"A sword is a weapon. Swordsmanship is the art of killing."
No matter how beautifully you dress it up, that fact remains unchanged.
The Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu is a sword style that pursues freedom.
But it is also a killing art designed for humans.
Logically, it shouldn't be very effective against a monster like Beisht.
But the almighty System had long since modified these skills. It didn't matter if it was Beisht or a pigeon in front of Bai Luo—you're getting stunned for a full second before turning into fowl meat!
As the sword light flashed. Beisht, who had been frozen for that entire second, finally reacted.
"You're not Morax! You're not Morax!"
A strange liquid—resembling blood yet reeking of fish—dripped from her jaws.
Like a madwoman, her four heads kept chanting the same phrase.
Bai Luo didn't respond. Instead, he activated the True Reverse-Blade's special effect.
All his debuffs were purged, even the unsteadiness from standing on Beisht's slippery scales.
He crouched low again, assuming his Iaido stance.
Technically, "Flash of the Heavenly Flying Dragon" would maximize his damage output.
But in this situation, self-harm wasn't the smartest move.
If two Dragon Flash strikes plus Fairy Law didn't finish her off, Hu Tao would be celebrating a fat paycheck from the Northland Bank.
"Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!"
This time, he layered it with Twin Dragon Flash. Though the twin strikes were blocked by Beisht's defenses, the remaining nine slashes landed cleanly.
Before his feet even touched the ground, Bai Luo switched professions to "Hei."
"Shadow Stride."
He vanished right in front of Beisht's eyes.
At first, she thought it was some cheap illusion. But no matter how hard she focused, she couldn't sense him at all.
Either he had teleported away like before, or...
His stealth was advanced enough to fool a god.
"ROOOAR—"
Though Beisht lacked the combat experience of top-tier gods like Osial or Morax, as Osial's wife, she knew how to handle surprises.
Like this.
"ROAR!"
All four heads howled at once. Countless waterspouts erupted from the sea, connecting the stormy heavens to the raging waters below.
Though made of wind and water, their destructive force was unreal. Even submerged reefs were torn apart and ground into dust.
A human caught inside would be reduced to pulp instantly.
Not just waterspouts—the seawater carried into the clouds by the cyclones condensed into massive orbs and rained back down.
Each impact was like a meteor strike, sending towering waves crashing in all directions.
She was flooding the entire battlefield to flush Bai Luo out.
But no matter how high the tsunamis rose or how violent the waterspouts grew...
Bai Luo was nowhere to be found.
Dead?
No...
Beisht was certain her attacks hadn't hit him.
So... where was he?
Three of her four heads scanned the surroundings, leaving no corner unchecked.
She refused to believe he had fled. That bastard was hiding somewhere, waiting to unleash that bizarre sword technique again.
The rightmost head had suffered the most.
It was the one that got hit by a sandal during Beidou's beam struggle.
The one stabbed in the eye by Bai Luo's dagger.
The one blasted by lava.
The one whose horn got tied up.
Even when Bai Luo used wire techniques to dance between her heads, this one took the most hits.
And now, it had eaten two Nine-Headed Dragon Flashes.
While the other three heads searched for Bai Luo, this one retreated, trying to heal with Hydro.
But as it channeled the element, it noticed something odd.
A drop of liquid fell into its eye.
Like rainwater—nothing noteworthy.
Except for its color.
Had Beisht not been hyper-sensitive to liquids, she might have missed it.
But even then, she wouldn't have cared.
Beisht was immune to most toxins and Hydro-based attacks.
Even if this liquid was corrosive, it would need to dissolve her protective membrane first to affect her.
"Hmm?"
The moment the liquid touched her eye, discomfort flared.
A sensation she had never experienced before.
It made her blink.
And once she started, she couldn't stop.
More of the strange liquid splashed into her eyes, the discomfort escalating into a burning agony.
"SCREEEECH—"
Suddenly, the rightmost head went berserk, thrashing against the sea and shrieking.
The other three heads exchanged confused glances.
But soon, the sensation spread through their shared consciousness.
"GYAAAA—"
"SKREEE—"
"WRYYYY—"
The ocean echoed with unholy wailing.
Aside from the leftmost head (which was farthest and least affected), the other three clawed at their eyes, desperate to rinse them in the sea.
Tears flooded down like waterfalls.
What the hell was this?! Since when did Hydro attacks work on Beisht?!
Finally, Bai Luo reappeared.
Turns out, after vanishing, he had climbed onto her head via her dorsal fins.
No matter how smart Beisht was, she'd never expect someone to dare stand on her.
The biggest factor was the information gap—she had no idea Bai Luo could remain undetected even while standing right on top of her.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is also the safest.
Though Beisht's carpet-bombing was devastating, it never occurred to her to aim an attack at her own head.
She wasn't an idiot. Only someone like Arataki Itto would do something that dumb.
After being shaken off, Bai Luo didn't linger. he headed straight for her dorsal fins.
Not because he planned to climb onto her head again—after that last stunt, Beisht would be on high alert.
The reason was simple: he had already fulfilled the System's condition.
And the clothes he had taken from Beidou were hidden right there on Beisht's fin.
[Third Profession: ??? (Affected by profession traits, system cannot detect specifics) (Activation Pending)]
[Activation Requirement: Reduce Beisht's HP below 30% OR make Beisht cry (by any means necessary)]
Third Profession [Black Swordsman]—Activation Successful!