With a sudden, terrifying burst of speed, it surged forward, the water beneath it parting as it charged. The sound of its movement—wet and sloshing—filled the room, and I barely had a second to react. There was no way I could stand my ground against something that size. Instinct kicked in.

Without thinking, I aimed my hookshot at a nearby bullseye, one conveniently placed high on the wall. The hook fired with a metallic whirr, catching onto the target just as the squid’s enormous body lunged toward me. I pressed the button, and the hookshot yanked me out of the creature's path with seconds to spare. The squid slammed into the spot where I had been standing, its tentacles smashing against the stone floor, the impact sending ripples through the water.

As I swung through the air, narrowly avoiding the deadly tentacles, it hit me—those bullseyes were here for a reason. Almost like someone had designed this room for exactly this kind of fight. It was too convenient to be random. Not that I had time to dwell on that.

I landed on the far side of the room, the squid whipping around to face me, its glowing red eyes narrowing with clear frustration. It made a sound—a high-pitched screech that vibrated through the air—and rushed toward me again, its tentacles flaring out like spears. The thing was impossibly fast for something its size, and I could feel the floor tremble as it moved.

I tried to rush after it, thinking I could get behind the beast, but it moved too fast. Every time I thought I had an opening, it would twist or shift with alarming speed, cutting off my approach. Its tentacles lashed out, crashing down like whips, forcing me to backpedal. I gritted my teeth, trying to think of a way to get closer, but the squid was relentless. It was playing with me, toying with me, knowing it had the upper hand in the water.

And then it hit the far end of the long tunnel, its body coiling like a spring. Without warning, it turned around, charging straight back toward me, even faster than before. I barely had time to think.

"Alright, no more running," I muttered, heart racing.

I had to go on the offensive. If I let this thing dictate the fight, I wouldn’t last long. I glanced at another bullseye near the ceiling, aimed, and fired the hookshot again. This time, I swung over the creature, narrowly avoiding its lashing tentacles. As I sailed above it, I twisted in mid-air, positioning myself for a counterattack.

I landed behind the beast, its back wide open, vulnerable.

Without hesitating, I raised my mace, channeling the energy of a smite into the weapon. The head of the mace began to glow with a fierce, white light, power humming beneath my grip. I let out a yell and plunged the mace straight into the beast’s thick, rubbery body, aiming for the base of one of its tentacles.

The impact was explosive.

The smite struck true, sinking deep into the squid’s flesh. A flash of light erupted from the point of contact, and the creature let out an earsplitting screech, its entire body convulsing in pain. The water around us churned violently as it thrashed, its tentacles flailing wildly in every direction. One of them clipped me hard in the side, sending me skidding across the wet stone floor. Pain flared through my ribs, but I forced myself to stand, teeth gritted against the ache.

The squid recoiled, wounded, but far from finished. Its eyes blazed with rage, and I could see the damage my smite had done—dark, inky blood poured from the wound, staining the water around it. But the creature wasn’t backing down. If anything, the injury had only enraged it.

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It lunged at me again, faster than before, its tentacles writhing in a frenzy.

I fired the hookshot again, pulling myself away just as one of its tentacles slammed into the ground where I had been standing. The impact cracked the stone, sending jagged chunks flying through the air. My heart pounded in my chest as I swung across the room, the squid thrashing below me.

But now I had a plan.

The squid, enraged by the glowing wound I’d left in its side, lunged again with terrifying speed. This time, it didn’t just charge—it lashed out. The beast’s tentacles whipped through the air like battering rams, one after another, each one aimed with brutal precision. The slick, rubbery appendages slammed into the floor, leaving cracks and debris in their wake as they sought to crush me.

I vaulted over one tentacle, then ducked under another, my body reacting faster than my brain could keep up. The ground shook with each impact, and the roar of the beast reverberated through the chamber. One of its tentacles slammed into the wall behind me, sending loose stones tumbling down.

My heart raced as I fired the hookshot, once again zipping across the room and out of the squid’s immediate reach. I landed in a crouch, breathing hard, and quickly glanced around, searching for an opening.

There! One of the creature's wounded tentacles thrashed wildly, slower than the rest. Its movements were erratic, weakened by the first smite I had landed. I could finish this if I hit it again.

I charged forward, dodging as the squid’s remaining tentacles whipped past me, my feet splashing through the shallow water. My mace glowed with radiant energy as I prepared another smite. The creature’s massive body loomed over me, its red eyes narrowing with rage as I swung my weapon, aiming for the exact same spot.

But just before the mace could connect, the vampire squid did something I didn’t expect.

Its body rippled—almost as if it was melting—and the skin where I was about to strike opened up. In a grotesque, fluid motion, it absorbed my smite. My weapon sank into its flesh without causing a single spark. The white glow of the smite disappeared entirely as the squid’s body warped around the blow, swallowing the magic like a sponge. I stared, wide-eyed, as the energy disappeared into its form, vanishing as if it had never existed.

“What the hell—”

The squid's mouth twisted into a grotesque grin, its eyes flashing with an eerie, mocking intelligence. It reared up, tentacles raised like spears. The beast knew it had outsmarted me, at least for the moment.

I stumbled back, gritting my teeth. “Alright, new plan.”

The creature lunged again, and I barely managed to dive out of the way. This thing wasn’t just fast—it was learning. It had figured out my smite trick and was adapting to negate the damage. I needed to change tactics—and fast.

I scanned the room, looking for anything I could use to turn the tide. The walls were jagged and uneven, cracked from the squid’s relentless attacks. I narrowed my eyes. The creature’s sheer size made it fast but also lumbering, and those tentacles were wild, smashing everything in their path.

Maybe I couldn’t beat it head-on, but I could make it beat itself.

I took a deep breath and sprinted toward one of the far walls, baiting the creature into following me. It roared, its tentacles flailing wildly as it charged after me, sending waves of water splashing through the room. I ran at full speed, my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for the right moment.

Closer…closer…

At the last second, I spun around and fired the hookshot at the opposite side of the room. The hook connected, yanking me out of the squid’s path just as it slammed headfirst into the wall with a deafening crash. The impact was so powerful, cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of contact, and loose stones tumbled down from the ceiling.

The squid screeched in pain, its tentacles spasming as it recoiled from the wall, clearly dazed. Now was my chance.