CHAPTER 458: 458. WYVERN NEST (3/3)

"The novel you gave me... Rebirth of the Heavenly Demon Emperor... That scene just now— it was really similar," Tyler said through his Phantom Mask in a deep tone. "That guy, Carlos Beckman— he wasn’t in the original book, right? But there was someone just like him. Got slapped by the protagonist after boasting about his background."

Lily nodded with a slight smirk. Her wet hair clung to her face as she replied, "Actually, that novel was written by an adventurer who got trapped in this Wyvern Nest. He survived by hiding in the Safe Zones and, out of boredom, started writing everything that happened here— reimagining it as a cultivation story."

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. "So... it’s not fiction. It’s a veiled record."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Pretty much. The author never expected his story to become famous after all those years. Atleast those who wants to explore this Nest buys that book a lot."

Tyler rubbed his chin. "Then following the events from the novel... after the arrogant young master got humiliated..."

"His Father arrives and he does the same crap," Mana finished, arms crossed, floating beside him in her ethereal, ghost-like form.

Tyler sighed. "So that means more trouble."

Mana frowned. "I thought this was supposed to be a Safe Zone."

"It is a Safe Zone," Tyler replied. "As in, you can breathe here. That’s about all the safety you get. Also I heard that Wyverns doesn’t appear in Safe Zone."

He glanced around the massive, hollow chamber— a space of rocky walls and glistening coral, dimly illuminated by glowing moss patches and fragments of ancient runes carved into the stone. It looked like an interior of a forgotten temple.

"But if illusions like that can manifest," Tyler continued, "then we can’t waste any time. We should move. Fast."

The two girls nodded, and all three dove back into the waters, swimming toward the next region of the Nest.

Mana trailed behind them slightly, her speed clearly inferior in water.

"Seriously?" Tyler’s voice buzzed in Mana’s mind through the spirit link. "Aren’t you my Spirit Ghost? Shouldn’t you at least be able to match half my abilities?"

Mana grumbled. "You barely sync with me, Captain. Our fusion rate is awful."

Tyler sighed. "...Touché. But couldn’t you just phase through the water."

"Even I can feel the pressure and the Energy in the water is no joke." Mana said.

He couldn’t argue. As strong as they were individually, their combat coordination still needed work.

"Well," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her, "since we’re Phantom Pirates now, let’s act like it. Come here."

Mana smirked and swam closer, pressing against Tyler’s back as she hugged him from behind. Her ghostly energy flowed into his body, intertwining their auras. Tyler felt the boost instantly— his speed surged.

They swam toward a glowing room that shimmered like a pulse of lightning. The walls of the cavern crackled faintly with electric sparks, veins of crystal glowing and hissing when touched.

Lily reached the source first and placed a hand on one of the stones, eyes glittering. Since she is an lightning user she wanted to feel it.

"These are Spark Calcite Stones," Tyler muttered as he arrived beside her, breaking one off with a flick of his fingers. "They emit electricity under pressure and glow under certain conditions. High value in both formations and technological applications."

Lily pocketed one. "Might be useful later."

But as Tyler scanned the cave in curiosity, something odd struck him.

"Why haven’t these been mined already?"

He didn’t get the answer in words.

Instead, they all felt it.

A low growl— subterranean, primal—rumbled through the water like thunder from the deep. The vibration crawled through their bones. The very sea seemed to tense.

Slowly, the three of them turned.

From the shadowed end of the cavern emerged a massive wyvern— its long, serpentine body coiling through the water like a submerged storm. Glowing blue and violet scales shimmered with bioluminescence, reflecting off the surrounding crystals like spectral fire. Fins spread wide like wings, its tail like a whip of pure muscle. Its eyes—twin orbs of molten gold—locked onto them.

Venom dripped from its fangs, dissolving into acidic plumes on contact with the water. Electric pulses rippled across its body. A storm caged in flesh.

Then, with one flick of its tail, the pressure in the water shifted.

A Tidal Vortex began to form, dragging everything toward the beast’s open maw, where lightning began to crackle like divine punishment gathering in its throat.

Lily’s hand darted toward her whip.

But the wyvern was faster.

