The Siege Crabs fired. Beams of red mana tore through the water, boiling it instantly. They were aimed squarely at Alvian.

"Inefficient."

Alvian didn't dodge. He raised his left hand. The [Thundergod Bracers] on his forearms crackled with blue lightning.

"[Runic Aegis +2]: Phalanx Configuration."

Fourteen massive runes materialized in front of him, interlocking to form a solid wall of purple light.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The red beams slammed into the runes. The water around Alvian exploded into steam, obscuring vision. The Syndicate troops cheered, thinking they had vaporized the defender.

But when the bubbles cleared, the wall still stood. And behind it, Alvian hadn't moved an inch.

[Damage Absorbed.]

[Reflecting 50% Damage.]

The runes pulsed. Beams of kinetic force shot back at the crabs.

"CRASH!"

Two of the Siege Crabs were hit by their own reflected power. Their shells cracked. The mana-cannons on their backs exploded, taking out the surrounding infantry in a blast of fire and shrapnel.

The enemy charge faltered.

"He... he blocked siege fire?" a mercenary stammered.

"Advance!" the commander screamed. "He's one man! Swarm him!"

The army surged forward again.

Alvian equipped the [Lance of the Void Winter]. The black metal shaft felt cold and eager in his hands.

"One man?" Alvian whispered. "I am a legion."

He stabbed the lance into the stone of the bridge.

"[Frost Descent +2]: Permafrost Road."

He dumped mana into the bridge. The white stone turned grey, then blue. A layer of absolute zero ice spread out from his position, racing across the bridge toward the enemy.

The front line of the Syndicate army didn't have time to stop. They stepped onto the ice.

"SNAP! CRACK!"

The water around their feet froze instantly. Hundreds of soldiers were rooted in place, their legs encased in diamond-hard glacial ice.

[Crippling Frost Applied.]

[Movement Speed Reduced by 100%.]

"Now," Alvian said.

He disappeared.

"[Void Step]."

He reappeared in the middle of the frozen formation. He spun the lance.

"Slash. Sever. Shatter."

It was a massacre. Alvian moved faster than the eye could follow. He was a blur of violet light and black steel. Every swing of his lance shattered a frozen enemy. He didn't just kill them; he disassembled them.

A Naga warrior tried to stab him. Alvian caught the spear with his bare hand, his [Wolf Tamer's Gauntlet] crushing the weapon. He headbutted the Naga.

"THUD!"

The Naga's skull collapsed.

[-12,000! Critical!]

Alvian didn't stop. He used [Void Step] again, blinking fifty meters into the air above the remaining Siege Crabs.

"Gravity."

He activated [Gravity Well]. A singularity formed on the back of the largest crab. The nearby soldiers were sucked in, crushing against the monster's shell.

Alvian dropped. He pointed his lance downward.

"[Glacial Void Pierce]: Bunker Buster."

"KABOOM!"

He slammed into the crab. The void energy annihilated the shell. The gravity well imploded. The crab, and the twenty soldiers stuck to it, were compressed into a ball of scrap and gore, then frozen solid.

Alvian landed on the wreckage. He looked at the remaining army. They were terrified. They were backing away.

"Why are you stopping?" Alvian asked, his voice amplified by the water. "The timer hasn't run out yet."

[Objective Update: Hold the Temple for 30 Minutes.]

[Time Remaining: 22 Minutes.]

"Kill them all," Alvian ordered.

Valeria charged from the stairs, a golden juggernaut. Seraphina rained poisoned daggers from the shadows. And Alvian... Alvian simply walked forward, the water around him turning to ice with every step.

By the time the thirty minutes were up, the bridge was choked with frozen corpses. The water was pink with blood.

The Syndicate retreated. They didn't retreat in good order. They ran.

"Cowards," Valeria panted, leaning on her sword. "They ran away."

"They're regrouping," Alvian said, cleaning his lance. "They realized brute force won't work."

He turned back to the temple. The heavy doors opened. Lady Ola stepped out. She looked tired, her scales pale, but her eyes were sharp.

"You held them," Ola said, looking at the carnage. "I felt the mana tremors. You fight like a Sea King."

"The spell?" Alvian asked. "Is the transport grid locked?"

Ola shook her head. "No. I started the ritual, but I couldn't finish it. The mana flow... it's blocked."

"Blocked?" Seraphina asked, materializing beside them. "How?"

"The currents," Ola explained. "The city's transport grid relies on the [Pearl of the Deep] to synchronize the flow. It's the heart of the system. Without it, I can only lock down local sectors. I can't seal the whole city."

Alvian narrowed his eyes. "Where is the Pearl?"

"It was in the Sanctum," Ola said, pointing to the inner chamber. "But when the attack started... it vanished."

"Stolen," Alvian realized. "The Syndicate knew. They knew you would try to lock the city."

"Who took it?" Valeria asked.

"Not a who," Ola said, her face darkening. "A what. The security wards recorded a signature. It was slippery. Ancient. And filled with ink."

"The Octopus Queen," Alvian stated.

Ola nodded. "Ursula. The Queen of the Eight Arms. She was once a Guardian candidate, but her greed consumed her. She rules the Abyssal Trench below the city. If she has the Pearl..."

"She'll corrupt it," Alvian finished. "Or use it to open the gates for the Syndicate."

"I need that Pearl," Ola said. "Without it, Azureus will fall. If you retrieve it, I will grant you the power you seek. I will teach you the [Abyssal Bindings]."

[Quest Updated: The Lady of Chains.]

[New Objective: Retrieve the [Pearl of the Deep] from the Octopus Queen.]

[Location: The Abyssal Trench.]

[Reward: Skill Book: [Abyssal Bindings] (Legendary).]

Alvian looked at the quest notification. A Legendary crowd-control skill. Exactly what he needed to handle large groups without spending hours chasing them down.

"Done," Alvian said. "Valeria, Seraphina. Gear up. We're going deeper."

---

The Abyssal Trench was located directly beneath the Sea Temple, a gaping maw in the ocean floor that swallowed all light. It was a restricted zone, even for Guardians. The pressure was immense, enough to crush a submarine like a soda can.

Alvian stood at the edge of the drop-off. The water here was cold, devoid of the warm currents that heated the city.

"Warning," Seraphina said, reading from her data slate. "The trench is filled with [Ink Fog]. It blocks vision and sensor magic. And it's toxic."

"Poison and blindness," Valeria grimaced, tapping her helmet. "My favorite combination."

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