Chapter 162 : Altar of the Sea (4)

The Grade 1 Beast, Meaka, opened its massive maw.

It looked similar to a crocodile, but it was far too large. It was big enough to swallow a house-sized shark in one gulp.

Even the Kraken, said to be the strongest of the sea beasts, would not dare fight a pack of Meakas alone, so a shark wouldn't have stood a chance.

Kuaaaargh!

The Meaka's roar echoed across the sea.

Lizardfolk were torn apart by its ferocious teeth.

However, I had to conserve my strength, so I could only watch as the Lizardfolk died.

If I were stronger, if I was confident I could handle the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes without holding back, they wouldn't have had to bleed, but today, there was no other way.

I could only hope that the Lizardfolk, the Black Veil, Keldric, and Everchen would do well.

The situation in the sea was difficult to discern with the naked eye.

Mana surged violently, and the demonic energy spewing from the beasts undulated ominously.

All I could see were screams and the spreading of blood on the water's surface from time to time.

That blood would surely draw even more sea beasts.

I even refrained from observing with my Ghost Eye, telling myself to save my strength.

I trusted those who had taken charge of the sea and waited.

Kwaaang! Splash!

At that moment, five Titan Blades poured down from the sky towards the sea.

The Titan Blades pierced through a Meaka and entered the sea, the force of which caused the seawater to surge upwards.

Swaaaa──.

The water that shot up rained down.

Soon after, divine power spread out, illuminating the dark sea.

My vision was clearer than before.

Thanks to that, I could also see Keldric's fiend swallowing a Meaka.

“Ready. Are you.”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Dragging out the battle would only attract more beasts.

So Soler, Urseca, and I had promised to wait for about an hour before entering the altar.

We stared at the sea in silence.

We soon knew the promised time had come.

Eventually, we saw the entire pack of Meakas floating on the sea as corpses.

Besides them, the bodies of countless other beasts dotted the surface of the water.

“The rest. I leave it to you.”

“Yes, please be careful.”

Urseca spoke to me and then moved toward the cliff.

“Everyone!”

Urseca roared at those floating in the sea.

“To the shore!”

Urseca's voice vibrated across the vast sea.

It seemed his voice had reached the depths of the sea.

The Lizardfolk, the Black Veil, Keldric, and Everchen also surfaced.

They began to swim towards the land.

The surviving beasts pursued them.

Those who had gone into the sea stopped fighting and instead swam to shore, luring the beasts.

After confirming that many had moved sufficiently far from the altar, Urseca tucked a plaster doll under his arm.

Then he immediately jumped into the sea.

Soler also put the Colodum's Lungs in her mouth.

I spoke to Soler, who was heading into the sea after Urseca.

“Please be careful too, Soler.”

“Urgh. ou oo.”

Her pronunciation was garbled, so I didn't know exactly what she was saying.

It was probably something about being careful.

As if her own pronunciation was funny, Soler chuckled, waved her hand, and then headed for the sea.

I caught a glimpse of Soler's side profile as she jumped into the sea. Her face was completely stiff, as if she had never smiled.

But Soler did not hesitate and leaped in.

Splash!

Both Soler and Urseca entered the deep sea.

Their figures were no longer visible.

***

After jumping into the sea, Soler and Urseca immediately swam towards the altar.

Urseca swam gracefully even while holding a huge doll in one arm.

Soler also swam well, following behind Urseca.

The sea continued to churn.

Even as Urseca and Soler swam, fights were breaking out all around.

The corpses of dead beasts, blood and organs.

Not only that, but a considerable number of sacrificed Lizardfolk and Black Veil members were also visible.

Urseca and Soler were enraged, but they did not want to make their subordinates' sacrifices be in vain.

They swam on without stopping towards the altar from which the green light shone.

The deeper they went into the sea, the darker it became as the sunlight could not reach.

However, the green light from the altar was clear, so they did not lose their way.

Finally, the altar.

Urseca and Soler met each other's eyes and nodded.

While Soler waited above, Urseca approached the altar, holding the doll.

Urseca carefully placed the doll on the altar.

Kurururung.

A loud roar echoed.

The area beneath the altar began to shake as if there was a submarine earthquake.

The light emanating from below the ground began to grow brighter.

And a huge pillar shot up.

No, on closer inspection, it was an octopus's leg.

He had to break it before that leg confirmed the sacrifice. Urseca threw a punch.

The Lizard King's single punch created a massive vortex on the water's surface and instantly shattered the plaster doll.

Kurururururung!

The enraged Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes broke the altar and burst out.

The green light that had been spewing from the ground gradually brightened until it looked like a green pillar of light.

It was so bright she could hardly see, but Soler felt Urseca's energy rapidly fading.

She quickly swam over and embraced the sinking Urseca.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes wildly swung its legs, trying to kill Soler and Urseca.

Soler deployed her Fourfold Transformation, ‘Unmu’.

A red mist spread in the water before hardening into crystals.

The sharp-particled crystals blocked the leg of the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes. But Soler knew that Unmu would not last long.

So she held onto Urseca, who was almost twice her size, and madly swam towards the surface, spreading Unmu.

The Unmu gradually spread wider, but the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes chased Soler even as its body was being torn.

Soler had her improved swimming skills from her time with the Lizardfolk and a strong will to survive no matter what.

Soler barely made it out of the water and took the Colodum's Lungs out of her mouth.

“Pola—!”

She did not finish her words. More accurately, she didn't need to finish.

Kwarureung!

Because the body of Polarin, who had jumped from the cliff, had turned into a single bolt of lightning.

At the same time, the mountain-sized Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes shot up above the surface of the water.

