The Ghost Jellyfish
Starlight spilled in elegant cascades through the banquet hall of House Babirun.
On the dais, Derus Robert and Duke Babirun clinked their glasses with cheerful ease.
"Your son's shoulder is recovering smoothly."
Duke Babirun offered Derus Robert a gentle smile.
"At the earliest three months, at the latest four, he'll have the sensation he had before the injury."
"Far faster than I expected. I'm grateful for Your Grace's consideration."
Derus nodded, meeting the duke's eyes.
"Grateful? In an alliance, this much is only natural. You'll make me feel unappreciated, speaking like that."
Duke Babirun waved a hand. For all the modest words, his eyes were brimming with hunger.
"Is that so."
Derus curled the corner of his mouth, tasting the desire blooming faintly off the man.
A pig of a man.
Duke Babirun had ability, that much was certain — but he lusted after more than that ability could ever justify. It was that greed that had him falling behind even the marquises of late, that had him called a rotting, crumbling pillar of Valkar.
Still...
This plump pig had plenty of meat worth roasting. Healing Cadis's shoulder was only part of it. To swallow Valkar whole, he needed this creature's rank and power. That was why he had come here first, rather than visiting the other houses that specialized in recovery.
"Even so, I can't let this pass without recompense. If there's something you desire, speak freely."
Derus lifted a hand, inviting him to say whatever he wished.
"Truly, it's fine. As I've said before, our duchy is honored simply by the Heavenly Sword Star's presence."
Babirun shook his head, his eyes even thicker with greed than his words suggested.
"Still so modest. But the matter of saving my unworthy son—"
Derus broke off mid-sentence and clutched his head.
What...
Just now, two Rage Worms had died. And not the ones he'd planted in the insects — the ones he'd planted in two people he trusted.
Matio and Cosini are dead?
Cosini's mind-control magic could dominate not only spiritual beasts, but even martial artists of Upper Master rank and above. No matter how strong the monsters in the undersea dungeon were, he could not believe they had died without even being able to flee.
And more than that...
It had been packed with terror and agony. Rage Worms could also read what emotions their hosts felt. The last signals from Matio and Cosini's Rage Worms had been shock, terror, and pain.
What in the world...
Matio was an assassin who had erased every ordinary human emotion. The thought that he had died feeling something so violent left Derus's mind blank.
"My lord?"
"I'll step out for some air."
He could feel his face going pale and rigid. Neither his usual composure nor his control of expression was working. He had to get out of here before they saw through him.
"My lord! If you're unwell, allow me to examine you!"
"I'm fine."
"It could be a serious illness—"
"I said that's enough."
"Hngh!"
The murderous gleam Derus unleashed made Duke Babirun's flesh shudder as he toppled backward. Derus glared at him, then turned his back.
Damn it...
He knew he had to endure, and still he couldn't. The incident at the Ninth Breeding Ground not long ago rose in his mind, and his fingertips trembled.
A low, grinding surge of killing intent rolled off him as he crossed the banquet hall, silence settling in his wake, and stepped outside. Rezel had already fallen in behind him.
"My lord?"
"Matio is dead."
"Y-yes...?"
Rezel was too stunned to continue.
"I don't know the exact reason, but something must have gone wrong in the dungeon."
He simply couldn't understand what could have happened in that place to make them die feeling such vicious emotion.
"I-I'll handle it. First the Shadows—"
"No."
Derus shook his head and shrugged on the coat he'd brought. Death energy rippled in his gaze.
"I'll go myself."
Raon clenched both fists, then opened them, checking his body over.
Not bad.
The aura expenditure had been considerable, but the enlightenment of Flame Sea Flawless had lifted his swordsmanship by a full stride. Once this was finished and he could sink into training, it wouldn't be only his stats that rose — the realms of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacia would climb as well.
I got more out of this than I expected.
Maybe he ought to buy Merlin a meal. He had come here only to keep Derus from claiming the dungeon's treasures, and instead he had taken his revenge on Matio and learned a new sword art besides. Merlin had even delivered the information on this place in the form of a squirrel. He felt grateful enough that he wanted to give her something.
What's left now...
Deal with the monster below, take the treasure, and bring the entire dungeon down. That was all.
"Would it not be better to recover your aura and stamina and go at full strength?" Wrath said. "The energy of the one below matches yours."
"Matches mine, huh..."
It was true. The killing intent the spiritual beast was raising from the depths was formidable. Wrath was right — restoring his stamina and aura before going down was the sensible thing to do.
"I know that's the better call. But..."
Raon looked up at the ceiling and let a cold smile touch his mouth.
"There's no time."
"Time?"
"Yeah. The dog's owner is on his way."
By now the deaths of Matio and Cosini would have reached Derus, and a man like that would already have left House Babirun and be coming here in person.
His patience will have hit its limit.
The collapse of the Ninth Breeding Ground, and now the death of Matio, whom he had trusted — Derus would have lost his composure. Raon had to get out of here as fast as possible, before they crossed paths.
