Chapter 265
Chapter 265: No More Over-the-Top Titles From Now On
Heni still hadn't grasped what Viktor was saying.
She hadn't done anything—so how had she suddenly become the City Lord of the Upper City?
Viktor didn't offer much of an explanation.
His gaze had already shifted to the other side.
That was the very center of the entire City of the Sea.
There, a thick gray fog hung over everything, as though something was being concealed within.
That place was where Viktor actually intended to go.
Viktor turned back around and looked at Heni, his tone unhurried as he instructed:
"Wait here. I'll be back."
Heni blinked, just about to open her mouth.
Beneath Viktor's feet, a blue Teleportation Formation instantly surged to life.
Accompanied by blue Runes hovering in midair, a powerful current of air sent his black Coat whipping and billowing wildly.
The next instant, Viktor, standing at the center of the Teleportation Formation, dissolved into streams of starlight.
And vanished from before Heni.
Heni remained with her hand still outstretched, watching the faint glimmers of pale light drifting through the air around her, a distant, dazed feeling settling into her chest.
Professor—he left first?
Then what was she supposed to do?
At that moment, beside her.
A Sea Folk member wreathed in swirling currents came to Heni's side.
The person was extremely deferential—even expectant—as he spoke to Heni:
"City Lord."
"The daily offering hour is about to begin."
Heni quietly turned her head and looked at the Sea Folk member.
Not just him—the others as well.
Having revived, they moved as though they had received some kind of decree.
They dropped to both knees and prostrated themselves before Heni in unison.
"City Lord!"
"Please lead us in completing the offering!"
Heni was at a loss, because she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
For a moment, she felt utterly helpless.
Everything around her felt so foreign.
The downpour was still coming down, but Heni had even forgotten to use magic to keep it off herself, letting it pound against her body and soak through to her skin.
Like a child with no idea what to do.
She stared at the crowd of Sea Folk, uncertain how to respond.
***
The teleportation ended, and Viktor appeared in the vicinity of this zone.
The air here was cold and damp—whether from the fog or simply the nature of this place, it was hard to say.
He looked up at the white wall shrouded in thick white mist before him.
The white mist churned, and yet nothing inside could be made out whatsoever.
Viktor reached out a hand and attempted to push it into the white mist.
But the mist held like a wall—airtight, impenetrable—blocking even his hand from passing through.
Like a heavy curtain separating 2 worlds on either side of it, profoundly mysterious.
Zone A-7.
That was the name of the central zone of the City of the Sea.
But Viktor knew perfectly well that the fog here was no simple mist conjured from nowhere.
Every City of the Sea had a place like this, and in truth, this was one of the abilities belonging to the Calamity of Water—Dozarel.
【White Mist】.
Zone A-7 contained no living beings, and Players could not enter through any ordinary means.
But Zone A-7 had a name it was known by—the Offering Grounds.
Here, one could summon the World Boss, the Calamity of Water—Dozarel.
In the game, the conditions for summoning Dozarel were extremely demanding.
One had to locate the City of the Sea, collect all of the city's criminal stars, and seize control of the entire City of the Sea.
After that, through the offering ritual, one could summon the World Boss, Dozarel, from within the White Mist.
No matter where Dozarel was in the ocean, it would hear the summons of the offering.
It would then tear through a fissure in the ocean and appear swiftly at whichever City of the Sea had called for it.
And at that point, it meant Players would have to face the Boss head-on.
So what exactly was the content of the offering?
Weija opened its mouth with a grin:
"Who would have thought—even a Calamity has a taste for humans."
Viktor corrected her:
"Strictly speaking, they can no longer be considered human."
The Sea Folk's ability to merge with the ocean and revive endlessly was no gift.
It was to prevent them from taking their own lives.
Because the purpose of the Sea Folk's existence was to serve as sustenance for the Calamity of Water—Dozarel.
They were required to go to their deaths willingly.
That was right—the Sea Folk themselves were the offering Dozarel demanded.
Dozarel would, through the Sea Folk's offerings, channel a portion of its power back into the Lower City.
