I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature-Chapter 35

Chapter 35. Ogh of the Rising Tide (2)
-I’ve seen your power. You took down the turtles with ease. Your physical ability seems exceptional. Now then, let’s see.
With those words, Ogh suddenly dove straight down, vanishing into the darkness of the seafloor.
-You stalker bastard! Since when have you been following me?!
Yul pursued Ogh beyond visible range, releasing ultrasonic waves, but nothing registered within their scope.
‘What the—? He just vanished.’
He had definitely been there, but now he was gone—as if he were an illusion.
Nothing showed up on the returning ultrasonic wave. Something was off.
‘He didn’t run. He’s nearby.’
The Authority—Madness (狂化) was still active, so Yul could tell Ogh was close.
His opponent was hiding—most likely using some special kind of Mantra that Yul didn’t recognize.
‘How annoying.’
Vanished without a trace and can’t be detected by any sense?
Yul moved through the water at incredible speed using the Horn of the Sea King, scanning the surroundings.
‘He’s somehow absorbing my ultrasonic waves instead of reflecting them. And he’s invisible to the naked eye too.’
It was an incredibly clear day above the surface.
That meant plenty of sunlight was pouring into the ocean, granting wide visibility.
Even deep underwater, a vast radius of scenery could be seen clearly.
‘Definitely magic.’
So he’s hiding his body with a spell? Yul sped up and left the area.
The overwhelming speed granted by the Horn of the Sea King would pose a threat even to his opponent.
After some distance, the Authority of Madness subsided.
Yul replayed what had happened in his mind and formed several hypotheses.
Maybe Ogh had the power to hide within shadows, or conceal himself in another dimension like a ghost jellyfish, or block ultrasonic reflections, or even send false sensory data to Yul.
‘But to attack, he’d have to drop that stealth. And that’ll be my chance to crush him.’
As that thought passed, Yul immediately sensed the Authority of Madness activating again.
‘He’s tracking me from nearby.’
Yul knew the Stone of Authority reactivated its power whenever the enemy was close.
‘I can’t keep running away.’
If Ogh had resolved to kill the Beltaine family, it was dangerous.
Still, Yul chose to flee once more. Ogh had already pursued him once.
‘If he really planned to kill the Beltaine family, he would’ve gone there instead.’
That meant Ogh was desperate about something.
Maybe, in his mind, he was thinking—
Perhaps Ian and his family weren’t that valuable as hostages against Yul.
Maybe the “friendly” relationship Yul showed with them wasn’t real.
If Yul escaped at top speed and ed Ogh’s actions to the Orca Tribe, they might instantly become a hostile force toward Ogh…
'He might be thinking this way. If so, he will reveal his position himself.'
-Are you scared? Why are you hiding and not coming out? Fine, then. I’m leaving!
Using the Horn of the Sea King, Yul accelerated with terrifying speed.
When he burst past sixty knots and vanished like a shooting arrow, he could sense Ogh’s sudden agitation.
-Where do you think you’re running?!
-There you are.
From that reaction, Yul was sure—Ogh was as nervous as he was.
Right now, Ogh’s obsession was fixed entirely on Yul.
Yul spun around and, trusting his Authority of Madness, charged toward the source of the sound.
‘If I apply the Horn of the Sea King, I can greatly expand the current around me.’
The orca’s body was naturally streamlined to slice through water.
But with the Horn’s power, he didn’t need to cut through the current—he could move by pulling the seawater’s flow itself.
Instead of a simple headbutt, this technique, using the sea’s flow, covered a wider area and dealt far greater damage.
Thud!!!
A dull impact echoed through the depths. Yul confirmed his hit.
His pressure headbutt had landed cleanly.
-Graaaah! You bastard?!
Ogh’s body shimmered, as if wrapped in flickering heat haze.
‘What is this? Stealth? Invisibility?’
No—there was no way to know the exact mechanism behind it.
Before Ogh’s body could turn transparent again, Yul twisted around and shot forward like a bolt, ramming him once more.
Thunk!
This time, the attack had no effect. A transparent barrier shimmered into existence around Ogh’s body.
-You’re manipulating the flow of the currents?! How did you do that without a Mantra? Don’t tell me you’ve grown horns like the Sea Dragon Tribe!
-Maybe.
-So you’re a heretic after all. Born a monster, and now becoming one in truth! I cannot tolerate that any longer!
-A heretic? Aren't you the bigger heretic?
Yul had already given up on having a proper conversation.
Talking only worked with those who had a sane mind—and Ogh was clearly insane.
He was simply keeping him talking, exchanging ultrasonic communication to pinpoint his position.
‘He vanished again?’
Right before his eyes, Yul saw heat haze rise from Ogh’s whole body, and then he changed, melting into the same color as the surrounding water.
To stop Ogh, who kept trying to turn invisible, Yul decided to lure him out with tempting words.
-I’ll tell you the first passage of the stone tablet of Isnael [I, Isnael, the first of the Deep King Tribe, proclaim this.]”
-Oh?! That line is true then! So that’s the first passage?!
-Heh. Yes. And for every answer you give, I’ll read you one more line.
-Do you not think that’s a transparent ploy?
Yul rammed straight into Ogh’s body as his invisibility faded.
This strike was no simple headbutt.
He didn’t swim using fin strokes or body flexibility this time.
Instead, he concentrated magic power into the Horn of the Sea King, harnessing immense currents to launch himself like a living missile.
