Many strong presences were racing towards this direction. Compared to them, Marie was nothing, and compared to Marie, Stacy and Penny were annoyances. One power among the group wasn't like the others; it felt like many different beings were smashed into one vessel. Just sensing it made my spine crawl. I needed to ascend quickly; there was no longer time to waste.
I left the shack at a breakneck speed skating with all my might. The tongues of other frog girls shot out from behind boulders, atop shacks, and beneath wells. My guard was stronger than it had ever been, and I didn't let any others get to me. My skating was built for fast maneuvering, even against multiple enemies. I shot over a bluff in the sand and fell into a small army of crab girls.
With the powers approaching, there was no time to hold back. Even as they turned their attention to me, I knocked most of them out of the way. Then the dungeon shook again as I crossed the distance. Before a pincer could snip at me, I made it to the water. My wake in the water was followed by a stream of dolphins, catfish, and mermaids who gave chase.
All the while, the watery hands of spirits reached out to grasp at my ankles. Even as they possessed the water itself, I made my way towards the boat. My aura flashed, reducing those who came too close into spirit particles. By that point, with the presence so close, I couldn't afford to hold much of my strength back. I needed to claim my prize and escape.
A massive orca girl emerged in my path with crystalline blue eyes and wet white hair. She smiled cheerfully before reaching for me. I sped up even as her massive hand reached out.
Even going full throttle, I knew she was too close in the end I was going to get caught and lose time.
The hand came down, and it was all I could do not to blast the orca girl on the spot. But, before the hand reached me, a tentacle shot out of the water and stopped it. The orca girl shrieked in rage as I flew past her. It seemed some monstergirls were happy to be craps in a bucket.
I threw myself onto the edge of the ship and used my newly acquired metal element to create handholds. Moving metal was easy enough even when the dungeon reinforced it. Moving something and breaking it were two different things. I didn't need much of a hand hold with my enhanced strength anyway.
Slowly I made my way up the ship when the lake churned. I turned to see the face of a genuinely massive monstergirl emerge. She reached out for me just as I threw myself over the side of the ship. Once inside, the spirits attacked in earnest. Though not one was above mid-class, only a few had multiple cores. I searched for the boss; I swept through the lower and mid spirits with my aura alone.
The ship rocked but did not from a dungeon quake.
I turned to see Ellie, the sea serpent girl pulling at the ship. She was almost larger than the ship itself. How in the hell I was supposed to make a dent in a pussy like hers?
Ellie's fingers gripped the edge of the ship. I heard the vessel groan in protest as the sea serpent lady peaked over the edge at me. Clear desire screamed in her eyes as her face emerged. Then, when her lips passed into view, I saw the truth. Drool dripped down her chin as she sniffed the air. This bitch wanted to eat me.
"Nope," I said and skated to the edge of the ship and jumped down to a lower room. The ship shook, and I knew it wouldn't last much longer. I battled through ghosts and possessed golems of rotten wood to find some old journals. Apparently, on the other side of the ship, there was a treasure hold, in other words, the perfect place for a boss fight.
When I figured out where I was going next, a fist punched through the ship and brushed against me. The massive hand paused and shot towards me like a viper. I ducked and twisted under the hand, only for the appendage to withdraw. One of Ellie's giant golden serpentine eyes peered through the hole she made.
"I found you, little guy. Come out quietly, or I'm going to tear this ship wide open. It's going to be looser than an orca girl's cunt on new dildo day."
I threw myself to another room just before both of her arms shot into the hole. I watched Ellie make a fist from the same room with both hands. I sucked in a breath and let it out. My heart was racing; this was such bullshit. Even the demons weren't this big of a threat. The demons had been willing to negotiate. This chick wanted to eat me.
After sucking in a heavy breath, I let it out just as Ellie pulled and ripped the ship a wide new asshole. As the vessel fell apart, I skated through what few halls remained and followed the map. While she tore the ship apart, I accelerated with everything I had. Getting to the cargo hold was more important than anything else.
I leaped through the air and landed in the water. Qi continued to project from my feet, and I blasted through the water to the other end of the ship. I glanced behind me only to see Ellie's mouth wide open ready to snap me up. My pace increased, and her hand shot out only for a quick burst of qi to knock me out of the way.
Even as I dodged her first swipe, her second was on its way, and the G-forces from my first dodge nearly ripped me apart. As I fought to descend, the air in my lungs burned like first as the pressure increased. My lungs felt squished, and they burned like hell. Finally, I had to release the pressure, or else I would die. My head was exploding, and my heart began beating erratically. I don't know how far I had already traveled below the surface.
With a heave, I let all the air out of my lungs, threw myself from the second strike, and sucked in a mouthful of water. I waited to cough and splutter or feel any adverse reaction, but nothing happened. No air entered my lungs, and they were full of water, but I felt nothing. The next grab was easier to dodge.
The powerful presences arrived just as I threw myself into the sunken half of the ship. Ghosts were battling Ellie with everything they had, only for her to knock them all aside. While those that came close to me shattered. I had to move fast; they wouldn't hold the sea serpent back forever. When I thought I was safe, Ellie opened her mouth, and a glowing mass of world qi formed. Ice crystals formed in the water around her attack, and waves of her power created a cyclone in the water.
The spirits might only buy me seconds instead of minutes. I found the treasure hold and ripped the door open. There I saw the boss and struck with all my might. I held the water core in my hand before absorbing it immediately. Down on the ground, the beautiful siren's open wound bled out. The powerful water spirit had a very life-like vessel. When the core fully integrated, I immediately began integrating the others. Even as my qi decreased, I felt my overall cultivation skyrocket.
Then the beam hit, and ice exploded all around as she blasted through the ship. She had managed to avoid me for the most part. A few ice sickles stabbed through my arms and leg even as I felt my access to qi rapidly increase. I had fully integrated the 5 primal elements and felt the water around me replenish my qi.
Ellie's hand snatched me up, and she brought me up to her face. Her grin stretched from ear to ear. Instead of eating me on the spot, she swam up. She probably planned to show off her treat to everyone.
The second we breached the surface, I saw a familiar face standing on the floating remains of a ship. Even after jumping worlds, I couldn't forget the face of an old friend. King, a friend from Earth, stood on a floating piece of debris staring at me. Several mecha-girls of the scout class were floating beside him, but they didn't get my attention. I realized then that King had been the presence I felt the source of a thousand screams.
"Red, but you're dead," King said.