“ICE SHIELD!”

A half-dome shield of ice was raised by Viers in an instant. He created the toughest defense he could in anticipation of what was coming.

The assailant did not slow down. It broke the shield and slammed Viers behind it, making both of them rise meters above the water’s surface.

Amidst the broken icicles, Viers saw the form of his attacker.

A body of black and white, elegant and fearsome, cute face and predatory. Its purple eyes left light streaks in the water and the air.

“A killer whale?”

The girls were as surprised as Viers.

“Gasp! Is that…” Paina was agape.

“Devadom Orca!!” Farley said with a grim face.

“A Deva-class monster!? Are you sure?”

Viers corrected his posture while falling from the air. The orca made a big splash as it returned to the sea first but Viers used his water mastery to stand above the water’s surface, drenched with brine from head to toe.

“What? What? Tell me,” Clarissa was the only one who didn't know.

“Throughout the continent, there exist monsters powerful beyond people’s understanding. Not even Level 5 Pathseekers can tangle with the best of their kind. We call these special monsters Deva-class,” Farley explained.

“Their numbers are few and very rarely seen. But their strength is without question. Devadom Orca is one of the twelve Deva monsters in the seas,” Paina added.

“Among the known ones,” Farley disagreed. “Who can say we have seen every monster in existence?”

“Whoa… no such list existed in my time,” Clarissa commented. “We’re in a bad situation, though. What will you do, Viers? We’re on its home turf.”

Menacingly, with a fin jutting from the water like in the Jaws movie, the orca circled around the alerted Viers.

“Thank goodness it’s only a Rank 2. A Rank 3 would be very, very bad.”

“Keep moving Lord Viers! If that’s really the Devadom Orca then we must not get caught by its ability.”

He felt the space constrict, as if the air was turning into concrete.

Not good!

Viers moved ten meters away using Raging River Step Arte, dashing on the water as if he was walking on solid land.

“That is space manipulation!” Clarissa said.

“Yes. Master of water and space, Great Hunter of the Seas: Devadom Orca,” Viers felt threatened. It has been a long time since he felt a sense of crisis from a monster encounter. The last time was when he met Harry, Marc, and Minty, surrounded by chameleon wolves.

“What’s your call, Lord Viers? Fight or flight?”

“Viers, transform into a water monster first! You’ll have more freedom that way,” Paina said.

“...I can't. I don't have monster forms to fight underwater effectively! Hrggh!?”

The orca didn't wait until Viers finished his discussion and attacked with a water blast from its mouth. Behind his shield, Viers felt like he had been hit by a hundred firemen's hoses at the same time.

“Y-Y-You don't!?” Paina was aghast. “You can become every aquatic monster out there and you don't have even one form for fighting underwater?”

“How often do you think I get to fight underwater? It is not a priority!”

And he had not found one monster that was worthy of a special mention.

He had a fish form but it was this world’s equivalent of Magicarp. One wrong move and the orca could swallow him with one gulp. That form was not for battle.

Viers returned fire with Vengeful Spirit Arte but the orca disappeared, even some of the surrounding waters on its body seemed to be moved from the material plane until the sea corrected it. Viers’ soul Arte faded into the distance and the hair on his neck stood on end. It was by the skin of his teeth that Viers dodged a maw of the orca that came from the side.

Blink! If it can do that multiple times, can I even get away?

In an instant, Viers made his resolve. Guren Muramasa was pulled unsheathed from the Casket.

Sword at eye level pointing forward to the enemy, the sharp side of the katana facing the sky. The grip on the sword was not too firm or too loose, calm breathing and green eyes sharp. Left foot in front and knees slightly bent, lowering the center of gravity for ease of movement.

This was Viers’ most natural stance. He didn't possess a single martial arts experience before his reincarnation but he had fought many life-threatening battles since then. Viers was now a blooded warrior that had brushed with death multiple times.

The air changed as the creator of the Suiten Mitsurugi-ryuu sword style took his stance.

“So be it. You shall be my main form for underwater combat. Devadom Orca, I accept… your existence.”

The orca did not care and charged. Viers sidestepped and placed his sword to the side, using the monster’s momentum to injure it. Since so many monsters used changing attacks, Viers did the maneuver with polished skill.

The cut was shallow because of the orca’s toughness and had started to heal. Man and whale embroiled in single combat on the open seas.

Orca created whirlpools in the area, denying Viers footing. He hung on with difficulty. Thinking it was its chance, the orca jumped out of the water to pounce upon Viers but it got hit by Howling Wraiths Arte from below. Viers had baited the Devadom Orca. Viers attacked while it was staggering.

The battle went on, ten minutes felt like hours to Viers. He could no longer hit the orca using the soul mines. It seemed to be able to sense it somehow.

Finding no purchase in close quarters combat, the kingly orca species changed strategy, trying to pull Viers into the depths. Disturbing the water Veirs stood on, creating a water pit, space prison, and so on.

