Blue Mountain Dock, Rorsted Archipelago
A group of people walked through the woods toward the other side of the City of Generosity. They headed toward a port built at the base of Blue Mountain, which was used for building and repairing ships.
Danitz walked carefully at the rear of the group. He stayed right next to Leticia, who was once again hiding her face beneath her hood. Up ahead, Alger led the way.
Gehrman Sparrow and the terrifying pink-haired menace, Francis, followed closely behind Alger.
Walking in the front, Alger fell into deep thought as he connected the dots of the situation in his mind.
Yesterday, after arriving at the Church of Storms headquarters in Balam at night, he heard a piece of news from the diocese bishop, Chogo.
Leticia Dolera of the Moses Ascetic Order had disguised herself as an archaeologist and entered the depths of the jungle on Symeem Island.
He had not thought much of its importance at the time. But today, meeting with the blessed Gehrman he learned that she seemingly took a relic from the elven ruin, which caught the attention of the Dawn Pirates. They came here and took control of the expedition. It seemed they had indoctrinated Leticia Dolera into their Element Dawn organization, meaning they controlled whatever relic she had found.
The relic she took inflicted grievous injuries upon Sea God Kelvatua, who had been hiding for years, pushing the entity to the verge of collapse. As a result, the Sea God was frantically searching for an opportunity to survive.
This led to it suffering even more damage when it tried to possess a powerful Blessed of Mr. Fool, who suppressed its spirit and had Mr. Fool purify it.
Alger suppressed his urge to look back and continued walking.
'Why would a Blessed of Mr. Fool be here? Does his appearance indicate that something big is brewing?'
Previously, it was the assassination of Duke Pallas Negan in Backlund. There must have been countless other incidents involving Mr. Fool's Blessed that he knew nothing about. The only reason he could even look behind the curtain now was because he belonged to this enigmatic organization.
In his mind, the dots connected one after another.
'Wherever a major problem is brewing, Mr. Fool's Blessed will be there! They accept Mr. Fool's arrangements and hunt down secret organizations, evil gods, and angels!'
He suddenly felt enlightened, as though he had grasped the absolute truth. The Blessed actively deploy and appear exactly when and where a major event is about to unfold!
As Alger theorized in his mind, it did not take long for them to reach the dock.
After arriving at the docks, Danitz's eyes immediately locked onto an ancient three-masted sailing ship resting quietly beside the pier. As a seasoned pirate, Danitz knew a terrifying vessel when he saw one.
Its dark wooden hull was heavily scarred by countless battles. Dark flaxen ropes stretched across the ship in a tangled web, while the brass fittings and iron reinforcements had long since lost their original shine.
Danitz stared at the sails and felt a chill run down his spine. They had faded into a dull bluish-black. They were riddled with countless tears and holes that should have rendered them completely useless for sailing, yet they still hung proudly from the yards.
Other than the ruined sails, there were no visible signs of neglect. The vessel appeared perfectly maintained, yet it completely lacked any trace of human care. It felt as though time itself refused to leave a permanent mark upon the wood.
Even while moored peacefully at the dock, the ancient vessel radiated a heavy and oppressive aura that made Danitz want to turn around and run.
Francis looked up at the ancient sailing ship and let out a low whistle. "Now this is a beauty."
The five of them stepped onto the main deck. The ship was completely silent and entirely empty. Alger had ordered his crew to scatter into the city and lay low to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to their arrival.
Normally, a pirate ship of this size could never just casually dock at Bayam. The Loen Royal Navy kept the main ports under strict patrol.
Most pirate crews were forced to anchor at hidden islands miles away and sneak into the city using small rowboats under the cover of night.
Alger had unique privileges. Since he planned to stay off the radar in the City of Generosity for a while, he had made special arrangements.
A combination of heavy bribes to the right dock officials and some quiet backdoor influence from his connections in the Church of Storms secured this secluded slip at the base of Blue Mountain.
