Suddenly, a violent gust of wind burst from above.
Without even glancing, Germain shifted his body in a perfect sidestep—seemingly at the last possible second, but in truth, precisely timed.
Several massive tendrils whipped down from the ceiling, narrowly missing him.
With just a glimpse, Germain could see—
Those tendrils were lined with circular, lamprey-like mouths, ready to latch on and suck a person dry.
Their tips bore vicious claws—sharp enough to pierce right through someone's core.
And the fluid leaking from them…
Thick, yellow-green pus.
Highly likely to be toxic.
This…
This was what Germain now faced.
A so-called "Apostle of God."
A legendary lifeform.
Germain exhaled deeply, steadying his rhythm.
Then, riding the fierce wind, his silver wings spread wide like arrows, shooting upward toward the "Deformed Limp Stalker."
Swish, swish, swish—
Countless upside-down tentacles writhed and twitched.
Each hooked claw, every set of jaws, and clusters of poisonous liquid all aimed straight at Germain.
But Germain showed no fear.
His black cloak billowed like a dark cloud as he darted and dodged, skillfully deflecting attacks he couldn't avoid.
Still, the tentacles were far too many, densely packed like worms parasitizing a snail, flailing constantly toward him.
He had to do something.
In his hand, the "Burial Blade" swung out waves of slashing energy, cutting through tentacles one by one.
This cycle repeated endlessly, leaving bloody marks all over the sky.
The curling tentacles crashed onto the water below with sharp slaps, staining a large part of the lake red.
Germain's upward momentum was eventually stopped by the tentacles.
But the "Deformed Limp Stalker" was also paying a heavy price.
As its writhing tentacles were severed again and again, the creature began to retract upward.
The process was slow and noisy, its massive body filling the entire space above the tower, making retreat difficult.
When it finally shrank back to the red orb, it meant it was ready.
Germain felt an overwhelming wave of malevolence, like a giant cannon barrel aiming directly at him.
Like a tightly compressed spring released, the long body of the "Deformed Limp Stalker" suddenly snapped downward from above.
Boom—
The massive impact shattered the entire outer wall of the tower, collapsing debris in all directions.
The debris struck the strange, glowing walls nearby and bounced back.
Just as the "Deformed Limp Stalker" was about to crash into the water in one brutal strike, leaving Germain and Kin no room to dodge, Germain remained calm and composed.
He waited until the creature was almost face-to-face with him, then activated the recently acquired "Collector's Head."
Germain consumed the "Guided Gas Bomb," a grudge tool, and activated the ability of the "Collector's Head."
A small, curious cabinet flew out from Germain's hand.
Inside, the skull's eyes suddenly opened wide.
It then unleashed a huge mouth far larger than its size would suggest!
In one bite, it swallowed the unsuspecting "Deformed Limp Stalker's" head.
Then it continued to grow, swallowing the huge body of the "Deformed Limp Stalker" piece by piece.
The "Deformed Limp Stalker" began to struggle, its hooked clawed tentacles furiously striking the curious cabinet.
But every attack was swallowed, bite by bite, in the same relentless manner.
The cabinet and skull worked like a python swallowing a large antelope, slowly stuffing it inside even as the belly bulged.
Only when the "Deformed Limp Stalker" was fully swallowed and the cabinet locked did the "Collector's Head" ability finish its process.
However, less than a second after being trapped inside the "Collector's Head," the curious cabinet violently trembled.
Bang—
The cabinet suddenly exploded open, and the "Deformed Limp Stalker" roared as it broke free.
It clawed and snarled in midair, set against the eerie, nebula-like scene revealed by the collapsing tower walls, like a nightmare come to life.
Germain showed neither fear nor defeat.
From the start, he had known the "Collector's Head" could not hold the "Deformed Limp Stalker."
His goal was to cleverly use the "Collector's Head" to dissipate the "Deformed Limp Stalker's" fierce impact just now.
Since that had been achieved, he was satisfied.
The "Deformed Limp Stalker" floated in the air, undergoing a new transformation.
Purple, foul-smelling skin split open in several places, emitting soft popping sounds.
From these openings, numerous tiny creatures, like purple barnacles, crawled out and fell like raindrops from the sky.
