Chapter 175: The Path to Tartarus
The Seed Barrier shattered, and Gray surged forward, Void Reaper’s Lance charging along his blade-tentacles. The orb was exposed, pulsing wildly on the serpent’s forehead, its violet veins flickering with desperate light.
But the serpent wasn’t done.
Its slit-pupiled eyes blazed, and the orb flared brighter than ever. A shockwave of violet energy erupted from its body, slamming into Gray before he could land the killing blow.
[-148 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1732 / 1880]
Gray tumbled backward, his carapace ringing from the impact. The serpent coiled, its massive body twisting through the water, and the orb on its forehead began to pulse with a new, terrible rhythm.
[SEED OF DESTRUCTION — RESONANCE ACTIVATED]
[The serpent is channeling the Seed’s destructive energy into its body. All attacks now carry Seed-infused damage.]
The serpent lunged, its jaws gaping wide. Venom dripped from its fangs, but this time, the venom was laced with violet light, shimmering with the same destructive energy as the orb. It sprayed across the water in a wide arc, and where it touched the stone, the rock breaking apart at the molecular level.
Gray activated Sovereign’s Presence, letting his aura flare outward. The serpent hesitated for a fraction of a second, its instincts screaming that this prey was dangerous. But the orb pulsed again, overriding its fear, and it pressed forward.
[APEX ADAPTATION — POISON IMMUNITY — PARTIALLY NEGATED]
[SEED-INFUSED VENOM — 22 DAMAGE PER SECOND]
"It’s bypassing my immunity!"
Gray fired Void Reaper’s Lance directly at the orb. The void-edged spear tore through the water, but the serpent twisted, taking the hit on its shoulder instead.
[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 218 DAMAGE]
[SEA SERPENT — HP: 2084 / 2800]
[BLEED — 10 DAMAGE PER SECOND]
The serpent shrieked, but the orb pulsed again, and the wound began to close.
Cindy’s voice rang out. "[Frozen Current]!"
A wave of frost spread through the water, coating the serpent’s scales in ice. Its movements slowed, its coils stiffening.
[FROZEN CURRENT — SPEED REDUCED BY 40%]
The spire of shattered stone erupted beneath the serpent, and its massive body launched upward, coils unspooling, guard broken, the violet orb fully exposed.
[TECTONIC SHIFT — 192 DAMAGE]
[SEA SERPENT — HP: 1892 / 2800]
[STUNNED — 2 SECONDS]
Gray didn’t waste the opening. He dissolved into the current and reformed directly above the stunned serpent, his eight blade-tentacles spread wide like a crown of executioner’s blades. The orb pulsed beneath him, cracked, desperate, its violet veins flickering with the last dregs of the Seed’s power.
[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 244 DAMAGE]
[SEA SERPENT — HP: 1648 / 2800]
[ORB — CRACKED]
The orb fractured, violet light bleeding from the cracks like blood from a wound. The serpent screamed, its body convulsing, its coils lashing wildly through the water. But even cracked, even bleeding, the Seed’s power still pulsed within it.
[SEED OF DESTRUCTION — OVERLOAD]
[The serpent is channeling all remaining Seed energy into a final attack.]
The serpent’s jaws opened wide, and a beam of pure violet destruction gathered in its throat. The water around it began to unravel, molecules breaking apart, stone dissolving into nothing. It was channeling everything it had left into one final, desperate attack.
Gray braced himself. Behind him, Cindy raised her hands, frost gathering at her fingertips, ready to cast a barrier she knew wouldn’t hold.
Then Lily moved.
She darted forward, her five points spinning, her dark core blazing with sudden, fierce light. She positioned herself directly between the serpent and Gray, her small body trembling with effort.
"Lily?!"
She opened her core, and the darkness within her reached out.
The violet energy pouring from the serpent’s orb suddenly shifted direction. It flowed toward Lily, drawn into her dark core like water into a whirlpool. The destructive power that had been gathering in the serpent’s throat faltered, sputtered, and died.
[SEED OF DESTRUCTION — ENERGY DRAINED]
[LILY — ABSORBING SEED RESIDUE]
The serpent convulsed, its body collapsing, its scales dulling. The orb on its forehead flickered once, twice, and then shattered completely, its fragments dissolving into motes of violet light that were pulled into Lily’s core.
[SEA SERPENT — MUTATED VARIANT — DEFEATED]
[EXP GAINED — 2,600]
The serpent’s massive body drifted lifelessly toward the seafloor, its coils slack, its eyes dark.
And Lily hovered above it, her five points orbiting slowly, her dark core pulsing with a new, deeper light. The violet energy she had absorbed swirled within her, blending with the darkness, and for a moment, she glowed with a radiance that was neither wholly dark nor wholly light.
Gray let out a long, shaky pulse. His carapace was still ringing from the Seed-infused venom, his HP slowly climbing back as Abyssal Regeneration ticked away the damage.
"Woah... that was close. Way too close."
Cindy drifted toward Lily, her frills swaying with genuine warmth. She reached out with her remaining hand and gently patted the star creature’s dark core.
"Great job, Lily. You saved us. That was incredible."
Lily pulsed once, bright and warm, then her core flickered as she seemed to process what she had just absorbed. The violet energy within her swirled, settled, and then faded into the deep, steady darkness of her body. She was back to normal or maybe something more than normal.
Then she spun in a happy, dizzying circle, her five points orbiting faster and faster, her core flashing with joy.
Gray watched her for a moment, his luminous gaze softening.
"You just got praised and you’re already this happy?"
Cindy laughed softly, her silver eyes crinkling at the edges.
"Of course she’s happy. She just did something amazing. Let her enjoy it."
Lily spun once more, then stopped mid-orbit. Her core pulsed with sudden focus, and the darkness around her began to shift. Thin threads of black energy gathered above her body, weaving together, shaping themselves into something new.
An arrow.
A black arrow, sleek and sharp, its surface etched with faint violet veins that pulsed in rhythm with her core. It hovered above her like a compass needle, pointing steadily in one direction.
Cindy’s frills lifted with realization.
"That’s... that’s the tracking ability! She’s using the Seed residue to activate it!"
Gray stared at the arrow, then at Lily, then back at the arrow.
"She figured it out. By absorbing the Seed’s energy, she unlocked the tracking function."
The black arrow quivered, then pointed firmly toward the distant dark, unwavering. It was leading them somewhere. And Gray already knew where.
"The Great Tartarus," he said. "That’s the direction, isn’t it?"
Lily pulsed once, bright and affirmative.
Cindy drifted closer, her silver eyes following the arrow’s path.
"She did it," she whispered. "Lily actually did it."
Gray let out a slow, satisfied pulse.
"Good job, Lily. I take back what I said earlier."
Lily spun in another happy circle, her core flashing with pride.
Cindy turned toward Gray, her frills swaying with excitement.
"So? What are we waiting for?"
Gray’s luminous gaze swept the dark water ahead, following the arrow’s direction.
"Nothing," he said. "Let’s go."