Chapter 93: Sea King (4)

Chapter 93: Sea King (4)

༺ Sea King (4) ༻

[...I wonder if it’s necessary to go that far?]

Hearing the answer that came from the other side of the communication screen, Tatiana bit her lip.

Originally, she had absolutely no intention to seek help from the Prophet. After all, even though the Prophet had ordered her to kill that man, she hadn’t offered any items for her to use.

However, considering the power she had experienced not too long ago...

With just her current power, it was too much for her to handle.

[Shouldn’t it be enough to just call the Chieftain for now? You even want to use that artifact?]

“...Judging from the circumstances, the time axis has been twisted once.”

Tatiana barely managed to let out a reply. She could feel her mouth going dry.

“Even among the Rulers of Hell, only the most powerful existences can cause such an unbelievable event. There is no doubt that this had happened because of the Grey Devil’s Fragment.”

She had known for a while that the Grey Devil slumbered within Lady Tristan, but she had never expected her to use her power so... ’Devotedly’ for that man.

However...

[Hm...Who knows. It’s probably not like what you’re thinking.]

But, the Prophet’s response was completely different from what she expected.

“...Excuse me?”

[It probably didn’t come out just to help that man. If the time axis only got twisted, that meant the Devil didn’t descend with its true form.]

Tatiana blinked.

“...What... Does that mean?”

[If the Grey Devil’s true form had directly descended, things wouldn’t have ended with just the time axis getting twisted. That means, what happened back then was just the Vessel going berserk. Am I wrong?]

“...”

Tatiana was at a loss for words.

After all...

Even after such a phenomenon had occurred, this woman had merely dismissed it as ‘nothing’ compared to when a Devil’s true form manifests.

[And, if a Vessel goes berserk... He would definitely not be pleased about it. No matter how much unconditional love he gets from the villains, his constitution wouldn’t be of a help to him if the Vessel was filled to the brim with malice.]

Unfathomable explanations continued to pour out.

Of course, it was only a matter of course.

When it came to understanding Devils, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Prophet was the most knowledgeable person among all the humans in the Material Realm.

“...Does that mean... There isn’t any reason to worry...?”

[Well, more or less~ That man won’t intentionally make a Vessel go berserk just to use their power. Though, I guess it won’t hurt to give it to you. If that man dies this time as well, it’ll be a little troublesome for me.]

“...?”

Tatiana looked at the Prophet, as if doubting what she had just heard.

“...Did you just say ‘this time as well’?”

[Yep.]

The Prophet let out a giggle before answering.

[That man... A Devil did something terrible to him a while ago. And he died because of it.]

“...?”

‘Aren’t the person we’re talking about currently living well right now?’

Such a thought crossed Tataiana’s mind, but the Prophet continued on as if it was nothing significant.

[If it happens again, I’ll get a little sad, you know~]

Tatiana’s eyes widened.

After all... Within that answer...

There were countless complex emotions mixed inside.

Has this woman, someone who had always adopted an inhumanly nonchalant attitude persona, ever revealed this much emotion before?

From remorse, sadness, anger, irritation, and most of all...

Regret.

It was as if this woman, who always seemed like they knew everything in advance...This woman, who detested any variables that were added to their decisions...

There was something that even she couldn’t do anything about.

Shocked by this revelation, Tatiana widened her eyes even further and stiffened, before suddenly realizing something odd.

“...But, Prophet. Didn’t you order me to kill that man?”

[Right, I did that, didn’t I?]

“Then, why—”

‘Why are you acting as if you don’t want to see his death?’

‘Didn’t you tell me that you had thrown an ordeal that could legitimately kill that man?’

Just as Tatiana tried to question her with such doubts...

[That guy is like a spring.]

The Prophet gave her a strange response..

“...Excuse me?”

[The more intense the pressure he receives, his power springs up several fold of that very intensity. He’s basically a guy who grows faster the more he is under the threat of death.]

“...”

[He’ll probably grow more, as much as you try to kill him. If you succeed in killing him, then... Well, it means it was fated to be a ‘failure’ this time as well. Or something like that, I guess.]

‘Failure? What is she even talking about?’

Tatiana’s expression stiffened.

After all, the Prophet’s attitude right now felt inexplicably out of place.

“...Prophet.”

[Yeah?]

“I apologize for my rudeness. But, I have one question.”

Right now, this woman’s words and actions seemed as if...

“All of your actions and goals seem to be aimed at ‘making that man stronger—-’”

[You know.]

Tatiana immediately shut her mouth.

Cold sweat dripped down.

She could feel the emanating chill coming from the Prophet’s voice.

[Let’s stop it at that, okay?]

“...”

Tatiana bowed her head without a word.

She could earnestly feel the pressure that signified she was stepping on the line.

