Cold crushed in from every direction.

Trafalgar sank fast, the ocean swallowing light and sound alike. Pressure wrapped around his body like an invisible vice, mana currents grinding against his skin as if the sea itself were testing him.

His lungs burned.

His vision blurred.

But his grip on Maledicta never loosened.

'Yeah… that sent me flying,' he thought grimly, bubbles tearing free from his mouth as he forced his body to stabilize. 'Prime rank. No surprises there.'

Below him, the water darkened.

The Leviathan moved, circling him.

Its vast presence warped the currents, each slow coil sending pressure waves through the depths. Trafalgar could feel it now, clearer than before: the weight of a creature born at a higher rank. Not malicious. Not hateful.

Simply dominant.

Mana flared around Trafalgar's core.

"Alright," he muttered, voice lost to the water. "Guess we're doing this properly."

The air shifted.

For a heartbeat, pressure folded inward—then collapsed.

A dark shimmer rippled across his skin.

In an instant, the Armor of the Unborn Star materialized.

Black obsidian plates formed seamlessly over his body, locking into place with impossible precision. Light vanished against its surface, absorbed rather than reflected. The helmet sealed last—winged, predatory, faint gold lines tracing its visor.

The ocean pressed in again.

And failed.

Trafalgar flexed his fingers.

The armor moved with him, responsive, alive.

Just for a fraction of a second—

The Leviathan slowed.

Its massive body shifted course, coils tightening as it adjusted to Trafalgar's sudden stabilization. Ancient instincts assessed distance, pressure, threat.

A predator recognizing resistance.

Trafalgar's eyes narrowed behind the visor.

'So you're still thinking,' he noted calmly. 'Good. That makes this more interesting.'

He angled his body downward, Maledicta steady in his grasp as mana surged faster through his core—denser, sharper than before.

Trafalgar moved.

He kicked downward, letting gravity and the Leviathan's own momentum pull him closer as he drove Maledicta forward.

The blade sank into the nape—

exactly where the earlier cracks had formed.

The Leviathan convulsed.

Water detonated outward as the creature roared, its massive body surging forward in a desperate attempt to dislodge him. Trafalgar's arm jolted violently, but he didn't let go. He used the sword—twisting it just enough to lock it between fractured scales.

Maledicta became an anchor.

The Leviathan fled down.

The ocean turned into a screaming blur as the creature accelerated, dragging Trafalgar behind it at terrifying speed. Pressure slammed into him from every direction, layers of water compressing like invisible walls. The light vanished completely.

His body held.

Primordial Body burned hot, mana flooding muscle and bone, repairing microfractures before they could become damage. Obsidian Wings absorbed the worst of the strain, obsidian plates humming as they dispersed force across his frame.

Still, the Leviathan fought.

It twisted sharply, rolled, then dove even faster, trying to scrape him off against its own scales. Trafalgar's boots slid, sparks of mana flaring as he adjusted his stance mid-drag.

'So that's your plan,' he thought, calm despite the chaos. 'Shake me off.'

He raised his free hand.

[Arc Slash]

Underwater, the dark-blue crescent didn't fan out—it compressed, slamming directly into the same weakened section. The impact rippled through flesh and bone.

The Leviathan thrashed harder.

[Severing Fang]

A diagonal pressure burst detonated at point-blank range, tearing through water and driving force inward. Trafalgar didn't aim wide. He didn't vary his strikes.

He focused.

Again. And again.

Each blow landed in the same place.

Crack.

This time, it wasn't just scales.

A deep, internal fracture echoed through the Leviathan's body. Blood clouded the water, dark and heavy, as the creature screamed—its movements turning erratic, uncoordinated.

Trafalgar leaned closer, fingers tightening around the hilt.

'There it is,' he thought. 'The break.'

The Leviathan surged again, preparing something desperate.

And Trafalgar held on.

The Leviathan twisted violently.

Its massive body coiled and uncoiled in rapid succession, turning the surrounding ocean into a spinning vortex. Currents slammed into Trafalgar from every direction as the creature tried a new tactic—not shaking him off, but crushing him through sheer motion.

Pressure spiked.

Water compressed, roaring past his ears as the Leviathan accelerated again, this time spiraling upward. The sudden change in direction tore at Trafalgar's grip, his boots skidding across slick, fractured scales.

'So you're switching it up,' he thought coolly. 'About time.'

The creature's muscles bunched beneath him, thick cords of power surging toward its core. Trafalgar felt it immediately—the shift in mana, the gathering tension.

A charge.

Not an attack aimed at him.

An escape attempt.

The Leviathan shot upward, bursting toward the surface in a violent ascent, dragging Trafalgar along as the water thinned and light began to bleed back in from above. The speed was monstrous. Even with his armor, the strain gnawed at his bones.

