Chapter 1038
Swoosh!
Raon smiled faintly as he watched the Spirit of the Sea wag its tail and glide through the water.
‘Is it deliberately matching its pace for us?’
The Spirit of the Sea kept glancing back, checking whether Raon, Evelyn, and Roenn were keeping up.
Its young wolf form made it adorable just to watch it swim.
[Raon. Should we raise a wolf later?]
Evelyn sent a Telepathy message filled with laughter, suggesting they raise animals after retirement.
[You know I like animals. And animals like me too.]
She wiggled her fingers, saying she wanted to raise all kinds of animals by the sea.
[I will help too.]
Roenn chuckled, saying it would be a lot of work.
[Let’s talk about that later. Both of you, focus on moving.]
Raon looked back at Evelyn and Roenn and nodded slightly.
[We’ll soon arrive at the place where Turtle Rock disappeared.]
Since Turtle Rock had vanished, they had searched the surrounding area but couldn’t find the path anywhere.
He was worried that even the Spirit of the Sea, now guiding them, might get lost.
However, as if it knew a different route, the Spirit of the Sea didn’t stop even though Turtle Rock was no longer visible, sniffing through the sea as it moved forward.
Yip.
The Spirit of the Sea waved its fluffy front paw as if to say this was the important part now, and began to move slowly.
Judging by its reduced speed, the White Blood Cult’s main base didn’t seem far.
Yip!
The Spirit of the Sea moved as if burying its nose in the sand, then stopped in front of a sea valley whose bottom could not be seen.
Whiiine….
It trembled, its fur standing on end as if it were afraid.
‘It’s down there.’
But this sea valley wasn’t in his previous memories.
The Spirit of the Sea’s memories didn’t include the valley itself.
In fact, even the direction felt different, so he wasn’t sure what had happened.
‘Really…’
Did that huge city move?
Ever since Turtle Rock disappeared, he’d been wondering if the White Blood Cult had moved the main base itself.
[We need to be more careful from now on.]
Raon sent an Aura Message to Roenn and Evelyn, warning them, then stood beside the Spirit of the Sea and looked down into the valley.
‘I have a bad feeling.’
He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t feel anything, yet an oppressive pressure seemed to tighten around his chest in the dim darkness.
‘I’m counting on you.’
Raon took a breath and stroked the Spirit of the Sea’s head.
Yip!
The Spirit of the Sea nodded heavily, as if it had made up its mind at his request, and leapt into the valley.
– “To keep going even though it knows fear…”
Wrath nodded, as if admiring the Spirit of the Sea for not stopping despite trembling in fear.
– “That little one is better than most Demons!”
‘Indeed.’
Raon nodded, agreeing with Wrath’s words.
‘It has already repaid its debt just by giving me the White Blood Cult’s memories, the Mana of the sea, and healing me.’
The Spirit of the Sea had given him Mana greater than even the highest-grade Elixir, healed his entire body, and even told him that the White Blood Cult’s main base was underwater.
He’d received more than enough in return for saving it, yet he was grateful that it was helping him this far.
Thud.
Raon followed the Spirit of the Sea and jumped into the dark sea valley.
‘The pressure is getting heavier.’
He could endure it without issue, but the water pressure—enough to crush ordinary people or weak martial artists—began to bear down.
‘Is it really in a place like this?’
The White Blood Cult’s main base he’d seen in the Spirit of the Sea’s memories was so massive it wouldn’t be strange to call it a city.
Even with the protection of a sorcery, he couldn’t believe it was hidden this deep.
‘Still…’
Raon bit his lip as he watched the Spirit of the Sea struggling forward.
‘Let’s keep going.’
Trusting the Spirit that had given him faith, he descended toward the bottom of the dark valley—
Whooooosh!
A chilling, eerie presence snagged on his senses.
‘Blood Energy!’
Just like at the port where the Ninth Apostle had attacked, a faint but foul Blood Energy seeped up from below.
[Stop!]
Raon raised his hand to block Evelyn and Roenn.
[There’s a sorcery barrier from here.]
It was a sorcery that alerted them to intruders. It spread wide and dense, and it swayed with the currents, making it hard to avoid.
Yip.
The Spirit of the Sea looked at him, lifting its paw slightly as if warning him to be careful.
[It seems it’s finally my turn to step up.]
Roenn, as if he too had sensed the Blood Energy with Aura Sense, chuckled and stepped forward.
[Can we move while avoiding it?]
Raon looked at Roenn and lowered his eyebrows slightly.
