Chapter 558: 972
After Story 17. Light of the Deep Sea
They were swimming in the darkness.
Bubble bubble! Bubble bubble!
As the world filled with water, the conquest team quickly switched to underwater breathing and checked on each other's safety.
Thanks to having created light sources with magic in advance following Eun-ha's advice, it wasn't difficult to find those nearby.
However, the light they had set afloat was infinitely small and insignificant to illuminate the vastly expansive darkness whose end was unknowable.
Nevertheless, they relied on that light to gather in formation.
"Riel, tell the team members to stay alert as we don't know what might be lurking around. And make sure they're always ready to defend, whether mentally or physically."
"Okay, got it."
"Tell them to focus on breathing as much as possible and to conserve their words. Underwater breathing is the same, but the physical and mana consumption from underwater breathing is even more severe. So from now on, you telepathists will become more important, so I'm counting on you."
"When were we ever not important? More importantly, Eun-ha Eun-ha! Don't talk too much! You need to conserve your strength!"
Ariel, who had been visibly tense, relaxed her face through the conversation with Eun-ha.
Eun-ha, having assigned a dedicated telepathist to her and entrusted Jin Seo-na with the rear, looked down at his feet.
There was only pitch-black darkness.
Just then.
Bubble bubble!
Bubbles boiled in the darkness.
Air bubbles rose upwards.
At that moment, Eun-ha was certain.
"It's coming! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
An indescribably enormous presence stretched itself.
Red eyes opened in the deep sea darkness below their feet.
Sharp, honed red eyes gazed at the conquest team.
And as if hinting at its form, emitting a murky golden light around it...
────!!!
A creature with a long horn and a dragon's form, closer to Eastern than Western in appearance, rose up as if ascending.
"...!"
It lunged towards the conquest team.
The creature opened its maw.
From deep within that maw, a golden light flashed.
Zap!
The golden light blazed up vigorously, flowing out of its mouth.
Lightning scattered in all directions.
The creature tried to close its mouth to control and further contain that lightning.
Right at that moment.
"The first strike..."
Eun-ha, who had been gathering power in his blaster since the creature revealed its presence, raised the corners of his mouth.
The silver blaster equipped on his left arm emitted a blue light from its muzzle.
"Will be mine."
Timed with the creature closing its mouth, Eun-ha fired the condensed lightning from his blaster.
───!!!
The blue lightning flashed like a bolt of light, tearing through the darkness of the deep sea.
It struck into the creature's maw, accompanied by a fierce, savage sound and a violent, rough whirlpool.
The creature, suddenly forced to swallow the blue flash, couldn't help but be startled.
Immediately after, the creature's maw exploded.
The golden light rising from the creature's lungs had collided with the blue flash.
───!!!
The explosion didn't stop at the maw but extended its influence to the creature's throat.
The head of the creature that had been lunging at the conquest team lost its momentum and fell into the deep sea.
However, they couldn't relax.
There was no way the boss monster of the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> would meet its end so easily.
Roar!
Indeed, the creature, having regained its senses, scattered killing intent with even greater momentum than before.
Changing direction, it once again aimed at the conquest team swimming above.
Moreover.
Rumble, rumble!
The creature's army revealed itself.
Dragon-horse type monsters appearing from all directions and seahorse-type monsters wielding spears and swords expressed hostility.
From that point on.
[This is a message from the Korean conquest team leader! Everyone, annihilate the enemy! This was Ariel, the Pandora Clan telepathist! Let's do our best, go go!]
The conquest team entered their final battle in the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>.
* * *
There was no need to conserve strength anymore.
As this was the final battle, the conquest team poured out their full power without the slightest hesitation.
From the start, they couldn't defeat the endlessly appearing army, especially the creature, without exerting their full strength.
"Everyone, get out of the way! I'm going to use <White Silver>!"
Amidst people dealing with the boss monster, Roberto shouted.
Then, approaching from a blind spot, he thrust his spear into the creature's back.
At that moment, the gift of <White Silver> imbued in the spear flowed out.
Whoosh!
The first white silver equipment was used.
The white silver light that spread from the cone-shaped spear drove away the darkness and penetrated the creature's wound.
Kuaaaargh!
The effect was immediate.
