SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant Chapter 564: The Thing Beneath

Trafalgar was being inexorably pulled deeper into the ocean's embrace.

The tenacious grip on his leg remained unyielding, dragging him down with formidable and unsettling strength. The surface above, once a beacon of light, rapidly dissolved into a faint, fractured smear as his descent quickened.

His immediate reaction was decisive.

The Leviathan Fang Pendant materialized around his neck.

[Leviathan Fang Pendant - Legendary Rank]

[Effects:

Greatly increases underwater endurance, including breathing, pressure resistance, and stamina

+20% physical damage while submerged

Passive: Ocean-Born Resilience - Reduces movement penalties underwater] [Description:

A necklace bearing the fang of a Leviathan. It carries the weight of deep waters and grants its wearer a body far better suited to survive beneath the sea.]

The transformation was instantaneous.

The overwhelming pressure of the water against his entire being vanished. His chest felt liberated, and the crushing force on his body became easily bearable. His limbs, which logically should have been sluggish and heavy at this depth, now responded with remarkable agility.

His rings, of course, had never left his fingers.

Maledicta materialized in his grasp a moment later.

However, the entity still ensnared his leg, relentlessly dragging him through the murky depths. Its hold felt slick and organic, clinging with a damp, repulsive pressure that made Trafalgar grimace. Forcing his eyes open underwater, he channeled mana into Maledicta and, bypassing any pretense of finesse, aimed a direct strike at his own leg.

The blade flared with light.

The appendage constricting him was severed.

A tentacle.

Dark, ichorous blood erupted instantly, blooming into a dense cloud within the water. Trafalgar propelled himself away with a powerful kick, ascending rapidly and angling to gain a clearer vantage point, escaping the suffocating darkness of the severed limb's fluids.

The corrupted blood swirled with the currents, parting just enough.

It was then that the creature revealed itself.

Several massive tentacles unfurled from what appeared to be a grotesque, amorphous head rather than a distinct body. Four eyes, two on either side, dotted its form, granting it a wide, unnerving awareness that made discerning its focus impossible. Below this unsettling visage, situated on the lower portion of its mass, was a cavernous maw, designed less for tearing and more for engulfing.

'It actually tried to eat me!'

The creature now radiated fury, its initial attempt thwarted.

Its sheer size was such that the surrounding deep waters seemed diminished by comparison; a dark shape undulating through the sea with the unshakeable confidence of a being that had never known fear from its neighbors.

Two tentacles whipped towards him.

Trafalgar didn't hesitate. While the Leviathan Fang Pendant offered significant aid, it didn't negate the fundamental reality of the confrontation. This was unequivocally the creature's domain. The ocean favored it in every conceivable aspect, and allowing it to dictate the engagement's rhythm would undoubtedly lead to his dismemberment.

He stabilized himself within the water, his legs and core muscles cooperating to maintain his position while Maledicta pointed resolutely forward. As he shifted, his gaze fell upon the tentacle he had previously severed.

It was already regenerating.

The severed flesh was knitting itself back together with astonishing speed.

His expression grew stern.

So, this was the manner of battle it intended.

Mana flooded into the sword.

[Morgain's Last Dusk]

The blade's arc sliced diagonally upwards through the water, clean and devastating. The very ocean seemed to ripple around the technique as it bisected both incoming tentacles simultaneously. The flesh yielded effortlessly. Dark blood surged anew in thick streams, ascending in dark, coiling tendrils.

This time, the severed ends remained inert.

The technique had performed precisely as intended.

Above the surface, the impact was impossible to ignore.

A violent geyser of water erupted skyward, powerful enough to cascade back down upon the others like a sudden deluge. Xavier's head snapped up instantly, his hand wiping water from his face as he fixed his gaze upon the spot where Trafalgar had vanished.

'He's taking an excessively long time.'

Cynthia had long since ceased paying attention to the contrived game. 'Something's happened.'

Bartholomew swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the turbulent expanse of the sea. 'That wasn't just ordinary splashing, was it?'

'No,' Zafira confirmed.

