Chapter 57
Chapter 57. Regulator
I have to go and stop him. If the submarine’s magic disappears, they will not only be crushed by the pressure of the Deep Sea, but the air bubbles will vanish as well.
Then, they will either suffocate, be crushed to death by the pressure difference, or die from radiation exposure.
Whatever the case, the submarine had to be protected.
He swam, moving his three massive fins in an instant.
His movement speed was incredibly fast.
-Whoa!? Hey, Yul! A turtle cannot keep up with this speed!
-Leave it to me! Please take care of the injured.
-Don't you worry!
An orca can move at tremendous speeds.
Yul controlled the Horn of the Sea King and instantly caught up to Timur’s tail.
-Timur! If the submarine is destroyed, you won't be safe either!!
-The individual is meaningless before the survival of the race.
-You fool! You're being deceived by the Deep King Tribe!
-Even if that is so, I must see the completed Regulator with my own eyes.
A massive amount of seawater condensed around him.
As soon as Yul read the flow of that seawater with his Lithium Pressure Nerves, he immediately performed an evasive maneuver.
Condensed seawater fired like bullets.
Negotiations had failed.
In an instant, Timur burst out of the ruins, his eyes flashing.
-This magic signal. There is one more Regulator fragment inside the submarine.
He opened his jaws and condensed an overwhelming amount of magic power. Rukit shouted a warning from the side.
-It’s the Sea Dragon Tribe’s pressure breath! It’ll split the submarine in half in a single strike.
-It’s the Sea Dragon Tribe’s pressure breath! The submarine will be split in half in a single hit!
Tail strike!
Yul rushed in and smashed Timur’s jaw. The pressure breath shot into empty space and vanished.
‘I can’t see it, but I know what happens if you get hit by that.’
It looked like he was expelling magically condensed seawater as a powerful water jet.
To think it could be used even in the extreme environment of the Deep Sea.
At that moment, Yul was so focused on the pressure breath that he couldn’t see the submarine.
-Seawater True Sphere! Pierce it!
-Aaaargh! Please, save me!
-Damn it!
A hole had been pierced in one side of the submarine. It was punctured by a single water pressure shot.
And ignoring Yul, Timur shoved his head straight into the submarine, searching for the Regulator fragment.
-The Third! Where is the third fragment!
-Aaaargh, help me!
‘My attack power isn’t enough!’
Yul turned his gaze to the evolution points he had been saving.
‘I need an offensive evolution, Status Window!’
[Currently Available Evolutions]
[1. Monomolecular Blade Fin: Ignores defense and……]
‘This one! This one!’
There was no time. The moment he saw it, Yul grabbed the first evolution. That was all that mattered right now.
[Stage 5 Evolution]
[Monomolecular Blade Fin: The reconstructed fin tips become extremely sharp. The fin edges are converted into monomolecular structures. Through this, no matter how hard the target is, you can sever its molecular structure and cut it apart. However, it is vulnerable to lateral pressure, and if the angle is even slightly off, it will shatter.]
-Type: [Physical], [External Transformation]
It could cut through anything, but if the angle of incidence was even slightly off, the fin tip would be destroyed.
Still, striking Timur’s neck while he had his head stuck inside the submarine and was thrashing about was easy.
Yul rotated once to build power, becoming an executioner carrying out a death sentence, and struck his tail down toward Timur’s neck.
Crrraaaack!Crrraaaack!
-Ghk, kuuurgh!
A long gash opened across his neck, and an enormous amount of blood sprayed out.
‘But I didn’t cut it clean off in one strike.’
As Timur struggled, the fin tip that had gone in deep got stuck and shattered.
‘An attack weapon with extremely low durability.’
‘If Madness activated, even this extreme lack of durability would be solved. But for some reason, Madness doesn’t activate when I fight Timur.’
Either he truly lacked killing intent, or Timur was on the same level as Yul, preventing activation.
But that was fine. Yul had a second plan: regeneration.
【Inheritance】
-Regeneration: At the cost of experience points, this ability rapidly restores damaged body tissue. Severed fins, tails, and internal organs can be regenerated.
After perfectly reconstructing the tip of his tail, Yul moved in again to strike Timur once more.
But Timur’s massive tail slammed straight into Yul.
-Ghk!
-The third! I found it!
Timur, who had finally found the Regulator fragment, was biting into Dr. Kowalski’s left shell.
Crunch.
-Aaaaaaargh!
Part of the shell shattered, and the doctor fell straight down as Timur retrieved the Regulator from the broken shell.
Yul clicked his tongue at Timur’s madness. He was in a complete mess now.
One fin had been completely severed, and across his entire body, countless scales were crushed, shattered, and torn away.
Blood was gushing from the gash in his neck. And yet, he still fixated on the Regulator.
-The last one, the last one! That one…… you have it.
Timur stared at Yul with bloodshot eyes.
-Yes. I have it.
Yul immediately activated the [Mantra of Armament].
From one side of the submarine, the Krelsite spear that had been in storage shot upward.
In an instant, the Krelsite spear slipped into a gap between the scales and pierced straight through Timur’s abdomen.
More precisely, it traced upward along where his stomach should be.
A perfect ambush, completely outside Timur’s perception.
-Kuhk!
-Sorry, but I can’t give this to you.
Yul seized the Regulator that Timur had been storing in his stomach.
Activating the weak Telekinesis of the [Mantra of Armament], he drew in all the Regulator components scattered through the air.
-N-no……!
-You can’t handle this.
After hearing about the Regulator’s role, Yul believed that only he could use it in its entirety.
Rukit looked at him from the side, clearly worried.
-Are you really going to do this?
-If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. Don’t you know?
-Ha.
Rukit stared at Yul as if he were genuinely dumbfounded. To think he could say something like that in a situation like this.
