Rhizocapala was in the middle of a sentence. A taunt. An apology. It could’ve been anything, really, but humanity decided unanimously that bugs shouldn’t be afforded the base human ability to talk—so they didn’t wait.

  They saw a chance and took it.

  The First raised his dull steel blade to the side while Andres hopped on it, and then he flung the Imperatrix forward, crossing two hundred metres in the blink of an eye.

  By the time Rhizocapala managed to finish his sentence, the Imperatrix had already uppercutted the Barnacle God up onto the other side of the whirlpool, one whole kilometre away.

  Marisol’s eyes widened as the two men immediately dashed up, pursuing Rhizocapala to the other side of the whirlpool while Victor roared “fire”, commanding the dozens of cannon-mounted diving bells to unload on Eurypteria. The Water Scorpion God was walking steadily forward for her part, but she wasn’t dumb. She wasn’t inattentive. She could the sulfur-heavy water churning violently, and she tilted her head back lazily just to see a harpoon shooting straight at her face.

  A heavy resounded two hundred metres across, but the artillery barrage was just beginning. Cannons let out thunderous cracks, the concussive shells rippling through the water and decimating the ground. Sharpened shells and harpoons streaked downwards like comets, each impact sending plumes of silt and sulfurous debris swirling up into the water. Marisol had to grit her teeth as the sounds reverberated through her skull, the percussive blasts pounding against her chest—it was worse she was underwater. The explosions were deafening. The churn of debris and sediment was thick, the mounds of yellowish rock scattered across the plains trembled, and for fifteen relentless seconds, the artillery fire didn’t let up.

  And Eurypteria stood unshaken amidst the chaos.

  When the last shell hit and silence began to creep back in, she emerged standing tall. Her massive scorpion tail hovered above her, the blade-like tip gleaming ominously in the spotlights. The smirk on her face was unshaken, if not slightly widened, her stance daring.

  “... Is this all you have?” she taunted, spreading all four arms in the same over-exaggerated, demeaning manner as her brother’s. “Shells won’t break me. Harpoons won’t impale me. Now, if you had double the number of cannons with all shells loaded with spores and venom imported straight from the Plagueplain Front, then maybe you’d—”

  The Guards and Imperators finished reloading. A second barrage began. Eurypteria’s tail flicked above her to swat away the first shell soaring down at her, but then two, four, twenty, fifty more shells descended in quick succession, the artillery cannons several hundred metres back having finally locked onto her general position so they could join in on the fun—and cannons were the strong ones. The ones the city used to halt leviathans across the great blue. They could slay even S-Rank Giant-Class bugs with a single well-placed shot, so while they may not be expected to actually land on Eurypteria herself, simply drawing her attention away and forcing her to swipe them out of the water was good enough.

  Because when the smoke and silt cleared again and she waved the mist away with an angry growl, it wasn’t Hugo, or Cladia, or Reina who managed to cross two hundred metres again in the blink of an eye.

  With a crackling flash of blue and pink lightning, Marisol appeared in front of her, launching into a ten-spin War Jump with discharge, Steel Charge, and Charge Glaives, and every. Last. Ability boosting her speed.

  Two hundred metres burst down in a single second. Her fastest yet—and Eurypteria’s biggest surprise.

  [Name: Marisol Vellamira]

  [Grade: D-Rank Mutant-Class]

  [Class: Water Strider]

  [Swarmblood Art: Charge Glaives]

  [Aura: 7,627]

  [Points: 17]

  [Strength: 7, Speed: 9, Toughness: 6 (+1), Dexterity: 6, Perception: 6 (+1)]

  [// MUTATION TREE]

  [T1 Mutation | Striding Glaives Lvl. 6

  [T2 Mutations | Filtrating Gills Lvl. 6Repelling Hydrospines Lvl. 7

  [T3 Mutations | Laminar Apiclaws Lvl. 5Streamlined Wings Lvl. 5Basic Setae Lvl. 2