***

Hike had advised me that I should be able to wield a sword while simultaneously using Adjak's Fourfold Transformation, Heaven-Shattering Thunder.

I didn't know if that was possible. I had never tried it.

My unique Fourfold Transformation, Star-Devouring Severance, could be activated multiple times, and I had trained with it often.

But Heaven-Shattering Thunder was different.

After using Heaven-Shattering Thunder, all the strength would leave my body, so I never had a chance to test it.

Still, I knew I had to do it.

Killing the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was my responsibility alone.

Even a fairly high-ranking demon would be no match for the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

For the current me to kill that thing, I had to draw out everything I had.

Just holding Maron was causing a great strain.

I was running at the speed of light, and I was holding a sword on top of that.

My body had become lightning, but Maron had not.

As my speed increased, the air resistance grew, making it incredibly difficult.

In that state, I only activated [Gravity Manipulation].

I added weight to the tip of the sword.

I had no energy to stack any other power.

The thoroughly angered Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes rose into the sky.

Below its round, massive head, eight thick legs were attached.

Those legs seemed to be just dangling limply, but the reality was different.

Thousands, tens of thousands of eyeballs attached instead of suckers rolled around, chasing me.

But it was useless. No matter how many gazes followed me, they could not keep up with the speed of light.

Kwarureung!

A single bolt of lightning struck down on the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

It was a direct hit on the creature drenched in seawater. Its electrical resistance would have been lowered due to the moisture, so it should have been much more effective.

But the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was not a weak creature that would fall from just that.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was an octopus beloved by a god.

It was a monster raised by the God of the Sea, one of the gods who ruled the Mythic Era.

The Mythic Era had ended, but the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes had awakened after a long sealing.

The servant of the Sea God rolled its eyeballs towards the world.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes floated above the sea, in the air, rolling its hideous eyeballs that could curse the entire world.

Kwareung! Kwarureung!

Several streaks of lightning fell towards the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Damage that the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes could no longer ignore was accumulating.

I could smell its flesh burning, and now sparks were erupting all over its body.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes wasn't just rolling its eyes.

It swung its legs fiercely.

The speed was fast enough that it couldn't be ignored, but I could perceive and move in seconds, no, even faster than that. I dodged a leg and delivered a strike.

Kwaaaaaang!

Maron, heavily imbued with gravity, sliced off one of the octopus's legs in a single stroke.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes writhed as if in pain and spewed ink.

Perhaps because it had lived for so long, even its ink was not ordinary.

Ink filled with poison obscured the sky. Of course, I was able to dodge that as well.

But there was a problem.

The aftermath of swinging Maron remained in my body.

There was already a strain from just moving at the speed of light while holding Maron, but as soon as I attacked the leg, the recoil washed over me.

To make matters worse, the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes began to regenerate its severed leg.

Pajijijik──.

At least the intense electric current left on the sword was burning the regenerating leg in real-time.

But if left alone, it would eventually regenerate.

Moreover, the effect of Heaven-Shattering Thunder was not permanent either.

I tightened my grip and once again rushed at the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Chiiik.

My body, turned to lightning, burned the poisonous ink.

Kwaang! Kwaang!

With the determination to use the Linked Sword no matter what, I broke through the ink and slashed twice in succession.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes writhed again.

But it was one leg per strike. It ended up losing three legs.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes acknowledged that its prideful eyeballs were not working on me. Tens of thousands of eyes closed at once.

It seemed to be preparing for the next phase.

But I had no intention of letting it proceed to the next phase.

The strain on my body was already extreme.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was not in a normal state either.

I flew towards it at the speed of light and swung my sword.

It wasn't the usual fluid trajectory. But a hegemonic sword, faster than ever before, split the body of the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

I was clearly one-sidedly dominating the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes without taking a single hit.

But I was floundering in pain as if my whole body was being torn apart.

What was causing me pain was my own speed.

As I swung the sword at the speed of light, the air resistance and the weight on the sword became a recoil that tore my body apart.

Because of that, my consciousness blacked out intermittently.

‘What is this…….’

It was a bewildering situation for me as well.

Was this what Hike told me I had to be able to do.

Finally, Mutis shone brightly and ‘God's Avatar’ was activated.

Divine power erupted.

Unlike the time I fought Zenburga, white wings did not sprout. Instead, wings made of electric current were formed.

The fortunate thing was, as God's Avatar activated, the damage accumulating in my body disappeared all at once.

The sense of omnipotence I had felt before washed over me.

Sensing the crisis, the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes opened its closed eyes all at once.

Simultaneously, various status effects poured out.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes had released its ability, causing me to suffer the damage of the curse even without meeting its gaze.

But the divine power resisted such status effects. I could just swing my sword while being lightning.

Kwajik, kwajik!

Every time the sword was swung, an octopus leg fell, and blood spewed out.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes no longer had any legs left to stumble on and its head was also full of wounds.

Nevertheless, it did not give up and resisted by spewing ink.

But the one minute that God's Avatar lasted was enough.

For the final blow, I aimed Maron forward and stopped in mid-air.

Hoo.

I took a breath.

Then, in the same stance holding the sword, I was shot towards the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Pusshik!

A single streak of light cutting across the sky.

It pierced through the octopus's head and went straight through.

Splash!

The giant body of the octopus fell into the sea.

The sea churned much more violently than when the Titan Blades had fallen.

Burururu.

Maron trembled and spoke to me, but I couldn't hear it.

I wanted to take out [Wings of Ainsitel], but I could no longer muster my intent.

In the end, I too fell towards the sea.

I succeeded.

That was the last thought I had before my consciousness faded.

***

[You have defeated the Servant of the Sea God alone.]

[The Blessing of the Sea God is being transferred.]