Dubbin turned his head with a menacing grin. "Kenny, perhaps you've never seen me in my full combat mode, have you?"
In an instant, Dubbin's head transformed—his jaws elongated dramatically, revealing a mouthful of jagged, gleaming fangs that exuded an icy menace. His body swelled to nearly double its original size.
"Roar!"
The deep, resonant growl reverberated through the waters, sending schools of fish, shrimp, and crabs scattering in every direction. His terrifying presence was palpable.
Around him, the sharks seemed to receive a silent command, abruptly changing course and charging toward Kenny with savage intensity.
Kenny, his eyes squinting in a mockingly comical fashion, smirked. "Oh, bring it on."
He turned and darted toward the maze-like seafloor canyon. The sharks, swift and relentless, surged after him, but once inside the winding canyon, Kenny vanished from sight.
The sharks, however, weren't easily fooled. Using their ability to detect electric signals, they began to hone in on his location. Just as they pinpointed a target, Aaron emerged from behind a coral-covered rock.
With a swift motion, he released a series of powerful electric pulses, shocking the unsuspecting sharks. One by one, they convulsed before falling limp, unconscious in the water.
Working in seamless coordination, Kenny and Aaron continued to evade and neutralize the shark attacks, turning the hunters into the hunted.
Meanwhile, Xavier faced the long-awaited Sylphar whale pod. Among them were members of the Mysticeti suborder: blue whales, gray whales, humpbacks, and from the Odontoceti suborder: orcas, belugas, sperm whales, and narwhals.
Despite the odds, Xavier stood firm. He had little chance of outright victory, but retreat wasn't an option. The truth needed to be uncovered; otherwise, the devastation would continue.
He set his sights on the largest blue whale in the pod. If he could take down the colossal leader, it might frighten the others into retreating, leveraging their innate respect for the strongest among them.
When the whale entered the range of the Neuro-Wave Cannon, Xavier activated the trigger.
Boom!
An invisible beam shot from the cannon, marked only by the faint turbulence it caused in the water—a ripple of displaced currents heading straight for the giant blue whale.
The target's bloodshot eyes suddenly bulged and ruptured, followed by a muffled, agonized groan. The massive creature sank slowly to the seabed, releasing a cloud of bubbles and silt.
The remaining whales, witnessing the fall of their mighty companion, hesitated before retreating en masse. The cannon's intimidation had worked.
But Xavier was far from triumphant. Breathing heavily, he could feel the toll the weapon had taken on him. Red blood began seeping into the water from his helmet, mingling with the ocean around him.
The Neuro-Wave Cannon's power wasn't solely external; it drew heavily from the user's brainwaves, and Xavier had paid the price.
From a safe hiding spot, Diana watched the scene unfold, her sharp mind racing.
"The whales retreated after seeing their kin fall. Does that mean they still have self-awareness? If they feel fear, they aren't completely under the control of the mysterious mastermind. But who could manipulate so many whales at once? If this puppeteer is also a Sylphar pet master, why can't Lyanna or Xavier sense their presence?"
Her thoughts churned with unease as she pondered the unknown entity pulling the strings. The battle wasn't just about survival—it was about unmasking a far greater danger that loomed beneath the waves.
A Relentless Pursuit
"He's terrifying," Diana thought, her mind racing. "To control nearly all species of whales… this opponent is unimaginably strong."
The next moment, the enemy made their move.
The dark mass of whales, their crimson eyes glowing fiercely, began to organize with chilling precision. They shifted into formation, a strategy even more formidable than before.
Previously, the whales had formed a "wall" tactic to deal with tuna. Now, they assembled a far wider barrier, but this time it curved inward like a concave mirror.
Xavier stared at the pattern unfolding before him, his stomach tightening. This was a strategy he himself had designed long ago—a devastating formation. His neural link with the whales had taught them this maneuver.
Many whales possess the natural ability to emit powerful ultrasonic waves from their massive heads, stunning prey to make them easy targets. In a concave arc formation, however, their coordinated ultrasonic waves focus on a single point, amplifying their destructive potential exponentially.
And right now, Xavier was at the deadly focal point.
Danger! Escape immediately!
If the whales completed their arc, he'd be obliterated. With no time to lose, Xavier morphed his tail fin into sharp, crescent-like shapes to boost his swimming speed. He darted away, but the whales were relentless.
Behind him, their combined ultrasonic blast ripped through the water like an invisible explosion, devastating everything in its path. Coral reefs shattered, seaweed tore apart, rocks crumbled, and shrimp, crabs, and fish scattered lifelessly in the chaos.
The tide of battle had turned. The whales, once on the defensive, now held the upper hand, pressing forward with merciless determination.
The pod moved in unison, chasing their former master with the precision of a rolling net, closing the gap inch by inch. On another battlefield, Aaron and Kenny were still locked in fierce combat with the sharks, unable to intervene.
Diana, hiding in a corner of relative safety, was frantic. She summoned her Sylphar giant squid to harass the whales, hoping to disrupt their formation. But her lone squid, no matter how strong, stood no chance against the overwhelming numbers of the pod.
The chaos spread far beyond the original battle zone. In his frantic retreat, Xavier was unaware that his path was leading him dangerously close to two young, naïve girls—Calypso and Seraphina—who had been watching the fight in secret.
