The pitch-black interior of the aquatic mechanism failed to completely blind Cyan; she could still vaguely discern the structural profiles of her surroundings.
For example, she could easily spot the Blooper charging directly toward her position at this exact micro-second.
Shedding blood will only attract an increased density of hostile targets...
Therefore, I must neutralize it strictly with raw physical force!
Cyan instinctively moved her hand away from the hilt of her Demonic Blade. She clenched her hand into a tight fist, driving it squarely into the advancing Blooper with enough force to send the creature floating upward with its white underbelly exposed.
"Hamon Overdrive!"
Cyan concentrated her Hamon energy cleanly into her lower extremities, her movement speed experiencing an instantaneous spike. Leaving a localized cluster of air bubbles in her wake, she shot forward through the water, delivering systematic, single-punch executions to every single Blooper that attempted to intercept her line of advance. She calibrated her physical output with absolute precision—ensuring each strike was lethal enough to kill, but controlled enough to prevent any blood leakage that might compromise her stealth parameters by drawing more troublesome entities.
Right at that moment, an exceptionally massive Blooper suddenly surged out from the darkness, its long tentacles uncoiling toward Cyan in a clear attempt to bind her frame.
An annoying target.
Cyan halted her forward momentum, instantly unsheathing her Demonic Blade to cleanly sever one of the reaching tentacles.
"Hamon Overdrive!"
"Infinite Style: Gale Slash!"
A dense layer of razor-sharp sword intent stabilized over the edge of her Demonic Blade while arcs of golden electricity coiled around her legs, launching her forward at hyper-velocity directly toward the giant Blooper.
The creature frantically whipped its remaining tentacles to propel itself upward, lashing out with its appendages like high-velocity leather whips to intercept Cyan.
However, Cyan's sharp blade arcs sliced cleanly through two more tentacles. Leveraging the opening, she swam rapidly upward, driving the point of her Demonic Blade directly into the Blooper's rear opening—no, wait! Mathematically speaking, that particular anatomical region was actually the Blooper's mouth!
Sensing an absolute, terminal threat to its vital core, the giant Blooper discharged an immense cloud of dense black ink before fleeing into the deep water.
With her environmental awareness heavily obstructed by the floating ink matrix, Cyan was entirely unable to track the trajectory of the escaping creature.
It managed to slip away...
Cyan smoothly returned her blade to its scabbard, a brief flash of annoyance crossing her silver-white eyes. She systematically retrieved the three severed tentacles floating in the water, placing one directly into her mouth to evaluate its biochemical properties.
The flavor profile was actually quite acceptable.
She stored the remaining two tentacles securely into her personal inventory, maintaining a steady swimming pace while consuming her prize. It was highly probable that because her frame was now heavily coated in the Blooper's ink, she exuded their exact biological signature, which effectively deterred the remaining standard Bloopers from initiating further aggressive behavior against her.
Reaching the terminal boundary of the aquatic mechanism, Cyan located an entry pipe, sliding her body cleanly into the matrix. She experienced a brief phase of high-velocity transit before being cleanly deposited into the interior corridors of Bowsette's fortress.
On the alternate vector, Nishi steered the Lakitu's cloud through a sequence of high-hazard zones, successfully reaching the terminal gate without sustaining a single point of damage. However, standing guard directly before the primary portal was a Koopa Troop soldier sporting a vibrant, fire-red carapace.
"Intruder! Crossing paths with my person is your ultimate misfortune! The molten magma below shall serve as your permanent resting place!"
The Fire Bro roared, his arms moving in a continuous blur as he launched a rapid succession of fireballs toward Nishi, who was maintaining an elevated position aboard the cloud.
Fortunately, Nishi's operational mastery over the Lakitu's cloud had scaled significantly over the course of the infiltration, permitting her to smoothly execute complex evasion maneuvers to completely bypass the Fire Bro's artillery.
"You arrogant little turtle, keep playing with fire and see if you don't wet the bed tonight!"
Nishi wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, steering the cloud directly above the Fire Bro's position before summoning two Spiny eggs.
The Spinies descended from the cloud in their compressed, spiked-ball states, impacting the stone floor and instantly deploying into active combat configurations as they charged toward the Fire Bro.
Nishi had projected that the two Spinies would easily dismantle the guard, but it turned out the summoned assets were completely hollow in terms of defensive parameters. The Fire Bro discharged two rapid fireballs, instantly liquidating the first Spiny. Four fireballs later, both of Nishi's summoned assets were completely wiped out.
Oh, come on! You guys couldn't have tanked him for even two extra seconds?!
Watching her summoned assets dissolve so effortlessly, Nishi felt a sharp pang of financial grief over the 20 points of Mental Energy she had just expended.
"Now it's your turn!"