That was right—those who truly lived within the ocean. Those Sea Folk.
They were the ones who actually possessed the 【Blessing of Water】.
"First, you need to understand that the population of the Upper City is tens of times larger than that of the Lower City—perhaps even a hundredfold."
Viktor spoke evenly:
"And yet the Lower City is the ocean, and the ocean's expanse is likewise tens of times greater than the sea-surface city of the Upper City."
It wasn't that the Upper City's Sea Folk didn't want to live in the ocean—it was that they simply couldn't.
Without the 【Blessing of Water】, they were utterly incapable of breathing and living beneath the sea.
And the Sea Folk who did live in the ocean had tasted the beauty of life underwater.
And so they had all the more reason never to relinquish the Calamity power Dozarel had bestowed upon them.
Thus, they took complete control of the Upper City's Sea Folk, forcing them to submit to the Lower City's captivity, making them into the fodder that fed Dozarel.
By doing so, they ensured that the Lower City's Sea Folk would always retain the ability to live within the ocean.
This was also why the City of the Sea was divided into 2 great districts.
The Upper City dwellers—living on the ocean's surface, surviving only through breathing air.
And the Lower City dwellers—living quite comfortably in the depths of the ocean.
This iron rule was the same across every City of the Sea.
"The Ocean Covenant—that is the very root by which the Sea Folk are controlled."
Within the City of the Sea, a clear hierarchy existed.
The Ocean Covenant would gradually assimilate humans into a part of the ocean itself.
And once those Sea Folk had merged into the ocean, they could no longer escape it—could no longer escape the City of the Sea.
Higher-ranking holders of power would use the Ocean Covenant to control lower-ranking Sea Folk, while those of even greater power would use the Ocean Covenant to control those beneath them in turn.
The lowest rank in the City of the Sea belonged to the Upper City's Sea Folk.
They lived within those zones, kept under watch by each zone's guards.
The guards could use the criminal stars to control Sea Folk who carried the Ocean Covenant.
This was also what Viktor had meant—why only those who accepted the Ocean Covenant would be permitted entry into the City of the Sea.
Because those in power could rest easy knowing any outsider would inevitably fall under their control.
Someone like Viktor—carrying no Ocean Covenant—would naturally be treated as a foreign element the moment he entered, met immediately with hostility and resistance from the Sea Folk.
Weija cleared its raspy throat and said:
"So—what are you going to do now?"
What it was asking, naturally, was how to summon Dozarel out.
Viktor ran his hand along the White Mist and gave a faint smile:
"I didn't bring Heni along just for a leisurely stroll."
***
Countless Sea Folk knelt around Heni, hoping she would lead them in completing the offering.
Yet all Heni felt inside was helplessness—she couldn't understand what these people meant by the word "offering."
All she could do was speak up and ask the crowd:
"The offering…what exactly is it?"
Someone raised their head, pointed at the flowing currents around Heni's hand, and spoke slowly:
"City Lord, the offering—it is the act of letting us merge with the ocean, becoming one with it."
Heni stared at the 【Ocean Covenant】 circling her hand and felt even more confused.
At that moment, as if sensing Heni's bewilderment.
The surrounding seawater suddenly surged.
The ocean surface heaved upward, and currents rapidly began to spiral and gather in midair.
A pair of water-formed gates opened from both sides like enormous doors, and from the parting streams emerged an endless line of icy guards.
They closed ranks together, gripping long spears of flowing water in their hands, bodies broad and powerful, eyes razor-sharp.
The guards stepped aside in unison and bowed toward the center.
Heni looked curiously toward the middle.
And saw only a tiny little fish.
The fish looked as though it couldn't even fill her palm, blowing bubbles on the ocean surface—almost impossibly charming.
It seemed to have noticed Heni as well. It blew a bubble slightly larger than its own body with great effort.
Then it squeezed itself inside.
Wriggling and writhing, it floated over until it hovered right in front of Heni.
The little fish had noticed.
On Heni's arm, there was a fresh Ocean Covenant.
It lifted its head and looked at Heni again.
"Are you—a new arrival?"
