The deep ocean was silent.
Not the silence of emptiness.
But the silence of something ancient.
Something vast.
Something that had existed long before kingdoms were founded.
Long before empires rose.
Long before humans first learned how to sail across oceans.
Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction.
Gigantic coral mountains illuminated by blue bioluminescent plants rose from the seabed.
Ancient ruins occasionally appeared among the depths.
Broken pillars.
Collapsed structures.
Forgotten remnants of civilizations long consumed by time.
Meanwhile.
Kel sat comfortably atop the head of the King Leviathan.
Like a noble riding a carriage.
Or a king riding a throne.
The only difference was that his "carriage" happened to be an ancient ocean guardian large enough to swallow ships whole.
The King Leviathan continued swimming.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
Painfully.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed.
"I still cannot believe this worked."
Kel looked around.
"Why not?"
"Because normal people don't solve transportation problems by defeating ancient sea guardians."
"Reasonable."
"That wasn't agreement."
For nearly an hour.
They explored deeper regions of the ocean.
Kel observed everything carefully.
Coral formations.
Ancient underwater trenches.
Ocean currents.
Ruins.
Sea creatures.
Nothing seemed unusual.
No corruption.
No strange energy.
No hidden invaders.
No signs explaining why Leviathans suddenly began attacking human vessels.
Eventually.
Kel frowned.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Leviathans were not mindless monsters.
They possessed intelligence.
Not human-level intelligence.
But enough to understand consequences.
Enough to maintain balance.
Enough to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Attacking merchant ships repeatedly made no sense.
Inside his mind—
Seiren spoke.
"You expected to find something?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"Nothing."
The Guardian hummed thoughtfully.
Then suddenly—
Kel remembered something.
A simple fact.
A very obvious fact.
A fact he somehow ignored.
He was currently riding a Leviathan.
A living witness.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately laughed.
"You forgot your mount can answer questions."
Kel remained silent.
Because she was correct.
Again.
The Guardian sounded delighted.
"You investigated an entire ocean before questioning the creature beneath you."
"I was being thorough."
"You were being stupid."
Fair.
Kel slowly raised one hand.
Mana gathered.
Ancient runes formed.
Silver symbols floated through the surrounding water.
Translation Magic.
Not ordinary translation.
But conceptual translation.
A spell capable of bridging communication between species.
The spell activated.
The surrounding mana shifted.
For several moments.
Nothing happened.
Then—
Suddenly.
Kel heard a voice.
"...stupid human..."
The silver-haired young man blinked.
"...crazy human..."
Another blink.
"...insane human..."
A pause.
"...evil human..."
Kel slowly looked downward.
The voice continued.
"...barbaric human..."
"...violent human..."
"...water monkey..."
"...skinny sea ape..."
Silence.
The King Leviathan continued swimming.
Apparently unaware that Kel could now understand every word.
"...one day I will throw him into a volcano..."
"...beat me..."
"...used me as transportation..."
"...worst day of my life..."
Inside his mind—
Seiren completely lost control.
The Guardian's laughter echoed endlessly.
"WATER MONKEY!"
Kel's eye twitched.
"SKINNY SEA APE!"
The laughter became louder.
The King Leviathan continued muttering.
"...I was respected..."
"...I had dignity..."
"...I was king..."
"...now I am a mount..."
Kel slowly raised his fist.
The King Leviathan suddenly felt danger.
Ancient instinct screamed.
Panic emerged.
The giant creature immediately stopped muttering.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed harder.
"Don't hit him."
Kel stared downward.
The King Leviathan remained completely silent.
Like an innocent creature.
A very innocent creature.
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then—
Kel sighed.
He lowered his fist.
The giant Leviathan visibly relaxed.
Inside his mind—
Seiren sounded disappointed.
"You should have hit him once."
"You just told me not to."
"Yes."
"..."
"But it would've been funny."
Kel ignored her.
Then he finally spoke.
Using Leviathan language.
A language composed of vibrations.
Currents.
Instincts.
Concepts.
The moment the words left his mouth—
The King Leviathan froze.
Completely froze.
Its enormous body stopped moving.
Its gigantic eyes widened.
The surrounding ocean became still.
Several nearby fish immediately fled.
Because the King Leviathan looked as though it had seen a ghost.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
The giant guardian turned its head.
One enormous eye focused on Kel.
Silence followed.
Then—
"...you can speak?"
The Leviathan's voice contained disbelief.
Absolute disbelief.
Kel nodded.
"Apparently."
The King Leviathan looked horrified.
Then confused.
Then horrified again.
"Humans cannot speak."
"They can."
"Not our language."
"Today they can."
The Leviathan stared.
Several moments passed.
Then—
"...this day keeps getting worse."
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately started laughing again.
Kel almost smiled.
Almost.
The King Leviathan looked genuinely depressed.
After another moment.
The giant creature finally asked:
"Are you a human?"
Reasonable question.
Kel thought carefully.
"Mostly."
The answer did not help.
The Leviathan looked more confused than before.
Eventually.
Kel decided to move toward the actual topic.
"Why are Leviathans attacking humans?"
The question echoed through the dark ocean.
Immediately.
The giant creature's expression changed.
Gone was the confusion.
Gone was the irritation.
Gone was the embarrassment.
Something darker appeared.
Something serious.
The King Leviathan remained silent.
For a long time.
Long enough for Kel to notice.
This wasn't a simple question.
Inside his mind—
Seiren also became quiet.
Eventually.
The giant guardian spoke.
"We did not start it."
Kel frowned.
"What?"
The Leviathan repeated.
"We did not start it."
The answer carried certainty.
Absolute certainty.
The giant creature continued swimming.
Slowly.
Then spoke again.
"For centuries."
A pause.
"We ignored human ships."
Another pause.
"Humans ignored us."
The arrangement sounded reasonable.
A balance.
A mutual understanding.
The King Leviathan's voice darkened.
Then everything changed.
"Three months ago."
Kel immediately focused.
Three months.
Recent.
Very recent.
The Leviathan continued.
"Something entered our waters."
Silence.
The surrounding ocean suddenly felt colder.
"What entered?"
Kel asked.
The giant creature hesitated.
Then answered.
"We don't know."
A pause.
"But after it appeared."
The Leviathan's voice became heavier.
"Our young began disappearing."
Kel's eyes narrowed.
The giant creature continued.
"Entire breeding grounds vanished."
Another pause.
"Creatures fled."
Another.
"Currents changed."
The ocean around them seemed darker.
Then the King Leviathan spoke the final words.
Words that immediately caught Kel's attention.
"We followed the scent."
A pause.
"It always led toward human territory."
Silence.
Deep silence.
Inside his mind—
Seiren spoke softly.
"That changes things."
Kel nodded.
Because suddenly—
The Leviathan attacks no longer looked random.
No longer looked senseless.
And no longer looked like simple aggression.
Something existed.
Something hidden.
Something lurking somewhere between the academy island and the deep sea.
And for the first time since entering the ocean—
Kel finally found a trail worth following.
The King Leviathan looked toward him.
Then asked carefully.
"Are you going to investigate?"
Kel smiled faintly.
The giant guardian immediately regretted asking.
Because that smile looked familiar.
It was the same smile Kel wore before deciding to punch him.
And somehow.
That realization terrified the King Leviathan more than anything else.