Alger turned around and bowed lightly toward Gehrman. "Let us talk in the captain's cabin."
Gehrman nodded. The five of them quietly walked inside the ship and followed the creaking wooden planks of a narrow corridor. It was just wide enough for three people to walk side by side. In the daylight, they quickly reached the end of the hall.
Amidst the creaking sounds of the vessel, a heavy wooden door opened on its own.
They stepped into the captain's cabin. A thick, dark-brown carpet covered the floor, flanked by bookshelves and a liquor cabinet. Yellow-covered books and dark-red bottles of wine filled the space.
In front of the bookshelf stood a wide wooden table. On it rested a variety of items: an ink bottle, a quill, a brass sextant, a black metallic telescope, and white candles.
"So this is the ghost ship from the Tudor era." Francis slowly walked across the cabin and let her fingers brush against the dark wooden furniture.
Her eyes gleamed with unconcealed admiration. "This ship is extraordinary." A wide grin slowly spread across her face. "I suddenly have the urge to make it mine."
"You cannot," Gehrman stated calmly.
Francis turned toward him. "Why?" she asked with genuine confusion. "It is not as though anyone could stop me."
She spoke as if taking over the ship was the most natural thing in the world. She completely ignored Alger's presence.
Alger stood quietly. A feeling of indignation and helplessness burst in his chest, but he squashed it instantly. He knew she was right. Francis had been sailing the seas as a pirate longer than he had been alive. He took a steady breath. 'Let me put my faith in Mr. Fool once more.'
His faith was not misplaced. Gehrman instantly provided an answer. "It belongs to a believer of Mr. Fool."
Francis blinked in surprise and looked at Alger. "He is?"
Gehrman gave a slight nod. This prompted Francis to simply smile. "I see. That changes things."
Standing near the back of the room, Danitz felt his mind working a mile a minute. 'What kind of relationship does this Gehrman and his secret organization have with the Dawn Pirates to make her relent instantly?'
Danitz frantically created one terrifying theory after another to make sense of the situation. He gulped. 'I need to warn Captain to be careful.'
Without another word, Francis walked over to Alger. She stopped directly in front of him and looked him in the eyes.
"Become stronger as soon as possible." Her tone was unusually serious. "This ship is far too special to remain in the hands of someone as weak as you."
Alger swallowed his feeling of indignation and decided to look at it objectively. 'Is this not how I gained control of the ship after all? The weak are consumed by the strong. This is exactly how the rules in the Five Sea works.'
"...I understand," he finally replied.
The seriousness vanished from Francis's face as quickly as it had appeared. She clapped her hands together and beamed brightly.
She jumped up, sat on the wide wooden table, and looked at Gehrman. "So, what is your plan?"
Gehrman did not answer her question. He only looked at her and said, "That was unnecessary."
Francis smiled wider. "I just wanted to see what kind of people you surrounded yourself with.
"They are certainly not ordinary." Saying that, she playfully winked at Danitz. The pirate quickly hid behind the quiet Leticia. Leticia looked back at him, and the two of them shared a silent conversation in mere seconds.
'Do you see what I have to deal with?' Leticia's face seemingly asked.
'I do not have it any better, but you have my condolences,' Danitz's face replied.
A strange form of comradery formed between the two helpless people who were involuntarily turned into servants.
Alger remained silent. 'She was just testing my character?' He sighed inwardly. 'She is as eccentric as the rumors make her out to be.'
"Do not do that again," Gehrman said in a stern voice. This made Francis pout. When he kept glaring, she crossed her arms and muttered, "You are no fun."
Gehrman looked around the cabin and asked Alger a question. "What can you tell me about the ship?"
"I once asked Mr. Fool about this ship," Alger replied. He decided to use the name of Mr. Fool to show his standing in the organization in front of Francis.
Francis only smiled, looking as if she understood exactly what he was trying to do.
