The palace had begun to collapse with a mighty roar, the expensive-looking dome being the first piece to collapse. Rings of dirt and soot blasted into the ocean as the beams gave out completely, and the entire palace rumbled as if an earthquake hit it.
"I'm not done with you yet!" I heard him yell somewhere in the ruined palace, his gargantuan body demolishing the top part of the palace, his monstrous claws breaking free of the rubble.
CRKKKKKKKKK!
With a shock, I noticed that the palace had almost been completely razed to the ground, and the light from before was snuffed out. The only light in the inky darkness of the ocean was the red that was coming off of Carcinus' eyes, and my aura of green fire.
I had marked Carcinus with the second tier of [Nike's Leap] around the start of the fight. Now, given the cover of darkness and his body's slow-moving pace, I had a decent idea of how I could deal some insane damage to him in a hurry.
The only problem with this was, well, I had to be sure that he wouldn't be able to fight back after. Chances were, if I went through with this, I too would be in immense pain.
I tried to do some mental calculations. My mirror did enough, I'm sure. I'd wanted to use it to deal damage to him and capsize the whole palace, and it had done just that. Now, I knew he'd be low enough for me to run and gun him.
I opened my [Inventory] again, this time, pulling out twenty or so arrows—almost all of the ones I'd taken from camp. My hand glowed blue for a moment as I activated the second tier again, this time marking every single arrow with a return point. I cocked back my arm and threw the arrows, noting with satisfaction as the arrows dispersed evenly amongst the sand.
I'd tried to gain information out of him, but it was clear that he wasn't feeling too forthcoming. Fine. That's fine. I even tried to give him a humane end by letting his own palace take him out. He didn't want that either, unfortunately.
It just meant that it was time to end it, my way.
I balled my hands into fists, pushing some mana into [Hecatoncheire's Onslaught] and tensing my legs. Carcinus, after powering through my full-powered fire attack and the collapse of his palace, was sitting at around [400,000 HP].
My hands, covered in the green fire, crunched into the big bastard's head, the [Hecatoncheire's Onslaught] amplifying my power more than I could've imagined. I teleported back to one of the arrows before Carcinus could even react.
I looked down and noticed that my right hand was utterly demolished by the punch, but an idea slowly started forming in my head as I activated [Hecatoncheire's Onslaught] in the same hand, again. If I used any other part of my body and ran into trouble on the way home, I'd be leaving myself open to being attacked and being completely defenseless, to boot. It would hurt like a bitch, but I could only afford to lose the ability to fight with one hand, here.
I slammed my destroyed hand down on Carcinus' head, enjoying his scream of pain as the damage ticked away again. This time, I had to bite down on my lip to avoid a scream of my own—my hand was fucking killing me.
It was doing damage, though. Now that I'd decided there was nothing more to get from Carcinus, I had to make sure to dispose of him quickly, before he'd be able to call for help.
I glanced down at my arm.
Sorry, righty.
I absolutely manhandled Carcinus, teleporting between the arrows, faster than his eyes could track, and then forcing every ounce of mana I could into my right fist, clobbering him. The huge metal hull he'd had was dotted with craters, kind of like he was trying to cosplay as the moon. He'd run out of energy somewhere between my fifth and sixth hits, just taking the rest of them.
Eventually, his [HP] had ticked down to [10,000 HP] and I stood in front of his metallic body, panting heavily. I couldn't even move my arm at this point. The skin of my right fist had been mostly skinned off and was replaced by a horrible mess of bone and blood, with bits of skin still hanging on. My right shoulder blade was completely dislocated, and my forearm was shredded. My bicep was twitching uncontrollably, and I couldn't help but marvel at my luck—of course, I'd get a Charley horse when my fucking arm was barely intact.
I resisted the urge to throw up as I saw the sea slowly repair it, opting, rather, to walk over to Carcinus, who was taking shallow breaths.
"I told you I'd fucking kill you," I growled out, barely keeping myself from wincing. "What do you have to say now, you big bastard? Huh?"
Carcinus didn't dignify me with a response. His metal hull had been completely caved in, and the area right on top of his eyes was completely crushed. The red, glowing eyes he'd had before were now completely dull, barely even lit.
"Come on. Speak, you, sick bitch," I heaved, the sense of satisfaction I'd had before fading away. I kicked his eye angrily, my foot shattering the glass-like organ. I continued my kicking, "Come on! Come on!"
"You…you have no idea what you've done," came the quiet answer. "You should've stayed on the overworld, boy."
"Tell me, then," I snapped, losing my patience. "Talking in riddles isn't going to help a damn soul. If you want any sort of redemption in the Underworld, you'd better start talking now."
Carcinus chuckled. "There's no redemption for a man like me. I did what I did, partially because I was told, sure, and partially because I liked it. I liked their taste, Perseus. The fear in their flesh."
