The soft melody didn't just enter Jack's ears. It seeped into his marrow. Coating his thoughts in a thick, honey-like lethargy.
Around him, the world slowed. The rustle of the titan trees became a rhythmic lullaby. The neon purple glow of the swamp wasn't a warning anymore. It was an invitation to a warm, permanent rest.
Jack felt his knees buckle. Beside him, Reina's eyes had gone completely vacant. Her pupils had lost their sharp focus. Entrancement and survival instinct battled heavily in her mind.
Her hands, which were previously on her handgun holsters, hung limp at her sides. She couldn't take her eyes off the gigantic eyeball creature.
Nearby, Professor Enderson's eyes were tearful. Yet, a smile plastered on his face, as he looked at the giant eyeball creature with devotion.
Not far from him, Leon Drake was reaching out toward the giant eyeball in the distance. As if trying to touch the face of a god.
The others were in no better condition. The students were even beginning to shuffle forward. Drifting toward the edge of the violet-wood tree-house platforms. Drawn to the massive Eye Monster that now dominated the horizon. Like moths to fire. Their movements were stiff, slow, and robotic.
Jack was about to walk to the edge of the tree-house platform as well. But, then, a sharp, cold sensation pierced Jack's skull. It felt like a bucket of ice water being poured over his brain. Followed by the familiar, clinical chime of his system notification.
[MYTHICAL ADAPTATION TRIGGERED...]
[ANALYZING PSYCHIC FREQUENCY...]
[ADAPTATION COMPLETED.]
[NOW POSSESSING THE CHARACTERISTIC OF ENTRANCEMENT IMMUNITY!]
The honey-thick fog in Jack's mind evaporated instantly. The 'beautiful' melody didn't change its tune. But its effect was gone. To Jack's ears, it was still eerily beautiful. But it now sounded like what it truly was. A predatory vibration designed to lure prey into a digestive tract.
"Reina!" Jack barked. Grabbing Reina's shoulders to his side.
He shook her hard. His shaking was hard enough to rattle a normal human. But her body remained compliant and soft. She didn't even blink.
"Love, wake up!" He shouted. But it had no effect.
He turned to the others. Professor Enderson and Dr. Crafton were now standing closer to the railing. Their mouths were slightly agape. Wearing identical expressions of holy awe.
Leon Drake, the inheritor of fate, had his hand on his grimoire. But, he was just staring at the giant eye with a terrifyingly peaceful smile. Thinking that a person that was supposed to be the protagonist of this world got entranced like this was... terrifying.
Jack delivered a sharp, stinging slap to Leon's face. The man's head snapped to the side. But his eyes remained unfocused. He didn't even register the pain.
"Damn it!" Jack hissed. He looked out at the swamp.
The cathedral-sized eyeball was pulsing. Every time the vertical slit of its pupil contracted, the melody intensified.
The students were getting closer to the edge. Allena Keener was already resting a hand on the violet railing. Her foot was lifted slowly. Trying to climb over.
If they fell from this height into the neon swamp, they wouldn't just drown. They would break their bones. And, they would be consumed by whatever that thing was.
Jack didn't have time for gentle methods. He reached for the [Space Belt] at his waist. His fingers moved with practiced, lethal speed. He pulled out his steamrune shotgun. A heavy, dark mechanical beast of metal and runes. With inscription line that glowed in purple light.
Rune, the little fairy guide, floated above his shoulder. She had been flickering erratically in dark red color. Like Jack, she was previously fallen to the eye's influence. But when he regained his senses, she also regained hers.
Jack looked at the Eyeball Monster. It was rather... far. He needed more precision and more punch. He pulled a collapsible, half-a-meter-long rune etched barrel from his belt. A specialized extension he recently designed for long ranged, high-pressure discharge.
He threaded it onto the shotgun's muzzle with a series of metallic clicks. Next, he snapped a brass spyglass device onto the top rail of the gun. Locking the magnifying lenses into place.
He calibrated the gun quickly and took out several specific shells from his spatial belt. Those were his 'Runic Shield-Piercer' slugs.
He shouldered the weapon. The shotgun was now a much longer sniper rifle. The runic lines on its frame glowed and emitted steam as power built up in the pressure chambers.
Through the spyglass, the monster's eye filled his field of vision. It was a map of cosmic horror. Veins of pulsing lilac light. A cornea that looked like polished obsidian. And that bottomless, vertical pupil.
His [Eyes of Judgement] were activated. Showing the terrifying information...
