Is that a Wisp?

"Run!" Krune bellowed as the Escapist took in a deep breath. Its tail joint trembled as its wings aligned themselves along the water.

Followed by a mild screech, the Escapist's tail began to wriggle sideways, doing a helical spin that tails were capable of performing. It also began to actively move the fin attached at the end of its tail, using it to generate more thrust.

The speed of the Escapist's movement on the water soon increased, accelerating further and further as Krune's heart thumped in increasing intensities, knowing just the sheer amount of stress the Escapist was facing.

The neon lights highlighted the white line that was heading straight towards them. They seemed to move like a meat grinder, coiling into the waters as it moved forth. Sadly, despite giving it all it had, the Escapist wasn't able to move faster than the white line.

As time passed, Krune was able to spot the neon lights with better clarity. Though, at the very instant he saw them, Krune immediately felt weak. Not only was the size of each light terrifying, but even their numbers would make one wonder if there was any hope for them.

Each was a worm-like entity, possessing the traits of a fish, apparent from the fins growing all over its serpentine forms. The neon lights were akin to tattoos or different patches of skin on their bodies.

Well, to be more exact, they seemed to be some kind of parasitic lifeform sharing a symbiotic relationship with the worm-like fishes. Each fish was at least 5 meters long. It jumped from the water surface, leaping with enough force to head into the ocean above.

The same happened on both the oceans as the fishes exchanged places without colliding with each other even once. Their external appearance was still fine to the stomach. But sometimes, they opened their mouths, showing their shark-like teeth within, snapping them shut while entering the water.

Just their actions caused his legs to feel weak. As Krune was paying attention to the neon lights, the Escapist was able to learn everything through their shared thoughts. This, in turn, prompted it to go faster.

But no matter how it felt, it had reached its physical limit, unable to accelerate any further. On top of that, it was tiring out, feeling its muscles burn due to the strain. Sometimes, its muscles were starting to give out, causing its speed to fluctuate.

From a distance of one kilometer, the white line began to approach them, getting nearer by a hundred meters every minute. Naturally, the closer they approached, the worse Krune's mental state became. He was flustered. The situation was beyond what he could hopefully handle.

All that was in his hands was the rope he had made. He didn't even have anything else to use as a weapon. So, the moment they closed in on him, he would be unable to preserve his life. Thanks to his current mortal form, the emotions he felt were even stronger than what he would have felt usually.

Thanks to this, his emotions were getting a hold of him. But of course, Krune didn't lose his mind. All the Little Krune fragments in his subspace were calm. After all, they didn't face any threats.

The sharp contrast served to help him calm down, allowing him to think logically. He still had some time to plan his actions.

"Hah, this is beyond what I had signed up for." Krune sighed as he took in deep breaths, feeling the thumping of his heart slow down back to normal rates. Moreover, his physique experienced some changes.

The pores on his skin opened, causing him to feel the slightest change in the moisture and temperature. His ears were able to focus on a broader scale, allowing him to perceive sounds with greater clarity. His nose, surprisingly, was also able to identify smells sharper.

On top of that, his range of vision broadened, but the focus was on the task he wished to achieve. His body entered a complete battle state, one only attained by staring death in the face for a considerable time. The sheer stress it placed on his mental state caused Krune to erupt with all his potential.

Emotions he had forgotten, skills he had gained, the caution he had maintained, the fights he had experienced, everything he had gone through in his life spanning a couple of centuries flashed through Krune's mind.

Slowly but surely, the memories condensed into himself, reviving his past experience, awakening the muscle memory he hadn't used in ages. Because of his sharp increase in cultivation and the speed he bulldozed through them before he realized, Krune had become overly reliant on his Godly Energy.

He had become dependant on the abilities he had learned, always using them to win over his peers and even stronger foes. He had long since forgotten the concept of training the body.

All the training he had done had been related to Godly Energy. He hadn't analyzed the techniques he learned in relation to how his body played a role in it. In fact, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Fine." Krune gazed at the approaching white line, taking in a deep breath as he entered a slightly crouched form, muttering to himself, "This here is when I pit my life against the odds."