Without batting an eye, Alger continued. "'He' told me that Emperor Tudor personally created the ship. Only a descendant of the Tudor family can open the secret treasure room left behind by 'Him'. 'He' left countless traps remaining in there. I was informed to not explore the room unless I am a demigod. I followed Mr. Fool's warning and did not pry into its secrets much. But if you wish, you can look into it," Alger said with a slight bow of respect.
'Since he is a Blessed of Mr. Fool, Gehrman must be a demigod,' Alger reasoned in his mind. 'He could be even stronger than that, seeing as Francis, a renowned demigod, shows him so much respect.'
Gehrman turned his attention to the pink-haired woman. "Can you figure out what kind of characteristics this ship has?"
As a Savant pathway Beyonder, Francis possessed the ability to gain intuitive knowledge about using and avoiding the drawbacks of mystical items. The ancient vessel certainly counted as one.
Francis smiled, hopped down from the table, and said cheerfully, "You got it!"
She casually examined the room before stopping near the large stern windows at the back of the ship. She crouched down, and with a sharp twist of her fingers, she broke off a small splinter of wood from the wall.
Holding the piece of wood between her fingers, she closed her eyes. A faint shimmer flashed within her deep blue eyes as an invisible ripple spread from her fingertips.
At first, nothing happened. Then, the fragment abruptly trembled. A powerful force viciously rejected the foreign influence before it could take hold.
Francis opened her eyes, and a surprised smile slowly spread across her face. "So… that is how it is."
Gehrman quietly watched as Francis rolled the splinter between her fingers.
Alger stood a few steps away and observed her strange actions. He had a slight idea of what she was doing, but he asked anyway. He had the impression that she liked to talk.
"What exactly are you doing?" Alger asked in a calm voice.
Hearing his question, Francis started to explain. "As an Alchemist, I can imbue objects I create with fragments of remnant souls from the Spirit World. The process normally has to be completed during creation. Once an object is finished, forcing another soul into it becomes almost impossible."
She lightly tossed the splinter aside. "It rejected my infusion very heavily. That means this ship already possesses a soul. And a rather strong one, too."
Danitz stood next to the quiet Leticia and listened closely from the back of the room.
Francis paused before continuing. "Infusing the soul of an entire ship during its construction would require an absurd amount of resources. Even if someone managed it, the result would rarely justify the cost." She gently patted the wall as the missing splinter visibly repaired itself in a faint blue light.
"What else did you figure out?" Gehrman asked, getting straight to the point, stopping her from going on another tangent.
"The Blue Avenger is heavily influenced by the Lawyer pathway's Distortion authority, but it also possesses notable traits of errors, spatial transposition, and grafting." Francis explained clearly with a slight pout.
"This aligns perfectly with the actual circumstances of the Tudor dynasty," Gehrman stated calmly as he walked out of the captain's cabin and stepped onto the main deck. The rest of the group quietly followed him outside.
"Under the Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, the five great nobles held immense power. Amon was the King of Angels of the Marauder pathway. The ancestor of the Abraham family, Mr. Door, was the King of Angels of the Apprentice pathway. And the ancestor of the Antigonus family was the King of Angels of the Seer pathway.
"The Jacob and Tamara families also had high ranking Angels from the Marauder and Apprentice pathways. They clearly possessed strong abilities to utilize errors, alter positions, and graft spaces. They applied all of those traits directly to this ship."
Hearing this, a look of realization dawned on the rest of the group.
Standing near the back, Leticia felt a sudden thrill race through her veins. As an archaeologist of the Moses Ascetic Order, she spent her life digging through the dirt for mere fragments of the Fourth Epoch. Now, a living, breathing relic of the Tudor Dynasty rested right under her feet.
'This is absolutely incredible! The history books barely scratch the surface of the Blood Emperor's reign, yet here is physical proof of his great nobles collaborating on a singular project.' Leticia thought to herself. She looked around the deck with wide, excited eyes. Her fear of the dangerous pirates momentarily vanished, replaced entirely by academic obsession.