Before Heni could even open her mouth, suddenly, the fish noticed the 6 stars pinned to Heni's chest.
In an instant, a flicker of unease passed over the little fish.
Then it narrowed its eyes and addressed Heni gravely:
"So—you're the one from the Mage Council. Council Member Clavena."
The moment Heni heard that, she panicked.
She moved to explain herself, but the little fish gave her absolutely no chance to speak.
"Though you hold the distinguished rank of Council Member, I still feel I must say this—your actions have been an infringement upon our City of the Sea."
The little fish said it without so much as a change of expression:
"I believe we and the City of Mages signed a treaty of mutual non-aggression."
Heni opened her mouth:
"I……"
The little fish heaved a sigh, pressing a fin to its forehead:
"Let me be direct."
"What exactly will it take for you to return control of the Upper City to me?"
Heni was thoroughly confused—her already somewhat dizzy head grew even more sluggish—and she said:
"I'm…I'm sorry, that's not something I can do……"
The moment those words left her mouth, the icy guards surrounding them instantly raised their spears, and the gaze they fixed on Heni filled with a coiled, ready menace.
The currents along their arms and spear shafts gradually merged, and the spears themselves began to tremble faintly.
The little fish extended a fin and held them back.
It narrowed its eyes and looked at Heni again:
"Council Member."
"I have no desire to wage war against the Mage Council. All I want is to reclaim what belongs to us."
Heni, growing increasingly flustered, struggled to find words to explain herself, yet the thoughts in her mind refused to sort themselves out.
The little fish's forcefulness and pressure left Heni at a complete loss.
Finally, the little fish exploded. It let out a roar and hurled itself into the ocean in an instant:
"The offering must proceed!"
The next instant, the entire ocean surface seemed as though swallowed by night—pitch-black, devoid of all light.
As if answering a summons, an enormous school of fish converged from every direction, forming a vast underwater mass that coiled and surged upward.
Like a sea monster diving through a great wave, it thrust a brilliantly colored head up from the deep.
Riding the force of the waves, a sea beast composed entirely of an enormous school of fish leapt free of the surface.
It rose into the sky like a wild beast ascending, countless fish spinning and wheeling through the air, the sky above the ocean instantly blanketed in that silvery torrent.
White scales reflected a blinding silver radiance across the darkened ocean surface—like hundreds and thousands of silver blades dancing across the sea.
The damp air, thick and heavy, was cut through until only a piercing, rank fishy odor remained, slapping against Heni's delicate face.
"Return control—to me!"
Heni stared wide-eyed at the rampaging school of fish, a few tears of grievance spilling from the corners of her eyes.
Heni, who had always been gentle and gracious, approachable and easy to get along with.
For the first time—her fury was completely ignited by another person.
"Why is it—that you simply refuse."
"To let someone explain themselves properly!"
The instant Heni's hurt and furious voice rang out.
An even vaster shadow, moving from behind her, slid over all of their heads.
The red eyes flickering within the school of fish went wide with shock for a moment, as though a darkness had fallen to envelop them completely.
That veined, blood-red body stepped down—one foot landing squarely on the ocean surface.
The demon's crimson eyelids glimmered, bearing down with unwavering scrutiny on the school of fish.
Its breath came fast and heavy, gusting like a hurricane against the fish.
The school of fish suddenly ceased its frenzy, and beneath that shadow, even their silver scales appeared dulled and dim.
Before they could so much as react, a blood-red, massive arm—its scarlet claws fully bared—came crashing down and seized the enormous head of the fish school in an iron grip.
Large masses of fish went splat, splat, tumbling and dropping across the ocean surface.
But it paid them no mind whatsoever.
The crocodile pushed its head fully out of the darkness, the skin rough and coarse, blood seeming to flow beneath it, veins bulging and fierce.
Its enormous crimson eyes hung over its skull, glaring with vicious intensity at the school of fish before it.
"If you don't know how to talk properly—"
It peeled its mouth open, and from those grimly cold teeth a rank, foul stench wafted out, thick saliva dripping steadily between them:
"Then keep your mouth—the hell shut."
"And take the beating."