Beast Gacha System: All Mine

Chapter 423: Hammer and Anvil

Eastiel’s werelion body wasn’t as fragile as a human’s. His bones were denser, his muscles stronger and his organs sheathed in the resilient biology of a werebeast.

But in the first place, his body was not designed to handle underwater pressure and decompression. Lions didn’t belong at the bottom of reservoirs, or in the cold, crushing depths where the weight of the water could collapse a suit and crush a ribcage and kill a man before he even realized he was dying.

So he still wore a suit. He still followed the normal procedures like any human diver. Because the alternative, trusting his beast body to handle pressures it was never meant to endure, was a gamble he was not willing to take.

Although he had not seemed out of it after reaching the surface just now, he actually couldn’t tank this kind of compression-decompression cycle every day.

No matter how strong he was, his body would still take a toll. The nitrogen in his blood, the strain on his lungs. The slow, cumulative damage that came from treating deep-water dives like casual swims—

And now he had to dive back down again to address the cracks and the filth seeping from inside the concrete.

There was still the dormant rift opening in the middle of the reservoir itself, the one they had already identified at the start, which was supposed to be the main threat. It meant he had to put his back to one rift to seal the other, riskier one.

Swanson, even with his water magic, could only do so much. Although he was more suited for this job, his affinity gave him an edge underwater that Eastiel’s lightning and fire and earth could never match, he was still a surface dweller. His body, too, was not designed for such deep dives.

But they jumped in anyway.

"He’s notified. On the way, twenty minutes," Arkai said through the comms.

"Did you ask about her?" Eastiel asked, quieter now.

"No time."

"Alright."

The two made a compromise. Eastiel would still dive in with Swanson, but Arkai would also use his sound magic to determine where the rift was, what kind of rift it was, approximately, hopefully, before Eastiel had to get close enough to touch it.

Though, Arkai would not howl from the spillway as he had originally suggested. Instead, he would be there with them, down under the water, and he would howl there, just controlled enough to assess the location and orientation.

Speaking of bodies not designed for pressure underwater, Arkai also didn’t have such a body.

He was a wolf. Wolves belonged on land, in forests, on tundras, not at the bottom of dams, their lungs straining against the weight of a reservoir.

The only good thing and the only thing that made this possible, was that this man had actually been trained for dives. Thanks to his younger roommate’s reckless behavior.

Yes. This wasn’t the first time.

"I can’t see shit," Arkai muttered.

"No shit, Sherlock," Eastiel murmured back.

"Evac is still on the way, but it’s good enough," Damon said through the comms.

"That’s the dormant rift. It’s right behind us." Swanson said calmly, but there was an edge to it. "At least we can see that one. It’s so black."

"It’s darker than before." Eastiel said. "Integrity dropping fast. I’m at ninety right now."

"Barricades are up. Local ranked hunters we managed to gather are standing by on the ground. You can howl," Damon said.

"Brace," Arkai said, warning them all.

Eastiel and Swanson made their bodies rigid and covered themselves with mana, bracing against the shockwave they knew was coming. Then—

RRWOO——oooo—OO—o—

The sound vibration traveled through the water, through the concrete, then through the air above. It traveled fast, faster than any human-made sonar, and in just one second, Arkai had his answer. "Four meters diameter. Jagged. Not dormant. I see claws already there—"

"Fuck—" Eastiel dove, his body cutting through the water like a missile, his hands finding the base of the concrete and gripping it tight. He was about to pour everything he had into keeping a dam from collapsing.

His mana surged, flooding into the cracks, into the fissures, and into the places where the corruption was trying to break through.

"Big cracks. I think the pump won’t make it," Arkai said.

"More pumps are coming, but evac is too slow," Damon said, strained now. "We can... open the gate to release the pressure, but—"

"The contamination will last for decades..." Swanson’s whisper cut through the comms.

This area... this whole region downstream, wouldn’t be livable for years.

The water table. The soil. The wildlife. All of it, poisoned.

"RRraaaaahhh—" Eastiel’s claws dug into the concrete, breaching the gloves of his suit, his mana straining to its absolute maximum. His muscles was screaming, his lungs burning. He could feel the corruption pushing back against him.

Arkai started to swim upward. "I will surface and go down the spillway. If it’s breached, I can hold the line and buy some time—"

"I thought he could fly here faster than twenty minutes!" Eastiel spat, his voice cracking with the strain.

"Twelve. It was a typo."

A familiar voice entered the comms. "Also, it’s only ten minutes since you called. So I came early."

"I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE CALLING THE WHITE MIST!" Damon’s voice exploded through the comms. He had just discovered that a legendary S-Rank hunter had materialized at his operation without warning and it was a solid reason to panic. "Sir, this waaaaaay!"

"I will find my way myself. Just give me one of those... thanks."

Oathran took the radio from whoever had offered it, and then he was airborne again. He flew over the dam and stopped on the other side, hovering above the spillway. His hands found the concrete, and his mana poured into it.

"AAAAaaaaa—that’s much better—" Eastiel’s sigh of relief was immediate, his body sagging against the concrete as the pressure on his own mana eased.

"Don’t take away your mana. I’m just helping you here." Oathran said dryly, almost scolding. "Earth magic is not my affinity—"

"What do I do?" Arkai asked, still ready to act.

"Stay there and protect Eastiel. That other dormant rift is suspicious now that we know there’s another one bigger nearby," Oathran said. "Now, tell me what’s the next phase of the plan. I’ll follow through."