Ch.91Time Is Running Out. (2)

[“You’re a human with a swollen liver.”]

The specter let out an eerie laugh. Each time their laughter grew stronger, the darkness swirling at the horizon deepened. Suddenly, they were trapped in black fog.

With a soft hiss, specters poked their faces through the gaps in the mist.

[“Mages taste good. I’ll eat that woman’s head.”]

[“The body is mine.”]

Among them were specters that looked like pirates. All humans drowned in the eastern sea had their bodies stolen by specters like these. Even after death, they couldn’t truly die and wandered the sea.

[“Kekeke. You’re terrified.”]

Olivia didn’t answer.

Even surrounded by thousands of specters, there was no reason to feel intimidated.

[“Skill, ‘Lightning Spear’ is being used.”]

Crackle!

As a massive lightning spear appeared in Olivia’s right hand, the approaching specters hesitated and backed away.

[“Mana is becoming unstable.”]

[“Mana consumption is increasing.”]

With a sizzling sound, mana sparked and the spear’s form became blurry. When Olivia poured in more mana, the sparks greedily consumed it. Slowly, the sparks subsided.

She already knew this wasn’t ordinary seawater.

They were also Aquar. Like Esthie, they could create waves that consumed mana.

That’s when it happened.

A specter revealed itself from beyond the fog.

Its presence was on a completely different level from the specters until now.

Dense aura of death. Even if all the darkness flowing in the black fog were combined, it wouldn’t match this specter.

There was an overwhelming power in the atmosphere emanating from its restrained posture.

Olivia knew who this specter was.

[“…You’re no ordinary mage.”]

That one was Craucel.

He had been the knight commander of Aquar, and two centuries ago, he was called the Sword Master.

His body had rotted away leaving only bones, but his sword remained as sharp as if it could cut anything.

[“Go back. If you leave now, I’ll forgive your rudeness for mentioning His Majesty.”]

Craucel’s consciousness was too clear for a specter from centuries ago.

It was incomparable to the other specters circling around.

‘That means he was that strong.’

It wasn’t for nothing that Aquar reigned as the hegemonic nation of the east.

Of course, in other words, it meant that unless one was as strong as Craucel, they couldn’t maintain their consciousness.

Craucel continued speaking.

[“This place… is cursed. The living cannot endure for long. This is advice. Return before you’re consumed by madness.”]

It was a statement that gave insight into his character when alive.

Perhaps it was also Craucel who controlled those specters from rampaging freely.

[“Go back.”]

[“Go back. Go back.”]

The specters echoed the same words.

Olivia fell into thought for a moment.

‘…Were they always this cooperative?’

As could be inferred from the term “demon sea,” all the specters here were treated as non-humans.

Though they wore the masks of merfolk and pirates, their essence as specters remained unchanged.

So at least a few should have charged at her…

[“Wait.”]

Craucel turned his body to look at Olivia.

[“I sense a holy aura from you. Hmm… has a Saintess appeared in your generation?”]

Olivia realized it was because of Livga.

She must have placed a blessing on her without her knowledge.

Someone of Saintess level could imbue divine power even in simple prayers.

Craucel asked.

[“What is your relationship with the Saintess?”]

Instead of answering, Olivia smiled.

Sometimes, silence was better for stimulating the other party’s imagination.

[“…Please answer.”]

At the request-like words, Olivia tilted her head. Craucel spoke again to the puzzled Olivia.

[“If it’s the divine power of the Saintess, it might be able to free us from this curse. So please tell me. What is your relationship with the Saintess?”]

“We’re like family.”

[“Like… family?”]

“Would it make more sense if I said she’s my only family?”

Craucel nodded.

[“May I ask one favor, young mage?”]

“That favor would be to bring the Saintess here, right?”

[“…That’s correct.”]

“To purify the curse with the Saintess’s divine power, I presume.”

[“That is also correct.”]

Olivia smiled.

“If you give me a chance to have an audience with His Majesty, I’ll consider it positively.”

[“That… is impossible.”]

For some reason, Craucel looked dejected as he said this. As he hesitated to answer, Olivia spoke again.

“I came here because of Esthie.”

At those words, the specters that had been quietly circling around let out a collective wail. This time, even Craucel didn’t stop them.

[“Young mage, I warn you, never utter that name again. If you do, I won’t stop them then. Abandon the belief that the Saintess’s protection will shield you from death.”]

All the vengeful spirits here were people who had been drowned in Esthie’s rampage.

The depth of their resentment could be seen in how the sunken city had transformed into a demon sea.

“I know the secret history of the Aquar Kingdom.”

[“…And yet you dare speak such words.”]

“How dare you,” shouted one of the specters. The death aura flowing from the black fog grew more intense.

The specters that newly emerged from the fog had a different atmosphere from the initial ones.

Knights drew their swords, and mages emitted death energy instead of mana.

But they didn’t attack.

Because Craucel hadn’t permitted it.

[“Young mage, what is your reason for wanting to see His Majesty?”]

Craucel said this and placed his hand on his sword hilt.

His posture suggested he would kill her immediately if she misspoke.

But Olivia spoke without fear.

“I’ll tell that directly to His Majesty.”

