Amidst flashing blades, most of the attacking tentacles were severed.

The Light Blade’s power exceeded Shea’s expectations. Those tentacles—each as thick as a telephone pole—were sliced through like tofu.

ROAR!!! An unseen monster bellowed in pain from beneath the ground.

The tentacles retreated, but Shea barely had time to breathe before noticing the walls around her being corroded by a deep-purple substance. Coral fragments and fish scales clung to its surface.

The monster wasn’t giving up.

Shea raised the Light Blade before her chest and retreated swiftly toward the exit.

Before she’d taken two steps, tentacles from the unknown beast smashed through the floor beneath her feet. Gravity yanked her downward into the darkness.

Mid-fall, Shea finally saw the monster clearly:

A colossal black flesh-mass jammed in the sewer, oozing like slime. Tentacles sprouted from its body, lashing to snatch the airborne, defenseless Shea.

"Trickster Deity’s tumor… you again."

Unlike last time, the monster was now encased in nearly a meter-thick armor of coral fragments. Shea’s sharp Light Blade had almost no weak point to pierce—

*Too short.*

But against grabbing tentacles? Still useful.

"Trying to catch me? You’re way out of your league."

Shea fired her grapple hook, anchoring it to the sewer wall. Swinging on the line, she dodged the tentacles and landed atop a pipe.

Vag City’s sewers plunged ten meters deep. Now, Shea hovered barely three meters above the Trickster Deity’s tumor. Its coral armor was a nightmare.

*Wait…*

From her perch, Shea noticed uneven thickness in the coral plating. Weak spots dotted its surface—especially around its occasionally blinking eyes. Perfect targets.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

To trap her, the tumor sealed the ceiling gap with coral. Darkness swallowed everything. Thankfully, Shea saw perfectly in the night.

*If only I could transform… but it’s still dusk.*

"Invisibility."

If she couldn’t escape, she’d blind it—and *then* escape.

Shrouded by invisibility, Shea vanished into the dark. The tumor’s senses beyond sight were weak. It lashed tentacles wildly, hoping to flush her out.

Too slow. Agile Shea dodged every swing. The tentacles only slapped loose dust from the pipes.

"Is this your eyeball? Eat my blade!"

Shea landed squarely on the tumor’s eye. Her white Light Blade materialized. Tentacles whipped toward her—

But Shea struck first. The blade pierced the thin coral armor—less than ten centimeters thick—splattering foul-smelling slime from the wound.

ROAR!

In agony, more tentacles slammed toward Shea. She disengaged instantly, refusing to tangle.

The tentacles missed her entirely—and smashed straight into the wounded eye instead.

Hanging from a pipe, Shea flicked slime off her blade, watching the frenzied flesh-mass.

"Tch… without this Light Blade, I’d never have dared that move."

Undeniably powerful—but too short. *Forty meters would’ve been perfect.*

Blinded, the tumor thrashed wildly against the walls. Shea scanned for escape routes. Fighting this behemoth with a tiny blade? She’d be scraping at it for hours.

She scaled the chaotic pipes toward the coral-sealed ceiling. The Light Blade made quick work of an exit hole.

"Later, big guy. I’ll send some guards to play with you."

The moment she surfaced, the alley was surrounded by Tide Cultists.

Black-robed cultists froze in shock at the girl who’d escaped the depths. They’d been cleaning traces of their ritual—never expecting survivors.

Shea hadn’t expected dozens of cultists topside either.

Their eyes met. Shea grinned awkwardly.

"Uh… your big pet downstairs seems hungry. Why not go feed it first?"

"…Seize her."

The Lunar Rank preacher snapped orders. Cultists closed in, cutting off her retreat.

Shea reached for her grapple hook—to swing onto rooftops—but her pocket held only empty air. She’d used her sole hook against the tumor.

*Tch.*

No choice. She raised her hands. Fighting dozens of cultists in this narrow alley meant suicide.

*Surrendering might buy a chance.*

The cultists bound her wrists without hesitation.

"Sacrificial offering. Take her."

The Lunar Rank preacher muttered strangely after capturing her.

*Sacrificial offering?*

As a slacker mage, Shea knew only one use for live sacrifices: dark rituals.

*What are they planning?*

"Purify your corrupted thoughts. Worship our Lord."

The preacher’s raspy voice slithered. Translucent, thread-like tentacles emerged from his robe, aiming for Shea’s ears—to invade her mind.

*No way.*

She’d hidden the Light Blade long enough. Better to reveal it than become a puppet.

"Aurora Ice Blade!"

Light erupted from her palm, severing the ropes. Shea broke free—but escape was impossible.

Facing these savage cultists alone meant a fight to the death.

"Yo~ Lucky Cat. Fancy meeting you here."

A familiar voice cut through the tension.

"…"

Unlikely reinforcements had arrived.