So… this is it.

I stare out at the Riftflow through my mask. Waves of jellyfish swirl around like ghosts, drifting eerily over the barren wasteland.

My grip tightens on the sword in my hand. Gauntlets are secured, a sling hangs from my waist, and a bag full of javelins is slung across my back. I don't have Houston, but Darius can manage Overdrive, so it should be okay.

Ayu stands at my side, fully equipped and ready. She notices my gaze and meets it, her eyes sharp even behind her mask. We exchange a nod and a smile.

So… this could be considered our first date, huh? Quite the odd sequence of events.

I glance to my other side. Chiara stands with four others, all wearing masks and gauntlets. I remember them from the aftermath of the last boss fight.

Farther back, a dozen climbers man three ballistas. They'll probably fire from the edge. I don't think they'll venture deep into the Riftflow while the waves remain active near the border.

Which means only Chiara's group will follow me in. Five people. Smart enough, I guess.

Alright, enough delay. Houston's waiting.

For a moment, I wonder if I should send them a signal. Nah, they'll follow me anyway.

I send one to Ayu instead. A thumbs-up with an interrogation mark.

She gives me a thumbs-up in return, using her hand.

Good.

I push into Overdrive and rush forward.

Let's get the show started.

The air reeks—sharp, briny, with a faint metallic tang that clings to my throat.

Every sound sharpens. Ayu's breathing. The rhythmic thud of her footsteps. Even the faint beat of her heart.

The jellyfish shift, a mass of translucent bodies glowing faintly as they converge from the left.

I keep my path straight, letting them close in. As they near, I veer right, a subtle shift meant to throw them off.

A faint vibration ripples through the air. The ballistas?

Two heavy bolts whistle past, slamming into the swarm. The impact scatters a few, their gelatinous forms rupturing mid-air, but the rest close ranks, undeterred.

I track Ayu. I match her speed.

One section of the swarm breaks off, retreating toward the rear. Reinforcements for the others, no doubt. Irrelevant.

The boss. That's all that matters now.

We press forward. Wave after wave of jellyfish surge toward us, translucent tentacles trailing like deadly whips. I feel the weight of their numbers but don't slow.

The first jellyfish blocks my path.

Tentacles snap toward me. I drop low, sliding beneath its body, then spring upward, vaulting over the next one with a clean roll.

As I land, another lashes out from the right. I twist sharply, stopping just short of its strike, letting it sweep past before driving forward again with renewed speed.

I flick my waves toward Ayu, tracking her movements. She's weaving through the mass with impossible precision. She's dodging better than I am.

Good. Nothing to worry about.

Another jellyfish dives toward me, tentacles spinning in a wide arc. I raise my sword, slashing clean through two tendrils before darting left to avoid the rest. My feet barely touch the ground before I'm moving again, a javelin already in hand.

I hurl it into the swarm ahead, spearing one of the creatures through its core. Its glow dims as it collapses, and the rest surge around it, undeterred.

We keep going.

Finally, the boss looms into view.

A fucking big bastard.

It floats, immense and otherworldly, its translucent body casting an eerie glow that pulses like the slow, deliberate heartbeat of something far beyond human comprehension.

Thirteen tentacles, each as thick as ancient tree trunks, drift with unnatural precision, their movements hypnotic.

The faint luminescence of its seven cores flickers through its gelatinous mass, each core shifting unpredictably.

Around it, smaller jellyfish swarm in chaotic patterns, their glowing bodies forming an orbit, a living halo of lesser creatures. They move with frenetic energy, erratic yet coordinated, like drones circling an alien mothership.

It stands there, silent, ominous. Waiting. Confident.

I scan it with my waves, but they return nothing. No outline, no details—like it's not even there. Completely immune to detection.

I'll have to rely on my eyes and instincts for this one.

I focus on the cores, shifting faintly within its translucent body. A good throw with the javelin should be enough to take one out, but I'll need to get closer—too far, and it'll easily react in time to evade.