[“…How arrogant.”]

“I’ll take that as meaning I have confidence.”

[“Your tongue is long too. Let me advise you, His Majesty detests those with only smooth talk.”]

Olivia nodded.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

Shing.

Instead of answering, Craucel drew his sword.

It wasn’t to stab Olivia. The direction of his sword strike was none other than the sea surface.

The sword that struck downward penetrated the sea surface.

[“‘Death Knight Craucel’ uses ‘Sea Splitting’.”]

With a tearing sound, the sea began to split. Amazingly, once split, the sea didn’t rejoin. With each additional sword strike, the groove carved into the sea deepened.

After a moment, the ocean revealed its pitch-black bottom.

[“Follow me.”]

With those words, Craucel jumped down into the dark bottom.

*****

[“You’re the first among the living.”]

“…What an honor.”

Craucel walked ahead. Olivia followed behind him, looking around the sunken city.

There was no need to worry about swimming. Although Aquar was a city submerged in seawater, it wasn’t an underwater city.

The darkness covering the city.

The dense death aura enveloping the entire city prevented seawater from infiltrating.

[“Kuahahaha!”]

[“It’s a human! A living human!”]

Thanks to this, she could directly observe the madness-soaked specters flying towards her.

They clacked their teeth as if they would bite her immediately, but they couldn’t approach beyond a certain distance. Craucel cut them down as they approached.

“You’re merciless.”

[“They are not citizens of Aquar. They are the vengeful spirits of pirates executed by that woman.”]

She could tell who “that woman” was without being told.

Once again, she could feel how deep their resentment towards Esthie was.

Craucel and Olivia walked through the palace corridor.

The corridor was filled with broken fragments. Moss grew in every corner, and ominous glowing eyes served as substitutes for candelabras.

Craucel stopped in front of a door emanating an ominous aura.

As if everything until now had been a joke, terrible death energy wafted through the gaps.

[“Danger zone!”]

The incessant warning windows were proof of that.

Craucel knocked on the door respectfully, then stepped back a few paces.

[“Enter.”]

The door opened.

On a high throne, a dark figure was flickering.

Olivia knew what it was.

“I greet Your Noble Presences.”

[“…You have good discernment.”]

“Thank you.”

The reason Olivia addressed them as “Presences” was simple.

They were one body, but not one person.

The next moment.

⌜To think we’d be discovered so easily.⌟

⌜If only you had stayed quiet.⌟

⌜Everyone be quiet.⌟

⌜His Majesty is speaking.⌟

Dozens of voices flowed from the dark figure at once. They ranged from those of young men to middle-aged women.

They were all royalty of Aquar.

Once they were Esthie’s parents, siblings, and relatives.

Once they loved her the most, but now they were the ones who hated her the most.

The king spoke.

[“So, what is it you want to tell me?”]

As expected, they had been listening all along.

“Please forgive your daughter now.”

Olivia went straight to the point.

“How long will you continue to curse her? Do you think 150 years of suffering isn’t enough?”

[“It’s not enough.”]

A sharp answer.

[“Tens of thousands were drowned that day. 150 years is far from enough.”]

“Esthie didn’t want to go berserk.”

Strictly speaking, the city sinking wasn’t Esthie’s fault.

The royalty of Aquar undergo a ritual on the day they come of age.

A ritual to draw out the power of the waves by entrusting their body to the sea.

The more power the sea lent, the higher the waves would naturally rise.

Esthie’s only crime was being born with a constitution loved by the sea.

“Don’t you think you were careless? If you had just set up a single barrier, such a tragedy wouldn’t have happened. How much could a princess who had just come of age know?”

She underwent the ritual because she was told to, and she did her best because she was told to.

“You must have been curious. How strong would a child who had ridden waves since birth be when she came of age?”

The youngest princess didn’t want to disappoint her parents and family, so she did her best.

And in the end, she couldn’t control her power and went berserk.

“It was you who encouraged her to move the sea, not just the waves.”

To begin with, how could a human possibly control the sea?

“And you say 150 years isn’t enough? Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Esthie lived a life opposite to Olivia’s.

“The ones who should atone are not Esthie, but you.”

Esthie protected in order to atone.

Olivia atoned after protecting.

The reason her heart was stirred was probably because she felt a sense of kinship.

Roars erupted from all around.

⌜How insolent!⌟

⌜A woman who knows nothing but has a loose tongue!⌟

⌜I’ll tear you to death!⌟

Just as violent killing intent was being emitted.

[“Silence.”]

The king stopped them.

[“I won’t deny it. If not others, at least I acknowledge your logic. However, I cannot remove the curse engraved on Esthie’s soul.”]

At the unexpected answer, Olivia hesitated.

“What’s the reason?”

[“That curse was simultaneously engraved by me, my family, and all citizens of Aquar.”]

To the confused Olivia, the king extended his hand. A small chain fragment appeared at his fingertips.

A notification window appeared before her eyes.

[“King Fram’s share is 0.7%.”]

It was a fragment of the curse.

A fragment so small it could be called a speck.

[“Without majority consent, the curse cannot be lifted.”]

The king’s gaze, for some reason, looked dejected as he said this.

[“You came too late, mage.”]