As the four fragments gathered together, a storm of overwhelming magic power began to surge.
Yul assembled the Regulator fragments floating in the air.
-《Bow before the First Giant and [sing] his glory.》
Boooooooom.
At the boundary between a majestic, awe-inspiring mountain range and the vast continent it connects, a distortion is born and resonates like a song
[The Mountain Range Giant responded to the song.]
-《Bow before the Second Giant and [praise] his presence.》
Shwaaaaaa.
The sound of waves flowing out from the vast sea spanning all of Phantaratsa echoed.
[The Sea Giant strikes its massive shell.]
-《Bow before the Third Giant and [admire] his majesty.》
Bubble bubble bubble.
From the seething lava, an overwhelming heat, energy, and destructive power were felt all at once.
[The Lava Giant gazes down intently.]
-《Bow before the Fourth Giant and [revere] its devotion.》
Grororororo.
The swamp’s vast embrace can be felt, along with the countless life forces springing forth and the will that stirs within.
[The Swamp Giant turns its massive body and gazes this way.]
The four Regulators merged into one, transforming into the shape of a colossal ring.
-No!
From far away, the exhausted Timur shouted as he collapsed, but Yul calmly gazed at the unified Regulator.
-Now, it begins.
The Status Window opened automatically.
【You are being affected by the Regulator.】
[Current Karma value surging]
【Ascension】– Ascension Stage 2
Current Karma: 12,418
──
Current Karma: 32,018
──
Current Karma: 132,444
──
Current Karma: 232,768
【Your Current Lifespan】
[Remaining – 129 years 228 days 23 hours]
──
[Remaining – 366 years 158 days 11 hours]
──
[Remaining – 629 years 18 days 0 hours]
[Experience Required for Next Stage]
[6,800/9,600]
──
[Experience Required for Next Stage]
[18,800/9,600]
──
[Experience Required for Next Stage]
[134,500/9,600]
──
* * *
At that moment, across the entire world.
All intelligent beings felt the anomaly of the world. It was something anyone capable of looking up at the sky would feel.
Skilg Brig.
After Ian gained fame and founded a new school, it had become an island so heavily trafficked that it could hardly be called remote anymore.
At first, it started with a fisherman’s remark that the sea had receded.
‘The tide isn’t coming in.’
That the sea has tides, ebb and flow, was common sense.
Yet the story was that once the water receded, it did not return, but instead kept withdrawing.
That the situation had grown so severe that the coastline itself had expanded.
And as Ian looked at the moon, which was steadily growing larger, he realized the reason.
Staring up at the sky, he couldn’t close his mouth.
“The moon is getting closer.”
“Dad!”
“Quickly, go call your mother!”
“Yes!”
The satellite hanging at the far edge of the sky had grown to a shocking size.
That’s right. It was getting closer. And it continued to draw nearer, more and more.
He used [Transmission of Thoughts] as fast as he could to relay the message to everyone on the island.
-Abandon the ships immediately and move to the center of the island!
At Ian’s words, countless people on the island responded. They had no choice, because the moon was already terrifyingly close.
* * *
The Sun King’s office.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!”
“What is it now? Is the Empire stirring up shit again?”
Jean shouted irritably at his secretary.
“P-please, look up at the sky!”
“Huh? What are you talking about…… Uh?”
Beyond the window, as he looked up at the enormous moon, the Sun King felt just how infinitely small he was.
However, he could not allow himself to be overwhelmed by that insane situation. He was the king responsible for a nation.
“Q-quickly, summon the court mages! Call the historians as well!”
“Pardon? Why the historians…….”
“Don't talk back and just go! I need to check the records to see if anything like this has happened before!”
Jean imagined a horrific future. If the moon collided like this…… what would happen?
After a wave of panic passed, Jean thought.
“If this happened before, then maybe we can survive. But if there’s no precedent for something like this, we might all die.”
Judging by the speed at which the moon was drawing closer, there wasn’t much time left.
“We have to evacuate the heir first.”
Even if today marked the end, the future had to be preserved.
* * *
South, the Archipelago Ocean.
In the winged ship of the sea elves, Arurion Phantarey was enjoying the approach of sunset with a glass of warm wine.
Then, for some reason, he felt that the moon looked larger.
“Huh? Doesn’t the moon look a bit bigger?”
When one sailor noticed it, those around him looked up at the sky.
It was steadily growing larger.
“Heaven and Earth Resonance…….”
Arurion Phantarey recalled a memory of him visiting the library aboard a royal vessel, and the phrase he had once seen in a very old tome tucked away in a corner resurfaced in his mind.
A time when the rules of the world are overturned, and a new world is opened.
“Is something that only happened thousands of years ago occurring again now?”
As he looked up at the sky in shock, the enormous moon was now clearly visible. And so was the fact that it was covered in water.
Looking at the dumbfounded sailors, Arurion shouted loudly.
“Spread the wings!”
“Spreading the wings!”
And after unfurling the massive wings, they began their voyage.
“Destination! The nearest island!”
“The nearest place is the Island of Boundaries, sir?”
“The island I gifted to him. I’ll ask Yul for his understanding later.”
* * *
The Arctic.
Upon witnessing the colossal moon, Adol stared stupidly up at the sky.
-Your Majesty?
-We leave for the Great Azure Ocean immediately.
As if bewitched by something, he moved toward the Great Azure Ocean.
* * *
In the face of this enormous change, even outsiders who had not been invited into this world could not remain unaffected.
Yorum, who had come to retrieve the Stone of Authority, was no exception.
-Is this what you meant, Sea God?
-It is.
-It’s beyond imagination. At this rate, I might not even be able to retrieve the Stone of Authority.
Thinking that this frontier itself might disappear, Yorum clicked his tongue.