Chapter 849

A dizzying shock and crushing pressure tore through Ian.

He only avoided blacking out instantly because the Wind Blade had diverted the current for a split second. And at the same time, the Platinum Barrier had formed at precisely the right moment, shielding his curled-up body.

Fu... ck!

Of course, that wasn’t enough to stop him from being swept away and launched upward like an arrow by the torrent.

Ian crossed his right arm over his left and gritted his teeth through it all.

As his Concentration and Intuition were pushed to their absolute limits, Yog’s whisper brushed across his mind, utterly unconcerned despite the situation.

—What a delicious-looking creature....

It was likely because of the massive presence that had begun rising a beat later beneath the raging pillar of water.

Unable even to open his eyes, Ian could only perceive it as a gigantic bluish mass blazing beneath him.

Whoosh—

The pressure shoving against him finally began to fade, and right after that, Ian burst out of the water as though he’d been flung into the sky.

The pillar of water had begun dispersing like an enormous fountain.

Ian let the momentum spin him through the air.

Nothing feels broken... hopefully so.

His eyes were still shut, and his ears rang painfully, but at least his limbs didn’t seem twisted or snapped.

Of course, he probably hadn’t avoided minor fractures entirely, but it had been a long time since he considered something like that an actual injury. Besides, he couldn’t feel it yet anyway.

Roar—

Cold divinity still flowed from the sword hilt clenched in his right hand, which he had never let go of. The Sacred Flame of Judgment hadn’t gone out, even within the chaos-tainted torrent.

—They’re really obeying your commands faithfully.

At Yog’s amused whisper, Ian finally deactivated the Platinum Barrier and opened his eyes.

Zip, zap!

The remnants of the barrier dissolved into clusters of golden light and scattered away. Beyond them stretched a gray sea veined with blue cracks, tilted sharply to his right.

Swoosh—

Ian immediately realized that was the sky, because the hooked rope was soaring upward beside him.

His vision kept spinning, while to his left the bluish sea of fog spread endlessly outward.

Damn, I got launched insanely high.

Clicking his tongue, Ian immediately fixed his gaze on the smuggling ship growing farther away in the distance.

At the head of the diagonal formation was the Black Wave, racing ahead while throwing up curtains of spray.

Far behind it to the left, the Silent Storm had apparently resumed its sprint and was overtaking the furiously rowing Crimson Coral Reef.

—You do realize that means they’ve abandoned us and are leaving, right?

That was when Yog’s laughter-laced whisper continued.

—And though I can’t say which side will catch up first... it does seem inevitable that one of them eventually will.

Ian immediately understood the meaning behind the words. Dozens of mutated sea creatures were now pursuing the ship.

The distance was still considerable, but it would steadily close.

Splash!

On the other side were the demonic beast pirates now beginning to emerge through the massive curtain of spray blanketing the area.

Their numbers had clearly thinned, and their formation was in complete disarray, as though they too had been swept up by the aftermath of the water pillar. Even so, they were rapidly picking up speed once more.

They should be able to hold out for a while, even if they get caught.

Ian’s eyes narrowed.

This wasn’t flat ground—it was a sea transformed into the domain of an ancient god. Not only were there far too many dangers, but the ships themselves were also an obvious and fatal weakness.

—If you want to return before it’s too late, won’t you need my help, my friend? Conveniently enough...

Yog’s whispering never ceased.

—That one seems just about perfect.

By then, Ian’s ascent had stopped, though his body was still spinning as he turned downward once more.

However, that wasn’t why his eyes twitched.

Swoosh!

Through the dense torrent of falling spray that blanketed his vision, an enormous maw split wide open and emerged from below. It was probably the creature Yog coveted.

A dinosaur? No, a crocodile?

Beyond the enormous jaws lined with countless stalactite-like teeth stretched an abyss brimming with bluish chaos.

Yog’s snickering laughter sharpened.