[Name: -]
[Race: Otherworld Gazer]
[Karma: Extremely Negative]
[Power Level: Extremely High]
[Power Traits: Mystic Vitality, Hyper Regeneration, Entrancing Gaze, Hypnotic Soundwave, Aura of Terror, Illusion Power,...]
[Current Status: Extremely Healthy]
"Crap! Extremely high power level? An illuminated level trouble, huh?" Jack muttered. He adjusted his stance. His boots dug into the violet wood of the titan tree. "But still..."
He activated the extreme mode and pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The kickback was immense. Several times more powerful than the regular shotgun mode. It drove him a step backward despite his supernatural strength.
A spear of super destructive bullet erupted from the long barrel. The special slug tore through the air. Breaking the sound barrier several times with a crack that rivaled a devastating lightning strike.
The bullet struck the monster right in the center of its dark pupil.
The melody shattered. It broke into pieces. Like a sheet of glass struck by a hammer. The 'glass harp' sound turned into a discordant, ear-piercing screech. One that vibrated through the discordant air.
Reina gasped. Her knees were giving out. Jack caught her with his free arm.
"Ugh... Dear?" She whispered. Clutching her head. "My head...."
"Stay down, Love!" Jack commanded. His eyes briefly scanned the surrounding before they were back to the gigantic eyeball monster.
Around them, the students, guards, and scholars were collapsing. Other than Jack and Reina, only Leon Drake and Chloe Chase were still conscious.
Leon Drake was on one knee. Coughing violently as if he had just swallowed a gallon of swamp water. Chloe was also down on her knees. She held the wooden railings tightly. Trying hard not to faint.
The trance was broken. But the danger had only just begun.
The Eyeball Monster was thrashing. The 'slime' coating its surface was actually a layer of thick, protective mucus. It was now boiling where the slug had impacted.
The devastating bullet hadn't killed the beast. It was still a beast comparable to an illuminated-tier powerhouse after all. It was far too hardy for a single shot. But it had certainly pissed it off.
The vertical pupil widened. The creature began to hum again. A lower, more aggressive frequency. It wasn't trying to entrance them anymore. It was trying to use another type of different mental attack.
"Oh no you don't!" Jack growled. He didn't wait for the attack to manifest. He expertly worked the lever of the rifle. Ejecting the spent brass casing and chambering another rune-slug.
He fired again. And again. BOOM! BOOM!
Each shot struck the creature. Tearing chunks of translucent flesh from it. The monster shrieked. Its massive bulk trashed around. Causing a heavy turbulence in the purple water.
It sent out a wave of psychic pressure. One that still made Jack's nose bleed despite his high resistance. But his [Mythical Adaptation] held firm. No status effect could affect him now.
Jack looked around. The fainted members of the expedition had awakened. But they were too weak to act. Even Reina, Leon, and Chloe were still unable to help. He was the only thing standing between the damned entity and the recovering expedition.
However, Jack knew he was outmatched. His shots were stinging it. Breaking its ability. Distracting it. But he wasn't doing serious damage.
The creature was at the illuminated level. And definitely not the lowest tier of the level. Jack's sniper rifle was strong. But it wasn't that strong. Not yet.
"It's too powerful!" Reina called out. She was still unbalanced. But she had drawn her twin handguns. "We need to evacuate the kids, Dear!"
"Wait!" Jack said. His senses were twitching. Echoed by Rune's rapid changing of colors. "Crap! Something else is coming."
The orange-turned-purple swamp wasn't just in turbulence anymore. It was erupting.
From the depths of the vortex, a shadow much larger and longer than the gigantic eyeball monster itself burst through the water surface. Followed by a body covered in scales so black they seemed to brighten the purple light of the sky.
It was another great serpent. But it was even bigger than the one Jack battled in the red grassland. This creature was a real titan. And unlike the pair of curved horns the grassland serpent had, this one had only a single, straight, protruding horn. Etched with ancient, jagged scars.
The One-Horned Serpent didn't care about the humans in the trees. Its golden, slit-pupil eyes were locked onto the Eyeball Monster. Glowing with an expression of pure, primordial hatred.
"That thing..." Professor Enderson stammered. Crawling toward the railing. "That's the Guardian of the Deep. The dark elf diaries mentioned a pact..."
"It doesn't look like it's keeping a pact." Jack noted. "It looks like it's settling a debt."
The Serpent lunged. Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow a steam-carriage whole. Revealing rows of translucent, dagger-like teeth. It slammed into the Eyeball Monster with the force of a mountain falling into the sea.
The Eyeball Monster tried to react. Its pupil dilated. Attempting to cast a massive entrancement spell on the predator. The air began to shimmer with that hypnotic melody again.
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