The giant began to turned its body rapidly.


    While approaching, it planned to rip Orion in pieces by drilling into him.


    Unfortunately for it, the loss of its tail made it harder to pick up speed. The time it took to close in, Orion had already prepared to warp away.


    Though, it wasn''t done yet. The eel closely followed each of his movements, and attacked when it thought it had cornered him.


    But perhaps because of the dark blood seeping from the wounds around its eye, it missed a crucial detail around him.


    ''I''ve pulled you exactly where I wanted to.''


    Orion warped one last time, and aimed Alcyone upward, before firing a bolt. That bolt traveled a few meters high, and pierced the wall of an underwater crevasse.


    Yes, he had pulled the giant into a confined space where he planned to bury it under piles of rocks before finally ending its life.


    While wildly spinning, its body slammed against the rocky walls, aggravating its own situation. When it stopped, the giant immediately went for a bite.


    Water magic formed massive jaws that closed on the man, but just like before, it only swallows sand. But it relentlessly pursued Orion until now, and was used to his erratic movements.


    It looked above with its red eyes, and instantly noticed Orion on top of the cliffs.


    "Goodbye."


    Said Orion, as he kicked the ground where his previous shot ended at.


    With the strength given by the Fourth Gear, a large portion of the ground broke off and began to fall off. Following the first underwater landslide, water spikes pierced the ground next to Orion and continued to break parts of the walls, directly falling on the eel''s body.


    -ROOOOa-


    The giant corrupted tried to roar in frustration, but ended up crushed under the rocks.


    Looking behind him, Orion nodded to Olivia, who answered with a similar nod. Then, Orion looked on the opposite cliff, and nodded again, to Senia this time.


    The siren swam above the fragments of rocks, and fired a volley of water bullets all the way from its head to its end.


    ''Senia is nearing her limits. Her magic won''t hold much longer. I believe the same can be said to Olivia.''


    He glanced back at Olivia, who looked slightly out of it. Looking at Senia, he clearly saw the woman biting her lower lip, trying to use every last drop of magic she could.


    ''If that doesn''t make it, then-''


    Suddenly, the rubble broke off while Orion thought. A huge shadow, made of pure malice, rose up from the rubble and pushed Senia away, ignoring her completely.


    "Hya!"


    The siren flew backward toward the top of the cliff and fell on the seafloor, exhausted. She tried to move, but she couldn''t. Seeing that she could end up being an easy target, Orion turned to Olivia, and barely finished his sentence as the shadow slammed its head on him.


    "Olivia, help Se-"


    *BAM*


    The ground shook as dust clouds covered the place.


    Olivia gulped, her face covered in cold sweat. Her eyes, her heart, and her soul felt how wrong the being in front of her really was.


    ''That''s... it''s true body?''


    A dark mass of gooey matter, and a bright red eye. This definitely was the giant corrupted, but different. As if it had relinquished its natural body, it floated menacingly, and even seemed to smile as it pummeled the ground with its head.


    "OLIVIA!"


    From the dust cloud, Orion''s voice forced her to return to reality.


    "A-Ah! Right!"


    She shook her head and ran in a circle to avoid being dragged into the mess, and prepared to jump over the cliff.


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    But before she jumped, she looked at her custom-made maid dress.


    ''What was I thinking, coming into battle with this?''


    Without giving it a second thought, she ripped the right side of her dress open, and showed her bare leg which was hidden under it.


    Taking a few steps back, she ran forward and jumped over the cliff. Her feet touched the very edge of the cliff, but she ignored it and ran toward Senia, who was forcefully holding herself up.


    "Senia! Are you alright?!"


    Olivia quickly grabbed the siren and scanned her.


    ''She''s bleeding.''


    With a frustrating smile, Senia nodded.


    "I''m fine, I just ripped a few scales off after landing."


    Her lower body was really soft. It wasn''t made to be thrown left and right.


    While she seemed to be in incredible pain, it was nothing for her.


    ''Compared to being held in that boat, this doesn''t hurt!''


    As her gaze turned to the giant mass of corruption, a fast moving objects crashed a few meters away from them.


    "Damn it-"


    *BAM*


    Orion pushed the dust clouds away, only for him to be instantly attacked by the eel. Both Senia and Olivia stared in horror as Orion remained unable to defend himself.


    "We have to do something!"


    "But what?! We both are too exhausted to do anything!"


    "Kh!"


    Trying to think of something, they were stopped by Orion being thrown at them.


    "Ah!"


    "Hya!"