[I’m ashamed to say it, but this old man has lived his whole life doing things like this. The currents change quickly, but the changes follow patterns, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.]
Roenn smacked his lips, saying it seemed they were manipulating the currents around here with sorcery.
[Hmm….]
He closed his eyes and felt the movement of the currents with only his fingertips, then calmly opened them.
[From now on, follow only behind me. Evelyn is a bit slow, so it would be good if Raon could support her from the side.]
Roenn put his hands together, telling Evelyn to be careful and follow.
[Understood.]
Raon nodded and moved Evelyn in front of him.
[Hold on tight!]
Evelyn forced him to grab her waist, telling him not to let go no matter what.
[My waist isn’t too thin, right? It’ll be easy to hold!]
[Haa….]
Raon squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at Evelyn, who was saying things like that even with the White Blood Cult’s main base right ahead.
– “How can someone be so crazy…?”
Wrath shook his head, dumbfounded.
[You two look good together.]
Roenn chuckled, as if he liked how Evelyn charged forward without hesitation.
[Please just start already….]
Raon called out to Roenn in a slightly weary voice.
[Then I’ll go.]
Roenn’s voice turned serious as if he’d never joked at all, and he continued down the valley, slipping through the sorcery woven with Blood Energy.
[Let’s go too.]
[Yeah! I can do anything if you’re by my side!]
Evelyn sent a Telepathy message so loud it made his head ring.
[Don’t think about useless things and focus.]
Raon guided Evelyn and followed the path Roenn opened, moving through the sea.
They hadn’t gone deeper, so the pressure hadn’t increased, but the currents grew stronger, making the sorcery harder to avoid.
Whooooosh!
Yet Roenn moved as if he knew every route, sensing the Blood Energy with his body and dodging every strand of the White Blood Cult’s boundary sorcery as he advanced inward.
[It seems we’ve arrived.]
He took a deep breath as he looked at the land covered in brown sand and the white mist curling around it in a circle.
‘This is…’
Raon clenched his fist as he stared at the huge white city shrouded in mist.
‘Is this the White Blood Cult’s main base?’
The shape was slightly different from when he’d entered to save Ogram, but the alien, unreal energy was the same.
‘Now, if I remember the location and condition of this place and return… Huh?’
Raon stopped abruptly as he was about to move forward for more information.
[Then I’ll go a little further.]
[No!]
Raon raised his hand to block Roenn as he tried to advance.
[We’ll definitely get caught if we go any further.]
[Yes? It should still be okay….]
[No.]
Raon shook his head firmly.
[It’s not just about erasing our presence and avoiding the barrier.]
He bit his lip hard as he looked at the sand beneath the city.
[We’ll get caught by the eyes of the thing underneath!]
===
Rumble!
Martha swung her sword wildly in the training hall inside the Black Tortoise Palace.
‘Why isn’t it working?’
It had worked when she fought the Ninth Apostle….
In that life-or-death battle, the Tyrant Sun Sword had moved as if it had a will of its own, tearing through dense Blood Energy.
She repeated the forms again and again to revive that memory, but the sensation from that time wouldn’t return.
‘I want to feel it again.’
The feeling of her body and mind becoming one with the sword.
When she became one with the Tyrant Sun Sword and cut down the Ninth Apostle, she’d felt an overwhelming joy and exhilaration. She wanted to experience it again, but she didn’t know how.
‘Then I just keep doing it, even if it doesn’t work.’
In the end, it meant her swordsmanship was still lacking, so she had no choice but to train until it did.
She lifted her sword again and began practicing the Tyrant Sun Sword.
Whooooosh!
Time slipped away as she trained, and dawn had already broken past the purple pre-dawn.
‘Still not enough. Again.’
Martha was about to swing the Tyrant Sun Sword again beneath the rising sun when—
“Aren’t you overdoing it?”
Denier opened the door to the training hall and stepped in, pulling on his coat.
“I have no choice.”
Martha shook her head without stopping her practice.
“I don’t know when the war with the White Blood Cult will break out, so I have to get stronger as quickly as possible.”
She wanted to rest too, but there wasn’t time. She had to save every minute, every second.
“I know how you feel, but excessive training can be harmful.”
Denier shook his head, telling her not to push herself too far.
“I’m not doing enough to even land one sword strike on the White Blood Lord.”
Martha bit her lip, saying she could endure anything if it meant saving her mother.
“Because I’m not even expressing what I’ve realized properly.”
“What does that mean?”
Denier lowered his chin, signaling her to explain clearly.