I feel only a faint pressure. I, too, am confident.

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And so… I rush.

The closer I get, the bigger it feels. The kind of massive, unearthly presence humans were never meant to face. Divine or cursed—it doesn't matter. My blood boils. I want to take it down.

Two waves of Glow-Lurkers converge on me, swarming like loyal sentinels protecting their ruler.

I ignore them.

300 meters. 250. 200…

A tentacle lashes toward me from the front. I roll to the side and keep running. My gauntlets drive me forward as I channel my waves through them, but without Houston, it's weaker—at least 30%..

It'll have to do.

Another tentacle from the left. I lean back, narrowly dodging as it carves through the air like a whip.

150 meters. 100…

Its towering, translucent body looms ahead, bigger with every step. Its striking zone is near.

I send a quick signal to Ayu. A split here—she goes left, I go right. Divide its attention, split the waves. She sends a thumbs up back without hesitation.

60 meters.

Nearly there.

More tendrils. I cut through them, clean arcs slicing the gelatinous limbs. I sheath my sword, grabbing a javelin from the bag. My fingers tighten around the shaft, feeling the weight and balance. It's solid.

Its massive tentacles stretch over 30 meters, swaying like otherworldly trees.

35 to 40 meters—that's my optimal range.

I lock my eyes on a core, its faint glow pulsing within the colossal, translucent form.

I plant my foot, coiling all my momentum like a spring. The javelin leaves my hand at incredible speed, slicing through the air, aimed straight for the core.

It hits the translucent body. But then… it slows. Too fast.

My eyes widen. The javelin stops completely, a meter from the orb, and I see it—disintegrating. Eroding as if the creature itself is eating it away.

Behind me, the jellyfish swarm closer.

I grit my teeth.

This range isn't enough.

No time to hesitate. Either retreat into the swarm or push forward into striking range. I don't think. I push forward.

32, 31, 30, 29 meters…

And then… it changes.

No warning. No vibration. No signal. But I feel it—the shift. The aura. It's… alive.

Shit.

A tentacle whips toward me, a blur faster than I expect. I leap back. Air rushes past me like a blade, forcing me into a hard roll across the ground.

I land on one knee, gasping. The ground beneath me feels like it's shaking.

What the hell is this speed?

But I don't hesitate for even half a second. However strong it is… it will fall.

I rush in again.

Closer and closer, gripping another javelin in my hand.

I don't even try to cut its tendrils. Each tentacle is too thick, too fast. My sword would do nothing against them, and deflecting one might shatter my arm.

All I can do is focus.

Eyes locked on the massive form. Every sense heightened.

I feel it. The same tentacle is coming again. Odd. No time to think about why.

It's fast, but I can dodge it.

I don't leap back this time. I accelerate instead, sliding across the rough ground beneath it.

The air hits my face, sharp and stinging, like a slap from the sky. I grit my teeth, push up quickly, recover my stance, and rush forward.

The javelin is gripped tight in my hand. I put everything into the throw, all my momentum, all my fury, releasing it less than 15 meters away.

It flies straight, piercing its translucent body. It loses speed quickly but—

Crack!

I grin.

The first orb shatters.

But as I prepare my second javelin, the atmosphere shifts. The remaining orbs begin to glow faintly, and then—

Two tentacles come at me simultaneously.

What the—

One sweeps low, tearing through the ground, while the other comes down in a vertical chop.

I channel my waves into the gauntlets and leap to the side, narrowly avoiding both.

The gust from their movement knocks me off balance, sending me rolling across the ground.

No hesitation. I'm back on my feet, pushing hard into the ground for the next throw.

A tentacle arcs toward me, but I calculate—I can make it.

I release the javelin straight ahead.

Without waiting for it to strike, I leap high, avoiding the wide sweep of the tentacle below.

