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The deep sea was a world full of mysteries despite being on the same planet as other places. Not just in Midgard, but even in Sei’s home world where science had progressed much further than in this world, the whole picture had not been fully revealed.

Deep-sea creatures were often different from the types of fish that humans would usually see. They often had strange and unique evolutions. For example, there were fish with transparent heads, jellyfish that glowed seven different colors, creatures that looked like spiders, strangely-shaped fish that could open their mouths so wide that their jaws seemed to be broken, and squids with transparent bodies.

There was even an organism that wouldn’t die at a temperature of absolute zero or when exposed to radiation that would kill most living things. It could survive without water in a dry state for ten years. It could calmly exist in a vacuum and even survive in outer space.

These were not creatures mutated by mana in Midgard, but creatures from Earth. It was only natural that some might ask, “These things didn’t actually come from space, right?” If such strangely-shaped creatures were mutated by mana into magical beasts, it wouldn’t be wrong to call them monsters.

These creatures lived in the deep seas of Midgard. Those who had both the characteristics of such creatures and humans were the deep ones. In other words, they were mutants. No matter how one chose to describe them, they wouldn’t be considered cute or cool. Merely looking at them was enough to shave away one’s sanity and cause one to panic. These monsters seemed to have mutated with the malicious intent to induce fear in others.

However, the ones who were before them now were an emotionless golem, the devil king of hell, and the son of the Goddess. The monstrous appearances of their opponents would neither shake their resolve nor weaken their spirits. They easily defeated the monsters and went deeper and deeper.

“Ugly…What ugly creatures! It’s deplorable that they’re so different despite living in the same sea. Get out of my sight, you lowly peasants!”

Having left the entire battle to the orvar, Pisces stood by in a dignified manner and spoke words of contempt without hiding his disgust. This enraged the deep ones, who attempted to charge at him while uttering an incomprehensible language. However, Libra fired her assault rifle and eliminated all of them.

“I am detecting a huge life force two kilometers ahead. Level…higher than 910. Making contact in a few seconds. Is everyone ready?”

Libra’s Search Eye was a skill that had similar effects as Ruphas’ Observing Eye. If the target’s level was half of the user’s level or less, all of the target’s statuses would be revealed. If the target’s level was more than half but not more than the user’s level, only the level, HP, and SP would be revealed. If the target’s level was higher than the user’s level, nothing would be revealed.

When Libra used her Search Eye just now, neither level nor status was revealed to her. At Level 910, she had the highest level among the Twelve Stars, excluding Leon. The fact that she couldn’t see its status implied that the enemy was above Level 910.

“What a strong enemy. To think that there’s still an individual like this left in the world today…”

“Because it has been lurking in the deep sea, the Goddess, the Demon King, and even our master haven’t noticed its existence. If it had been on land in the two hundred years during our master’s absence, the power balance of Midgard would be completely different.”

At above Level 910, it was undoubtedly a disaster-class monster. At least, it would have enough combat power to flatten Midgard in just a few days. It had never really taken action until now, except for some skirmishes in the sea. This was nothing but good luck for the land dwellers. In a way, it would not be wrong to say that Pisces had been protecting the world, since he had been keeping this monster under control until now.

“Hmph. Level is merely a numerical value of power. I’ve no intention to use it as a guideline to begin with. My mother always tries to make detailed decisions about things, but that’s why she keeps repeating her failures. Things are actually quite simple. The strong are strong, while the weak are weak. That’s all there is to it.”

There was a difference of at least 110 levels. This difference was by no means small enough to be compensated by the three-against-one advantage. However, Pisces was unmoved and laughed fearlessly.

“Who cares if your level is 900 or 1000? The final victory will be mine. This has been decided by the Heavens.”

“He’s still full of confidence without any basis for it as usual.”

“There is a basis, for I’m the glorious king of the sea and the son of the Goddess.”

Pisces glanced upwards with his arms crossed. Libra and Aigokeros also gazed upwards and stared.