Halfway down, they extended tentacles that spread out, floating like tiny parachutes, slowing their descent.
Even a rough count put their numbers in the hundreds or thousands, nearly filling all the space Germain could see with their presence.
They danced through the air like dandelion seeds, yet were as terrifying as monkfish jellyfish.
Gathering in swarms, they drifted toward Germain from multiple directions.
Their tentacles were covered with sharp hooked claws and venom ready to be injected at any moment.
But Germain always had a way to respond.
He always had a countermeasure.
Germain transformed the "Burial Blade" into the "Thunder Warhammer," raising it high.
He combined it with the "Deep Sea Badge" and the "Ring of Thunder" for use together.
Rumble—
In the world filled with purple-spotted light, a fierce wind suddenly swept up.
Dark clouds gathered, blocking out the light.
After the crackling, snapping sounds came the spreading thunder.
Boom—
Germain, holding the "Thunder Warhammer," looked like the trunk of a towering tree.
At the same time, flickering lightning stretched out from him like countless branches.
Sizzle, sizzle—
All the small barnacle-like monsters were instantly wrapped by electricity that flickered like a serpent's tongue, like a net trapping them all.
The barnacle monsters stiffened as they were caught.
Some of their tentacle tips even caught fire, sending up smoke.
Amidst the raging wind, Germain surged forward.
He smoothly passed through the circle of barnacle monsters and reached the snarling face of the "Deformed Limp Stalker."
Roar—
The "Deformed Limp Stalker" realized its attack had missed and let out another roar.
It opened its mouth, ready to bite.
But as its fangs were about to close, Germain switched back to the "Burial Blade," blocking them hard.
The blade was wedged tightly between its upper and lower jaws.
Crack—
As it bit down with a little force on the blade's edge, it was immediately met with backlash.
The sharpness of the "Burial Blade" shattered its fangs instantly!
Shocked, the "Deformed Limp Stalker" tried to retreat, but Germain, holding the "Burial Blade," forced his way inside its mouth.
Inside the damp, foul-smelling mouth, Germain lifted the blade and slashed through the flesh walls again and again.
Each strike left deep wounds.
He could hear the creature's muffled roars.
He could feel the terrified writhing inside its body.
Germain ignored it all.
With the "Burial Blade" in hand, he plunged deep into what would be a hellish place for any normal person—the throat and abdomen of the "Deformed Limp Stalker."
—
On the water's surface below, Ging held his breath and swam up from underwater.
Then he breathed in large, gasping breaths.
Not long ago, in the fierce blood battle, he and Germain's two conjured giant snakes worked together.
They killed the "Drowned Sailors," the "Enchanting Siren," and many water spirits.
Coming back to his senses, he finally had the chance to pay attention to Germain's side of the fight.
After all, Germain's battle against the enemy was the key to deciding the final outcome.
In front of him, Ging first saw a rain of barnacle monsters falling all over like raindrops.
They struck the water's surface and slowly sank.
He grabbed one of them and saw it motionless.
Smelling its burnt, foul stench, he knew it was definitely dead and casually threw it aside.
Looking up again, Ging saw the huge floating mass of flesh in the air — the "Deformed Limp Stalker."
At this moment, the "Deformed Limp Stalker" was strangely quiet.
It no longer roared or wildly waved its tentacles like before.
It seemed frozen in the air, motionless.
After a long while, it slowly began to fall.
At the same time, the whole brilliant purple world started collapsing.
Cracks appeared, linking to the real world.
Water gushed out rapidly from these cracks.
Ging had no time to watch the water levels drop.
Instead, his scalp tingled as he stared at the "Deformed Limp Stalker," which fell like a giant meteor.
Boom—
He quickly activated his aura and propelled himself like a rocket away from the spot.
Only then did he escape to a safe area before the "Deformed Limp Stalker" crashed to the ground with earth-shattering force.
When everything calmed down, the purple world completely vanished.
The flowing water dispersed, washing away the tower's stone walls.
The towering mountain cliffs reappeared.
The dead body of the "Deformed Limp Stalker" turned into dust and slowly faded away.
Germain calmly stepped out, brushing the sticky slime off his body.
Below the "Deformed Limp Stalker," just like when the "Collector" died, a huge "Ritual Stone Formation" was revealed.
*******
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