Gehrman looked at the tattered sails with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"If this ship can do exactly as you say, a change of plans is needed.
"My initial plan was for both of us to invade Kelvatua's residence and attack it directly."
He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses as it glinted in the sun rays once more. "Instead, we are going to set up a trap for it right here on the open sea."
"Great! Let us set sail," Francis cheered. She turned toward the vast ocean with a highly eager smile. "I absolutely cannot wait to sail this lovely ship."
'Dogshit! Why am I always stuck with this? I don't want to go and hunt a god!' Danitz complained inwardly, but nobody cared.
---
Alger immediately went to work. Since his crew remained scattered across Bayam, he and Danitz had to handle the manual labor of unmooring the vessel themselves.
Danitz grumbled under his breath the entire time. 'Why do I always get stuck doing the heavy lifting?' He caught a glimpse of Gehrman standing silently nearby and immediately worked faster.
Soon, the ancient three-masted ship slipped away from the secluded pier at the base of Blue Mountain. It moved through the water with smoothness, as it was completely unbothered by the lack of a full crew or the tattered sails.
The afternoon air was dead and still. Yet, the heavy wooden vessel continuously accelerated toward the open ocean. It sailed forward as if it did not require any wind to move.
They sailed far away from the Rorsted Archipelago and headed straight into the open waters. Hours passed as the coast completely vanished behind them. The sun nearly dipped below the horizon as it had turned evening.
When they finally reached the designated area for the trap, the ocean around them grew quiet. The oppressive aura of the ghost ship seemed to intensify out in the open sea, making the hairs on the back of Danitz's neck stand up.
Francis stood behind the large helm as she held on the cold wheel. Closing her eyes, she reached out to sense the dormant consciousness buried inside the vessel.
"Infuse the ship with your spirituality..." Francis instructed Gehrman loudly enough for him to hear her from the helm.
Gehrman nodded and walked to the forecastle of the ancient ship. He stood perfectly still and released a massive surge of spirituality. He controlled the energy and directed it toward the dark wooden planks beneath his feet, which greedily absorbed it all.
Standing behind the helm, Francis took control of the absorbed spirituality and ignited the ship's soul.
She had suggested this exact move, using Gehrman as a massive battery to jolt the ship's soul and consciousness awake.
A second later, ghostly blue flames ignited all around the ship. The ethereal fire danced along the scarred hull and illuminated the tattered black sails against the dark sky.
Then, the surrounding water began to churn. Massive, glowing blue structures materialized along the outside of the ship's hull. They curved upward from the waves, forming thick, spectral bones that locked the vessel inside the glowing ribcage of some ancient beast.
(Image)
The terrifying and majestic transformation made the ghost ship look exactly like a spectral vessel pulled straight out of legendary pirate tales.
Standing further back on the deck, Danitz felt awe rising from deep inside his heart.
'What respected pirate does not want to ride on a ghost ship?
'If only this vessel was not filled with absolute lunatics.'
He paused and reevaluated his own logic. 'Wait, I guess only a complete lunatic could tame a ghost ship anyway.'
Suddenly, Francis gripped her head behind the helm and let out a painful grunt.
Leticia looked at her with clear concern, but the worry quickly vanished when Francis threw her head back and laughed out loud.
"This ship is very talkative," Francis said with a wide grin. "It is also heavily urging me to go down to the treasure hall and touch some antique mirror."
She shot Alger a sharp side-eye. "Do not touch that thing whatever you do. This ship's major drawback might be directly connected to it."
Alger swallowed hard and nodded. The stern warning instantly reminded him of the strict instructions he received from Mr. Fool once more.
'Do not enter the treasure hall unless you are a demigod.'
---
Gehrman reached into his coat and took out the white bone sword. He chanted softly in Elvish, letting the ancient syllables roll off his tongue.