"Who made you do this?" I asked, reining in the horrible anger that was exploding like fireworks in my gut. "Why?"
"He…he bound me to an oath," Carcinus forced out. "He sees this ocean for what it is. I…may have been a fool to trust him, but he'll usher this world into a better age. I'd give my death a million times for that. Be warned, boy. The hunt begins."
I began charging a fireball in my hand. I held it up to his only visible eye, snarling, "If you ever come back, I'll make this fight look like mercy. I don't care about your friend, either. If whoever this mystery guy wants to take Atlantis, he'll have to kill me first."
"He will," Carcinus promised. "He will."
Sick of hearing his robotic heaving, I snuffed out his life with a couple of charged fireballs.
I leaned back in the sand as his body exploded in golden sparkles on top of me, like a victory party. I closed my eyes.
I heard a pinging noise.
What now?
Even in the darkness, the words, white this time, lit up my vision:
— - —
~ Congratulations! You have evolved the perk [Ghoul of Atlantis] by continuing along with the story and completing the hidden mission(s):
- The hidden objective CONVERT MALIA [X] has unlocked the [ROUTE OF THE ASSASSIN]!
- The hidden objective FORCE CARCINUS TO TRANSFORM [X] has unlocked [THE ROUTE OF THE WARRIOR]!
- The hidden objective USE HERCULES' APPROACH AGAINST CARCINUS [X] has unlocked the [ROUTE OF THE SCIENTIST]!
- The hidden objective DESTROY THE PALACE [X] has unlocked [MEDUSA'S REVENGE]!
Once again, congratulations! To complete the evolution of your perk, please proceed to the remains of Carcinus and select your route.
— - —
My eyebrows scrunched together. Hidden objectives? His remains? The big bastard had exploded, just like Minotaur had done when I killed him. I highly doubt any part of him remains here at all.
Still, sufficiently curious about what the Game said, I forced myself to stand up, letting the ocean carry me to where Carcinus had died. Sure enough, there was a little, marble-sized ball. I picked it up, and the screen flashed again.
[THE ROUTE OF THE ASSASSIN]
Ghoulish Tendencies (LV MAX): Embrace your true nature, and revel in the destruction of your enemies! For every ten enemies killed, gain an extra skill point in the category of your choosing!
[THE ROUTE OF THE WARRIOR]
The Eyes of Power (LV 1): Throughout Heaven and Earth, you alone are the honored one! You're the first mortal to ever wield Medusa's eye, and as a result, something interesting has happened! As you experienced a powerful emotional condition in your fight with Carcinus, specifically with regards to a person precious to you, your brain released a special form of mana that affected the optic nerves of your borrowed eye, transforming the eye into one of the Eyes of Power. At LV 1, this perk will grant the user incredible clarity of perception, enabling them to read lips or mimic something like pencil movements. In combat, this allows them to see fast-moving objects and can help the user anticipate an opponent's next move based on the slightest muscle tension in their body and act accordingly to dodge or intercept. More abilities will be unlocked as the eye evolves. MP COST: 50 MP/SEC!
[THE ROUTE OF THE SCIENTIST]
The Eyes of Heaven (LV MAX): A gift from the gods themselves… Choose to relinquish your hatred towards Carcinus and pick the option of forgiveness, opting to let your positive feelings influence the transformation of your eye. Individuals with the Eyes of Heaven have a near-360º field of vision around themselves, save for a small blind spot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra. The eye's vision can penetrate almost any object, allowing users to see through walls, peer underground, or even examine the contents of a person's body. Users can focus their vision on anything and everything within the eye's range, allowing them to monitor individuals from afar or to quickly survey a vast area and pinpoint specific locations within that area. As a bonus, this eye will also allow you to view the divine form of any deity without burning to death! MP COST: 50 MP/SEC!
[MEDUSA'S REVENGE]
The True Ghoul (LV MAX): Allow Medusa a second life through your own mana, gaining the predatory capabilities of a monster! Gain access to a fusion of your and Medusa's powers, resulting in a constant Limit Break. This Limit Break, when released, will strengthen your physique, resilience, and mobility. A tail will form from your body, composed of Medusa's scales, which flow just like blood, and can become as solid as teeth. LIMIT: 20 MIN/DAY!
Wow.
Just, uh, wow. That…this…this is a lot to take in. A whole lot.
"Is there any chance I can make this decision, like, later?" I muttered under my breath. "I'm pooped right now."
REMIND LATER?
Yeah, sure. That works.
SET REMINDER!
What?
Okay, fine, I guess it's like those annoying reminders you get when you're trying to put off updating your phone or something. Uh, remind me in like, a day. Yeah, a day.
REMINDER SET! 23:59:59 REMAINING!