NOVEL NEXT Chapter 749: Clash Underwater
Nox and Dorran slipped out of their hiding slot and moved cautiously toward the temple ruins. The deep sea was very quiet after the chaos. The normal, glowing fish-life had fled. As they approached the statue, Nox felt the orb in his hand grow warmer. The statue's eyes brightened in response.
It was even larger up close, towering over them, carved from a stone that seemed to absorb the faint light. Terra's expression was serene, but the power radiating from her was immense.
"Okay, we've looked," Dorran whispered urgently. "Now can we—"
"Wait…" Nox suddenly frowned. "You didn't understand me the last time when I said we're not leaving without the statue?"
"Fuck, how are we supposed to—" A sound cut him off. A low, chanting hum vibrated through the water.
From behind the broken columns and piles of coral, figures emerged. Dozens of them. Not the pearlescent Sea People from before, but the coral-armored Devotees. They were surrounded.
These ones moved with purpose. Their glowing eyes locked on the statue, then on Nox, and specifically on the orb in his hand. Without a word, their tridents were raised.
At the front of the group was a larger Devotee, a female with an elaborate headdress of twisted, glowing coral. She pointed a trident at Nox and spoke, her voice a series of clicks and gurgles that Nox failed to understand.
"Defiler! You touch the sacred light of the Goddess! You will return the Heart and perish!"
As if sensing that the humans couldn't understand, the sea devotees parted. Another, younger one stepped forward. When this one spoke, they understood.
"Defiler! You touch the sacred light of the Goddess! You will return the Heart and perish!"
'So, the orb was the Heart.' Nox tightened his grip on it. Then he raised his voice at the sea devotees. "The statue doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the Beast Tamers."
The largest female Devotee—clearly a priestess—hissed, baring needle-like teeth. She whispered something to the younger one, who translated.
"The Silent Goddess has slept since the Great war! She is ours! Her power protects the depths from the filth of the air-breathers! Your kind defiled the world above, you will not defile this holy place!"
This wasn't just about theft. This was religious war. Nox realized there would be no talking his way out of this.
"Be ready," Dorran muttered, his hand tightening on the shark's rough skin.
The High Priestess shrieked a command. "Take the Heart! Spill their blood for the Goddess!"
At that moment, the Devotees charged forward. Nox reacted instantly. He couldn't use [Shadow Oblivion]. Instead, he thrust out his free hand and unleashed [Chain Lightning]. The bolt of electricity ripped through the water, a brilliant, terrifying light in the darkness.
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
It struck the first rank of Devotees. The water conducted the shock perfectly. They convulsed and went limp, their coral armor cracking.
But there were too many. More Devotees swarmed over their fallen comrades. Dorran yelled, and the shark shot forward, jaws snapping. It caught one Devotee and its serpent mount, shaking them violently.
Nox formed blades of ice in the water, sending them spinning toward the attackers. FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! They were effective, but each spell drained him. Maintaining the air bubble was a constant strain, and the deep-water pressure felt like a vise tightening around his skull.
The High Priestess moved back, chanting. The water around her began to swirl. A whirlpool formed, pulling at Nox and Dorran, trying to drag them away from the statue.
"She's controlling the currents!" Dorran shouted, fighting to keep his pet steady.
Nox saw a trident hurtling towards him. He twisted, but the sharp edge grazed his arm, drawing a plume of blood that dissolved in the water. The Devotees smelled it and pressed their attack with renewed frenzy.
They were being overwhelmed. Nox knew a direct fight was suicide. He had to think differently. His eyes fell on the statue.
'The statue reacted to the orb the first time, right… hope this works.' His eyes glinted.
As a Devotee lunged at him with a dagger, Nox didn't retreat. He dove toward the statue, clutching the Heart. He slammed the orb against the stone at its base.
"What are you doing?" Dorran screamed.
"Asking for help!" Nox roared back.
He poured his mana not into a spell, but directly into the Heart. He pushed every ounce of his will into it and offered a desperate short prayer.
"Terra, help your champion!" he roared at the top of his voice.
The response was immediate and overwhelming. A wave of divine aura smashed into everyone present.
Boom!
Then the statue's eyes blazed like twin suns. The light wasn't just light; it was a wave of pure, ancient power. It exploded outward from the statue in a silent, concussive ring.
The effect on the Devotees was catastrophic. They recoiled as if struck, their coral armor blackening and cracking under the holy radiance of their own goddess. The High Priestess's chant turned into a scream of betrayal and agony. At the same time, the whirlpool collapsed.
But the power didn't harm Nox or Dorran. It washed over them. For Nox, the strain of maintaining the air bubble vanished. He could breathe the water as easily as air. The crushing pressure was gone. The statue's power was protecting them.
The light faded, but the statue's eyes remained bright. The Devotees were in disarray, wounded and confused. Their goddess had turned against them.
"Now!" Nox yelled.
This was their chance!
Dorran spurred his shark, the beast crashing through the scattering ranks. Its jaws clamped down on another serpent mount, thrashing until the water clouded red.
The statue's glow lingered like an aftershock, and the Devotees flinched back, some dropping their tridents completely.
"Move!" Nox shouted, surging toward the High Priestess. If she recovered first, they were finished.
Now that she was in disarray, it was the best moment for them to strike!
***
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