Chapter 861

"It probably couldn’t have sunk the entire continent," Nikau answered after a brief silence, brushing the residue from the spent magic stone off the talisman before slipping it back into his coat.

"So that was their goal from the very beginning?" A sharp cry rang out then.

Charlotte and Diana turned at once.

A dwarf with mismatched eyes was climbing up onto the stern deck.

Charlotte clicked her tongue lightly as she said, "You should’ve stayed inside the cabin, Ellie."

Elia shook her head and continued walking toward them. "I’m fine. Besides, Kalinso isn’t far away anymore. I chose this destination myself, so I should at least confirm we've found the right place. More importantly…"

Her gaze shifted toward Nikau, standing beside Charlotte. "So even after all this time, the people of the archipelago still see the Empire as invaders."

Diana scoffed. "Well, that’s hardly surprising. They were probably furious that civilization, freedom, and power ended up in other people’s hands."

Though she shook her head, she cast Charlotte a strange glance. She was obviously thinking about the beastfolk of the past.

Charlotte clicked her tongue. Nikau flatly said, "The Empire tolerated and encouraged them for the sake of conquering the Black Sea and opening new trade routes."

His gaze made it obvious he regarded her as a representative of the Empire. It was not surprising, considering that high fairies were among the Empire’s ruling class.

"And countless islanders were sacrificed in exchange for that freedom and authority," said Nikau.

"That still doesn’t justify waking a sealed ancient god, Captain," Diana replied coldly.

Standing beside her, Elia quietly added, "Especially not if that ancient god could drown the continent beneath the sea. An unimaginable number of people would die."

Nodding in agreement, Diana immediately pressed further. "And your people believed these islands would somehow survive the disaster, didn’t they? Isn’t that right?"

Nikau hesitated before replying, "As I said, I’m not claiming they made the right choice. I simply couldn’t do anything about it."

"So that’s why you followed along without protest even after the contract changed," Charlotte murmured.

Nikau nodded toward her. "That’s right. I thought that if the Demigod of the North was even half as strong as the rumors claimed, then perhaps it might actually be possible."

"You’re fortunate. The Demigod of the North is even stronger than the rumors," said Charlotte.

"And it seems he’s returning right now," Diana added lazily.

Elia, Charlotte, and Nikau all turned simultaneously toward the stern, following Diana’s gaze.

As Elia stepped closer beside Charlotte, their eyes widened. Beyond the rolling fog, a violet trail was rapidly approaching.

Splash— splash—

Only the sound of oars cutting through the sea remained for several moments.

Then, through the fog, the silhouette of a shattered ship slowly emerged. Its bow had been destroyed, and every mast had snapped, making it resemble a drifting ghost ship. Though in truth, it probably was not.

Swoosh—

Beneath that ruined ship, a gigantic sea crocodile was fused to the hull itself. The reason only violet light shimmered through the fog instead of its form was that it was swimming beneath the surface.

Stopping beside Charlotte, Elia let out a quiet gasp. "So the roar we heard earlier really was Yog after all."

"Did it really kill all those sea creatures?" Charlotte muttered with wide eyes.

Diana answered immediately with a disbelieving laugh. "Still talking nonsense as usual."

Charlotte frowned and turned toward her. "Was that directed at me?"

Diana jerked her chin toward the stern. "No. At Yog. It’s asking us to slow down because it’s tired."

"Oh… really?"

"Obviously bullshit. Even if it killed all the sea creatures, it obviously knows something else could still be chasing us, so why would it— eh?"

Charlotte nodded only then, while Diana suddenly stopped mid-scoff.

Nikau had suddenly strode past her and raised one hand overhead, waving it in a circular motion.

"Half speed!" Yalo’s shout thundered from the central deck.

As if waiting for the order, the rows of oars along both sides of the ship began slowing in alternating rhythm.

"Spread out a little more while you follow us! Give it room to come through!" Sanford’s shout followed from nearby.

Standing beside Diana as she frowned, Nikau calmly said, "We’ll soon enter shallow waters where the sea creatures cannot approach anyway."

"Even so, that thing is moving way too—" Diana’s uneasy muttering trailed off.

The ruined ship trailing behind them through the violet fog had suddenly begun rising higher out of the water.