    Being pushed back from the impact, they ended up entangled for a moment, before Orion lifted his head in panic.


    "You two are still here?! Get away from here right now!"


    He hurriedly opened a portal and pushed the two in it.


    "Wai-"


    "St-"


    They couldn''t finish their sentence, as they disappeared into the portal. Seconds later, the tail end of the dark entity crashed on Orion.


    ...


    "-t!"


    "op!"


    The two women fell on the sand, in front of Saffira.


    "You two?! Wait, where is that man?"


    Surprised, she looked around, but Orion was nowhere to be found.


    "Saffira! He''s-"


    *Rumble*


    From the coast, every time the eel slammed against the ground, it echoed through the whole coast, making the kelpie leader sweat every time she felt it.


    Olivia calm down, and Senia gulped with a serious expression.


    "We need to calm down. He''s not the type to send us away just to sacrifice himself."


    "Yes, he probably has a plan. We are useless at the moment, too."


    They both felt ashamed of their lack of stamina, and the lack of magic they could use. Olivia felt it even more, because she was unable to use even a fraction of her new dark element, compared to Karteira.


    ''If I had been more prepared, maybe...''


    As she looked in the distance, the rumbling stopped.


    "Did he..."


    Saffira uttered those words, before swallowing the remaining of the sentence. Did he win? Or did he lose?


    Both had different consequences, and they all prayed it was the former of the two.


    Just as the wind blew past everyone''s hair, everything became still. The air became choked in magic, the water instantly calmed, and the wind suddenly blew the other way.


    "What is happening?"


    Senia looked in the distance, where the storm was the strongest. Olivia rapidly joined her, and as they squinted their eyes, they notice a bright spot in the sky.


    What happened right after left a deep impression on everyone who saw it.


    ...


    After warping Olivia and Senia away, Orion endured the assault of the eel as much as he could.


    ''I am alone now. But even if I am, it''s not letting me a single moment to breathe.''


    Right after being hit, Orion healed himself. He could continue for quite a long time, but he was beginning to get fed up after being thrown here and there.


    ''Guess I''ll have to try. Now that I don''t have to worry about these two getting hurt, I should be able to go all out.''


    Right before the dark, corrupted mass slammed its head on Orion, he warped above it. His feet touched what seemed to be its skin, and slightly sunk into the mass.


    When his hands touched the eel, he felt the raging feeling of the corruption trying to encroach itself on his body.


    ''That''s useless. I won''t let the corruption take control of me.''


    While his body erased the corruption before it could do that, the eel violently shook its head to make him fly away.


    "It hurt right? Guess what, I have more in stock for you!"


    His body shone brightly, releasing the full power of his light magic, improved by the angel blood in his veins.


    The angel form was very compatible with light magic. In Orion''s case, it was a blessing. Was it a natural evolution, or a compatibility born from his experience, he had no idea.


    *Thump*


    His heart kept on pumping faster and faster, a wild smile drawn on his face as he bathed into that feeling.


    "You''ve been kind enough to show me your true form, leaving that flesh of yours behind. It wouldn''t be fair if I didn''t do the same, right?"


    While tightly holding onto the back of the beast, he kept sending light magic into its body. Since his magic was very effective in erasing corruption, Orion unleashed it at a regular interval, making the giant writhe in pain.


    While trying to get rid of the man on his back, the eel fell down the crevasse and slammed its back on the wall.


    The eel managed to remove Orion from his back, unknowing that he had voluntarily let go of it before being crushed. He had accomplished its goal, and it was now the time to end the fight.


    Ejected from its back, he was about to fall down, though, the corrupted took this chance and began to battered Orion with its tail.


    Slowly, they both began to rise to the surface.


    The eel swam away, and returned at full speed. It showed all of its sharp teeth and abruptly stopped, sending its full body forward in a large swipe.


    Orion crossed his arms and endured the hit. The full length of the eel pushed Orion higher and higher, until he flew out of the sea and into the air.


    His eyes followed the beast the whole time, before he noticed it diving further into the water.


    ''It''s not fleeing...''


    Instinctively, he knew that this wouldn''t end in a stalemate. The survivor would either be Orion, or that giant eel.


    In the darkness under him, a bright red spot appeared, followed by a large vortex rapidly forming with the red spot at its center.


    Still ascending, Orion looked calmly, before closing his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was in dark clouds. Still, his ascension pushed the clouds away, making the large vortex become tinier and tinier.


    At last, Orion began to fall.


    ''...''


    Tranquility replaced his inner turmoil. His mind had been made, and he was about to do something incredible.


    He was ready.