"Adorer of the sea and spirit world, guardian of the Rorsted Archipelago, ruler of the undersea creatures, master of tsunamis and storms, the great Kelvatua.
"Your devoted servant prays for your attention;
"I pray for you to take this offering.
"I pray for you to open the gates to your Kingdom."
As he spoke the awkward sentences one after another, the sound of howling wind rose around the ship. It sounded as if it wanted to overturn the entire world.
Gehrman's clothes fluttered wildly in the sudden gale.
The ritual triggered a massive shift in the weather. The sky turned pitch black as thick, heavy layers of dark clouds unnaturally gathered above them.
A torrential downpour began in a matter of moments and relentlessly hammered the deck of the ghost ship.
The ocean turned violently turbulent. Giant waves rose from the dark water and crashed forward like a relentless torrent.
The ancient ship began to pitch violently, jumping up and down on the crashing waves as if it were being tossed around by the hands of an invisible giant.
Thunder rolled across the sky, warning of a massive storm ready to break at any moment.
The sky suddenly roared as a massive silver-white lightning bolt struck the water. Danitz instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
When he opened them, his gaze locked onto the head of an unimaginably huge blue sea serpent. The slippery scales covering its massive body were etched with intricate patterns.
Its giant head hovered right at the same level as Gehrman and the ship.
Gehrman and Kelvatua simply stared at each other.
All the howling wind abruptly vanished. Only the sound of heavy breathing reverberated through the area. It sounded exactly like a beast suppressing its hunger with great difficulty.
Huff. Huff. Huff…
The loud, heavy breathing became clearer and clearer before the beast finally opened its massive maw.
Danitz dropped to his knees and tightly clutched his ears in advance. Seeing him, Leticia quickly did the same.
A few steps away, Alger gritted his teeth and planted his feet firmly against the planks.
A deafening roar erupted from the serpent, but it was not nearly as loud as they all feared. The ghost ship distorted the physical rules around the deck, drastically muffling the sound so it would not harm the crew.
Leticia stood up as a heavy wave of embarrassment washed over her. Danitz got to his feet and awkwardly coughed into his hand to play it off.
Seeing their reactions, Francis could not help but laugh out loud.
Thousands of waterspouts descended from the dark clouds above, violently churning the ocean into a frenzy as thunder continued to shake the sky.
Gehrman stood at the very front of the ship and did not twitch a single bit. He lightly waved his hand. The air around him shimmered and rapidly expanded into a massive, translucent dome.
Using the space concealment of the Door pathway, Gehrman formed a cage that blocked all directions except one. He had created a massive temporary spatial cage around the area. It acted as a powerful form of sealing, ensuring that the devastating effects of their battle would not spill over into the outside world.
Kelvatua could not leave this part of the sea anymore. The serpent had no other choice but to fight or desperately search for the single hidden exit that would allow it to escape.
The colossal Sea King whipped its massive head and roared at the sky once more. The ocean completely obeyed its will.
Dozens of massive waterspouts rushed toward the ghost ship from every direction, aiming to crush the ancient vessel into splinters. At the exact same time, thick pillars of silver lightning rained down from the black clouds.
Gehrman stood calmly at the bow. He adjusted his glasses and simply raised a hand. In a flash of blue light, his cane sword appeared in his grasp.
He waved the cane in the air, and the space around the ship violently rippled. He forcefully altered the spatial directions. The devastating waterspouts and howling wind completely bypassed the vessel, flowing harmlessly around it.
Everything outside the ship became a complete blur. The spatial distortion redirected the ambient light right alongside the silver lightning and the chaotic wind. The ship rested peacefully in the eye of a warped storm.
When the surroundings finally returned to normal, the serpent immediately noticed the ship still sitting in the exact same place.
Gehrman jumped high into the air.
