Meanwhile, the lake had swallowed Albedo whole as he plunged into the murky depths as he chased after Morgana's slipping form, wanting to save her before she drowned to death.

Bubbles surged past his ears, and the pressure was rapidly mounting as the dark waters pulled them further into the deep abyss that was the deep floor of the lake.

Albedo had never went to the deep sea. Even in his past life, he never dared to check it out, the sea was always an unexplored area, and he didn't want to give his life exploring it.

Despite this being a lake, the same principles applied. He couldn't scream or think. He just moved, hurrying towards Morgana.

His lungs burned as he forced a thin veil of mana around his nose and mouth, a crude and unstable [ Water Breathing Bubble ] constructed from raw willpower and mana. It wouldn't last long, maybe a minute at best. But it would have to be enough.

The water was cold, so cold it bit at his skin through his uniform, through his reinforced underlayer. It wasn't just water.

This lake had been tainted, steeped in abyssal corruption. Tendrils of ink-like mana coiled through the depths like parasites, seeking warmth, seeking life.

The tendrils chased after him, clinging to his skin, trying to pierce it and feed on his flesh and bone. He only managed to avoid it by heating up his body using his Crimson Moon Primordial Physique, burning those away to ash.

However, that didn't make things easier. The further and deeper he went into the lake chasing after Morgana, the worse it got.

He saw Morgana below him, sinking, hair drifting like ghostly strands, eyes shut, body limp. She looked… dead, but he knew she was alive, clinging to life.

And Albedo definitely wouldn't allow her to die, not under his watch after all.

Albedo kicked harder, his limbs carving through the water like spears. His muscles ached, fatigue gnawing at every fiber, but he refused to let go of consciousness. Refused to let go of her.

Then came the first monster.

It erupted from the shadows like a missile, a warped fishlike creature with rows of serrated fangs and eyes that glowed abyss-red. It darted for him, its maw wide, the soundless shriek shaking the water.

He turned mid-dive, and punched it. The impact of the punch cracked the monster's skull. Bone and ichor burst into the water, but more were coming.

Then, more monsters came.

A school of abyss-twisted piranhas, each the size of a forearm, swarmed from the east. One bit into his thigh, another into his forearm. Blood began to plume around him in clouds of crimson.

Albedo didn't scream, lest one of them dive into his mouth and eat him from the inside.

That would've been horrifying way to die, and he was very much focused on living. Albedo instead just gripped one by the jaw and crushing it with raw strength, his mana burning off the others in pulses.

He grabbed another and pulled it's jaw in opposite directions, splitting its body in too, and began punching out, his firm physique killing monster after monster all the while he kept diving.

The pain and exhaustion was real as he surged downward, ignoring the biting cold and the searing pain. Morgana was only a few meters away now, but the water was thicker here, dense like syrup. Abyssal currents fought him.

His mana bubble flickered as he checked how much time he had left in the Water Breathing Bubble.

Forty seconds left.

He remained focused as he dove, and then the lake shuddered. A shadow blotted out what little light pierced from the surface.

And from the black trench below, it rose.

A creature with a bulbous body, glistening midnight-black skin, and rows of pulsating bioluminescent pustules.

A Venomous Abyssal Octopus.

Its eyes opened, eight of them, all zeroing in on Albedo.

One of its tentacles moved with such speed, it broke the sound barrier even underwater.

He barely managed to twist his body, but the limb smashed into his side, sending him tumbling. A rib cracked. Then another tentacle struck, a whip of venom-laced muscle that cut into his back.

His mana flared instinctively, forming a barrier. But it was weak. He'd used too much. Too much against the Cullers. Too much running. Too much just staying alive.

And now, he had almost nothing left.

The octopus lunged again.

This time, Albedo didn't dodge. He grabbed the incoming tentacle with both hands and screamed silently into the water, his mana flaring in a single, concentrated burst.

Pulse Break: Overclock.

His body surged with adrenaline, pain turning to white noise as he hurled the limb aside, swimming beneath the beast's bulk.

He reached Morgana, her hand floated toward his, fingers brushing his glove.

But the monster wasn't done.

It spiraled above him, venom dripping from barbed suckers. It reared back, all eight limbs flaring outward in a spiral of death.

