Chapter 184: Overcoming The Wall

Late Afternoon - Late Fall : Deep Ocean (West of Central Sirathian Mountains)

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*Vwoom*

As I popped into the void and made my way toward the marker at the bottom of the dungeon, I calmed my mind until it was completely clear of idle thoughts. "Hoooh..." -It's time...-

*Vwoom-blub* Dropping into the massive room, I did all I could to leave the currents completely undisturbed by my appearance and carefully sank to the bottom.

Quickly getting my bearings, I made my way towards the structure until I could just barely see the blue glow and started circling it. It only took a second for me to see the glow flicker. -There he is...-

Slowly creeping towards the structure, I finally got close enough to see several scarred tentacles hanging off its top. -To think he would be so vulnerable today!-

As predator-like confidence built within me, I created about a gram of antimatter and aimed my mouth at the underside of the tentacles, its weakest point. -I think it's about time you lost a few more!-

As the immense volume of energy started to release within my body, the deep purple glow between my scales grew brighter.

*Vwoo-BUURRMMM* The abyssal-black surroundings immediately lit up as I watched the beam slam into the beast's aqua-blue tentacles.

Almost immediately, the other tentacles twitched and started moving, but it was already too late for the ones the beam met with directly.

-Time to begin!!- Spreading my wings the instant the recoil subsided, I flapped down and launched myself into the several million-degree tunnel of plasma left by the explosion.

In an attempt to slice off one of the remaining 5 colossal tentacles, I darted back into the water as I was about to pass them and dug my claws and jaws into the first one I came to. *Shikk*

But before I could actually get a good grip, the creature tried to dart away. -Oh no you don't!-

*Crunch* Chomping down as hard as I could, I dug my teeth into the top, scaly side of the tentacle and amplified the shockwave as much as I could, completely blowing apart everything under the scales and filling the water with dark crimson blood.

"Ptoey.." Spitting out the shattered scales still in my mouth, I focused on the currents and noticed the huge creature circle me before darting at my back.

Utilizing high-power thruster magic as much as possible, I narrowly dodged the bite and threw my claws up into the creature's neck.

But even with the help of insanely high-powered thrusters, my claws couldn't dig deep enough to deal any critical damage.

-Damn!- Hastily trying to pull my claws back out to reposition myself, the creature reared up its still mostly undamaged paw and swatted me to the side.

*Crack* Just before its massive arm could smash into me, I shattered my claws stuck in its neck and blasted thrusters to lessen the impact. *WHAM*

Somehow getting away without any major broken bones, I darted back at the monster and dug my remaining front claws into the exposed flesh where its other arm used to be.

-Let's see if there's anything vital around here, shall we!- Driving the palm of my paw into the exposed bone, I created an immense, amplified shockwave that eviscerated the bone and shredded the flesh.

As if instinctually, the colossal creature forced its 'wings' closed, launching us through the water and slamming us into the ceiling.

"Ack..." As I got crushed between its wing and body, I channeled the impact into my paw and drove it even deeper into the beast's shredded flesh.

With my entire arm embedded into the creature, I moved around my claws and felt a bone. -A rib!-

Hoping I could shatter one of its vertebrae, I immediately sent a shockwave through the bone, instantly pulverizing it and shredding nearby organs, but that wasn't before I noticed the monster trying to slam me into the corner of the structure.

-Sh*t!- In a flurry of movement, I shifted to the side and braced myself for the pain of having my side gouged out, but instead...

*WHAMM-CRINK* *brrRrRrRrMmm* The entire structure shifted slightly as the corner crumpled against my back.

But my surprise about the strength of my scales didn't last long. -This stupid f*cker is gonna break something!-

Filled with sudden rage, I coated my claws in steel and fired off several railguns inside the beast's body. *Cr-r-r-r-rack*

Although I couldn't see how much damage it did with my aura, the monster reacted immediately, pressing the back of its arm against the structure and forcing it over a few meters.