A deep hum rolled through the chamber as Raon leveled the Heavenly Sky Sword at the floor and condensed his aura. The compressed force at the blade's tip detonated in a single burst. The power of a Heavy Heavenly Cannon grown stronger still split the earth like a spiderweb and brought it down.
A chilling killing intent surged up from directly below, and the hair on his arms stood on end. Raon dropped his gaze and confirmed the shape of the spiritual beast that had sent it.
That can't be...
A jellyfish?
A single jellyfish, shining white as a snowfield, drifted through the empty air. Its body was perhaps four meters across; the tentacles looked to run more than forty.
"Rather beautiful," Wrath said, watching it undulate, a faint laugh in his voice. "Of course, it won't be easy to catch."
Right. It's a Ghost Jel.
A marine monster named for the way its transparent, sleek body and tentacles drifted through the air like a phantom. This one, though, was more than three times the size of an ordinary Ghost Jellyfish.
Raon frowned.
I drew a troublesome one.
Ghost Jellyfish had two defining traits. The first was an acceleration that was monstrous whether they were in the sea or on land — fast enough to outpace most martial artists. If one of them had already seen you, you had to assume the tentacles were already at your nose.
The second trait was the truly frightening one. A Ghost Jellyfish carried a venom that yielded to no poison and no venomous insect alive. The toxin of an ordinary Ghost Jellyfish could melt sword aura. The venom of one that had become a spiritual beast would almost certainly work on ganggi.
Killing intent flared as the Ghost Jellyfish lashed out with a tentacle — faster than a Master's flashing draw, an attack timed for the instant he hung in empty air, unable to move.
Raon brought the Heavenly Sky Sword down on the tentacle streaking toward him like a bolt of light.
A deafening clang burst out as blade met tentacle, as if he had struck a mass of iron.
Strong.
Even with ganggi blazing along the sword, the tentacle didn't fully sever. True to a spiritual beast, the tentacles themselves had hardened.
A thin, keening cry leaked from the Ghost Jellyfish as it sank slowly and unfurled. Dozens — no, hundreds — of tentacles rose as one, then bent and came driving down. It was like watching sunlight fall from the sky.
The force loaded into each tentacle was immense, and the motion was as sharp as a swordsman's. It felt like fighting a grandmaster of shifting blades and illusion swords.
The problem is...
A master's sword mixed in fakes. Every one of these was real.
Raon stamped the Supreme Harmony Footwork and sprinted left. The Ghost Jellyfish's tentacles changed direction in an instant, as if they had eyes of their own, and came after him.
Not stupid, either.
The Ghost Jellyfish kept its body ready to move at any moment, holding itself in reserve while it attacked with tentacles alone.
Where the tentacles punched into the earth, the ground melted white. Seawater welled up through the holes.
That's the terrifying part.
The venom's potency was far outside any normal range. As he'd expected, the toxin of a Ghost Jellyfish that had become a spiritual beast would be able to erase even ganggi.
This is going to be a grind.
Cosini would have subdued the thing easily with mind-control magic. Raon had to punch through the venom and take it down himself, and that was going to be exhausting.
The Ghost Jellyfish seemed to realize it couldn't catch him attacking from one side. It spread its tentacles left and right, compressing the space around him. Not only its movement and reactions were fast — its thinking was, too.
Except...
That was what he'd been waiting for.
A deep smile touched Raon's mouth as he drove forward. He had been waiting for this exact instant, when the tentacles split to strike his body.
Cold drawn to its limit along the Heavenly Sky Sword, loosed as a blade of frost.
In the instant the sword and the blade of cold stretched out almost together, a spray of white venom erupted from the Ghost Jellyfish's bell.
The frost-forged edge met the toxic miasma and melted away into nothing. As expected, this Ghost Jellyfish's venom carried force on par with ganggi itself.
"Tsk."
Raon clicked his tongue and fell back.
I've never seen one do that.
A specimen that spat deadly venom not only from its tentacles but from the bell as well — this was a first. A new ability, most likely, grown as it became a spiritual beast.
Sensing the threat, the Ghost Jellyfish compressed its body, shrinking itself, then set every tentacle in motion at once.
It felt like hundreds of swordsmen charging in together, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
It's on guard.
Unlike before, it was no longer committing every tentacle to the attack. Some it left around its body for defense. This one knew how to think.
Raon scraped the Heavenly Sky Sword up from below and bloomed Flower Spirit. Crimson-stained petals drifted through the air and crashed into the venom-laden tentacles.
Petals of searing crimson ganggi, blooming from the Heavenly Sky Sword to meet venom with fire.
Toxin and heat collided, detonating again and again in midair. The dungeon walls split, and gray dust billowed out.
Raon stamped the second step of the Supreme Harmony Footwork. He shot forward like a thunderbolt and crashed in from the Ghost Jellyfish's flank, carrying the acceleration straight into a thrust from a blade drawn back over his shoulder.