She was already in motion.

The others followed her lead without a word, all four propelling themselves towards the disturbance. The silence persisted as they moved. The water ahead continued to writhe with abnormal surges, suggesting the turbulent movement of something immense just beneath the waves. Far below, Trafalgar maintained his ground, observing the creature.

Its initial barrage of blind attacks had ceased.

The entity had comprehended. The tentacles severed by Morgain's Last Dusk were not

regenerating, a fact that had fundamentally altered its combat demeanor. The four eyes now lacked their previous mindless aggression; a distinct caution had emerged.

A new wariness was present.

Any entity capable of hesitation presented an exploitable opening.

Trafalgar initiated the next move.

Employing [Morgain's Final Crescent], Trafalgar channeled mana into Maledicta, causing the blade to unleash an inverted arc through the water. The current fractured around the assault as it surged towards the monstrous form. The creature reacted with startling speed, meeting the attack with the very front of its head. A tremor pulsed through the surrounding sea from the collision, shoving the beast backward, yet Trafalgar instantly perceived a crucial detail.

Its head possessed a resilience far exceeding the rest of its body.

For a fleeting moment, Trafalgar remained stationary, and within that pause, he sensed something of far greater consequence than the creature's formidable defense. His mana core hovered at the precipice of a breakthrough.

Flow Core had arrived at the critical juncture where transformation was imminent.

The pressure within his chest had shifted palpably. It was no longer an abstract sensation, no longer something he merely had to conceptualize. Prime was within reach.

A subtle smile graced his lips.

After enduring such prolonged stagnation within this core, after countless battles, endless waiting, and debilitating frustration, the opportunity had finally materialized before him.

The creature, however, offered no respite for such contemplation.

Having learned from their prior engagement, it eschewed sending its tentacles forward first. Instead, it lowered its armored head and charged directly at him through the water, employing the most robust part of its anatomy as a weapon. The remaining tentacles fanned out behind it, their movements now imbued with a palpable sense of purpose.

Trafalgar deftly sidestepped just as the creature’s charge reached him. Maledicta sliced across the side of its head as the monster surged past, but the wound inflicted was not as deep as he had intended.

Tough hide. Stubborn resistance.

He pivoted with the creature's motion rather than opposing it, striking again at a lower point where the head transitioned into the base of the tentacles. This time, the cut penetrated with satisfying effect.

Ebony blood bloomed into the aqueous medium.

The creature recoiled instantly. One tentacle whipped toward his ribs, while another snaked from below, attempting to ensnare his legs once more. Trafalgar thrust his leg upward, slipping between the grasping appendages. Maledicta descended, severing the first tentacle with a clean stroke, and he twisted his body just enough to evade the second before it could ensnare him.

The severed limb drifted away, dark fluid unfurling from it in ominous plumes.

Its regenerative capabilities were no longer providing an advantage in that regard.

One by one, he could systematically dismantle its offensive capabilities.

Mana coursed with increasing heat through his body. With every subsequent movement, the pressure within his core intensified, growing tighter, more insistent. It no longer felt like a distant barrier.

It felt like an imminent rupture.

The crushing weight of the sea, which had felt so oppressive at the outset, no longer bore down on him. Clad in the Leviathan Fang Pendant adorning his neck, the aquatic environment had transformed into a domain where he could actively contend.

Without this artifact, the situation would have escalated perilously much sooner.

Far above, distorted by the undulating surface, he discerned the silhouettes of the others venturing further out than he found comfortable. Their forms were indistinct from his current vantage point, but he understood their proximity.

This realization irked him.

He needed to conclude this encounter before any of them took a rash action.

The creature pivoted once more, its prior hesitation having completely dissipated. It advanced with renewed ferocity, its armored head spearheading the assault while its remaining tentacles spread wide, aiming to constrict his maneuverability.

Trafalgar tightened his grasp on Maledicta.

The pressure at the core of his chest swelled anew.

The verge of Prime was at hand, and the creature continued its relentless advance. All that remained was for him to maintain his relentless push.