The area where the white silver light had seeped in couldn't avoid annihilation and oxidized into particles.
The creature, with its back hollowed out, scattered its internal organs and blood around.
It hastily retreated from the conquest team, trying to regenerate its wound.
Of course, the conquest team didn't leave the creature alone.
"Oh no you don't! Stop right there!"
"Don't let it escape!"
"Don't give it time to recover its strength!"
Ariel, transformed into a mermaid befitting her alias <Mermaid>, and people skilled in swimming quickly chased after the creature.
People who happened to be in the creature's path of movement also joined in.
Among them, Kang Si-hyeong and several guardians shot harpoons bound with chains.
Thunk! Whoosh! Bubble bubble! Clank!
The harpoons, flying in curves underwater, entangled the creature.
The creature hesitated for a moment.
Whoosh!
Crackle!
Bae Su-bin, Jo A-ra, and other casters didn't miss this opportunity.
They gulped down potions and bombarded the creature.
Flames blazed, lightning sparked, and lights of all colors exploded.
Boom boom boom!
Bubbles boiled up from all directions, and the underwater world shook violently.
Iriya, Pricis Memory, and other supporters who had been prepared for the impact immediately spread protective magic to shield the conquest team from the shock.
Roar!
Meanwhile, the creature called in its army.
The army that gathered at its call willingly sacrificed their lives for the creature without fear of death.
They tried to protect the creature by layering their bodies over each other.
However.
<Fairy Transformation: Machina Sniper>
There were gaps.
Not only Son Ga-yeon <Silver Bullet>, who had risen with butterfly wings spread.
Click! Zing...
Including Bong Gu-rae <Double Penetration>, the snipers waited for their moment.
The instant even the slightest gap appeared in the army's wall due to the casters' indiscriminate bombardment.
Bang!
They pulled their triggers.
Streams of light cutting through the darkness rushed towards the creature protected by its army.
Among them was a bullet fired by Ezekiel, the representative of the American conquest team.
His bullet, imbued with the power of <White Silver>, reached the creature.
It pierced through the murky golden scales and penetrated under its jaw.
And so.
Whoosh!
The second white silver equipment activated.
The explosively spreading light erased the underside of the creature's jaw and left a deep wound along its neck to near its chest.
Kuiaaaargh!
Once again, the creature let out a pain-filled scream.
Right at that moment.
"Even without a jaw."
While the army was distracted by the conquest team, Eun-ha, who had been moving stealthily cloaked in darkness, revealed his presence.
He smirked, appearing right in front of the creature that had raised its head in pain.
"You can still make sounds well?"
Clang!
He deactivated the blaster on his left arm and summoned the beast companion Kang.
He injected mana into Kang and returned it to its original form.
Kang was enveloped in blue lightning.
From within it.
"Come forth."
Growl!
A snow-white liger reminiscent of the 3rd tier monster Sky Piercing Liger leapt out.
Soon, the massive liger carrying Eun-ha on its back charged into the creature's maw.
Meanwhile, Eun-ha changed the wings of flame on his back.
<Beast Transformation: Phoenix Cloak>
The three pairs of flame wings transformed into a cloak of flame.
In addition to this.
Swish...
Darkness flowing from Eun-ha seeped into the flame cloak.
The darkness and flames blended, becoming purple flames that blazed.
And it moved to the Honghwa Sword in Eun-ha's right hand.
Whoosh!
Flower petals bloomed on the jet-black blade.
Amidst the fluttering red petals, the purple flames condensed on the blade burned fiercely, not extinguishing even in the dark and cold deep sea.
Eun-ha, entering the creature's maw, swung that flower, that flame.
Riding the liger Kang, he rampaged through the creature's insides.
Then he came out through the wound on the neck created by Ezekiel.
Right after.
Whoosh!
The third white silver equipment activated.
The spear thrown by Albert once again bestowed <White Silver> upon the creature.
Kuooo...
* * *
Even with the white silver equipment, the creature was still dangerous and powerful.
They couldn't let their guard down for a moment.
"Kuk!"
"Wounded, fall back!"
"The rear is just as dangerous! I'm fine, so I'll fight here!"
"Keep pushing like this!"
"I-I can't breathe..."
"It's because your mana is depleted. Quickly drink a potion!"
"Please... Don't die..."
