The battle erupted the moment it began.
There were no extra words, no hesitation. The instant Ray drew his sword, the outcome was already set.
Rather than waste breath, it was better to see the truth beneath the blade.
His form was like the wind, closing the distance to the Dark Tide creation in an instant. However, this was no ordinary Echo. With a mere gesture, it summoned surging waves that solidified into a thick water curtain, forcibly blocking Ray's assault.
But this was never a one-man fight.
Several crimson thorns suddenly stabbed out from the shadows, sharply tearing through the water curtain, creating a breach for Ray.
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, he broke through the obstacle, leapt forward, and swung his sword down with all his might towards the twisted body!
The blade ripped through the shell. The creation let out a pained shriek.
What welled from the wound wasn't blood, but thick, writhing dark tide water. It dripped to the ground, crawling slowly like a living thing.
Almost simultaneously, the grievously wounded Tidebreaker Whale behind them let out an even more heart-wrenching cry of pain.
Phoebe, who had been about to cast a spell to assist the attack, froze mid-action. She stared incredulously at the giant whale, her lips trembling as she called out to Ray,
"Mr. Ray!"
Hearing the panic in Phoebe's voice, Ray immediately pulled back and turned. "What is it?"
"The Tidebreaker Whale says... that child has become a vessel for the Dark Tide!" Phoebe's voice trembled with urgency. "If we kill it, the Dark Tide sealed within its body... will engulf the entire Riccioli Islands!"
"What?!"
Ray's pupils contracted sharply. He whipped his head around to re-examine the twisted Dark Tide creation no, it wasn't a creation of the Dark Tide. It was a vessel for it!
"The Tidebreaker Whale tells me it was originally an Echo creature of the deep sea. But the Dark Tide eruption twenty years ago caused irreversible erosion around Ragunna. To stop the residual Dark Tide from continuing to spread, it chose to use itself as a vessel, sealing it within its own body."
"But over time, the Dark Tide constantly corroded its mind, gradually driving it to madness... That's why it..."
"What do we do now?"
Ray stood rooted to the spot, momentarily caught in a dilemma.
"I... I don't know either."
Just then, Phrolova silently stepped forward, walking towards the Dark Tide vessel.
"Let me try." Her voice was very soft. "All things are composed of frequencies. It is a disordered melody that has twisted their original rhythm. External force alone cannot truly correct it. Only... by retuning their very essence."
"What do you mean?"
Ray looked at Phrolova, who had come to stand beside him, his gaze full of confusion.
He had never been able to see through this woman.
Human actions always had a motive, but her motives... remained a mystery.
Whether it was her agreement to lend him a hand at the concert back then, or her volunteering to investigate the Dark Tide this time, there always seemed to be an unspoken intent hidden behind it.
"Exactly what I said." Phrolova gently swayed the red spider lily in her hand, her wine-red eyes sweeping calmly over Ray. "I will attempt to separate its frequency from the Dark Tide."
With these words, she took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
The surrounding world instantly plunged into absolute silence.
The only thing that remained clear was the rhythm of her own heartbeat.
'If I can successfully separate the Dark Tide from its frequency, and then gain control of this Leviathan power... the plan for 'Lost Paradise' will take a crucial step forward.'
'That perfect, painless new world... might truly be within reach.'
'I promised them. I will definitely realize a world like that.'
"...Hah."
Her fingertips lightly pinched, causing the red spider lily to sway slightly. Chaotic, disorderly frequencies instantly flooded into her consciousness, among them were icy, indescribable whispers. The temptations of Leviathan.
To this, Phrolova turned a deaf ear.
With complete concentration, she meticulously separated the pure frequencies of the Echo creature from the pollution of the Dark Tide, as if unraveling silk from a cocoon.
Then, in the next instant, the weight of silence pressed down, making it hard to breathe. Everything seemed to become blurry, as if thick fog had suddenly risen around her, blocking all her senses.
She could no longer perceive any frequencies.
Phrolova opened her eyes and found herself standing in a deep-sea abyss. Looking up
A giant eye was staring back at her, unblinking.
A mere instant of eye contact, and her soul trembled under that gaze.
It was not lifeless.
That stare contained life, and a kind of vast, incomprehensible wisdom.
It spanned dimensions and time, had sensed her tuning, and was now staring fixedly at her, as if observing, or perhaps... manipulating her.
Phrolova didn't know how to describe the feeling. It was like some indescribable whisper was slowly eroding her own frequency.
'Is this Leviathan?'
'What is it doing? Trying to communicate with me?'
'No... it's trying to tune my frequency in reverse...'
'Leviathan, it wants to corrupt me!'
'I must, I must...'
Until, a warmth enveloped the girl.
Like the last embers burning on their own in an eternal night, blooming for her with a final, and most genuine, warmth.
"Phrolova? Phrolova!"
The shouts came from far and near, pulling her back from the void.
She felt as if she had been drowning for a long time, every inch of her senses swollen and sore from being soaked in cold.
Dizziness and a sense of weightlessness intertwined, making her wake as if from a dream, unable to distinguish the boundary between reality and illusion.
All perception was blurry and sticky, her consciousness light and ready to scatter. Only the thread of sound by her ear grew clearer.
'This voice... it's so familiar.'
'As if, long ago, someone also called my name with such concern...'
She struggled to open her eyes, past and present overlapped at this moment.
'So, he can also make such an expression for me?'
'My body is so tired. I can't muster any strength.'
'...Then let me rely on you, just for a little while.'
"What's wrong with you? Wake up, Phrolova!"
Ray anxiously called out to the girl in his arms. She had suddenly lost consciousness while focused on tuning. If he hadn't reached out in time, she would have crashed heavily to the ground.
What was worse, the Dark Tide ahead was beginning to churn and surge uncontrollably.
Ray held the unconscious Phrolova tightly, teeth gritted, staring at the onrushing wave of darkness.
This was bad. Really bad.
"Phoebe, run!"
Before his words even finished, the Dark Tide surged towards them like a roaring beast.
The wind screamed past their ears.
Time seemed to lose all measure, everything swallowed by despairing darkness.
Until,
A strand of golden light abruptly pierced the Dark Tide.
No, not pierced.
Devoured.
Ray opened his eyes again to see a figure that had appeared from nowhere, silently consuming the churning darkness.
"Wait, what is that creature now?"
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