William stood resolute on the ocean floor, his fiery eyes blazing with an untamed determination. Luminous lines coursed over his skin like molten streams, each surge casting light into the shadowy depths of the sea. His hair burned upward in a flaming crown, defying the immense pressure of the water, its radiant glow fragmenting into shards of light that transformed the abyss into a cathedral of fire.
With a powerful stomp, the seabed fractured beneath him. The resulting shockwave ripped through the underwater expanse, sending clouds of silt and fragments of coral swirling chaotically. For a brief moment, the water seemed to recoil from him, forming a void that collapsed back with a deafening rush.
In that fleeting stillness, William launched forward. The ocean parted with violent force as he propelled himself toward Ruin.
The ancient monster had already begun to transform. His colossal draconic body writhed in the murky depths, scales darker than the blackest night, wings folded like the ridges of towering mountains, and eyes glowing with malevolent abyssal energy. But as William approached, Ruin's form convulsed, undergoing a horrific metamorphosis.
His wings snapped inward, bones crunching as they folded against his back and reshaped into jagged projections resembling spiked pauldrons. The enormous tail coiled and shrank, merging seamlessly with his spine and leaving behind a serrated ridge. His obsidian-black scales liquefied, flowing across his body to solidify into plated armor covering his limbs. His hands retained their deadly claws, talons gleaming like polished onyx blades.
The transformation left his chest and abdomen exposed, pale and scarred with the marks of ancient battles, a deliberate vulnerability, as though taunting his foes to strike. His face contorted, dragon jaws retracting and folding inward until a humanoid visage emerged, though the jagged fangs protruding past his lips betrayed his monstrous essence.
He had returned to his humanoid form.
The ocean shuddered as his humanoid dragon form took shape, a terrifying blend of abyssal monstrosity and untamed power.
William wasted no time. His fist, glowing with the intensity of a miniature sun, pierced through the water with destructive precision.
Ruin's eyes narrowed, his clawed hand snapping upward in a frantic attempt to block.
BOOOOM!
The collision fractured the ocean. Shockwaves erupted, churning up a maelstrom of sand and shattered stone. Ruin was forced back, his heels carving deep trenches into the seabed. The scaled plating on his forearm splintered under the immense force, and though he managed to intercept the punch, his entire body shook, unsteady against William's overwhelming strength.
"You've got fight in you!" Ruin growled, his voice a guttural vibration that resonated through the water.
William's flames intensified, his eyes narrowing with fierce determination.
Ruin's mouth twisted into a sinister grin. Seizing the moment, he clamped his other hand onto William's face, his claws sinking in with crushing intensity. Streams of blood and bubbles ascended toward the surface.
"Then let me rip it out of you!"
With a thunderous roar, Ruin exploited William's momentum, pulling him downward before delivering a brutal kick to his jaw.
CRACK!
The impact exploded like a depth charge. The ocean floor splintered under the blow, sending dense clouds of sand mushrooming upward like smoke. William's body hurtled upward, slicing through the water like a fiery projectile. His blazing trail illuminated the darkness, a comet rising toward the endless azure above.
As Ruin observed his opponent ascend into the sky, he failed to notice the jet of high-pressure water hurtling toward him until the final moment.
SWISH!
With astounding speed, Ruin's arm moved in a paradoxical blend of slowness and swiftness, intercepting the incoming attack with his hand.
BOOOOOSHH!
The beam collided with his hand, forcing him to slide back several feet. Almost immediately, he sensed another attack closing in from behind. Eve emerged, brandishing an array of weapons forged from her radiant pink energy, each designed with meticulous precision to deliver maximum devastation.
As Ruin neared the shimmering pink constructs, a sly smirk spread across his face. In a stunning display, he utilized the force of the water beam to propel himself upward, executing a spinning flip with one arm while nimbly evading the incoming strikes that now clashed behind him.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A colossal explosion erupted, painting the sea with an otherworldly mix of azure and pink hues. Ruin halted his ascent, oblivious to the looming danger, as a figure descended from above, trident poised with deadly intent.
