The battle against Nether Sentinel Alpha continued to be a desperate struggle. Despite the wound inflicted on its joint by Cid's "Dismantling Technique" and the coordinated attacks of Jinwoo and his generals, Knull's creature showed no signs of yielding. It roared, lashed out with its massive claws, and lashed the area with its spiny appendages, its symbiote matter writhing and regenerating at an alarming rate. Beru, Igris, and Tank fought furiously, keeping the behemoth at bay, but the pressure was constant.
Jinwoo moved, launching shadow energy attacks, searching for weak spots, coordinating his shadows. But as the fight dragged on and they drew closer to the pulsing base behind the Sentinel, he felt the strange resonance in his own power intensify dramatically. It was no longer just an echo; it was a tide, a connection trying to pull him toward the Primordial Void that Knull mastered.
The thick air seemed to whisper directly into his mind. Not words, but concepts: "Emptiness... home..." "Darkness... your heritage..." "Join... Shadow King..." It was Knull. The presence of the god of darkness, sensing Jinwoo's power, was trying to subjugate him or draw him into its web. Jinwoo felt a tug at the very essence of his shadows, a subtle attempt to undermine his control. For an instant, his army seemed to waver, their spectral forms fluctuating.
Cid, in the midst of the action, neutralizing straggling symbiotes or hitting secondary points of the Sentinel with his speed and energy blasts (which were still not entirely effective), noticed the change in Jinwoo. He saw a brief waver in the Monarch's stance, a flicker in the stability of his shadows.
Cid thought: The Designated Shadow Asset is experiencing external interference. A 'psychic attack' or 'hacking attempt' by the Cult's defenses. The final boss is likely attempting to subjugate the asset through its own connection to the shadow. This is an enemy countermeasure tactic. The Level 7 Agent must protect the Designated Asset and counter the interference.
Without a second thought, Cid executed what he considered a "proximity psychic shielding protocol." He extended a hand toward Jinwoo (without touching him) and released a subtle wave of fundamental energy. To Jinwoo, it wasn't a shield; it was a brief but intense burst of strange energy that collided with the Void influence assailing him, creating a disruption that made him gasp, but oddly seemed to momentarily "sever" the connection. It was as if Cid had launched a random but potent virus into a sophisticated hacking program.
Jinwoo looked at Cid, puzzled by the masked man's unexpected "assistance." The disruption had been painful, but it had broken the momentary hold Knull's influence had been trying to exert. It allowed him to regain full control of his shadows, who returned to the fight with renewed ferocity.
The fight against the Alpha Sentinel grew even more frantic. Jinwoo, now aware of the true nature of Knull's influence and sensing the heightened resonance, used his power differently. He didn't just strike; he felt the Sentinel's energy, an impure extension of the Void. He understood, in ways he hadn't been able to before, the structure of its symbiote matter.
The resonance, though dangerous, offered him a strange insight. He could feel Knull's energy currents flowing within the Sentinel, fueling its regeneration and strength. And by sensing those currents, he glimpsed its point of origin, its energy "core" within the corrupted mass.
"Cid!" Jinwoo shouted, his voice strained but with a new urgency. "His core! Under the chest plate, on the left! That's where the regeneration comes from!"
Cid processed the information instantly.
Cid thought: Critical weak point identification confirmed by the Designated Shadow Asset. The Sentinel's 'regeneration core.' The Cult's psychic interference indirectly provided the Asset with the necessary information. An unexpected strategic shift. Now, a flanking maneuver is required to exploit the vulnerability before the enemy adapts.
While Jinwoo and his generals kept the Sentinel busy from the front, Cid moved with speed that defied comprehension. He became a series of afterimages, a blurry shadow moving around the giant. The Sentinel, slowed by his injuries and harassed by the shadows, couldn't follow his movements.
Cid appeared in front of the spot Jinwoo had indicated. It was an area where the chitinous armor seemed slightly less dense, and he could feel a pulsing concentration of corrupted energy beneath. This time, Cid didn't use a subtle touch or a wave. He gathered a significant amount of concentrated fundamental energy into his gloved fist, the same energy that could erase realities if fully unleashed, but here, finely controlled.
"Level 7 Agent's final blow!" Cid muttered to himself under the mask.
It struck. It wasn't a physical blow of muscle, but an impact of pure, contained energy that penetrated the chitinous armor as if it didn't exist. The controlled energy poured directly into the Sentinel's regeneration core.
Knull's creature let out a final roar that wasn't one of rage, but of pure existential agony. Its colossal body began to convulse, the symbiote matter becoming unstable. Regeneration abruptly halted, and instead, disintegration accelerated from the inside out.
With a final, violent spasm, Nether Sentinel Alpha collapsed in on itself, imploding in a maelstrom of dissipated dark matter that dissipated into the air, leaving only a smear of residual energy on the ground. The psychic oppression in that area lessened slightly.
The fight was over. The first "mini-boss" threat had been neutralized. Jinwoo retreated into his shadows, feeling exhausted, not only from the physical combat, but from the internal battle against Knull's influence. The resonance had been terrifying, but it had also granted him a temporary understanding of Knull's darkness that could prove vital.
Cid stood immaculately on the spot where the Sentinel had fallen, adjusting his cloak.
Cid thought: Checkpoint sentry - Neutralized. Enhanced Organic Structure Dismantlement Protocol combined with the Designated Shadow Asset's identification of the critical point: Success. The Cult's interference was a calculated risk that, ironically, facilitated victory. An excellent joint operation. The Designated Shadow Asset demonstrated remarkable resistance to subjugation and an invaluable ability to identify vulnerabilities.
He turned to Jinwoo, who was still catching his breath. "Challenge met, Monarch," Cid said. "The guard post has been deactivated. Now, the Ultimate Cult's secondary base of operations is open for infiltration."
Jinwoo nodded, eyeing the structure's jagged entrance with new wariness. The resonance with Knull had been unsettling, a testament to the ultimate enemy's power and the strange connection they shared across the darkness. But it had also given him a tool: a greater understanding of Void energy.
The Unlikely Alliance had overcome their first major challenge, not only through strength, but also through Cid's strange "assistance" and Jinwoo's internal struggle. They were ready for the next step.
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