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The wings of pitch-black darkness obscured the sun.

A red glow descended upon the earth.

Shadows veiled Leon’s armor, which had shone brightly in the sunlight.

At the same time, a foreboding shadow cast itself over the entire arena surrounding the massive pool.

The shape of the shadow resembled that of a gigantic demon.

“He’s here!!!”

“Lord Fix!!”

“Ed! Edgar Fix!!!”

Yet the academy students welcomed the being from above the sky.

They recognized Ed’s sleek black metal suit at a glance.

-Swoosh!

At that moment, colossal wings, spanning 8 meters to both sides, began to retract.

Simultaneously, Ed’s new form, which had been soaring through the air, began its rapid descent.

It was akin to a meteor speeding towards the ground.

-Thud!

Ed landed precisely opposite Leon in the pool.

White steam erupted from his suit as Ed struck a perfect landing pose.

At the same time, the pitch-black wings that had been retracting folded completely, making intricate mechanical sounds as they smoothly retracted into Ed’s overlapping carapace parts.

As Ed raised his body and gazed at Leon with the red glow, Leon involuntarily took a step back.

‘W-what is that…?’

The depth of fear that he could instinctively feel.

The air quality that had changed merely with Ed’s appearance.

‘The atmosphere in the arena… has changed.’

The anxious gazes of the academy students now gleamed with a certain conviction.

It was as if they looked up to a leader.

Their eyes held trust, respect, and a fighting spirit.

‘I, I am…! A descendant of the Sea God!’

Leon gritted his teeth in frustration.

He could not tolerate the cocky expressions of the students, who looked at him while wearing the Sea God’s relics.

After all, weren’t they just lowly students riding on the benefits of their gear like himself?

“Are we not starting?”

At that moment, Ed turned to the host and pressed for the event to begin.

He didn’t apologize for the delay or greet Leon, the commander of this expedition.

“Diving in!”

Compelled by Ed’s fervor, the host inadvertently cried out the words.

Leon gritted his teeth along with the sound and dove into the water.

What was supposed to go smoothly resulted in the worst possible scenario.

He had let that student take the lead.

-Hooong! Hooong! Hooong! Hooong!

As Leon entered the water, he resolved to assert his dominance.

He began to rotate the spear of the Sea God 360 degrees, accumulating energy.

If he could release the energy amassed at the spear’s tip all at once, that miserable student armed with mere scraps of metal would—

-Zoom!

But at that moment, a small missile shot out from Ed’s shoulder.

The missile adhered closely to Leon’s chest armor, and Leon, seeing the small device flashing red, mumbled in a panicked voice.

“What, what is this…?”

“A torpedo for a runaway bride version.”

“What?”

-BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

That was the end of it.

***

‘It’s not over yet!’

A colossal explosion erupted.

The water surged several meters into the air, accompanied by a thunderous roar that shook the entire pool.

It was a level of destructive force capable of killing any ordinary creature on the spot.

“……”

However, Leon’s body, which should have been completely torn apart, maintained its form.

Thanks to the immense damage absorption rate imbued in the Sea God’s relics, the impact was mitigated.

Moreover, the Sea God’s relics had a special effect that rapidly restored the user’s body, allowing even Leon, whose arm had been blown off and abdomen pierced, to be completely healed.

It was the power of an artifact crafted by the great smith of creation.

“The descendant of the Sea God does not die! I am an immortal!”

With that, Leon raised the trident triumphantly, showcasing his vitality.

Imagining his valiant figure being broadcasted through the video transmission magic circle.

“Was that your special move? Sorry to say, it won’t work.”

Then Leon struck a confident pose, his expression radiating self-assurance.

However, inside, he was burning with anxiety more than anyone else.

Ed’s offensive power was simply too strong for him.

‘Even with the Sea God’s relics equipped… my body is in this bad a shape.’

The armor of the Sea God, designed to render nearly all attacks useless.

Yet this mysterious object fired by Ed had pierced through his defenses and obliterated his body.

He could only hope that whatever that runaway bride weapon was, it was just a gimmick.

“Special move? It was merely something I shot off as an experiment. Like the feeling of a cannon-shaped item.”

However, Ed’s reply was utterly disheartening.

That insane weapon was merely an experimental gadget.

“Bravado won’t work!!!”

Thus, Leon dismissed Ed’s words as lies and thrust the trident forward.

A tremendous wave emanated in six directions, unleashing a torrent of water towards Ed.

-Swoosh!

A transparent barrier formed within a one-meter radius centered around Ed’s suit, blocking the water effortlessly.

Despite that being the most powerful current yet shown, Ed didn’t budge an inch.