"PERISH!" Rain roared, his voice resonating with wrath as he drove his mighty trident downward, determined to deliver a fatal blow to his foe.
Before Rain's strike could connect, Ruin's tail suddenly regenerated, sweeping outward with immense force. The blow struck Rain's shoulder, producing the unmistakable sound of bones dislocating, a sharp clicking noise that reached his ears mere moments before the searing pain radiated through his arm.
Ruin's tail snapped back into place as if it had never been severed, its jagged spines oozing with malevolent abyssal energy. Rain clenched his teeth against the agony coursing through him, his trident trembling in his weakened grasp. Yet, despite the searing pain, he refused to falter. With a defiant roar, he drove the trident into the seabed with his uninjured arm, conjuring a spiraling vortex of crushing currents that coiled around Ruin like a ferocious aquatic serpent.
"Drown, monster!" Rain shouted, his voice echoing through the turbulent waters.
The vortex surged with unstoppable force, dragging debris and massive boulders into its spiraling embrace. For a fleeting moment, the ocean itself seemed to submit to Rain's command, threatening to tear Ruin apart.
But Ruin merely chuckled, the sound reverberating through the depths like an undersea quake. "Pathetic."
With a sickly glow emanating from his claws, Ruin extended them menacingly and slashed through the vortex with a single, devastating strike. The swirling currents were ripped apart, shredded into chaotic ribbons of water. The backlash hurled Rain across the seabed, his body crashing into coral formations and shattering them into fragments.
Eve was already in motion, her resolve unwavering. Dozens of radiant pink constructs materialized around her, intricate swords, spears, and bladed chains glimmering with energy. With a graceful yet commanding gesture, she unleashed them in a blistering assault.
The constructs shot forward like a storm of fury, striking Ruin from every angle. Each impact detonated with bursts of luminous energy, bright explosions of force that lit up the shadowy depths. The oppressive darkness was momentarily pierced by Eve's radiant assault.
For the first time, Ruin grunted, his massive forearms raised to shield himself. Cracks spider-webbed across his formidable armor, fragments of his scaled plating breaking away and drifting downward.
"Impressive… for gnats." He sneered before thrusting his arms outward, releasing a concussive wave of abyssal power that obliterated half of Eve's constructs in an instant. The remaining weapons were torn apart by his claws, each swipe boiling the water with sheer destructive force.
Eve had already anticipated the move. From behind, her chains coiled like serpents, tightening around Ruin's arms and legs. She braced herself against a jagged ridge of rock and pulled with all her might.
"RAIN, NOW!" she screamed.
Despite the searing pain in his shoulder, Rain responded to her call. With a fierce roar, he hurled his trident like a thunderbolt. The weapon spiraled through the water, gathering the crushing force of the sea into a spiraling drill of sheer power.
It struck true, slamming into Ruin's exposed chest.
The impact was cataclysmic, the trident drove deep, unleashing a storm of pink and blue energy that rippled outward. Ruin's body arched, his roar reverberating through the ocean like a crumbling mountain. For a fleeting moment, victory seemed possible.
But the abyss retaliated. Black energy erupted from Ruin's wound, forcing the trident back out with an explosive surge. The currents lashed violently, shattering the seabed into chaos. Eve's chains snapped like brittle twigs, sending her tumbling helplessly through the water. Rain was flung backward, blood streaming from his lips.
Ruin hovered at the heart of the devastation, his chest steaming, his grin feral. "Is that all you've got?"
Before he could strike again, the battlefield was engulfed in an overwhelming radiance.
A blazing orange light pierced the ocean's depths, so intense it turned the sea into molten glass. Eve and Rain shielded their eyes, while even Ruin's savage grin faltered as he glanced upward.
Through the fiery veil, a figure descended like a meteor, William, cloaked in a raging inferno, his entire being ablaze with renewed fury. His arrival carved a searing path through the ocean, every flicker of his flames radiating destruction.
