Chapter 109: Gravity Domain

The forty-foot coral behemoth towered over the flooded cavern.

Its six purple eyes locked onto Evren as it raised a massive claw into the air. Around its jagged pincers, a crackling sphere of purple lightning formed, humming with energy so intense that stone dust rained from the ceiling.

Amber flared her golden wings, stepping up beside Evren. "That lightning ball looks unstable. If it hits the water, it’ll fry the whole cave."

Zephyra crouched low, holding Amber’s dragon-bone saber tight. "Can we dodge it?"

"We don’t need to," Evren said calmly. "Just stay behind me."

He planted his boots in the water locked eyes with the giant monster and activated his newest skill: Gravity Domain.

BOOM!

There was no flash of light; just a sudden, invisible weight that dropped from the ceiling like a falling mountain.

A fifty-meter circle centered on Evren instantly turned into a crushing high-pressure zone.

Amber and Zephyra braced themselves, but the pressure never touched them. Evren’s mind marked both women as safe, leaving the air around them completely normal.

Around the behemoth, however, the air violently caved in.

The water on the cavern floor was slammed flat in a millisecond, turned into a dead sheet of glass. In the monster’s raised claw, the unstable lightning ball groaned under the sudden pressure.

With a muffled pop, the sphere imploded in on itself and vanished like a pinched candle.

CRACK! CRACK!

A loud sound of breaking stone and snapping shell echoed through the cave.

The forty-foot monster shrieked as its legs gave out. Under the fifty-fold surge in its own weight, the basalt floor cracked into deep fissures. The beast crashed onto its knees, all four massive claws pinned flat against the stone so hard that it couldn’t even lift its head.

Zephyra stared at the immobilized beast in shock. "It can’t even stand up."

"It’s carrying fifty times its own mass," Evren said, resting the Frost-Bane Cleaver on his shoulder. "And the gravity won’t touch either of you. When you attack from above, it’ll even pull your strikes down faster. Amber, crack the back shell. Z, take the neck."

"Got it!" Amber called out.

Her golden wings beat hard, launching her straight up toward the cavern ceiling. She banked in a tight curve above the monster’s spine, gripping her dragon-bone saber with both hands as crimson fire lit up the blade.

"Coming down!"

Amber dove like a comet. As she descended, the downward gravity pulled her strike with double speed. Her fiery saber sliced deep into the thick obsidian armor along the monster’s back.

SHING!

The burning blade cut through the shell, tearing open a six-foot glowing crack.

"Now, Z! Take the throat!" Amber shouted, pushing off to clear the area.

Zephyra was already moving.

SWOOSH!

She blurred across the wet stones, leaving a spray of mist behind her. Completely unaffected by the heavy gravity, she ran straight up the monster’s pinned right claw. She leaped over its thrashing head, flipped Amber’s saber into a reverse grip, and drove the blade hard into the soft joint right beneath its jaw.

SHIK!

Black blood hissed against the crystalline edge as the beast screamed in pain.

Zephyra twisted the weapon, ripped it free, and flipped backward through the air, landing cleanly on both feet across the shallow water.

She looked back at Evren with a confident grin. "Core is exposed!"

Evren was already there.

Covering the distance in one big stride, he gripped the five-foot Frost-Bane Cleaver with both hands, channeled his SS-Rank strength into the blade, and brought it down hard on the cracked shell.

KRA-BOOM!

A massive freezing shockwave exploded through the monster’s body. The obsidian armor shattered, cleanly severing its central mana conduit.

The giant behemoth collapsed, melting away into dark purple mist and sea foam. Left behind on the shattered stone was a fist-sized, deep violet Level 50 Boss Core, humming with dense magical energy.

The heavy gravity lifted, and the water began to ripple again across the floor.

"Evren, the first-wave cores!" Zephyra called out, pointing across the tide-pools.

During the fight, the behemoth had spawned the exact second the first wave died, leaving them zero time to collect the loot. Now, more than thirty Level 45 monster cores lay scattered across the shallow water, glowing like purple pearls.

"I’ve got them," Evren said.

With the rift’s anchor dead, deep cracks were already racing across the cavern ceiling, dropping chunks of stone into the water.

There was no time to pick them up one by one.

Evren held out his right hand and pushed a pulse of mana into his Spatial Storage Ring. The silver band flared with light, creating a wide spatial pull across the cavern floor.

SWOOSH!

All thirty Level 45 cores and the Level 50 boss core flew across the water, vanishing straight into the ring’s storage space in two seconds.

