The descent was not like falling through air or sinking through water. It felt like pushing through a wall of solid gelatin. The mana density in the Deepest Trench—the wound in the world where the Draconic Legion was sealed—was so high it possessed physical resistance.

Alvian led the formation, his body a spearhead cutting through the oppressive weight. Below them, the water turned from black to a bruised, reddish-purple. This wasn't natural light; it was the radiation leaking from the seal, a toxic energy that mutated everything it touched.

[System Warning: Environmental Hazard - Draconic Pressure.]

[Effect: All stats reduced by 20%. Constant stamina drain.]

[Passive [Void Monarch] mitigating effect...]

"It feels like the ocean is trying to crush my skull," Valeria gritted out over the comms, her voice strained. Her golden aura was compressed tight against her armor, flickering under the strain.

"Focus your mana inward," Alvian instructed, checking his radar. "Reinforce your internal organs. Don't fight the pressure; adapt to it."

"Easy for you to say," Seraphina muttered, her suit humming as it pumped mana to compensate. "You're basically a mana elemental at this point."

"Contact," Alvian interrupted. "Twelve o'clock. Low."

Shapes emerged from the gloom. They weren't fish. They were twisted amalgams of deep-sea life and ancient, stony armor. [Draconic Leeches]. Parasites that had fed on the leaking energy of the seal for a thousand years, growing to the size of buses.

[Enemy Identified: Draconic Leech]

[Level: 48]

[Status: Starving]

There were five of them, their circular maws filled with rows of spinning teeth, their bodies covered in stone-like scales. They sensed the fresh meat descending from above and surged upward, moving with a terrifying, undulating speed.

"They want to feed?" Alvian's eyes glowed violet. "Let's feed them."

He didn't slow down. He activated [Runic Aegis +2], but not in a defensive sphere. He formed the runes into a wedge shape in front of him, a battering ram of kinetic force.

"Valeria, on my wing. Seraphina, break off and target the gills."

"On it!"

The clash was violent. Alvian slammed into the lead Leech.

"BOOM!"

The rune detonated on impact. The kinetic reflection, amplified by the creature's own charging speed, shattered its stone faceplate. The Leech convulsed, purple blood spraying into the water.

[-12,000! Crushing Damage!]

Alvian didn't stop. He spun his [Lance of the Void Winter], driving the blade into the exposed flesh.

"[Glacial Void Pierce]!"

A beam of black ice shot through the monster, freezing its insides instantly. The Leech turned into a statuesque corpse and began to sink.

"One down," Alvian said, pivoting in the water.

Valeria was wrestling with two Leeches. One had latched onto her shield, its teeth grinding against the divine steel. She roared, activating [Titan's Strength]. She ripped the shield—and the Leech attached to it—sideways, slamming the monster into the canyon wall.

"Get! Off!"

She stabbed her claymore into the Leech's eye. The monster shrieked and released her.

Seraphina was a shadow, darting between the massive bodies. She landed on the back of a Leech, her daggers finding the soft spots between the scales. She injected mana-poisons, turning the creature's movements sluggish before vanishing before it could retaliate.

"Efficient," Alvian noted.

He targeted the remaining two. He raised his hand. It was time to test his new toy properly.

"[Chains of the Void Leviathan]."

Darkness erupted from his back. Six massive chains, forged of condensed void mana, shot out like seeking missiles. They weren't physical chains; they phased through the water, ignoring drag.

The chains wrapped around the two Leeches.

"Bind."

The chains tightened. The void energy bit into the monsters, draining their mana instantly.

[Effect Triggered: Mana Drain.]

[Target Mana: 0.]

[Status: Silenced.]

The Leeches, which had been preparing breath attacks, choked. Their magical biology failed. They were just big, dumb animals now.

"Pull."

Alvian yanked the chains. He dragged the two massive monsters together, slamming them into each other with a sickening crunch of bone and scale.

"Finish them," Alvian ordered.

Valeria and Seraphina descended on the stunned monsters. Within seconds, the water was silent again, save for the hum of their gear.

[Experience Gained: 250,000.]

"We're getting close," Alvian said, looking down into the abyss. The red light was brighter now. He could see a structure—a massive gate made of dragon bones, pulsing with a heartbeat that shook the water.

The Draconic Seal.

And standing in front of it, surrounded by a legion of Ink Myrmidons and Syndicate bio-mechs, was Ursula. She had Elara placed on an altar of black stone, a dagger raised above the girl's chest.

"She's rushing the ritual," Alvian said, his voice cold. "She knows we're coming."

"That's an army down there," Valeria whispered, looking at the hundreds of enemies guarding the gate. "We can't fight them all and stop the ritual in time."

"We don't need to fight them all," Alvian said, equipping his [Voidpiercer] in his off-hand. "We just need to break the line."

He looked at his team.

"Valeria, you are the distraction. Trigger your Titan form. Make them look at you. Seraphina, you are the sabotage. Find the mana pylons powering her shield and blow them. I am the executioner."

"Got it," Valeria grinned, her fear replaced by the thrill of battle. "I'll make sure they never forget the Vanguard."

"Let's crash the party," Seraphina said, priming her mana bombs.

Alvian looked at the Queen below.

"System. Activate [Genesis Mode]. Duration: 10 seconds. Focus: Speed."

He didn't need the full duration. He just needed to be faster than a god for one heartbeat.

"Execute."

The water above the Draconic Seal exploded. It wasn't an explosion of fire, but of golden light. Valeria descended like a meteor, her [Titan's Bloodline] fully active. She was a beacon of war, drawing every eye in the abyss.

"TITAN'S METEOR!"

She slammed into the center of the enemy formation. The shockwave pulverized the rock floor, sending dozens of Ink Myrmidons flying. The Syndicate bio-mechs—hulking suits of underwater power armor—turned their cannons toward her.

"Target Acquired: High Threat Level."

"Over here, tin cans!" Valeria laughed, raising her shield as a barrage of mana bolts hammered against her defense. She held the line, a golden rock in a river of enemies.

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