Alvian's hand closed around the [Pearl of the Deep].

"ZZZT!"

A shock of corrupted mana shot up his arm. The Pearl fought him. It was halfway bonded to Ursula.

[System Warning: Item Contested.]

[Soul Contest Initiated.]

"Inefficient," Alvian growled. He didn't have time for a minigame.

"System. Activate [Tablet of the Earth Core]. Ground the corruption."

He channeled the earth essence in his body. His arm turned into stone-grey skin. The [Tablet] absorbed the necrotic shock, grounding it harmlessly.

He ripped the Pearl free from the magical tether.

"NO!" Ursula screamed. Her connection to the Pearl snapped. The ritual collapsed.

The black veins on the Pearl stopped spreading.

[Item Acquired: Pearl of the Deep (Corrupted)]

[Status: Unstable]

"Give it back!" Ursula roared. She abandoned her human guise. Her upper body split apart, revealing a maw of razor-sharp teeth. She grew in size, filling half the room.

[Boss Phase 2: Abyssal Kraken Form]

Her tentacles thrashed wildly, smashing the walls, the ceiling, the floor. The room began to collapse.

"Alvian! We have to go!" Valeria shouted, bashing a Myrmidon aside. "The place is coming down!"

"Agreed," Alvian said. He stowed the Pearl.

But Ursula wasn't letting them leave.

"INK DELUGE!"

She spewed a massive cloud of black ink. It wasn't just fog; it was acid. It filled the room instantly.

[Warning! Environmental Hazard: Acidic Ink.]

[Armor Durability decreasing rapidly.]

"Valeria, Seraphina, to me!" Alvian ordered.

They rushed to his side.

"Shield won't hold against this!" Valeria cried, her golden barrier sizzling as the acid ate through it.

"I know," Alvian said. "We aren't blocking. We're leaving."

He looked at the ceiling. It was cracked from the battle.

"System. Maximize [Frost Descent +2]."

He pointed his hand up.

"Ice Pillar."

A massive column of ice shot up from his hand, punching through the ink, through the ceiling, and into the rock above. It created a tunnel.

"Climb!" Alvian ordered.

Seraphina ran up the ice pillar, her agility allowing her to scale it effortlessly. Valeria grabbed Alvian's arm.

"I can't climb that fast in this armor!"

"Then fly," Alvian said.

He grabbed her. He activated [Avatar of the Deep: Frost Titan]—but only the legs.

Ice thrusters formed on his boots.

"BLAST OFF!"

He shot up the pillar, carrying Valeria. Ursula's tentacles lashed out, trying to grab them, but the ice pillar was slippery and cold. The tentacles slid off.

They burst through the ceiling of the palace, emerging into the open trench.

But Ursula followed.

The massive Kraken smashed through the roof of her own palace. She swam upward, her tentacles propelling her with terrifying speed.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE DEEP!"

She opened her maw. A beam of concentrated dark water charged in her throat.

"She's firing a laser!" Seraphina shouted, looking down.

"Dodge!" Valeria yelled.

"No," Alvian said. He stopped moving. He hovered in the water.

"Alvian, what are you doing?!"

"She wants her Pearl back?" Alvian asked, pulling a small, black sphere from his inventory. It wasn't the Pearl. It was a [Mana Bomb] he had looted from the Syndicate base.

He attached a [Rune of Gravity] to it.

"Here. Catch."

He dropped the bomb. The gravity rune accelerated it. It shot down, straight into Ursula's open, charging maw.

Ursula swallowed it instinctively.

"BOOM!"

The explosion was muffled by her body, but the effect was undeniable. Ursula convulsed. The beam in her throat misfired, exploding out the sides of her neck.

[-50,000! Internal Damage!]

She stopped swimming, sinking back down into the ruins of her palace, writhing in agony.

"That should buy us a minute," Alvian said. "Let's go."

They swam back to the Sea Temple. The journey was tense, but the local wildlife, sensing the defeat of the Kraken Queen, gave them a wide berth.

When they arrived, the battle at the bridge was over. The Syndicate forces had retreated fully.

Lady Ola stood on the steps, waiting. She looked exhausted, but when she saw Alvian, hope flared in her eyes.

"The Pearl?" she asked.

Alvian pulled the [Pearl of the Deep] from his inventory. It was still grey, pulsating with residual corruption, but it was intact.

"Here," Alvian said, tossing it to her.

Ola caught it. She frowned at the corruption. "It is tainted. I cannot use it for the full lockdown immediately. I must purify it first."

"How long?" Alvian asked.

"An hour," Ola said. "But I can activate the local seals now. The Syndicate won't be able to move the other Heirs out of the city."

She walked to the shattered altar of the temple. She placed the Pearl in a basin of holy water. She began to chant.

The Pearl glowed. The grey spots began to recede. A pulse of white mana rippled out from the temple, spreading through the city like a shockwave.

In the distance, the magi-train lines stopped. The teleportation gates flickered and locked.

"The grid is down," Ola announced, slumping against the altar. "They are trapped in the city."

"Good," Alvian said. "Now, my payment."

Ola looked at him. She nodded.

"You have earned it. You saved my apprentice. You saved the city."

She reached into her robes and pulled out a heavy, iron-bound book. Chains were wrapped around the cover.

"The Third Art," Ola said. "[Abyssal Bindings]. It teaches you to manifest the weight of the ocean as chains. To bind not just the body, but the soul. To restrict movement, mana, and even teleportation."

Alvian took the book.

[Skill Book: Abyssal Bindings (Legendary)]

[Requirement: High Mana Control. Completion of [Lady of Chains] Quest.]

"Learn," Alvian commanded.

The chains on the book shattered. The pages turned into black light and shot into his mind.

[Skill Learned: Abyssal Bindings (Level 1)]

[Description: Summon chains of condensed water pressure to bind a target. Restricted targets cannot move or use movement skills.]

Alvian smiled. It was a good skill. But it could be better.

He had one charge of [Super Upgrade System] left for the day. (Assuming a reset or he saved one).

"System. Upgrade [Abyssal Bindings]."

[Ding!]

[Authority Invoked.]

[Consuming One (1) Daily Charge...]

The knowledge in his mind expanded. The water chains became something darker. Something older.

[Upgrade Successful!]

[Skill Evolved: [Abyssal Bindings +1] -> [Chains of the Void Leviathan] (Mythical).]

[New Effect: Chains are now infused with Void energy. They drain mana from the target to reinforce themselves. If the target's mana reaches 0, they are [Silenced] permanently while bound.]

[New Effect: [Soul Anchor]. Chains can bind intangible targets (Ghosts, Shadows, Souls).]

"Perfect," Alvian whispered.

He looked at his team.

"We have the Speed. We have the Bindings. We have the city locked down."

"What's next?" Valeria asked, ready for anything.

Alvian looked toward the district where the Whale Shark King lived.

"Now," Alvian said. "We go get the Tank."

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