—As long as I’m the one being swallowed, that’ll be enough, my friend. Though of course, subduing something this lively will require quite a bit of your blood and chaos....

Instead of answering, Ian twisted his body and grabbed the trailing rope with his left hand. At the same time, he extended his Willful Grasp and violently knocked the falling hook sideways.

Swish!

The hook shot off to the side, dragging Ian along with it as though he were being reeled in. His spinning stopped as well.

My groin’s gonna be throbbing again after this.

Clicking his tongue, Ian steadied himself and looked down.

The gigantic crocodilian beast surging upward with its jaws spread wide was closing in even now. However, Ian’s sideways momentum was slightly faster.

Splat—

At last, amid a violent storm of spray and wind, the demonic beast shot past him by inches. Its massive body finally came into view.

Ashen magic swirled through Ian’s eyes as the wind swept him around in an arc.

—Are you still hesitating?

Unlike before, there was a strange impatience mixed into the tone.

I already made my decision.

Answering only inwardly, Ian yanked the rope in his left hand and violently twisted his waist.

The speeding hook abruptly jerked to a halt, and the force dragging him sideways sharply diminished. Right after releasing the rope, Ian thrust his left arm diagonally upward.

A violent gust erupted from his palm, hurling his body the opposite way—straight toward the towering beast still rising upward.

Adjusting the divine sword in his right hand into a reverse grip, Ian finally got a proper look at the giant monster.

So it really is a crocodile.

Its head was covered in a thick, dark blue-black hide that looked hard as steel, while six blue eyes flickered across its face. Below them, rows of sharp horns ran along both sides of its back.

The thing was massive enough to rival two ordinary sea creatures fused together, a fact made obvious by the four pairs of thick, stubby legs attached beneath its enormous body.

Swoosh—

Of course, Ian hadn’t looked it over just to admire it.

Raising his right arm high while sweeping his gaze all the way down its body, Ian faced the demonic beast’s torso once more as it drew nearer.

He had just passed the creature’s head, where six glowing blue eyes flickered.

—What a shame.

As Yog let out a brief sigh, Ian drove the divine sword straight into the center of the beast’s cliff-like body.

Crunch! Crackle!

The blade sank into the thick hide as though slicing through mud, then immediately began carving downward through the flesh.

Catching the incoming hook with his willpower and stopping it in place, Ian steadied himself against the beast like a climber scaling a cliff face.

Fwoosh—

The Sacred Flame of Judgment blazing above his head spread in a long burning trail.

Rimuta’s voice followed immediately afterward.

"I don’t know which god’s apostle you are, but this is truly astonishing. How in the world did you do that?"

Unlike before, the voice sounded genuinely shocked.

And understandably so. Even if Ian somehow survived the pillar of water, Rimuta had clearly been certain he wouldn’t avoid the demonic beast surging up right afterward.

Judging by the tone, it was obvious the creature still couldn’t comprehend Ian’s movements at all.

"Even clad in dragon-forged armaments, you’re completely different from Hector, that sly bastard. Even compared to Almand in his prime... of course."

Ignoring the voice entirely, Ian looked beyond the opposite side of the beast.

Below him, the demonic fleet had spread out in a wide formation.

It was obvious they had carefully selected which sea creatures to fuse into their servants, but even so, none of the other monsters looked capable of matching the one he was currently carving through.

The same went for the whale beast fused with the command ship in the rear—a creature so massive it resembled a small hill.

This might actually work if I pull it off right.

Ian swept his gaze across the command ship's deck, which was crawling with corruptors, and the whale beast was exhaling thin streams of blue fog. He then bent and planted both feet against the beast’s wall-like torso.

It wasn’t only because the blade was gradually slowing as it cut through the hide.

Screech!

A shriek violent enough to tear through the sky erupted from above. The Sacred Flame of Judgment was clearly inflicting unbearable agony on the creature.

As the enormous body convulsed violently mid-ascent, Ian timed the motion and launched himself forward like a springing leap.

