Yun Jin unleashed a series of [Sword Waves], the crescent arcs of energy streaking toward the abomination. Some cut deep, slicing through flesh and muscle, but others barely left a mark, skimming over its grotesque form as if striking reinforced hide.

Reva charged in immediately after, her fists wreathed in flame as she delivered a crushing blow to its side. The impact sent molten flesh splattering, burning away the outer layers to reveal something far worse beneath.

A twisted, deformed skeleton.

Her eyes narrowed. Even with the power behind her strike, it barely made a crack.

The monster retaliated in an instant. A massive, grotesque arm swung toward her like a falling boulder. Reva crossed her arms and braced, catching the blow head-on. The sheer weight of it forced her back, her boots digging trenches into the ground. Though she managed to absorb the worst of it, the force still left her muscles aching.

And then she saw it.

The wounds they had inflicted were already closing.

The Mutated Abyssal Mermaid convulsed, its grotesque body shifting unnaturally. A deep, warbling howl vibrated through the air.

To Yun Jin, it was eerie silence.

Then he caught sight of Merlin.

Blood ran from his ears.

His eyes sharpened.

Even if Yun Jin couldn’t hear it, the effect was clear. Merlin’s breath came in ragged gasps, his fingers gripping at nothing, his body trembling as if barely holding together.

This had to end now.

He activated [Mana Eyes], his vision sharpening as he studied the creature’s internals.

There.

Three warped circuits of mana surged through its core, erratic and malformed, their unstable patterns barely holding together. If they weren't destroyed, the thing would never die.

"Reva, guard me."

She wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth, rolling her shoulders before stepping forward. "Just say the word."

Flames erupted along her limbs, flaring wildly as she launched herself at the abomination.

It responded instantly, its massive arms collapsing toward her like a landslide. But Reva met them without hesitation.

Her fist crashed into the first arm, flames searing through the flesh, reducing it to cinders before it could regenerate. Twisting mid-step, she swung her leg up in a devastating arc, her heel slamming into the second. It shattered on impact, chunks of molten flesh and exposed bone scattering across the battlefield.

"Do it now!"

Yun Jin’s stance shifted. He exhaled.

Light Blade Sovereign Style: Sixth Form—Starlight.

In an instant, his blade became a silver blur, moving faster than the eye could follow. A series of precise thrusts struck each mana circuit in rapid succession, cutting through layers of flesh and hardened bone with precision.

The first core ruptured under the sheer force.

The second shattered as his qi-infused blade carved through its structure.

The last imploded, severed from the whole, leaving the monster convulsing violently as its body struggled to hold itself together.

He knew what was coming next.

"Fall back! Now!"

Seraphine reacted immediately. Her bracers flared with divine light, forming a golden barrier around herself and Merlin.

Reva gritted her teeth, her flames igniting further, wrapping around her body as she braced for impact.

Yun Jin conjured [Ice Shield], reinforcing his stance just as the monster collapsed inward.

A split second later, it detonated.

The shockwave ripped through the battlefield, a burst of raw, unstable mana flaring outward in a violent explosion. The sheer force sent them flying, bodies thrown backward from the blast.

When the dust settled, Yun Jin pulled himself up, fingers digging into the dirt to steady himself. His breath remained even, but he felt it.

That had cost him far too much.

Reva groaned as she pushed herself up, rolling her shoulder. "Tch. That wasn’t too bad."

Yun Jin’s jaw tensed.

"No. It’s worse than I thought."

He checked his reserves. Thirty percent of his mana was gone.

On just one monster.

If this was the start of the rift, they were in trouble.

Then Merlin stiffened. His face went pale.

"We need to hide."

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Yun Jin turned to him sharply, his senses flaring.

Reva tensed beside him. "Incoming."

Without hesitation, she grabbed Merlin and Seraphine, hoisting them both effortlessly before springing into motion. The added weight barely slowed her as she darted across the terrain.

Yun Jin scanned the surroundings and spotted a formation of jagged rocks—a small cavern nestled in the uneven landscape.

He nodded toward Reva, and she sprinted toward it. Yun Jin followed, slipping inside just as—

A new group of Abyssal Mermaids arrived.

Their clicking filled the air, reverberating off the cavern walls.

Yun Jin stayed still, controlling his breath.

Something wasn’t right.

The clicks weren’t just meaningless noise. There was a pattern.

Through [Mana Sense], he felt it. Every single click sent out a pulse of mana, spreading through the environment like ripples in water, bouncing off objects before returning.

They weren’t looking for them with their eyes.

--

Yun Jin remained perfectly still, his breath measured as he observed the Abyssal Mermaids beyond the mouth of the cavern. Their elongated fingers dragged across the rocky ground, their clicking noises bouncing off surfaces like ripples in a pond.

