Chapter 848

—So... this is what you were planning to do again....

Yog’s whisper came laced with laughter.

—You made the right choice, my friend.... This way suits you far better.

More like you’re just happy you’ll get to devour even more chaos.

Ian swept his gaze across the central deck.

"What?"

He could feel the confused and shocked stares turning toward him.

The fairies and beastfolk, who should have been keeping watch for pirates, were now all staring up at him instead.

Whoosh—

Wind steeped in fog gathered around him, and the hooked rope spun above his head with a shrill whistle.

"Keep focusing on your own roles," Ian said casually, his voice carrying magic.

He quietly bent his knees.

While several fairies furrowed their brows and the beastfolk tilted their heads in confusion, Ian hurled the hook toward the sea and kicked off the railing with all his strength.

"Even if I don’t come back," added Ian.

Crack— Whoosh—

The thick railing shattered inward as though crushed, and Ian shot forward after the hook.

"Great Warrior?"

"What the—"

The horrified cries of the beastfolk and fairies quickly faded behind him. As the raging wind shoved at his back, Ian took in the vast sea of blue fog spread beneath him.

At almost the same moment, Yog’s snickering laughter brushed against his mind.

—It looks awfully cozy down there....

But the ominous, churning fog wasn't the only reason Ian's eyes narrowed. The sea was so saturated with chaos that even he couldn’t completely see through what lay beneath the surface.

It won’t be easy to react to an ambush.

The thought ended there. Ian suddenly twisted as his Intuition screamed a chilling warning.

Swoosh!

Bone harpoons flying from different directions grazed past him, leaving blue trails lingering like afterimages. The pirates riding demonic beasts had started hurling harpoons at him.

Damn, they can throw.

Swinging his arm as though shaking it loose, Ian unleashed Wind Blade in the opposite direction of his spin and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Even in the middle of that, he didn’t forget to strike the hook with his Willful Grasp and force it back upward as it began falling in an arc.

Whoosh!

Bone harpoons kept flying at him, carving blue streaks through the air.

Barely dodging them as he twisted through the sky, Ian traced the trajectories back with his eyes.

Splash! Crash!

The group of demonic beast pirates had already drawn close. The orca-like demonic beasts, their tough-looking hides riddled with bluish cracks, repeatedly burst out of and sank back beneath the sea of fog with explosive force.

—I could claim them so easily... Perhaps I should test it, my friend?

Not yet.

Ian fixed his eyes on the nearest demonic beast as it burst upward from the sea.

Crash!

Its massive body arced through the air amid a spray of water. Beneath its large curved dorsal fin sat a crude deck covered in barnacles.

Two pirates stood atop it, gripping the railing, their bodies grotesquely fused with crustaceans.

Fwoosh—

The pirate was in the middle of hurling a harpoon, clutched in a massive pincer-like hand.

Twisting his waist to evade the incoming blue streak, Ian struck the falling hook ahead of him with his Willful Grasp.

Whoosh!

The hook shot forward as if ricocheting away, passing over the dorsal fin of the demonic beast as it began sinking back beneath the surface.

Almost simultaneously, Ian seized the rope trailing from his waist with his left hand and yanked it with all his strength.

Swish—

The returning hook caught on the dorsal fin, and Ian was violently pulled toward the beast. Even with the sensation of blood rushing to his head, Ian tightened his grip on the sword hilt in his right hand hard enough to crush it.

The eyes of the pirates standing on the deck stretched wide immediately afterward, not just because Ian was hurling toward them like an arrow.

Fwoosh...

Bluish flames had begun spreading across the blade of the divine sword; it was the Sacred Flame of Judgment.

The fire pouring from the blade left behind a blazing trail for only an instant.

This will hurt.

Meeting the eyes of the pirate whose pupils had grotesquely stretched sideways, Ian curled one corner of his mouth upward and swung the divine sword forward.

The blazing trajectory of sacred fire slammed diagonally into the pirate’s shell-covered chest.

Crunch, clash!

Thrusting his right arm all the way forward, Ian crashed onto the deck in a tumble.

Even amid that, the pirate he had just passed, its upper body nearly severed in half, flashed through his vision—he couldn't miss it.

Roar—

The trailing arc of sacred fire had begun incinerating the creature.

The blue flames scattering outward along the path soon engulfed the other pirate standing nearby.

"Screech!"

Letting out a scream tainted with chaos, the pirate rolled across the deck. Of course, the sacred fire did not go out. Instead, it spread even further across the creature’s body.

Fwoosh—

Half-cut by the sword and reduced to a burning mass, the creature could no longer even scream as it lay burning. Its clawed arm and the crustacean legs protruding from its body twitched.

By then, Ian had slid into a stable stance. Gripping the divine sword in reverse along the direction of his hand blade, he drove it into the deck and came to a complete stop.

Of course, what he stood upon was the body of the demonic beast itself.

Bluish flames surged upward along the straight gash carved by the blade.

Splat!

The demonic beast plunged headfirst beneath the surface.

Shaking off the crushing pressure weighing down on him, Ian barely pushed himself upright and immediately began sprinting toward the creature’s tail.

He intended to run straight through the pirates and reach the fleet itself.

Tap, tap!

Even as he ran, Ian let his sword arm hang low and leaned slightly, carving a long scar across the beast’s back.

The creature’s hide should have been as thick and hard as stone, yet in Ian’s grip, it tore apart as easily as mud.

