Dusk crept slowly blanketing Melen City, changing the sky's color into a mix of bruised purple and reddish-orange. On the steeply descending cobblestone street leading to the port, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed. The city that should have been preparing to welcome the night with sailors' songs and the clinking of beer glasses was now choked by pure terror.
Venti stepped out of the "Golden Anchor" tavern with a face no longer playful. His teal eyes glared sharply at the horizon of Lake Lolog. The wind blowing against his green cloak no longer carried the fresh scent of algae and fish, but the foul stench of thick miasma—the scent of death settling from the bottom of the waters.
"Quick! Pull the cargo ships to the inner docks! Evacuate the porters!"
The hoarse voice of Njord, the Sea God, cut through the panic. The man ran ahead of Venti, shouting emergency orders to his Familia children. Njord's face was deathly pale, but his leadership instincts forced his exhausted body to move to the front lines.
At the end of the main pier made of giant ironwood blocks, the lake water that was usually calm was now boiling like a cauldron. White foam appeared, followed by a whirlpool tens of meters in diameter that tore the tranquility of the lake's surface.
From behind the blackened whirlpool, horror revealed its form.
BOOOOM!
A giant maroon tentacle with scales as sharp as knives jutted out from the water, smashing onto the deck of a medium-sized merchant ship. The thick oak shattered to pieces like dry twigs. It was a Drag Octopus—a massive amphibious octopus monster that usually resided in the deep sea zone. Its yellow eyes glared fiercely toward the land.
However, the Drag Octopus wasn't rampaging alone.
The water surface broke from various directions. Schools of Raider Fish—carnivorous fish monsters the size of humans with protruding jaws filled with rows of saw-like teeth—leaped out of the water. They lunged toward the docks, tearing steel nets and destroying logistics barrels with their savage bites. On the eastern side of the dock, three-meter-sized Blue Crabs crawled up the breakwater rocks. Their sapphire-blue pincers emitted an extreme cold aura, freezing the lake water around them.
"Don't let them near the civilian warehouse area! Hold the shield formation!" shouted a captain of the Njord Familia, drawing his trident spear.
However, right when the local adventurers were about to charge forward to hold the defense line, the biggest threat of the water monsters surfaced.
SWOOOSH!
The water churned, and a school of Voltimeria shot out. Rare rock-bodied fish monsters with blackish-purple color, reaching two meters in length with a single horrifying eye on their foreheads. Eight fin-like organs on their bodies allowed these stone monsters to hover up to three meters above the water surface. At incredibly high speed, they launched like cannonballs toward the front lines of the Njord Familia. Their jaws opened wide, ready to crush even heavy steel armor.
"Gah! Damn it! Our defense line could crumble!" cursed Njord, clutching his head in despair. "These rare monsters... why are they all coming up to shallow waters?!"
Amidst the chaos that almost collapsed the morale of the entire port city, a very cool gust of wind cut through the toxic air.
Venti stepped forward calmly, piercing through the crowd of sailors running backward. There was no weapon in his hands, but the aura radiating from his petite body made the air around him feel devoid of any threat.
Four shadows darted from the direction of the port warehouse roof, landing with deadly precision right in front of the God of Wind, forming a defensive formation.
Hedin Selland, Hogni Ragnar, Dina, and Vena had arrived.
"Lord Venti, we detected a spike in miasma from the direction of the lake's center. These monsters were pushed up because the water pressure down there changed," reported Hedin without looking back. The former White Elf King stood tall, adjusting his glasses with his index finger.
"They are very noisy," muttered Hogni softly, his bangs covering half his face. However, his fingers were already resting on the hilt of his pitch-black sword. "Uuu... water monster blood is very smelly and sticky. May I slash them just a little bit?"
Venti smiled faintly, his eyes locking onto the movement of the Drag Octopus preparing to destroy a second ship.
"Dina, Vena. Stay by my side. Make sure not a single monster attack touches the townspeople," ordered Venti with a tone that flowed softly yet firmly.
"Understood, Lord Venti!" exclaimed Dina and Vena in unison.
The two Elf girls raised their right hands, letting the embedded Anemo-Calyx emit a turquoise light. Without a long incantation, a high-pressure wind dome formed instantly, wrapping Venti and the evacuation area behind them. The wind curtain spun at hurricane speed, deflecting a barrage of water spikes and the charges of Raider Fish from afar.
Njord, who stood not far from there, widened his eyes seeing that chantless defensive magic.
Venti then looked at the backs of the two former kings. "Hedin, Hogni. You know what to do. Clean up this port before our dinner gets cold."
"As you wish," replied Hedin flatly.
Hogni did not answer. He just smirked.