Albedo held Morgana against his chest.

And summoned the last of his strength.

"Havoc… Ruin…" he murmured into his mind, clutching the two weapons at his hips, "Execution Mode."

They answered.

The twin pistols pulsed, twisted and clicked. They fused, the handles shifting and interlocking, the barrels extending into one long, obsidian weapon inscribed with silver lines of runes. The core glowed violet.

The scope locked onto the beast's core, a pulsating, swollen orb beneath its mouth. The moment the rune aligned, his finger pulled the trigger.

~KRA-KOOM!~

The underwater recoil dislocated his arm, but he was too numb to really tell, as a round tore through the lake.

A spear of condensed abyssal energy, silent, fast, and absolute, lanced through the water, cutting straight through the octopus's underbelly.

The octopus writhed, a jagged howl vibrating through the water as the first Execution Shot tore open its belly, black ichor billowing out in thick, oily clouds. But it wasn't dead. Not yet.

It shrieked in pure wrath, limbs flailing, displacing the water in violent surges that sent Albedo spiraling. Morgana slipped from his grip.

NO!

Albedo clenched his jaw, ignoring the spike of pain from his dislocated arm. His vision flickered, but he realigned the scope of his weapon with trembling fingers, veins bulging as he forced the Soul Weapon to respond.

Second Shot.

~KRA-KOOM!~

The spear of energy blasted forth, this one tearing through one of the creature's eyes and exploding near the skull. Another scream. Another cloud of gore. Its left flank convulsed, half its limbs twitching and curling. The impact rocked it back.

It was dying. It had to be, however, Albedo was also fading quickly.

He readjusted for the third shot, but his fingers fumbled. The scope blurred. The weapon trembled in his hand, and just as he squeezed the trigger,

MISS!

The round veered, caught by a whirlpool of corrupted mana. It slammed uselessly into a rocky outcrop, sending debris spiraling.

His eyes widened. Only one shot left.

The final Execution Shot. The one meant to finish things. To kill even a God.

He looked down, Morgana was floating again, arms out, unconscious. He had ten seconds left in his mana bubble. Maybe less. The edges of his vision had begun to darken. Blood leaked from his ears.

The octopus reared back, its body pulsing with hate, six remaining eyes burning with voidlight. Its barbed tentacles rose like serpents, preparing to strike, one final time.

And Albedo… exhaled. He didn't aim with his hands. He didn't think.

He just felt.

The Hydra above, the abyss below, the blood in the water, the pain in his limbs, the soul weapon in his grip.

He squeezed the trigger.

~KRA-KOOM!~

The fourth shot roared.

It streaked through the water like vengeance given form. Faster than thought. Straighter than certainty.

It hit. Right in the octopus's brainstem, the Execution Round pierced through skull and ichor, detonating inside the creature's core.

A sphere of annihilating force bloomed within, compacted mana and will and hate collapsing in on itself, then expanding outward.

The octopus exploded, whatever remained of its corpse drifted apart in slow motion, pieces dissolving into ash and void.

The lake grew still.

Albedo floated, chest heaving. His mana bubble cracked, fissures crawling across the thin film.

He drifted toward Morgana again, wrapping his good arm around her, the other hanging uselessly at his side.

And with the last of his strength…

He kicked and kicked, as hard as he could.

Up, towards the light, towards the air, towards survival.

Albedo floated there, heart pounding and his vision fading the closer he got. The recoil had ripped his arm open. His mana was gone. He could barely feel his legs.

But Morgana was still in his arms.

The mana bubble around his face cracked, time running out as there was only 5 seconds left.

He gritted his teeth, one last time, and kicked. He pushed upward, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood cloud following him like a beacon. He kicked and kicked and kicked, until his lungs screamed for air and his vision turned white.

He burst from the lake's surface with a gasp, drawing in air like a drowning man. He clawed at the shoreline, dragging himself and Morgana onto the mossy rocks, both of them slick with blood and water.

She coughed weakly, water spilling from her lips. Her eyes fluttered.

"…Albedo?" she whispered.

He collapsed beside her, face in the mud, his breath ragged.

"You're okay," he mumbled, not sure if she even heard him.

Then he passed out.

Darkness claimed him.