"Grab on!" Evren called out.

Amber and Zephyra grabbed his shoulders just as the purple sky shattered like glass, and a wave of white light swallowed them whole.

FLASH!

A second later, the damp chill vanished.

Warm sunlight and the fresh ocean breeze of the Sapphire Coast hit their faces. Their boots landed softly on the dry white sand near the surf.

Behind them, the fifty-foot dimensional tear hovered for a moment before snapping shut with a soft pop. The blue waves rolled back up the beach as if nothing had happened.

For two seconds, everything was quiet.

Then, the crowd erupted.

Hundreds of tourists, lifeguards, and security guards gathered along the boardwalk and seawall broke into wild cheers.

"They did it! The rift is gone!"

"Look at her wings... that’s Amber Sterling! The Valkyrie of Veridia!"

"Who is the guy with the giant cleaver?! Did you see him smash that monster?!"

Near the stairs, the mother Amber had saved earlier was crying and waving with a huge smile. Amber waved back before folding her wings away.

"You were great out there," Evren said with a chuckle.

"So were you," Amber smiled.

Zephyra wiped the black blood off Amber’s saber with a cloth from her belt. Once the bone edge was clean, she offered the hilt back to Amber with both hands.

"Thank you, Amber," Zephyra said sincerely. "Using your blade felt amazing. My arms moved without any stiffness at all."

Amber took the hilt with a bright smile, sheathing both sabers at her waist. "You’re a natural with it, Z. But just wait until Tridon finishes your own daggers. They’ll fit your style even better."

Zephyra smiled back. "I’m looking forward to it."

With a thought, Evren sent the heavy Frost-Bane Cleaver back into his storage ring.

"Let’s get up to the villa before the reporters reach the beach," he said.

The three of them walked up the private cliffside path, leaving the noisy crowd behind.

They pushed through the terrace doors into the quiet living room of the villa. On the marble kitchen island where Evren had left his phone before heading out, the screen was flashing red with missed calls.

As Evren walked over, the phone began vibrating across the stone surface again. He picked it up and saw Mikay’s name on the caller ID. He swiped accept and brought it to his ear. "Evren here."

"Boss! Thank god you picked up!" Mikay sounded completely out of breath. "Are you three alright?! Did you feel the tremors down on the coast?!"

"We’re fine," Evren said, leaning against the counter. "An A-Rank rift opened right off the beach. Amber, Zephyra, and I just cleared it."

"You already cleared an A-Rank rift?!" Mikay gasped, stunned. Then his voice turned deadly serious. "Boss, listen to me. It’s not just your beach. In the last two hours, coordinated rifts opened across three different provinces. And less than an hour ago, an S-Rank tear opened thirty miles outside the Imperial Capital!"

Evren’s eyes narrowed. "All at the same time? That’s not a natural mana cycle."

"Not at all," Mikay confirmed. "The Association High Council declared a National Level-One Crisis. Because of the emergency, the National Sovereign Guild Assembly has been moved forward!"

"How soon?"

"Forty-eight hours," Mikay said. "In two days, every major guild master, provincial powerhouse, and old-blood family head will be in the Imperial Capital. If Apex isn’t there to claim our seat, the old guilds will use this crisis to divide up the new high-grade zones without us."

Mikay took a breath, then added:

"Also, Master Tridon called. He moved his mobile workshop to his annex forge in the Capital for the Summit. He said to inquire if you need his service."

Evren smiled faintly. The S-Rank Shadow Sovereign Skill Core had been resting in his storage ring, waiting for the right moment. With Zephyra’s conduits healed to Stage Three, the timing was perfect.

"Keep Veridia locked down tight, Mikay," Evren instructed. "Double security around the foundries, the port, and the manor. We’re driving straight from the coast to the Capital."

"Understood, Boss," Mikay replied firmly. "I’ll make sure our operations in Veridia stay running smoothly while you’re gone. Good luck in the Capital."

Evren hung up and set the phone on the counter.

He looked over at Amber. "Amber, buzz the security detail outside. Tell them to bring the armored SUVs around to the villa entrance."

"On it," Amber nodded. "They’ll have the convoy lined up out front in ten minutes."

Zephyra tightened her combat belt as her violet eyes gleamed with quiet anticipation.

Evren looked at both women with a confident grin.

"Pack your bags, ladies," Evren said. "Vacation is officially over. We’re heading to the Imperial Capital."