The vacuum at the bottom of the sea vibrated violently. Syrenne, in her horrific giant eel form, let out a roar so powerful it created shockwaves, tearing through the air dome membrane surrounding us. Pitch-black seawater began to seep in, dripping from the ceilings of the ancient ruins like the tears of a titan.
"You think... that puny power can stop the will of the ocean?!" Syrenne's voice was no longer a song, but a hoarse growl that shook the very soul.
I felt Elara's hand grip my fingers with terrifying strength. Her coldness seeped into my bones, but it was a focused, sharp cold, fueled by pure murderous intent. On my other side, Clarisse's palm felt warm and soft, radiating a purity that sought to stabilize my burning mana circuits.
"Alex... take it all," Elara whispered. Her blue eyes now glowed brilliantly, her silver hair fluttering wildly as if whipped by an invisible gale. "Leave nothing behind. Destroy this bitch of a monster for daring to touch you!"
"I will guard your soul, Alex! Don't let the darkness swallow you!" Clarisse cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks as she exerted her full authority as a Holy Maiden.
I closed my eyes.
Within the darkness of my subconscious, I saw the flow of their mana. Elara's was a sharp, crystal blue, like thousands of ice needles. Clarisse's was a soft, golden white, like enveloping silk. I pulled both toward me, forcing them into my pitch-black mana core.
[DATA MERGING PROCESS INITIATED]
[MANA CONCENTRATION: 80%... 95%... 110% OVERLOAD!]
The pain was agonizing. It felt as if my body was being pulled in three different directions at once. Yet, amidst the agony, a glimpse of a memory from a "Lost Iteration" flashed by. I saw myself standing atop thousands of corpses, wielding a blade made of shadows, while Elara wept at my feet.
Not this time, I thought. This time, I am the one in control.
I opened my eyes. My vertical pupils now emitted an electric purple light. I pointed my right hand toward Syrenne as she lunged forward to devour us.
"Glitched Art: Absolute Zero Point."
I didn't fire a laser or a massive explosion. Instead, I erased all heat and motion in the space before my hand.
Instantly, the seeping seawater, the undead army, and even Syrenne's colossal body froze in a fraction of a second. It wasn't ordinary ice; it was a static black crystal—a state where time for the object had completely stopped.
Syrenne was suspended in mid-air, her gaping maw only a few meters away from us. Her yellow eyes still wore an expression of eternal terror.
"Now, Elara!" I shouted.
Without needing a second command, Elara unleashed her destructive magic. "Ice Shatter: Requiem of Heist!"
She slammed her palm against the floor. A shockwave of frost raced toward the frozen Syrenne. The moment the vibration touched the black crystal, the Siren's massive body shattered into fine dust. No blood, no remains. The monster that had terrorized Lumeria for centuries vanished from existence as if she were merely a typo in a history book.
Silence.
The air dome was now completely collapsing, but thanks to Elara's remaining ice magic, we were protected inside an ice capsule floating slowly toward the surface.
I slumped down, my breath hitched. My body trembled violently. Using the mana overload had nearly fried my circuits.
"Alex!" Clarisse immediately hugged me, frantically channeling healing magic. "Are you okay? Please, talk to me!"
"I... I'm alive," I muttered hoarsely.
"Of course you're alive," Elara crawled closer, her face looking exhausted but her gaze remaining possessive. She nudged Clarisse's shoulder aside so she could rest my head on her lap. "You belong to me. Even Fate is not permitted to take you without my leave."
She stroked my cheek, her cold fingers feeling incredibly soothing now. However, as we neared the surface, I looked down into the receding darkness of the seafloor.
There, the gold-robed figure—the Fate Executor—still stood motionless. He didn't attack. He simply watched us, then slowly raised his hand. He pointed at me, then at Elara, before finally dissolving into particles of light.
The message is clear, I thought. We've just caught the attention of something much more dangerous than a sea monster.
We reached the surface just as dawn was breaking. The villagers of Lumeria had gathered at the docks, staring at us in disbelief. When they saw the once-black seawater turning clear again, they all fell to their knees.
"The curse... it's gone," Elder Silas whispered, his voice trembling.
However, the peace lasted only a few seconds.
A massive shadow fell over the harbor. Not a monster, but a majestic royal warship bearing the symbol of the golden sun. Atop the deck stood a line of knights in full plate armor.
"Alex Grey! Lady Elara von Heist!" A general shouted from the ship, his voice booming. "By order of the King and the Magic Council, you are both under arrest for the use of forbidden magic that endangers world stability!"
I looked at Elara. She only smirked coldly, her hands beginning to radiate ice mist once more.
"It seems we won't be getting that quiet dinner after all, my Alex," Elara whispered in my ear.
But that wasn't what made my heart race. Beside the General stood a young girl with short blonde hair and glasses. She held a strange device that looked like a magical laptop.
The girl stared at me, then typed something into her device.
Suddenly, a system voice echoed in my head, a voice different from my "glitch" system.
[ADMIN SYSTEM DETECTED]
[USER: 'SARA_THE_DEV' HAS LOGGED INTO THE SERVER]
[MESSAGE: "Found you, you annoying bug. Time for some maintenance."]
I froze. Another player? Or... was the creator of this game descending personally?
I glanced at Elara and Clarisse. They didn't hear the voice. They only saw the warship surrounding us.
This isn't about an Otome webnovel anymore, I thought in horror. This is a war between players, creators, and a broken variable.