It didn’t swim. It flew through the water as if gravity were irrelevant. One moment, it was across the cavern. The next— BOOM— a streak of blue lightning blasted forward.

The Thunder Bite came straight at them.

It crunched three of them at one go.

The wyvern blinked. Confused.

The figures of Tyler, Lily, and Mana shattered like glass —revealing themselves to be detailed Ice Clones.

Tyler reappeared behind the wyvern, dragging the girls along with a surge of current, swimming at full speed away from the beast.

"Did we escape?" Mana asked.

"No," Tyler said, voice grim. "We delayed."

"You want to fight that?" Lily asked, glancing back.

Tyler gave her an odd look.

"I am just kidding." Lily said.

"Like hell we can win against that." Tyler quickly left.

The wyvern’s roar echoed through the nest like thunder splitting the world.

"How the heck is its sound traveling in water?" Tyler muttered, confused as the vibrations of the voice echoed through the depths like a psychic scream.

But there was no time to figure it out.

The glowing tunnels of the room twisted and forked in all directions. The Wyvern Nest itself was like a giant circular dome, riddled with interconnected chambers and ancient ruins. It was an underwater labyrinth designed to confuse invaders, and now, it was their only hope of escape.

The pressure of the ocean barely detectable for Tyler, yet the weight of the wyvern’s killing intent felt heavier than the sea itself.

"Persistent bastard..." Tyler cursed under his breath as he pushed forward, dragging Mana and Lily.

"I can still sense it. It’s hunting us," he added. The Wyvern followed them as he dived deeper. He is just swimming away in random direction.

The Wyvern sent out a sonic attack that disrupts divine sense.

"Aah... " Both Lily and Mana groaned. Tyler didn’t feel anything since his Divine Sense is stronger. He then used his Divine Sense to cover both Lily and Mana.

"Huh... That’s better... Mana felt my head was about to burst." Mana said.

"Huh... Illeism, that’s rare." Tyler eyes widened

"Stop Flirting and take Right. Take the tunnel to the right," Lily suddenly instructed, her voice calm but sharp.

Tyler veered as ordered. The passage they entered was narrow, too tight for the wyvern to follow without destroying the structure.

Just as they passed through, the creature slammed into the stone walls with a bone-rattling impact, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the cave. It mouth charged with electricity and tried to bite them. But they quickly moved in.

The Ocean Wyvern roared.

"Good. That’ll slow it down," Tyler muttered.

"We shouldn’t stay here. Tyler scan the room and see if there is any other way out." Lily said.

Tyler quickly used his divine sense to scan.

But just as they thought they had a brief moment of respite—

"You dare to humiliate my son...?! I will kill you, bastard!" a powerful voice rang through their minds, delivered via a high-level sound transmission technique.

Floating above a chamber in a giant glowing bubble was a tall man in golden robes, eyes blazing with fury.

"Seriously? Now?" Tyler said, exasperated.

"That voice... Carlos Beckman’s father," Lily said coolly. "Just ignore him. He’s another illusion, part of the Trial."

Tyler didn’t hesitate. He surged forward, swimming past the figure like he was nothing more than a ghost.

"You dare ignore me?! Do you know who I am?! I am Commander Freidrich Beckman of the Cloud Piercer Fleet! I have destroyed islands with my wrath! Even the Federation shows me respect!" the illusion shouted behind them.

The wyvern didn’t care.

It came crashing through the walls like a bolt of underwater lightning, its claws lashing out once more.

One of the claws swept toward Tyler and the girls with terrifying speed.

But they changed into Ice at last second, narrowly dodging as the claw raked through the chamber— straight toward Freidrich Beckman’s illusion.

Commander Beckman froze. His confident, arrogant expression twisted in panic.

"W-wait! It’s a misunderstanding! I am not with them—!"

SLAM!

The claw crushed the illusion instantly. With a pop of bubbles and energy, the illusory Beckman vanished from existence like he had never been there.

"Huh. So much for that noble background," Mana quipped.

Tyler didn’t even look back. "One Beckman down."

But Lily’s expression darkened. "Now it’s going to be problematic..."

Tyler glanced sideways. "Why?"

Before Lily could answer, a new voice roared through the water.

"WHO KILLED MY SON?!"