Amidst an endless o, a young girl sat on a small boat, clutg a fishing rod.

  "When will something bite..." she muttered.

  She had been fishing for hours without any luck, leadio suspect that the sea was devoid of fish.

  "I’ve heard that fishing is an art," she mused. "Now it seems true."

  Someone who frequently visited the orphanage had mentiohe various factors involved in fishing—rods, bait, reeling speed—but she never quite uood it and had ried it before.

  "Puu puu."

  "Hmm? Are you hungry?"

  Looking at the small tentacle creature beside her, she sliced her palm, letting her blood flow towards it.

  The st of blood filled the air, and the small tentacles eagerly absorbed it.

  "You really do love my blood... Wait!"

  She stood up, revealing her clothes stained deep red with blood and riddled with holes from tless battles. Beh them, her body was ed in bandages like a mummy. Without these bandages, some parts of her body would have been exposed.

  "I heard some fish react to blood. Maybe if I..."

  Before her wound healed, Yverantheia let a few drops of blood fall into the sea.

  "Puu!"

  "That’s not food; don't jump in."

  Yverantheia held the small tentacle creature, which was about to dive into the sea to absorb her blood, and waited.

  Before long, a shadow emerged from the depths.

  Spsh!

  "Oh, a fish. A big one."

  A huge tiger-striped shark with sharp, jagged teeth leapt from the water. Yverahought, Looks like today's meal is sorted.

  Slices of fish floated in the air over a fire, roasting and releasing a delicious aroma.

  The tiger-striped shark was several times rger thaheia, but it didn’t survive even a sirike from her. She held a piece of fish, dev it in a few bites.

  Fher-level beings like Yverantheia, st energy was natural. She had acquired the ability to e rge amounts of food retive to her size without gaini or feeling stuffed. If irls obsessed with their weight khey would likely be envious—though they could achieve simir abilities if they reached a certain level of strength.

  Ihan ten minutes, Yverantheia had eateire fish. It could have been quicker, but cooking the tiger-striped shark thhly took some time due to its toughness, despite its inferiority pared to Yverantheia’s power.

  As for the small tentacle creature, it had absorbed all the shark’s blood and now seemed to be napping, full and tent.

  "How vast is this abyssal sea..."

  They had been drifting for... Yverantheia couldn’t remember. The abyss had no clear day-night cycle, making timekeeping impossible. She couldn’t t seds endlessly, after all.

  Suddenly, numerous shadoeared beh the water and burst out from the sea.

  These creatures had fish heads and human-like bodies covered in scales. Yverantheia reized them as fishmen, a type of monster.

  It was important to hat mermaids and fishmen were different. Mermaids were cssified as demi-humans, sometimes even called Sea People due to their anized societies. In trast, fishmen were sidered monsters aypically much mgressive.

  The fishmen stood oer's surface, pointing their tridents at Yverantheia.

  "Is this... an attempt to challenge me?" Yverantheia asked.

  The fishmen didn’t reply. Instead, they thrust their tridents towards her.

  "…!?"

  Just before the tridents could reach her, an invisible force stopped them cold.

  "It seems having a fish’s head es with a fish’s brain."

  A heavy pressure desded upon the fishmen. The air thied, and the gentle waves pping against the boat ceased instantly. The fishmen found themselves uo move.

  "You must be mere foot soldiers. Bring out your leader."

  As soon as she spoke, a rger shadow surfaced and emerged before Yverantheia.

  "Why has the camity grown so small?" the rger fishman said in broken nguage, addressing her.

  "Camity? Are you talking about me?"

  "Who else could it be?"

  Yverantheia pohis. She had never been here before, nor had she heard of any "camity."

  "Show your true form!" The stronger fishman brandished a firident, pointing it at Yverantheia.

  "Tell me, what does this ‘camity’ look like?" she inquired.

  "Green, with many hands, and immense regeive power."

  "…"

  That sounds like the Pnt Cthulhu.

  Yverantheia had fused a piece of the Pnt Cthulhu's crystal. It made sehat the fishmen could ses presen her.

  "I killed that thing."

  "…What!?"

  The fishman was visibly shocked.

  "The camity… but it cked intelligence. If that’s true…"

  The fishman lowered his trident and bowed to Yverantheia.

  "If you truly defeated that camity, we owe you our thanks. Otherwise, our tribe would have suffered greatly. We must offer you ratitude."

  Following his lead, the other fishmen also lowered their ons and saluted Yverantheia.

  What caught Yverantheia's attention wasn’t their gratitude.

  "You mentioned ‘our tribe.’ Does that mean there are more of you?"

  "Yes, there are. Why?"

  "Hmm... No need for thanks. Just take me to your settlement."

  "This…"

  "I’m lost. If you provide information about this o, it would be helpful."

  "If that’s the case, we help. Please, follow me."

  The lead fishman then dove bato the water, leaving Yverantheia behind.

  "…Your settlement is uer? Well, of course, you’re fishmen."

  "Ah! Apologies, you’re a nd creature. Please—"

  "No worries. I have a way."

  Yverantheia picked up the small tentacle creature and leaped into the sea.

  Looks like it works.

  A transparent membrane formed around Yverantheia and the creature, keeping the seawater at bay. This ell she had developed using her magical knowledge, allowio breathe uer. She had been designing it ever since she saw the vast o.

  "Let’s go, then. Take me to your settlement."

  ShoujoDirector