Whoosh—

The blade buried in the beast ripped free in an instant, and Ian began plummeting in an arc.

His ashen, magic-filled eyes swept over the ship fused into the center of the creature’s lower body.

Looks pretty comfortable down there.

More specifically, the sailors were standing casually upon the deck beyond the railing.

Their bodies were covered in sucker-lined tentacles protruding not only from their limbs but from all over their flesh, making such footing possible.

Of course, they weren’t what Ian was searching for.

—Well, this is entertaining in its own way, friend. Reckless and perfectly like you.

As if reading his thoughts, Yog snickered softly.

At that very moment, Ian’s hollow, magic-filled eyes stopped on the lone central mast rising above the deck.

Found you.

Wind Blades began gathering around him once more as Ian’s lips curled slightly upward.

He glanced behind him.

Screech! Scree—

The demonic beast was still screaming toward the heavens, sacred flames blazing across the center of its back.

Its ascent was nearly at an end.

While I’m suspended in midair for a moment...

Extending his Willful Grasp, Ian lightly shoved the rope trailing behind him like a tail, together with the lingering trail of sacred flame, toward the beast’s body.

He intended to hook it onto the railing of the ship passing beneath him.

"What?"

A cry of shock spread across the deck below almost simultaneously.

It came from the grotesquely mutated sailors. Only now were they lifting their eyes, their grotesquely enlarged pupils widening even further.

Swoosh—

It felt slow only from Ian’s perspective. In reality, everything was unfolding in an instant.

Judging by their expressions, they still hadn’t fully processed what was happening.

"Nice to meet you."

Of course, Ian had no intention of waiting for them.

Curling the corner of his mouth slightly, he immediately began swinging the divine sword in his right hand.

Wind surged along the blade, carving blazing trails imbued with sacred flame one after another.

Swish! Fwoosh!

The attacks slashed deeply through the corrupted sailors standing across the deck.

They weren’t sliced completely apart as though struck directly by the blade itself, but it was more than enough to spread the sacred flame across them.

"Aaargh!"

"Scree—"

The corrupted caught in the flame-laden Wind Blades collapsed screaming. The tentacles protruding from all over their bodies writhed and shriveled like convulsing limbs.

By then, Ian had already passed overhead and continued falling beyond them.

—Burn them all, my friend. They’re worthless trash, not even worth devouring....

As Ian continuously swung his sword toward the deck below, Yog whispered into his mind. There was even a strange rhythm to the tone, as though it was savoring the corruptors’ screams trailing behind them.

Roar—

Ian didn’t bother replying.

Even while relentlessly cutting down the corruptors across the deck, his gaze never left the central mast towering in the distance.

Yeah, that’s obviously the captain.

More precisely, the corruptor whose tentacles extended from her legs were wrapped around the center of the mast.

She was a female captain whose appearance had transformed completely—countless tentacles writhing not only from her limbs, but even from what had once been her hair.

"Fall back, Ahena.... You are no match for him!"

That was when Rimuta’s voice rang out. It had clearly only now realized Ian’s true target.

Of course, that was also because the captain called Ahena had already drawn five swords at once using the tentacles protruding from her.

Clink!

Dark green magic began to seep from Ahena’s sword the moment he felt the hook catch and the rope go taut.

"Come then! Purifi—"

Just as she bared her saw-like teeth and let out a feral roar, the rope snapped tight, jerking Ian to a halt midair.

His limbs bent violently forward from the sudden stop.

Swoosh—

Almost simultaneously, Ian released the sword hilt without resistance.

The blazing blue streak shot forward like a beam of light and buried itself deep into Ahena.

Crackle!

Ahena’s body jolted violently, and her asymmetrically mutated eyes widened as though they might split apart.

Bluish sacred flames began spreading along the divine sword’s blade as her lips moved a beat later.

"You... threw it?"

"That’s the worst last words I’ve ever heard."