Chapter 169
The voyage continued for three days.
Riding on the back of a gigantic turtle.
I still couldn't figure out how to use the gift that Queen of Elin had given.
It seemed as if an elemental inhabited it, but no matter how much I tried to communicate with it through communion, there was no response.
So after a few days of attempts, I just put it into my backpack. There must be some enchantment or seal on it, but there was nothing I could do about it for now.
In any case, I was starving.
Maybe I was just irritable from hunger. Everyone was so drained that hardly anyone spoke.
But I couldn't even be sure if the turtle was really heading in the direction of the empire or not. The direction was indeed northeast, but...
"I see an island ahead!"
"Where?"
Everyone moved toward the turtle's head.
Hunger was one thing, but the thirst was even worse. How could it be that for three days straight, we hadn't seen a single island?
I was about to ask the turtle to slow down, but it slowed on its own, as if it was always headed for this island. Was there something here?
If our destination was really this island...
Then I could only assume that the sacred tree, Osu, was guiding us. Maybe it was all just a coincidence, though.
As soon as we stopped near the island, we rode the divine beasts onto it. But the closer we came, the heavier the eerie energy pressed in. There were countless shipwrecks.
In any case, we all landed on the island.
It was a haunted island. A sinister, dark energy pervaded the place and specters or ghosts flitted by at times.
"There must be a storm barrier nearby."
"Seems so. Judging by how every ship that came here wrecked. Looks like there are some demon ships, too."
Amidst the mainly smashed human ships, there were a few demon vessels rotting and disintegrating in the water. Ships headed for Aindel that sunk must have been swept here.
"Spread out and search!"
"Yes!"
The crew climbed onto the island.
Dark power was emanating from the center. Could there be a Guardian here I didn't know about?
"There's something at the center of the island."
"Eilin, prepare the holy sword."
"Yes."
We carefully moved deeper in.
Luckily, we found clean water and immediately filled our flasks and drank. The cool water was such a relief.
Past crawling insects and thickets of small trees, we moved deeper toward the center. The island was quite large—it would probably take two full days to explore it all.
Then a shout came from above.
"Young lord! Come over here!"
"What is it?"
"There's an ancient ruin!"
Hearing a crew member's call, we all headed that way. As we went, we saw overgrown steps. The stairs led toward the center of the island.
We climbed up the steps.
The center of the island rose like a volcanic crater, and the steps led right up to it.
We stopped at the end of the stairs.
It was a unique basin terrain. Natural walls surrounded us on all sides and inside was the ruin of an ancient structure.
Probably thanks to these basin walls, the dark power was weaker. But as we entered, the darkness grew stronger.
Was this also a demon sacred ground?
Eilin unwrapped the cloth covering the holy sword. A fierce light exploded out. As the light pushed back the darkness, we advanced again.
And something incredible happened.
Unlike before, both the divine light and the dark power surged into all of our bodies at once.
"Young lord!"
"Hold on. Wait a minute."
Everyone looked around and stopped.
The divine and dark powers began to seep into us. This had never happened before.
Never had the holy sword's divinity seeped into us, nor had darkness. We didn't feel any particular reaction in our bodies.
Moreover, not just myself and the crew, all those with divinity, but even the Tuji brothers and Yuri were enveloped by both the divine and dark powers. Only Allen was excluded.
"It's because of Osu's seed."
"I see."
Osu's seed, imbued with primordial power, was drawing in both the light and the darkness. There was no collision. The two forces mingled naturally.
Could the sacred tree Osu really have led us here? It would be nearly impossible to come upon an island like this by chance, even if there were no others nearby.
So, the primordial divinity was accumulating in our bodies. It didn't immediately dissolve into magic power, though. It would probably take some time for magic and the primordial force to become one.
"We should summon the dark knights, shouldn't we?"
"Ah, right."
I picked up the ring hanging from my necklace.
"Dark knights and bronze knights, all come to the heart of this island. Your power lies here."
I spoke and looked out to the sea.
Divine beasts, carrying the dark knights, swiftly flew toward the island, as if quite delighted.
It was good for us to absorb primordial power first, but growing the dark knights' power was worthwhile, too. There was plenty to go around.
Surely, there were more Forests of Death in the west of Tern and the empire as well. At least three more demon gates must remain. And besides...
"Young lord."
"Donnie, are you thinking the same?"
"Yes. I heard the northern continent of Aindel has been tainted by darkness. I think we'll have to go there."
Everyone had the same idea.
We had no plan to help Elin or the queen, but because the dark power in that continent could become our strength.
We couldn't wield the primordial power yet, but for the dark knights, it became their magic. Their power was now the union of magic and primordial divinity.
"We'll save the northern continent of Aindel for later. If we go east from our new territory, we'll reach it."
"Will the turtle stay with us?"
"If it wants to stay in this sea, there's nothing we can do. If not, we'll ride Asgard's remains and fly."
While we talked, we headed down to the ruins.
Before long, the dark knights entered the island, and the primordial divinity soaked into their bodies as well.
This temple was built by humans.
It was enormous, with broken statues of gods and kings. The symbol of the high god Apheon was there, too.
"This looks like a temple of the Holy Theocratic Kingdom."
"The ancient one?"
"Yes. It's the root of the Syren bloodline."
I'd roughly explained the things I'd gone through to the crew before. Communication would be impossible otherwise if only I knew. This temple likely wasn't actually part of the kingdom.
Everyone took seats, feeling the influx of both light and dark divinity. The sense that something unusual was happening was in the air.
As light and darkness flowed into me, it felt as though they soaked into the Osu's seed lodged somewhere near my solar plexus. I could sense the two forces merging within it.