In a fraction of a second, Hogni's posture, which had been hunched in hesitation, instantly became straight. His blood-red eyes glowed in the darkness. A highly suffocating dark aura exploded from his body, cracking the stone asphalt beneath his feet. His savage personality took over completely.
"GAHAHAHAHA! Time to make giant sashimi!"
Hogni darted forward, turning into a blur. He lunged directly into the air, meeting the giant Drag Octopus that reached dozens of meters high.
The octopus monster roared, swinging four spiked tentacles at once to crush Hogni in mid-air.
"Too slow, you defective squid!" mocked Hogni.
His right hand drew his sword from its sheath. A pitch-black arc cloaked in blood-red flames—the element he obtained from his Ego-Calyx—cleaved the air. He slashed the giant tentacles head-on.
SRAAAASHH!
Hogni's black flames severed all four thick tentacles without the slightest resistance, as if he were just slicing a block of butter. The slash wounds on the monster's tentacles didn't spurt blood, but were instantly charred by the extreme temperature.
Before the Drag Octopus had a chance to react to the pain, Hogni had landed right on top of the monster's head. With one deadly plunge shrouded in a mist of blood, the pitch-black sword pierced the monster's skull, shattering its magic stone. The Drag Octopus exploded from within, crumbling into a rain of black ash.
On land, the school of stone-bodied Voltimeria hovered in the air, shooting at bullet speed toward Hedin to crush him with their hard jaws.
Hedin Selland didn't move an inch. His ice-cold eyes looked down condescendingly at the school of flying stone fish. There was no magic wand in his hand, nor did he chant any incantation.
"You are ruining the view," said Hedin softly.
The Ego-Calyx on Hedin's left chest throbbed bright purple. The White King simply raised his hand and snapped his fingers once.
KABOOOOM!!!
Pillars of deep purple Plasma lightning struck brutally, smashing right onto the heads of dozens of Voltimeria and the school of Blue Crabs around them. The billion-volt current from the Ego-Calyx heated the air to scorching levels. The extremely hard stone bodies of the Voltimeria couldn't even withstand the pressure of pure plasma; they shattered to pieces in the air, turning into gravel mixed with purple dust.
In less than three minutes, the wave of monsters threatening to sink Melen's main dock had been absolutely cleared. Not a single additional ship was destroyed.
The Njord Familia adventurers, who had been preparing to fight to the death, now dropped their weapons with their jaws hanging open.
"Crazy... what kind of power is that..." whispered a Njord Familia captain, his legs trembling seeing the instant destruction before his eyes. "Even top-tier adventurer parties would need time to clear a wave of monsters this large and ferocious without long incantations..."
Njord swallowed hard. He slowly turned his head toward the petite young man in the green cloak who was still standing with a casual smile beside him.
"The power of those children of yours... what Level are they really, Barbatos?" asked Njord, his voice still clouded with incredibly thick disbelief. He suspected the god beside him secretly brought Level 5 or 6 elite adventurers.
"Oh, them? They just registered at Level 3," answered Venti lightly.
"Level 3?! Don't joke with me!" exclaimed Njord in disbelief, forgetting his fear for a moment. "According to Njord, there is no Level 3 adventurer who can level that many Voltimeria monsters and a Drag Octopus in seconds that easily!"
Venti only chuckled, not intending to explain further. He stepped forward, past the remnants of ice and burnt stone dust, approaching the place where Hedin and Hogni were gathered.
"Good job, you two," praised Venti.
Hedin bowed slightly as a form of respect. However, the former White Elf king's forehead furrowed deeply. He crouched down, touching the remaining ashes of the Blue Crab monster with the tip of his finger.
"Lord Venti, you must see this," said Hedin in a serious tone. "Our survey earlier was not wrong. The appearance of these monsters is not a natural phenomenon."
Venti crouched beside him, followed by Dina and Vena who lowered their wind shields. Hogni, who had returned to his timid persona, pointed toward the evaporating remnants of lake water.
"T-The smell of the water at the bottom down there is very unnatural," muttered Hogni, rubbing his neck nervously. "These monsters didn't come up to find food. They were pushed by the pressure of an energy vortex leaking from the Leviathan Seal. The magic frequency tortured them until they were forced to flee to the surface."
Hedin nodded in agreement. He observed the fragments of magical aura left in the water. "There is an artificial magic circulation planted at the bottom of the lake, right above the seal. Someone or a group is using a machine to forcibly siphon the miasma remnants of the Leviathan's carcass. The frequency leak from that siphoning machine is what confused the monsters' instincts."
Venti stood up slowly. His eyes, radiating analytical sharpness, stared toward the southern waters. "The smell of iron, marble, and modification magic. This is human-made technology."
