Chapter 61: The Submerged Execution

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Submerged Execution

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." Proverbs 22:7

The Leviathan Priest was growing desperate.

For three thousand years, it had ruled over the sunken cathedral. Now, it watched Joel approach, knowing it was losing the battle. Sybill’s hex still held its tentacles in place, while Vulcan prepared to launch another powerful attack from below.

Suddenly, the Priest’s dim eyes began glowing brightly. Its damaged tentacles spread across the black altar, and its enormous mouth opened wide.

It was preparing to use a terrifying ability, one it had kept hidden for three thousand years.

The dead congregation began to move.

Pale lights emerged from the chests of the skeletons sitting in the ancient pews. They were fragments of souls that had remained trapped inside their bodies for thousands of years.

One by one, the glowing lights floated toward the Priest’s open mouth. A strange, high-pitched sound filled the cathedral, growing louder with every passing second.

Then the terrifying force turned toward the living.

Roan suddenly bent forward in pain as something began pulling at his soul. His protective ward flickered dangerously, struggling to withstand the attack.

Sybill was also affected. The gray threads of her hex began losing their glow as the Priest drained their power.

It was no longer targeting just one person. The creature was trying to absorb the souls and energy of everyone inside the cathedral.

[Ding!]

[ Emergency working detected: Soul-Drain ]

[ Drawing: congregational residue, then all living signatures in the nave ]

[ Completion: 20 seconds ]

Joel quickly studied the situation, searching for a way to stop the attack.

He couldn’t fight the Soul-Drain with physical strength because there was nothing solid to strike. Waiting for the ability to end was also impossible. Roan’s air supply was running low, and Sybill’s hex was weakening as the Priest continued absorbing their energy.

Then Joel noticed the glowing core inside the Priest’s chest.

That was it.

The creature was using its mana core to maintain the Soul-Drain. If he could disrupt the core, even for a moment, the ability might fail.

An idea immediately formed in his mind.

"Sybill!" Joel shouted. "Release your current hex and prepare another one. But this time, don’t complete it!"

He pointed toward the Priest’s chest.

"I want you to cast a raw hex directly into its mana core. Don’t worry about making it stable or perfect. Just gather your mana and throw the unfinished spell at its core!"

Sybill looked up at him, her fingers bleeding from the strain of controlling her hex.

"My mother always warned me never to cast an unfinished hex," she said nervously. "Without proper control, the spell could become unstable and hit anything!"

"Then we’ll take that risk," Joel replied firmly. "Trust me, Sybill. Just cast it!"

Sybill gritted her teeth and released the spell.

The gray threads shot from her bleeding fingers, sending a sharp pain through her hands. Unlike her usual hexes, this one was incomplete and unstable. It was nothing more than a tangled mass of gray energy, with loose threads twisting wildly around it.

But Sybill didn’t try to fix it.

She aimed at the Priest’s chest and sent the unfinished hex flying through the water.

GLNK!

The spell struck the glowing mana core.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Then the Priest’s body suddenly trembled.

The strange sound filling the cathedral broke off, and the pale soul fragments floating toward its mouth stopped moving.

Even the glowing core inside its chest began flickering.

The Soul-Drain had been interrupted.

[Ding!]

[ Hex delivered: unrefined ]

[ Target mana core: destabilized ]

[ Window: 0.4 seconds ]

[ Note: The craftsmanship is appalling. The timing is perfect. The house hires results, not résumés. ]

Joel moved the moment the notification appeared.

He had only 0.4 seconds to attack before the Priest’s mana core recovered. There was no time to hesitate.

He quickly pulled the alpha’s hollow harpoon from his back, the same weapon he had been using as a halberd since the ambush.

Then he activated the Frame’s stored energy.

All six charges he had saved from previous attacks surged through his arms and flowed into the weapon. The harpoon began glowing brightly as the energy gathered inside it.

But Joel wasn’t finished.

