The night deepened, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy scent, swept across the deck.
Steven, Wallace, and Cynthia had already returned to their respective rooms, likely still processing what happened today.
Ariel stood alone on the deck, unmoving.
A few lights were on in the living area on the first floor of the poseidon; those were the rooms prepared for them, complete with private bathrooms, enough to wash away the exhaustion and the smell of blood.
"Boss."
Meowth had crept up at some point, its claws tugging at Ariel's pant leg as it looked up, its face full of conflict.
"Do you think... I can still win over the goddess like this?"
Ariel lowered his eyes to look at it without saying a word, merely beckoning with his finger.
Meowth understood immediately and trotted over, eager to offer its head, fully expecting the Boss to impart some secret technique.
"Snap!"
A crisp flick landed on Meowth's forehead.
It didn't hurt much, but it was highly insulting.
"Have some ambition."
Ariel's voice was devoid of emotion.
Meowth clutched its head, crouching on the ground in grievance. Its round, golden eyes were watery, and it dared not speak its anger.
It muttered to itself:
"It's not like you, Boss, who can be with the goddess whenever you want. Since I've encountered an opportunity, shouldn't I try to think of ways to show off in front of the goddess?"
"The Boss is really something; he has no sympathy for his subordinate's lifelong affairs."
Ariel ignored its internal monologue, flipped his wrist, and a stone appeared in his palm.
Under the deck lights, the stone refracted a rainbow-like halo, and a peculiar spiral symbol seemed to be slowly rotating inside it.
Meowth's eyes went wide instantly, and the previous grievance was immediately cast to the back of its mind.
Good stuff! Definitely good stuff!
It could feel that this small stone contained an indescribable, massive amount of energy.
"This is Sharpedo's mega stone."
Meowth's mouth formed an "O" shape, looking at Ariel in shock,
"Boss! When did you steal that from that One-Armed Shark guy?"
Ariel lifted his eyelids and glanced at it.
Meowth shuddered and immediately corrected itself:
"Swiped! No! It's returning the item to its rightful owner! Taking back the spoils that should have belonged to us!"
Its heart raced; the Boss's hand speed was just too fast.
"When?" Meowth still couldn't help but be curious.
"When I kicked him in the crotch," Ariel said nonchalantly.
Meowth was completely dumbfounded.
It recalled the scene; everyone's attention was on that brutal kick, so who would have noticed that the Boss's hand had done something else while he was at it?
Brilliant! Simply brilliant!
His heart is too black! No, this is called strategic planning!
Ariel looked at Meowth's expression of admiration mixed with lingering fear, feeling nothing.
This was the effect he wanted: to let this cat know that following him meant not only meat to eat but also countless benefits, provided that... it obeyed.
He put the mega stone away.
Meowth's eyes followed the stone, its face full of longing.
"If you took half of that drive you have for chasing Cynthia and put it into training, you'd be an Elite Four Level Persian by now."
Ariel's voice struck it.
Meowth scratched its head, immediately stood straight, and promised with a serious face:
"Don't worry, Boss! From today on, your tasks are my highest priority! Beauty and such can all step aside!"
Ariel thought to himself, 'Yeah, right.'
However, this attitude was enough.
If this energy was used well, it would be a good driving force.
Just as he finished speaking, a deep Roar from a Garchomp suddenly came from the direction of the living area.
Meowth's ears perked up with a "whoosh," and all the fur on its body stood on end.
"Oh no! Boss!" It lowered its voice, its expression as serious as if it were reporting top-secret military intelligence. "Goddess Cynthia is in danger!"
Ariel looked at it expressionlessly.
"Just think, Boss!"
Meowth's logic turned quickly,
"If the goddess meets with any accident, your upcoming plans will definitely be affected! For the sake of the Boss's grand ambitions, and for our great ideals! I must go check it out!"
Having said that, it shot off like an arrow from a bow, its four paws moving so fast they became a blur, and it dashed into the first-floor room area in a flash.
Ariel raised his hand and rubbed his temple.
This guy is really wasting its talent by not being an actor.
Just then, the sea surface beside him broke open with a "splash," and a huge shadow floated up.
The massive body of the Gyarados stopped beside the deck, its blue scales appearing somewhat dull under the lights.
It was larger than before, and the aura on its body had solidified significantly; it was definitely Quasi-Elite Four Level.
But at this moment, this maritime overlord appeared somewhat timid, its huge head slightly lowered, not daring to look directly into Ariel's eyes.
Ariel turned around, hands in his pockets, and raised an eyebrow at the Gyarados.
"Yo, the Quasi-Elite Four Level has arrived?"
His voice was very light, yet it struck the Gyarados's heart like a small hammer.
"What? You've leveled up, so you don't listen to orders anymore?"
Ariel still clearly remembered that when they were encircling the Sharpedo, he had never given an order for the Gyarados to devour that Sharpedo.
That was his trophy, a trophy at the peak of the Quasi-Elite Four Level.
Perhaps if he beat it up a bit, he could still use it for something.
But the Gyarados had acted on its own.
The Gyarados's body stiffened, and a faint, whimpering sound came from its throat.
It could feel its master's displeasure.
It wasn't an angry Roar, but a calmness that terrified it even more.
In its perception, Ariel's aura at this moment was like a bottomless trench; it had no waves, yet it could swallow everything.
At the time, the Gyarados had indeed gotten carried away.
The power of the Quasi-Elite Four Level was rampaging through its body, and that unprecedented feeling of strength made its brain buzz.
The world seemed to slow down in its eyes, and the Sharpedo's death throes looked like slow-motion playback.
The Boss's order was "Crunch."
It understood.
But at that moment, a thought uncontrollably popped up.
Eat it.
Eat it, and you can become stronger.
So, it disobeyed Ariel's order, opened its bloodthirsty maw, and instead of biting, it swallowed.
Warm blood mixed with seawater poured into its throat, the Sharpedo's energy quickly dissolved in its stomach, and a warm current instantly surged through its whole body, its bones and muscles groaning in satisfaction.
Power, it had become even stronger.
But the next second, when it looked up and saw the eyes of that man on the deck, all the excitement and arrogance brought by the breakthrough instantly turned into cold fear, chilling it from the tip of its tail to the top of its head.
What... have I done?
It regretted it.
Ariel stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at it expressionlessly, without saying a word.
The atmosphere on the deck was oppressive.
The Gyarados could feel Ariel's gaze sweeping over it; that gaze had no temperature and carried no emotion, yet it made all the scales on its body almost stand on end.
This feeling seemed to make it recall the days when it was being double-teamed by Krookodile and Malamar...