I channel my waves into my gauntlets, pulling me back to the ground—staying in the air too long would be a death sentence.

My eyes follow the javelin. It's on course. It's going to hit.

But…

What?!

It hits the orb dead-on, but… why didn't it crack?

I land hard, rolling just in time to dodge another tentacle. They're coming at me fast.

Three tentacles are active now?

Wait… wasn't it only one earlier?

Damn it. No time to think. I focus on dodging, Overdrive pushing my reflexes to their limit.

Then I see it. The faint glow from the orbs dims. They dull again.

What's this? Some kind of temporal invulnerability after a hit?

Only one way to find out.

However, as I prepare for the next shot, I notice a javelin flying in from another angle, heading straight for the massive creature. Ayu?

It's on track but… it falls short by quite a bit.

She threw it beyond the 30-meter range, and her strength isn't enough to push it further. For her to hit the cores, she both needs to get closer and somehow improve her throwing technique. Maybe… rotation?

Wait… can I add that too?

As my mind races, my body keeps dodging the tentacles.

But I notice something—only two tentacles are focused on me now.

The third?

My heart clenches. It's on Ayu.

I spot her evading it—clean and sharp. Relief washes over me.

I can't fight like this.

Fuck! Trust Ayu!

She has her fight, and I have mine. If we can split the tentacles' attention, all the better.

I grip another javelin and push closer.

Leaping into the air, I front-flip, land solidly, and channel all the momentum into my arm. I twist my wrist, forcing the javelin into a spin as I release it.

It feels slower than before.

Did I miss?

But as it cuts through the gelatinous mass, I notice something—the speed loss is much slower than before.

Crack!

The orb shatters.

Yes!!

Fuck, yes!

An image with a thumbs up hits me, and I smile.

But… it's not time to relax.

The orbs start to glow again, and I feel the air shift.

One of its tentacles rises high while five others begin to shift below.

Six at once? Or one for defense, five for attack?

Getting angry, are we?

I grin.

My waves pick up Ayu sending another javelin from close range. It's precise but lacks the necessary power, ending up just a couple of inches short of the core. And even if it had hit…

I send her a wave, showing her that the glowing orbs mean they're invulnerable for now and suggesting she add a bit of spin to her throws to stabilize the trajectory and maximize penetration power.

Half a second later, she sends me another thumbs up.

I focus on tracking the orbs. Two seconds since they started glowing.

Then I feel it.

It's moving.

And just as it shifts, three tentacles lash toward me, layered in a sweeping arc.

Damn it. No space to slide under or leap above.

But there—a gap between the middle and upper tentacle. Less than a meter. Tight, but enough.

I jump high, twisting my body horizontally in mid-air. I spin through the gap like a spear, keeping my core tight and arms tucked to maintain balance.

The gust from the tentacles' swing slams into me, nearly knocking me off course, but I channel my waves to stabilize and accelerate my fall.

I hit the ground, steady and ready. The orbs are still glowing—three seconds now.

No point in staying this close.

I start pulling back, but then the tentacles shift focus to Ayu.

Dammit.

I clench my teeth, ready to intervene, but she's already reacting, moving as if she predicted their paths. She creates her own gaps, sliding through spaces that seem impossible.

She… she's good.

But I can't let her take all the pressure.

I send her a wave, telling her to fall back toward me. We need to create distance until the orbs stop glowing.

Another thumbs up. She starts rushing toward me, dodging the rapid swipes and whip-like strikes of the tentacles.

I stay within the 25–30 meter range, engaging two tentacles to draw some heat off her.

Five seconds. Still glowing.

She reaches me, and so does the giant creature, closing the gap slowly. The bastard might be slow, but it's adjusting its strike zone, making things more complicated.

Six seconds.

A tentacle slams into the ground near me, the impact like a bomb exploding. I roll out of the way, feeling the shockwave in my bones.

And then…

Seven seconds.

The glow fades.

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