Warlock of Oceans: My Poseidon System

As Cyrus felt his shoulders tighten with his sword crackling with a faint pulse of aether. "FUCK! FUCK YOU! JUST DIE!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. The three warriors steadied themselves, irritation and determination merging as they braced for the next phase of their unrelenting fight.

As the fight began, the trio found themselves dwarfed by the enormity of the Eldritch Deer. It towered over them, its antlers stretching into the treetops like ancient, twisted branches alive with writhing tendrils and countless watchful eyes. Each passing second seemed to deepen the creature's horrific form—new limbs, eyes, and pulsing veins of dark energy erupting from its icy hide. And while it lurched forward, ready to crush, the smaller Winter Deers encircled them, lunging with their needle-toothed jaws and launching sharp mental assaults that warped reality in bursts of twisted illusions.

Sylus darted forward, fists charged with aether, leaving trails of golden light in his wake. He dipped low, weaving through the Eldritch Deer's long, swinging legs, narrowly dodging a swipe of its enormous, clawed hoof that gouged a crater into the forest floor. Pivoting on his back foot, he drove a powerful, aether-infused punch into the creature's leg, aiming for one of the many pulsing eyes embedded in its skin. The impact sent out a blast of energy that cracked the eye, but before he could revel in the small victory, the creature responded instantly, swinging a massive antler down toward him.

With a quick sidestep, Sylus dodged and retaliated with a sharp uppercut, delivering another shockwave of aether. It was barely a dent in the monster's bulk, but it staggered slightly, giving the others an opening. Cyrus leaped into action, his sword blazing with aether, and swung upward, unleashing a wide arc of energy aimed at the beast's chest. The blade carved through, scoring a deep line into its icy hide, yet the wound only seemed to stir the monstrosity further as its eyes pulsed with renewed malevolence.

The Eldritch Deer retaliated by thrashing one of its antlers, twisting toward Cyrus, its bulk casting a crushing shadow over him. Cyrus rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the deadly strike, then pivoted and planted his feet. With a fierce yell, he drove his sword into the creature's leg, embedding it deep and releasing a surge of aether that pulsed through the blade and burst outward in shards of light. The limb buckled slightly under the force, but the beast remained unyielding, letting out a roar that shook the ground beneath them.

Meanwhile, Athena's hands moved in intricate gestures, summoning a whirlwind of ice shards around her. She focused on creating distance between herself and the smaller Winter Deers that continued their relentless assault. When two of the creatures lunged at her from either side, she snapped her fingers, freezing the air around her into a defensive barrier of glistening ice spikes. The Deers crashed into the spikes, impaling themselves, their bodies frozen mid-lunge. But more replaced them almost instantly, so she spun, sending a blast of icy magic outward, scattering them in a hail of frost.

Using the opening, she conjured a blizzard around the giant creature's legs, her magic merging with Cyrus' aether-infused sword strikes to disrupt its balance. The creature stumbled, giving Sylus a split second to maneuver behind it and deliver a bone-crushing punch to the back of its knee joint. The massive limb faltered, and the deer's titanic form lurched forward, nearly toppling.

But just as they gained the upper hand, the Eldritch Deer let out a guttural bellow, its many eyes glowing in unison. The forest shifted, and with it, reality itself seemed to distort. The trio's vision blurred as a wave of illusions hit them, blending together into a kaleidoscope of twisted landscapes. They could feel the illusions pulling them apart, trying to disorient and separate them. But Sylus, with a surge of aether, sent out a shockwave that broke through the mental fog, pushing the illusions back momentarily and giving his allies clarity.

"Focus!" Sylus shouted, his voice breaking through the distortion. "Stick together and hit it hard!"

The three regrouped, each of them bracing as they prepared their next coordinated assault. Athena wove her hands through the air, channeling a concentrated stream of ice that froze over the Eldritch Deer's front leg. Taking the opportunity, Cyrus leapt up, twisting his body mid-air and landing a powerful downward slash that shattered the ice and bit deep into the creature's flesh.

