Chapter 21: Descent into the Depths (Infiltration and Phase Shift)
[The Submersible and the Silence]
The journey to the deep-sea facility off the coast of Gyeongju was undertaken in a specialized, heavily shielded Guild submersible secured by Sera's private resources. The vessel was designed to withstand the crushing pressure of the deep, but its advanced shielding also muffled any distinct mana signature, making their approach practically invisible to the facility's surface monitors.
Rudraunsh sat in the cramped cabin, flanked by Sera. His gaze was fixed on the depth gauge, the numbers ticking past 400 meters. The pressure outside was immense, enough to collapse a conventional submarine instantly. Inside, the silence was broken only by the hum of the life support and the cold, internal pulse of his Undying Authority.
"We are approaching the 500-meter mark, Rudraunsh," Sera confirmed, checking the sonar. "The main external airlock is ahead. I've sent the corrupted access code; it will open the lock but won't log our entry. We have exactly thirty minutes from the moment the airlock cycles to return to the submersible, or the S-Rank lockdown engages."
The tension was palpable. This was not a clash of swords, but a precision break-in against a system of S-Rank automation—a threat far more insidious than a single Paladin.
Rudraunsh focused on his four Shadow Legionnaires, which he had stored inside the submersible's reinforced equipment bay. They were utilizing the final remnants of his D-Rank capacity—now fully optimized at 175%—before the massive drain of the Lich integration.
"We move in formation: Two and Three will secure the perimeter and hold the main corridor. One and Four will act as our carriers for the infiltration," Rudraunsh commanded, his voice cold and precise. "No physical engagement unless absolutely necessary. We rely on the Shadow Phase."
[Breaching the Mana Shell]
The submersible latched onto the facility's external airlock. The outer hatch hissed open, and the pressure difference was astronomical, mitigated only by a transient mana field Sera deployed.
Rudraunsh and Sera stepped into the airlock chamber. It was narrow, damp, and lined with powerful, dormant sensors waiting to be triggered. They had zero physical clearance.
Rudraunsh extended his will, materializing the four Shadow Legionnaires instantly. The Legionnaires did not wait for an order; they simply radiated a silent readiness.
"Link," Rudraunsh commanded.
Rudraunsh placed his hands on the smoky obsidian shoulder guards of Legionnaire One and Legionnaire Two. Sera did the same with Legionnaire Three and Legionnaire Four.
"Now, Sera. Bypass the internal lock."
Sera uploaded the final piece of the corrupted code. The internal door should have cycled to green; instead, the lock began to flicker red—a sign that the S-Rank automation was confused and momentarily stalled.
"The automation is paralyzed," Sera confirmed, her heart pounding against her ribs. "We have seconds before the system defaults to hard lockdown."
"Phase Shift," Rudraunsh ordered.
He slammed his mental will down, channeling the unique C-Rank ability of the constructs. The Legionnaires' bodies shimmered, their solid armor dissolving into pure, liquid shadow. Rudraunsh and Sera, physically linked to the constructs, felt a stomach-dropping lurch as their own bodies became immaterial.
They ceased to exist in three dimensions. The foursome flowed through the solid steel of the door—a silent, terrifying display of spiritual combat power.
[The Maze of Light Defenses]
They emerged into the main corridor, which was lined with dormant B-Rank Sentinel Turrets and crossed by multiple, active Light Mana Laser Grids—security systems designed to vaporize any dark mana signature instantly.
But Rudraunsh and Sera, currently merged with the Shadow Legionnaires, registered not as active darkness, but as an immaterial spiritual anomaly that the physical and light-based sensors simply could not process.
"The passive defenses are dense," Sera observed telepathically through their link, her S-Rank senses tracking the faint hum of the lasers. "If we materialize prematurely, we are vaporized."
"The Shadow Phase drains the core constantly," Rudraunsh warned. "We cannot sustain this for long."
He commanded Legionnaire One and Two (with Rudraunsh and Sera linked) to continue the infiltration. Legionnaire Three and Four materialized immediately behind them, taking up a defensive posture at the airlock junction.
"Perimeter lockdown initiated," Sera reported, tracking the internal clock. "We have 25 minutes remaining."
Rudraunsh focused on the path to the Lich's containment cell, navigating the dark, submerged corridors with the Legionnaire's silent, impossible grace.
[The Spectral Lich Chamber]
They reached the massive, circular chamber that housed the target. The room was dominated by a central cylindrical prison, which should have been protected by the dazzling light of the Crystal Array. Instead, the crystals were dark, flickering with an unsteady, corrupted Light Mana—the result of seven days of Necrotic Poison from the E-Rank core.