“I told you before that I caught the Ninth Apostle. But in truth, I didn’t cut him down solely with my own skills.”
“Yes. You said Raon was the one who finished him off.”
“Not that….”
Martha shook her head, looking at the hand gripping her sword.
“When I clashed with the Ninth Apostle for the last time, the Tyrant Sun Sword changed its style on its own and tore apart all his Blood Energy.”
She finally explained the details she hadn’t described before.
“The Tyrant Sun Sword?”
Denier’s well-groomed eyebrows rose in surprise.
“Did it feel like you were slicing through several sheets of paper when you cut through the Blood Energy?”
“That’s right! Exactly that!”
Martha nodded immediately.
“Do you know what happened?”
She stepped closer, asking him to tell her why.
“Think about when you fought the Ninth Apostle and cut through my Aura with the Tyrant Sun Sword.”
Denier formed a solid Aura shield over his fist and held it out toward Martha.
“Okay.”
Martha stepped forward, trusting Denier completely, and swung without hesitation.
Whooooosh!
Her blade cut through Denier’s Aura like the bow of a galleon slicing waves, and stopped right before his fist.
“This is it! Exactly this feeling!”
Martha shouted that it was the same sensation as when she cut down the Ninth Apostle, her fist trembling.
“As the mastery of the Tyrant Sun Sword increases, it gains the ability to cut through sinister energy. It seems you’ve finally reached that level.”
Denier congratulated her, applauding.
“So that’s why I could cut through the Blood Energy….”
Martha’s lips trembled as understanding finally dawned.
“Then does the ability to cut through sinister energy get stronger as the mastery increases?”
“That’s right.”
Denier nodded, saying the power naturally grew with mastery.
“Then there’s no time to be doing this!”
Martha said she had to save even the time it took to breathe and swung her sword again.
“Really….”
Denier nodded heavily as he looked at the faint wound blooming on the fist that had caught Martha’s sword.
“We’re getting closer.”
===
Gulp.
Raon swallowed hard at the silent yet overwhelming presence rising from beneath the white city.
‘There’s something there.’
He could feel a gigantic being beneath the White Blood Cult’s main base.
It held the energy of the sea like the Spirit beside him and was hiding itself—if he’d gone in unaware, they would have been caught immediately.
Yet strangely, it was caught in his Aura Sense but didn’t appear to the naked eye.
Grrr….
The Spirit of the Sea trembled as if it couldn’t go any farther and pressed close to his side.
[Can you tell me what’s going on?]
[What is it? Tell me!]
Roenn and Evelyn seemed unable to sense the being beneath the main base in the deep sea.
-“”Kuh….”
Wrath frowned, as if dumbfounded.
– “That’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen! It’s bigger than those lizard bastards!”
He chuckled, staring at the brown sand on the seabed as if he’d already identified what was hidden.
‘Can you see what it is?’
Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath.
– “That’s right.”
Wrath nodded as if it were obvious.
– “You’ll be able to see it if you look with the new eyes you have.”
He waved his hand, telling him to activate the Azure Heart’s Eye.
‘Hmm…’
Raon smacked his lips briefly and operated the Azure Heart’s Eye.
The moment blue energy seeped into his eyes, the outline of a colossal being—so vast it seemed to have become the sand itself beneath the sand—appeared.
‘Crazy…’
Something that big exists?
It made no sense, yet it also explained everything.
Because of that being, the discrepancy between the Spirit of the Sea’s memories and the White Blood Cult’s current location finally made sense.
[Tell me too!]
Evelyn grabbed his hand, asking him to explain.
[It’s hard to explain, so watch carefully.]
Raon took a fish from the subspace pocket—one that hadn’t been dead long and still retained a trace of life—and pushed it forward.
Swoosh.
The dead fish drifted with the current, approaching the White Blood Cult’s main base.
Thwack!
A white spear-like tentacle shot up from the seabed where only brown sand had been visible, pulverizing the fish’s flesh into powder.
Whooooosh!
The tentacle—larger than buildings—was engraved with the White Blood Cult’s Spell in letters. It moved at the speed of light, searching for more intruders as if sensing them through that sorcery, then sank back down and blended into the sand once more.
[T-This is….]
[If it’s a tentacle with suckers, could it be!]
Roenn and Evelyn swallowed hard, finally realizing what was hiding beneath the city.
[Yes….]
Raon bit his lip hard, confirming the existence of the mythical monster carrying the city while hidden.
[It’s a Kraken.]
A Kraken is carrying the White Blood Cult’s main base.