It caught Viers eventually but Paina saved him. She used the characteristic of water that was a better medium for sound than air to jolt the orca with a high pitch attack using Viers’ soul as the outlet.

Viers decided to call it Soul Sound Stun and hoped to make it a proper Arte in the future.

For now, the orca had let go of his leg and was no longer chomping it. Thanks to Paina his leg was not bitten off and only mangled. Viers raised his body from the water with much difficulty, blood flowing profusely from the injured leg.

“Zeeh… zeeh… zeeh.”

Viers heaved heavily. The Devadom Orca had the upper hand. The terrain was too advantageous towards the marine mammal monster.

“Viers…” Clarissa warned.

“I know…”

Their battle had attracted other beings. Most were small fries but Viers could sense that some were not.

I have to finish it quickly.

Viers went all in for the next offensive. Farley chained down the orca while Paina gave him Combat Overture, Accelerato, Bravura, and Finale buffs.

Viers stabbed the sea with his sword to free both hands. The katana did not fall down. He made a square with the thumbs and index finger on both sides.

“Fatal Soulframe: First Form - Horror!”

The killer whale let out a sound that Viers would call adorable. But no matter how cute it sounded or looked, it was a kill or be killed moment for Viers so he didn't hesitate to deliver the next attack. With sword in hand, he unleashed a stabbing attack to the orca’s blowhole on the top of its head.

Viers’ sword was stopped centimeters above the skin as if the orca was wearing invisible armor.

Space barrier? Hmph, I have just the thing to use against cheeky whales like you!

Viers pulled out his trump card, a blue crystal the size of a heart.

The Rank 7 monster core!

Injecting Victa and soul to rekindle the being it once was.

“MUOOOOOOOO!!!”

Viers conjured the majestic visage of a white bull bearing splendid horns and possessing a mighty body with tails like a flowing river. An oppressive feeling before the presence of something greater spread out throughout the area.

Sometime in the future when the Devadom Orca matures, it might not be any less impressive than the Rank 7 demigod bull but the whale was still far from living up to the reputation of its predecessors.

All marine life in the area were shocked and stunned by the sudden emergence of a massive, god-like presence. Some had their fish guts crushed to paste and swam away frantically. The even lesser ones died on the spot. In the center of it all, bearing the full force of the intimidation, the Devadom Orca couldn't maintain his space barrier and became wide open. It couldn't resist the presence of a superior monster.

This is my chance!

Viers burned his life force to stab the katana deep inside its blowhole, at the top of the head. No space barrier prevented him this time.

The Devadom Orca let out a piercing cry but Viers was not yet done.

Guren Muramasa immediately drank the blood and Viers used blood Ixi Arte to violently expel the gathered blood while the sword was still stabbing the orca, ruining its insides!

The monster had its body and soul devastated and lost its life; its purple eyes lost their luster. But Viers had no time to enjoy his victory.

Using Euryale Sight to find the core, Viers violently carved his way through the orca’s flesh and jammed his hand inside to touch the core; he attempted to absorb it immediately. He must be quick before something interrupts this crucial step.

The solid core melted and absorbed through his skin.

Viers instinctively felt it. He had a new form.

“Gotcha!!”

Viers took its soul, stored the orca’s body in the Thousand Treasures Casket, and made his way out from the blood-soaked water. Using the bull’s core might deter most monsters but it could also provoke! And these ones were the kind of monsters that Viers didn't want to tangle with.

Monster Transformation!

Ripping his clothes apart, Viers body became the complete copy of the monster he had just defeated. Viers had become the Devadom Orca in all its glory.

He might not care much about ripped clothes but he couldn’t leave his storage item behind. He manipulated water to carry it with… No. Viers realized he’s got a better idea. Viers stored the tiny object in a small pocket dimension. A feat he was able to do only in Devadom Orca form.

“We go!”

Viers was in a hurry to leave. He felt the attention of something worse from the depths.

The sea is always a fish-eat-fish world and there’s always a bigger fish.

He might not die permanently because of Aletro’s grace but he would suffer setbacks and injury upon respawning so not dying was the best course of action.

He wanted to be among the top 10 in Stage 2 too and gain the rewards that came with that position.

As Orca-Viers swam away, a daredevil eel monster barred his path. The surrounding monsters had begun to recover from the bull core stun.

Get out of my fucking way!!

Viers manipulated water to give him a speed boost, strengthened his fish body using Victa -a feat that pure monsters weren't able to- and invoked the latent ability of the Devadom Orca, Blink!

The result was a speeding whale-shaped rocket that appeared with an open maw centimeters in front of the eel monster’s face, followed immediately with violent chomps.

The eel’s body, now missing a head, was fought over by the other aquatic spectators as Viers swam far, far away while eating a light snack. The long trails of purple light from his eyes were proof of his speed.

FREE WILLY, SUCKERS!!