He poured another portion of his own vitality into the attack, sacrificing some of his health to make it even stronger.

The weapon trembled as the power continued building.

Within an instant, the halberd was glowing with such intense white light that even the surrounding water seemed to shine.

[Ding!]

[ Meteor Piercer: water-displacing, full channel ]

[ Banked charges: 6, spent. Integrity invested: 25 percent ]

[ Survival odds at launch: 31 percent ]

[ Note: Now then, let us discuss commitment. The house does not write checks it cannot cash. This one is cashed in blood. ]

Joel attacked without hesitation.

He thrust the halberd forward and released Meteor Piercer.

A beam of white force shot out of the weapon.

The attack was so powerful that it pushed the water aside as it traveled, carving a clear path straight through the cathedral toward the altar.

THWOOM.

The deep sound shook the entire cathedral.

The white beam shot up the aisle, passed through the floating soul fragments, and slammed directly into the Priest’s unstable core.

The Priest’s mana core collapsed inward.

KRRRUNCH!

A powerful explosion erupted from inside its chest, tearing its body apart in an instant.

BOOOOM!

The shockwave spread through the cathedral with terrifying force.

Joel barely had time to react before the water he had pushed aside rushed back toward him. The impact struck his body and sent him flying backward.

The entire cathedral began to collapse.

Massive pillars cracked and fell apart, while the ancient windows shattered, scattering pieces of glowing green glass through the water.

Above the altar, the enormous bell broke free from its support.

DOOM!

It rang loudly as it crashed toward the floor.

Meanwhile, Joel was thrown helplessly through the boiling water. His body spun out of control before slamming into a pile of broken stones.

CRASH!

Pain shot through his back.

Before he could recover, more debris came crashing down around him.

Then a massive piece of stone, nearly the size of a cart, fell directly onto his chest.

THUD!

Joel grunted in pain as the heavy rubble pinned him against the cathedral floor.

The steam was the biggest problem.

Joel was still trapped beneath the heavy stone, surrounded by boiling steam from the explosion. His gills opened and closed desperately, but he couldn’t breathe.

His Abyssal Adaptation allowed him to breathe underwater, not in steam.

He struggled to free himself, but the rubble pressing against his chest was too heavy. With every passing second, his strength weakened, and his lungs desperately needed oxygen.

Soon, his vision began to blur.

Darkness slowly crept into the edges of his sight, and Joel felt himself losing consciousness.

Ding!]

[ Aquatic respiration: compromised. Medium: steam ]

[ Drowning: in progress ]

[ Note: Abyssal Adaptation requires water. Steam is merely water with ambitions. The fine print is binding. ]

But just as Joel was about to lose consciousness, his Juggernaut Vitality activated.

His damaged muscles began healing rapidly, and strength returned to his arms and shoulders.

Gritting his teeth, Joel pushed against the massive stone pinning him down.

CRACK!

The rubble shifted before finally rolling off his chest.

At the same moment, the surrounding steam began to cool, and cold seawater rushed back into the cathedral.

GLSH!

The water covered Joel’s body, allowing his gills to function again.

He immediately took a deep breath, feeling the much-needed oxygen enter his body.

For several seconds, Joel remained on the broken floor, breathing heavily as his strength slowly returned.

Above him, the damaged cathedral continued collapsing.

KRUMP! KRUMP!

Broken pillars and pieces of the ceiling crashed down, sending clouds of dust and debris through the water.

Gradually, the noise faded.

Soon, the entire cathedral fell silent.

As Joel watched, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[ Stratum Boss eliminated: The Leviathan Priest, Level 45 ]

[ Boss kill bonus: +3 Fate Points. Balance: 18 to 21 ]

[ Survival Accumulation: 22 percent to 100 percent. Lethal event qualified: blast overpressure, steam inhalation, entombment ]

[ Fate Point awarded: +1. Balance: 22 ]

[ Reset. New cycle: 0 percent ]

[ Experience: Roan +8,940, Sybill +9,470, Joel +3,120 ]

[ Level up: Joel, 33 to 34. Roan, 20 to 21. Sybill, 22 to 23 ]

[ Note: The lease is concluded. The house thanks the tenant for three thousand years of occupancy and regrets the condition of the premises at checkout. ]

When Joel finally stood and looked across the nave, the cathedral was barely recognizable.