They were using sound to track their surroundings—just like bats.

But Yun Jin could tell it wasn’t just ordinary echolocation. The mana infused within their pulses made their detection abilities far more refined than any natural beast. They weren’t just sensing shapes; they were mapping every detail of the terrain, even detecting subtle shifts in the air.

His mind worked quickly, weighing his options as the creatures inched closer to their hiding spot.

Across the cavern, Reva crouched low, gripping both Merlin and Seraphine. Her expression was tense, but her body remained steady, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Merlin, on the other hand, was visibly struggling. His breathing was uneven, his fingers twitching slightly as he tried to steady himself. Seraphine did her best to remain still, but even she was beginning to tremble under the suffocating tension.

The Abyssal Mermaids weren’t foolish. They didn’t simply scan their surroundings and move on.

Instead, they began searching.

One of them picked up a rock, tossing it toward a dark corner of the cavern, listening for disturbances. Another began feeling along the ground, tapping its clawed fingers against the stone as if trying to find any irregularities.

They were thorough.

Yun Jin knew immediately—it was only a matter of time before they were found.

His mind raced through possibilities. If they function like bats, then their weaknesses should be similar as well.

Light or sound.

Sound wouldn’t work. Their own sonar pulses were far too strong—overwhelming any auditory interference he could create. It would be useless.

That left only light.

His decision was instant. Yun Jin turned toward Reva, his lips barely moving as he transmitted his voice through [Qi Transmission].

"Get ready. I’ll draw their attention. Make sure to destroy their brains or sever their mana circuits—don’t let them regenerate."

Reva’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected voice in her head, but she quickly nodded, her fists flexing in anticipation.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just her who noticed.

One of the nearby Abyssal Mermaids stiffened, its eerie, glowing eyes flicking toward their hiding spot.

Yun Jin didn’t hesitate.

He surged forward, bursting out of cover as he activated [Blinding Flash] in his left hand.

A blinding explosion of light flooded the cavern, consuming the darkness in an instant.

The reaction was immediate.

The Abyssal Mermaids recoiled violently, their elongated heads twisting away from the searing brilliance. Their eerie red eyes weren’t just vulnerable to light—they were hyper-sensitive. The sheer intensity of the spell didn’t just blind them. It burned.

They screeched.

Yun Jin didn’t let up. His sword crackled with qi as he invoked Light Blade Sovereign Style: First Form—Arc Lightning, his body flickering forward in a streak of blinding speed. His blade pierced straight through the nearest Abyssal Mermaid’s mana circuit, the sheer force of the thrust sending a violent shockwave through its body.

Beside him, Reva followed through, her entire body igniting in a fiery burst. She slammed a flaming fist into another Abyssal Mermaid’s skull, obliterating it in an instant.

The corpses twitched.

Yun Jin instinctively tensed, his grip tightening on his sword.

But then—

They stopped moving.

He exhaled slowly.

As expected. If their brains were destroyed or their circuits severed, they wouldn’t be able to merge and mutate like before.

The few remaining Abyssal Mermaids still standing opened their mouths wide—

But no sound came out.

No clicking. No vibrations. Nothing.

Yun Jin immediately sensed the shift in mana and turned toward the other end of the cavern.

Merlin stood there, his staff raised, sweat trailing down his face. Seraphine knelt beside him, her hands glowing softly as she worked to heal his previous injuries.

A voice filled Yun Jin’s head—not a sound heard by the ears, but a thought placed directly into his mind.

"I cast a silence spell over the area. Now they can’t communicate—or use their cursed sound against me anymore!"

Yun Jin grinned. "Nice!"

He didn’t know if it was a two-way connection, but he sent the thought back regardless.

The Abyssal Mermaids weren’t fools.

They saw Merlin casting, and in unison, they turned to attack.

A spear of hardened flesh launched toward him—

But Seraphine was faster.

She raised her bracers, golden light flaring outward as she cast [Light Shield], blocking the projectile before it could reach Merlin.

Yun Jin and Reva seized the opening, closing the distance in an instant.

Their blades and fists struck true.

One by one, the remaining Abyssal Mermaids fell, their circuits shattered, their skulls crushed.

The cavern fell silent.

Yun Jin exhaled, wiping the ichor from his blade. As effective as their ambush had been, staying here for too long was too risky.

He turned to his party, gesturing with a sharp motion.

They needed to move.

The cavern stretched deeper ahead, winding into unseen depths.

Instead of waiting for the rest of the creatures to realize their scouting team was missing, Yun Jin took the lead, signaling for the others to follow.