Kaiser's sharp eyes locked onto the massive killer whale cutting through the waves like a living blade, its skin glistening with a sheen of mana-infused saltwater. The beast moved with the calm arrogance of a monarch surveying its domain, and ten lesser sea creatures flanked it—F-ranked, sure, but each exuding enough magical pressure to make an ordinary beast tremble.
But Kaiser wasn't ordinary.
"Minions first," he muttered, wings tensing. "Clear the board before the boss fight. Classic dungeon rules."
With a predatory glint in his eyes, Kaiser tucked his wings and dove.
The wind howled as he sliced through it, a living missile of obsidian feathers and ambition. The ocean's surface exploded as he slammed into it, a geyser of saltwater and mist erupting skyward.
The sea beasts turned—slowly.
Too slowly.
The first one, a twisted dolphin-thing with jagged teeth and gills that breathed steam, lunged toward him.
Kaiser didn't even blink. Metal Infusion: Active.
His feathers shimmered, veins of quicksilver threading through his wings like liquid steel. With a flick of his mind, he sculpted them using Metal shaping into six gleaming blades—flat, jagged crescents that spun around him like playful, homicidal children.
"Let's dance."
The dolphin-thing screeched and swiped, but Kaiser's telekinesis caught it mid-motion and slammed it sideways into a coral-covered boulder. The sound of its spine cracking was like stepping on a bundle of celery.
Before the blood finished clouding the water, the next one came at him—a spiny eel wreathed in weak lightning. It coiled and struck like a whip.
Kaiser grinned.
Bad idea.
His blades moved in a blur. Two arcs of metal cleaved clean through the eel's body, severing it mid-lunge. The front half twitched and gaped silently as it floated away, trailing crimson like a ribbon.
The sea shifted violently. The remaining minions surged forward in coordinated fury. A series of glowing waterballs formed around them—three, six, nine in total—then fired like bullets. At the same time, enchanted water chains burst from below, wrapping around Kaiser's wings and legs.
For a moment, the water itself groaned under the sheer force of spells cast in tandem.
But Kaiser?
He just rolled his eyes.
"Really? I look like a starter dungeon boss to you?"
With a pulse of telekinetic force, the chains exploded into shards, and the waterballs met a blizzard of spinning blades—metal kissing magic in a symphony of steam, blood, and shrapnel.
Two more minions lunged. One lost its head before it could blink. The other managed to claw at Kaiser's wing—leaving a shallow scratch—only to have its entire skull imploded by a focused telekinetic jab.
Gore clouded the battlefield. Blood drifted like ink through the sea, bodies spiraling into the deep.
Kaiser hovered in the water's chaos, breathing heavily, wings glinting with red-tinted steel.
"Four down. Six to go," he said between pants. "Man, I should've brought popcorn."
***
Before Kaiser could aim his blades again, a deafening roar echoed through the ocean, vibrating the water around him.
The killer whale moved.
One beat of its colossal tail, and a torrent formed. The sea rose and twisted into a monstrous flood—a crescent wave the size of a house.
Kaiser's eyes narrowed. "Oho. Big boy's pissed."
He shot upward, narrowly avoiding the flood as it crashed into the reef behind him, shattering coral and sending fish flying like confetti.
The whale roared again, this time charging forward with an unnatural burst of speed. From its blowhole erupted water spears, long and narrow, each honed to pierce like an assassin's blade.
There were 5 water spears launched in succesion with accurate judgement.
Kaiser flapped his wings, to zig zag and dodge them.
He did not use his Telekenesis, he was not confident in using it in a short span of time, he needed at least 2 seconds prior to use it effectively.
The last spear he barely dodge it.
Kaiser dodged left—barely.
So he activated Steel body, right before it grazed his side.
One spear grazed his side, leaving a gash that hissed against his metal-infused feathers.
"Son of a sea witch!" he hissed, flinching. "That actually hurt."
Kaiser was suprised that the attack went through his Steel body, He first understimated it because it launched only 5 water spears, the Silver Caiman could relase a dozen.
It each seemed that each of the water spears were more accurate and pack more power in them.
The attack was also reduced by a whole 50%, but it still injured him.
If he didn't activate his steel body, he would have been seriously injured.
The Killer Whale had no intention to play with its food, it was using everything from the get go.
The whale was on him instantly, body twisting in impossible ways for its size. It moved not like a beast—but like a trained soldier. Another burst of spears. This time Kaiser caught them mid-air with a whirlwind of his blades, the clash of metal and mana lighting up the deep like underwater lightning.
Still, he could feel it—the tide turning.
The killer whale bellowed a command, and the six remaining minions encircled him. Their bodies glowed, mana bleeding from their mouths as they began a chant—low, haunting hums that vibrated in Kaiser's chest.
Then, it appeared.
A shimmering dome of water encased the group, glowing with threads of energy. The whale had erected a Water barrier, the minions fueling it with their very life force.
Kaiser slammed into the dome with a metal-tipped dive.
Nothing.
He summoned a massive spike of forged silver and hurled it with his mind—direct hit. The spike bounced off with a splash and a ping! like flicking a war drum.
"They're turtling," Kaiser said, voice filled with disbelief. "The bastard's actually turtling."
He floated, watching the dome shimmer, rage bubbling under his composure.
For the first time in a long time, he had failed the hunt.
Just like the time with gray fish.
Speaking of color, he observed the killer whale's color.
It was gray...
The whale looked at him from inside the dome—calm, calculating. Its eye glimmered with understanding.
Then, slowly, they sank.
One by one, the minions ceased chanting. The barrier fizzled, and the pack descended into the depths, vanishing into the darkness of the ocean trench.
Kaiser didn't follow.
He hovered above the retreating lights, body bleeding, blades floating idly around him.
"Cowards," he growled.
Then paused.
"No... Strategists."
He let out a long breath, blood mingling with saltwater. "Smart move. If I were a lesser bird, I'd be flattered. But now... I'm just annoyed."