The pews had been reduced to rubble. Pale light spread across the broken floor, and jellyfish drifted through the shattered windows in slow, silent clusters.

At the altar, the Leviathan Priest was gone.

All that remained was a fading cloud of gray particles.

Then treasure began to fall from it.

The shattered mana core broke apart into hundreds of glowing crystals. They were fist-sized, six-sided, and filled with blue-white light. As they fell, they struck the marble floor with bright, ringing sounds, like coins dropping inside a church.

Roan walked out among them in a daze. He had completely forgotten about his ward.

He stared at the crystals with wide eyes, looking almost like a man seeing a miracle.

Ding!]

[ Cache acquired: Tier-4 Rift-Cores, x312 ]

[ Rift-Core: crystallized stratum mana. Accepted by every exchange above the waterline ]

[ Note: The tenant’s heart, on shattering, turned out to be currency. The house has repossessed the parish’s savings. ]

The last object to emerge from the fading remains of the Priest was a small black chest, about the size of a book.

The chest slowly floated down and settled on the altar steps.

At that moment, the vault key inside Joel’s pocket suddenly vibrated, producing a faint ringing sound.

Joel immediately looked toward the chest.

It seemed the Leviathan Priest hadn’t just been guarding treasure. It had hidden something valuable inside its own body.

And judging by the way his system reacted, whatever was inside that chest was far more special than the crystals scattered across the floor.

[Ding!]

[ Unique artifact acquired: the Sunken Reliquary ]

[ Grade: unique. Function: spatial folding ]

[ Interior volume: a crypt larger than the church above it ]

[ Note: More rooms than walls. The house admires the architecture and is taking notes. ]

"The building is no longer safe," Vulcan announced as he stood among the ruins of the cathedral.

His massive armored body still gave off heat, although the surrounding water had begun cooling. He looked around at the destruction he had helped cause, showing no sign of regret.

Meanwhile, Nyx appeared from the shadows beside the altar. She was still holding one of the Priest’s severed tentacles, which she casually dropped onto the rubble without saying a word.

Roan stared at Joel in disbelief, surrounded by hundreds of glowing Rift-Cores.

He opened his mouth several times before finally finding his words.

"Our F-rank teammate just killed a Level 45 monster right in front of us," he said. "And somehow, I’m supposed to return to the guild and pretend this was a normal expedition?"

Joel simply smiled.

Not far away, Sybill sat among the scattered crystals, examining her injured fingers.

"The unfinished hex actually worked," she murmured, still surprised by what had happened. "And all because Joel knew exactly when I should cast it."

She shook her head, wondering how he had managed to predict that.

"We’re not carrying all these crystals back ourselves," Joel announced.

He placed the Sunken Reliquary on the altar steps and opened it.

Then he picked up a handful of Rift-Cores and dropped them inside.

The crystals disappeared into the darkness without making a sound.

Seeing this, Roan and Sybill quickly joined him.

Together, they gathered the remaining crystals and stored them inside the artifact. Despite the enormous number of Rift-Cores, the small chest showed no sign of filling up.

Throughout the process, the cathedral remained completely silent.

The strange breathing that had echoed through the ruins for three thousand years had finally stopped. There were no more whispers, no threatening sounds, and no signs of the terrible creature that had once ruled this place.

For the first time since they entered the Necropolis, the surrounding water was peaceful.

Joel looked around the ruined cathedral with a satisfied smile.

For three thousand years, the Leviathan Priest had guarded this place and its treasures.

Now, the Priest was dead, its treasures belonged to Joel, and its long rule had finally come to an end.