The deeper Kel descended—
The darker the ocean became.
Sunlight gradually disappeared.
The chaotic battle sounds from above faded into distant vibrations.
The world transformed.
Silent.
Ancient.
Mysterious.
An endless kingdom hidden beneath the waves.
Countless schools of fish moved through glowing coral forests.
Ancient underwater mountains stretched across the seabed.
Massive trenches disappeared into darkness.
Strange plants swayed with ocean currents.
Some emitted faint blue light.
Others glowed green.
Together they illuminated the deep sea like stars scattered across a forgotten sky.
Kel continued descending.
Calmly.
Without difficulty.
Without concern.
As though he were simply taking a stroll through a garden.
Inside his mind—
Seiren sighed.
"You know normal humans cannot do this."
Kel looked around.
The pressure at this depth alone could crush ordinary people.
Yet around him—
A transparent sphere of water surrounded his body.
A small domain.
A personal underwater world.
Water flowed around him obediently.
Oxygen continuously regenerated.
Currents parted naturally.
Pressure never reached him.
Movement remained unrestricted.
All because of one reason.
His soul contract.
Seiren wasn't merely a powerful being.
She was one of the Guardians of Destiny.
The Guardian of Scarder Lake.
A deity connected to water itself.
Water.
Ice.
Mist.
Rain.
Ocean currents.
Countless water-related authorities belonged to her.
Through their equal soul contract.
Kel could borrow fragments of her power.
Not enough to rival her.
But enough to accomplish ridiculous things.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed.
"You're basically cheating."
"Technically."
"There is no technically."
Kel nodded.
Fair.
As he moved deeper.
Something noticed him.
Then another thing.
Then another.
Gigantic shadows emerged from darkness.
Massive.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
Leviathans.
Dozens of them.
Their enormous bodies drifted through the ocean.
Some measured hundreds of meters.
Others stretched even further.
Gigantic scales reflected faint bioluminescent light.
Golden eyes watched him carefully.
A human.
Walking underwater.
Naturally.
They found this suspicious.
One Leviathan immediately swam toward him.
Its gigantic jaws opened.
Rows upon rows of teeth became visible.
A mouth large enough to swallow houses.
The creature lunged.
Kel simply stepped sideways.
The enormous jaws closed upon empty water.
The Leviathan blinked.
Confused.
Very confused.
Before it could react—
Kel casually reached out.
Then touched its scales.
Crackle.
A tiny spark appeared.
No dramatic explosion.
No gigantic lightning bolt.
Just a tiny spark.
Then the Leviathan froze.
Its entire body spasmed violently.
Its eyes rolled upward.
The giant creature slowly drifted downward.
Unconscious.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed.
"That looked painful."
"It was educational."
"Educational?"
"It learned not to eat random people."
Another Leviathan attacked.
Kel repeated the process.
Touch.
Spark.
Collapse.
Then another.
Touch.
Spark.
Collapse.
Then another.
Touch.
Spark.
Collapse.
The deep ocean gradually filled with unconscious Leviathans.
The reason remained simple.
Kel wasn't releasing lightning into the water.
That would affect everything nearby.
Including innocent creatures.
Instead.
He used precision control.
Every electric current entered directly through the contact point.
Traveling exclusively through the target's body.
A perfect strike.
No waste.
No collateral damage.
Inside his mind—
Seiren sounded impressed.
"Your control improved again."
"Thank you."
"Don't get used to compliments."
Several more Leviathans wisely decided not to attack.
Intelligence existed among ancient creatures.
And currently—
They were witnessing a human casually disabling their companions with finger taps.
That was deeply concerning.
Kel continued moving forward.
Unhindered.
Eventually.
He stopped.
Then spoke telepathically.
"Seiren."
"Hm?"
"Which one is the largest?"
Silence.
Then laughter.
"I knew you were planning something."
"Answer."
The Guardian sighed dramatically.
Then expanded her senses.
Ancient water authority spread throughout the ocean.
Currents shifted.
Information gathered.
Several moments later—
She answered.
"Three kilometers ahead."
A pause.
"The largest."