The next thing I knew, I felt huge, cold claws grip onto my tail.

"Ughhh!" As it ripped me off itself, my arm, still embedded in its body, completely dislocated, but before the pain could even set in, I was hurled towards the ground. 

*WHHHAAMM* The ground was obliterated as I was driven several meters into the stone. 

But even though I was in pain, I eased my nerves slightly. -Now he will back off to recover, and I can prepa..-

*Blub-CRRUUNNCHH* The feeling of the scales lining my underside shattering as the creature used the ground to drive its teeth deeper into my body deafened my thoughts and blinded my mind.

The feeling of possible death caused my instincts to immediately take over and set off the gram of antimatter sitting in my breath gland. But instead of firing it like a beam, my mouth stayed closed. *BBBANG*

As the immense shockwave passed through my body, I felt a colossal wave of heat follow it.

The instant it blasted out of my body, everything remotely near me turned to plasma, with the creature's teeth being no exception.

In the next instant, I pointed my one last mana-strengthened-steel coated claw at the creature's eye and let it fly. *CRACK*

Before the creature could even react to the heat, the dart smashed its way into the creature's eye.

"Grrah!" A deep and guttural groan shot through the water as the monster finally pulled away and darted back into the darkness. *Bang-Crumble-Bang*

The ground violently shook as it slammed itself into walls to try and get the foreign object out of its eye, allowing an opportunity I couldn't miss.

Darting out of the hole I was driven into, I swam under the structure and stood completely still.

Almost immediately after, the currents came to a complete halt.

-Now you're mine...- Instead of standing still like usual, I simulated movement right next to the corner of the structure, only a few meters away.

*Rumble-CRUNCH* Before I could even notice it approaching with the currents, the entire area was turned into a cloud of silt and rubble.

Giving up control of the currents around my body to tell it where I was, I felt a crazed grin come to my face. -Now come at me!-

Before my thoughts could finish, the wall of silt and rubble was broken through by the scar-covered, bleeding beast.

It furiously charged at me with its mouth open, completely expecting to kill me with it, but it was exactly what I wanted.

Charging straight forward, I stuck my entire neck into its mouth and dug my few remaining claws into its tongue.

Feeling what was left of its teeth try to dig into my back only made my eyes light up with an insane craze. -Let's see the water nullify this one!-

As I opened my mouth towards the creature's throat, the five grams of antimatter in my breath gland finally met the five grams of hydrogen next to it in perfect unison. [1]

*flash* The beam that left my mouth after that flash was something I grossly underestimated the power of. *BBBBBUUUURRRRRMMMMMMMM*

The barely controllable mass of energy that left my mouth in that instant completely devoured everything in its path, returning the complicated atomic structures that made up everything in front of me back into hydrogen before continuing into the water and causing several secondary explosions of immense magnitude.

*Rumble-Crash* Distant rumbling could be heard as huge sections of the dungeon collapsed in on itself from the sudden change in pressure, but thankfully the main area where I was remained in one piece, and the structure remained mostly undamaged.

When things eventually calmed down a few seconds later, I forced my head out of the jaws of the still-biting creature.

Even with its entire body reduced to atoms, its brain still told it to fight, but that only lasted so long.

To try and fix my dislocated arm, I drove it into the creature's head and amplified the shockwave into my shoulder. *pop*

Feeling it pop back into place, I took a moment to move it around, but that was when the creature's brain finally ran out of juice.

*Thump* As its mouth closed for the final time, I looked over to see its dead eyes still staring at me with pure rage. 

-To think I actually killed it...- As my nerves started to settle, the realization of my accomplishment finally started setting in, but it wasn't only pride that I felt. For some reason, the feeling of pity was mixed in with it. -To be able to get so old and so strong, yet still, lack sentience...- "Haah..." -Just what happened for it to be excluded from such a concrete rule of evolution?-

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[1] - Five grams of antimatter makes for about 200 Kilotons of explosive yield. Thats about 10 times bigger than the bomb dropped on Nagisaki.