Chapter 135—The Serpent of the Deep.
The massive gates of The Abyssal Citadel, crafted from dark coral-encrusted obsidian and ancient sea-titan bones, loomed over the deep ocean trench like the jaw of a dormant leviathan. Massive currents of super-compressed, pressurized water rushed in and out of the gates, vibrating with high-frequency sonic resonance capable of pulverizing divine bone structure.
Kaelen stood before the threshold, his dark coat swaying gracefully within the golden sanctuary of the Key of the Holy Grail. Behind his calm, violet eyes, a sudden, subtle vibration hummed within his chest core—a faint, rhythmic beep... beep... echoing through his soul like the distant pulse of a medical heart monitor in a silent room.
Mother... Kaelen thought silently, his fingers tightening around the leather hilt of his blade. Every floor, every monarch, every drop of mana spent... is just one step closer to waking up.
His cold, dark smile returned, smooth and unreadable, as he raised his left hand.
"Ren," Kaelen commanded, his velvet voice cutting cleanly through the deep-sea turbulence. "The pressure locks on these gates are tied to the floor’s water conduits. Disrupt their resonance."
"Understood, my lord," Ren replied. Her suit’s gauntlets unfolded four glowing blue sonic-disruption nodes that sank directly into the oceanic obsidian. "Bypassing fluid-dynamics lock... Overloading core pressure values in three... two... one."
CRACK-THUNDER!
The massive bone-reinforced gates didn’t just dissolve—the internal pressure inside their mechanism was forced to reverse instantly by Ren’s hack, causing the ancient doors to implode outward into millions of glowing blue crystal shards.
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[ZONE ENTERED: The Abyssal Citadel—Throne of the Ocean]
HAZARD RATING: TIER-SSS (Hydro-Pressure Singularity & Soul-Drowning Trench)
FIELD EFFECT: [Abyssal Suffocation]—Non-Sovereign Entities Suffer 15% Mana Drain & Absolute Movement Restrictions!
STATUS: Overlord Boss Lair Reached
---
The inner sanctum was a staggering underwater dome carved from dark sapphire quartz. At the center hovered a massive, spherical whirlpool of pitch-black water—a localized oceanic singularity that distorted light and swallowed sound.
Hovering in the center of the vortex was The Ocean Monarch Leviathan (Level 192 Tier-OVERLORD).
Unlike previous bosses who charged Jadon, Leviathan was a terrifying, serpent-like sea deity spanning over two hundred feet, covered in iridescent dark-blue dragon scales that absorbed magic. His eyes burned with ancient, cold intelligence, and four massive tendrils dripping with high-pressure fluid floated around his crowned head.
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[OVERLORD BOSS ENGAGED!]
TARGET: The Ocean Monarch Leviathan—Sovereign of the Deep (Level 192 Tier-OVERLORD)
HP: 580,000,000 / 580,000,000
SPECIAL TACTIC: Hydro-Mirror Illusion & Spatial Pressure Lock!
RELIQUE RESONANCE: Key of the Holy Grail (100% Operational)
---
"Surface dwellers," Leviathan’s voice echoed directly in their minds through deep acoustic telepathy, vibrating through their very bones. "You think you walk upon solid ground? In my domain, space is fluid, and your strength is merely air waiting to be squeezed out."
Leviathan did not raise a weapon. Instead, he flicked his giant tail!
SWOOSH!
Instantly, the pitch-black water inside the dome fractured into dozens of fluid mirrors! From each mirror emerged an identical manifestation of Leviathan, surrounding the Sovereign Faction from every direction in three-dimensional space!
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[BOSS SKILL ACTIVATED: Abyssal Hydro-Mirrors]
EFFECT: Creates 12 High-Tier Pressure Clones! All attacks directed at clones explode into 100,000,000 HP Hydro-Crushing Shockwaves!
---
"Tsubaki, Ignis, and Ren," Kaelen purred, his eyes narrowing slightly as he analysed the shifting spatial fluid. "This isn’t a direct brawl. He’s turning the water into an optical and spatial trap."
"Allow me to break his mirror trick, my lord," Tsubaki whispered.
Instead of striking blindly, Tsubaki merged entirely with the deep-sea shadow beneath Kaelen’s feet. Using the absolute darkness of the abyss, he expanded his shadow threads across the entire dome floor, connecting to the base of every single fluid mirror.
"Shadow Art: Blind Spot Extinction!"
SNAP!
The shadow threads surged upward, severing the light-refraction lines maintaining the clones! Eleven of the twelve massive serpents dissolved instantly back into normal water bubbles!
"There’s a real overgrown eel!" Ignis roared, but instead of charging with a straight slash, he slammed his claymore into the sapphire quartz floor!
"Dragon Fire Art: Hyperbaric Thermal Shock!"
