THOOM!

The tentacle struck Nicki with the force of a freight train. At the same time, the brown energy threw her off the creature’s body and into the blow. A moment later, thick spikes erupted out of the tentacle’s club-like form morphing it into a mace. While the fruits’ reinforcements kept her bones from breaking, every bit of the tentacle’s attack shot through her body.

As the tentacle lifted off of Nicki, the brown energy continued to push her away and she was launched into the air.

THOOM! THOOM! SHING! SHING! SHING! THOOM! SHING!

The clubbed tentacles knocked Nicki’s body through the air while the arrowhead tentacles continued to slash wounds into her. The cuts weren’t that deep, but they were going deeper as they began to pile up on top of each other.

Despite the wounds’ continuous accumulation on her body, Nicki directed her focus to the gems in the creature’s head. This creature had sampled her magic and copied it for itself. In addition, it seemed to adapt to fight against the magic it absorbed. If that was that case, then the gems were-

THOOM!

A clubbed tentacle struck her face and interrupted her train of thought. Okay, now I’m done with this.

“Change pattern: Ocean Hunter.”

The remaining chunks of rock clinging to Nicki’s body fell away as her senses skyrocketed. Another tentacle rushed toward her, but this time she grabbed onto it and dug into its hide with the claws growing from her fingertips and toes. Her skin darkened to a deep shade of blue to match the fish scale pattern that decorated her suit.

The creature halted its attacks when it lost track of Nicki and tried to refocus on her. But when the tentacles slowed down, Nicki leapt to another and then another. Gradually, she climbed along the limbs toward the creature’s base like a prowling lioness.

Meters away from the creature’s throat, the creature pause and Nicki felt its gaze fall upon her. She halted as her lips pulled back to accommodate her teeth elongated and sharpened teeth. On instinct, she locked eyes with the creature while letting out an intimidating growl. This sent a shudder through the creature’s body.

The creature started to swing its tentacles after Nicki, but her instincts acted faster. She pushed off the creature and dove into the ocean. the tentacles struck the water around her, but struggled to follow her as she delved deeper into the water. Then her air ran out and, for a moment her lungs ached for air. Then gills opened at the base of her neck and she began to breath water.