The Eldritch Deer roared, its antlers sweeping in an arc. The sheer force of the movement sent a shockwave that knocked them all back. Sylus and Cyrus managed to land on their feet, skidding to a halt, while Athena was forced to roll, quickly springing back up to avoid the smaller Deers lunging at her from all sides.

Each member of the trio adapted quickly, moving with a mix of agility and ruthless precision, each step taken with purpose. Sylus crouched low, delivering a sweeping kick to knock the legs out from one Winter Deer, then pivoted on his heel, landing an aether-charged punch that sent another one reeling back. Cyrus parried a lunging Winter Deer with the flat of his blade, then slashed through another with a quick, deadly stroke.

As the Eldritch Deer grew more desperate, it unleashed a volley of mental attacks, shifting the landscape with increasingly twisted illusions. Walls of ghostly images flickered around them, designed to make them falter. Cyrus clenched his teeth, focusing his aether into a controlled blast that disrupted the illusions around him, while Athena summoned a frigid wind that shattered any illusionary images within her vicinity.

As the monstrous Eldritch Deer loomed, its body mutating with each passing second, sprouting new limbs, claws, and writhing tendrils from its ice-crusted flesh, the trio braced themselves. Every one of its many eyes glared down at them with a menacing hunger, radiating an intense aura that sent shivers through the air. The creature's antlers twisted and grew in strange directions, stretching over the clearing like a forest of dark branches. In each step, its legs crushed the earth beneath, sending tremors through the ground. All around, smaller Winter Deers circled, their narrow eyes glinting as they stalked in and out of shadows, adding to the relentless pressure with a constant barrage of illusionary attacks.

Sylus moved first, his body a blur as he darted beneath the creature's towering legs, barely avoiding its attempts to stomp him into the ground. He unleashed an aether-infused punch toward one of the beast's massive legs, sending out a golden shockwave that cracked the ice along its skin. But just as quickly, the Eldritch Deer retaliated, a shadowy tendril lashing out from its back. Sylus twisted his body, narrowly dodging, but the tendril skimmed his shoulder, its icy energy numbing his arm.

Cyrus moved in tandem, following Sylus's opening with a leap, his sword gleaming with concentrated aether as he aimed a downward slash at the Eldritch Deer's leg joint. The blade connected with a satisfying crack, but the creature's hide was thick, and the wound only oozed dark energy, barely slowing it down. With a rumbling snarl, the beast swiped one of its giant hooves toward Cyrus, forcing him to parry with his blade. The impact sent a jolt through his arms, and he had to stumble back, momentarily dazed.

"Keep moving!" Cyrus shouted as he steadied himself, noticing the smaller Winter Deers creeping closer with their mouths open wide, rows of teeth glinting hungrily.

Athena, keeping herself mobile at the perimeter, drew icy symbols in the air, sending blasts of frost at the encroaching Winter Deers, freezing them mid-lunge before shattering them with quick blasts of magic. She alternated between defending herself and lending support to her teammates, summoning spears of ice and hurling them at the Eldritch Deer's countless eyes, trying to blind and distract it.

In a coordinated move, Sylus and Cyrus advanced together. Sylus struck low with quick, punishing jabs infused with aether, destabilizing the creature's stance, while Cyrus swept in with powerful, arcing slashes that bit into its legs and chest. For every slice or punch they landed, the beast retaliated with its antlers and limbs, forcing the two to stay nimble, pivoting and dodging around each other in a deadly dance.

The Eldritch Deer reared up on its hind legs, and they realized what was coming—an illusion attack from above. Its eyes glowed ominously, and the air around them thickened with dark energy. Cyrus and Athena both unleashed bursts of aether and mana to dissipate the effects, but the constant mental attacks were draining, making each move feel like wading through a thick, icy fog.

Sylus noticed the gathering power and shouted to Athena, "Create a shield! We need a break from this!"

Without hesitation, Athena spun her hands in a rapid motion, weaving her magic into a shimmering barrier of frost around them. The shield gave them a brief respite, scattering the illusions as they crashed against it, but the monstrous Eldritch Deer slammed its massive body into the barrier, shattering it in seconds.