Waver Velvet woke up in the bedroom of the British elderly couple whose faces had become more familiar than his own parents'. It was still dark outside, with the clock showing just 5 AM. Normally he'd sleep in until well after sunrise, but for some reason he was wide awake. Had he felt some kind of intense chill in his dream?
"Haah... perhaps I'm just too excited," he mumbled to himself.
Nearly a week had passed since the battle at the harbor, but it still felt like a dream. He couldn't stop thinking about that night and the intense fighting he'd witnessed. The fear, the trembling, the joy, the rush of adrenaline from his first real battle - all these feelings had been bouncing around in his heart for days.
"A coward who doesn't even show his face isn't worthy of being my Master." Those were the harsh words Iskandar had thrown at El-Melloi. "A man worthy of being my Master must be a brave warrior who rides with me on the battlefield!"
Waver could still feel Rider's palm on his shoulder - so wide and powerful. It was the first time in his life someone had actually acknowledged him. No wonder he'd been walking on air these past few days.
"Ugh... I'm thirsty. I need some water." He ran his fingers through his messy hair and headed downstairs.
When he got to the living room, Waver was surprised to see the lights already on at 5 AM.
"Hey there, boy! You're up early!" Rider called out, waving from the dining table. His massive body made the furniture look like dollhouse pieces.
Since Rider refused to disappear when not needed, Waver had been forced to strengthen his suggestions on the elderly couple, which made him feel pretty guilty.
"Didn't I tell you to stay upstairs and not walk around the house?" Waver grumbled. "And why are you even awake at this hour? Is your body still on ancient Macedonia time or something?"
"Forget about all that, boy. Come over here! Something interesting is happening!" Rider gestured excitedly for Waver to join him.
Waver just felt annoyed. Was he going to show off that new war strategy game again? Still... considering how Rider had stood up for him that night in front of El-Melloi, he could at least humor the guy today.
Waver sighed, grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen, and walked over to where Rider sat.
"So what are you doing sneaking around so early?" he asked.
Iskandar was watching the morning news on TV. "Look at this, boy! Something big is happening!"
The man's face was lit up with excitement - Waver thought he looked even more thrilled than he had during the battle at the harbor.
"Hahahahaha! To think such interesting things would happen in this world! It's truly wonderful to have been summoned to this era! Now I'll see what you're capable of! Clinton, are you worthy to be my rival in this era?" Iskandar boomed.
"What?" Hearing Iskandar's confusing outburst, Waver turned to look at the TV in complete bewilderment.
The TV screen showed an enormous shadow covered in tentacles.
"What the...?" Waver rubbed his eyes. After making sure it wasn't some movie channel, he looked again at the massive shadowy form. Hidden in thick fog and looming in the darkness was something impossibly huge. A blue whale would probably be just a snack for this thing. It had countless writhing tentacles and rows upon rows of fangs - clearly a monster born from pure hunger and the desire to consume everything. This nightmare creature that dominated the oceans truly looked like something that served an Outer God.
"M-m-m-monster?!?!" Waver stammered.
"Yes, I believe that's what people in this era call such beings," Rider nodded calmly. "This king hunted many magical beasts in his lifetime, but compared to this creature, they were nothing more than insects."
In the quiet of the early morning living room, there was the sound of a glass slipping from Waver's hand and shattering on the floor.
…
1994, Winter, one morning at Yokosuka Port in Tokyo Bay. The weather was foggy with rough seas. How did Ryuuto feel after becoming a Great Sea Demon? In simple terms, it was about 100 times better than visiting a brothel. There was something about towering over 300 meters high, looking down at everything below him. That feeling of power when he connected his senses to the sea demon's - sensations his human body could never experience - and the pure joy of letting loose desires he'd been holding back for three years.
I'm so incredibly high right now! Wryyyyyyy! That pretty much summed up his mood.
But how could he transform into a sea demon using a Prelati's Spellbook that had no Mystery? The answer was pretty straightforward - he just could. Unlike Gilles, Ryuuto didn't use the spellbook to open a passage to another world and summon a sea demon. Instead, he followed the methods described in the book and, after experimenting all night, successfully summoned one himself! He wasn't "using a completed Noble Phantasm" - he was "creating a Noble Phantasm."
Hundreds of years ago, Prelati had performed magecraft while high on drugs and somehow managed to connect with another dimension against astronomical odds, making a contract with sea demons. This Great Sea Demon had properties similar to Ryuuto's Beast form - both were manifestations of gluttony.
If Prelati could pull it off, why couldn't he? And last night, Ryuuto did exactly that. He managed to turn what was basically an edgy teenager's notebook into an EX-ranked Noble Phantasm.
Ryuuto lifted his massive head, looking out at the world through hundreds of eyeballs covering the sea demon's body. Everything seemed so tiny, breakable, and tasty from up here. Since he'd decided to appear in Tokyo instead of Fuyuki, not even the Church with all its power could hide a monster this size from the public.
In the sky, four military helicopters circled anxiously around him. Their spotlights swept across the sea demon's body, showing the world its terrifying size and disgusting tentacles. In the distance, the skyscrapers along Tokyo Bay's coast were all lit up despite it being 5 AM. Several kilometers away, three Aegis destroyers were racing toward his position.
News networks worldwide must be going crazy right now. Hundreds of millions of people were probably watching his magnificent form on television at this very moment. Some would be shocked, others terrified, and a few might even be excited.
Well... don't worry, humans. You're not what I'm really after today. Ryuuto swung a tentacle over twenty meters wide, slamming it hard against the ocean surface. The sea foamed and churned as the Great Sea Demon roared its challenge to the world before daybreak.
"■■■,■■■■■■!" (Come and get me, Seventh Fleet!)