The rocky outcrop where Kairos and Aria had dragged themselves felt tiny against the sudden gathering of power.
All around them, the sea and sky were alive with the arrival of Aetheria's strongest. S-rank Crystos descended like living legends. A woman in flowing white robes landed on a nearby boulder, wings of pure golden light folding behind her back. A mountain of a man in heavy iron-crystal armor walked across the waves as if they were solid ground. Several others hovered in the air, their auras so intense that the seawater below them rippled and parted.
The news had spread like wildfire. The viral footage of the juvenile leviathan's roar and the massive energy spike had triggered emergency protocols across every major organization. Hashtags like #LeviathanAwakening and #DeepThreat were trending globally. Everyone wanted a piece of the power that had just revealed itself so close to the surface.
But they had no idea what they were walking into.
Kairos and Aria stood shoulder to shoulder on the rock, watching the scene unfold with growing unease.
"They're all here for the guardian," Aria said quietly, her violet eyes scanning the arrivals. "They think it's the main threat. They don't know it's just a decoy."
Kairos nodded, his gray eyes narrowed.
The first group of S-rank Crystos didn't wait for coordination. A team from Tempest Syndicate — known for their storm mastery — launched the initial assault. Razor Gale, their leader, raised his hands. Dark clouds formed instantly above the water. Lightning cracked down in thick bolts, striking the spot where the leviathan had last been seen.
The sea exploded.
For a moment it looked like they had succeeded. The water churned violently, steam rising where lightning met the ocean.
Then the guardian rose.
The juvenile leviathan breached the surface like a living nightmare. Its obsidian-black body, covered in pulsing red crystal spikes, dwarfed even the largest ships. Six glowing eyes locked onto the attackers. With a single lazy flick of its massive tail, it sent a shockwave so powerful that three S-rank Crystos were thrown backward through the air like ragdolls.
Razor Gale shouted orders, summoning a full hurricane. Winds howled, waterspouts rose, and lightning rained down relentlessly.
The leviathan didn't even flinch.
It opened its jaws and released a deep, resonant roar that vibrated through the bones of everyone present. The sound carried an ancient, crushing pressure. The hurricane faltered. The waterspouts collapsed. Several Crystos clutched their heads as the roar disrupted their focus and crystal resonance.
A second team from Astral Concord tried next — Liora Starweave herself leading the charge. They created spatial warps, attempting to trap the beast in folded space. For a few seconds it looked like it might work.
Then the leviathan simply swam through the distortion as if it didn't exist. Its crystal spikes glowed brighter, absorbing the spatial energy and redirecting it back as a crushing gravitational pulse. Three more S-rank Crystos were slammed into the water, their barriers shattering on impact.
Kairos watched with wide eyes.
"They're not stopping it," he muttered. "They're just making it angry."
Aria's face was pale.
"Even S-ranks… they're struggling. That thing is on another level."
More elites joined the fray. A coalition attack — fire, ice, telekinesis, shadow blades — rained down on the guardian from every direction. The sea boiled. The sky flashed with multicolored energy.
The leviathan answered with raw, overwhelming power.
It slammed its body sideways, creating a tidal wave that crashed over the rocky shore, forcing several Crystos to retreat. Its tail whipped around, smashing through barriers like they were glass. One particularly brave S-rank tried to get close for a point-blank strike — only to be swallowed whole by a sudden vortex the creature created with a single breath.
The guardian wasn't even fighting seriously yet.
It was toying with them.
Kairos felt a chill run down his spine.
"This is bad," he whispered. "If they keep this up, they're going to wake the real one."
The system's voice spoke directly into his mind, calm but urgent.
[Correct. The juvenile guardian is only a sentinel. The true leviathan remains dormant in the Abyssal Sanctum. However, the amount of aether being released right now is significant. If the elites continue their assault, they may inadvertently disturb the true leviathan's slumber.]
Kairos clenched his fists.
"We need to do something."
Aria looked at him, her expression grim.
"Even if we wanted to help… we're outnumbered and outranked. They won't listen to us."
The battle continued to rage.
More S-rank Crystos arrived every minute. The sea was now a battlefield of light and thunder. Explosions lit up the water. The guardian roared again, louder this time, and several elites were forced to retreat, their auras flickering.
Kairos and Aria stood on their small rock, watching helplessly as the world's strongest fought — and failed — to contain something that wasn't even the main threat.
Then the interface in Kairos's vision changed.
A new window appeared, glowing with a soft golden light.
[Special Option Unlocked]
[Choice Available:]
The system waited.
To be continued...