The arena turned into a war zone instantly. The spectators scrambled for the exits as the two armies clashed.

Alvian stood in the center of the storm. He looked at Megalos, who had frozen in shock.

"You brought an army... inside a box?" Megalos stammered.

"Logistics," Alvian said, equipping his lance. "Now. About that surrender."

He activated [Thundergod Bracers]. Lightning arced up his arms.

"System. [Genesis Mode]: Activate."

His stats doubled. His eyes turned white.

"Round Two."

The Tournament of Tides had devolved into a full-scale war zone. The cheers of the crowd had long since been replaced by the screams of the dying and the clash of steel against scale. The arena, once a stage for honorable combat, was now a butcher's block.

Alvian stood at the center of the carnage, his [Lance of the Void Winter] dripping with the lifeblood of a dozen elite guards who had been foolish enough to charge him. Around him, the soldiers of the Abyssal Guard—clad in their new [Void Sentinel] armor—formed a shield wall that broke the wave of the Whale Shark King's forces.

"Hold the line!" Valeria's voice rang out over the din, amplified by her [Titan's Bloodline]. She was a golden beacon in the murky water, her claymore cleaving through the enemy ranks with terrifying efficiency. Beside her, Korg roared, his massive fists crushing the armor of a traitorous crab warrior.

But Alvian wasn't looking at the battle. He was looking at the data.

His violet eyes scanned the battlefield, filtering out the noise, the blood, and the chaos. He was looking for patterns. He was looking for the anomaly.

King Megalos was retreating. The massive Whale Shark ruler was backing away toward the royal box, surrounded by a phalanx of his personal guard. He was shouting orders, his face twisted in a rictus of rage and fear, but he wasn't the threat. He was a distraction.

"System. Scan for high-priority mana signatures."

[Scanning...]

[Target Detected: General Sylas (Sea Snake Faction).]

[Location: Sector 4, East Tunnel.]

[Status: Fleeing / Carrying High-Tier Quest Item.]

Alvian's gaze snapped to the eastern side of the arena. While the main bulk of the enemy forces pressed against the Abyssal Guard, a single, sleek figure was slipping away through the shadows of the collapsed viewing stands. It was a Sea Snake General, clad in stealth armor that shimmered like oil. He wasn't fighting. He was running. And he was clutching a crystal vial to his chest as if it contained his own soul.

"Inefficient," Alvian muttered. "You don't bring a treasure to a battlefield unless you intend to use it. Or lose it."

He tapped his comms crystal. "Valeria, hold the center. Seraphina, keep Megalos pinned down. Do not let him leave the arena."

"Where are you going?" Valeria shouted, bashing a shark-man with her shield.

"To catch a thief," Alvian replied.

He didn't run. He activated [Void Step].

In the blink of an eye, Alvian vanished from the center of the melee. He reappeared fifty meters away, standing atop a ruined pillar overlooking the eastern tunnel.

General Sylas saw him. The snake-man's eyes widened, his forked tongue flicking out in panic. He hissed a command, and three elite assassins dropped from the ceiling of the tunnel, their daggers coated in neurotoxin.

"Delay him!" Sylas shrieked, his tail lashing the water as he accelerated down the dark corridor.

The assassins lunged. They were fast, Level 46 elites, moving with the fluidity of water itself. To a normal player, they would be a lethal threat.

To Alvian, they were traffic.

He didn't even slow down. He raised his left hand, the [Thundergod Bracers] crackling with blue lightning.

"Flash Step."

Alvian dissolved into a bolt of lightning. He didn't dodge the assassins; he moved through them. The electricity arced from his body to theirs, frying their nervous systems in a microsecond.

[Critical Hit!]

[-12,000 Lightning Damage!]

[Status Effect: Paralyzed.]

Alvian rematerialized behind them, his momentum unchecked. Behind him, the three assassins seized up, their bodies rigid as they drifted to the floor. Alvian didn't look back. He was already pursuing the General.

The tunnel was a maze of ancient coral and reinforced stone, winding deep into the foundation of the reef. Sylas was fast, using his natural agility to navigate the twists and turns, but Alvian had the [Greaves of the Tide-Runner]. He ran along the walls, the ceiling, treating the water like solid ground.

"You cannot escape," Alvian's voice projected down the tunnel, cold and inevitable.

Sylas panicked. He threw a handful of mana bombs behind him.

"BOOM! BOOM!"

Explosions rocked the tunnel, collapsing part of the ceiling. Rocks and debris rained down, blocking the path.

"Obstruction detected," Alvian noted. "Calculating durability. Low."

He didn't stop. He raised the [Lance of the Void Winter].

"[Glacial Void Pierce]."

He thrust the spear forward. A beam of black ice and void energy shot out, hitting the wall of debris. It didn't just break the rocks; it erased them. The void energy consumed the matter, clearing a perfect, circular hole through the blockage.

Alvian shot through the opening, the ice crystals tinkling against his armor.

Ahead, the tunnel opened up into a secret maintenance bay. A small, sleek submersible was docked there, its engines humming. Sylas was scrambling toward the hatch, the red vial clutched in his hand.

"Start the engine! Go! Go!" Sylas screamed at the pilot.

Alvian landed on the metal grating of the bay floor.

"Engine status: Denied."

He snapped his fingers.

"[Runic Aegis +2]: Projectile Mode."

Five purple runes materialized around him and shot forward like seeking missiles. They didn't aim for Sylas. They aimed for the submersible's propeller.

"CRUNCH!"

The runes detonated on impact. The propeller was twisted into scrap metal. The engine whined and died.

Sylas froze, his hand on the hatch. He turned slowly to face Alvian. The General was cornered. He drew a pair of jagged, poisoned scimitars, his back against the ruined sub.

"You... you monster," Sylas hissed. "You don't know what you're interfering with! This is the key! The key to the new world!"

Alvian walked forward, his lance resting on his shoulder.

"I'm not interfering," Alvian said. "I'm looting."

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