Chương 249: Goliath of The Reef

Silfur's lips parted slightly as she steadied her breathing, her posture settling into something precise and deliberate while the massive bow in her grasp strained under the tension, the string stretched to its absolute limit, humming with barely contained force, yet it did not snap, it could not snap, because this was no ordinary weapon.

Forged from the steel of a world long lost to her, a place that did not belong to this existence, the bow endured where anything native to this realm would have shattered instantly. The air around it seemed to warp faintly as she drew it further, her muscles tightening without tremor, her focus narrowing entirely on the distant titan. Slowly, she exhaled, her eyes sharpening as they traced the creature's immense form, analyzing it's movement, structure, rhythm, searching not for weakness, but for opportunity.

It took only a second. A grin tugged at her lips.

"Jackpot," she whispered. She held the draw just a moment longer, waiting, not idly, but with intent, as the Royal Guard unleashed another barrage, flames streaked across the sky, steel flashed, beasts dove and rose in coordinated assault, forcing the titan into a brief, chaotic pattern. That was the opening she needed. Vale stood nearby, staring, his expression caught somewhere between awe and disbelief, words failing him as he watched the sheer tension in the weapon alone. Then, Silfur released.

The bolt vanished. There was no visible arc, no gradual flight, only a violent distortion in the air as the projectile tore forward with a speed beyond perception, wind collapsed inward around its path, repelled and split apart as though the atmosphere itself were being pierced. A thunderous crack followed as it shattered the sound barrier, the explosion echoing across sea and sky alike. Far beyond Irea, the titan reacted, too late.

From the corner of its eye, it caught a flicker of light, a brief, impossible glint, and then that same eye ceased to exist. The bolt struck with catastrophic precision, punching cleanly through the titan's ocular armor before driving deeper, tearing through layers of reinforced carapace as though they were nothing, it burrowed into the creature's head, rupturing its internal structure and annihilating the portion of its brain responsible for coordinated movement.

The force alone was enough to send a tremor through its entire body. The titan shrieked. Its massive form recoiled violently, limbs faltering as control slipped away, it staggered, its colossal frame struggling to maintain balance, each step more erratic than the last as it began to collapse under its own weight. Vale's eyes widened, a sharp, almost disbelieving grin spreading across his face.

"What the hell…" he breathed, the words escaping him without thought. Beside him, Silfur exhaled deeply, rolling her shoulders as she wiped a trace of sweat from her brow, the tension leaving her body as quickly as it had formed.

"Phew… looks like it was all size and no substance," she said casually.

"That should wrap things up. Let's head back to the Royal Library for now." She lowered the bow, the massive construct folding back in on itself with a series of metallic shifts before compacting neatly into Azure's pouch, as if such destructive force could simply be tucked away and forgotten. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Vale turned to her sharply, confusion overtaking his earlier awe.

"What? We're leaving? That thing's still alive," he said, gesturing toward the staggering titan.

"The Royal Guard's going to finish it, right?" Silfur paused mid-step, glancing back at him with slightly widened eyes, as though she had momentarily forgotten something obvious.

"Oh… right," she said after a beat.

"You only got here yesterday." She turned her gaze back toward the ocean, her expression settling into something more neutral.

"Think of it this way," she continued.

"That thing? It's not the threat anymore. Right now, it's just prey trying to run from something worse." Vale blinked, confusion sharpening instantly.

"What could possibly hunt that?" Silfur gave a small shrug, nodding toward the water.

"Why don't you take a look?" Vale turned again, his focus snapping back to the battlefield just as the Royal Guard began to withdraw, one by one, the wyverns and dragons peeled away, abandoning the titan as it stumbled aimlessly, its coordination shattered. Even Shade had disappeared from its shell, retreating without hesitation, as if it, too, had sensed what was coming. The ocean shifted. At first, it was subtle, ripples forming beneath the titan, unnatural patterns spreading outward across the surface.

Then the movement intensified, the water churning from below as something vast displaced it. The titan noticed. It turned, its damaged body trembling, its remaining eye locking onto the disturbance with something unmistakable, fear. It roared, thrashing wildly, attempting to retreat, but its limbs failed it, each step faltered, each movement slower than the last until, It stopped. Something had it.

The creature jerked violently as its leg was seized from beneath, its massive claws slamming down into the water in desperate retaliation, the ocean erupted around it as whatever lurked below began to rise. Then, They emerged.

Enormous tentacles burst from the depths, their surfaces jagged and split, lined with blade-like protrusions that glinted faintly as they coiled around the titan's limbs, before it could react, two of its colossal claws were seized and torn free with brutal force, ripped clean from its body as though they weighed nothing. The titan shrieked, its cries echoing across the coastline as it struggled, but the assault was relentless. More tentacles followed.

They wrapped around its torso, its neck, its face, locking it in place before dragging it downward with unstoppable strength, the ocean swallowed its resistance, each movement of the creature growing weaker as it was pulled deeper, its roars muffled, then silenced entirely as the surface closed above it. Gone. Vale stood frozen, staring at the now-empty expanse of water, his mind struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

"…What… was that?" he asked finally, his voice low and unsteady. Silfur chuckled softly beside him, entirely unbothered.

"That," she said, "is the Goliath of the Reef, the apex predator of this region, and one of the first goliaths ever created." Vale's eyes widened again, disbelief flashing across his face.

"Why would Irea be built anywhere near something like that?" he demanded.

"An apex predator like that, are they insane?" Silfur sighed lightly, shrugging as if the answer were self-evident.

"Every region of the tower has one," she explained.

"An apex predator, I mean. This one's actually one of the more manageable ones." She tilted her head slightly.

"Some of the others? Even their protectors are worse than this." Vale stared at her, stunned.

"How many regions are there?" She grinned.

"No one knows. The tower hasn't been fully explored, not even close. It's existed for longer than anyone can measure, and most people think it's infinite." She paused briefly, her smile sharpening.

"Our guild disagrees, though." Vale dragged a hand over his face, exhaling heavily as the weight of it all settled in.

"That's… great," he muttered.

"So we're basically living next to something that could wipe us out whenever it feels like it?" Silfur's grin widened, almost playful.

"Yep," she said.

"Kind of exciting, isn't it?" Vale gave her a long, incredulous look before shaking his head and turning away.

"Let's just get back to the library," he said.

"I need a minute to process all of this." Silfur laughed softly as she followed.

"Fair enough, kid." She paused for a moment, then glanced at him again, something more curious entering her expression.

"Oh, actually, I've got a question for you." Vale glanced back as he approached Azure.

"Yeah? What is it?" Silfur's smile returned, sharper this time.

"Have you ever heard of Kealix von Eskarion?"