Kelvatua roared again, and a pure berserker rage carried in its voice. The sea level across the entire region began to rise at a terrifying pace. The water gathered and pulled back, forming a massive tsunami that stood nearly fifty meters high.
The towering wall of water blotted out the sky, crashing forward to crush the ghost ship into nothingness.
'Dogshit! We are all going to die!' Danitz panicked inwardly. He braced himself, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
Seeing him brace for impact again, Leticia decided to do the exact opposite. Remembering her recent embarrassment, she forced herself to stand perfectly still and followed Alger's example instead.
Moments later, Danitz felt absolutely nothing happen. The loud wind and the feeling of air hitting him simply vanished. He squinted open one of his eyes and looked around.
Instead of the thunderstorm and the countless waterspouts, he saw only blue ocean all around him.
Mouth agape, he took an involuntary breath and felt air reaching his lungs instead of the water he expected. He quickly noticed he could move normally. The ghost ship had distorted its rules, plunging them safely beneath the chaotic surface while keeping a perfect bubble of air sealed around the deck.
A moment later, the ship jumped back above the sea and the sound of wind and thunder returned.
This ghost ship was built to survive any and every environment on the sea, even underwater. Francis couldn't help but fall in love with the ship even more.
Kelvatua thrashed its massive body and launched itself directly into the stormy sky. It took flight, tearing through the air at speeds reaching five hundred kilometers per hour.
A sea king is not only the ruler of the sea, but a king of the sky as well.
From high above, Kelvatua unleashed its authority. The ocean boiled as countless massive sea creatures broke the surface of the water and charged directly at the ancient vessel.
Ghostly blue flames flared along the hull as the ship's spectral cannons materialized. Deafening booms echoed across the raging sea. Heavy cannonballs blasted into the swarm of sea monsters.
It didn't take much time for Francis to figure out the spatial positioning ability. The ship started to blink from one position to another, blowing giant squids and armored leviathans into bloody chunks. The ship focused entirely on annihilating the summoned horde, leaving Gehrman to deal with the king in the sky.
A massive geyser blasted directly at Gehrman. The water avoided him completely, sliding away as if he were a negative magnet repelling it.
Gehrman had already recorded the Sea King's water manipulation ability. He set up a repelling effect using this very power, ensuring any water attack would naturally avoid him.
It didn't take long for Kelvatua to understand what was happening. It shifted tactics in a matter of moments, changing its assault to lightning and wind based attacks.
Above the surface, Gehrman blinked through space, constantly shifting his position to avoid the catastrophic lightning and wind blades Kelvatua threw at him.
Seeing no other way to defeat him with standard strikes, the Sea King escalated the fight. Thousands of rain droplets suddenly stopped falling and started to glow.
"What is it doing?" Leticia asked.
"That..." Alger's eyes went wide as terror gripped him.
"That is one of the strongest abilities I have ever seen used by a deacon of the Church of Storms," he said with clear awe in his voice. He turned around and spoke directly to Francis. "Miss Francis, we need to create as much distance as possible."
Seeing his desperation, the ship started to blink away, jumping from one location to another.
By disintegrating or reorganizing water droplets, a Sea King could release terrifying destructive power by breaking down hydrogen atoms.
The glowing water droplets turned into plasma and moved like spears, shooting directly toward Gehrman at terrifying speeds.
Seeing this, he didn't dodge them as everyone expected. Gehrman moved his hands in a wavy motion. The space rippled wherever his hands went. He started to gather every single one of those plasma droplets around him.
"What is he doing?" Danitz asked with clear awe in his voice.
Alger didn't know what to say. Francis was completely focused on fighting the summoned sea monsters that kept attacking the ship as it tried to create distance, so she did not have the focus to answer either.
The serpent had not used the destructive droplets to yield enough power for a killing blow on its own. But the moment it used the ability, Gehrman recorded it. Now he used it to strengthen the plasma gathering around him.
As he moved his hands, more and more water droplets around him turned into plasma. He gathered so much energy that he looked like a miniature sun in the sky.