The Fire Bro unleashed a relentless stream of fireballs toward Nishi. Within this highly localized volcanic environment, his internal energetic reserves appeared completely infinite, allowing him to deploy fire artillery without a single second of cooldown.
Nishi navigated the dense fire matrix with extreme difficulty. Synthesizing a lump of thick, sticky black mud within her palm, she waited for the exact millisecond the Fire Bro paused to catch his breath. Executing a rapid dive-bomb maneuver, she flung the mud with absolute precision, plastering it squarely across the Fire Bro's eyes.
"Despicable! Underhanded coward! Face me in honorable, open combat if you possess the capacity!"
With his visual sensors completely obstructed by the mud, the Fire Bro screamed in pure rage. He had never projected that he would encounter an opponent operating with such an absolute deficit of martial honor!
Under the extreme ambient heat of the chamber, the mud coating his face rapidly baked into a solid, unyielding crust. Blinded and panicked, the Fire Bro began violently swinging his arms, hurling fireballs frantically in every random direction.
"This young lady offers her sincerest apologies for being so exceptionally underhanded~!"
Nishi let out a thoroughly satisfied laugh, executing a low slide-kick that swept the Fire Bro off his feet. Leveraging her momentum, she drove her shoulder firmly into his chest, completely upsetting his center of gravity and sending his physical frame tumbling directly into the roaring pool of magma below.
With the threat neutralized, Nishi settled back onto the Lakitu's cloud. Just as she prepared to vacate the sector, she caught sight of a shimmering Silver Card floating directly above the liquid lava.
"Hehe~! It seems my luck parameter is genuinely exceptional today~!"
Nishi happily retrieved the card dropped by the deceased Fire Bro.
Should I open it right now?
Inspecting the asset in her hand, Nishi ultimately decided to preserve it and let Cyan execute the drop sequence.
Stepping to the primary gate, she pushed the heavy doors open and flew cleanly into the inner sanctum.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the ambient temperature experienced a massive drop, restoring itself to a perfectly standard baseline. While the sudden cool air offered a brief moment of relief to Nishi after enduring the extreme volcanic heat, it also made her intensely aware of how sticky and sweat-soaked her garments were. She wanted nothing more than to locate a localized water source and take a thorough bath.
Advancing to the designated rendezvous node, Nishi quickly spotted Cyan, who was already waiting for her.
"Master~!"
Nishi waved her hand, offering a low, subdued greeting.
"It appears your infiltration proceeded smoothly," Cyan remarked. She was currently making a loud crunch-crunch-crunch sound as she chewed on a Blooper tentacle like it was a standard spicy snack stick, even while the partially active nerve endings of the seafood continued to twitch slightly against her lips.
"W-What on earth is that?!"
Despite having just escaped a scorching furnace, Nishi felt a sudden, freezing shiver run down her spine as she watched the twitching appendage disappear into Cyan's mouth.
"A highly acceptable food resource. Japan possesses an established cultural tradition of consuming raw sashimi. The flavor profile is excellent; do you care to sample a portion?" Cyan extended her solitary remaining tentacle toward Nishi.
"Uh... about that... Master, I don't really have an established custom of consuming live sashimi."
Faced with such an aggressively raw seafood item, Nishi found herself entirely unable to cope, awkwardly taking a step back with a strained grin.
"A distinct pity."
Cyan claimed it was a pity, yet her stoic facial features actually appeared mildly amused.
"Master, take this. It's an asset I acquired after liquidating the Fire Bro guarding the gate." Nishi pulled out the Silver Card and pressed it into Cyan's hand.
"That constitutes your personal battlefield loot," Cyan remarked, making no move to accept it.
"What's mine is yours! Do we really need to draw administrative boundaries between us at this stage?"
Nishi felt a mix of mild irritation and genuine warmth, forcefully stuffing the Silver Card into Cyan's palm.
"We're currently grasshoppers tied to the exact same string. As long as you remain alive, Master, even if I get liquidated out there, you possess the capacity to bring me back to life..." Nishi paused, scratching her cheek in embarrassment as she murmured in a low voice, "Though, obviously, I don't exactly have a burning desire to experience the physiological sensation of dying..."
[System Log: Silver Card utilized. Survivor receives 1000 Survival Points, Skill Book: Fireball Throw, and Inner Armor: Heart-Protecting Fire Turtle Shell.]
[Skill Book: Fireball Throw] [Type: Skill Book]
[Function: Upon consumption, the user permanently acquires the Level 1 Active Skill: Fireball Throw. Fires a concentrated orb of thermal energy to deal elemental damage to targets.]
[Prerequisites: Intelligence: 15, Spirit: 15.]
[Description: Single-handed deployment proved structurally inefficient. The Fire Bro systematically engineered a two-handed throwing matrix. Double the velocity, double the satisfaction!]
