Chapter 36

I apologize for the long delay in posting.

"Ha!!"

"Guh..."

Kuroinu dodged the sea god's swinging arm by leaping backward.

However---

(That's ridiculous...!)

The wind pressure from the massive arm caused her to lose her balance, and she fell awkwardly, dirtying her body in the muddy ground.

No, it was no longer just mud.

The transparent seawater had already risen to her knees, making it difficult to walk.

"Look at this! Trying to challenge this sea god Levi with just that much is laughable!"

"Tch... Don't underestimate me!! 'Water Magic: Prison'!"

Kuroinu stood up, touched the water, and infused it with magic.

The water around Levi rose up, and in an instant, a prison of water formed around her.

"My 'Ninjutsu' is infused with special magic. It's not so easy to dispel with mere magic."

"Hmm..."

"And--- 'Lightning Magic: Piercing Wound'!!"

A lightning spear, crackling with electricity, appeared in Kuroinu's hand.

Amid the rising water level, she kicked off the ground and launched herself into the air, hurling the spear at Levi.

"I've heard that seawater conducts electricity well! This will be the end of the sea god!"

"...You underestimate me."

Without any concern for the approaching spear, Levi swung her untransformed arm toward the sky.

The water prison crumbled without resistance, and the water around her began to swirl.

"Seawater is like a part of me. I don't need magic to control it."

The swirling seawater moved to intercept the spear, spreading out.

The spear, which had charged straight ahead, lost its momentum and came to a stop in the thick layer of water.

"What... But as long as there's a little water, the current should---"

"That's why I said seawater is at my command."

Around Levi, the ground was completely dry.

The water seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to reach the dry earth.

"Seawater is muddy when mixed with water. Remove it, and it dries up."

"..."

"Now, it's your turn to be in danger."

"...Huh!?"

Kuroinu realized that the spear was still generating electricity.

And that the seawater beneath her was also conducting the current.

"Trouble...! 'Fire Magic: Cannon'!!"

A massive, blazing sphere was dropped into the seawater by Kuroinu's hand.

The sound of the water evaporating enveloped her in steam.

Though her vision was blocked, she stretched her foot downward and managed to touch the ground, allowing her to leap back into the air.

"Hmm... You dried the ground with fire. Not bad, considering you almost dug your own grave with your own technique."

"What are you so smug about!!"

Kuroinu, her face flushed with anger, concentrated and threw a kunai.

Earlier, she had been thrown off by Levi's unexpected strength and had launched an attack that backfired on herself. However, Kuroinu, who possessed the calmness characteristic of a ninja, was gradually regaining her composure.

"Hmph."

Levi, who had knocked the approaching kunai away with water, turned her gaze toward Kuroinu.

But Kuroinu had already disappeared from the air.

"!?"

She instinctively knocked away several kunai that suddenly attacked from the side with her arm, which had returned to its original form.

More kunai flew from different directions, and Levi twisted her body to dodge them.

Kunai continued to attack from various directions, but Kuroinu's figure remained hidden, with only the sound of her kicking the water audible.

"Tch!! You're clever!!"

At first, Levi had been dodging, but as the barrage of kunai showed no sign of ending, she grew impatient and swept them away with her dragon arm.

"Careless!!"

"!!"

Taking advantage of the momentary stiffness after the sweeping motion, Kuroinu lunged forward.

Aiming for Levi's unguarded torso, she thrust a kunai.

Levi, surprised, was slow to react.

However, as a sea god, her instincts kicked in before her thoughts, and she brought her human arm in front of her torso as a defense.

If her arm had still been in its dragon form, this defense would have been insufficient---

"Guh..."

The kunai, which had pierced deep into her wrist, continued its path and reached her side.

Without the arm's defense, it would have damaged several organs.

In this sense, the defense had served its purpose by stopping the tip of the kunai.

"Can you block this... But!"

"Gah..."

Kuroinu twisted the kunai she had thrust in.

With each twist, blood spurted from her arm, and even more red liquid flowed from the wound in her side.

In her dragon form, this level of injury would have been a mere scratch.

However, in her human form, the intense pain from her arm and side nearly caused her to lose consciousness, and Levi gritted her teeth to endure it.

"You're not giving up...! Then I'll go deeper---"

"Don't get cocky!!"

"!"

Enduring the pain, Levi brought down her dragon arm.

Kuroinu, forced to release the kunai and take evasive action, was blown backward by the momentum of the arm's swing.

"You're quite the troublemaker, pup... Ouch."

"You're quite rude."

"You're the one being rude... I'm a god."

Levi, wincing in pain, pulled out the kunai and threw it away.

She manipulated the seawater at her feet to apply it to her wounds.

Bubbles emerged from the wounds, gradually closing the holes.

"...To have a regeneration inhibitor is quite troublesome."

In the sea, where she boasted absolute strength, she could heal her wounds simply by being immersed in seawater.

While it didn't reach the level of 'Complete Recovery,' her regenerative ability was comparable to that of undead monsters with the Undead attribute.

However, even with such a miraculous regenerative ability, she couldn't overcome the regeneration inhibitor.

She could only stop the bleeding, and Levi sighed softly.

"Still, you're quite fast. I could barely keep up with my eyes."

"I'm surprised you could keep up. High-speed movement is my specialty."

Kuroinu stood on the water.

It seemed there was a secret to her shoes, but Levi was unaware of it.

"You can do that too?"

"Ninjas need adaptability."

"I don't quite understand what a 'Ninja' is... but for now, it's my turn, right?"

"! What!?"

Suddenly, the seawater around Kuroinu's feet began to wriggle like tentacles and wrapped around her ankles.

She tried to move away, but the water held her in place as if it were glue.

"Restraint is best for a struggling dog... And take this."

Levi quietly raised her dragon arm to the sky.

The seawater on the ground above Kuroinu gathered and formed a massive sphere of water.

"This is... troublesome."

The size of the water sphere was merciless, and Kuroinu's face showed a look of resignation.

The water that bound her feet showed no sign of loosening, and even if it did, there would be no time to take evasive action---

"---'Sea Fall'."

Next, the Intruder

As I mentioned in the activity report, updates may be delayed from time to time. (For more details, see the activity report section.)

I hope you can be patient, and I appreciate your understanding.