The breath of a fire dragon, grown through the First Patriarch's sword scars, roared out without restraint.
The Ghost Jellyfish let out a grotesque cry and spun left. Silver energy burst from its bell — venom more vicious than before.
The heat of the Flame Dragon Form and the jellyfish's deadly toxin met head-on, and a terrifying shockwave exploded between them.
"Nnh..."
Raon sprang back so the miasma wouldn't spread.
"For a lesser creature, it's rather capable."
Wrath gave a short laugh, watching the Ghost Jellyfish with something like interest.
Yeah. It feels like fighting a martial artist.
Most monsters moved simply. This one, having touched the rank of a spiritual beast, was reading his actions and answering them. Not an easy opponent.
The Ghost Jellyfish anticipated his line of movement and brought its tentacles crashing down — not only from above this time, but from the left, the right, and below, hammering him from four directions at once.
It's sealing off the space to escape entirely.
A vicious thing.
Raon narrowed his eyes and swept the Heavenly Sky Sword up in a half-circle. Even wrapped in ganggi, the blade did not cut the Ghost Jellyfish's tentacles easily. A rebound like striking steel shoved the sword back.
"It's strong, I'll give it that. But I've got its measure."
Raon smiled as the Ghost Jellyfish's tentacles came on for a second wave.
"I'm a little busy. I can't play with you any longer."
On any other day he would have studied the Ghost Jellyfish's assault as martial research. He had no idea when Derus, riding a dimensional gate, would arrive. There was no time to linger.
He stamped a true step and raised Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to its extreme. A whirling blade of fire flared to life and smashed through the Ghost Jellyfish's tentacles.
The tentacles that had felt like iron until now sheared away like scraps of cloth.
A shriek tore from the Ghost Jellyfish as it flailed the severed tentacles wildly. It looked like a rampage. It wasn't. It was spraying the deadly venom stored inside them.
"That won't work either."
He wound the principles of the Mad Fang Sword around the Heavenly Sky Sword's blade. The claws of a burning beast incinerated the venom and ripped the tentacles apart without mercy. Every time the raging flames danced, dozens of tentacles were torn away.
Even with more than half its tentacles gone, the Ghost Jellyfish did not retreat. It kept attacking in a frenzy, determined to kill him somehow.
Which means...
Raon narrowed his eyes at the pool of water where the Ghost Jellyfish's body floated.
The dungeon's treasure is under it.
Monsters that had become spiritual beasts through a relic or a spiritual elixir never left that spot. If it refused to fall back even while it was being cut to pieces, there was certainly an elixir where it stood.
Raon shoved off the ground with the Supreme Harmony Footwork and drove forward.
The Ghost Jellyfish gathered every tentacle it had left and brought them down as one. Hundreds of tentacles fused into a colossal club and fell.
Figured it couldn't do it one at a time, did you.
A good thought. A little late, though.
He gave a short laugh and brought the Heavenly Sky Sword down like a thunderbolt.
A radiance of blazing heat gathered into a single stroke, splitting the colossal tentacle in two.
The Ghost Jellyfish screamed and moved. It wrapped itself in the venom flooding the air and the toxin spraying from its bell, and charged.
It had not given up on living. This was simply the most efficient attack it could make in this moment.
This one's going to be dangerous.
His fingertips trembled before a tide of venom so vicious it made his head swim, even with his poison resistance.
Raon drew the Heavenly Sky Sword in a fluid pull. The black shadow settled along the blade flickered into white light and poured out a vast radiance.
The Ghost Jellyfish made a last, desperate spray of venom from its bell, but before that white shadow it was no different from a flower that withered without ever blooming.
White Shadow Flash, having swallowed the venom, detonated the power it had gathered. A bolt of freezing lightning drove down, and the Ghost Jellyfish's body split in two.
It flung venom in a final thrash, but that too failed to cross White Shadow Flash and vanished like dust.
Terrifying.
He had used it himself, and still — the ability to erase every scrap of an enemy's energy was a cheat. With this, he felt as if he would never lose to anyone weaker than himself.
"Damn it!"
Wrath bellowed.
"You should have lasted longer! After sucking up the energy of this place all this time, what kind of pathetic display is this!"
He smacked the tentacles with his tiny palms, slap-slap, as if the Ghost Jellyfish's hollow defeat personally offended him.
"Time to collect the spoils."
Raon raised Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation in both hands and searched the Ghost Jellyfish's body.
Found it.
From the left side of the trunk he pulled a bead that flashed silver — the Ghost Jellyfish's core, packed full of deadly venom.
I won't be able to just eat this as-is.
The toxicity was far too severe to swallow it raw.
"I'll set this aside for now."
He shoved the Ghost Jellyfish's corpse aside. The pool it had refused to leave even in death lay fully revealed. Raon looked at the center of the water, risen emerald-green with seawater, and swallowed.
"This is..."