  [T4 Mutations | Spraying Discharge Lvl. 5Basic Sonar Lvl. 4Basic Underchitin Lvl. 4Basic Chitin Lvl. 4

  [T5 Mutations | Surfactant Domain | Basic Vision | Rapid Rehydration | Segmented Flexion | Hydrokinetic Redirection] 1000P

  [// EQUIPPED SYMBIOSTEEL]

  [Ghost Crab Scarf (Grade: F-Rank)(Tou: +1/1)(Aura: -200)]

  [Remipede Earrings (Grade: F-Rank)(Per: +1/1)(Aura: -100)]

  The suddenness of Marisol’s arrival stunned the Insect God, but she was already mid-spin, arms crossed over her torso, her kicking glaive arcing with restrained lightning as she brought it down in a brutal overhead slash. Eurypteria snapped back to reality a fraction of a second later, whipping her tail around to block, and their chitin-plated limbs clashed with a metallic screech that sent shockwaves rippling outwards.

  “Ah,” Eurypteria hissed, her grin widening as she held her tail in place, pushing back against Marisol’s glaive. “I see you’ve figured out how to activate your lightning underwater without frying yourself. This could be a little interesting.”

  Marisol didn’t respond. She twisted her entire body to the left, discharging water to drive another kick at Eurypteria’s side. The Insect God blocked it with one of her forearms, but before she could counter, Reina surged forward from the right, her own scorpion tail lashing out with deadly intent. The sharp crack of carapace against carapace rang out as Eurypteria blocked again with another arm, her grin widened even further.

  “A duet? Let’s see how long you can keep up, then.”

  Without warning, Eurypteria’s six limbs sharpened into blades, a terrifying array of cutting edges that flashed with deadly precision. Marisol scowled. The Water Scorpion God surged forward, twirling in place to send a whirlwind of slashes and thrusts at the two of them. Marisol and Reina dashed back in perfect synchrony, parrying and dodging with practiced fluidity, but even with two evasive targets and only one tail to call a long-range weapon, Eurypteria wasn’t straining herself at all with her relentless assault.

  “Back off!” Hugo shouted.

  Eurypteria’s tail lashed out again, aiming for Reina’s flank, but Hugo’s yanked her back with spider threads pre-attached to her back just in time. Marisol used the opening to dart in, her glaives kicking out in rapid succession, but Eurypteria’s limb-blades intercepted each one with unnerving precision.

  Marisol blinked again.

  The Water Scorpion God was no speed specialist—she was just that fast, she was strong enough to flick her tail at Marisol mid-recovery to send a blade of water cleaving straight forward.

  Were it not for Victor kicking open the latch of his diving bell and swinging his cane down, sending an identical water blade slicing into Eurypteria’s, Marisol wouldn’t just have staggered back. She’d have been eviscerated already.

  “... Don’t rush her!” Victor barked, banging the hull of his bell as he pointed his cane down at them. “You fight fast and desperate, and she’ll tear you apart! Be patient! Work with the rest of us! Fight her on terms!”

  Marisol skated back, her breaths heavy as she popped another skyball coral into her mouth and regrouped beside Reina. The two of them exchanged a glance, silent understanding passing between them, and then Marisol glanced back. Hugo was far in the back, ready to jerk either one of them back with his spider threads, while Claudia was also staring intently at them with medical supplies already laid out across the ground. Victor may not be able to do much apart from flicking the occasional water blade down, but the dozens of cannon-mounted bells, heavy artillery several hundreds in the back, and the Imperators and Guards working tirelessly to reload them were still there—and their expressions were set with grim determination.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  She wasn’t alone.

  They were all on the frontline against Eurypteria.

  [Identification Complete]

  [Name: Eurypteria]

  [Grade: E-Rank Water Scorpion God]

  [Swarmblood Art: ???]

