The red eye staring through the torn metal was not the eye of a beast. It had no pupil, no soul, no spark of life. It was a lens of polished red crystal, glowing with a cold, mechanical hunger.
"Shit," Verdict roared. "Back! Get back now!"
He didn't wait for the water to hit them. He grabbed Lens by the back of his collar and hurled the scrawny researcher toward the blast door they had just reached.
Lens was a scrawny researcher with a mechanical arm. He weighed almost nothing to a man of Verdict's strength.
"Open it! Do it now!"
Lens scrambled in the air, his mechanical arm flailing until it latched onto the door's control panel. He jammed his interface needle into the slot.
"I'm trying! This thing is older than my 10th grandfather, you know!" Lens yelled.
His voice was high and shaky.
CRUNCH.
The outer wall of the corridor exploded inward. The massive, serpentine construct outside had rammed the station.
A torrent of scalding water, pressurized by the depths of the ocean, slammed into the corridor like a hammer made of liquid iron.
Verdict spun around, planting his feet. He released his power.
Eight circles of light rose from his feet and spun around his body.
His Spirit Rings flared to life.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black.
Eight rings.
A Soul Douluo.
He was a Rank 85 powerhouse, but even he felt the pressure of the ocean.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Eye of the Storm!"
A sphere of violent, spinning wind erupted from his body. It wasn't an attack, rather a shield. The wind spun so fast it created a physical barrier, holding back the wall of boiling water for a fraction of a second.
"Lens! How much longer?" Verdict barked.
His muscles were screaming. Holding back the ocean was draining his soul power fast.
"I'm trying!The lock is stuck. It thinks we're intruders!"
"We are intruders! Just break it!"
Through the wall of water, the red eye moved. The Leviathan pulled back its massive, iron-plated head. Its maw, a chaotic assembly of grinding gears and saw-blades, opened wide.
A deep, thrumming sound vibrated through the floor plates, shaking Verdict's bones.
"It's charging up," Verdict thought. "This isn't good."
"It's charging a breath attack!" Lens wailed, seeing the energy spike on his goggles.
"It's a heat beam! Verdict, your wind won't stop that! It'll melt us!"
"Just. Open. The. Door."
Verdict's voice was flat. He focused every bit of his soul power into his barrier.
CLICK. HISS.
The heavy blast door behind Lens groaned and began to slide open, revealing the dark, dry chamber of the Heat Regulation room.
"It's open! Verdict, move!" Lens shouted, scrambling inside.
Verdict prepared to retreat. He shifted his weight, ready to use his "Silent Glider" to slip through the door before sealing it.
But the Leviathan was faster.
It didn't fire a beam. It fired a projectile.
From the metallic darkness of the ocean, a long, harpoon-like spike shot out, trailing a thick iron chain. It punched through Verdict's wind barrier as if it were paper.
THWACK.
The harpoon didn't hit Verdict, he twisted at the last microsecond, but it slammed into the floor between him and the door. The impact shattered the walkway.
The floor beneath Verdict collapsed.
"Verdict!" Lens screamed, lunging forward, reaching out with his mechanical hand.
Verdict fell. He looked up, his eyes meeting Lens's for a split second. There was no fear in the sniper's gaze, only a grim acceptance of the tactical reality.
"Seal the door," Verdict ordered.
"But—"
"Seal it!"
Then he vanished into the steam and the dark water below.
The Leviathan let out a screech like metal grinding on metal and surged forward, widening the breach, flooding the entire corridor.
Lens stared, frozen. The water was rushing toward the open door. If he didn't close it, the control room would flood, and the mission would fail.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
Lens slammed his fist onto the internal panel.
The blast door slammed shut, sealing with a heavy thud. The sound of the rushing water was cut off, replaced by the terrified panting of the researcher in the dark.
...
Down in the dark.
Verdict hit the water. The heat was immediate, biting through his soul power cloak. He was tumbling through a maze of broken pipes and debris, washed away by the current.
"Stay calm," he told himself. "Panic is for the weak."
He stabilized himself, grabbing a rusted support beam. He was in a lower maintenance shaft, completely submerged.
His "Silent Wing" skill was active, creating a thin layer of air around his skin, buying him time. But he couldn't stay here.
A shadow passed over him.
The Leviathan had entered the rig.
It was immense. A serpent made of black iron and copper, easily fifty meters long. It moved through the flooded shaft with eerie grace, its turbine-tail spinning silently. Along its sides, bioluminescent tubes glowed with the same red light as the thermal vents.
It was hunting.
Verdict pressed himself against the rusted wall, holding his breath. His heart rate slowed to a crawl. He became a stone. A piece of the wreckage.
He tried to act like a piece of trash floating in the water.
The Leviathan glided past, its red eye sweeping the darkness.
It didn't see him.
"Too close," Verdict thought." I need to get to higher ground. My soul power is dropping."
But then, a small panel on the creature's side slid open. A swarm of smaller objects released into the water. They looked like mechanical piranhas, each one no bigger than a hand, buzzing with agitation.
Seekers.
They spread out, sniffing for soul power.
Verdict tightened his grip on his rifle. It was a heavy, custom-made weapon.
Normally, shooting underwater was impossible. The water was too thick.
But his rifle was part of his arsenal. It didn't care about physics.
He tapped the side of the barrel.
Clink.
The sound traveled through the water.
The swarm of mechanical piranhas froze. Then, as one, they turned toward him.
The Leviathan stopped. Its massive head slowly rotated back, the red eye locking onto Verdict's position.
Verdict didn't swim away. There was nowhere to go.
He raised his rifle. He pulled the bolt back.
A blue light began to glow inside the gun.
He didn't hide.
"Come on then," he muttered. A few bubbles escaped his mouth. "Let's see who's tougher."
The Leviathan let out a pulse of sound that broke the nearby lightbulbs.
It lunged.
To be continued...