Inside the containment cylinder, a terrifying sight awaited them: the Spectral Lich of Gyeongju.
It was not a skeleton, but a coalesced mass of pure spiritual resentment—a writhing figure made of millions of tiny, screaming soul shards, pulsating with a horrific C-Rank power that threatened to break through the weakened containment. The Lich was completely non-physical, a true ghost, and therefore immune to the physical attacks of Rudraunsh's current Legionnaires.
"Target confirmed. The Lich is pure spirit," Rudraunsh confirmed to Sera. "Our physical attacks are useless. We proceed with spiritual containment."
Rudraunsh released the Shadow Phase on Legionnaire One. He and Sera materialized in the chamber, their core mana instantly reacting to the overwhelming spiritual presence.
The Lich shrieked, its non-physical voice echoing through the spiritual plane—a sound of hatred and agony that would drive a normal Hunter insane.
"Dark Magic! You released me only to enslave me!" the Lich's essence screamed, instantly launching a spiritual assault—a wave of pure, condensed sorrow and rage aimed directly at Rudraunsh's mind.
Rudraunsh felt the spiritual strike, a searing, overwhelming psychic blow that hit his Undying Authority. The attack was powerful enough to shatter a high-B-Rank mind.
But Rudraunsh's Immortal Dao was built on absolute order. He felt the pain, but the attack could not penetrate the perfect defense of his refined core. His spiritual identity, the concept of the Necrotic Sovereign, remained inviolable.
"I am the order of death," Rudraunsh stated, his voice ringing with chilling authority. "You are chaos. Submit."
[Spiritual Containment and Extraction]
Rudraunsh immediately initiated the containment strategy.
"Legionnaire One, Soul Chain Link containment!"
Legionnaire One, now fully materialized, advanced toward the containment cylinder. It deployed its power: a venous-red, spiritual thread shot from its wrist and pierced the weakened Light Mana Crystal Array. The thread, powered by the Soul Chain Core catalyst, ignored the light defense and latched directly onto the Lich's spiritual form.
The Lich thrashed violently, its spectral form beginning to dissolve slightly as the Soul Chain Link initiated a silent, ordered drain of its essence. It was not a fast drain, but it was irreversible.
"Sera, the extraction is ready!" Rudraunsh commanded.
Sera produced a custom-built, S-Rank Soul Shard Harvester—a specialized tool used by the Stellar Halo to collect crystallized spiritual remnants. She activated the device, its core resonating with a pure, opposite frequency to the Lich's chaos.
Rudraunsh placed his hand on the Lich's cylindrical prison. He didn't need to physically touch the Lich; he needed to enforce his Undying Authority upon its location.
"Chaos ends. Order begins," Rudraunsh stated.
He pushed his newly refined 175% D-Rank Core to the limit, channeling pure, refined indigo mana into the containment cylinder. The Lich's shrieking stopped, replaced by a deep, resonant hum. The essence of the Lich—the millions of soul shards—was being forced, compressed, and solidified by the sheer pressure of Rudraunsh's will.
The spiritual matter rapidly crystallized, shrinking from a terrifying, man-sized phantom into a brilliant, fist-sized crystal that pulsed with a terrible, contained sorrow. This was the Grade 5 Catalyst.
[The Timed Escape]
"Extraction complete!" Sera yelled, securing the crystallized Lich essence within the harvester. "We have 7 minutes to get back to the submersible! The S-Rank failsafe is engaging the central power grid!"
Rudraunsh pulled his mana back. The drain was immense, but successful. His core was at 40%, severely depleted but stable. The Legionnaires—now fully materialized—were still running at full power, thanks to the Sepulchre's passive aid.
"Legionnaire One, secure the crystal. Legionnaires Two, Three, and Four, form defensive perimeter. We run!"
The foursome sprinted through the dark, unstable corridors. Laser grids were beginning to flicker back to life, and the B-Rank Sentinel Turrets were slowly rotating, preparing to fire.
They reached the airlock, slammed the internal door shut, and cycled the external hatch back into the submersible. Just as the hatch sealed, a massive, structural groan echoed through the water—the S-Rank failsafe had initiated the deep-freeze protocol, locking down the entire facility and everything inside it.
Rudraunsh collapsed against the wall, utterly spent but triumphant. In his hand, the Soul Shard Harvester containing the Grade 5 Spectral Lich Catalyst pulsed with cold, controlled power.
"We did it, Rudraunsh," Sera whispered, exhausted but elated. "We beat the S-Rank system."
"The price is now mine," Rudraunsh stated, looking at the precious catalyst. "Now, we ascend to B-Rank. The Continental Contagion is coming, and we must be ready."