  [Aura: ~75,000]

  [Strength: ~17, Speed: ~14, Toughness: ~13, Dexterity: ~18, Perception: ~14]

  [Brief Description: Over the last nineteen years, Eurypteria has claimed an estimated 21,300 lives across the Deepwater Legion Front. First observed as a Mutant-Class water scorpion, she evolved into an Insect God seventeen years ago after challenging and defeating the previous rank three Leviathan known as ‘Cypodynae’. Her Swarmblood Art has never been observed in action. Her class evolution in Depth Five saw the decimation of three aquatic outposts, including the late Second, Third, and Fourth Lighthouse Imperators. Attempts to slay her before she could progress past F-Rank failed, with ten further dive teams—consisting of 102 Harbour Imperators—falling victim to her tail and bladed limbs before Rhizocapala appeared to bail her out. Her threat level was officially upgraded to E-Rank six years ago. She has not been spotted since then]

  the Archive said plainly.

  The sulfur-heavy battlefield churned again. Marisol and Reina darted around Eurypteria like twin streaks of light, moving sharp and coordinated. No doubt Reina, too, was thinking back to their past month of training against the Highwind Dolls. Eurypteria was ‘it’, and despite her six bladed limbs and scorpion tail, she wasn’t just fighting the two of them. Victor hung above them, lashing out with water blades every now and again to cover the two of them. Hugo continued jerking them out of danger, and whenever one of them had to disengage because of a stray cut or tear, Claudia would immediately dash to their side and start rubbing their wounds with her shrimp antennae, weaving a faint red mist over their skin.

  the Archive said curtly, and Hugo jerked Reina back as well while Claudia rubbed Marisol’s upper arm over, closing a wide, aching gash.

  Easier said than done, but Eurypteria wasn’t faring so well, either. Every time either her or Reina had to disengage, the artillery behind and above would roar to life, peppering Eurypteria with a storm of explosive shells and harpoons. The explosions rippled through the water, shaking the ground and forcing Eurypteria back. There was no room to breathe, no moment to recover, and both of them could dash back in to encircle her once they were healed up.

  It was a terribly effective strategy, but for Marisol’s part, all she was doing was what she did best: dancing with utmost grace and power.

  She skated left, right, down and centre, her glaives leaving dizzying lightning trails that lit up Depth Five, and she probed Eurypteria’s defenses without fear. Whenever Eurypteria slashed the ground and sent volleys of shrapnel flying at her, she’d twirl into the Whirlwind Spin and kick the projectiles away. Her chitin mutations made the smaller shrapnel slide right off her limbs, her skin. She launched into a ten-spin War Jump and through the water, activating discharging to alter her direction mid-jump, and she kept a mouthful of freezing, sulfur-tinged water in the back of her throat the entire time to maintain her fortitude.

  Feeling like she was always on the verge of suffocation was the only way to maintain the Steel Charge state, thus allowing her to endure electrocuting herself underwater, but there was a time limit to all of this: she couldn’t use all of her abilities for longer than ten minutes.

  Inhaling deeply, she felt the underwater currents, moved into them, doubled her speed. The Archive stabbed the back of her head with icicles and stimulated the release of adrenaline, sensory-enhancing compounds, and half a dozen other chemicals she couldn't make heads or tails of. She like never before and found herself grinning, her cheeks rippling with speed—and she couldn’t help but wonder what her mama would say about her now.

  This speed.

  This effort.

  This .

  And when she launched into an eleven-spin War Jump, Eurypteria’s tail whipping up in anticipation to block—she activated discharge and feinted her kick, hovering her glaive just inches before Eurypteria’s tail with all the grace and elegance of the Homeward Pause.

  Against an intelligent opponent so versed in single-target combat, the technique could only be used once—and Marisol certainly didn’t think such a sharp and sudden feint would work again—but just this once, she created an opening.

  Not for herself, no.