The superheated black dragon fire didn’t just burn through the water—it superheated the high-pressure ocean fluid directly beneath Leviathan, creating a violent steam explosion that shattered the water shields surrounding the monarch and launched his massive two-hundred-foot form out of the central vortex!
"Kaelen! He’s exposed!" Lyra called out, her staff flaring with brilliant divine gold, expanding a beam of holy light that locked Leviathan’s massive tail in place, preventing him from retreating into the ocean singularity!
Leviathan hissed in pure shock, his cold intelligence failing him as the Sovereign squad neutralized his spatial-fluid trap in seconds. "IMPOSSIBLE! ORGANIC BEINGS CANNOT COORDINATE IN THE DEEPEST TRENCH!"
In a desperate bid, Leviathan opened his colossal jaws, compressing the entire power of Floor 31’s ocean core into a single, dense beam of black plasma water!
"Ocean Overlord Art: Grand
Hydro-Singularity Extinction!"
The beam erupted with enough force to breach an entire continent’s tectonic plate!
Kaelen stepped forward smoothly, placing himself directly between the beam and Lyra.
His eyes flashed with triple-ringed golden authority, but this time, he didn’t just use his blade. He raised his open left hand, his glove crackling with pure, dark Void Gravity.
"Void Art: Event Horizon!"
HUMMMMMMMM!
A massive, flat disk of absolute pitch-black space manifested ten feet in front of Kaelen. The colossal beam of black plasma water struck the disk—and instead of being merely absorbed, the entire trajectory of the beam was bent 180 degrees through folded space, redirecting Leviathan’s ultimate attack straight back into his chest!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
---
[REFLECTED CRITICAL DAMAGE!]
DAMAGE DEALT TO LEVIATHAN: 290,000,000 (Self-Inflicted Singularity)
LEVIATHAN’S SHIELDS: COMPLETELY SHATTERED!
---
"AAAAAAAGH!" Leviathan let out a deafening telepathic shriek as his own hydro-singularity shattered his scales and ruptured his internal mana core!
As the sea serpent reeled back, suspended helplessly in the fractured water, Kaelen moved.
He didn’t walk—he folded space beneath his boots, appearing instantly above Leviathan’s massive head. His dark coat billowed in the water like wings of absolute night.
His slender fingers wrapped around the hilt of the Void Blade.
The Key of the Holy Grail in his chest flared with dark golden light, and for a fraction of a second, the image of a white hospital room and his mother’s gentle hand flashed through Kaelen’s mind, fueling his resolve with terrifying, unstoppable momentum.
"Your ocean ends here, Leviathan," Kaelen purred softly, his velvet voice ringing directly inside the monarch’s dying consciousness.
SHING!
"Sovereign Secret Art: Spatial Erasure—Abyssal Dissolution!"
SKRRRRRRRAASH!
A clean, vertical line of pitch-black non-existence split the entire underwater dome in two. The line passed through Leviathan’s two-hundred-foot body, his core, and the oceanic singularity behind him.
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[CRITICAL HIT!]
TARGET: The Ocean Monarch Leviathan (Level 192 Overlord) & Ocean Core
DAMAGE DEALT: 920,000,000 (Pure Spatial Eradication)
SPECIAL EFFECT: Hydro-Immortality Negated! Domain Erased!
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
---
The massive serpent froze. Then, without a sound, his gigantic form dissolved into millions of harmless blue light particles that drifted upward like falling stars in the dark ocean.
---
[OVERLORD BOSS ELIMINATED!]
TARGET: The Ocean Monarch Leviathan—Sovereign of the Deep
EXP RECEIVED: 210,000,000 Points!
WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: FACTION ’SOVEREIGN’ HAS CONQUERED FLOOR 31!
---
The crushing pressure inside the dome vanished completely. In the spot where Leviathan once stood, a glowing azure-and-gold ocean crystal drifted gently downward.
Kaelen caught the crystal smoothly in his hand.
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[FLOOR CONQUERED!]
ZONE CLEAR: The Abyssal Deep of Leviathan
WAYSTONE UNLOCKED: Floor 32 Waygate Active!
REWARD: Sovereign Ocean Crown & 22,000,000 Gold System Tokens.
---
Lyra walked up beside Kaelen, her bright blue eyes filled with tenderness as she reached out and gently held his arm. She looked into his eyes, sensing the deeper, quiet intensity that had flared within him during the strike.
"You fought with a fierce urgency today, Kaelen," Lyra whispered softly, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. "Whatever lies beyond the 500th floor... I will stand by your side until you reach it."
Kaelen looked down at her, his expression softening slightly as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
"I know you will, my light," Kaelen whispered, kissing her forehead gently before turning toward the glowing portal of Floor 32.
"Now... let us take the next floor."