BOOM.
The explosions outside would not stop. The palace shields had fallen, and Atlantis was living through one of the greatest disasters in its history.
But inside the Pearl Chamber, there was a deadly silence.
Hope gripped his scythe tightly, eyes locked on the door.Elara stood at the center of the chamber, hands trembling as she prepared to summon the water element.
"The door is sealed," Elara said, her voice echoing. "No one can open it from the outside. My father's spells are absolute."
At that exact moment, the complex enchantment carved into the door flared with blue light.
The sound of mechanical locks turning echoed through the chamber.
CLICK. CLICK. CLANK.
Hope narrowed his eyes."The door wasn't broken," he whispered. "Someone entered the access code."
The heavy metal door slid open with a hydraulic hiss.
The figure who entered was not an enemy.
It was a Royal Guard.
His armor was shattered. His helmet was gone. His face was drenched in blood.
The guard took a shaky step forward. His eyes found Elara.
"Princess…" he rasped, blood bubbling from his mouth. "This place… isn't safe… You must leave…"
Before he could finish, he dropped to his knees.
Then collapsed face-first onto the floor.
A massive serrated spear was embedded in his back.
As his body fell, the dark corridor behind him was revealed.
But it wasn't illuminated by light.
It was illuminated by darkness.
A colossal shadow passed over the guard's corpse.
What stood at the threshold was unlike anything Hope had ever seen.
It had a humanoid body, but its skin was leathery and dark purple, almost black. Extra limbs extended from its shoulders and back, not arms but muscular tentacles lined with suction cups.
Its face was grotesque. Two large, bloodthirsty eyes glared forward. No hair. A mouth filled with countless sharp teeth.
Behind it stood a dozen more soldiers, smaller but similar. They wore no armor.
They didn't need it.
Their skin was as hard as steel.
Hope looked at the horrifying sight.
And smiled.
This was not the fearless smile of a hero.
It was the greedy smile of a player who had just found rare loot.
[ENEMY ANALYSIS: OCTOPUS VANGUARD UNIT][SPECIAL ABILITY DETECTED: CELLULAR REGENERATION]
Hope rested his scythe on his shoulder.
"Stay back, Princess," he said without taking his eyes off them. "These are mine."
Elara stared at him. "What? There are too many of them, Hope! We have to fight together!"
"No," Hope said firmly. "I have to kill them. The finishing blows must be mine."
He stepped toward the Octopus Warrior.
"And besides… they have something."
"And I want it."
The massive Octopus at the front let out a guttural roar and charged. The soldiers behind it followed.
The corridor flooded into the chamber like a black tide.
Hope lifted his scythe. Took his stance.
He had a plan.
But for it to work, Elara needed to understand him.
He didn't speak.He didn't signal.
He just dashed forward.
Just before impact—
Elara slammed her palm onto the floor.
[INSTANT FREEZE]
The water beneath them froze solid in an instant. The Octopus soldiers' feet and tentacles were trapped in ice.
All of them immobilized.
Hope's smile widened.
"I knew it."
He had known she would do that.
They didn't need words.
Sliding across the ice, Hope accelerated.
[BLAZE TYRANT: GREEN CRESCENT]
He swung horizontally.
VJJJZT!
A crescent of green flame tore through the air.
The first three Octopus soldiers were split in half at the waist before they even understood what happened. Their pitch-black blood splattered across the frozen floor.
Green soul wisps screamed as they were absorbed into Hope's scythe.
[SOUL HARVEST: +3][MANA REGENERATING…]
"Perfect," Hope muttered.
But it was too soon to celebrate.
Behind the ones he cut down…
There were dozens more.
Hope stomped hard and unleashed green flames toward the advancing army.
Correct.
Even while burning, the Octopus warriors regenerated rapidly.
"Elara, try tearing off their arms!"
[FROZEN CRESCENT]
Elara hurled crescent-shaped shards of ice like boomerangs. Several Octopus arms were severed and fell to the floor.
But the arms still twitched.
Black, viscous liquid sprayed from the stumps. Within seconds, bones, muscles, and flesh rewove themselves.
"Regeneration," Hope muttered. "Faster than I expected."
More soldiers poured in.
Ten. Twenty. Maybe thirty.
Hope spun his scythe like a turbine, deflecting attacks. He severed limbs, split torsos.
But every piece grew back.
He had to kill them in one decisive strike.