Whoosh—

Water mixed with fog poured off in every direction as Yog finally revealed its true form.

Its elongated jaws lined with countless large and small fangs surfaced first, followed by three pairs of glowing violet eyes. Then its massive, thick body slowly rose above the sea.

"How exactly did it tame it, I wonder? Did it settle inside its brain… or consume its soul entirely? If it’s the latter, then that’s a far more advanced method," Elia murmured while her mismatched eyes shone brightly.

Of course, the thought crossing Charlotte’s mind was far simpler and far more instinctive.

"So where’s Ian?"

"Apparently he was sleeping through all of this. Yog said it only just woke him up," Diana answered with a disbelieving laugh while pushing her mask up onto her forehead.

Nikau frowned as he asked, "In the middle of all that chaos?"

Charlotte bared her fangs in a grin.

"The Demigod can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, as long as he wants to," said Elia.

Charlotte nodded in agreement. Ian insisted it was meditation, but to her, it looked no different from deep sleep.

Nikau let out a hollow laugh. "Even his composure is worthy of a demigod."

At some point, the island-born captain had clearly developed considerable admiration for Ian as well.

"It’s disgustingly huge."

"To enslave a familiar capable of turning a sea creature like that into a puppet…."

Astonished murmurs spread across the central deck as well.

The fairies and beastfolk crowded along the starboard rail were all staring at Yog gliding beside them.

"Truly… the Demigod is magnificent…"

"To think I once fought against someone like that, even briefly, it’s almost an honor."

The only ones remaining at their posts were the beastfolk stationed atop the railing with ropes tied around their waists. Even they, however, had risen to stare toward the starboard side.

Swoosh—

Charlotte herself slowly traced Yog as it moved beside the ship.

Its hide, steeped in violet chaos and covered in large and small wounds from which traces of blue chaos still leaked like drifting smoke, bore the unmistakable marks of its battle against the sea creatures.

Considering how many creatures it had fought, the fact that it survived in this state alone was astonishing.

"As I thought, it consumed its soul completely. If it had only stolen the body, there’s no way it could maintain control under those conditions," Elia muttered with narrowed eyes.

Diana crossed her arms and added flatly, "Yog says the water’s shallow enough now that if it stretched its legs downward, they’d touch the bottom. Apparently, it’ll have to continue on foot before long."

Judging by the irritation on her face, she was tired of relaying messages between parties.

"Sorry for showing up late."

Ian’s voice rang out from Yog’s back then. A moment later, he stepped out from the broken edge of the ruined ship.

"Took me a while to cut the ropes loose."

The height of the shattered ship almost perfectly matched that of the Silent Storm and Black Wave, making it feel as though he were simply walking beside them.

His appearance, however, was a disaster. Even the armor pieces that remained intact were dented, warped, or cracked beyond recognition.

As she walked toward the center of the deck after him, Elia called out, her voice carried by magic, "Did you eliminate the corrupted lord, Godfather?"

Ian stopped and nodded toward her. "Yeah. It’s dead."

"Ooooooh!"

"Glory to the mighty and valiant Demigod!"

"Praise the Golden Demigod!"

The beastfolk and fairies erupted into cheers as if they had been waiting for the confirmation.

The Black Wave across from them exploded into celebration as well. Soft golden light had even begun spreading across its deck.

It was radiating from Nila, who had apparently come up onto the deck at some point. Tiny sparks drifted from the orange mane around the creature’s neck.

That was why Charlotte’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Enough." Ian’s voice, imbued with magic, rang out a few seconds later, his brow furrowed.

As the cheers abruptly subsided, Ian continued, "There’ll be plenty of time to cheer after this is over. We need to find and destroy the heretics’ sanctuary, and sever the link leading to the seal of the deep sea."

"We still need to confirm that Kalinso is the sanctuary!" Elia shouted again, pointing her left arm toward the head of the ship.

Ian let out a chuckle. "I’ve already confirmed it. You found the right place, Elie. The sanctuary is hidden on that island."

"You saw something, didn’t you!" Elia’s eyes shone brightly, unable to hide the smile of relief on her lips.

Ian nodded and added, glancing from side to side. "There’s a canyon that only appears at low tide. When does the tide go out?"

