Chapter 56
Chapter 56. Ruins of the Age of the Gods (4)
Some contracts exert a powerful binding force. The contract between Yul and Rukit was one of them.
No matter how far apart they were, they could always pinpoint each other’s location.
However, at specific locations, communication is impossible even if the location is known. This occurs in places ruled by a "Ruler" who dominates even the spiritual space.
Rukit usually avoided passing through such places. Going somewhere without any means of resistance against a being that could directly harm you was sheer madness.
However.
After extracting various pieces of information from Isnael, he resolved that he would have to pass through that place.
-Sea God, I have arrived within your territory.
From far away, a gaze could be felt. Unlike the fallen Rukit, this was a being who possessed complete divinity and had reached the Mythic class.
-I must pass through this place. To prevent a far greater danger.
The Sea God Kaidron, who had been silent, finally spoke.
-If it is to stop the destiny of the Heaven and Earth Resonance, that is an extremely foolish act. Even I find that impossible.
-Even so, one must be prepared. I have risked my life to deliver this to him.
-Hm. Go. I will grant you passage.
Though he was normally a Sea God who disliked other beings intruding upon his fief, he decided to make an unexpected choice for once in the face of this upheaval of the Heaven and Earth Resonance.
For Rukit, who was risking his life to pass through here, it was fortunate.
Rukit immediately manifested before Yul through their contract.
-Old man Milkit? What’s going on all of a sudden? I’m busy right now because I can’t get in touch with Tuarnia’s side.
As Yul shouted while moving through the hall, Rukit conveyed to him everything he had learned so far.
-Do you know what you possess is a fragment of the Regulator?
-Yes. I know roughly what it is.
He was referring to the fragment of the Regulator Yul had clenched between his teeth. And judging by the fact that he didn’t deny the whole “old man Milkit” bit, this time it really did seem serious.
-It has finally been decided that you will be the one to obtain the last four fragments.
-What?
That came completely out of nowhere.
Rukit began recounting what he had heard from Isnael.
-Do you know that the four Regulators are meant to be combined into one?
-I do know that.
-When the Regulators are combined, something irreversible happens to the world. In the end, there are only two outcomes. If the Regulator is not activated, the enormous energy that has been concentrated cannot be released, causing a massive explosion that annihilates the surrounding area.
-Wh-what!?
So the Regulator was that dangerous an object?
-The second outcome is the correct method. If the Regulator is activated, the Heaven and Earth Resonance occurs in the world. That’s what I heard from Isnael.
-The Deep King Tribe? They were the ones who told me to recover the Regulators.
If that were the case, then the Deep King Tribe might have designed all of this from the very beginning.
-Yes. And after completing all the trials, the one who obtains the four fragments of the Regulator and becomes the final victor is you. That is the determined future…… or so they say.
-You’re talking as if it’s all predetermined. Is this a prophecy, too?
-Most likely.
Winning only to obtain something like a bomb. Right now, he needed information more than doubts.
-Well, setting that aside. What happens if I get all four Regulators? What exactly is this Heaven and Earth Resonance?
-It is said that, due to your destiny, the four Regulators merge together and a new world is born.
-A new world?
-What happens after the Heaven and Earth Resonance, even I do not know. However, the key to it is you, and that this is what will come to pass…… I came to tell you in advance.
Yul fell into thought for a moment.
-Does this count as part of the Third Calamity, too?
-Without a doubt, it does.
At present, there was one fragment of the Regulator in his possession, and another in the submarine.
-……Why does it have to be me?
-I don’t know that either. But it is certain that you stand at the center of all of this.
-Then explain it in detail. Exactly what happens, and how.
-Well, you see…….
* * *
When Timur had recovered two Regulator fragments, the heroes of the sea finally finished tracking him down.
-A very close scent of blood. Found him.
-Timur!! I have arrived! It’s Yalmuka!
-Only three of you?
