The colossal blood-red crocodile stood atop the sea surface, raising its head toward the gloomy sky and letting out an earth-shattering roar.

Raindrops beat against its iron-hard skin, splashing icy water droplets in all directions.

At this moment, its steel-like armor began to peel away.

The fragments transformed into iron filings, dancing like frenzied storm clouds in the tempest.

The blood-colored fragments whirling through the air shredded raindrops into hundreds of thin crescent shapes as they collided at high speed.

The Sea People trembled, their heads tilted back to gaze at the red crocodilian beast, their bodies instinctively leaning backward.

The surrounding storm of iron filings filled them with unprecedented terror, as an intense sense of crisis crept up their spines and into their minds.

At this moment, looking upward, they could see.

The massive school of fish in Leighton's hand appeared as insignificant as a tiny bound fish.

Compared to the enormous crocodile's body, they seemed as fragile as leaves in the wind.

In Leighton's palm, the fish school twisted and turned, desperately attempting to break free from his restraint.

However, their strength was utterly insignificant compared to Leighton's.

The crocodile straightened up from its half-crouch, standing majestically. With one hand firmly gripping the fish school's 'head', it violently slammed them down toward the seabed.

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out as the fish school made contact with the sea surface.

Upon impact, the fish scattered like startled birds, breaking into tiny specks of light and diving toward the ocean floor.

Only one small fish remained struggling in Leighton's grasp, like a dazed shrimp, with tiny bubbles emerging from its mouth.

The crocodile's slender fingertips pinched its tail, dangling it in mid-air.

The small fish twisted its body in the air, looking exactly like an earthworm doing desperate sit-ups.

"I... I... please, don't eat me!" The small fish trembled in fear.

The crocodile stared at the swaying fish with crimson eyes and snorted coldly:

"Eat you? What do you think you are?"

"I wouldn't dare eat a talking fish."

Then, Leighton pinched the small fish, holding it suspended in mid-air.

Standing behind Henie, it slowly bent down.

The hand holding the small fish was suspended before Henie.

The suspended fish revealed its terror in panic, using its remaining two fins to tremblingly hug itself while pleading with Henie:

"Councilor, we won't dare anymore, we really won't dare."

It was panic-stricken, prostrating itself in the crocodile's palm.

Initially, it thought being in Sea City meant it could challenge a council member.

Who knew this councilor wouldn't play by normal rules and would summon such a formidable monster?

How could a tiny fish like itself compete with a crocodile?

Now the small fish was truly dumbfounded, realizing just how vast the gap was between their Sea City and the Mage Council.

At this point, Henie sighed, with traces of grievance still in her eyes, and said:

"I'm not a council member."

"What?"

You're not a council member?

The small fish stared at Henie, suddenly at a loss.

If you're not a council member, how can you command such a monster?

Then who exactly are you?

The small fish raised its head, eyes widening as it stared at the fierce crocodile.

This crocodile's upper body alone was as tall as the buildings, and it was still in a bent position.

Once fully upright, it would probably be larger than half the city district.

No wonder - even the Mage City probably couldn't sustain such a creature.

At this moment, Henie blinked and asked the small fish:

"You said you won't dare anymore - what does that mean?"

"Uh..."

The small fish's expression showed obvious difficulty, seemingly rendered speechless by the question.

Initially, it thought the council had come to investigate, which explained its obvious panic.

However now, it knew the visitor's true identity.

Since she wasn't from the council, what was there to panic about?

No, wait - if she wasn't a council member, how to explain that council badge?

Thinking of this, it shouted to a guard who stood nearby, pale-faced and tense with fear.

"Bring that badge from earlier."

The guard stumbled into the sea surface and disappeared.

Soon, ripples appeared on the water surface again as the guard leaped out from the seabed, arriving before the small fish.

In his hand was a badge bearing the mark of three broken human heads.

However, the small fish kept reaching with its inch-long fin but couldn't quite reach the badge.

It became angry:

"Are you stupid? Can't you see I can't reach it!"

It was currently being pinched by the crocodile and couldn't move at all.

The guard seemed to finally understand, hurriedly presenting the badge to Henie.

Henie took it - this badge was very familiar to her.

It was the symbol of a professor's council member status.

The small fish watched Henie remain perfectly calm without showing any surprise, and blinked.

Oh damn, so they knew each other.

The guard hadn't specified exactly how many people had come, as it had assumed only one council member was visiting.

Moreover, it hadn't learned the council member's gender from the guard either.

Previously, a council member from the Mage Council had toured various sea regions under different identities.

And strictly speaking, Sea City's activities were something this self-proclaimed righteous and moral organization couldn't accept.

As the city lord here, the small fish had always been working hard to maintain defenses.