Before them…was a strangely-shaped monster that was as huge as a mountain. Countless tentacles grew from its octopus-like head. Its scales-covered arms ended in sharp claws. Bat wings, like those of Aigokeros, grew from its back. Its entire body was glowing green. What appeared to be its mouth was cracked vertically and horizontally and it was filled with fangs.

Tens, or even hundreds, of eyes popped out of its face in a disorderly manner, moving about randomly to look at its surroundings. Eventually, those eyes caught Pisces and the others in their sights.

“……■■■■■■■■■■”

Mutant or not, its voice or words simply couldn’t be described. Nevertheless, if one were to categorize it, it would probably be considered a voice. However, it was impossible to verbalize it. Undoubtedly, it could not be reproduced, at least not by human vocal cords. It would be impossible to write it down as well.

Hearing that sound, the orvar that Pisces was riding suddenly panicked and became violently agitated. Merely hearing its voice was enough to drive a Level 500 magical beast insane and make it frightened. Libra immediately fired an anesthetic shot to calm the orvar and then pointed the muzzle towards the monster.

“Please be careful. Although it was just its voice, it seems to have the effect of reducing one’s sanity. Its ability seems similar to Aigokeros’, huh?”

“Hmph. How impudent.”

Mental manipulation was the specialty of Aigokeros. Burning with desire to oppose the mutant, Aigokeros assumed his giant form, revealing the appearance of an ominous devil. His goat eyes shone, mentally manipulating the mutant monster to become insane. However, the monster seemed unmoved and put pressure on Aigokeros instead, trying to induce mental abnormalities.

The devil king faced off against the evil god. Although one was from land and the other was from the sea, both of them were born in extreme places with a high concentration of mana and unusual mutations. The waves emitted by the both of them dyed the sea black. The fish within several kilometers of the area lost their sanity and died screaming or laughing violently.

Far away, two mermen pierced each other and died while laughing violently. A fish with a long serpentine body ate its own intestines and died. Their existences alone were disasters. Without taking any actions, they drove others towards suicide. This was how the evil god and the devil king were. They were the embodiments of malice.

However, there was no effect on Aigokeros and the evil god who were right in the center.

“As expected, mental manipulation seems to have no effect.”

Libra fired harpoons from the cannons at her waist. She was aiming at its torso, where certain vital organs were judged to be contained. Libra’s eyes could see through substances. If it was compared to technology on Earth, it would be like using an X-ray to view the inside of the evil god, exposing its interior despite the protection of its hard skin.

The shapes and positions of its internal organs were a mess. Although it did not match the data of any organism on land, the location of its vital organs could still be determined from its blood flow. The fired harpoons pierced it without any resistance and unleashed ultrasonic waves.

As its body convulsed, the evil god reacted and emitted a sound that was probably a scream. However, even if some damage had been dealt, it was far from being fatal.

The evil god glared at Libra and all of the tentacles on its head reached out for a counterattack. Libra’s eyes instantly analyzed the enemy’s attack speed and determined the evasion rate.

Estimated speed…Mach forty thousand…Evasion rate, thirty percent…

Each tentacle rushed at Libra with killing intent as if it had a will of its own. Libra concentrated on avoiding the attacks, then turned to make an offensive. Astraea M, which was on her back, detached its wings, turning them into eight blades which she fired.

Each of the eight blades moved as if they had a will of their own, rotating and cutting off the tentacles one after another. They cut only the tentacles which couldn’t be avoided and also assisted Aigokeros and Pisces in evading the attacks. However, a tentacle struck one of the blades, destroying it.

The absence of one wing created a gap in their defense and the tentacles rushed in. However, before they could reach Libra, they were all severed by Aigokeros using his scythe. In the meantime, Libra had her wings return to her back, while Pisces took his turn to attack.

“Kneel, peasant!”

Pisces moved above the evil god at a speed that made it seem like he had vanished. Then, he swung down his trident. The blow struck the evil god’s head. Even the space behind it was cut, leaving a straight scar on the seabed.

“Hahahaha! What’s wrong? Is that all you’ve got? How disappointing, you lower life form!”