To the point that she could feel that this topic was undoubtedly the Prophet’s ‘reverse scale’.

Fortunately, the Prophet, who saw that she had shut her mouth, immediately returned to her usual light-hearted voice.

[Well, anyway.]

With a sulky face, Riru continued.

“...What are you planning to do with this guy?”

I had placed all the guys whose equipment had been looted on the boat. I was going to send them back to the docks.

All of them except for one guy whom I tied up tightly with a rope. It was the guy who badmouthed Riru out of nowhere.

“I’ll use him as a sacrifice, of course.”

Since I wasn’t able to find a sacrifice until now, this was simply perfect.

Just like how you had to use your gums if you didn’t have teeth, I had to at least use this guy if there wasn’t a suitable Demonic Creature.

“...Sacrifice?”

Riru narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the tied-up pig.

His state did look a bit odd, to say the least.

To put it into words...

“...It kinda looks like bait being hung on a fishing rod, doesn’t it?”

Talion’s comment made me chuckle.

Since it was much more accurate than I thought.

“You did mention that you needed a...sacrifice... But is there a situation where we need a human-sized one...?”

“Of course there is.”

After saying those words, I gave Talion a command. We held the guy at both ends.

“Throw it as far as you can on the count of three. One, two, three.”

Following this, the body flew into the air, drawing an arc. Perhaps it was because Talion and I threw it with all our strength; that enormous figure turned into the size of a fist rather quickly.

I could hear the sound of someone falling into the sea with a splash, before being followed by a scream.

He had been sprawled unconscious all this time and seemed to have only regained consciousness after falling into the water.

While ignoring the guy’s sputtering screams, I glanced at my watch.

‘It’s not too late.’

The creature was quite the rare bastard. Even within the game, it was notorious for needing to match all sorts of conditions in order to meet it.

If I were to wait at this exact place while holding a similar-sized ‘sacrifice,’ during this specific time on the Hunter’s Night...

There was a creature that would come out to eat it.

A very, very terrifying creature.

As I recalled that information, I controlled the ‘fishing rod’ connected to the fat pig’s rope.

I dipped it into the water, then pulled it out, then dipped it into the water, and pulled it out again.

To make it look like a tempting prey, I moved it in a rather flashy way.

“Uu, uphew, y-you, s-son of bitches! What the hell is this! I am Krun Ger-Do! The successor of a War Chief!”

“I see.”

“The fuck do you mean ‘I see’? Pull me out immediately! If you don’t, you’ll pay a harsh—!”

“Okay.”

“...”

As Riru watched me indifferently handle that guy, she sighed and intervened.

“In any case, you still need to be careful. Even if he doesn’t look like much, like he said, he’s still a War Chief’s successor. The Tribal Alliance won’t stand still, you know?”

“Let them do as they please.”

“...What?”

“In any case, as long as they went out of their way to provoke you, that meant they were picking a fight with me as well. So, it can’t be helped.”

“...”

And hearing that...

Riru closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

Her body language seemed to be pondering why this guy spoke this type of shit as naturally as breathing.

“...Why is that such a natural conclusion.”

Riru responded with a weak voice, but it was hard for me to focus on that at the moment.

You see, that thing was about to ‘take the bait.’

“...The wind... Stopped.”

Talion was the first to notice.

The storm that had been raging around us had come to a halt. The waves that had been surging in the sea also subsided.

It was like the calm before the storm.

“...”

Come to think of it, that was a terrifyingly fitting description.

After all, there was no word that would suit the existence, which would now reveal itself, better than ‘storm’.

“Hold on tight.”

I spoke to Talion and Riru, who were looking around quizzically.

“Otherwise, you won’t be able to keep your balance.”

Following that...

Right in front of me, where Krun was...

‘Something’ was gradually revealing itself.

First came the enormous horns.

When Riru saw the two horns on top of its head, she stiffened, as if she had realized something.

Since it was her, she probably knew it already.

Exactly what this existence was.

“You.”

Riru’s voice was trembling as she spoke.

“...Didn’t you clearly say that we were meeting an indigenous being?”

“It is an indigenous being.”

“That?!”

I chuckled at the screaming Riru.

Well, strictly speaking...

Since it had continued to occupy this vicinity and lived here for a long time, you could classify an indigenous organism.

It was just a bit much to call it a ‘Demonic Creature’...Since its ‘level’ was way too high.

After the horns, its figure revealed a body covered in scales. Whiskers. And, unmistakable even from so far away... A ‘Dragon Heart’ pulsating from its chest.

Sea Serpent.

Though it was said to be a distant collateral line, it still belonged within the Dragon race, which was classified as one of the strongest Demonic Creatures in this world.

And that very monster had revealed itself right in front of us.

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