So when it saw Henie had taken over the entire upper city district, it assumed she was that council member.

After all, subduing the entire upper district of Sea City in one night...

Besides a council member, the small fish couldn't think of who else would have such capability.

But this also raised another question for the small fish:

If the girl before it wasn't the council member.

Then where was the real council member?

However, no one answered its doubts, as Henie's questions continued.

"You're the city lord here, right?"

The small fish nodded repeatedly, not daring to show any negligence.

Henie felt somewhat puzzled:

"Almost all the residents here are human."

"Why are you, as the city lord..."

In the form of a fish?

The small fish was silent for a moment, then said in a weak voice,

"Because I was originally just a fish."

Since birth, it had lived freely with its kind in the vast endless ocean, swimming wherever they pleased.

Initially, the small fish couldn't speak and had no extra thoughts.

Only survival instincts.

Eating seaweed in the ocean, hiding from other predators.

Because they were the weakest species in the ocean, surviving alone would only make them food for other predators.

So, as a species, they had to stay united.

"You know, it was humans who gave me thoughts and power, making me what I am today."

The small fish waved its fins as it spoke.

"But, I hate humans."

Humans recklessly used magic, relied on magic, yet showed no respect for nature.

For their own comfortable lives, they dumped large amounts of industrial waste into the vast ocean.

These wastes gradually polluted the clear blue ocean, with pungent smells and scorching sensations spreading with the currents.

This was an even greater threat to marine life like them than natural predators.

The ocean was defiled, their home destroyed,

Many of the small fish's companions died without exception, one after another.

Only it survived alone.

Surviving tenaciously in the polluted environment caused the small fish to mutate.

It even learned to speak, developed thoughts, became stronger.

Those companions who died from pollution couldn't even decompose properly.

It begged the ocean, sought help from the ocean.

It wanted to survive.

Wanted those humans to pay the price.

So the ocean responded to it.

It was granted the power of the 'school'.

As long as it wished, it could summon the corpses of its dead companions.

Their bodies couldn't decompose, so they became the small fish's helpers.

This was also why the small fish could survive safely in this ocean and gradually become the lord of Sea City.

Henie just silently watched the small fish, then spoke:

"I want to see your companions again."

"Mr. Crocodile, please put it down first."

"Uh, alright."

Leighton scratched his head and casually tossed the small fish into the ocean like throwing a stone.

The small fish didn't leave, but instead summoned the fish school to reassemble.

Countless silver-white fish like itself gathered together, attaching to its body.

Then, it suddenly transformed into a huge ferocious fish monster.

The outer fish looked like scales, gleaming with an icy silver light.

But they were completely lifeless, deathly still.

Henie quietly watched its transformation.

Initially she thought the small fish was some kind of monster.

But monsters had never existed like it, possessing wisdom and even able to communicate normally with humans.

The small fish's voice continued:

"Do you see the tragic state of my dead companions?"

"This is why I hate humans."

It paused for a moment, then continued:

"Do you know how these Sea People came to be in this Sea City?"

As it spoke, it looked around at the surrounding Sea People who were terrified by Leighton's appearance.

"They were all humans living on some islands, lost at sea, forced to enter Sea City and become 'Sea People'."

"They lived without care, fishing for sport, and constantly polluting the ocean."

"So, I wanted them to taste what it feels like to be bound by the sea."

In this Sea City, though they could feel emotions, they were like numb puppets.

Besides emotions themselves, they couldn't take any action.

"Do you know why they seek to be offerings?"

Henie shook her head in confusion, while the small fish laughed heartily:

"Because they want to die, they're begging for death!"

Under the interference of the Ocean's Contract, these upper city Sea People could neither truly live nor die.

Merged with the ocean, they could only act according to the controller's commands.

Their actions controlled, no choice in life or death.

So they could only place their hopes in becoming offerings, hoping to become sacrificial items.

"They even hope to become food for the ocean!"

At this point, the small fish's voice grew increasingly excited, its whole body beginning to tremble slightly.

It felt an urge to vent in its heart, feeling extremely satisfied after revealing everything.

As if all the crimes of humanity had been avenged by it one by one.

The small fish gradually calmed down, using its huge fish tail made of countless corpses of its kind to gently wave, swimming gracefully beside Henie.

Although it knew well that these were all secrets of Sea City.

But it still told everything to this strange human female before it.

Not because it feared the giant crocodile.

Because once in the ocean, it had nothing to fear.

If it couldn't win, it could always escape - the vast ocean had plenty of places it could go.

But it just felt an inexplicable fondness for this human girl.

It was an emotion it couldn't control.

"Hmm... you're the only human I don't hate, so there are some things I'll only tell you."

Henie was startled as the small fish's voice sounded beside her ear.

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