It was truly an indescribable sensation—so warm, majestic, and benevolent, as if the mother of all things was cradling the universe.
Primordial divinity.
This cosmic force embraced all three types of power I possessed: magic power, the divinity of light, and even Asgard's magic that hovered around my body.
Then, it happened.
The ground suddenly shook.
I thought it was an earthquake, but it wasn't.
Kuuuuurrrgh—
An enormous roar erupted from below.
The very ground trembled.
"It's a giant monster!"
Was there really a Guardian?
No one could have known. With the storm barrier, coming to this island was nearly impossible.
"Get your armor first!"
I hurriedly took my armor out of my magic pouch. You couldn't wear armor while on a sea voyage. Still, it would take a moment to put it on.
"Dark knights, stop the monster!"
—We obey the king's command.
All the dark knights rushed into the ruins at once.
We grabbed our armor and retreated. Only after making some distance did we start to gear up.
Then it happened.
Kukwakwakwang—
Krrrrrraaagh—
A massive monster burst from the ground with a thunderous roar, hurling earth and temple debris everywhere.
It was a piercing blue monster, with large horns on its head. Between those horns, blue flames exploded.
Lightning?
"Be careful!"
Pachichichik—
When the monster lowered its head, an intense bolt of lightning blasted out. About fifty charging dark knights were struck at once and sent flying.
"Everyone dodge! It's seen us!"
Everyone ran as fast as possible.
I too protected Eilin and Yuri, spreading my shield to its maximum.
Patsutsutsu—p-pow!
With a thunderous blast, I was thrown back. Eilin and Yuri bounced off my body. Even with the shield, the shock of the lightning left my body tingling.
"Over the basin wall!"
"Dark knights, retreat!"
I grabbed the fallen Yuri, and with Eilin, dashed up the edge. More dark knights were struck down by lightning as the monstrous sound rang out.
Only the bronze knights remained and tried to attack, but with a single front paw strike, all seven were sent flying. The monster then focused its lightning at us again.
In the chaos, we barely climbed over the basin wall.
With us hidden, the monster stopped attacking, only letting out massive roars and shining with a frenzy.
"Whew. This thing is incredible..."
Everyone was truly shocked.
Who would have thought such a powerful being existed? Could this be the beast struck by every bolt of lightning in these seas for over a thousand years?
Speechless, we stared at the ruins.
The monster stopped attacking and began to re-enter the pit it emerged from.
"Eilin, is the dark power coming from underground, or does that monster alone have it?"
"I'm not certain, but I think only that monster is radiating darkness."
So, it wasn't a Guardian.
Even from my perspective, it seemed the darkness was not from below but poured out from the monster itself. Its dark power was so overwhelming it was hard to tell.
"So, what do you think? Should we kill it or just leave?"
"Will there be any treasure?"
"There probably isn't."
There was no practical benefit to fighting it. It was also incredibly dangerous. Judging by the island's location, the demons likely brought the beast to invade Aindel.
But Allen's opinion was different.
"That thing—I want its lightning."
"Can you absorb lightning into your magic?"
"I don't know. I do have resistance."
Allen's power was the Earth attribute. The mighty force of the land manifests as immense gravity. There's no real clash with lightning, but earth can block it somewhat.
But just to a degree. The monster's lightning wasn't something one could just withstand. He could be killed in a single blow. I also doubted earth attribute magic could accumulate lightning.
Then Allen went down.
"Are you really going to try?"
"As long as I don't die, it's possible. My grandfather told me once, you know—Brembor's hammer was a hammer of thunder. You think that lightning just happened by chance?!"
Before I could stop him, he charged.
Then he shouted.
"Monster, come out! Taste my hammer!"
Was hero Brembor also struck by lightning and gained the power of its magic? If you get struck countless times, maybe it's possible. Allen was just the type to get struck, too.
Kuuuuurgh—
The monster stuck out its head again.
"Is your skull made of iron or what?!"
Allen went flying with a 'thunk'.
He dropped hard toward the creature's head, trying to attack but not easily succeeding.
Pachichik—
Allen was hit squarely by a bolt and smashed into the ruins. He didn't even scream, just twitched, so I rushed to help. But he leapt up suddenly.
"You can't kill me!"
With a face flushed red, Allen charged at the beast again, dodging swiping claws and dashing around it.
Pachik! Patsutsutsu—
Bolts of lightning fired off at the ruins wherever Allen went. Sparks exploded and fragments arced everywhere.
Allen took those bolts head-on, running whole rounds, clearly trying to build up resistance by taking weaker shocks first. His resistance was actually increasing.
"He really is becoming resistant."
"Seems so."
Allen boldly took off again.
This time he launched at the back of the monster's head, but the beast quickly turned to intercept.
"Damn it!"
Pachichichik—
He was struck by lightning again.
Allen was knocked to the floor, tumbling away, but got up immediately and sprinted in again. I was amazed he could still move so fast.
"You monster! Try attacking again—!"
Pachichik—
That made three times already. Once more, Allen leapt to his feet and darted among the ruins, while the monster kept unleashing more lightning bolts in pursuit.
He was brash, but...
It really did look like the magic power could soak up lightning. It must be agonizing, yet Allen endured it.
Pachichiiik—
Allen took another direct hit and whirled away through the air. The force of the lightning was only getting stronger—I should probably stop him.
At that moment, Eilin grabbed my arm.
"Wait a minute."
"Why?"
"My hand feels strange."
Everyone looked at Eilin's hand and gasped.
Sparks were flying from her fingers.
"Did you get hit by one of the lightning bolts?"
"I think it was the holy sword."
What was this phenomenon?
Was it because of the holy sword's properties?
Or was it the force of the primordial power?