My Overpowered Bunny Girls

Elder Nami found them at sunset.

The light in the sanctuary was fading to a soft blue. The Tidecallers were lighting lamps of bioluminescent shells, their glow casting gentle shadows on the coral walls. The elder moved slowly, her scarred eyes fixed on Nathan.

"The ritual to reach the Leviathan requires three Tide Crystals," she said. "They are scattered across the World, each one guarded by corruption. One in the Sunken Temple. One in the Floating Ruins. One in the Abyssal Trench."

"And if we collect them?" Nathan asked.

"The crystals will calm the Deep Ones. Open a path to the Leviathan’s heart." Elder Nami paused. "But the journey will be dangerous. The World will fight you. The corruption will try to stop you. And the Leviathan himself may not recognize you as anything but prey."

"We’ve faced worse," Nathan said.

Elder Nami studied him with her scarred eyes. "Perhaps. But the corruption is not the only danger. The Shepherd’s influence is strong here. He may not be able to act directly, but his servants can. You may find more than monsters waiting for you."

Nathan felt a chill. "The Shepherd’s servants? The Court?"

"The Court is broken," Smithy said. "Fester is dead. Morrigan is captured. The Cleansing failed."

"The Shepherd has other servants," Elder Nami said quietly. "Older ones. They have been waiting in the Tower Worlds for a very long time."

The party exchanged glances. Nathan’s mind raced. Other servants. Older ones. The Shepherd had been playing his game for millennia. It made sense that he would have pieces on the board beyond the Court.

"We’ll be ready," Nathan said.

Elder Nami nodded. "I will provide a boat and a guide. The Sunken Temple is the closest. You leave at first light."

She turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. The Leviathan has been following your boat since you arrived. He is curious about you. That is a good sign. It means he is still fighting the corruption. Still hoping."

She left. Nathan looked out the window. The green sea was dark now. But far out, beyond the sanctuary’s light, something massive moved beneath the water.

The Leviathan was watching.

---

The boat cut through the green,

Nathan sat at the prow, watching the sea. The shapes of Deep Ones moved beneath the surface—some small, some large, all of them keeping their distance. The Tidecaller guide, a young woman named Coral who spoke little and smiled less, navigated with her webbed hands on the rudder.

"The temple is ahead," she said quietly. "It was once a place of worship. Now the corrupted ones guard it. They do not think anymore. They only grow."

Nathan looked toward the horizon. The Sunken Temple rose from the water like a broken crown. Its walls were white stone, stained green by centuries of vine and corruption. Half of the structure had sunk into the sea, and the water around it churned with the movement of unseen creatures.

"Any advice?" Nathan asked.

Coral hesitated. "The Tide Crystal is at the temple’s heart. But the closer you go, the more the corruption fights back. It can feel you. It knows you’re coming."

"Then it knows better than to get in our way." Mirko shifted to humanoid form, Dragon’s Fang already blazing. "Hmph! This Knight has been waiting for a proper fight since we arrived in this damp world!"

’You always want a proper fight,’ Kuro said.

"Because I am excellent at them!"

Nathan turned to the party. "We move fast. In and out. We don’t engage unless we have to. The crystal is the priority."

Garrett hefted Volcan. "And if something engages us first?"

"Then we make it regret it."

The boat bumped against a stone platform at the temple’s base. The party disembarked, and Coral stayed with the vessel. "I will wait here. The temple is not safe for those who are not Climbers."

Nathan nodded. "If we’re not back in an hour, leave without us."

Coral’s expression didn’t change. "The Deep will guide you back. It has been watching you."

Nathan didn’t answer. He turned toward the temple entrance—a massive archway of white stone, now covered in pulsing vines. The green light from within spilled out like sick breath.

"Let’s move."

---

The temple’s interior was wrong in a way Nathan couldn’t quite name.

It wasn’t just the vines or the coral or the water dripping from the ceiling. It was the air. It was too warm. Too still. It smelled of salt and something sweet, like rotting flowers. The corruption had changed everything—twisted the carvings on the walls, warped the stone, made the shadows move in ways they shouldn’t.

Corrupted Tidecallers waited in the corridors. They had once been people. Nathan could see it in their shapes—the way their bodies still moved like humanoids, the way their hands still gripped weapons. But the corruption had taken them. Their skin was covered in barnacles and coral. Their eyes were gone, replaced by green growths. They did not speak. They only lurched toward the party, mouths open in silent moans.

Nathan’s [Hunter’s Insight] painted them as enemies before they attacked. He fired [Mana Arrows] in quick succession. The first three dropped without a sound. More came from side passages, and the party moved to meet them.

Mirko and Shiro led the charge. Dragon’s Fang carved through the first wave, the flame edge searing through vine and flesh. Shiro’s [Dragon King’s Ascension] carried her above the crowd, and her [Tyrant Dragon Fist] detonated in the center of the largest group. The corrupted Tidecallers flew apart, their bodies dissolving into green mist.

Garrett and Red held the rear. Volcan erupted against a charging Tidecaller, and the thermal pulse reduced it to ash. Red’s wool hardened as another creature lunged, and the Mad-Sheep caught it on its horns, flinging it into a wall.

Dillon and Cloudy worked the flanks. Cloudy’s static discharge arced across the water-filled corridors, frying multiple enemies at once. Dillon’s [Thunder Edge] carved through the ones that survived. "These things don’t stop coming! It’s like the temple is breathing them out!"

Elise froze an entire corridor with [Glacial Lance]. The corrupted Tidecallers inside shattered. "They’re not infinite. We just need to keep moving."

Kuro materialized beside Nathan. ’There are more ahead. Many more. The temple’s heart is heavily guarded.’

"Then we clear a path." Nathan activated [Multi-Shadow Clones]. Three identical Nathans appeared, and the corrupted Tidecallers hesitated, confused. Nathan used the moment to fire [Starfall Barrage] into the densest cluster. The celestial arrows rained down, and a dozen enemies dissolved.

Smithy’s Void Eel darted between the remaining creatures, disrupting their movements. "The corruption is strongest near the crystal. The guardian won’t be like these ones. It’ll be worse."

Nathan nodded. "Then let’s meet it."