Mark hit the water with a painful splash, the cold striking him like knives. His lungs seized as he sank under, bubbles rushing past his face.
'Damn it, swim, SWIM!'
He kicked frantically,
Just as he broke the surface, he came face to face with the chaos unfolding before him.
The black giant octopus had fully risen from the depths, its tentacles coiled tight around the glass peacock.
The bird's crystalline wings flared with blinding light, shattering a few of the monster's limbs into shards, but more coiled around it like iron chains.
'YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!'
The lake churned violently, waves smashing against Mark and dragging him under again.
He thrashed, desperate to keep the bottom plate clutched in one hand while his other clawed at the water to stay afloat. Somehow, he managed to keep the plate floating beside him.
His chest burned. Every time he surfaced, another massive tentacle slammed into the lake, sending shockwaves that nearly pulled him back down.
_KREEE!
The cries of the peacock echoed like crystal bells, clashing with the guttural roar of the beast.
'If I don't get out of here soon, I'll drown before either of those monsters kill me.'
Mark kicked harder, struggling to swim toward the distant shore, each breath a battle against the raging water and the chaos of titans warring above.
He fought to stay above the waves when a wild thought sparked in his mind. He glanced at the smooth bottom plate clutched in his hand, its edge glinting faintly in the chaos.
'I need to wait for a bigger shockwave, then maybe I can ride it.'
And soon his chance came.
Bracing his body, he pressed the plate beneath his chest like a makeshift board.
The next crash of a tentacle sent a violent surge rolling across the lake, and Mark let it lift him.
His body shot forward, skimming across the water for a few breaths before sinking again.
"Ha! It works!" he gasped, coughing up lake water.
Just then before he could catch another wave, the lake stirred with new movement.
Shards of light shimmered beneath the surface, drawing closer.
_Whir!
'WHAT NOW!?'
Then they broke through, sleek, eel like creatures with jagged fins and crystal spines running down their backs.
Their eyes glowed faintly blue, and their needle-filled maws snapped hungrily.
The first latched onto the plate, dragging it sideways. Mark kicked hard, smashing his heel into its head until it let go.
But more were rising, dozens of them, their bodies slicing through the water like shards of glass.
"Crystal sea fiends!!"
'OF COURSE! EVERYONE WANTS TO JOIN THE PARTY NOW;.'
They circled, tails whipping, spines glowing brighter.
Mark's heart pounded. It wasn't just the peacock and the giant octopus anymore, the whole lake had become a death trap.
He tightened his grip on the plate.
'All right, you bastards, one wave at a time.'
Mark's lungs burned as he kicked himself upright on the floating plate, salt water stinging his eyes.
All around, the lake churned with crystal scaled fiends, their jagged fins cutting through the surface like rows of blades.
With a snarl, he took out the [Dusk and dawn], the black and white crescent blades flashed in his hands, gleaming even in the storm of spray.
A wave rose beneath him, but instead of fighting it, Mark bent his knees and rode the surge, the plate skimming across the chaos.
The sea fiends shrieked, leaping from the water with fanged maws wide.
"Come on, then!" he roared, slashing upward.
Dusk's black arc split one fiend across its gleaming chest, while Dawn's pale crescent carved another in half as it lunged from below.
Spray burst around him, the clash of steel and crystal echoing across the lake.
He was surfing the fury itself, blades flashing as he carved his way through the circling monsters.
'almost there.'
But just as Mark neared the lake's edge, a piercing cry split the air.
The glass peacock, wings blazing with blue light, fired twin beams of searing energy from its crystal eyes.
The lances of light sliced clean through the octopus's writhing tentacles, forcing the beast to release its grip.
_whoooh!
The colossal creature bellowed a muffled roar underwater, furious at losing its prey.