Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 208. Race Against Extinction
A flash of oceanic magic made the whole citadel disappear and sent it to safety. The seafloor where Meridia had stood for thousands of years was now empty, except for the foundations and the water that Cthulhu’s presence had already polluted.
They weren’t done, even though the city was empty. Cthulhu kept rising, and it was clear where it was going for the surface, where billions of people lived on land that would drown if this creature got into open water.
Rick tightened his grip on the Trident of New Tides and said, "We have to slow it down."
"At least until we’re buying time for some reinforcements, like someone to figure out how to seal it again, or anything else that might help."
Nerissa nodded, and tears ran down her huge face. "Hear me loud and clear, my royal, prideful children...!"
"Those who dared to fight for our better future, form a defensive line delta! We will hold it here for as long as we CAN!" Nerissa shouted.
Nerissa’s children, trained in both combat and magic, gathered around Rick and his friends. With grim determination, Thalor and Myrissa stood on either side of their mother.
"New Leviathan!" Rick yelled to his Guardian. "Full assault! Aim for the wings! If we can’t stop it from rising, maybe we can slow it down when it gets to the surface!"
The seven-headed Guardian roared in agreement and then charged at Cthulhu with all the strength that Rick and Nerissa’s bond had given it. As it bit into the membranous wings, golden energy shot out of its jaws in an attempt to tear through the damaged tissue.
Cthulhu’s answer was almost like it was bored. One of the hundreds of writhing tentacles from its head whipped out and hit the New Leviathan hard enough to make it fall through the water.
Cthulhu didn’t destroy the Guardian, but the way he easily swatted it away showed how much stronger he was.
"Fuck...!!!" Rick yelled. "Let’s FUCKING GO! EVERYONEEE!!!"
Next, Rick and his partners attacked. Guardian’s Resolve made Carmilla’s sword glow. Natasha’s ice magic made spears that were as big as buildings.
Liora’s divine energy made lances of pure holy light. Zara’s evil power cut through the water with the goal of destroying it.
They hit Cthulhu’s rising form with all of their attacks, and for the first time, they saw the creature move. The attacks did hurt it, but they burned away small areas of corruption and made wounds that oozed black ichor instead of blood.
But the wounds healed almost right away, and corruption quickly filled in the holes they had made. They were hurting things, but it didn’t matter because the creature was enormous and so connected to the concept of corruption itself.
"We’re not even slowing it down!" Natasha yelled, her analytical mind figuring out their chances and finding them to be zero. "At this speed, it will reach the surface in ten minutes!"
Cthulhu broke through the last barrier of deep ocean pressure and swam into the shallower waters where the sun could reach. The wings opened all the way, and each one made a current that felt like a hurricane.
Then it stopped swimming and started to fly.
The speed of the rise doubled... and then it tripled.
Rick took Nerissa’s hand. "Get everyone ready! We need to get to the surface before it does!"
Nerissa nodded and quickly cast the fastest water magic transportation spell she knew. "Everyone, hold on to me or Rick!"
All of them start to hold Rick and Nerissa’s hand and back. "Hold on tight!"
Rick turned Ocean’s Hope up to the highest level, feeling the skill connect with Nerissa’s power. They made a current that pushed them up faster than any creature should be able to move through water.
His partners, Myrissa, Thalor, and the thirty royal children who were ready to fight, all grabbed onto the magical current and were pulled along.
Despite its earlier injuries, the New Leviathan continued to move at the same speed.
They broke the surface just as Cthulhu’s head came out of the water five hundred meters behind them.
The storm that hit them made the earlier rain of corruption look like a light drizzle. Right now, the sky was black with clouds that were moving, and purple lightning was flashing through them.
The ocean had changed from its usual blue-green color to a black color that looked more like tar than water. Waves that were fifty meters high crashed in all directions, making things so chaotic that any normal ship would sink right away.
In the midst of this horrific scene, Cthulhu emerged in all its terrifying grandeur.
Rick’s mind had a hard time processing the size of the Forbidden Guardian’s full form. The creature was at least two thousand meters tall, and its head reached up to the storm clouds.
Its wings were so wide that they cast shadows over whole cities.
Sylvia was already there, and her dragon form was circling the new horror. Cthulhu’s tainted scales were barely burned by its fire, which should have melted stone.
"Rick! What the hell is that thing? I’ve been hitting it for three minutes, and it might as well be air!"
Before Rick could say anything, the space next to them changed shape, and Zephyra teleported in.
Zephyra muttered while looking at the Cthulhu. "We’re already too late, huh..."
She was standing on a disc of solidified air with baby Sophia strapped to her back in a magical cradle. Her face showed the kind of fear that comes from really knowing how awful things were.
"Grand Magister Fredrich is getting all the mages in Valdris ready," Zephyra said right away, and her voice was calm even though it was a dangerous situation. "But the teleportation arrays will take at least thirty minutes to get them here."
"Possibly longer given the magical interference this thing is generating."
Zephyra sighed. "Judging by this situation... it seems like I’m not going anywhere."
"Sophia will be safer with you than with me."
Rick started to protest, "What?"" but Zephyra was already on the move.
She made a bubble of protective magic around baby Sophia and carefully pulled it away from her back, leading it to Myrissa.
"Please keep an eye on her," Zephyra told the ocean princess.
"A-Are you sure about this?" Rick asked, his voice trembling.
"I’m a Grand Sorceress and one of the Seven Major Powers... my job is to protect the realm from threats."
"And this is... the biggest threat Zorathia has ever faced."
Myrissa took the floating cradle in her shaking hands and nodded to show she understood.
Zephyra turned back to the group, and her eyes showed how determined she was, like someone who had spent years learning magic for this exact moment. "I can’t fight that thing head-on, but I can help all of you."
"I can make you stronger, faster, and more resistant. I can give you a chance to live until help arrives."
She lifted both hands, and intricate magical circles appeared around her body, spinning and fitting together in ways that Rick had never seen before.
"GRAND SORCERY: BATTLEFIELD AMPLIFICATION!"
A golden light came out of Zephyra’s position and spread over everyone in Rick’s group. He felt power flooding into his body, making everything better.
He got 50% stronger. He got twice as fast. His resistance to magic increased significantly. Zephyra’s support magic was making all of his traits stronger.
But it wasn’t just strength. Rick suddenly realized he could fly. Wind magic kept him in the air without him having to do anything or summon his dragon wings.
Barriers formed around his body on their own, taking damage before it could get to him. His vision got better and better until he could see each drop of tainted rain falling from the sky.
All of his bonded partners received the same treatment. There were protective spells on Carmilla’s armor that made it glow.
Natasha’s ice magic hit harder and froze faster. The divine energy in Liora burned brighter than the sun. Zara’s evil form got bigger and stronger.
The dragon fire that Sylvia had changed from orange to blue-white. It was hot enough to melt steel.
Nerissa, even in her royal form, felt the boost. Her ocean magic and Zephyra’s support worked together to make something bigger than either of them could have made alone.
"This amplification will last as long as I stay focused," Zephyra said.
She was already sweating from the effort of buffing so many people at once. "Give us all some time and try to stay alive..."
"Don’t let that thing reach the land, because if it does..."
"...Zorathia ends."