[Inner Armor: Heart-Protecting Fire Turtle Shell]
[Type: Inner Armor]
[Attributes: Defense +20, Constitution +2.]
[Special Modifier: Reduces incoming fire/thermal damage by 30%.] [Equip Requirement: Constitution: 10.]
[Description: A protective chest plate manufactured utilizing a refined Fire Bro carapace as raw material.]
[Note: This equipment category possesses a cosmetic adaptive matrix; upon deployment, it can automatically disguise itself as any standard undergarment.]
"A pity, there's nothing here that aligns with my current build parameters," Nishi sighed, looking over the attributes. Her current Constitution baseline sat at a mere 7 points, leaving her 3 points shy of equipping the inner armor.
"Once your baseline attributes scale to the mandatory threshold, I will transfer it to your person."
Cyan smoothly equipped the Heart-Protecting Fire Turtle Shell beneath her garments, intending to liquidate the Fireball Throw skill book for profit back at the Survival Hub.
"Make sure you don't forget~!"
Nishi offered a cheerful smile, extending her hand toward Cyan. "Let's go rescue Prince Peach!"
"Yes."
Cyan grasped Nishi's hand, and both positioned themselves aboard the Lakitu's cloud to advance into the core chamber.
Meanwhile, deep within the primary throne room:
"Beautiful Queen Bowser, please accept the absolute manifestation of my devotion~!"
Prince Peach—who was physically shaped remarkably like a perfectly round, exceptionally bloated sphere—held a small cluster of vibrant flowers in his hands. His eyes shone with simulated adoration as he gazed up at the sovereign sitting upon the throne.
"I have articulated this reality to your person numerous times: our compatibility parameters stand at zero. A rescue detail will materialize shortly to deport you back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Moving forward, cease these administrative disruptions to my schedule."
Bowsette forced down the volatile irritation building in her chest. She harbored a violent urge to unleash a torrent of plasma and roast the fat creature standing before her into a literal suckling pig.
This was supposedly the most handsome prince across the length of the Mushroom Kingdom?
Pah! Was Kamek experiencing a severe visual impairment when he evaluated this asset? How could he possibly classify this entity as a top-tier attractive monarch!
The more Bowsette processed the reality, the more her fury scaled, causing irregular bursts of incandescent flame to leak violently from her lips with every respiration cycle.
Prince Peach's gaze remained utterly unshaken as he shouted with absolute resolution: "No! I refuse to depart! Queen Bowser, I shall continuously apply my efforts until I force your heart to fall in love with me!"
Concluding his declaration, Prince Peach turned to execute a dramatic, dignified exit. However, his left foot caught his right heel, causing him to instantaneously lose his balance and crash to the floor, rolling out of the chamber like a literal fleshy bowling ball.
"Ka! Me! K!"
Bowsette clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. She ground her teeth together, enunciating each syllable of the advisor who had engineered this absolute administrative absurdity with pure, unadulterated venom.
"My Queen, please suppress your royal fury! The independent bounty mages have already breached the perimeter corridors. They will extract Prince Peach within a minimal temporal window. The moment his presence is cleared from our sector, we shall systematically dissolve the transmutative arrays binding the Mushroom King and his populace..."
Sensing the immense pressure of Bowsette's rage, Kamek immediately terminated his concealment sub-routine and materialized before the throne.
"This is the entity you categorized as the most refined, handsome prince across the territory of the Seven Kingdoms?! Kamek! I demand immediate administrative clarification!"
Bowsette cut him off mid-sentence, reaching out with a single hand to grab him by the collar and hoist his frame effortlessly into the air. Her lips parted slightly, illuminating the space with a deep, internal fire that implied an infinite reservoir of plasma was waiting just behind her teeth.
"M-M-My Queen! Look at this historical data profile of Prince Peach!" Kamek frantically pulled out a photograph from his robes.
The individual captured in the image possessed long, flowing golden hair, exceptionally handsome features, refined lips, deep and mesmerizing blue eyes, and a tall, commanding stature capable of causing an entire populace to swoon.
"Then why has his physical chassis degraded into a literal sphere?"
Bowsette snatched the photograph, dropping Kamek back onto the floor. It was genuinely difficult to synthesize the image in her hand with the ball of grease that had just rolled out of her throne room.
"This... according to our intelligence metrics, it appears that after Prince Peach casually witnessed Your Majesty's royal countenance from afar, he developed an acute, terminal case of lovesickness... which ultimately triggered an uncontrollable phase of stress-induced binge-eating..."
Kamek offered the explanation with extreme hesitation, frantically wiping the cold sweat pouring down his face.
"..."
The absolute inferno of Bowsette's fury was instantaneously extinguished.