A massive vortex more than several dozen zhang in diameter suddenly formed around her, ghostly green light surging from its depths like a spectral moon rising from the deepest seabed.
When the twenty-fourth bolt of lightning descended, that spectral moon abruptly rose into the sky and met the blazing purple pillar of lightning head-on.
The two forces collided explosively in midair, and the entire sea region trembled violently in that instant.
The spectral moon shattered, turning into ghostly green rain that filled the sky, like an inverted galaxy pouring over the sea.
At the same time, the lightning's remaining force was exhausted. In its final moment, it burst into countless tiny arcs that flickered futilely along the edges of the clouds a few times before vanishing completely.
The thunderclouds in the sky began to slowly recede, dissipating from the edges toward the center and revealing the deep-blue night sky behind them. Several stars faintly twinkled on the horizon, as if confirming that the storm had ended.
The waves gradually calmed, and the seawater that had been churned upside down by the lightning slowly returned to stillness.
The air still carried the scent of ozone and something burnt. Wisps of white steam floated over the sea, curling upward and blending into the night.
Ursula still floated in midair, the wounds on her body horrifying to behold.
Her severed tentacles hung limply behind her. Charred flesh curled back, the edges carbonized, and in several places, bone burned white could even be seen beneath.
The worst wound slashed diagonally from her left shoulder to her waist. Flesh curled outward, while the dark-red fluid seeping from it quickly dried in the night wind, forming a thin scab.
She lowered her head, her chest rising and falling violently. Every breath tugged at her wounds, bringing