The workshop of Rick, the weapon craftsman located in the rocky cliff area.
"Phew!"
Rick set down his tools and wiped his forehead.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this absorbed in crafting weapons.
Turning his head, he saw a mountain of snacks and drinks piled up.
The welfare here was truly top-notch.
He reached out and grabbed a chocolate bar.
He unwrapped it and munched on it for a moment.
The wind blowing in from the Black Sea tousled his hair.
'...This is fun.'
A smile crept onto his lips.
If it weren't for Jinhyuk, he would have spent his whole life turning his back on such enjoyable things... *thwack!*
A cute little switch came flying at the back of his head.
It didn't hurt at all, but it was enough to ruin his happy thoughts.
"You can't do that! You can't! Every time I look away, you're slacking off! You should be eating while you work, not just stuffing your face like some chubby little dough-boy piggy! Is that allowed? No, it's not!"
Kancho was yelling at him without pause.
At first, he thought she was a crazy little bellflower and was a bit scared, but looking closely, what could he say?
She had an indescribable air of adorableness, and she was noisy and fun.
Of course.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
"Can't you hear the Vice-Captain's orders!? Or are you mocking me!? Do I need to bring out the switch I cut from the Yodel Forest? For your information, this is the one I used to beat Grandpa Toto when he was lazing around instead of working."
His opinion that she was a lunatic hadn't changed.
The audacity to beat up even an old man without a second thought.
If he resisted, it would probably only make things more troublesome, so he decided to get back to work.
Besides, he needed to finish it quickly.
"Good! I want to see you working hard... *munch munch!* ...is what I said... *slurp!* ...you know!"
If he had one small wish, it was that he'd like to give her about ten solid whacks later.
He'd try it when she was asleep.
"Kancho, were you bullying Rick again?"
"Vice-Captain of the Yodel Rangers, Kancho! No such thing!"
Kancho snapped to attention and saluted.
Jinhyuk approached and leaned down.
"How's the work coming along?"
"I think I just need a few more hours. It would have taken a few more days originally, but that chubby friend of yours is incredibly fast. He prepared all the necessary materials before he left."
Jinhyuk closed his eyes tightly.
As expected of the Great Demon Empress!
Was there no end to the Demon Empress's greatness?
But where had Momo gone? He hadn't seen her for a while.
"That chubby friend? He headed towards the coast a while ago."
He must have gone to where Camilla and Elia were working.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Kancho, make sure you protect Rick well."
"Vice-Captain of the Yodel Rangers, Kancho! You don't need to worry! Base defense is my specialty!"
Rick glanced at Kancho.
So she *was* protecting him, in her own way.
It wasn't just so she could eat snacks and hit him.
Jinhyuk patted both Rick and Kancho on the shoulder and headed towards the coast.
'It's quiet.'
He saw the Edillen family mansion on the way.
By revealing the method to remove the contamination, Raghart had paid the price for curing the poison.
Given that, Jinhyuk had expected him to take some kind of action.
But aside from stopping all of Pamiran's work, he hadn't done anything.
'I wonder what he's plotting.'
That old man was hard to read.
It would almost be more comfortable if he *did* do something... Wow.
Jumping down from the cliff, he arrived at the coast in an instant.
An incredible sight unfolded before him.
"You're here?"
Elia was dyed pitch black—her hands, feet, hair, and clothes.
Camilla, standing next to her, wasn't much better off.
Her hair was originally black, so it didn't show as much, but her whole body was soaked.
And there was one more.
*Kuuuuuul!*
Momo was lying spread-eagled on his back, his belly pointing up at the sky.
*Gulp!*
When he was the Black Dragon Drakhan, he became Red Momo, but now he had turned into Black Momo.
"The Black Sea Lord was so huge that I got a little help, you know?"
Elia pointed to a pile of various organs and body parts stacked to one side.
It looked like they had completely dissected and dug through everything.
"How was it?"
Camilla, her face tired, blew out a puff of smoke and smiled.
"It was worth the Lord's fishing trip. When I only looked from the outside, I was a bit unsure what kind of ritual we'd need to perform, but now I'm certain."
That was great news.
It meant they wouldn't have to waste divine power trying out different things.
"Ooh-cha!"
Elia got up and gestured for him to come over.
She walked over to some kind of squishy organ and pulled out a stick.
She inserted it into an already cut section and pulled it out, revealing a bluish liquid.
"I didn't recognize it because its appearance and energy were completely different, but you know, I've seen something like this before, about fifteen hundred years ago?"
"A divine beast?"
"My memory's a bit fuzzy... but we didn't call it a divine beast. What did we call it? A spirit beast? A sacred beast? A guardian beast, something like that. This one is a fish, but that one looked like a turtle."
Cold sweat ran down his back.
How could she dissect the organs of a turtle called a spirit beast?!
As expected, Mad Scientist... *clap.*
Elia, who had tapped his shoulder, wagged her finger.
"What do you take me for? Do you think I'd just cut up anything just to make a chimera?"
Elia wiped her hands on the sleeping Momo's clothes and pulled out a small notebook.
"That friend had already lived out its lifespan. I spent about fifty years with it by the lakeside, talking a lot."
"You could talk to it? I thought divine beasts, like the Black Sea Lord, were beings that only had instincts left."
