The water pressure at this depth was crushing, a physical weight that sought to compress lungs and shatter bone. But Alvian fell through it like a stone dropped in a well. His [Vestments of the Void Monarch] flared with a dark, violet aura, pushing the water aside, creating a slipstream of vacuum that accelerated his descent.

Below, the guards of the Abyss Prison looked up. They saw a streak of darkness cutting through the gloom.

"INTRUDER!" a Whale Shark guard roared, raising a massive bone-club. "SOUND THE—"

"BOOM!"

Alvian landed. He didn't use a skill. He used mass. He used the [Tablet of the Earth Core] fused into his bones to increase his density to that of a collapsing star. He hit the main gate of the prison with the force of a meteor.

The shockwave was catastrophic. The water didn't just ripple; it exploded outward in a cavitation bubble that flattened the twenty guards standing near the gate. Their armor crumpled. Their bones turned to powder. The massive iron gates were blasted off their hinges, spinning into the courtyard like leaves in a hurricane.

[-45,000! Crushing Damage!]

[Multiple Targets Eliminated.]

Alvian stood in the center of the crater he had created. The silt settled around him. He slowly straightened up, rolling his shoulders.

"Knock, knock," Alvian said.

The alarm sirens began to wail—a deep, mournful horn sound that echoed through the water. From the barracks, hundreds of Whale Shark warriors poured out. They were massive, most standing over seven feet tall, rippling with muscle and aggression.

"KILL HIM!" a lieutenant screamed. "SWARM HIM!"

They charged. A wall of muscle and teeth.

Valeria dropped from the ridge above, landing beside Alvian with a golden crash. "You really hate subtle, don't you?"

"Subtle is for people who can't handle the aggro," Alvian replied. He equipped the [Lance of the Void Winter]. "Shield up, Valeria. This is going to get messy."

"Titan's Wall!" Valeria slammed her shield down. A golden barrier expanded, forcing the charging mob to funnel around them.

Magnus landed next, his heavy boots cracking the stone. He didn't use a weapon. He used his fists. He punched a charging Whale Shark in the face. The sound was like a hammer hitting wet clay. The Shark flew backward, taking out three of his comrades.

"Where is he?!" Magnus roared, grabbing another guard and ripping him in half. "WHERE IS RHETT?!"

Alvian moved. He didn't stay behind the shield. He stepped out into the swarm.

"[Void Step]."

He vanished. He reappeared in the middle of a squad of archers.

"[Frost Descent +2]: Flash Freeze."

He released a pulse of absolute zero. The water around him froze instantly. The archers were encased in ice, their expressions locked in terror. Alvian spun his lance, shattering the statues into red mist and ice shards.

He was a whirlwind of efficiency. Every strike was a kill. He didn't waste movement. He dodged by millimeters, let attacks slide off his [Vestments], and retaliated with lethal precision.

A massive Whale Shark with a two-handed axe swung at his head. Alvian caught the axe handle with one hand. His Strength stat of 390 (boosted by the Guardian title) made the monster's strength look like a joke.

"Weak," Alvian said. He twisted the axe from the guard's grip and drove the butt of his lance into the creature's throat.

"System. Locate prisoner Rhett."

[Scanning...]

[Target Located. Sub-Level 3. High-Security Wing.]

"Downstairs," Alvian pointed with his bloody lance. "Seraphina, clear the path."

Seraphina materialized on the back of a massive guard blocking the doorway. She slit his throat and vanished again before the body hit the floor. "Way clear!"

They pushed into the prison. The corridors were narrow, perfect for Valeria and Magnus. They became a moving wall of death. Magnus was a berserker, his rage fueling his blows. Valeria was the anchor, her defense impenetrable. And Alvian was the reaper, picking off anyone who tried to flank or cast spells.

They reached the elevator shaft. The lift had been disabled.

"They cut the power," Seraphina said.

"Gravity works without power," Alvian said. He looked down the shaft. It was dark. "We jump."

"You always want to jump," Valeria sighed, but she sheathed her sword.

They jumped. They fell past three levels of cells, past screaming prisoners and confused guards. They landed on the roof of the Sub-Level 3 elevator car. Alvian cut through the roof with [Voidpiercer] as if it were butter.

They dropped into the corridor. This level was different. It was quieter. The guards here weren't grunts; they were elites. And standing at the end of the hall, in front of a massive vault door, was the Warden.

General Kevin.

He lived up to his reputation. He was a Hammerhead monstrosity, easily twelve feet tall. His hands were replaced with massive, hydraulic-powered gauntlets made of black iron. He wore armor made from the skull of a dragon-turtle.

"Magnus," Kevin rumbled, his voice deep and distorted. He slammed his hydraulic fists together, creating a spark of mana. "I wondered when you'd come for your pet rat."

"Kevin," Magnus snarled, stepping forward. "Give him to me, and I'll let you die quickly."

Kevin laughed. "Quickly? I'm going to turn you into paste, old man. And then I'm going to feed the rest of your little team to the King."

[Boss Detected: General Kevin the Bone-Crusher]

[Level: 48]

[Class: Hydraulic Brawler]

[Status: Elite Boss]

"He's mine," Magnus said, cracking his knuckles.

"No," Alvian said, stepping in front of the Guardian. "He's in the way. And we are on a schedule."

