The ship of Contestants existed no more.
A giant whirlpool had appeared where the galley once had been, devouring all pieces of wood, metal, and flesh.
Kai landed in the sea with a booming splash. Gyarados Transformation had enlarged him by a full size, it seemed. He felt fuller; physically, mentally, and spiritually. But, more so than anything, he felt powerful. It wasn't even a buff. It was raw power.
Gyarados-Kai floated waist-up in the sea using his finned tail.
He looked at the notification hovering in front of him, then, notifying him about the killing an Order's Contestant.
However, in the very next moment, he frowned.
Only 1 Kill? Kai realized.
Boom!
Kai didn't even get time to think about dodging it.
The massive Iron Man boomed out of the sea, hugged him, wrapping its metallic arms around his waist, and flew up and up. Two powerful jets were hissing out from its legs, propelling the two of them with a stupendous acceleration.
With the boosted effects of devouring a fresh Magical Creature gone, Gyarados-Kai struggled to escape Charles' inhumane grasp.
He dared not use Telekinesis anymore.
He did have one Ability, though.
Kai's breath rattled as he used Emotions Manipulation to suck out Charles' hope and happiness beyond the metallic layer.
Crack!
Suddenly, thin bolts of electricity snaked around him as the Iron Man let out a massive electric discharge electrocuting Kai. His eyes almost rolled back in his skull, his teeth rubbing against each other, making an eerie sound.
With every foot of height they gained, Kai felt short of breath, losing his senses.
Air was blasting against his ears, and all sounds felt distant. Only a mechanical laugh resounded inside his head, telling a tale of victory.
"No matter what kind of abomination you are," Charles said, his grin tightening around Kai. "You will pop like a balloon upon the impact. Now that would be a sight to see, wouldn't it? Never imagined I would kill a Contestant with Blessing."
Charles had seen Kai flying already. So what he intended to was to double down toward the sea and let go of Kai just before the impact, not giving him any time to survive. With the Mark 1 armor protecting him, the 5th-floor Contestant didn't fear any mortal injury.
Kai knew this very well, too.
The thing was, he couldn't use a Skill anymore. The use of Hyper Beam had sent him in a Cooldown of 5 minutes. He couldn't use any Skill granted by Glitch before that. Not to mention, Kai didn't have any Skill of its own.
All Hidden Missions grant Skills, master, Meg had told him. That's why Contestants accept them despite them being a grade higher than the Main Mission. The only reason I can think of, for you not getting a Skill as Hidden Mission's rewards is, your Luck.
However, it didn't matter anymore.
Even if Kai had possessed a Skill of his own, he couldn't have used it at this moment. Hyper Beam made sure the next activation of any Skill would fail while consuming all the required Mana or Spirituality. This was the price of the power to destroy anything in his path.
Suddenly, Kai brought out his Fangs and clenched the blades between his teeth.
He didn't intend to attack the Iron Man with them. No. It was just to let them remain near the armor.
A burst of cold spread out the moment the serpent-eyed sabers came out.
Little by little, a layer of frost began appearing around the Iron Man armor, donning the metallic grey under a white-blue shine.
But in the next instant, a blast of heat melted the frost as if it had been an illusion.
"Told you, didn't I?" Charles said, still rising higher and higher, and now crossing the thinnest layer of clouds. "The miniature furnace cost me quite a sum to use it. But a pleasant surprise for those who want to reenact the movie's plot against me. Haha! And now… Die, you filthy Chaos' abomination!"
After going beyond the last layer of clouds, Charles did what he had always intended.
If going above was torture, then falling was an even bigger one. Kai's eardrums had gone numb, blood rising in his eyes and brain. Whatever he could do, he needed to do it now.
One moment they were still somewhere in the sky. In another, the sea had already replaced all sights in Kai's eyes.
Something snapped within him, then.
"Haaaaa!" Gyarados-Kai let out a beastly growl and puffed his arms, trying to forcefully open the iron grin surrounding him. He could hear the laugh coming out of the Mark 1 armor, maddening him even more.
It was clear that despite the power he had just obtained, the armor was just too strong.
Charles thought so, too, because what happened in the next moment, smothered all the scornful laugh bubbling out of his mouth.
Kai's entire body got covered in a bronze shine. Then, like a mirage, a bronze-colored spartan helmet appeared over his head, his reptilian hazel eyes shining red and gold behind it.
Act - Relentless Love…
…
Strength +3
Agility +4
Stamina +5
…
… Titan's Buff!!!
Under the shocking gaze of Charles, Kai let out a demonic grin and… ripped open the iron grip.
Before the 5th-floor Contestant could pull away, sensing doom, Gyarados-Kai grabbed the iron arms. His hold wasn't just a hold, but the grip of death itself.
Charles flailed his legs, cutting off the jet propulsion.
However, they had been falling from so high that it mattered little now.
Nothing and no one could prevent from happening what was about to happen now. Just before it happened, though, Kai gritted through the unbearable headache, using Telekinesis. He pulled the Iron Man under him, while simultaneously pushing himself up.
Then, like a meteoroid, they fell into the sea, white, foamy waves rising as high as a small hill.
BOOM!
The impact must have shocked Charles into unconsciousness, because when he regained his senses, a blue-scaled demon was taking him down and down, into the depths of the depthless sea.
"Have you gone insane?!" Charles' robotic voice oozed out from the armor. "We will both die!!"
The Contestant hadn't lied. No matter how powerful Gyarados-Kai's scales were, he couldn't bear the pressure of the sea. Not at the depth he intended to take Charles to.
Cr-a-ck-kk!
Cracks began surfacing all over his body, his overlapping draconic scales almost on the brink of giving out. The pressure was intensifying so fast that all his organs were about to be crushed under its rage.
The demonic grin on Kai's face, though, became wider.
And through this widening grin, Charles, whose metallic armor had been gaining dents all over, saw a red capsule between the abomination's teeth.
Kai sucked the HP capsule, crushed it, and gulped it down.
Twin-Saber Style - Forbidden Technique…
He pulled Charles in front of him, the muscles on his right arm becoming strings of steel. Such wrath exploded from within Kai that the flesh, blood, and bones of his right arm overpowered the sea's pressure. At any time, and any other place, this would have been a disaster, resulting in him losing his arm. Here, in the darkness of the sea's depth, it was a blessing.
-/You know,/- Gyarados-Kai said, sending the words to Charles' mind. -/I don't have a Blessing… Ha… Haha!/-
Charles' eyes widened.
Then, Kai punched.
… Serpent God's Wrath!!!
The boom surpassed the sound lingering over the sea.
Kai sent the Iron Man flying deeper and deeper. He also used Telekinesis to push Charles as hard as he could, while simultaneously propelling himself up.
However, even before he had risen by a few feet, he heard a crunching sound.
The seemingly indestructible Iron Man had finally been conquered, imploding under the combined wrath of Gyarados-Kai and the Sea.
*********************
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