Two were missing. In particular, he had wanted to test himself against Mujin, who was said to have perfected the Turtle Eight-Trigram Fist, but he was absent.
-I alone am enough!
Yalmuka shouted as he raised his spear. Timur looked down at him with a contemptuous gaze.
-Only your mouth is alive.
-No, my spear is alive too!
The strangely shaped spear held by the spear-horn squid. He clearly remembered being told it was made by processing the horn that had sprouted from his own head.
Looking at it, Timur spoke.
-Weapons are used only by the weak.
Terrifying magic power began to gather inside his mouth.
Yalmuka charged with his spear, while from the side, the swordfish Teller launched a simultaneous attack.
-You should know that magic interference is occurring in this space...
-As long as the Regulator fragments are in my hand, that does not apply.
He had tested it moments ago. With the Regulator fragment, one was free from magic interference.
The magic power gathered in the Dragon Lord's mouth turned into a breath and was fired.
-……!!
An invisible, overwhelming pressure of water blasted toward Yalmuka.
A water jet breath fired as a refined, high-pressure stream.
Its effectiveness was reduced on the seabed, but because it was invisible, by the time one focused to sense it, it was already too late.
Yalmuka failed to react in time, and two of his left legs were blown off.
-Insane!
-Die!
Teller closed in instantly and stabbed at Timur’s scales. The swordfish’s sharp blade bounced off, blocked by Timur’s scales.
-The scales of the Sea Dragon Tribe are harder than steel.
It looked as though his entire body was clad in thick armor.
-Do you not understand? The difference in power between you and me is as great as the difference in our size. The difference between being able to use magic and not!
Powerful magic surged around Timur’s body, condensing the seawater.
-Mantra Combination! Seawater True Sphere, Shattering Shockwave! (海水眞球 破碎激震)!
Seawater compressed into bullet-like forms shot out in all directions with terrifying destructive force.
The compressed seawater bullets carried enormous physical power.
Teller’s fins and tail were blown away, Yalmuka’s spear shattered, and two more of his legs were torn off.
Blood bloomed from all directions.
‘Pathetic.’
Timur looked down at the fallen sea creatures. The presence or absence of magic suppression had produced this result.
-……!?
Meanwhile, a black figure moved through the mist of blood.
-You survived that strike?!
Movement as fast as the Seawater True Sphere itself. Without even a moment to respond with a mantra, Tuarnia’s blow struck home.
-Kuhk!
-If blades won't work.
As if striking with a blunt weapon, Tuarnia followed up with a crushing body slam.
-What?!
Upon reaching the opposite wall, Tuarnia kicked off with her tail as if rebounding, then charged again, ramming into Timur’s body like a cannonball.
Scales were crushed, and the impact reached his organs, forcing Timur to twist his body.
While a difference in physical size can never be ignored, Tuania, who seemed to have reinforced her entire body with magic, was an exception.
‘What is this black aura? To think body reinforcement could reach this level in this space where magic is being suppressed?’
Tuarnia, whose entire body was wrapped in a condensed black aura, continued her relentless assault.
However, for now, Timur was still stronger.
-O body of the Sea Giant!
Drawing out magic by using part of a Regulator fragment, Timur unleashed another Mantra Combination.
-Mantra Combination! Seawater True Sphere—
Numerous spheres floated around him.
Before the Mantra Combination could be completed, Tuarnia struck Timur’s head. Yet the Mantra Combination continued to activate.
-Shattering Shockwave!!!
Terrifying pressure shells fired in all directions, bombarding the area and kicking up massive clouds of debris.
Timur confirmed that some of them struck Tuarnial.
-Damn, was it Tuania? I thought the strongest among you was Yalmuka.
Unexpectedly, Tuania, whom he hadn't paid attention to, was the strongest.
From the start, he had only wounded the group, never finishing any of them off.
-Enough. I have no intention of killing you. Do not get up.
He then spread waves of magic outward into the darkness shrouded by dust.
However.
The fighting spirit is admirable, but the wounds are deep.
