'You're not coming?!'

'No.' Levi s.h.i.+fted his gaze.

A shadow flitted through the darkness.

'I want to see if this bloodline is worth taking.'

'What's the point? You're not going to use it.' A voice sounded.

'This isn't the time-'

Forcefully swinging its tail, the shark slid through the water with a mouthful of black lightning. Many bolts slithered out, accompanied by a high pitched wailing.

Levi twitched rapidly, losing active control of his body.

Clank!

'... That can't hurt me. Not being able to move is dangerous, though.'

A solid object obstructed the jaws, prying them open slowly.

'You should take better care of your teeth.'

Black, jagged "v" shaped cracks lined every tooth.

'Good to know that these teeth can break my skin.' He examined his body.

Uweuweuwe!

'Don't even try-' Levi's spasming body shot out.

'That tingling is annoying.' He repeatedly clenched his twitching fist.

The colossal vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a weak current.

'... Dammit.'

The cold ocean water swept over his skin as Levi s.h.i.+fted and turned.

Unbeknownst to him, the skilled predator flashed in and out of the deep darkness.

Uweuwe!

"?!"

'That sound is giving you away.'

With its fins heavily coated in lightning, the shark sped.

'Don't think you can hit me with that now!' Levi reached out.

It turned and slammed its fin towards him.

The force knocked him through the water.

Sizzle!

'Siii! That hurt?!'

'What? That hurt you?'

'I can still feel pain, you know! It burned! That had to be a huge concentration of power for me to feel it.' A barely discernable pink hue deepened on his palms.

'Then what are you screaming for?! Suck it up!'

'Let me concentrate, old demon! I don't have time for this!'

'Humph. Scared of some mindless creature. This day's generation...' The demon saint grumbled.

Levi s.h.i.+fted continuously, sweeping his limbs through the water.

'Come out!'

His muscles tightened.

Swis.h.!.+

He spun.

Bloop! Bloop!

His gaze s.h.i.+fted.

Uwe!

'Not this time!' Levi grabbed for the fin once again.

Crackle!

'Burn through this Qi if you can!'

He got dragged along.

'This is for earlier.' With his foot on the giant's body, he pulled at the fin.

The shark's swimming became erratic and harsh. It bent its body, attempting to chomp Levi.

Rip!

'Can you smell your blood? Hold on a minute, let me tear this off!'

Crackle!

Lightning pa.s.sed through its gills, coating both fins as they sped.

The shark made a sharp turn, flinging Levi from it's partly torn fin.

'That slippery b.a.s.t.a.r.d! But it's no use anymore.' He steadied himself.

...

Water splashed and flew on the ocean's surface.

"Hurry and climb up! That thing doesn't give up!"

"I-Puh! I can't! Not while carrying him!" Adam spat seawater.

"What?! How did?!? Grab onto the rope! I'll pull you both up!!"

"Ok!"

"It may be slippery, but try to climb the side! That would help!"

"Umu!!" Adam nodded heavily. He threw Zale onto his back and gripped the knotted rope.

The man pulled them up.

On the s.h.i.+p.

"What the h.e.l.l is happening now? What happened to the boss!? And where is the other kid?!"

"Uh, Levi stayed behind. As for what happened to him, I don't know..."

"What do you mean 'stayed behind'?! Does he want to die!?" The man turned.

"Wait! Forget about him for now! If you don't help HIM, he's going to die!" Adam gripped his arm.

"Let go! You don't know that kid's background! If the people backing him find out he kicked the bucket under our watch, all us are dead anyway!"

"Tsk! Listen to me! Levi is can deal with the shark! Are you going to abandon your boss when he needs you the most?!" Adam pointed.

"... What would a kid like you know?!" The man pulled his arm away.

He knelt beside Zale.

"... Humph." Adam sat.

The s.h.i.+p rocked as a wave crashed.

...

Underwater.

'... Did it leave?'

Levi Looked around.

It was as silent as oceanly possible.

'... If it was so easily scared, it would have left after seeing how I got away unscathed from that lightning attack.'

'But if not, why hasn't it come back?!'

With a s.h.i.+ft of his gaze, the shark, decked out in black lightning, drifted into view. With most of its body shrouded in a few protective layers, it stared Levi down.

'That looks serious.' Levi narrowed his eyes.

'Are you going to go all out?'

Levi's brows crumpled as he trailed the creature with his eyes.

The shark shot out, causing rings of air to ripple out from its force.

Lightning clung to its jaws, ripped apart as it opened its mouth. Its gills flapped open before a densely packed lightning bolt snaked towards Levi.

Bzzz!

His body convulsed.

The shark shot toward him at full speed.

'I know your tricks.' Levi lifted his head.

Noticing this, the shark changed course.

'Going all out? It's only a fish.'

Levi shot upward as he dragged his hand through the water.

'You're too strong to drag out with blood control? Then I have more than enough QI to use instead!'

The two figures sped rapidly towards the surface.

...

The ocean's surface bulged as a tongue of water shot out.

"I can understand why you want to get out, but that's not going to work."

A large ball of water sat stationary in the air.

The shark thrashed as lightning crackled, forcing out ripples and waves below.