And that meant spending massive mana.
"Hope!" Elara shouted, launching ice spears. "They won't stop! We'll run out of mana!"
"There has to be a way!" Hope kicked one back. "My mana regenerates when I kill them—but their healing is faster than my recovery!"
"Protect me!" Elara shouted. "Hold the doorway! I'm looking for something!"
"Looking for what?!"
"Shut up and fight!"
She ran to the ornate pearl-inlaid cabinets at the back and began tearing through drawers.
Hope stood alone at the entrance.
A one-man army.
But he was tiring.
His scythe grew heavy. His wounds burned.
An Octopus soldier bit into his shoulder.
"Gah!" He smashed its skull with the shaft of his scythe.
Two more leapt at him.
He was forced back.
"All right, I'm getting bored of you!" he shouted.
Green flames gathered along his scythe. He spun—
A massive horizontal fire vortex exploded outward, ripping through a dense cluster of enemies in one devastating sweep.
The attack consumed most of his remaining mana.
And for a split second—
He was open.
That was when it entered.
Far larger.
Armored.
Overwhelming.
Not a soldier.
A Commander.
His body was covered in scars. Four arms held four different weapons: spear, sword, mace, and chain.
"Finally," Hope spat blood. "A real opponent. If I kill you… I'm definitely leveling up."
The Commander laughed, gravel grinding together.
"You… Architect…" he rasped. "The Collector… pays well… for your head."
Hope froze briefly.
"The Collector sent you?"
No answer.
He charged.
[DEATH DANCE]
Hope became a whirlwind. His scythe carved deep gashes across the Commander's body. An arm severed. Chest split. Leg shattered.
Any normal enemy would be minced.
Hope landed and stepped back, panting.
"It's over."
The Commander stood there.
Broken.
But not fallen.
He smiled.
"No… I serve only… the Lord of the Kraken!"
VIOOOOP.
Every wound sealed instantly. Flesh reformed with wet, disgusting sounds.
As if nothing had happened.
Hope's eyes widened. "That's cheating…"
"Little bastard," the Commander growled.
He swung.
The mace slammed into Hope's chest.
BOOM!
Hope flew like a rag doll and crashed into the wall, leaving a crater shaped like his body.
He fell.
Blood poured from his mouth. Ribs shattered.
His vision blurred.
I can't move… System… I can't—
The Commander approached slowly.
"First I will eat your legs. Then your arms. That is how I will gain an Architect's power."
"FOUND IT!"
Elara slid beside Hope, holding two glowing bottles marked with the royal crest. One sapphire blue. One ruby red.
She ripped the caps off with her teeth and poured both into Hope's mouth.
"Drink!"
The liquid tasted foul. Bitter. Metallic. Artificial.
Not like Lypin's magic…
Her spells were like warm chocolate.
This tasted like cough syrup.
A shockwave spread through his body.
But that wasn't the real trigger.
His system had finally completed analysis of the three Octopus souls.
Green text appeared.
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.][NEW GENETIC CODE DETECTED: OCTOPUS RACE.][TRAIT COPYING…]
Hope's body convulsed. Veins shifted colors. Green. Black. Blue.
Broken bones snapped back into place. Flesh reknit.
Mana surged like a dam bursting.
[ABILITY ACQUIRED: INK BLOOD (PASSIVE)][DESCRIPTION: HIGH-SPEED CELLULAR REGENERATION AND LIMB RESTORATION.]
Hope inhaled deeply.
Fully healed.
Stronger than before.
He rose slowly.
The green flames in his eyes burned darker now.
Hungrier.
The Commander stopped.
"How?" he snarled.
Hope cracked his neck. His scythe flew back into his hand, glowing green and black.
"Royal potions are decent," he said, winking at Elara. "But the real treasure… is your genetics, friend."
Elara stood beside him, holding a massive ice spear condensed from the chamber's moisture. Her dress torn. Hair disheveled.
More dangerous than ever.
"Ready, Architect?" she asked.
Hope spun his scythe.
"Always."
He looked at the Commander.
"Let's run that back, squid-face."
The Octopus soldiers charged again.
Elara hurled her ice spear.
VJJJT!
It pierced three soldiers in a line and pinned them to the wall.
"This time," she said coldly, "I'm in."
Hope surged forward like green lightning.
He no longer feared injury.
Because now—
He healed like they did.
The Pearl Chamber was about to become a slaughterhouse.