"Prepare the next white silver equipment... Kuhek!"
"Jacob! Damn it! These bastards, my friend..."
"Just how many more are there... Stop already... Gurgle! Argh!"
"Hey, are you okay!? Can you hear me!? If you can hear, consciously breathe slowly. Don't be afraid of the water."
The battle continued.
Many people were injured and died.
And even more monsters couldn't avoid death.
The boss monster of the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> was no exception.
'The end is almost in sight.'
Eun-ha, who had temporarily retreated from the frontline and received Iriya's recovery magic, watched the creature.
Unlike the majesty it showed at first, the creature couldn't avoid becoming a tattered mess.
The damage it had taken from the conquest team was so great that its recovery couldn't keep up.
At that moment.
'Finally, the last phase.'
The creature was enveloped in light.
It was reborn as a new being.
A dragon-human type monster wielding a spear and wearing armor appeared.
It moved like lightning, instantly beheading people nearby.
It didn't stop there.
Roar!
As the creature violently swung its tail, whirlpools arose around it, and countless magic circles appeared.
People positioned nearby were helplessly caught in the whirlpools and could only be pierced by the creature's spear.
The magic circles that flashed light also shot energy in all directions.
Pricis Memory, who had blocked that attack with magic, furrowed her brow.
"It's become even stronger than before."
"That means it's been driven into a corner."
Eun-ha spoke in a confident tone, as if telling her not to worry.
He spread his wings of flame to return to the frontline.
"Witch, when I give the signal, please create a space without water centered on the creature. And a foothold too."
"I won't be able to hold it for too long."
"It's okay. It's enough."
The creature, having entered its final phase, was rampaging violently as if making its last struggle.
Eun-ha quickly moved to the vanguard to face such a creature.
He gradually drained the creature's strength, combining forces with others.
And when the time was ripe.
"Riel."
"Okay, I got it!"
Eun-ha contacted Pricis Memory through Ariel's telepathy.
Pricis Memory immediately responded to Eun-ha's request.
She unfolded the magic she had prepared.
Whoosh!
A temporary space where water couldn't intrude, centered on the boss monster, was created.
The conquest team that stepped into that space took on a triumphant attitude.
"Nier."
"Yeah, bro."
"Can you hold that thing down, even for a moment?"
"...If it's just for a moment, I think I can."
"Good, I'll attach Si-hyeong to you. The two of you, hold it down well."
"Hah... Our lives will be hanging by a thread."
Avenier and Kang Si-hyeong, who received unreasonable instructions from Eun-ha, gave bitter smiles.
Nevertheless, they didn't hesitate to charge towards the creature.
Swoosh!
The creature swung its spear horizontally.
Avenier, deflecting the attack with his gauntlet, continued to rush forward.
He dove into the creature's embrace and struck near its solar plexus.
Unable to withstand the force, the creature was forced to step back.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
But the creature wasn't going to be taken down easily.
It swung its spear along with its dragon tail like a whip.
"...!"
Avenier, momentarily flinching, entrusted himself to his instincts.
He neither dodged nor retreated.
The moment he took a step forward, he quickly turned his body sideways.
In that state, he embraced the tail and turned to the creature's back.
As a result, the creature lost its balance and merely slashed the air with its spear.
It was then that Kang Si-hyeong threw a chain towards the creature's wrist.
Clank!
The chain bound the creature's wrist.
The creature desperately tried to break free from the chain.
But it was futile.
Because Kang Si-hyeong, gritting his teeth not to lose to the creature, desperately held onto the chain and endured.
In the end, the creature had to face the conquest team representatives with its movements restricted.
At this time, Eun-ha didn't spare his remaining strength.
<Gift: Endless (Heroic)>
He activated his gift.
His physical abilities rapidly increased in proportion to his remaining internal mana, and he foresaw the future unfolding right before him, the possibilities.
<Gift Bestowing Artifact: Amplification>
On top of that, he doubled all abilities with Julieta's gift.
Finally.
<Mythic Equipment: Relife>
He manifested a new form of myth devised with future Yu-seong's advice.
The Honghwa Sword, imbued with the power of myth, emitted a sacred aura and light.
The divine power that returns everything it cuts to its previous state, its original state, and further to nothingness, traced its trajectory.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone