Proofreader&Editor: Lotas
Their mouths agape in shock, the two fell silent after their exclamations, exchanging glances before staring speechlessly at the figure suspended in mid-air.
David manipulated gravity to drag Carlsen from the depths of the sea.
"As a deep-sea leviathan, being out of water should weaken it to some extent."
Moreover, he needed to clearly demonstrate his strength, so they would understand that if he wished—securing the Trident of Neptune or destroying Atlantis would be no difficult feat!
If they didn't want anything to happen to Atlantis, they'd better behave.
Carlsen's massive form was thrown onto the island.
The earth shook and the sky was startled, the ground trembled, and the two struggled to keep their footing, hastily retreating.
The entire island was barely larger than the leviathan's body, its gaping maw like a chasm, so close they could already smell the stench wafting from Carlsen's mouth.
Roar!
Carlsen glared at David with rage, its bellow shattering the clouds above, causing the glowing geocrystals in the sky to tremble. It swung its kilometer-long tentacles, slicing through the air, aiming for David.
It intended to pulverize this tiny bug that had dragged it from its lair!
Whoosh!
The octopus-like tentacles whipped up a fierce wind, shaking the area for miles, and the pterosaurs in the sky were blown away like fragile butterflies in a storm.
Boom!
David extended his arm horizontally, standing unshakably in the air like Olympus itself, blocking the tentacle that carried the force of a collapsing mountain. At the point of contact, a circular shockwave exploded outward.
The stark contrast between the gigantic tentacle and the tiny human figure was a striking sight.
Mera, retreating into the water with her red hair disheveled, quickly raised her hands, controlling the water to raise a barrier to shield herself and the queen from the shockwave, but it couldn't even withstand the aftermath of the clash between the man and the beast.
The water barrier dissipated, mist filling the air. Mera's chest heaved with discomfort, but fortunately, Atlanna's quick reflexes saved her from being blown away.
"Thank you, my queen," Mera said, pale-faced and unsteady, not possessing the robust physique of the Atlantean royalty.
"Stay behind me."
Atlanna, unable to hide her shock, instructed Mera to take cover behind her.
Hiss!
Absorbing kinetic energy and manipulating gravity, David easily blocked Carlsen's strike. His eyes emitted terrifyingly hot purple energy rays, slicing through the air to sever the tentacles.
Dark blue blood gushed from the tentacle wounds like a fountain.
Like being electrocuted, Carlsen's tentacles, splattering with blood, retracted.
In the blink of an eye, two laser beams cut a dozen meters deep into Carlsen's thick tentacles, but compared to its several-kilometer-long body, it was like a minor nick from chopping vegetables, hardly an injury.
"Harder than cutting through titanium alloy."
Carlsen's body was stronger than David had imagined, the thin energy rays barely scratching its surface. David's body suddenly moved, breaking the sound barrier, shooting through the air like a cannonball.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the atmosphere vibrated, and the shockwave exploded.
From a distance, Carlsen's head was jolted by David, who seemed like a speck of dust in comparison, as if struck by a mountain, taking a heavy punch.
In pain and retreating, it flailed its tentacles and its sturdy limbs, like mountain ridges, trying to hit David.
In the deep-sea leviathan's lighthouse-sized eyes, David saw anger and humiliation.
But its massive size inevitably meant slower speed.
David easily dodged the atmosphere-churning attacks, his eyes shooting rays, manipulating cosmic energy to form a thick energy cannon, targeting Carlsen's eyes.
Blinded by the searing pain, Carlsen was forced to close its eyes.
With its eyes shut, it became a mere target. David, wielding gravity and his own strength, matched the mountainous creature in power and far surpassed it in speed.
Boom, boom, boom!
A series of deafening thuds echoed endlessly in the small world.
The deep-sea behemoth, standing on the island, was battered helplessly, unable to fight back.
It opened its eyes, locking onto David for an attack.
David could have continued attacking its eyes with his energy cannon, capable of vaporizing steel, preventing it from opening its eyes, but he chose not to.
Having gauged Carlsen's strength, he no longer needed to bother.
Even with its eyes open, Carlsen's speed couldn't match David's; it remained a living target as David effortlessly dodged its formidable attacks, continuously pummeling it.
Carlsen, possessing intelligence not inferior to humans, felt both rage and helplessness, its vicious attacks unable to touch the annoying insect.
It wanted to turn and dive into the deep sea to avoid the beating.
But as it turned, that familiar force once again ensnared it, dragging it back.
Even its pillar-like limbs carving deep ravines on the island were futile; Carlsen was humiliatingly pulled back for another beating, the heavy blows nearly splitting the entire island apart.
In the ocean, the two watched the tumultuous waters in disbelief, David completely overpowering the deep-sea leviathan that had brought endless fear to the Atlanteans.
It was a beating akin to an adult bullying a child!
Atlanna was profoundly shaken.
She had tried many times to retrieve the Trident of Neptune and return to Atlantis, facing Carlsen multiple times, she knew all too well how powerful this ancient beast was.
It played with her like a lion with an ant, tossing her from the waters behind the waterfall back onto the land.
Had she not been born with the blood of Atlantean royalty, she might have died countless times.
Atlanna had a faint idea that perhaps only her exceptionally gifted eldest son, Arthur, with his ability to communicate with marine life, could get a chance to touch the Trident by conversing with the creature.
"No one in the world but Arthur can touch the Trident."
That was her former belief.
"Not even the sea god Poseidon."
The leviathan's power was enough to make deities retreat in fear.
But now, witnessing the scene before her, Atlanna's thoughts had to change.
Carlsen's armor-like shell was shattered, its dagger-like teeth scattered, and the dark blue blood nearly turned the vast ocean blue, deepening the color of the sea.
The earth-shattering roars gradually weakened.
The one-sided battle was drawing to a close.
"The final blow!"
David's body streaked through the sky, his fist charging down with unimaginable kinetic energy mixed with the force of gravity, and Carlsen's mountainous body was blasted away.
The shockwave swept across dozens of miles, and the sole island above the heart of the dark sea finally succumbed to the violent tremors, splitting apart, its broken pieces sinking.
Carlsen, the size of the island, floated helplessly on the dark sea like a toy ravaged by a washing machine, too injured to even move a tentacle.
"It's… over."
The earth-shattering battle came to an end, Mera pale-faced and in disbelief, staring at David, the only one left standing in the air, murmuring in a daze.