Warlock of Oceans: My Poseidon System-Chapter 432: Third Floor: The Haunted Forest of Winter Deers (27)

Cyrus and Sylus worked in perfect tandem to cover each other's blind spots. As Cyrus swung at a trio of approaching deers, Sylus intercepted one attempting to flank, grabbing it by the antlers and twisting, snapping its neck before hurling the corpse into another charging deer. The two shared a brief glance, nodding in silent understanding as they fell into a rhythm. Cyrus would slice through the wave in front of him, then immediately step back as Sylus stepped forward, delivering a fierce double-punch to stagger the next group.

The Winter Deers began unleashing waves of illusions, warping their perceptions and blending into the shadows. But the trio had grown adept at countering these attacks—Sylus emitted controlled pulses of aether at intervals, dispelling the illusions in short bursts. Cyrus and Athena took advantage of these gaps, using the clarity to strike at the deers with heightened precision.

One particularly large Winter Deer lunged at Cyrus, teeth bared. He ducked under its maw, spinning to the side and driving his blade upward into its chest, twisting as he drove it deeper before kicking the beast off his blade. Another deer tried to seize the opening, but Athena flicked her wrist, sending a shard of ice to pierce its skull, freezing it in place. She leapt forward, landing beside Cyrus, breathing heavily but ready to press on.

As they continued the relentless battle, their movements became more desperate but no less effective. Cyrus swung his blade faster, dodging strikes by mere inches as he cut through multiple Winter Deers in one sweeping arc. Sylus delivered powerful, devastating strikes to any deer that came within reach, each punch sending ripples of energy that destabilized the creatures around him. Athena, breathing heavily, summoned one last blast of magic, sending icy spikes into the final wave, freezing them solid.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they looked around to find no more deers approaching. They shared a glance, a mix of exhaustion and relief in their eyes, as the last of the Winter Deer corpses collapsed to the ground. The forest was still, save for their ragged breaths echoing in the cold air.

Just as they began to lower their guard, they felt a chill run down their spines. The ground beneath the slain Eldritch Deer began to pulse, dark energy seeping into the earth and swirling like a shadowed vortex. They looked up—and froze. The sky was covered in countless, glaring eyes, each one fixed on them with a cold, unnerving focus. The very air grew heavy, and a familiar, dreadful feeling washed over Cyrus and Athena, though they sensed it was different from the illusions they had fought before.

A deep, guttural growl resonated through the forest, shaking the ground beneath their feet as the eyes above began to descend, merging into a massive, shadowed form that slowly took shape—a colossal, icy eldritch entity. The creature's body was even larger than the Eldritch Deer, its form covered in a myriad of distorted faces that twisted and contorted, eyes blinking and mouths gaping across its entire form.

The trio looked up at the being with a mix of exhaustion and annoyance. For a moment, their shared frustration overcame their fear, each of them letting out a groan of exasperation.

"Of course it's not over," Cyrus muttered, gripping his sword tightly.

"Why would it be?" Athena added, rolling her shoulders as she prepared another spell.

Sylus cracked his knuckles, stepping forward with a hardened gaze. "Let's finish this."

The massive, eldritch entity let out an ear-splitting roar, and the trio braced themselves, ready to take on this final, terrifying foe.

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The eldritch entity loomed above them, an immense, towering monstrosity that seemed to defy the very laws of reality. Its form twisted and shifted, as though it couldn't quite decide on a shape, but at its core, a heart-like orb pulsed with dark, oppressive energy, casting an eerie, otherworldly glow that bathed the forest in dim, shifting light. Tendrils of shadow writhed from its body, each one studded with glowing, watchful eyes that blinked independently, following every move the trio made. Its torso was a mass of writhing faces, each one caught in a silent scream, their mouths moving as if they were whispering something in a language too ancient to comprehend. Antlers, jagged and covered in spiked, crystalline growths, sprouted from its head, twisting and curling like the limbs of a great tree. The ground around it warped and shifted, dark energy seeping from its massive form and making the earth tremble under its sheer presence.

