On the Pacific Ocean, three steel fleets cut through the azure sea, carving long white wakes in their path.
At the core of the formation, the aircraft carrier [Enterprise] was like a floating island of steel, reflecting a cold, hard grayish-white luster under the afternoon sun.
At the edge of the carrier's flight deck, a small figure sat quietly.
Lilith had changed out of her Gothic military uniform, replacing it with a simple black Gothic Lolita dress.
The hem of her skirt swayed gently with the sea breeze, outlining the slender lines of her legs.
She was barefoot, her snow-white feet dangling off the side of the ship, swinging leisurely.
Sunlight fell on her snow-white long hair and delicate profile; without the disguise of the military uniform, she looked like a harmless little girl, so fragile she evoked a sense of pity.
However, this was merely an appearance.
Her ruby-like eyes gazed far toward the horizon where the sea met the sky; deep within her gaze, there was no childhood innocence, only the coldness of a predator.
There were still seven days left before reaching the designated waters of the Japan.
During this time, Lilith had been studying her Biological Attribute—Lightning.
Before setting out, she had purchased an Attribute Comprehension Scroll to use for comprehending her new attribute during the journey.
Crimson currents as thin as strands of hair were jumping and dancing at her fingertips.
Lilith conducted some simple tests on her Biological Attribute—Lightning, attempting to fuse it with her Blood Domain to create a more powerful offensive domain, and infused it with mana along the way.
With the enhancement of mana, the power of the lightning directly multiplied several times over!
Lilith's gaze looked out over the vast, boundless sea; she wanted to see just how much power this biological lightning would have when interacting with her Blood Attribute.
And in the ocean, the one thing that was never in short supply was test subjects.
Lilith cast her gaze into the distance, locking onto a massive humpback whale.
She stood up from the edge of the deck, her small bare feet stepping onto the cold metal.
In the next second, a sudden change occurred!
On Lilith's smooth, jade-like back, two straight crimson lines split open without warning!
There was no blood; it was as if the skin had naturally parted, revealing that what lay beneath was not flesh, but surging dark red energy and silver-white bone.
Immediately after, a pair of massive, hideous dragon wings covered in silver-white bone blades burst forth!
The moment the dragon wings appeared, the terrifying aura of an apex predator swept across the entire carrier deck like a physical shockwave!
Every person working or resting on the carrier felt their heart tighten instantly and their breathing halt, as if an invisible giant hand had seized them by the throat!
An indescribable sense of fear and suffocation gripped everyone's soul; the color drained from their faces, leaving only shock and stupor.
Then, countless figures rushed out from the cabins, command room, and hangars toward the deck.
Forti, Fenrir, and Hawk Eye appeared on the deck almost immediately.
When everyone's gaze focused on the petite white figure at the edge of the deck and the exaggerated dragon wings behind her, gasps could be heard one after another.
"The... the leader of Apocalypse?!"
"Those wings... are hers?!"
"What kind of talent is this?! Could it be a Beastification Talent, an SSS-rank Beastification Talent?"
The subversive realization shocked every onlooker.
That delicate little girl who looked like she would break at a touch, combined with those dragon wings symbolizing absolute power and destruction, created a visual and psychological contrast so strong it made people lose their composure.
Lilith seemed oblivious to the sudden commotion behind her.
For her, exposing some of her strength didn't matter much.
A silver-white Bone Tail dropped from beneath Lilith's skirt, its Tail Blade emitting a cold light; with a gentle sway, it carved a scratch into the deck.
Lilith stood slightly on her tiptoes, and the massive dragon wings behind her suddenly flapped!
"Boom—!!!"
A violent current of air was instantly generated, turning into a visible white shockwave that spread crazily in all directions!
Several soldiers standing close by on the deck cried out in surprise, blown back repeatedly and nearly falling over.
Meanwhile, Lilith's figure had already turned into a streak of white light, soaring into the sky!
Hovering a hundred meters high above the aircraft carrier, the sea breeze blew her long hair and skirt as her dragon wings flapped gently to maintain balance.
Her gaze was firmly locked onto the humpback whale that had suddenly leapt high in the distance.
Blood-red light rapidly gathered at the edge of one Wing Blade, with currents of electricity dancing upon it.
In the next moment, without any deafening roar, Lilith simply swung that dragon wing forward in a gentle slash.
"Swish—!"
A massive red blade over ten meters in diameter left the dragon wing, sliced through the sky, and then precisely passed through the massive body of the humpback whale as it breached the water, embedding itself into the deep sea.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
In the next instant, the humpback whale's massive body split open, and then dense red electricity coiled around it, intertwining and jumping until a muffled sound rang out.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of all the onlookers, the remains of the dozens-of-tons-heavy humpback whale turned into a blood mist right on the surface of the sea.
Within the blood mist, the remaining dark red electrical sparks continued to jump and flicker, producing faint crackling sounds that lingered for a long time, staining that area of the sea red.
One strike!
Instant kill!
Not even the bones remained!
A deathly silence fell over the carrier's deck.
Only the howling sea breeze and the faint sound of electricity from the distant blood mist zone could be heard.
Everyone who had just been shocked by the dragon wings and the aura now seemed to have even forgotten how to breathe.
They stared blankly at the dark red blood mist being gradually diluted by the waves and at the white-haired little girl descending back onto the deck from the air, their minds completely blank.
The power of that strike exceeded their conventional understanding!
They hadn't expected a Hunter to be powerful to such an extent—an extent that they could only look up to.
Gulp!
Following the dead silence was the sound of difficult swallowing.
Every face was written with extreme shock, awe, and a trace of indescribable fear.
But soon, another emotion was instantly ignited—reverence for the strong, a yearning for the powerful.
"Strong... too strong!"
"Is this the true power of an SSS-rank?!"
"Incredible! If that strike had hit the ship, wouldn't it have sunk it in one blow?!"
"The leader of Apocalypse... I never expected her to be this powerful!"
Whispers gradually rose, followed by fanatical cheers and shouts!
The petite girl and her immense power were now deeply engraved in the hearts of these Sentinel Alliance soldiers.
At this moment, Lilith didn't know that her unintentional act of testing her skill's power was subtly building prestige for Apocalypse and for herself.
Might and power were what these people truly wanted to follow...
A little girl's blush is better than anything. — Lilith: But I'm not a kitty!!! I'm a bat, a bat!!! Why do I have cat ears!!! (＞д＜)
Ehe~ These are my ears (=^▽^=)