Another pause.
"And strongest."
Kel smiled.
Then accelerated.
The ocean exploded behind him.
Using water currents as propulsion.
He shot forward like a living torpedo.
Minutes later.
He found it.
The King Leviathan.
Its size dwarfed everything nearby.
Ancient scars covered its body.
One eye alone exceeded the size of small buildings.
Its presence dominated the entire region.
A true apex predator.
An ancient guardian.
A monster among monsters.
The King Leviathan noticed him immediately.
Their eyes met.
Silence followed.
Then—
The Leviathan roared.
The ocean shook.
Kel smiled.
Then punched it.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately screamed.
"YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT."
He did.
The punch landed directly on its nose.
Boom.
The King Leviathan froze.
Not because of damage.
Because confusion overwhelmed it.
A human.
Had punched it.
A HUMAN.
Had punched it.
The creature spent several seconds processing this insult.
Then became furious.
The ocean exploded.
The King Leviathan thrashed violently.
Its gigantic tail shattered underwater rock formations.
Its jaws snapped repeatedly.
Its body twisted through currents.
Meanwhile—
Kel remained attached.
Like an extremely annoying parasite.
Every time the Leviathan attempted throwing him away—
Kel punched it again.
Gravity magic covered his fists.
Each strike carried terrifying weight.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The King Leviathan suffered the worst day of its existence.
Several smaller Leviathans observed from a distance.
None approached.
Because their king was currently losing a fistfight against a human.
Which felt wrong on many levels.
Eventually.
After nearly twenty minutes.
The King Leviathan stopped resisting.
Its movements weakened.
Its pride shattered.
Its soul questioned reality.
Then finally—
It surrendered.
Inside his mind—
Seiren remained silent.
Several moments passed.
Then—
"Was that necessary?"
Kel sat triumphantly atop the giant creature's head.
"Yes."
"Explain."
Kel pointed around.
"If I have the largest Leviathan."
A pause.
"As my mount."
Another pause.
"Smaller creatures won't attack."
Seiren considered it.
Reasonable.
Kel continued.
"Other Leviathans also won't attack."
Still reasonable.
Then he nodded proudly.
"Efficient."
Inside his mind—
The Guardian groaned.
"You beat up an ancient guardian for transportation."
"Correct."
"That sentence should not exist."
Unfortunately.
It did.
Then Seiren noticed something.
A problem.
A serious problem.
The King Leviathan wasn't moving.
At all.
It lay motionless.
Completely exhausted.
Mentally.
Physically.
Emotionally.
The creature looked traumatized.
Seiren finally spoke.
"Your mount cannot move."
Kel blinked.
Then looked downward.
The giant Leviathan indeed appeared broken.
Not dead.
Just defeated.
Extremely defeated.
The creature had completely given up on life.
Several moments passed.
Then Kel nodded seriously.
"Good point."
The Leviathan felt hope.
Perhaps the nightmare was ending.
Then Kel continued.
"Help me heal it."
The hope vanished.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed helplessly.
"You beat it unconscious."
"Yes."
"Then claimed it as a mount."
"Correct."
"And now you want me to heal it so it can carry you."
"Exactly."
The Guardian laughed for nearly a minute.
Then finally.
Using her authority.
Using divine water magic.
Using restoration powers connected to life and oceans.
A soft blue glow descended.
The King Leviathan's wounds disappeared.
Fatigue vanished.
Strength returned.
Its eyes regained clarity.
Then it realized something.
The terrifying human was still sitting on its head.
The Leviathan nearly cried.
Meanwhile.
Kel patted its scales.
"Good."
Then pointed deeper into the darkness.
"Forward."
The giant creature hesitated.
Then obeyed.
Because after everything that had happened—
Being a mount seemed significantly safer than arguing.
And thus.
Deep beneath the ocean.
Far below the battlefield.
A silver-haired academy student began his exploration.
Riding the largest Leviathan in the region.
While countless guilds above desperately fought Leviathans.
If anyone discovered what Kel was currently doing—
They would immediately conclude something.
Aedon Flinth was not normal.
Not even slightly.