Alvian raised his lance. His eyes glowed violet.

"I'll handle the big fish."

The corridor of Sub-Level 3 was a claustrophobic tunnel of steel and damp stone, lit by flickering mana-torches. At one end stood Alvian and his team. At the other, blocking the vault door like a living mountain, stood General Kevin. The Hammerhead hybrid flexed his hydraulic gauntlets, the pistons hissing as they pressurized.

"A human?" Kevin sneered, looking down at Alvian. "The famous Godslayer. You look like a twig. I'm going to snap you."

"Your assessment of mass is flawed," Alvian replied calmly. He didn't take a combat stance. He simply walked forward.

"Physics Lesson Number Eight," Alvian whispered. "Hydraulics rely on fluid dynamics. Fluid freezes."

"DIE!" Kevin roared. He charged. For a creature of his size, his speed was terrifying. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, launching a punch that carried the force of a battering ram.

"BOOM!"

The punch connected. But not with Alvian.

Alvian had used [Void Step]. He appeared instantly behind Kevin. But he didn't strike. He watched as Kevin's fist slammed into the floor where he had been standing. The metal grating crumpled, buckling under the impact.

"Missed," Alvian noted.

Kevin spun around, a backhand sweep aimed to decapitate. Alvian ducked. The hydraulic fist passed inches over his head, the wind pressure ruffling his hair.

"Too slow," Alvian said.

Kevin roared in frustration. "STOP MOVING!" He activated a skill. [Seismic Slam]. He raised both fists and slammed them into the ground. A shockwave of kinetic energy rippled through the floor, unavoidable.

Alvian didn't dodge. He activated [Runic Aegis +2].

"Reflect."

The runes absorbed the shockwave and fired it back. Kevin stumbled, hit by his own kinetic force.

"Now," Alvian said. He equipped [Voidpiercer] in his off-hand.

He charged. He didn't aim for the head or the heart. He aimed for the gauntlets. Specifically, the hydraulic lines connecting the pistons to the mana reservoir on Kevin's back.

"Slash."

The mythical dagger sliced through the reinforced tubing like it didn't exist. High-pressure hydraulic fluid—mixed with green mana—sprayed out.

"MY ARMS!" Kevin screamed. The pressure in his right gauntlet dropped to zero. The heavy iron fist became dead weight, dragging his arm down.

"One down," Alvian said. He spun, driving the [Lance of the Void Winter] into the elbow joint of the left arm.

"[Glacial Void Pierce]: Joint Lock."

He channeled a burst of frost mana. The joint froze solid. The remaining hydraulic fluid in the left arm expanded as it froze, rupturing the internal mechanisms.

"CRACK-SNAP!"

Kevin's left arm was useless, frozen in a bent position. His right arm was dead weight. The Bone-Crusher was disarmed.

"You... you cheated!" Kevin wailed, trying to headbutt Alvian.

"I engineered a victory," Alvian corrected. He grabbed Kevin by the throat. With his immense strength stat, he lifted the twelve-foot monster off the ground.

"Inefficient biology," Alvian stared into the Hammerhead's wide eyes. "You replaced your strength with machines. And machines break."

He placed the tip of [Voidpiercer] against Kevin's chest armor.

"Goodbye, Kevin."

"SHHK."

The dagger slid through the dragon-turtle armor, through the ribs, and into the heart. The [Void Corruption] spread instantly. Kevin gasped, his eyes rolling back. His massive body went limp.

[You have slain General Kevin (Level 48 Elite Boss)!]

[Experience Gained: 750,000!]

[Level Up!]

[Level 53.]

Alvian dropped the corpse. It hit the floor with a heavy thud.

"Door's open," Alvian said, wiping his dagger.

Magnus stared at him. The fight had lasted less than thirty seconds. He had expected a brutal brawl, a test of endurance. Alvian had turned it into a dismantling.

"You... you didn't even use a spell," Magnus murmured.

"Didn't need to," Alvian said. He walked to the vault door. He swiped the keycard he had looted from the Warden's belt.

The vault opened.

Inside, chained to the wall, was a Merfolk. He was thin, emaciated, his scales dull and grey. He was missing an eye, and his fins were tattered. But he was alive.

"Rhett!" Magnus rushed into the cell. He ripped the chains from the wall with his bare hands, catching his old partner as he fell.

Rhett looked up, his remaining eye widening. "M-Magnus? You... you got old."

"I got new legs," Magnus choked out, holding his friend. "We're getting you out of here."

"Warning," Seraphina's voice cut through the reunion. "Seismic activity detected. Massive mana spike directly above us. Something big is coming down the elevator shaft."

Alvian walked to the door, looking up the shaft. He could feel it. A presence so heavy it made the water vibrate.

"Megalos," Alvian said. "The Whale Shark King. He's here."

"We can't fight him here," Valeria said. "This corridor is a dead end. If he blocks the exit, we're trapped."

"Then we make a new exit," Alvian said. He looked at the floor. "We're going deeper?"

"No," Alvian looked at the ceiling. "We're leaving. But not through the door."

He looked at Magnus. "Can you carry him?"

"I'll carry him to the end of the world," Magnus vowed, hoisting Rhett onto his back.

"Good," Alvian said. "Because we need to run."

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