Chapter 47: Tricularis Phantom
The Tricularis Phantom’s three eyes flashed. Its sleek body tensed, fins sweeping back, and it shot toward Gray like a silver-blue javelin.
Gray pulsed sideways. The Phantom’s jaws snapped shut inches from his bell margin, but the creature was already adjusting — its three eyes tracked his movement with inhuman precision, and its body curved mid-lunge to follow his trajectory.
’It’s fast—’
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift. The venom cloud billowed outward, but the Phantom shot straight up through the toxic haze. Too fast. The venom barely grazed its scales, the damage ticks barely registering as it climbed above him.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 10 DAMAGE]
[TRICULARIS PHANTOM — HP: 300 / 310]
’It’s too agile. I can’t hit it like this.’
The Phantom wheeled around high above him, its three eyes glowing with that pale, silvery light. Its transparent brain pulsed faster, and Gray felt a sudden spike of electrical energy building in the creature’s body.
Then the Phantom’s fins spread wide, and the electricity erupted.
A dome of crackling blue-white lightning exploded outward from the creature’s body — an AOE discharge that covered the entire corridor in a sphere of arcing current. Gray had nowhere to dodge. The electricity slammed into him, and pain detonated through his bell.
[-45 HP]
[PARALYSIS — 2 SECONDS]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 318 / 395]
’Khagh—!’
His muscles locked. His tentacles seized mid-twitch, and his bell stopped pulsing entirely. For two agonizing seconds, he hung motionless in the water, completely vulnerable. The Phantom was already diving — its jaws aimed directly at his paralyzed form.
The creature’s teeth sank into his bell margin and tore.
[-38 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 280 / 395]
The pain broke through the paralysis. Gray thrashed, his tentacles lashing out instinctively, but the Phantom was already retreating — zipping backward with that same effortless speed. Its three eyes studied him coldly, its brain pulsing with rapid calculations.
’Bastard!’
He activated EMP Shroud. The silent electromagnetic pulse radiated outward, and Gray vanished from the Phantom’s senses. Its electroreception went dark. Its lateral lines went blank. For ten seconds, he was a hole in the water.
The Phantom’s three eyes darted wildly. Its head swiveled left and right, searching for the prey that had simply ceased to exist. Its brain pulsed faster — it was confused, disoriented, its primary senses completely scrambled.
Gray positioned himself directly above it. His tentacles spread wide. Sparks of electricity danced along their translucent length.
’My turn.’
He dove. Overcharge activated at point-blank range, and the electricity surged directly toward the Phantom’s exposed cranial dome—
The creature’s body absorbed the current.
[OVERCHARGE — 12 DAMAGE]
[TRICULARIS PHANTOM — HP: 288 / 310]
[RESISTED — ELECTRICAL DAMAGE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED]
’WHAT?!’
The Phantom’s three eyes snapped upward, locking onto him despite the EMP. Its scales shimmered with residual electricity, dispersing the charge harmlessly into the water around it. The creature’s brain pulsed with what almost looked like amusement — as if it had been waiting for him to try exactly that.
’It’s resistant to electricity!? Fuck fuck fuck FUCKKKKK!!’
The Phantom lunged. Gray pulsed backward, but the creature was faster. Its teeth grazed his bell.
[-22 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 258 / 395]
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift at maximum concentration. The venom cloud billowed outward, thick and dense, filling the corridor with invisible death. The Phantom shot through it — but this time, the cloud was too large to escape completely. The venom seeped through its gills, into the gaps between its scales, into the soft tissue beneath.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 17 DAMAGE]
[TRICULARIS PHANTOM — HP: 253 / 310]
[PARALYZE — RESISTED]
The Phantom’s body jolted. Its three eyes widened, the pale silver glow flickering with something new — pain. The venom was working.
Then its brain pulsed a deep crimson, and Gray felt another surge of electricity building in its body.
’Not again—’
The AOE discharge erupted outward. Gray pulsed backward with everything he had, seventy-five SPD straining against the expanding sphere of lightning. The current grazed his tentacles, sending a jolt of pain through his body.
[-28 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 230 / 395]
He retreated further, putting distance between himself and the Phantom. The creature hovered in the center of the corridor, its three eyes tracking him, its brain pulsing with rapid calculations.
’That AOE is a problem. Every time I get close, it discharges. I can’t trade hits with it — it’s tankier than me and resistant to my best damage type.’
The Phantom’s fins twitched. It was preparing another charge.
’Fine. I’ll fight you on my terms.’
He drifted backward into the glowing forest, weaving between the bioluminescent fronds. The Phantom followed, its three eyes tracking his every movement through the dense vegetation. But the sea plants were thick here — thick enough to break line of sight.
Gray slipped between two massive stalks and deployed Neurotoxic Drift behind him. The venom cloud spread through the narrow channel, invisible and silent.
The Phantom shot through the gap — and straight into the venom.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[TRICULARIS PHANTOM — HP: 214 / 310]
The creature jolted. Its three eyes darted left and right, searching for him among the glowing fronds. But Gray was already moving — circling around behind it, Hollow Cloak rendering him nearly invisible in the bioluminescent twilight.
’You might be resistant to electricity, but you’re not resistant to poison. I just have to keep my distance and let the venom do the work.’
The Phantom’s brain pulsed crimson. Another AOE discharge erupted outward, but Gray was already out of range. The electricity crackled harmlessly through the sea plants, scorching their fronds but reaching nothing else.
’That’s right. Waste your energy. I can do this all day.’
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift again, layering fresh venom over the creature’s position. The Phantom thrashed, its sleek body twisting through the water as it searched for its attacker. Its three eyes glowed brighter, scanning every shadow, every frond, every flicker of movement.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 17 DAMAGE]
[TRICULARIS PHANTOM — HP: 179 / 310]
The Phantom’s brain pulsed faster. Its movements grew more erratic. The venom was building in its system, and it couldn’t find the source. For all its speed and intelligence, it was fighting a ghost.
’Not so fun being on the receiving end, is it?’