"I've learned my lesson. Your lightning is painful, even though it can't damage my body." Levi crossed his legs.

"So I'll keep you in this Qi for my own safety. Although, you might find it... Difficult to breathe."

Water splashed and crashed as the shark thrashed.

"... Seeing as this isn't water."

It struggled harder with each pa.s.sing second.

"..." Levi sighed.

He reached out and clenched his fist.

Qi flooded the creature's body, and in a few minutes, it was dead.

'What's the point in making it suffer? It's not like the thing murdered my father or something...'

"It just so happened that we ended up fighting. It's only natural that those who lose, die." He tilted his head back.

...

On the s.h.i.+p.

In the distance, a person walked leisurely.

"... I-IS HE WALKING ON WATER?"

"I mean… Walking on water isn't anything unheard of, but still!!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"... So he is fine." Adam muttered.

"T-Th-That can't be... "

"... Sh-Shark? That shark?!"

"Is he still alive?" Levi jumped.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Is that dead?" Adam pointed.

"Mhmm. Feed him one of these." Levi took out a silver pouch.

"Ok." Adam dropped a white pill into Zale's mouth.

"... Uhhhhhh!!" He gasped.

'Hmm. Healing pills.'

"Cough! Cough! Th-Cough! What happened to the shark!"

"Ow, ow, ow! There! Look there!" Adam pointed.

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"What the fu?!" Zale rolled over.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fi... I'm fine? The water should have crushed me, though?" Zale patted himself down.

"Oh. That's good. What were you doing anyway? Aren't you supposed to be an expert? C'mon."

"..." Zale's face lips twitched.

"Really?" Levi glanced at him.

"What? I'm just telling the truth." Adam sighed.

Levi shook his head.

'When dealing with him, you just have to let some things go.'

"What? So it was your fault?!"

"Huh?" Sweat slid down Adam's face.

"The boss told you two to stay in line. Now, because you didn't listen, he almost died!"

"Uh, you're stretching my clothes. Let go?" Adam gripped the man's arms.

"Is this a joke to you? Huh?!"

Levi turned to the ball of Qi.

"Let the kid go. I went to help him on my own." Zale waved.

"I knew the pressure would kill me and still did what I did. If I died, I could only blame myself."

"Boss, you're too nice! That's why people take advantage of you!"

"A current dragged me away-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Get off this s.h.i.+p!" He shoved.

"There's no place to get off at though…" Adam stepped back.

"They say the ocean is the cradle of life. If you meet the mother of all down there and beg, she might grant you new life. But who could say for sure?" He grabbed Adam's collar.

"So you admit that you're trying to kill me!"

"... That's enough."

Levi stood on a bridge of Qi as he examined the shark.

"... Did you just say something?"

"..."

"You two... If it wasn't for your immaturity, none of this would have happened!"

"Hey man, that's enough..."

"Zale is already all right, ok?"

"Furthermore... Anyway, just end it at that."

The men said.

"So all of you think this is fine? Hmm?! What about next time? If these two stay, how long will we last? Both of them should just get lost now."

"Sam!!"

"Boss?"

"Didn't you hear that everything is already over?" Zale's brows crumpled.

"... What's with all of you?! Why are you so willing to harbor these dangerous brats?! Ya know what... I'll do it on my own. Get off. Right now!"

"Uh-Um... " Adam's feet dragged across the wood.

"Hey, can you stop this nonsense?"

"... You got something to say, boy?" Sam ground his teeth.

"You're not impressing anyone with this behavior. If you didn't notice, this commotion is doing less to hide your flaws than you think." Levi looked down.

"Stop talking nonsense! Get down here!"

"No thanks. Instead, let's talk about you. Where were you while everyone ran for their lives?" Levi crossed his legs. A chair formed behind him as he sat.

"Tsk! If you won't come down willingly, I'll make you!" Qi exploded from Sam's body.

"Sam! Hey! What are you doing?!"

"You can't be doing that on the s.h.i.+p!"

"You're taking this further than it needs to go!"

"Shut up!" Sam snapped.

"Careful with that." Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Humph! Too late now!"

A stream of Qi slammed into a wall of water.

"As I was saying. You were one of the first to surface earlier. Isn't that so?" Levi propped his head.

"..."

"And I'm sure before you left, you saw how that stray current dragged him away. But unlike Mister Zale, you didn't think twice about leaving that fool behind."

"Hey!"

"... What are you trying to say!?" Veins bulged on Sam's neck.

"As for me, I pushed anyone still in the water to the surface. I even stayed behind to kill this thing."

"Your point?!"

"You felt guilty when you saw Zale's condition. You got angry. Mostly at yourself. The thought of being shunned for your cowardly behavior led to you formulating potential solutions to an imaginary problem." Levi nodded.

"Enough of your nonsense. GET OFF THE s.h.i.+P!"

"But out of all of your options, instead of apologizing or even vowing, silently or otherwise, to do better next time, you tried pinning the blame on others. Trying to focus resentment onto the two of us. Killing two birds with one stone, right? This way, you could also get rid of two thorns in your side." He opened his eyes slightly.