Trafalgar adjusted his stance mid-drag, bending low, pulling Maledicta deeper into the wound. The sword screamed in his grip as it bit into flesh and fractured bone.

"No," he muttered. "You're not leaving yet."

[Arc Slash]

This time, he angled the blade inward, releasing the slash into the wound instead of across the surface. The compressed mana detonated inside the Leviathan's neck, sending a shockwave through muscle and spine.

The Leviathan shrieked.

Its ascent faltered.

The ocean around them churned violently as the creature convulsed, its path breaking into a jagged, uncontrolled climb. Blood streamed freely now, thick clouds spreading behind them like ink in water.

Trafalgar didn't let up.

He pulled himself closer, almost pressed against the creature's neck, boots braced as he raised Maledicta again.

[Severing Fang]

The pressure burst slammed down the same fractured line, driving force deeper, wider. The internal crack expanded with a sickening groan—bone giving way, structure failing.

The Leviathan's movements lost rhythm.

Lost coordination.

Its coils spasmed instead of striking, its power bleeding away with every second. The ascent slowed to a crawl, then stopped entirely.

They hung there—suspended in churning water.

Trafalgar exhaled slowly.

The Leviathan convulsed.

Its massive body jerked sideways, coils thrashing without pattern as pain finally overwhelmed instinct. One eye rolled wildly, the other half-lidded, unfocused. Blood continued to spill into the water, darkening the currents around them.

That was when Caelum moved.

He had been standing still on the deck the entire time—calm, observant, calculating. Now, his golden eyes sharpened.

'So it really is a hatchling,' he thought. Not disappointed. Almost satisfied. 'Prime rank… but barely born. Its instincts are strong. Its mind is not.'

Mana shifted around his hands.

With a soft mechanical click, two compact hand crossbows manifested from thin air—sleek, matte-black, runes etched along their limbs. Light. Silent. Deadly. Weapons made for precision, not spectacle.

Caelum raised both arms.

Thk.

The first bolt vanished into the water.

It struck the Leviathan's right eye.

The creature screamed—this time not in fury, but in raw panic. Its head snapped sideways, jaws opening in a violent reflex as its body twisted uncontrollably.

Thk.

The second bolt followed instantly, piercing the left eye.

Blind.

Completely.

The Leviathan thrashed wildly now, its movements turning erratic, desperate. It surged upward in blind instinct, breaking the surface in a violent explosion of water and blood.

"Trafalgar," Caelum said calmly, voice carrying across the chaos.

Trafalgar didn't hesitate.

As the Leviathan's jaws opened in a mindless attempt to shake him off, he let go—dropping straight down.

Not away.

In.

He landed inside the creature's mouth, boots hitting flesh slick with blood as he drove Maledicta down with both hands.

[Morgain's Final Crescent]

Mana detonated inward.

The inverted crescent carved through from within, ripping through the Leviathan's skull along the already-damaged line. Bone split. Flesh tore. The creature's head split open from the inside, a violent, catastrophic rupture that ended the fight instantly.

The Leviathan went limp.

Its body crashed down—half onto the ship, half back into the sea—sending shockwaves through the deck as water and blood poured across the hull.

Silence followed.

Trafalgar stood amid the wreckage, breathing steadily, Maledicta still humming faintly in his grasp.

Caelum lowered his crossbows, watching him with quiet approval.

"…Well done, young master."

Trafalgar stepped back onto the deck, Obsidian Wings dissolving into motes of dark mana as the armor disengaged. The pressure lifted instantly. He rolled his shoulders once, testing his body.

'So this is Prime rank…' he thought. 'Yeah. That wasn't easy, good thing it was still young.'

Caelum approached the corpse, eyes scanning with clinical precision. He knelt briefly near the Leviathan's head, then reached inside the split skull. Mana flared—and he pulled something free.

A pendant.

A large, curved tooth, polished smooth by the sea, wrapped in a thin metallic frame etched with subtle runes. The mana it emitted was calm, deep, and steady—like pressure rather than heat.

Caelum weighed it once in his palm.

"A Leviathan Fang Pendant," he said.

"Passive effects," Caelum continued evenly. "Dramatically increased underwater endurance. Breathing, pressure resistance, stamina. And…" a pause, "…enhanced physical damage while submerged."

Trafalgar took it, feeling the weight—and the power—settle into his hand.

[Item Acquired]

Leviathan Fang Pendant – Legendary Rank

— Greatly increases underwater endurance (breathing, pressure resistance, stamina)

— +20% physical damage while submerged

— Passive: Ocean-Born Resilience (reduces movement penalties underwater)

"…Worth it," he muttered.

From the cockpit, Alfred let out a long whistle.

"Twenty meters," the old captain said. "Prime hatchling. Killed midair." He shook his head. "You really are insane, kid."

Trafalgar smirked faintly.

"Guess I do have them pretty big."

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