Headed by a Snake

A cyclone of water enveloped the archway, lit a brilliant silver by the Inner Sanctum's glowing walls.

Tycondrius was not impressed. He was merely annoyed.

Bubbles, froth, and general humidity threatened to soak his recently dried coat.

With a violent outward explosion, the Guardian Beast's true form was revealed... a fifteen-fulm tall water-mana construct in the shape of a...

"WHITESABER TUNA!!!!" Krysaos screamed, "Of course! No predator is DEADLIER, in all of the sixteen seas!!"

Tycon took a deep breath... "Right."

The final defensive line of the Hidden Lake sect had... the same form as... Krysaos' elemental summon.

Logically, it was quite strong.

If anything, Krysaos' levels of fear and respect for said creature was quite high.

​ However, Tycon was, himself, a predator. To him, a giant tuna could only be prey.

The construct reacted to Krysaos-- likely an effect of his maniacal shrieking. It turned with a earth-shaking... roar? Its watery scales shifted and sharpened, firing a dozen ⌈Ice Spikes⌋ in the span of a few seconds.

The good Captain brought up a reflexive ⌈Mana Ward,⌋ flailing his rapier about and cutting down what spells he could.

...He could certainly have done better, but an unsightly panic had overtaken his calm.

Still, it was fine. Krysaos was not alone.

The mana construct didn't have eyes, per se, thus could sense all around itself. With stealth a poor option, Tycon circulated his mana, preparing a straightforward attack.

Sprinting forward, he activated ⌈Tumble⌋, leaping off of a broken white column to gain altitude.

The tuna construct whipped its massive tail, the force of which was enough to shatter an Iron-Rank's bones.

While it did not appear life-threatening... it looked vicious enough to leave an unsightly bruise.

To avoid it, Tycon channeled his mana to create two temporary footholds, stabilizing his stance.

"⌈First Form: As the Swallow Flies.⌋"

Drawing the Sword of Venom from its sheath, Tycon rotated his body, deflecting the creature's tail with superior physical force... aided by a touch of mana imbued in the strike.

A follow-up slash left a large open wound on the construct's side-- an injury that took several seconds to close.

The effectiveness of Tycon's offensive technique almost surprised him. Either the Skill's improved affinity or the blade's enchantment itself, but it seemed to interfere with the construct's ability to recover from damage.

It was not a weak Guardian... but Tycon was no longer the same person from only a few bells prior.

When he was trapped in Jiang Ying Yue's Reality Marble, he spent his time developing his internal techniques.

But instead of deepening his personal connection with the arcane arts, typical of a member of his bloodline... he instead focused on understanding the techniques passed on by Garock of the Screaming Silence sect.

The Realm of the Cloud Goddess was a high-mana purity atmosphere.

There were absolutely no distractions...

And anyroad... there also wasn't much else to do, otherwise.

Bells turned to suns. Suns turned to weeks...

With focus, precision, and a purposeful regimen, Tycon's training was equivalent to several years of cultivation.

...It wasn't a terrible experience.

As the ridiculous looking tuna roared in pain, several of its scales broke open, launching an explosive series of speeding ⌈Water Lances.⌋

Tycon dispelled his mana footholds as he leapt forward once more, "⌈Second Form: Gentle Water's Reflection.⌋"

He continued forward as one of nine ⌈Mirrored Images⌋.

Three of them were struck down by the watery barrage, with a fourth torn apart by the massive tuna fish's powerful jaws.

Tycon sank his Sword of Venom into the construct's side, activating its enchantments... pumping Third-Circle venom into its essence. It was likely that the offensive magic would be muted, considering his target's magical and somewhat divine makeup... but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant.

"Hi-YAHHH!!" Krysaos shouted from somewhere behind the behemoth.

He wasn't slacking off, either.

Tycon drove his sword further into the tuna, twisting the blade before kicking off and rolling along the slick, white tiles.

"YOUUUUUU... ATTACKKK... THE HIDDEN LAKE... SECCCCT," Came a rumbling groan.

"We are... fully aware of this," Tycon grimaced.

"WHOOO... ARE... YOUUUU?!?"

"Who AM I?!" Krysaos yelled indignantly, "I'm Captain GODS-DAMNED Krysaos of the Neptune's Revenge!!"

The Guardian Beast was clearly directing its question towards Tycon... but he and Krysaos were partners. The gentleman was important and deserved to be heard.

Tycon would answer in his own way, course. Lowering his stance, he circulated his mana and steadied his breathing...

"I am... Samurai."

"SSSSAMURAAIIIII??!?!?! IM... POSSIBBBBLLLLE!!!!!"

"Tss," Tycon scoffed as he shook his head.

It was the construct's prerogative to believe as it liked.

The truth he had to offer was not so easy to deny.

"⌈Third Form: Taste the Hydra Blade.⌋"

Nine humongous spirit snakes soared out of Tycon's curved blade-- their venom particularly effective at affecting similar not-quite-mortal creatures. They wrapped around the Whitesaber Tuna's body, entrapping it while sinking their jaws into its dissipating flesh.

The Guardian Beast was finished-- incapacitated and suffering painfully.

Tycon still had one more trump card remaining... a watery mana beam Skill he'd developed while utilizing his Sea Serpent form. However, he chose to keep it hidden. His Samurai techniques were more than enough to end the fight.

"I... WILL BE... AVENGED!!!" The construct roared, "THE CHOOOOSEN ONE!!! HAS POWER!! BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSIONNNN!!!"

...Tycon narrowed his eyes, "You speak of the daughter of the Jiang family?"

"LIVE THE RESSSST OF YOUR SSSSUNS IN FEAR, OUTSIDERRRR!!!! HER NAME IS--"

"Ying Yue is dead," Tycon shook his head as he wiped the fingers of his left hand dry.

Jiang Ying Yue was an incredibly strong individual. If she were to act against the crew of the Neptune's Revenge, it was possible for their forces to be annihilated.

"WHAAAAT!???!! HOWWWWWW?!?!?" The construct cried out, its voice substantially weaker from earlier.

The Hidden Lake's strongest Martialist died against the Krysaos' strongest and most handsome Lieutenant.

--the process of which, Tycon did not feel the need to explain. He had said enough.

Thus, he began snapping his fingers... allowing Krysaos to have his way with the tuna's backside.