Pisces laughed, certain that it was his victory. However, his smile instantly froze in the next moment. Its head was certainly slashed apart, but it was rapidly regenerating. Instead of joining the parts which were cut, new flesh grew from the wound to restore itself. The number of heads now increased to two.

A closer look revealed that the tentacles severed by Aigokeros were also branching out and increasing in number.

“■■■■■”

The evil god wriggled its tentacles and blew the three of them away. As they slammed onto the seabed, Libra immediately fired her machine gun and Aigokeros shot a magic bullet. They hit the evil god directly without giving it any time to evade, and a part of its body split and was cut off.

But the wound was quickly repaired. Furthermore, the piece of meat that had detached from the main body transformed into a mutated creature, becoming a ferocious shark. The shark headed for Libra without any hesitation and bit into one of her wings. Libra responded quickly by smashing the shark’s head with her steel fist.

“…Astraea Type M, damage…twenty-two percent…Speed…reduced by fifteen percent…”

Including the previous damage, two of Astraea M’s wings had already been broken. Libra herself was still intact, but the loss of mobility was rather troubling. If she lost Astraea M during this underwater battle, she would sink into the sea due to her weight. It would be dangerous for her to take further damage.

“■■■■■……”

The evil god muttered something and its eyes moved about. In an instant, a terrible pressure struck the three of them. They were being crushed as if by an invisible hand.

“Tsk, what a petty trick…It’s manipulating the surrounding water to concentrate pressure on us. Is it trying to squash us…!?”

Pisces distorted his face and threw his trident. However, the thrown weapon didn’t even reach the evil god as it was crushed along the way. Meanwhile, Libra’s fist detached from her elbow and struck the evil god. Aigokeros’ scythe pierced it while its stance was compromised.
The scythe had an instant death effect, but unfortunately, it was ineffective here. But Aigokeros didn’t care and inflicted a straight wound with the scythe.

“Concentrate attacks there before it can regenerate! Continue!”

Aigokeros started to collect mana within both of his hands and then released his favorite skill—Deneb Algedi. The single attack blew the evil god’s body apart and Libra followed up by firing her harpoons. A harpoon struck the head and emitted ultrasonic waves, destroying the insides. Meanwhile, Pisces jumped to follow up on her attack.

“You ugly monster, how long are you going to act tough before the glorious king of the sea? Understand our differences…you peasant!”

Pisces growled and his mouth cracked apart. Scales grew from his entire body and his beautiful features instantly underwent a monstrous transformation. A horn grew from his head and his body elongated to the point where it surpassed even the evil god.

He was like a snake…no, an ouroboros. The five ouroboroses were considered to be proxies of the Goddess in this world. He was much smaller in size, but his appearance was very similar as he gave off a limitless sense of holiness. If there was someone here who knew of Levia, the guardian deity of Svalinn, they would surely notice how similar they were in appearance.

Pisces bit the evil god and ascended. An extremely long body rose from the sea, over the land, and passed through the stratosphere into space. He crashed the evil god into the moon with brute force. He then opened his mouth and concentrated destructive light within it.

“Disappear!”

He fired.

—and fired, fired, fired, fired, fired, fired, fired, fired, fired.

If he was shooting at the surface of Midgard, the shockwaves from his ruthless blasts of light would be enough to destroy civilizations even if it wouldn’t destroy the planet itself.

Each time it struck, the moon was gouged and its terrain changed. When the circular moon became distorted, Pisces bit the remains of the evil god and descended back to Midgard. Pisces slammed right into the deep sea and returned to his human form.

“Hmm…Hahahahaha! Do you understand now? You are unworthy to be my opponent!”

Pisces laughed loudly as he bragged about his victory.

However, Libra was calmly observing the enemy and she noticed that the reaction from its life force had not diminished.

“No, not yet.”

“What?”

As if to prove the truth of her words, the evil god rose before Libra who was staring intently at it.

Its entire body was burnt…However, except for the stomach wound dealt by Aigokeros, almost all of its wounds had regenerated.

Image from Light Novel Volume 7