‘A, a crazy monster…’

Leon could instinctively sense it.

He would need to mobilize all his resources to defeat this monster.

“You’re quite something! But you won’t escape the Sea God’s judgment!”

Nonetheless, amid all this, Leon was still concerned about how he appeared.

He should have effortlessly suppressed the academy’s top ranking and displayed his dignified form instead of struggling in this situation.

“Feel the wrath of the Sea God!”

So Leon infused his voice with mana and proclaimed his next line with a trained tone.

Simultaneously, an outpouring surge of tremendous electricity traveled from the trident towards Ed.

-Crackling!!!

Soon, the massive current pierced through Ed’s suit, releasing an overwhelming burst of light.

The brilliance was so dazzling that it was almost impossible to see with open eyes.

Leon smirked, envisioning Ed roasted to a crisp, surrounded by golden electric currents.

-Swoosh.

As Leon unleashed a torrent of electricity, he withdrew the trident and struck a convincing pose.

He had thus proven himself as a descendant of the Sea God.

“…Huh?”

However, the result was bizarre.

As the torrential water, turbulent from the electric discharge, settled, Ed appeared unscathed.

In fact, remarkably, the blue light on his chest glimmered even brighter.

“Thanks for the recharge.”

He even expressed his gratitude.

He added that the energy he had quickly expended rushing over had been replenished.

While Leon stared at Ed with a dumbfounded expression, Ed’s light glinted as he uttered his next words.

“Well, is it my turn now?”

-Swoosh!

And then he began to transform.

He was entering the ‘Leviathan Mode’ specialized for underwater combat.

-Screeeech… Whee…

Inspired by the sea dragon monster ‘Leviathan’ created by Lucifer, the ‘Leviathan Mode’ had been crafted.

As this mode was inspired by a ‘sea dragon,’ its overall design evoked the image of a fantasy sea dragon.

Ed’s helmet morphed into the shape of a dragon’s head, with sharp protrusions forming at the forehead and chin.

-Clunk… Clunk… Swish…

Moreover, the sleek surface began to become more detailed like the shell of a crustacean.

3D mobility devices that were useless underwater fell away, replaced by underwater jet engines.

With underwater jet engines, rapid movement was always possible.

Of course, being equipped with waterproof features and an oxygen system meant he wouldn’t even need to learn underwater breathing.

-Whoosh!

As Ed transformed, everyone gazed in shock.

Then, Ed charged forward.

The underwater propulsion system, a culmination of modern science, propelled Ed’s new form at breakneck speed.

-Thwack!

Ed harnessed that acceleration to deliver a punch squarely to Leon’s face.

Leon’s form staggered and tilted.

However, Ed zipped past Leon in a blur, delivering additional strikes as swiftly as a shark playing with its prey.

The speed was so incredible that Leon found himself helpless.

“Don’t make me laugh!!!”

However, the equipment Leon wore was the Sea God’s relic crafted by the great smith of creation.

So he, too, could maneuver relatively freely underwater.

Leon quickly adapted to Ed’s speed and began to counter.

“Good punching bag you make.”

But to Ed, Leon was merely a sufficiently functioning punching bag.

Soon, Ed began testing all the capabilities installed in the Leviathan.

He started to spray a thick smokescreen solution into the and ocean.

“What, what, what…!”

And then the entire sea was drenched in darkness.

It was as if stepping into an abyss with not a single beam of light to be found, completely obstructing vision.

Not even the video transmission magic circle could capture anything.

-Swoosh!

Only Ed’s new form whizzed past as a fleeting shadow.

“Show yourself! I, I demand you reveal your form…!”

From then on, it was a one-sided hunt.

While Ed could locate Leon with his heat-sensing visor, Leon could see nothing of Ed.

“Guhhh!”

“Uwaaaahhh!”

“Ghack!”

“Uueeeegh!”

And so the concert began.

A concert composed solely of Leon’s screams.

The audience could only hear Leon’s cries echoing through the darkness.

-BOOM!

-Kieeeeen! Bang!

-Swoosh!

-Boom!

-Kuhgh!

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

Meanwhile, Ed was free to do whatever he wanted.

With a sturdy punching bag in front of him.

He took the opportunity to test the destructive power of every weapon installed in the Leviathan.

After all, nothing would be visible in the video transmission magic circle; he could let loose without a second thought.

“Guhhh…”

After making a complete mess, when Ed collected all the smokescreen liquid that had dispersed in the water, Leon’s battered figure was revealed to the world.

And the Sea God’s relic he was wearing was in ruins save for the chest plate.

Even the trident known as the ‘Judgment of the Sea God’ was no different.

 

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