Njord, who walked to catch up with them, heard the explanation and instantly turned pale. "Technology? You mean, the chaos in my city is the result of sabotage? But who is crazy enough and has the resources to build a power-siphoning machine at the bottom of the lake under the strict supervision of the Poseidon Familia?"
The night wind blowing from the southern sea brought fragments of memories and information to Venti. The puzzle pieces began to connect.
"Njord," said Venti, his tone turning heavy. "This city of Melen is the gateway to the open sea in the south. Out there, lies the Island Nation of Dizara. Correct?"
Njord nodded slowly. "Yes, Dizara. The nation producing ancient magical artifacts. But what does this have to do with them?"
Venti crossed his arms over his chest. "Think about it carefully, Njord. The Zeus and Hera Familia conquered the Leviathan not too long ago. The death of the monster king brought peace to Orario, but the defeat of the Leviathan was an absolute catastrophe for Dizara."
Dina tilted her head in confusion. "Catastrophe? Isn't the Leviathan one of the Three Great Quests that must be destroyed to save humanity?"
It was Hedin who answered Dina's question. "Because the Island Nation of Dizara is literally built upon the remnants of the Leviathan's shed shells over hundreds of years. Those hard shells form the foundation for thousands of their islands. With the death of the original Leviathan at the hands of the Hera Familia, the supply of new shells stopped completely. Without a regenerating foundation, the islands of Dizara began to collapse and sink to the bottom of the ocean."
"Exactly," Venti snapped his fingers. "Dizara is currently facing an existential crisis. They are slowly sinking, and they are desperate. And a desperate nation will look for any energy source to survive. Including... trying to extract the remnants of pure energy from the Leviathan carcass sealed in Melen to create a 'Keystone' or artificial support to keep their final capital city afloat."
Njord widened his eyes. "B-But Dizara doesn't have the combat technology or underwater extraction machines strong enough to breach the Poseidon Familia's defenses and install a giant machine undetected!"
"Dizara might not have it," replied Venti, his eyes narrowing sharply, "but the Magic Empire of Altena does."
The name Altena instantly froze the air around the dock. Altena was a major power in the northwest region, a nation completely controlled by elite mages obsessed with ancient magic and magical power domination.
"Altena has always craved the Leviathan's secrets to create the ultimate magical weapon," continued Venti, unravelling the political conspiracy. "This is a devil's deal, Njord. Altena gave the advanced extractor machine to Dizara. In exchange, Dizara used their sea routes that are free from suspicion to infiltrate the bottom of Lake Lolog and plant the machine right on top of the Leviathan Seal."
Venti spread his arms, pointing toward the dark lake.
"That machine siphons the Leviathan's residual energy and secretly channels it south. The side effect of that reckless forced extraction is what rotted the water of this lake, cut off contact with the Poseidon Familia, and drove these monsters up to land. You in Melen are merely collateral victims of Dizara's ambition to survive and Altena's greed."
The logical explanation laid out by the God of Wind had not a single flaw. Njord fell sitting onto a cargo crate, feeling very small in the face of global-scale political intrigue that made his city a toxic waste dump.
"Then... what should we do, Barbatos?" asked Njord with a trembling voice. "If we dive in and forcibly pull out that machine, the Leviathan Seal could destabilize and explode! But if we leave it, Melen will be destroyed before the change of seasons!"
Venti smiled faintly. He looked at the stars on the southern horizon.
"To stop the machine without damaging the seal here, we cannot cut it from the end of the hose. We must go to its control center. To the place where the Leviathan's energy is being contained and operated," said Venti in a very calm tone.
"And where is the location of that control center, Lord Venti?" asked Hedin, his Ego-Calyx glowing dimly, preparing for the next extermination order.
"At the northwestern tip of Dizara. On a remote island surrounded by the ocean, called Cetus. The place where a White Marble Castle stands as that kingdom's last line of defense," answered Venti.
The wind blowing from the southern sea suddenly swept Venti's face. Within that gust of wind, the Archon could hear a very faint resonance: the stifled cries of a smart little girl, locked inside that white castle as the "key" to support her country. A little bird yearning for wings to fly.
"Prepare the fastest ship you have tomorrow morning, Njord," ordered Venti, turning his body, his green cloak fluttering defying the night. "The Barbatos Familia will pay an unofficial diplomatic visit to the Kingdom of Dizara."
Venti's eyes flashed with intrigue. "I want to see for myself, just how brave those Altena mages and Dizara nobles are to play around with the legacy of heroes who risked their lives for this world."
Hedin smirked faintly, while Hogni chuckled softly welcoming the prospect of a new battle. Dina and Vena looked at each other, ready to follow wherever their god's wind blew.
Venti looked back toward the southern ocean.
Wait just a little longer, little bird in the cage, thought Venti with the warmth of a god of freedom. The wind of freedom will soon break down your door.
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