He coiled his body tightly, ready to release it like a spring-loaded bullet.
Even before he reached Ogh, the first wave of current struck.
Thunk!
Again, it was blocked by a transparent barrier. But could that defensive barrier withstand sequential attacks?
The moment the first impact hit, Yul uncoiled his body, spinning it elastically to follow up with a second, rotational charge.
Clang! CRASH!
-Graaahhhh!
It was a penetrating blow. The defensive barrier shattered, and Yul's heavy body blow struck Ogh’s flank. Ogh felt a searing pain as if his internal organs were twisted.
-How’s that? Hurts, doesn’t it?
It was a physical technique Yul had adapted from the tentacle rotation technique he’d once used against Syrendron back in his jelly octopus days.
Struck hard, Ogh must have realized close combat was impossible—he began fleeing toward the surface.
-Where do you think you’re going?! Trying to run?!
Yul finished his attack, maintained his speed while swimming, and then twisted the water current to quickly rotate his body 180 degrees.
Just as an airplane cannot make a 180-degree turn in mid-air, an orca couldn't either, but Yul managed it by precisely controlling the Horn of the Sea King.
‘I’ve lost momentum. Ogh will reach the surface first.’
Even so, the speed gap had narrowed. Yul knew he still outclassed Ogh in raw physical ability, so he confidently pursued him.
Then it happened—around Ogh, near the surface, an immense whirlpool began to form.
‘What the hell…?’
-I’ll show you why I’m called Ogh of the Rising Tide.
A Mantra on Ogh’s left back began to glow. At the same time, an unnaturally bright blue light flared in his eyes.
-This body shall one day ascend to the Deep King Tribe, ruler of the Great Azure Ocean! Neither you, nor Ascensionist Kalsonic, nor the Warrior Corps, nor even the Matriarch—none of you can stop me!
Ogh rose completely above the water, soaring into the air. Yul waited, but Ogh showed no sign of coming down, so he lifted his head above the surface to look.
‘…You’ve got to be kidding me.’
Ogh was floating in midair—as though gravity itself no longer applied to him.
And in that moment, the clear weather was gone. Dark clouds began to roll across the sky.
At a glance, it was clear—Ogh was about to unleash something entirely different.
【Mantra Combination】
【Call Wind, Summon Rain (呼風喚雨) — Move Mountains, Cross Waters (移山渡水)】
Although Ogh spoke no words, Yul’s status window automatically displayed the opponent’s abilities.
‘What? A Mantra combination?!’
He hadn’t even realized Mantras could be combined.
Eerie light gushed from the Mantras etched all over Ogh’s body—so many that Yul couldn’t tell how many were in play.
To stop him, Yul found a large boulder and, with a tail strike, hurled it at Ogh.
In his Authority of Madness-fueled state, Yul launched the rock like a cannonball with overwhelming power.
【Call Wind (呼風)!】
At that instant, a tremendous vortex formed, and a rising tide encircled Ogh’s body.
The boulder bent in the wind of the vortex and flew far away. The wind was ferocious!
-I call the storm, move the mountains, and swim the waters!
Ogh’s Mantras flashed in sequence, lighting and dimming like someone pressing buttons.
Then a shaft of light poured down through the dark clouds above Yul.
【Summon Rain (喚雨)!】
A massive bolt of lightning struck at Yul through the storm, but only smoke rose from his body.
Ssszzzzt!
‘Insane! Fuck! He said “summon rain” but—!’
More accurately, what fell was a barrage of lightning bolts.
The name and ability shown in the status window didn’t match what had actually happened. Yul decided to ignore that discrepancy.
‘Still, my body’s intact.’
Without the Stone of Authority, that strike would have electrocuted him through and through.
The Authority of Madness provided temporary invulnerability, but if he took heavy damage, his lifespan would drain much faster.
‘First things first, avoid the lightning.’
Yul dove beneath the surface immediately and stuck close to the seabed to evade the storm’s strikes.
But Ogh’s airborne capability was only the beginning.
-Still holding on? Then what about this?
Gigantic reefs beside Yul trembled and began to rise.
Yul watched, stunned, as rocks floated upward.
【Move Mountains (移山)!】
It was as if a voice in his head commanded him to dodge.
All manner of rock formations, as if gravity had reversed, rose above the surface.
An overwhelming number of massive stones came crashing down toward Yul.
'Damn it, the area is so wide.'
It was an immense attack, like lifting and scattering an entire mountain. Even if the buoyancy made them slightly lighter, rocks of that weight were nothing short of a catastrophe.
‘But the accuracy’s low! I can still dodge!’
Yul swam like a madman, weaving through the falling stones.
‘If I’d still been in my jelly octopus days, I’d never have dodged that.’
Although Authority of Madness made him immune to some attacks, his body had limits—and being crushed by those rocks would be fatal.
He might maintain the Authority of Madness until his lifespan drained out, then the buff would drop, and he’d be crushed alive.
-Hohoho. Hahahahaha.
Whatever Mantra combo Ogh used, his lofty posture floating above the sky was infuriating.
Wrapped in the protective rising-tide barrier, even tail-launching boulders were ineffective.
‘Defense with the rising tide, offense by tearing out huge reefs and throwing them. How can I fight that?’
Yul found his opponent’s abilities and tactics tricky—perhaps impossible.
But he had to find a solution. Then the word eye of the storm flashed into his mind.
‘Directly under the rising tide. If I strike up from there, it might work.’