Will cannot overcome flesh.
-You wouldn’t understand the terror of a race facing extinction.
-Our numbers are very few, and more are lost than born.
-Every time one of our kin dies naturally, we lose one-tenth of our strength.
-When our kin are hunted by sea elves and turned into materials for wing drones, we lose another one-tenth of our strength.
-In a situation where we only continue to lose, I made a choice. Even if I am called a traitor by everyone out of selfishness, I will become the savior of our race!
As his speech ended, a new voice cut in.
-So, with the Regulator, how exactly are you planning to save your race?
-Hohoho. You’ve really made a mess of things here.
Yul and Mujin had found him. They had traced the ultrasonic route Tuarnia had mentioned earlier, in reverse.
-You’ve come. I appreciate you bringing the Regulator fragments, so I won’t be inconvenienced.
-What are you talking about? I’m planning to take you down and claim those two myself. Anyway, do you even know what the Regulator really is to be saying that?
At Yul’s words, Timur replied.
-I know it well. A Karma Collector. A device to obtain divinity.
At Timur's answer, Rukit, who was attached to Yul in a spiritual state, spoke.
-As expected, he has no idea what the Regulator truly is. He, too, is nothing more than a puppet dancing to Isnael’s plan.
Agreeing with Rukit, Yul said to Timur.
-It does collect karma, but it’s not a device for obtaining divinity.
-What?
-More precisely, it’s a device that connects the Regulator and the moon. A device that links the sea on the moon with Phantaratsa. Even if you possess it, you can’t use it according to your will.
-That can’t be true. The Deep King Tribe never said such a thing.
In the middle of the conversation, the black shape writhed and shot forward at explosive speed.
Spinning in a spiral, it cleanly severed one of the Dragon Lord's four fins.
-Aaaaaaagh!
-Tuarnia?
Yul realized it was Tuarnia. But Tuarnia looked as though she had lost her reason.
As if she had gone into a Madness state, there were no pupils in her eyes.
Wrapped in a black aura, her entire body was covered in wounds, and the sight of her charging mindlessly sent a chill down the spine.
-Snap out of it, Tuarnia!
-Do you think that will make me hand over the Regulator fragments?
-Hohoho. I’m joining in as well.
Mujin the turtle entered the fray, and a chaotic melee began. Yul examined Timur’s entire body, but could not tell where the Regulator fragments were.
‘Then he must be storing them in his stomach.’
Some sea creatures, like penguins, for example, use their stomachs like pouches.
Perhaps the Sea Dragon Tribe was the same.
‘Tuania is seriously injured. Yet she’s running wild, making it hard to approach.’
Yul decided he would have to take extreme measures to stop Tuarnia, who still hadn’t regained her senses.
-Lord Mujin, please take care of Timur for a moment.
-Hohoho. Going to save the young lady, are you? Understood.
Aiming for the opening when Tuarnia rebounded after another attack on Timur, Yul launched a surprise strike, applying Stealth Form Fist.
Without sensing even a hint of presence, Tuarnia was struck at the waist by Yul’s tail attack and sank to the ground.
Approaching the fallen Tuarnia, Yul used [Devourment] to stabilize her mind and delved inward.
And within the gaps of that mind, Yul saw a bizarre creature.
‘A Shadow Snail?’
He had no idea why a creature with a torso resembling a human would exist within Tuarnia’s mind.
Watching Yul’s Devourment, the creature sensed the danger of its own territory being eroded and quickly vanished.
Yul opened his eyes and set the unconscious Tuarnia down. She no longer moved.
‘What was that snail?’
In any case, after stabilizing Tuarnia, Yul moved to rejoin Mujin.
Mujin was fighting Timur on nearly equal footing.
-Heh heh. It’s not over yet.
Timur used a Mantra Combination and began blasting holes into the walls of the ruins.
-You’re all under the protection of the submarine, aren’t you?
-Damn it……!
Yul realized what Timur was trying to do.