"You're quite the scheming attention seeker, I must say. We haven't been on this s.h.i.+p for more than two days, and yet you're jealous of the little attention we received? But you know what they say about jealousy. It clouds the judgment of even fools."

"..." Teeth ground audibly.

"Ha! Even though people tried to stop you multiple times, you continued with this nonsense. I'm sure, as friends, they tried to stop you from doing something. A pity, though."

"Y-You-"

"Don't bother with that now. What good will it do? You've already shown your true colors. Do you think anyone would keep calling themselves a friend of yours? That they would lower themselves to that? Pft." Levi's eyes arched.

"You-You..." Sam lowered an outstretched arm.

"Wait! That's not what...! That's not..."

"Your anger must be overflowing." Levi smiled.

"..." Sam's knuckles cracked from the strain.

"But, have a look at this dead fish before anything else." Levi pointed upward.

"... Are you saying I can't touch you?" Sam lowered his head.

"You can try. It'll just not turn out too good for you."

"Expect nothing more from me. Sparing you earlier was already the most I could do."

"Fine, then!!"

Levi's gaze sharpened.

Blood sprayed onto the s.h.i.+p's deck.

'... He wants to screw me over whatever the means, huh?'

Blood dripped from Sam's mouth as he lay keeled over, a fist on his chest.

"Help him!!"

"What is wrong with you?!"

"I-I don't think he's... His condition might be worse than Boss Zale's was..."

"But he only survived because..."

"... I'm ashamed to ask, but, do you... Would you be willing to give us another one of those pills?!" A man walked out. His still wet hair stuck together as his tanned skin shone under the sunlight.

"..."

"W-We'll pay you back! It's just, right now-"

Levi landed before him.

"Here." A pill slipped from between his fingers.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

After rus.h.i.+ng to his side, the pill landed in Sam's mouth.

"... I just hope that you all will learn how to listen."

"We-Er... We're sorry about Sam. He usually isn't like this..."

Levi turned.

'... This 'favor' should make them more willing to co-operate. I hope that you all are worth my trouble.'

The man scratched his head.

..

Standing on the water bridge, Levi held up a clenched fist. He lifted his other fist before pulling the two apart.

Flowing from the shark's mouth was a stream of crimson.

A ball of blood just a little smaller than the ball of Qi floated, littered with black spots.

'Separate the bloodline from the blood...'

Black veins stretched across the blood as a black blob separated from it.

"Now, to separate the 'bloodline energy' from the 'pureblood'."

A pale white liquid seeped from the black blob.

'This "bloodline energy" is what fuels the changes when I absorb a bloodline. It's what make's them grow. I can now freely change my body with any bloodline, but only after its initial growth. Since this is what feeds bloodlines' growth the first time, it's important to keep it too.'

'As for how this benefits these beasts...'

'Anyway, as long as it is in a closed container, the energy and nutrients inside will survive.' A porcelain bottle appeared in his hand as the white liquid poured in.

'As for the 'pureblood', as the blueprint of bloodlines, if it's not frozen after being separated from the bloodline energy, it will die. Even then, it can only live for a while. Sigh.'

Levi grabbed at his chest as a small wooden bottle appeared in his hand.

"The old man inscribed these bottles himself, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about but... Ha, If he knew I doubted his inscriptions, with his temper, who knows what he would do." He smiled.

Levi sighed.

"I only have a few more of these left..." He shook his head as the bottle vanished from his fingers.

"As for this-" His touch sent ripples throughout the large ball of blood.

"It should raise my blood energy level by at least one."

Air whipped out as Levi absorbed the blood.

His eyes shone as his body quivered.

"If I don't contain the explosions, this illusion will scatter. Although everyone on this s.h.i.+p aside from that guy works for me, I still can't let them see too much. Especially him. He's already seen things he shouldn't have."

"... But this is too similar to holding in a sneeze." Levi shook his head.

With a wave of his hand, the pale gray surrounding him vanished.

"Hmm?"

"Hahaha! You! You're funny!"

"Here! Have a drink!"

"I don't drink, sorry."

"Huh? Why not? You're old enough, right?"

"I am. It's just that after years of drinking, my kidneys aren't too good." Adam sighed.

"Ahahahaaha! You're not even 20, what years of drinking!!"

"This kid is just too funny." Someone shook their head.

"Ha, haha... Drunk people..." Adam rubbed his sore back.

Levi shook his head. After lowering, he walked in the opposite direction of the group and sat.

'I don't understand him.'

...

A few days later.

A ma.s.s of vegetation grew as time pa.s.sed.

"That is the Divine Dragon Continent?" Adam pointed.

"Mhmm."

"Come to think of it, I need to find a type of wood. Do you think I could buy it? Or am I supposed to chop down a tree myself?"

"I don't know."

"Oh."

'Who was it making a fuss about coming here again? Come to think of it, my a.s.s.'

"Hmm?" Levi trailed the eye-catching s.h.i.+p with his gaze.

A few minutes later.

They were now close enough to make out the forms of trees.

'Divine Dragon Continent.'

His gaze once again swept the s.h.i.+p.

'I wonder, did Nerezza succeed?'