The creature let out a low, resonant growl, its many mouths opening and releasing a wave of cold, oppressive energy. Even standing before it was a feat of endurance—the weight of its aura pressed down on them, clawing at their minds with whispers of dread and despair.

The battle began in a sudden, brutal explosion of movement. Cyrus sprang forward first, blade raised as he drove himself towards one of the creature's massive legs. He slashed downward with an aether-charged swing, his blade leaving a streak of light as it cleaved through the writhing shadows. Dark ichor sprayed from the wound, but the entity retaliated instantly. A tendril shot down toward him, tipped with a clawed hand. Cyrus ducked and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being impaled as he came up in a crouch, breathing hard but ready for another attack.

Athena followed up with a barrage of arcane blasts, her hands moving rapidly as she summoned orbs of light that shot forward, detonating against the creature's chest. Each blast sent ripples across its form, disrupting its shape momentarily before it reformed, seeming even larger and more dreadful. The creature retaliated, its antlers crackling with dark energy as it released a barrage of shadowy spikes. Athena dodged and weaved, each spike whizzing past her by mere inches. She spun, creating a shield of ice that deflected the last few, buying her enough time to counter with a stream of frost that froze a portion of the creature's chest.

Meanwhile, Sylus dashed in from the other side, his fists glowing with concentrated aether. He leaped, delivering a powerful punch to the frozen section of the creature's chest, shattering the ice and sending dark shards flying in all directions. The eldritch entity let out an ear-splitting scream, and the surrounding smaller Winter Deers took that as their cue to rush in from all sides. Sylus held out his hand, emitting a pulse of aether that blasted them back temporarily, giving the trio a few precious moments before the next wave hit.

"Stay focused on the core!" Sylus shouted, dodging another sweeping tendril. He dropped to one knee, steadying himself before launching forward again, aiming another aether-charged strike at the creature's chest.

As Sylus went for the core, Cyrus saw a gap and leapt upward, swinging his blade toward the center of one of the creature's massive antlers. He hacked at it, sending shards of crystallized energy splintering down as the monster bellowed in anger. Cyrus twisted in midair to avoid a second clawed tendril, landing in a crouch and quickly rolling forward, narrowly dodging a powerful stomp that sent tremors through the earth.

Athena shifted her attention to the smaller Winter Deers now rushing at them from all angles. She spun, conjuring an arc of blazing blue fire that swept outward, catching several of the deers and incinerating them in a burst of cold flame. She leapt backward, gathering aether in her hands and unleashing another wave of frost that encased the surrounding ground, creating a slippery surface that made it harder for the smaller creatures to charge in.

Cyrus, seeing a brief opening, dashed up a raised mound of earth, using it as leverage to propel himself toward the creature's core once more. His sword swung down in a gleaming arc, cutting deeply into the pulsing mass. A shockwave of energy exploded from the strike, knocking him back but leaving a massive wound in the creature's chest. Black ichor sprayed out, sizzling as it hit the ground, and the eldritch entity reeled, momentarily weakened.

The entity retaliated, releasing a wave of illusions that engulfed their vision. The forest shifted around them, twisting into a nightmarish version of itself, with trees that seemed to have faces, branches that clawed at them like skeletal fingers. But they had grown familiar with this tactic. Athena released a pulse of energy from her staff, dispelling the illusions briefly. Sylus took advantage of this clarity, running up and landing a devastating punch on one of the creature's lower limbs, breaking the illusion's grip on their minds.

Sylus yelled, "This thing's regenerating too fast! We have to keep up the pressure or we'll be here all night!"

Athena nodded, firing off a bolt of aether into the air, where it split into dozens of shards that rained down on the creature, each one exploding on impact. The beast's many eyes darted around, momentarily blinded by the barrage. Cyrus charged in, moving with precision and speed, his blade a blur as he slashed through one of the creature's tendrils, severing it completely. The dismembered tendril writhed on the ground before dissolving into dark mist.