"I am Krune," he muttered, feeling relaxed all of a sudden, watching the white line approach closer to him, now only separated by 30 meters of water. In such proximity, Krune was able to observe the creatures better.

They didn't seem to contain any energy in their bodies. Instead, they just seemed to be sea creatures that had evolved to such a size. As they moved forth as a group, they appeared imposing.

The Escapist was no longer able to paddle forth. All its muscles had cramped, causing its speed to begin slowing down. Its wings twitched as the forearm on its right was slightly bent. The bone within had a crack, seemingly on the verge of breaking.

It seemed that the exertion twisted some muscle strands too much and applied pressure on the bones to the point one of them cracked. The Escapist was grunting in pain but still desperately tried to move forth.

It was at this time that the white line arrived behind them. One of the worm-like fishes jumped out from the ocean above them. It made a beeline towards them, decelerating for half the distance before accelerating the moment it entered the second half.

It opened its mouth, revealing its teeth as it headed straight towards the Escapist. Krune dodged sideways as he tugged his rope, barely managing to evade, despite knowing the direction the attack would come from. The fact that an ocean was right above his head unnerved him.

Moreover, he couldn't stand up in fear his body would be pulled into the ocean above. With that, he had to act while crouched. As Krune dodged the attack, the worm-like fish bit into the Escapist, causing it to scream in pain.

The weight and the momentum behind the impact caused the worm-like fish and the Escapist to drown in the water. The Escapist struggled while it was pulled down further and further by the worm-like fish.

The worm-like fish left the swarming school and headed into the depths. Suddenly, the area lit up as more than ten worm-like fishes appeared. The neon glow they emitted allowed them to see the figure of the Escapist clearly.

All of them bit onto it and tore it into pieces, causing blood to splatter and dissolve into the waters. They were feasting right below the trail of the school of the worm-like fishes. Some of them were lured by the scent of blood and left the school to feast on the Escapist.

When they didn't manage to get any piece of the flesh, they returned to the school and continue to move forth.

Tears streamed out from his eyes as Krune was able to experience everything the Escapist had felt while it was torn into pieces by the worm-like fishes. Its emotions, its feelings, fears, thoughts, the pain it experienced, everything was relayed realtime to Krune. It made him howl in sadness.

He had jumped into the water and used his rope to latch onto a worm-like fish.

He tied it around the opponent's mouth, constricting it while preventing it from opening its mouth. It continued to struggle as it fell into the water, making a curve within as it headed towards the surface, shooting forth with enough force. It then plunged into the ocean above.

It then made the same curve within the water and swam towards the surface, jumping forth with enough power to plunge into the ocean above. This was how all the worm-like fishes moved, alternating from one ocean to the other constantly.

The fluctuation in the gravity fields disrupted him, not to mention the constant plunge into the water. Krune had to time himself during the struggles to breathe in the air.

The worm-like fish wriggled, trying to throw him off balance.

Krune had to concentrate to his limit. Using the rope like a ring, he spun around the worm-like fish's body, evading the lunges from the surrounding school of fishes. Even a slight lapse in judgment would cost him his life.

With that, Krune had to be as careful as possible. His arms hurt while his nails had come off during the struggle. At times, Krune had dug his nails into the skin of the worm-like fish to hold his balance. So while he was evading a couple of attacks, they were pulled off.

The pain was unbearable, but Krune couldn't relent that easily. He had to use all his experience to stay alive. Having used a shield for all his life, he was an expert in defending himself. But even then, Krune was facing a lot of difficulties.

The worm-like fish he had latched onto continued to swim, occasionally bumping into other fishes in an effort to smash him into mush. At those moments, he had to quickly swerve his body to the side and avoid the collision.

Then again, it was easier said than done. They were constantly alternating between air and water. So, every time this happened, the difference in the density of the mediums caused him difficulty in reacting. After all, it was easier to move faster in the air than in water.

There were many variables at play. Moreover, the fishes had serpentine bodies. So, they were able to coil-over one another and constrict him slowly to death. And whenever this was bound to happen, Krune had to let go of the current worm-like fish and latch onto another nearby.

On top of that, he was wounded. So, every time that happened, it made his blood mix with the water and draw in more fish towards him.