The light gradually enlarged, and the entire deep sea was illuminated by this golden light, as if a new sun had appeared on the seabed.
As the vision gradually cleared, the figure of this giant beast was fully revealed — a giant anglerfish-type Sea King Type, and the glowing thing was not the sun, but the lure on top of the anglerfish's head.
An alternate name for anglerfish is the "lantern fish," because of the lantern-like hunting tool on their heads, which is how they got this nickname.
In the deep sea, they can use the small lantern on their heads to attract phototactic creatures; they are the anglers of the deep sea.
However, the size of this anglerfish is excessively large, with a body exceeding the size of some islands.
Sea King Types can be any type, and it wouldn't be surprising even if they had the head of a giraffe or a rhinoceros, so an anglerfish-type Sea King Type is fairly normal.
It surfaced because of a sensation of pain from within its body.
A straight line is the shortest distance between two points; Arceus summoned the Plate by having it fly directly to him, not knowing where exactly it was, which meant the Plate might get stuck on something during its flight.
As it happens, the Plate is currently stuck against the stomach walls of this Sea King Type, forcing its way upwards. Although the three-meter-sized Plate is no more than a toothpick to this creature, the pain radiating from its stomach walls is causing irritation.
Surfacing would alleviate this pain, so under the influence of the Plate, it began to swim upward.
The intelligence of a Sea King Type is indeed higher than that of common Sea Beasts, and can be considered smart — though only from the perspective of sea creatures.
"Kaidou, that thing is about to come out, get ready."
"Ah, I see it. Just in time, I have a technique for dealing with big creatures."
Even without Arceus saying so, the churning surface of the sea and the bright light from the deep had already entered Kaidou's sight.
The giant Sea King Type emerged from the sea, and the light from the lure on its head even overshadowed the moon's glow. Its crimson skin was visible even in the night, and reaching this position, Arceus's control over his Plate became even stronger.
The Plate, under Arceus's guidance, burst out from the giant anglerfish's body. Although the size of the wound was like a needle prick to this giant Sea King Type, it would quickly heal at their rate of regeneration.
However, the Plate's exit caused a surge of intense pain, and once summoned, it erupted with even more dazzling light, cleansing the grime from its surface before flying towards Arceus and merging into his body.
The path traced by the Plate through the night sky was also caught by the giant Sea King Type, telling it that its pain was linked to those two small beings.
A terrifying roar resounded from the anglerfish. Though it merely resembled an anglerfish, its bodily structure was vastly different, classifying it as a sea monster rather than a fish.
Its massive mouth opened, and the sharp fangs were as large as the patrol ship they had been riding earlier; it seemed intent on swallowing the small island they were on in one bite.
"Isn't this guy a bit too large?" Kaidou couldn't help but marvel at the size of the creature, spreading his legs and raising his Wolf Fang Club towards the anglerfish.
"Just the right time to try this technique, a move from the Giant Race."
His muscular arms swelled, and he swung down the Wolf Fang Club forcefully, releasing a massive shockwave.
"Elbaf's Spear—Overlord's Might!"
Elbaf, the kingdom where the Giant Race resides. Their naturally massive stature makes them inherently powerful even without much training, and every Giant is virtually born a warrior.
Elbaf's Spear is a technique of the Giant Race, rarely known to outsiders. While Kaidou isn't familiar with the Giants, he is quite familiar with Mama.
Mama not only gave him the mythical Fish-Fish Fruit but also taught Kaidou this powerful technique.
The Giants also have combination attacks: the Hakoku unleashed together by Green Orge Dorry and Red Orge Brogy could pierce through an Island-Eating Monster, a giant Sea King Type like this anglerfish.
Kaidou could also collaborate with Mama to unleash Hakai. As a prerequisite to their combination attack, Overlord's Might was the foundation for solo forms, so Kaidou had mastered this technique of the Giants.
Both in techniques and abilities, Mama had provided significant help to Kaidou; given her personality, these two might indeed have had a fling.
However, Kaidou had not yet reached his peak, and using Overlord's Might alone meant it naturally lacked the combined power of the Giants, failing to annihilate this Sea King Type in one blow.
Though it opened a large hole in the anglerfish, its vitality meant it was still alive.
Moreover, it understood that these tiny creatures before it were extremely dangerous and even capable of killing it.
The enormous body began to sink, aiming to escape from this dangerous area, yet its sheer size caused a slow descent, requiring a considerable amount of time to submerge back underwater.
During this gap, it endured another assault from Arceus's Hyper Beam, causing another penetrating wound across its vast body. Amidst its wails, its island-sized mouth expelled numerous items, including shards of islands, and torrents of blood gushed from the wound.
It seemed that it hadn't intentionally eaten the Plate, but rather, it had been swallowed along with an island it devoured.
The light atop its head remained bright, yet the giant anglerfish had already disappeared into the deep sea.
The Plate fully merged within, and the lost strength returned once more.
Meanwhile, Kaidou noticed a change in Arceus as the Plate was absorbed, sensing a dark and malevolent aura emanating from him. Though it dissipated quickly, Kaidou was certain of his perception.
"That aura just now..."
"Part of my power, not what I currently desire most, but still good enough."
What he desired most was the Psychic Type, widely applicable in reality, whether for transformation or telekinesis, highly practical. However, the Plate inside the anglerfish was the Dark Type's Dread Plate, which is why Kaidou sensed that ferocious aura.
With the return of power at 3/18, acquiring each Plate meant mastering another type of skill, and the Dark Type skills, while not as convenient as the Psychic Type in everyday life, were equally useful nonetheless.
With the Plate secured, Kaidou and Arceus returned to their original island, but now, an additional lizard could be seen running across the water's surface.