"Whew! Finally taken down!" Casa exhaled heavily, exhaustion etched across his face. It had taken the combined effort of all three him, Enel, and Rin to finally subdue the Sea King-class frog. Without Rin's timely intervention, he and Enel might still be locked in a drawn-out, brutal fight.
"You two keep an eye on this Sea King don't let it recover and cause chaos again. I'm heading to assist Artoria!" Rin, having helped incapacitate the enormous sea frog, immediately turned his focus and darted toward Artoria's location.
"Excalibur!" At that exact moment, Artoria charged toward her own opponent a vividly-colored sea serpent that shimmered with vibrant blues and reds beneath the water. One glance told her everything: its coloration was a warning nature's way of announcing its lethal toxicity. This wasn't just a large sea snake it was a highly venomous one.
In her hand, a radiant sword materialized.the Sword of Promised Victory. Artoria dashed forward in a burst of speed, blade raised, aiming to bisect the serpent cleanly. But the water snake's reflexes were razor-sharp. With a serpentine twist, it narrowly evaded the descending blade.
In the blink of an eye, the serpent's massive tail thick as a barrel whipped toward Artoria. Though not as gargantuan as the sea frog or turtle, its size and swiftness still made it a formidable foe.
"Tch… I can't use Invisible Air underwater." Artoria clicked her tongue. Her Wind King Barrier used to conceal the true length of Excalibur was rendered useless beneath the waves. The currents here were sluggish, and there was no wind to channel. That nullified one of her most potent advantages: unpredictability.
"Hssss!" The serpent hissed a piercing, high-pitched sound as it surged forward, fangs bared. Twin ivory daggers glinted in its gaping maw, laced with deadly venom. Artoria dodged swiftly, knowing full well a single bite could mean instant death. No antidote in the world could save her from that kind of toxin.
"Take this!" she growled, slashing toward the creature's shichikōbu the spot seven inches from the head, where a snake's heart is believed to reside. In both science and folklore, it's the critical weak point.
But the serpent wasn't naive. Coiling its body, it shielded the vulnerable spot with its muscular tail. It knew that if Artoria's blade landed there, it would be a fatal blow. With precision and timing, the snake lashed out to strike her preemptively, trying to swat her away with brute force.
Artoria was ready. As the tail swept toward her, she didn't retreat instead, she sprang atop it, using the momentum to launch herself into the air. Flipping upside down mid-leap, she aimed Excalibur straight at the exposed underside of the serpent. Her blade gleamed, ready to strike true.
But the serpent had anticipated the maneuver. Its jaws opened wide below, an ambush waiting to swallow her whole. Artoria's instincts kicked in she twisted in midair, planting her foot on one of the serpent's fangs, and propelled herself sideways, landing gracefully on the ocean floor.
"Damn it… this thing is clever," she muttered. "I was so close to ending it but it almost turned me into snake food."
Unshaken, Artoria readied her stance again. The serpent coiled in place, its slit pupils locked onto her, and readied its deadliest weapons: a massive, crushing tail and venom-dripping fangs. One was raw power, the other silent death.
She changed tactics. If the snake refused to expose its heart, then its tail would have to go first. Taking its mobility and defense away could shift the battle in her favor.
Raising Excalibur, she targeted the serpent's tail. The holy blade shimmered even beneath the sea, its golden aura slicing through the gloom. The serpent felt it an oppressive pressure, like divinity descending upon the deep. It writhed in discomfort, sensing real danger.
Instinctively, it raised its tail to block but as the blade came near, the pressure alone drew blood. Fine crimson threads oozed from the surface of its scales and dispersed into the water like ink clouds.
"Sssshhkk!" The serpent recoiled instantly. It backed away, its tail twitching from the sudden pain. Its gaze fixated on Excalibur not with the eyes of a beast, but as if recognizing a weapon forged by the heavens. The blade that felled giants and defied tyrants.
Then, a new threat emerged from its tail a thin, needle-like extension protruding from the scales. It was a hidden stinger, likely a last-resort weapon, designed to catch enemies off guard. The needle glinted ominously, its tip wet with the same potent venom as the fangs.
"So… even your tail is armed," Artoria said, her tone cold. "But if you rely on poison alone your end is certain."
The next clash was swift. Artoria darted forward once again, Excalibur meeting the venomous needle in a high-speed collision. The underwater clash rang with a sharp clang, metal against hardened bio-weapon. The impact sent shockwaves through the serpent's tail and Artoria's arm alike—each side briefly stunned from the force.
"The tip's poisoned…" Artoria's eyes narrowed as she studied the stinger. Fine droplets of black venom shimmered at the point. It was just as toxic as the fangs perhaps worse. "How does this snake not poison itself? Its body is practically overflowing with death."
It was a good question. The serpent's biology must include an extreme immunity to its own venom—likely a trait developed through millennia of evolution in the perilous depths of the Grand Line. This was no ordinary sea serpent—it was likely a descendant of a rare, ancient species known to inhabit the depths near Fish-Man Island, perhaps even linked to the Neriton Serpent, infamous for its untouchable poison and violent territorial instincts.
But no matter its heritage—Artoria wasn't backing down.
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