After Werther dove into the sea to fight, the surface grew calm.
Doffy and Sugar waited high in the air. They weren't sure Werther could win, but he could escape, so neither was worried.
The rookie Pirates, meanwhile, were still waiting for the fight to begin.
But after a long wait, all they saw were occasional waves bursting from the sea. There was no other sign of battle.
"Glug, glug..." Large bubbles began rising to the surface.
The rookie Pirates tensed.
"Something's coming up."
"It's huge. From the size of it, it must be at least a hundred meters long."
"Captain, let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling about this..."
Splash! Something enormous broke through the surface.
The sight left the rookies stunned.
A whale-like creature floated on the sea, though it looked far more vicious than any whale.
"Is that Leviathan? It doesn't look right. Why is it all skin and bones? It's like something drained the life out of it."
That was exactly why Leviathan floated instead of sinking: Werther had drained its Life Force. The terrifying sea monster was now little more than dried fish.
Werther stood atop Leviathan's drained corpse. When no more Life Force flowed through Intent Blood, he pulled it free, flicked the seawater from the blade, and sheathed it.
He was breathing hard. He had held his breath since the fight began. No matter how strong he was, he was still human, and humans needed to breathe.
"Not a bad haul. Once I've absorbed more Life Force, I'll strengthen some of my other abilities. I can't improve the Thunder Core for now. I'll figure out what to do about the terrifying amount of Life Force it needs later."
The King of the Sky spotted Werther, swooped down, and landed on