The whales' deadly net began to close in, and a wave of ultrasonic vibrations blasted the coral and rocks where the girls were hiding. The impact sent them tumbling to the seafloor, their cries of pain piercing the water.
Hearing their screams, Xavier stopped abruptly and turned back, his heart sinking. He realized the whales' assault had caught the girls in its crossfire.
"Hold on!" he muttered to himself, his determination surging as he prepared to face the overwhelming odds once more.
Having escaped the range of the whales' attack, Xavier found himself turning back toward the battlefield. The cries of the two young mermaids, Seraphina and Calypso, left him no choice.
At the same time, two orcas broke formation, surging toward the girls with alarming speed. From their trajectory, Xavier could tell he wouldn't reach them in time. The girls were moments away from being devoured.
Seraphina and Calypso swam with all their strength, their tails thrashing as they tried to flee. But the looming presence of gaping, tooth-filled jaws behind them was inescapable.
Seraphina, panic-stricken, darted into a dense bed of seaweed, only to find herself tangled in its vines. Immobilized, she turned her head just in time to see an orca's massive jaws descending toward her.
At that moment, Seraphina couldn't even scream. Her mind went blank, overcome by the inevitability of death. The world faded—the light, the sounds—all replaced by cold, consuming silence.
Then, a thunderous CRUNCH! broke through the void.
"Wake up! Wake up!"
The voice seemed to echo in her dreams, pulling her back from the abyss. Startled, Seraphina opened her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but when she woke, she found herself lying in the living room of the rocky hideout.
Calypso was huddled nearby, tears streaming down her face. Across the room, Diana, Aaron, and Captain Kenny were gathered around a bloodied and barely-conscious Xavier.
Seeing Seraphina stir, Calypso wiped her tears and whispered, "He saved us."
"What happened?" Seraphina asked, sitting up with a mix of confusion and dread.
"At the last moment," Calypso continued, her voice trembling, "he used the cannon to kill both orcas. But…"
"But what?" Seraphina grabbed Calypso by the shoulders, desperate for answers.
Calypso hesitated, tears welling up again. "Uncle Han's cannon… it was never fully refined. It relies on amplifying brainwave power to fire its shots. When it strikes a whale's brain, it also transmits pain back to the shooter due to the neural connection with the whales.
"It's a double-edged weapon, meant for emergencies. He could only endure the pain of firing it twice. But to save us… he fired it three times, far beyond his limit."
Seraphina felt her heart sink. She got up unsteadily and made her way to where Xavier lay. Tears flowed freely as guilt and anguish overwhelmed her.
"This is all my fault," she whispered through her sobs. "If I hadn't let curiosity take over… if I'd stopped Calypso from following me… this wouldn't have happened."
Xavier, pale and weak, managed a faint smile as Seraphina wept beside him, her small hands clutching his bloodstained ones. Even in his condition, he exuded an air of calm reassurance, as if to say saving them had been worth any cost.
Diana's heart churned with remorse and guilt, unsure how to find redemption for the tragedy unfolding before her.
Xavier, his face smeared with blood, coughed weakly. His breathing had grown faint, each inhale labored. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, fixing on Diana, who was sobbing uncontrollably, calling his name.
"Diana," he murmured, his voice barely audible, "don't be sad. You should be happy for me… I'm finally going to see Serana."
"No!" Diana cried out, tears cascading down her cheeks. "You can't go! You have to hold on!"
He gave a faint, bittersweet smile. "I know how deeply you care for me, but my heart has always belonged to Serana. She is… everything to me. If there's a next life, Diana, I'll repay your kindness."
Diana clung to his hand, her voice trembling. "You have to survive! My sister, if she's watching from the heavens, wouldn't want this for you. She wouldn't want you to give up!"
But even the extraordinary regenerative abilities granted by the merpeople's second evolution had their limits. Xavier had pushed far beyond those limits, and no force in the ocean could reverse his fate now.
"Serana," he whispered, his voice soft as a tide retreating into the horizon. "You'll never be lonely again. I'm coming to join you."
A serene smile spread across Xavier's face, despite the pain etched into his features. Even with his broken body and shattered mind, the thought of Serana brought him peace. She had left him long ago, drawn to the surface world by her dreams, leaving only childhood memories behind. But those memories—her laughter, her passion for the unknown—had sustained him through every hardship.
Now, they were enough to guide him toward a reunion, rewriting the story of their lost dreams beneath the haunting beauty of a cold, silver moon.
Diana wept as Xavier's life slipped away. Captain Kenny lowered his head in solemn silence, while Aaron, hidden beneath the brim of his oversized hat, clenched his fists. Seraphina and Calypso sobbed quietly, their faces pale with grief.
Xavier's mission had been fulfilled. Now, he was embarking on a journey to a world where he could finally be with the one he loved.
Outside the rocky refuge, Diana's Sylphar Emperor Jellyfish stood guard. Its tentacles swayed gently as it monitored the surrounding waters. Suddenly, it detected two swift-moving figures approaching from the distance. Connecting with Diana's telepathic bond, the jellyfish relayed the information about the visitors.
Diana wiped away her tears, forcing herself to stand. There was no time to mourn—there were still tasks Xavier had left unfinished.
Resolute, she walked to the concealed stone panel in the wall, pressing a hidden switch. The underwater door slid open, revealing the two marine experts Xavier had summoned before his passing. They were the last piece of his plan, and now, the torch had been passed to them.