Fwoosh—

Blue flames surged along the trail carved by the blade. Ian straightened his stance as he drew the sword up with his outstretched right arm.

By now, his eyes, swirling with ashen magic, were already sweeping toward another demonic pirate farther ahead.

Shhk—

Magic surged through the rope still clenched in his left hand just as he passed the pirates who had been reduced to charred husks.

The Vacuum Explosion detonated from the hook lodged in the beast’s dorsal fin.

Boom!

It wasn’t a spell powerful enough to seriously wound the creature, but it was more than enough to rip through the thick hide and launch the hook back upward.

Splash—

The monster’s burning body finally disappeared beneath the fog-filled spray.

Almost simultaneously, Ian, sprinting at full speed, kicked off the beast’s tail as it rose like a ramp and leaped into the air.

He swung the rope clenched in his left hand forward while simultaneously pulling it with his Willful Grasp.

Leaving behind a blazing blue trail, Ian soared upward as the hooked line shot ahead like an arrow.

Screech—

A shrill scream erupted behind him.

The beast had reared its head from the water, no doubt because the sacred flames stretching across its back still refused to die out.

The convulsing creature soon vanished beneath the surface as though trying to flee.

Of course, it would do nothing to help it. The Sacred Flame of Judgment, burning the creature, would never extinguish until every last trace of divine power within it had been consumed.

—That was a very dangerous and impressive stunt, my friend. ...though this is only the beginning.

Yog’s amused whisper echoed through Ian’s mind as he continued soaring forward without even glancing back.

You noticed, huh?

Ian tilted the sword in his grip. Another orca-like demonic beast was already bearing down on him.

Its jaws stretched wide, rows of razor-sharp teeth lining its palate.

Swoosh!

Before the creature could swallow him whole, the hook propelled by his Willful Grasp slammed into the top of its skull.

At the same instant, Ian yanked hard on the rope in his left hand.

Spinning through the air as though being reeled in, Ian shot upward and drove the divine sword into the beast’s hide before landing atop its head.

Even then, he used his Willful Grasp to rip the hook free again, springing back up almost instantly and continuing his charge.

"Die!"

"Kill him!"

The pirates clinging to crude railings and pillars hurled harpoons while shrieking madly. They looked as though they’d fused with barnacles and coral.

Ian merely twisted slightly and lowered his stance. He never even slowed down.

Swoosh—

That alone was enough to evade the harpoons.

Before the blue streak faded, Ian swung the divine sword in a wide horizontal arc.

Roar—

Blue sacred flames spread outward along the sweeping arc. It was closer to scattering fire than an actual sword strike, and it was more than enough.

"Screech—"

"Aaaagh!"

The pirates engulfed by the Sacred Flame of Judgment let out agonized screams. Some even rolled across the deck, but the more they struggled, the further the flames spread.

Ian ran straight through them without slowing down.

Crunch!

Even then, he tilted his body and carved another long sword scar across the demonic beast’s back.

Swoosh—

With another leap, the acrobatic sea battle continued without pause.

Screech!

His Concentration and Intuition were operating at their limits.

His super-senses, granted by his opened Third Eye, were supported by a body capable of keeping up with them.

Combined with Willful Grasp, magic, and the divine sword’s power, Ian slaughtered the monsters and pirates mutated by the blessing of the ancient god.

And through it all, he never stopped moving.

Rumble—

In his wake, only charred, dismembered corruptors remained, along with demonic beasts writhing as their cleaved bodies burned.

—You’ve gotten far more skilled with that hook than before, my friend. Though I doubt you’ll kill all of these things before those disgusting flames finally die out.

The surging blue fog bubbled violently for an instant.

"So this is why that Imperial fool was so desperately waiting for the Purification Squad...."

Rimuta’s voice followed, its origin still impossible to pinpoint. Though countless subordinates had died in mere moments, the tone sounded admiring rather than enraged.

"Even armed with dragon relics and a divine sword, I never imagined it would be this one-sided.... And not even the slightest trace of fear from you. Truly... worthy of the Order’s finest!"

Yeah, keep thinking that.

Ian suddenly slowed his sprint.

He slowed his sprint not only because the demonic beast fleet had already spread out beyond the creature's rearing tail.

So they really did send these things out as sacrifices first.

The fleet was much farther away than he’d expected. At some point, they had clearly slowed down to widen the distance.

Of course, he didn’t have long to think.

Splat!

Even now, fog-laden sprays of water were exploding upward behind him.

A demonic beast with sacred flames blazing across its back was diving beneath the surface.

Whoosh—

Immediately spreading Wind Blades to accelerate, Ian kicked off the towering tail fin and leaped.

The wind drove hard against Ian’s back as he shot upward at an angle. The hooked rope fired ahead like an arrow, dragging him forward.

Even while a faint headache throbbed, Ian once again extended his Willful Grasp toward the hook.

"The final sacrifice from the prophecy meant to awaken the master of the Black Sea... perhaps it was you lot all along..."

Rimuta let out a ghastly laugh, thick like bubbling phlegm.

Almost simultaneously, Ian’s eyes snapped downward.

Beneath the violently churning blue fog, an enormous presence was rapidly becoming clear. Even as his brows furrowed, Ian instinctively curled his body inward and deployed the Platinum Barrier.

Rumble!

A colossal pillar of water exploded upward and swallowed him whole the very next instant.