The very water seemed to recoil from him as he plummeted like a comet into the heart of the battle.
The sea convulsed violently as William plunged back into the fray. His descent was an inferno of blazing fire, his body engulfed in flames so intense that the surrounding water hissed and erupted into towering clouds of steam. The immense pressure shattered the ocean floor in anticipation of his arrival, fissures spreading outward like glowing veins of fire through the abyss.
Ruin's eyes widened, his menacing grin collapsing into a scowl. For the first time, a flicker of hesitation crossed his monstrous visage. "Impossible…"
Then William struck.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The impact was cataclysmic. The seabed erupted, collapsing into a massive chasm as waves of searing heat obliterated the currents. Coral reefs crumbled to ash, and entire ridges of stone melted into molten slag. The sheer force blasted Eve and Rain backward like rag dolls, their bodies spinning helplessly through the water as the shockwave annihilated everything in its path.
When the chaos subsided, William stood at the heart of the destruction, a blazing titan at the ocean's depths. His flaming crown burned brighter than ever, molten lines coursing through his body, pulsing with pure fury. The ocean itself seemed to retreat in awe, parting to avoid extinguishing his fire.
He lifted his head, his eyes locking onto Ruin. "Round two." His voice rumbled like a volcanic furnace, each word bubbling through the water like liquid magma.
Ruin snarled, abyssal energy crackling violently as he cast off the remnants of his shattered armor. His regenerated tail whipped with lethal precision, stirring a maelstrom around them. "You think your fire can endure in my domain? I will drown it in the abyss!"
But William was already charging. His flames erupted into a searing aura, carving a blazing path through the turbulent waters. He surged forward with blinding speed, his fist leaving streaks of fire in its wake. Ruin braced himself, both claws raised to block—
KRAAASH!
The impact exploded against Ruin's guard, shattering his armor like brittle glass. He reeled back, snarling, as the surrounding water roiled and hissed from the sheer force of the strike. Before Ruin could recover, William followed up with a fiery knee to his midsection, driving the dragon-hybrid into a convulsive arc as his roar dissolved into a crimson burst of blood and bubbles.
Eve steadied herself, her gaze wide with astonishment. "His flames… they're intensifying... Impossible!"
Rain, clutching his wounded shoulder, managed a strained but determined smile. "Then this is it… while he's burning at his peak."
William pressed his boot against Ruin's chest and shoved, sending the creature sprawling across the fractured seabed. He turned to Eve and Rain, fire raging uncontrollably across his form. "No holding back. We finish this now."
Eve seized the moment, her radiant pink constructs swirling around Ruin like a deadly dance, slashing toward his flanks and legs in precise, cutting arcs. Each strike forced him to pivot, the clash of plating against energy echoing as his teeth clenched under the mounting pressure.
Rain charged forward, his trident crackling with storm-forged power. With a powerful thrust, he plunged the weapon into the water near Ruin's side, unleashing a high-pressure jet that tore through the currents and slammed into the monster. The force drove Ruin backward, sending sand and coral erupting into the swirling waters in a chaotic spray.
Ruin let out a thunderous roar, staggering as he fought to regain his balance. The once-unstoppable colossus felt the weight of their combined assault for the first time. He lashed out with a massive claw at William, but the human-shaped fireball darted with supernatural speed, weaving past the strike and crashing into Ruin's shoulder with a molten, resounding crack.
"Impressive," Ruin growled, his voice laced with strain.
His tail, once a lethal weapon, now moved with cautious precision, wary of both Eve and Rain.
William didn't hold back.
In an eruption of sheer fury and flames, he appeared in a crouched stance before Ruin, channeling an immense amount of power into a devastating uppercut that smashed into the monster's jaw.
BOOM!
CRACK!
With the deafening sound of impact and the shattering of scales, Ruin was hurled backward like a rocket, only to be slammed into the seabed by a massive pink baseball bat studded with random nails and blades, wielded by Eve, who hovered above like a neon pink goddess.
BOOOM!