  With a powerful lunge, Reina drove her tail forward from the back and pierced Eurypteria’s abdomen. Her stinger sank deep with a sickening , exiting through Eurypteria’s chest and whistling past Marisol’s suspended glaive, and… it didn’t pierce the Water Scorpion God’s heart.

  But it put the of death in Eurypteria’s heart, and that made her stagger back, a dark smile curling across her inhuman lips as her glowing eyes split both ways. One locked onto Marisol. The other locked onto Reina.

  “... Not bad,” she said, her voice low and mocking. “You’re decently fast, water strider, and you’re decently skilled, water scorpion. I’ll give you both that.”

  Then she straightened her back and slashed her four bladed arms outward in a wild flurry, forcing Marisol and Reina to retreat. The sulfur-thick water was electric with tension as they both slid all the way back to where Hugo and Claudia were. Just as well, a comet-like Rhizocapala smashed into the ground next to Eurypteria, erupting a geyser of pure destruction. Judging by Andres and the First dropping down next to Marisol a half-second later, the Barnacle God was probably uppercutted all the way back here, and now all of them were back on the same ‘level’ battlefield.

  Excited, hopeful grins broke through the humans’ weariness, and the two Insect Gods standing side by side staggered as they slowly regenerated their wounds.

  “That was a good hit,” Reina whispered, though her eyes were impossibly wide, staring daggers into Eurypteria. She wasn’t looking at Marisol as she spoke. “We are making progress. A few more coordinated attacks like that, and I will have her heart.”

  As both sides seemed to pause for a moment to take a breather, the Archive buzzed in Marisol’s head, analytical and detached.

  Marisol narrowed her eyes, deactivating Charge Glaives for a moment to recharge her stamina.

  The Archive’s tone grew pensive.

  the Archive murmured.

  The sulfur-thick water seemed to grow heavier, the tension mounting with every passing second as the Archive ran a thousand calculations in the back of its hand. Marisol’s gaze darted toward Eurypteria, who stood unshaken despite her wound. Her smirk remained intact, her confidence unbroken.

  It wasn’t just Marisol who saw it.

  Everyone did, too.

  After all, in the Archive’s own words, there was only one trap the two Insect Gods could spring on them that could ruin them.

  The Archive didn’t get to finish its sentence.

  A young voice shouted from one of the diving bells suspended overhead: a Lighthouse Five Imperator on the surface of the whirlpool, the same person who’d reported to Andres while they were riding the bells down to Depth Five.

  “Detecting D-Rank Insect God aura signal!” she shouted, her voice echoing throughout Depth Five. “It’s Kalakos! Her aura signal’s growing stronger! She’s coming out of nowhere!”

  Marisol’s eyes widened, her blood running cold as the sulfur-thick water seemed to vibrate with a low, ominous hum.

  Andres raised a fist, stopping all of them from panicking. “How far, and how long?” he shouted back, glancing up at the diving bell. “If she is only beginning to move from Depth Seven, it will take her ten minutes to cross Depth Six. That is more than enough time for us to extract to Depth Four—”

  “Contact in two minutes!” the voice screamed. “She’s already here!”

  And then, from behind the two regenerating Insect Gods, something bashed through the giant hollow crab.

  The sound was deafening, a deep, resonant crack that sent chunks of carapace flying in all directions. Hugo immediately dashed forward and cast a giant spider web over all of them, catching most of the debris… but from the ruined husk two hundred metres in front of them emerged a massive, groaning, undulating shape. Dark. Jagged. Segmented, human-like whatsoever, and its killing pressure was unlike either Rhizocapala’s or Eurypteria’s.

  If Rhizocapala’s aura was ‘slippery danger’, and Eurypteria’s aura was ‘steady danger’, then this aura was ‘overwhelming danger’.

  Power incarnate.

  The waters of Depth Five rippled and churned violently as the monstrous form of Kalakos, the D-Rank Remipede God, charged straight ahead.