Chapter 340: Fight Back!

Jax remained motionless for several seconds, his gaze fixed on the black tower that dominated the distant skyline.

Everything else in the abandoned city possessed an almost serene beauty, especially when compared to that dark, eerie black tower.

White marble reflected the silvery light of the hidden sea, crystalline gardens swayed with invisible currents, and elegant bridges connected graceful towers that seemed untouched by time.

Only the structure at the city’s heart refused to belong. It seemed to consume the light around it rather than reflect it. The entire environment around that tower had much more dim lighting compared to the other areas.

The stone that the tower was built with wasn’t just dark. It had some kind of eerie darkness that appeared deeper than any natural color itself, as though countless deaths had paintedthe environment a deathly dark.

Even the water around it looked heavier and darker, completely marred by what is going on.

"...That’s definitely our destination," Astra said quietly.

Jax nodded once as he stared at it, "If an entire civilization abandoned this place that was previously their home,"

His eyes remained fixed upon the tower, "They didn’t do it because of the architecture."

Astra followed his gaze, "You think whatever awakened is still there?"

"I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t," Jax said.

Astra laughed as she heard that, "I suppose that’s one way to look at it."

They resumed moving after that short chat, neither of them rushing their way towards it, not wanting to unnecessarily waste more mana than necessary in an unknown environment.

After all, no-one knew what this tower would throw at them, and they had to be ready for anything and everything to happen.

The peaceful silence surrounding the abandoned city made every sound feel amplified.

Each footstep echoed across polished stone.

Tiny streams flowed through decorative channels carved into the streets, their water glowing faintly beneath crystal lanterns that somehow continued shining despite the absence of anyone to maintain them.

"This place feels so lonely now that there’s no one here," Astra said with a small pause.

Jax glanced around as he heard that, eventually giving a slight nod, "I was thinking the same thing, it’s eerie, especially knowing it used to be so vibrant before the evacuation,"

Astra nodded as she heard that, running her fingers across a marble railing, "Yeah, but also look at this. Even after all this time, there’s no dust, no decay or signs of looting during the evacuation. It feels like everyone initially intended to return here, but never could for some reason,"

The words lingered between them.

As they crossed another bridge, Jax slowed, is head tilted slightly.

"Did you hear that?"

Astra stopped immediately, "Hear what?"

"A vibration," Jax immediately responded, a serious expression on his face.

Astra closed her eyes and began sensing. The strange dimension remained almost perfectly silent.

Then, after a bit, she felt it, a faint tremor. Not through the water, but through the mana in the environment around them.

"Something moved."

Jax nodded, "And something very large."

The tremor came again, much longer this time. The streets beneath their feet vibrated almost imperceptibly.

Far ahead, one of the floating crystal formations drifted several meters sideways. Then another.

The currents changed during all of this, not violently. Instead, it was almost as though something enormous had begun breathing.

Astra slowly looked around, "We’re not alone after all,"

"No," Jax’s expression sharpened, "We haven’t been since we entered."

Without warning, one of the beautiful marble statues beside the road exploded. Stone fragments scattered through the water.

A massive shape erupted from beneath the street.

~BOOOOOM!~

The creature burst upward with astonishing speed.

It resembled an eel, if an eel possessed six jaws that is. Its body stretched well over fifty meters, covered in obsidian scales that reflected no light whatsoever.

Dozens of crimson eyes opened simultaneously, each fixed directly upon Jax.

"...Well."

Jax sighed, "There it is."

The monster shrieked as a violent pulse rippled through the dimension itself. Immediately, the city answered.

Cracks appeared throughout the streets.Not ordinary cracks, but instead spatial fractures.

Thin black lines spread across roads, buildings and canals.

One, ten, hundreds. Then they burst open, creatures poured from every direction.

Some resembled enormous crustaceans covered in crystal armor. Others floated like gigantic jellyfish whose translucent bodies contained swirling galaxies instead of organs.

Several possessed bodies that shifted constantly between solid and liquid. None resembled anything either of them had encountered before.

"Damn, that’s a lot," Astra said as she stared.

Jax looked across the city. Every street, every rooftop, even every canal was filled with monsters.

Thousands of them.

"They weren’t sleeping," He narrowed his eyes, "They were sealed off and isolated, only released once we had reached a certain point,"

The first wave attacked instantly. The enormous eel lunged. Its jaws split apart again, and again, until its mouth resembled a flower of black fangs.

Jax vanished and instantly, the jaws snapped shut where he’d stood, only catching air.