"It already is low tide, Demigod!" Nikau answered.

A moment later, Sanford’s hoarse voice followed from the opposite ship. "The water’s still receding even now! We’ll reach the shore faster than expected!"

"If it’s a canyon that only appears at low tide, then it should be on the far side of the island!" Nikau shouted, looking toward the island that was growing closer with every passing moment.

Behind the island, covered with skeletal trees, a dark, jagged mountain ridge stretched out.

However, Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly for a different reason as he looked straight ahead.

"At this rate, the ships might sink," said Ian.

Charlotte’s orange eyes flashed sharply.

Beyond them, past the shifting fog surrounding the island, blue lights imbued with the fog were gathering. The corrupted nearby were clearly assembling.

"Leave them to us, Ian!" Charlotte strode boldly toward the center of the deck as she shouted, baring her fangs in a grin.

Diana frowned and turned to look as Charlotte, meeting Ian’s gaze, continued, "We’ll land first and wipe out every corrupted bastard blocking the path. That way, you can search the sanctuary without interference."

The beastfolk warriors immediately threw back their heads and roared. The same happened on the Black Wave across the way. Of course, not everyone reacted that way.

"These mad beasts, eager for a fight…" Diana sighed, burying her face in her hands.

The other fairies’ expressions were much the same. They were all clearly fed up with the life-threatening battles.

"I won’t refuse this time," said Ian.

A strange smile rested on his lips as he looked across the gathered warriors. "There’s no telling what’ll happen once we destroy the sanctuary. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to conserve some strength."

"For fuck’s sake…" Diana let out a curse with her eyes squeezed shut.

It was then that Elia tapped Charlotte on the arm.

As Charlotte looked down, Elia raised both tiny hands with a smile. "Lower your head a little. I’ll place a Whisper spell on you."

"A whispering spell?"

Elia smiled sweetly and added, "I’ll use it on the other commanders too. You’ll be able to communicate without shouting across the battlefield. Though that means I’ll have to stay near all of you."

"So you’re saying you’re coming with us?"

"Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll be riding Nila."

"Ride with Miguel. Then I permit it."

"I will." Elia quickly nodded.

Charlotte clicked her tongue softly before lowering her head.

Elia carefully placed both hands around Charlotte’s head.

"Could you leave a few people behind to guard the ship, Demigod?"

"And Lily’s still unconscious!"

Sanford and Miguel’s voices followed from the opposite ship. Charlotte was certain, even without looking, that the fairies’ eyes were desperate.

"There’s no need. Yog will protect you," said Ian.

Mana flowed through Charlotte as Elia removed her hands.

"That sea creature will?" Nikau’s eyes widened immediately.

He turned toward Yog with completely renewed awe. Judging by the smile tugging at his mouth, he clearly approved of Ian’s decision.

"Well… that certainly is reassuring, but from what I saw last time, it didn’t seem capable of holding the body forever. Will it really be alright?"

Sanford, however, clearly felt differently.

At his hesitant question, Ian let out a chuckle. "It says it’s so full right now it feels like its stomach will burst. It claims it can last for at least a day, so don’t worry."

"Understood…" Sanford answered with reluctance.

Diana snorted. "You seem absurdly worried about your precious ship instead of being grateful you get to stay behind and rest—"

"Lean your head, Diana. I’ll cast the spell for you." Elia, who had approached her, cut her off.

Clicking her tongue, Diana bent one knee with the resignation of someone surrendering to fate.

Charlotte stopped before the railing overlooking the central deck. The eyes of every fairy and beastfolk turned toward her at once, undoubtedly drawn by the magnificent armor she wore.

Exchanging a look with Ian and giving a slight nod, Charlotte finally looked down at them and said, "What are you standing around for? Prepare yourselves. We will clear the path for the Demigod."

With a short roar, the beastfolk warriors began checking their equipment. The fairies who sighed or clicked their tongues did the same.

"Full speed ahead!"

"D-Didn’t you hear? We’re landing first! Increase speed—now!"

Nikau and Sanford’s shouts followed.

Swoosh—

The smuggling ships surged forward, overtaking Yog, toward the ominous blue island in the middle of the fiercely surging black sea, an island that seemed to draw the surrounding fog in.