Chaos (3)
The battle began with him taking the initiative. He swung his staff forward in a grand arc, unleashing a blaze of flames so fierce it rivaled the magic of any ordinary cultist.
"Deep Sea Tentacle"
But I didn't dodge. Instead, I burned through a massive amount of blood to summon a tentacle larger than any I'd called forth before.
Krraaaash!
A colossal tentacle erupted from beneath my feet, piercing through the flames to intercept the cult leader. Five tentacles hurtled toward him, each one as thick as a subway car. It was an assault worthy of a kraken's wrath.
"Become one with chaos"
His response was simple. He spun his staff like a spear, then fired a white orb from its tip. The orb shot forward, swelling on contact with the tentacles before exploding and shredding them to pieces.
'Compressed storm magic shaped into a bead.'
The shockwave ravaged the rooftop. I used the remaining three tentacles to counter the backlash, then glared up at him hovering in the air. He'd only cast one chantless spell and one single-syllable incantation, yet the power gap was obvious.
"In the primordial Earth, there was no land. The land too is Mother's domain."
I ignored it and deployed my next spell. More blood drained away, and seawater began flooding the area. At the same time, the tentacles' stats surged. Their speed increased beyond before, and their regeneration was insane—dunked once in the water, and over half had already regrown.
The regenerated tentacles lunged again. Even if he ground three legs to dust at once, the opposite ones healed and struck back.
"Sorry, but I hate annoyances."
Urk?!
Irritated by the stalemate, he boiled his mana for a major spell. Heat radiated everywhere as a curtain of fire unfurled—tentacles dried to jerky just approaching it, canceling any close assault.
"The righteous shall burn to ash, leaving only the cowards who devour corpses."
He swung his staff, and a massive wave of fire engulfed the rooftop. Flames coalesced like water, forming a tide without ebb or flow. A clumsy counter would incinerate me.
Block it!
Shrrrrk!
I urgently commanded the tentacles. They bunched into a massive wall. But the fire wave was fiercer than expected, slowly charring the legs as flames seeped inward.
"Kgh!"
In that instant, one tentacle grabbed my waist and hurled me below the factory roof. The fire wave swallowed the tentacles, reducing them to ash.
Plunged into the seawater, I was pushed to the barrier wall by the aftershock. Barely regaining my senses, I surfaced.
He sneered down from the sky. I was on the back foot overall, so he had the leisure to taunt. But he was mistaken about one thing: my firepower could match anyone's.
"As the rightful ruler of the sixth sea, husband to Her, I command."
The blood I'd spilled earlier—used a few times already, but plenty lingered in the sea. I channeled it into a spell. A red magic circle bloomed on the surface, activating as a massive summoning array.
"Insolent fool!"
Sensing the massive flow, he dove to interrupt, staff wreathed in storm winds.
Kgh?!
But the array was already linked to the deep sea—a voracious wormhole sucking in and expelling everything. Anyone not of the abyss stepping in would be crushed or shredded by the currents.
"Deep sea soldiers, come and annihilate Her foe."
The chant completed. The sea roiled violently, swirling into a point before erupting into a towering waterspout.
Kroooaaar!!!
A colossal monster emerged: fish-headed, with a human torso and mermaid tail below. Its name was Destroyer, wielder of the trident that shattered all—or so I'd have it. In truth, it wasn't that strong, comparable to the Punisher.
Go kill it.
Krooargh!
Measured against deep sea standards, though, it overflowed with power on land. I pointed at the cult leader, and the Destroyer thrust its trident.
"Mariana creature? Cthulhu's minion!?"
Who knows.
The cult leader blocked the charge in panic. He knew I wielded sea magic, but not that I could summon something this potent. He belatedly tried analyzing it—wrong on all counts. Mariana trench beasts and Cthulhu's servants were primitive compared to Shin-nim.
Kroooaaargh!!
"Crazy monster bastard!"
Enraged by the insult, the Destroyer swung its trident more fiercely. He dodged with wind manipulation, occasionally parrying with his staff.
Clang! Clang! Cliiing!
Each clash boomed, chaos energy clashing with abyssal might.
"Storm! Return all on the earth to nothingness!"
Krogh!
Judging raw power and skill insufficient, he soared higher and unleashed a storm spell. The atmosphere spun into a massive cyclone, a pillar of wind slamming down.
The Destroyer plunged its trident into the ground, summoning dozens of water spears.
"Die!"
Kroooaaar!
Wind pillar met water spears. Gale scattered liquid; mass crushed air. Currents and vortex intertwined into a massive waterspout, swelling until—BOOM!—it swept the area.
"Even in stormy nights, the depths remain serene."
I cast a defensive spell immediately. It guzzled blood but excelled in performance—no aftershock reached me or the civilians inside the barrier.
Kgh...!
Krughhh...
Only the cult leader and Destroyer, outside the water, took hits. Both looked wrecked: him bleeding from dozens of wounds, it with a mangled arm and shoulder. Labored breaths, depleted mana.
'I'm not great either...'
Having avoided direct combat, I wasn't pristine. Mana long gone, excessive blood loss leaving me sweaty and hazy. Still, best shape of the three—enough for a few more spells.
Why not give up now?
"Insolent cur...!"
The tide had turned. I could sustain; Destroyer regenerated swiftly in the sea. He healed too, but slower than us.
"Damn... damn it...! Think I'll lose like this!?"
But he refused defeat, resorting to madness: stabbing his chest and ripping out his heart.
"Chaos! With heart prepared, descend and claim it!"
His incantation traded life for power, transcending his limits.
Kgh...?! Kraaak!? KRAaaaK!!!
His body ballooned. Flames spewed from his protruding maw, fur sprouted, beastly transformation— not just borrowing chaos, becoming it.
'Goddamn it.'
A fiery storm erupted around him. From below, it looked like the sun crashing down. Even distant, flesh cooked, seawater boiled.
Can you block that?
Kruuung...
Destroyer couldn't. Things got complicated. Frontal block meant my death; evasion risked shattering the barrier and civilians.
Barrier down? That mini-sun hits reality, turning the industrial zone to inferno.
This could escalate badly, so I urgently called for Shin-nim's aid. She responded positively. Her flesh touched my back, a hand on my chest, overwhelming power flooding me. I felt invincible.
Then Shin-nim withdrew her hand, hooking my arm as I prepared to cast. Stunned, I froze. Blocking now was critical—failure meant thousands dead, the area razed.
'Listen to your wife, and rice cakes fall in your sleep.'
But I shut up without question. If Shin-nim said so, there was reason. Her faith in me was absolute. So I ignored the chaos bastard, clung to her, and bobbed on the sea. It'll work out.
"Hm?"
How much time passed? With senses stretched to the limit under her buff, something massive approached at jet speed—bigger than a plane.
It landed atop the barrier in a flash, punching through to enter.
"...White Tiger?"
The intruder was none other than the White Tiger—one of the Four Guardian Gods, a divine beast on par with chaos itself.