone and pale coral, half-collapsed and overgrown. Its entrance was a massive archway, and from within, a faint blue light pulsed. The third Tide Crystal.

But between the party and the temple, the corrupted ones had gathered.

They hung in the water like a wall of bodies, their glowing eyes fixed on the intruders. There were hundreds of them. They did not move. They simply waited.

"They know we’re here," Smithy said.

Nathan nocked an arrow. "Then they know we’re not leaving without the crystal."

He fired.

The arrow streaked through the water, its path glowing with silver light. It struck the first corrupted one and passed through, [Piercing Shot] carrying it into the second, then the third. The creatures convulsed and dissolved.

The wall of bodies broke.

---

The battle was chaos.

Corrupted Tidecallers swarmed from all sides, their claws raking. Nathan fired [Starfall Barrage]—the arrows splitting and raining through the water, tearing through the horde. [Multi-Shadow Clones] created copies that the corrupted ones attacked, their confusion buying precious seconds.

Mirko’s Dragon’s Fang blazed, carving a path. [Impenetrable Fortress] pushed the corrupted ones back, its green light a shield against the darkness. "Hmph! You are many! But this Knight has faced the sea itself and won!"

Shiro’s [Dragon King’s Ascension] let her move like a bolt of golden fire. [Tyrant Dragon Fist] detonated against clusters of enemies, and the shockwaves sent their bodies tumbling. "The Young Lord’s path must be cleared!"

Garrett and Red held the rear. Volcan erupted, and the thermal pulse turned water to steam. Red’s wool hardened, and the Mad-Sheep charged into the horde, scattering enemies. "We’re holding! Keep moving!"

Dillon and Cloudy worked the flanks. Cloudy’s static discharge was less effective underwater, but Dillon compensated—his katana flashing, [Thunder Edge] still lethal where it struck. "This is the worst swimming lesson I’ve ever had!"

Elise’s Frost Golem descended into the depths, its crystalline body shining in the dark. It grabbed corrupted ones and crushed them. It froze the water around them, creating walls of ice that slowed the horde. "The trench is too deep! The Golem is being affected by the pressure!"

But Elise pressed on. [Glacial Lance] punched through the corrupted ones, and the Golem’s frozen fists cleared the path. Smithy’s Void Eel phased through the horde, disrupting their coordination.

Nathan saw the temple entrance ahead. The corrupted ones were still coming, but the way was opening. He activated [Death’s Homing Compass], marking the archway. Then he charged [Focus Shot].

Sixty seconds.

The world narrowed. Nathan’s mana poured into the arrow, and the silver light blazed brighter than anything in the trench. His party held the line. His summons kept the horde at bay. The arrowhead burned, and the water around it began to boil.

He released.

The arrow tore through the darkness, homing in on the archway. It struck the temple’s entrance—and the impact shattered the corruption that had gathered there. The blue light inside flared, and the corrupted ones screamed.

The way was open.

"Move!" Nathan shouted.

The party surged through the archway. Inside, the temple was quieter, the corruption thinner. The third Tide Crystal floated at the center, its light pushing back the dark.

But Nathan stopped. Because standing before the crystal was a figure he recognized—not a corrupted Tidecaller, but something else. A shadow given form, with empty eye sockets and a mouth sewn shut. The figure from the Sunken Temple. It tilted its head, as if observing them, then turned and stepped backward into the wall—vanishing.

Nathan’s blood ran cold, but he didn’t have time to think about it. The third crystal was right there.

"Take it," he said, his voice tight.

Elise stepped forward and took the crystal. The moment her fingers touched it, the temple trembled. The blue light surged outward, washing over the party, and Nathan felt the corruption recede—not just here, but everywhere.