Kaito watched the Singer's agony, the logical part of his mind-the part that was [Sage]-running through options at lightning speed. The instinct to simply siphon the foul energy radiating from her was strong. It was the direct solution to every problem he had faced so far: consume the threat.
But [Sage]'s analysis was unequivocal.
[Warning: Target entity's life force and the parasitic despair are deeply intertwined. A direct Energy Siphon would result in catastrophic spiritual collapse. The host would be extinguished alongside the corruption.]
He couldn't just eat it. He was a consumer, not a surgeon. But the Hive Queen's omni-elemental blast had given him more than just immunity; it had given him a blueprint for every type of energy in this world, including their pure, undiluted forms. He had the template for Holy Elemental Energy-not as a spell he could cast, but as a fundamental truth he could invoke.
He couldn't remove the poison. But he could introduce the antidote.
Closing his eyes, Kaito looked inward. He bypassed the chaotic storm of his own power and focused on that single, refined data point: the concept of Holy. It was not about gods or worship. It was about purity, order, and cleansing. It was the energy of sunlight sterilizing a wound, of fresh water rinsing away filth.
He focused this intent through the Leviathan Staff, the bone of a primordial being serving as a perfect, neutral conduit. He didn't pull energy from the Singer. Instead, he pushed.
A wave of gentle, golden light emanated from the staff, washing over the trembling spirit. It was not an attack. It was an infusion.
The effect was immediate and violent.
The Singer screamed, but this was a scream of purgation, not of pain. The black tears streaming down her face sizzled and evaporated where the golden light touched them, turning to wisps of harmless smoke. The inky blackness in her eyes recoiled, churning violently as the holy energy seeped into her, not to destroy her, but to scour the foreign despair from the foundations of her being.
It was a careful, precise burn. The holy energy targeted the corruption's connection to her, severing its roots while leaving her own life force intact. The silver cracks around her eyes widened, spreading like dawn breaking across a stormy sky.
Her song broke entirely, replaced by raw, gasping sobs. But these were clean sounds. Human sounds. The beautiful, manipulative melody was gone, shattered by the light.
When the golden glow faded, the being on the shore was changed. She was pale and looked utterly drained, curled in on herself on the wet sand. But the oppressive aura of despair was gone. Her eyes, when she finally looked up, were a clear, exhausted, and heartbreakingly sad cerulean blue.
The corruption within her was severed. The weapon was broken.
She was just a grieving spirit now, mourning her lost king in silence.
The black pool in the inlet, however, still remained. It churned, angry and leaderless, but no less dangerous. He had healed the singer. Now, he had to deal with the song's source.
Kaito stood up, his own energy undiminished. He looked from the healed spirit to the stagnant void of water. For the first part, he had been a healer. For the next, he would need to be something else entirely. He would need to be the cure, in its most absolute and final form.
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CH67.5 The Abyssal Maw
The manipulative song was gone, replaced by the raw gasps of the spirit, Nerida. She knelt on the sand, her form flickering weakly. She was free from the corruption, but the fight had nearly broken her.
"It's still there," she choked out, her voice rough. She pointed a shaky hand toward the churning black pool. "That… thing. It's a hole. It doesn't think, it just… consumes. It used me to call more food. Without me, it'll just get hungrier."
Kaito looked from her to the pool. He had been a surgeon for her. For this, he needed to be an exterminator.
He walked to the water's edge. The blackness was thick, like oil. Tendrils of it lashed out, slapping against his boots. They sizzled and recoiled the instant they touched him, his very nature rejecting them. They couldn't hurt him, but he could feel their mindless hunger.
This wasn't a foe to outsmart. It was a pestilence to be erased.
He raised the Leviathan Staff, focusing his will. He reached for the memory of the Hive Queen's final blast—not its power, but its absolute finality. He didn't need to fight the corruption. He just needed to make it so it had never been a threat here.
He imposed a new rule on the little cove: This corruption does not exist.
The surface of the pool didn't explode. It went perfectly still. Then, the black color vanished, not like something washing away, but like a switch had been flipped. One moment it was a pool of nightmare fuel, the next it was just clear seawater, rocking gently in the cove. The slime on the rocks crusted over and blew away as dust.
It was over. Just like that.
Kaito lowered his staff. The hollow feeling in his chest was familiar now.
He turned back to Nerida. She was staring at the now-clean water, her body trembling not from weakness, but from shock.
"It's gone," he said.
She dragged her eyes from the water to him. "How?" The word was a sharp, disbelieving breath. "You didn't even… do anything. It just disappeared."
Kaito had no answer for her. He just looked at the empty cove, the job done, another silent monument to the terrifying thing he was.