He flowed through the motions, ensuring the powerful plasma moved like water without leaking a single bit of energy. He entered a highly focused flow state, condensing all of that plasma into a small glowing ball at his fingertips.
"Imaginary Technique: Hydrogen Bomb." Gehrman's voice resounded around the sealed space.
He simply flicked his fingers. The condensed sphere of plasma shot forward and slammed directly into the center of the serpent's face.
For a fraction of a second, all sound vanished.
Then the sphere detonated. A terrifying burst of pure white light erupted across the sky. The sheer brightness wiped out every shadow inside the spatial cage and instantly blinded everyone aboard the ghost ship. Danitz threw his hands over his eyes, but the glaring light still pierced right through his eyelids.
An unimaginably hot shockwave blasted outward. The intense heat instantly vaporized nearly half of the ocean water trapped inside the cage. Millions of gallons of water turned into thick white steam in the blink of an eye. The sudden boiling let out a deafening hiss that completely drowned out the roaring thunder.
A massive, dry crater temporarily appeared in the middle of the sea.
A second later, the ocean fiercely reclaimed its territory. The surrounding water violently rushed inward to fill the empty void. The towering walls of the sea crashed into each other with the force of falling mountains.
As the thick steam slowly began to clear, the chaotic ocean suddenly went completely calm for a fleeting moment.
"Did he kill it?" Danitz asked out loud.
The very next second, a massive vortex appeared on the sea. Water started to gush in from all directions, collapsing into a whirlpool that emitted a terrifying suction force capable of swallowing a cargo ship.
Danitz couldn't help himself. He cursed. "Me and my dogshit big mouth."
The ship kept blinking away from the center to avoid being pulled in. When they reached the edge of the water cage, they saw the water outside was totally still. It remained at the same height as when the battle started. Since a lot of the water inside the cage had vaporized, it created a surreal visual of a towering water wall pressing heavily against the outside of the spatial cage.
When the whirlpool reached the seabed, all of them could see the serpent's face was heavily burnt. It had lost half of its face and body. But in a matter of moments, it started to regenerate by absorbing the surrounding water, which was the exact reason this massive vortex came into existence in the first place.
Sensing an opening, Gehrman stopped moving. He slashed forward using his cane sword, unleashing his most powerful attack.
The world ripped apart. A massive black void opened up right where the swing went.
This was the true effect of Tear Space. Anything caught within the path of the attack was swallowed whole by the void, causing the surrounding area to gradually collapse and shatter into a violent space-time storm.
The immense rift remained there for a moment. In the midst of the dark void, twinkling lights were visible. When Danitz looked closer, he noticed the lights blinking. It did not take him long to realize those were eyes.
Before he could understand what it meant, the terrifying spatial slash tore directly through Kelvatua. The horrifying space-time storm sheared off a massive chunk of the serpent's scales, flesh, and spiritual body. Blue blood rained down like a waterfall.
Gehrman blinked and landed heavily on the deck of the ship and breathed hard out of exhaustion. That attack had taken everything out of him.
The devastating pain pierced right through the Sea King's madness. Kelvatua managed to control its overwhelming greed for the gray fog. When its damaged mind realized it had to survive, it abandoned the fight entirely.
The serpent let out an agonizing shriek. It flew upward as it desperately tracked down the single hidden exit in the spatial cage. When it realized something, it flew downward at a terrifying speed. Right before it could crash into the seabed, it forcefully ripped open a gateway and escaped into the Spirit World.
The dark clouds immediately began to scatter, leaving only the quiet ocean behind.
"It escaped..." Danitz said matter-of-factly, but standing in the ship, he had only one thought in his mind. 'He managed to make Sea God Kelvatua run away! What did my dogshit luck get me involved with?'
---
There is already TWO chapter ahead available on pat-reon, your support would truly mean a lot to me.
Pat-reon: /DmonLord