Chapter 190: Chapter 190- Core
The Sky Whale’s core pulsed violently, its massive body shuddering as if some primal instinct screamed that its existence was in danger. Its gargantuan eye glowed, and in the next heartbeat—
BOOOOM!
A colossal beam of condensed water and light ripped forward, aimed directly at Joe.
Joe grinned madly, not even slowing down. But Julian’s shadow surged from the ground, a dome of black tendrils coiling upward like living armor. The blast struck, exploding into a violent geyser of steam and fragments, but the shadows held, screaming, tearing, yet refusing to break.
"Keep charging, Joe!" Julian barked, his own body sparking with arcs of lightning as he reinforced the shield with gravitational pull, bending the beam’s path upward.
Joe just laughed through the chaos, "Don’t slow me down, Julian—I need that hit!"
Then Leo leapt forward. His form shimmered, armor crawling across his skin as chitinous plates reshaped into segmented limbs. From his arms sprouted massive mantis blades, sharp enough to slice steel, and from his back unfolded the translucent wings of a beetle.
"Guess it’s my turn to open the gate!" Leo snarled, rushing headlong into the beast’s barrage. With a single stroke, his mantis-blades deflected a jet of ice, shattering it into shards. He skittered across the whale’s flank with insect speed, carving deep grooves into its hide.
Rafael, teeth gritted, raised both hands. His magnetic field surged, pulling every loose shard of ice and metal around them into orbit. With a cry, he hurled them like a storm of railgun bullets, peppering the whale’s side and distracting it from Joe’s blazing aura.
The giant roared, twisting in fury, its body thrashing against the combined assault.
Julian’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding.
"Leo, hold its left side! Rafael, keep its focus split! I’ll keep the shield off Joe!"
The battlefield shook with every strike, every clash of energy. And through it all, Joe’s dragon form only grew brighter, his claws burning like molten steel as he readied to deliver the finishing blow.
The Sky Whale let out a guttural, bone-shaking roar—
"BWOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The air itself vibrated, a quake rolling through the battlefield as if the world were buckling under its presence. Its massive body arched, and suddenly—
KA-THOOOOM!
Dozens of crystalline ice spires erupted from the sea below, jagged towers shooting upward like spears to skewer anything in their path.
Rafael yelped, throwing up his magnetic field to bend their trajectory, the icy lances grinding against his barrier with a deafening screech. "It’s losing control—!!"
But the whale wasn’t finished. Its maw opened wide, a blinding glow forming inside.
"Get back—!" Julian shouted.
A second later, a concentrated water-laser beam erupted, sweeping across the sky like a scythe. It carved through cloud and metal alike, forcing Leo to leap away mid-air, wings buzzing as the beam nearly clipped him. The scent of ozone filled the air as arcs of stray lightning sparked from the whale’s body, detonating mid-flight like mines.
Its shield, once calm and smooth, now flared violently pulsing, expanding and shrinking erratically as if the beast was pouring every ounce of energy into protecting its exposed core.
Julian’s eyes narrowed, his lightning crackling harder.
"It’s panicking... good. That means we’re close."
Leo growled, his insect-blades shimmering, but even he had to recoil at the sheer ferocity of the beast’s thrashing.
"Tch, close or not, it’s fighting like a demon now!"
Joe only laughed, scales blazing with dragonfire, as though the whale’s desperation only fueled his madness.
"Perfect. The more it fights... the sweeter the kill will be!"
The whale’s body writhed, every movement violent and erratic, spraying torrents of freezing rain and bursts of raw energy as if the world itself was unraveling around them. Its survival instinct screamed louder than ever, ready to destroy everything before letting itself fall.
"Joe, hold your attack. Wait for the opening," Julian ordered, his eyes never leaving the Whale.
Joe snorted, grinning wide. "I’m tired of waiting!"
"Be patient, idiot!" Leo barked, irritation clear in his voice.
Julian shut out their voices. The whale-like monster surged forward, its massive bulk blotting out the light, and once again he raised his shadow to meet the strike, the dark shape twisting upward to catch the blow before it could crush them.
Julian’s eyes tracked every violent surge of the Sky Whale’s shield and the gaps between each convulsion of energy.
Lightning crawled along his arms, his shadow stretching unnaturally beneath his feet, tendrils ready to lash. He spoke calmly through the intercom, his voice a sharp contrast to the chaos.
"Listen. That core is moving beneath its chest plate, That means if we peel away the outer flesh, we’ll have a direct line."
Rafael, still straining to keep up his magnetic defense, gasped. "P-peel away the outer flesh? You make it sound simple!"
Julian’s tone didn’t waver. "It isn’t. But it’s the only way."
He raised his hand, shadow chains lashing outward, grappling onto the beast’s armored skin. Sparks hissed where lightning fused with gravity, pulling downward with crushing force. "I’ll pin it down and tear at the plates. Leo, I need your toxins to eat through the wounds once I open them. Rafael, weaken the structure with your magnetic crush, make the plating brittle."
The whale bucked violently, releasing another deafening BWOOOOOH!, slamming its tail and creating waves like mountains. Julian dug in harder, every muscle taut.
"And Joe..." His gaze flicked toward the dragon-man, who was trembling with energy, his body practically a burning furnace. "Once the core is exposed, you strike. That’s our kill shot."
Joe’s grin was feral, his regenerating arm gleaming in the stormlight. "Tch. About damn time. Keep that heart wide open for me, Julian."
"Two minutes," Julian muttered, voice low but firm. "We end it here."
The others responded with varying degrees of doubt, and bloodlust.
Julian exhaled, feeling the gravitational field bend and twist at his command, wrapping the Sky Whale in unseen chains. "Now... let’s crack this monster open."