Bai Tza leapt gracefully out from the otherworldly portal.
A completely fresh atmosphere unfurled within her senses. She couldn't help but marvel once more at Zoran's power; this was an ability that no other demon had ever possessed. Yet, Zoran wielded it with absolute ease.
This was another world.
The gateway from moments ago seemed to have briefly linked the two worlds for a fleeting instant. Both sides of the portal had opened directly over the ocean.
Leaping out, Bai Tza submerged herself into the seawater of this world. In that exact fraction of a second, a wave of profound comfort washed over her entire being.
Her source power seemed to possess an extraordinary affinity with this world. If she could remain here indefinitely, siphoning its raw source, her rate of recovery would likely be several times faster than it would have been in their original realm.
Was this her brother's gift? It truly suited her perfectly.
"How does it feel?" Zoran emerged from the portal, hovering smoothly above the sea as flecks of golden light dissipated behind him.
The boundless ocean stretched out in all directions, seemingly devoid of any horizon.
"Magnificent!" Bai Tza chuckled, offering high praise. "It fits perfectly, no different than burying Dai Gui right back into the soil."
"It feels just like coming home," she added, surveying her surroundings.
"An amusing description," Zoran nodded with a faint smile. "You shall restore your strength here."
As he spoke, Zoran summoned a wisp of Moon Demon Chi and guided it to Bai Tza's side.
"Once your power has returned to its absolute peak, use this to contact me."
Bai Tza accepted the Moon Demon Chi and drew it into her mouth, storing it away safely.
"By the way, while I was preparing to unlock your authority, I happened to capture a pet along the way. Whether you keep it or kill it is entirely up to you."
With that, Zoran pulled a sphere of light from his sleeve and released it.
The sphere expanded exponentially in a fraction of a second. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a colossally sized whale, bound by strands of Moon Demon Chi as it lay sprawled across the surface of the sea.
The All-Devouring Narwhal.
This was the little gift Zoran had prepared well in advance.
Bai Tza cast a sweeping glance over the All-Devouring Narwhal, pondering briefly. In that other world, the beast was considered formidable. But to Bai Tza in her full prime, it wouldn't even be worth a second glance.
"It can serve as a decent supplement. Once properly nourished, it might prove somewhat useful," Bai Tza assessed simple-mindedly.
"As you wish."
Zoran pressed his palm downward, and the Demon Chi binding the All-Devouring Narwhal dissolved into nothingness. The massive whale crashed back into the seawater, kicking up a tidal wave tens of thousands of feet high.
A sudden surge of pure joy erupted within the creature's relatively small brain.
It had been captured by Zoran in its native world, enduring nothing but absolute darkness until just a moment ago. But regardless of the circumstances, it had finally returned to the ocean. Though this was not its original primordial sea, it was still its home turf, the very domain it mastered best.
In almost an instant, its colossal body twisted and flexed with natural ease as it swam rapidly toward the depths of the ocean floor.
The terrifying entity in the sky was still present, but he made no move to pursue.
The Narwhal's logic was remarkably simple: I can't beat him, so I run!
Its speed was blistering. Within moments, it had plunged deep into the dark sea, its massive form shifting once as it fled to an immense distance.
"Hmph. Trying to escape?" Bai Tza scoffed coldly.
She instantly dissolved into the ocean, giving chase to the All-Devouring Narwhal. Within the water, she was a virtually invincible existence, even if she was currently weak and far from her prime.
The entire ocean surged into a frenzy in an instant.
Zoran watched this game of cat-and-mouse in absolute tranquility; it served as an excellent warm-up exercise for Bai Tza.
As the All-Devouring Narwhal fled at a breakneck pace, its senses warned it that a colossal shadow had overtaken it almost instantaneously. That shadow was virtually indistinguishable from the flowing seawater, cutting right across its path.
Emitting a muffled, low bellow, the Narwhal rammed violently into the blocking shadow, shattering the entity into a spray of scattered currents.
It worked!
The Narwhal was utterly overjoyed. Breaking through the blocking shadow had been far easier than it anticipated, and the entity it truly feared was still merely watching from afar, apparently possessing no intention of intervening in its escape.
It swam through the deep sea, unleashing the entirety of its strength in a sudden burst.
However, the currents it had shattered and left behind reassembled themselves with terrifying speed.
The volume of seawater enveloped by the shadow grew even more massive, resembling an airtight, impenetrable net. From within the darkness, Bai Tza's voice echoed out:
"Hahaha! Keep trying to run, plankton! This entire ocean is my body!"
When the Water Demon was stationed in the sea, the power she could command was simply too vast.
Zoran could distinctly perceive that Bai Tza was actively restoring her strength and siphoning the world's source through the seawater. The physical manifestation of this process was the ocean floor beneath them, which was rapidly growing deeper and more profound by the second.
She was actively devouring the boundless ocean, transforming it into an extension of herself.
There was absolutely no way the All-Devouring Narwhal could escape. It falsely believed it had shattered a barrier, when in reality, it was merely swimming within the palm of Bai Tza's hand. Kicking up a few paltry splashes was the absolute limit of its capabilities.
Gradually, the Narwhal seemed to realize this grim reality as well.
The ocean was indeed its comfort zone. Yet, the voice pursuing it seemed infinitely more adapted to this environment than it was. The deep blue shadow completely enclosed the entire seabed; this was no open sanctuary, but a custom-built fish tank tailored specifically for it.
Zoran saw right through Bai Tza's intentions.
She had no immediate desire to consume the beast; rather, she was merely playing with her food. The innate, twisted sense of amusement common to all immortal beings was manifesting flawlessly within her.
Before long, the All-Devouring Narwhal finally came to a realization. It could not escape this sea, for its opponent was far more a fish in water here than it could ever hope to be.
Its limited brain capacity prompted it to make a significantly more "intelligent" decision.
As a whale, I can fly too.
It surged violently upward from the ocean depths, bursting through the surface of the sea in a flash. Just a moment ago, it had sensed the distinct presence of dry land.
The massive shadow breached the waves, throwing itself directly toward the land mass it had perceived.
The heavy, colossal silhouette instantly cast a shroud over the entire ground below, simultaneously blanketing the humans who were currently locked in a tense, gridlocked standoff.
This location was a massive plaza, surrounded by a crescent-shaped harbor where dense crowds of people stood facing each other down. Above the plaza stood an execution platform, where soldiers wielding sharp blades pressed down heavily upon a kneeling figure.
At this exact moment, every single eye was drawn toward that gargantuan beast, the All-Devouring Narwhal, that had violently leaped from the sea.
If this monster were to crash down, more than half the people present would be pulverized instantly.
Yet, the arrival of this creature had occurred entirely without warning, a feat that should have been utterly impossible.
High up on the execution platform, several men draped in pristine white capes looked on, their faces twisted in absolute shock.
"A Sea King? Why would one suddenly appear in Marineford?!"
Beneath the suffocating blanket of the shadow, confusion and bewilderment reigned supreme.
Gazing up at the colossal, airborne leviathan, a distinctly mocking, drawn-out voice drawled:
"Oh my... what kind of performance is this? How terrifying~"
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