"That turtle wasn't like that, at least. Its intelligence, emotions, empathy—most of its abilities were superior to humans. Anyway, after talking for fifty years, I guess it realized how insatiable my curiosity was. Just before it died, it told me to dissect it and satisfy my curiosity."
Elia nodded.
"Thanks to that, I learned a great deal. Of course, I gave it a proper funeral and even made it a special Stellar Alchemist's tomb. I visit it once every hundred years."
Jinhyuk rubbed his chin and spoke.
"So that means the divine beasts of the Tower that Lord Raghart mentioned might also come in various types. Not just in appearance, but also in abilities and dispositions."
"Right. And one more thing."
Elia spread the organ wide and showed him the inside.
A bluish liquid was pooled there, about the size of a knuckle.
"Looks too small? My turtle friend had at least several hundred times more than this."
Camilla, who had approached, added her thoughts.
"The contamination I sense isn't complete either. It's like... it's been split into hundreds or thousands of strands."
"That's a bit scary. It means the fish we caught is only a tiny part of the divine beast."
As Jinhyuk thought about the possibilities and let out a low breath...
"How about squid ink pasta!!"
Momo, who had suddenly jumped up, shouted.
Startled, Jinhyuk and the others looked at him.
But it seemed to be sleep-talking, as he flopped back down and started snoring.
Why would he have a dream like that?
"By the way."
Jinhyuk chuckled, then narrowed his eyes.
"Was the sea always like that?"
The Black Sea, which had been as calm and quiet as a sheet of ice, was now rippling strangely.
The ripples were gradually forming a spiral, as if something was spinning inside.
"Any presence?"
"Nothing I can sense from here."
As he answered, Jinhyuk walked towards the beach.
"Hey, hey, Lord. You're not thinking of going in there, are you?"
"I'll be right out. I need to check something."
Good thing he was still wearing his swimsuit.
He stripped off his clothes and threw himself into the water.
And the moment his body was submerged in the pitch-black water...
'!!!'
He felt it clearly.
Deep down in the water.
An enormous number of presences were circling the island at regular intervals.
A chill ran through his body, and he quickly got out of the water.
Something was about to happen.
---
* * *
The Edillen family mansion.
Raghart, who had come out onto the terrace, watched the churning Black Sea.
'It has begun.'
He had been curious.
How long would they... no, how long would *that being* hold out?
To calm the divine beast, it needed to be periodically supplied with the energy of living creatures.
But not only had the Outsider saved Rogadu and the work crew, who were supposed to fulfill that role, he had also slaughtered the Black Sea Lords indiscriminately.
He had even captured one of them and torn it to pieces.
For the divine beast, which was connected to all of them, its patience was bound to reach its limit.
'Outsider. I know I cannot win this war.'
The unidentified being that had caught Rogadu's capsizing galley on the first day and struck the Black Sea with lightning.
Raghart was not so unrealistic as to try and claim victory against such a monster.
However, this was only a story limited to Raghart.
'I am saying that my defeat in this war does not mean your victory.'
Those who climb the Tower challenge, and those who remain accept the challenge.
Unfortunately, the one referred to as 'the one who remains' was not just Raghart von Edillen.
The opponent the Outsider had to challenge was the entire floor.
In other words, it meant that defeating Raghart was not enough; he had to face the entire Black Sea.
*Swish.*
He stepped onto the railing of the terrace.
'I have not yet allowed you to climb.'
Even if his body crumbled in defeat, he had no intention of kneeling early to the first challenger he had ever faced.
Thus, as one of those who remain, he intended to do his utmost to obstruct.
The challenger's climb.
*Kuuung!*
He pushed off the terrace and leaped with all his might.
The battle between the one who remains and the one who seeks to climb was about to begin.
---
* * *
"Whoa! The water is overflowing!"
The rotation speed of the whirlpool was increasing rapidly.
As a result, the water level of the Black Sea began to rise.
"Elia, get the equipment into the workshop first! Let's move higher up!"
Amidst the chaos, Momo was sleeping peacefully.
Jinhyuk quickly ran over and hoisted Black Momo onto his back.
Just as he was about to help Elia, he sensed a very faint presence and turned his head.
*Nyaaaak!*
When had she gotten there?
Nia was sprawled out on a nice-looking rock.
Still tied up with Kancho's bamboo fishing rod.
Jinhyuk quickly scooped up Nia too and slung her over his other shoulder.
"Let's head to the top!"
"What about the weapon?"
"We still have to wait for it. Let's get ready so we can start the ritual as soon as it's finished."
"Alright. But I'm not sure if we'll make it in time."
Camilla furrowed her brow.
The movement of the ominous whirlpool.
It seemed like it would only get faster...
Someone walked past Camilla towards the beach.
It was the Immortal, Dark Castro.
"I'll hold it down. But hurry. I don't know how long I can manage."
Dark looked at the raging Black Sea.
It wasn't regular water, so he wasn't sure how effective freezing it would be.
But what did that matter?
Only one thing was important.
He had almost died on that galley because of that damn Black Sea and those fish.
"I'll turn you into a frozen fish, you rotten bastards."
A smirk curling his lips, he reached his hand out towards the sea.
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T/N:
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