Barry quickly grabbed the round shield from his back and decided to fight the creature. Since the Beast Space traps didn't work, escaping by sailing to land was also impossible. The speed of the Grade 2 boat was nowhere near enough to outrun the fish.
I should have invested in a higher-grade boat instead of buying so many Grade 4 Beast Space Dimensional Pockets, Barry thought bitterly.
However, he had believed the Grade 4 Beast Space would be enough to capture a Grade 4 Golden Orange Snakehead. That was the suggestion he received when he gathered intel. But his confidence shattered the moment he saw the sheer size of the fish.
He had considered sailing straight to land once he realized the Beast Space traps were failing. But he felt as if the fish had already locked onto him as its prey. If he tried to escape, it would chase him easily and swallow him in one gulp. So he chose to stall for time using the traps, hoping Jasper would arrive and help him fight.
That belief shattered somewhat when he saw Jasper fly over his head and run on the water toward the shore.
So he decided to fight alone.
The Golden Orange Snakehead emerged from one of the two remaining Beast Space traps. Now only one trap remained between him and the monster. Barry moved slightly forward. The moment the last trap activated and captured the fish inside the pocket space—and before the fish could break free—he prepared to unleash his strongest move.
[Absolute Charge]
It was the only skill he possessed that could help him in this situation. When activated, the skill created enormous force that allowed him to charge forward with his shield. However, since he was on water, he couldn't use it in the traditional way. So he had to time it perfectly when the fish emerged from the Beast Space. The instant it appeared, he would strike its head.
While he steadied himself, the fish emerged from the Beast Space, wriggling its massive body forward. The instant it touched the final trap, it disappeared into the pocket again.
Seeing this, Barry bent his knees and crouched, preparing to leap as high as possible before landing on the fish's head.
When the final trap shattered with a violent explosion, the shockwave pushed Barry's boat away from its original position. At that exact moment, he jumped into the air, his eyes fixed on where the fish would appear.
But while he was midair, a booming noise suddenly erupted to his left.
He snapped his head toward the sound.
There, about fifty meters away, he saw a figure bursting upward from the water's surface. The force of the jump sent a massive spray of water into the air as the figure shot toward the exact location where Barry had planned to land.
Meanwhile, the Beast Space Dimensional Pocket shattered from within as the enormous fish burst out and crashed back onto the water, creating another valley of waves.
The moment it emerged, the fish opened its enormous mouth toward the boat where its target had been moments earlier.
But before it could devour anything, its head suddenly caved inward.
The impact forced its jaws to snap shut.
Before the fish could even recognize its attacker, a massive crater formed on the water's surface from the force of the impact. At the center of the crater lay the fish with its skull partially crushed inward, and on top of its head stood a figure in a crouched position.
The shockwave from the impact sent Barry and his boat flying far away.
When the water finally calmed again, the fish slowly sank beneath the surface in an unconscious state.
On the surface, however, the figure standing there was frantically slapping the water with both hands, trying to stay afloat.
Jasper had started running on the surface of the lake after missing his original target when he jumped from the islet. He quickly reached the shore and climbed onto land. Only after reaching solid ground did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But he didn't enjoy that relief for long.
Immediately, he sprinted back toward Barry's location.
When he got close enough, he saw the fish suddenly disappear for a moment—and that was when he jumped, deciding to land directly on the fish's head to either kill it or knock it out, since he couldn't fight properly while standing on water.
This time his calculation was perfect.
He landed squarely on the fish's head and knocked it unconscious.
However, once the fish lost consciousness, its body immediately began sinking into the water. Jasper lost his footing and fell into the lake.
Once again he faced the same nightmare.
But this time there was no rock wall nearby to grab onto.
Fortunately, Jasper wasn't an idiot—especially after discovering he could run on water.
When he ran toward Barry earlier, he had already thought about what to do if he fell into the water again.
His plan was simple: use the same method he used while running.
So Jasper relaxed his body as it slowly sank and began moving his legs rapidly, just like when he ran on the surface.
But instead of rising upward, his body sank even faster.
Jasper was completely dumbfounded by the sudden result. Panic surged through him, and he swallowed several mouthfuls of water in quick succession.
He couldn't understand why he was drowning instead of floating or at least moving forward.
He quickly stopped moving his legs and began thrashing his arms and legs again, desperately trying to breathe as he struggled exactly like before.
But before he could swallow more water and drown, something suddenly grabbed his hair and yanked him upward.
Realizing he was being pulled up, Jasper instinctively grabbed whatever was holding his hair.
When his hand touched it, he realized it was another person's hand.
Still panicking, he clutched the hand tightly, trying to pull himself toward the surface.
Barry, who had been thrown far away by the water crater created by Jasper's landing, quickly regained his balance and swam back toward the scene. At first he thought Jasper was still fighting the fish.
But when he reached the area, he noticed the creature floating motionless nearby and Jasper thrashing wildly in the water.
Without celebrating the defeat of the fish, Barry immediately swam toward Jasper and grabbed his hair to pull him out.
However, the moment he did that, Jasper grabbed his hand and pulled him downward in panic.
Barry quickly pulled his hand free and swam away from Jasper.
Jasper, realizing he was sinking again, turned his head and saw that the person who had grabbed him was Barry. His eyes widened.
In the next moment he noticed Barry making gestures and swimming toward him again.
Understanding the signal, Jasper raised his right hand and stopped struggling.
Soon Barry grabbed his hand, and together they slowly rose to the surface.
The moment Jasper's head emerged from the water, he began thrashing again while desperately gasping for air. His hands searched frantically for something to hold.
"Calm down!" Barry screamed at the top of his lungs when he felt Jasper trying to drag him underwater again.
The shout froze Jasper in place. He stopped moving immediately.
Barry then swam toward the overturned boat that had been flipped by the earlier water crater.
Jasper remained completely still until they reached it.
The moment they arrived, he grabbed onto the boat and vomited out all the water he had swallowed, relief finally washing over him.