Instead, Jax’s fist crashed into the creature’s skull.

~BOOOOM!~

The impact folded the surrounding water outward. The monster shot backwards like a launched spear. It demolished three towers before disappearing into the distant city.

A heartbeat later, the towers slowly collapsed.

"...Still sturdy."

Jax observed.

Meanwhile, three crystalline beasts charged Astra. Their limbs resembled sharpened coral. Mana gathered around their mouths.

Before they could fire, Astra smiled, "I was hoping I’d get to stretch a little."

Silver-blue lightning erupted around her. The water exploded with brilliant arcs of electricity. Mana storms spiraled outward.

Her aura expanded rapidly, the surrounding currents began rotating around her body.

Jax glanced over, a faint grin appearing on his face, "...Let’s see it."

The transformation began. Lightning wrapped around Astra like living ribbons. Her body became enveloped in a cocoon of storm mana.

The surrounding water rose into a massive spiraling vortex. Thunder echoed, even beneath the sea.

The cocoon shattered and an immense dragon emerged. She was larger than the last time Jax had seen her in this form, noticeably so.

Her scales had changed dramatically. The elegant silver scales Jax remembered now blended seamlessly into deep sapphire plates that shimmered like the midnight ocean.

Running between them were vibrant streaks of violet that glowed whenever lightning coursed through her body.

Her underbelly gleamed with brilliant white scales that reflected the surrounding silver waters. Her horns had grown longer, branching elegantly backward like polished crystal. The membranes of her wings resembled living thunderstorms.

Every movement left crackling arcs of blue-white electricity dancing through the ocean. Her draconic eyes remained unmistakably Astra’s, wise and confident.

"Well," Jax looked genuinely impressed as he spoke,"You’ve changed."

The enormous dragon lowered her head toward him. Her voice echoed warmly through the surrounding mana, "I’ve had a good teacher."

One of the crystalline monsters leapt but it never reached her. Astra’s tail moved once and lightning exploded.

The creature disintegrated into glowing fragments.

Another charged from above but Astra just beat her wings and a cyclone formed underwater. The monster was hurled hundreds of meters away before colliding with a floating island.

The island remained intact while the monster didn’t.

Jax laughed, "I was wondering what your evolution looked like."

Astra smiled proudly, "What do you think?"

"I think," Golden mana gathered around his hands, "the enemies picked a terrible day."

The city became a battlefield immediately.

Storms and golden light illuminated abandoned streets. Jax moved through the horde like flowing water.

He barely seemed to attack as every motion appeared effortless. A slight gesture redirected entire monsters into each other. A snap of his fingers compressed space.

Creatures simply vanished beneath overwhelming force. As the Demon King, his control bordered on absurd.

Astra fought differently, wanting to test the extent of her improved draconic powers from this evolved form.

This time, Astra embraced momentum. She soared between towers, lightning roaring behind her.

Every sweep of her wings generated devastating currents. Every roar unleashed crackling storms that chained from one creature to another.

The monsters adapted quickly and more spatial fractures opened. Larger beasts emerged.

Towering crab-like horrors climbed across buildings. Serpentine creatures swam through the air itself. Floating organisms released clouds of black spores that distorted nearby mana.

Jax noticed immediately, "Don’t inhale those, they’re laced with some special kind of corrosive,"

"I wasn’t planning to, thanks for the heads up," Astra answered while slamming both foreclaws into an advancing leviathan.

The creature crashed through three bridges.

"...Just checking."

Minutes passed, or perhaps only seconds as they continued smashing through the monsters who just kept coming.

Neither Jax nor Astra appeared remotely exhausted. Instead, Jax’s expression gradually became more thoughtful,"Something’s wrong."

Astra destroyed another beast with a concentrated bolt of lightning. "They keep appearing and they aren’t even attacking strategically."

She looked toward him, "You noticed too?"

Jax nodded, "They’re buying time."

Before either could say another word, a low sound echoed across the entire hidden dimension.

It was a bell.

The sound resonated through every current and every creature froze instantly. Thousands of monsters stopped moving. Their crimson eyes all turned simultaneously.

Not toward Jax or Astra, but towards the distant black tower.

The tower, which until now had remained completely still... Suddenly began to glow from within.

Thin lines of pale blue light spread slowly through its black stone walls like veins awakening after countless ages.

Jax looked toward it and his smile disappeared, "...There you are."

Far above the tower, the water itself began to rotate, forming a colossal whirlpool suspended in midwater.

Something immense stirred within its center.

Something that even the monsters seemed to fear.