Chapter 37: Past, Future

It turns out that although it looked a bit scary, the inside of the Azure Giant Whale was actually much more normal than everyone imagined.

This giant sea magical beast seemed to have the ability to transport live creatures. There were two tubes connected to the back of its throat; one was for swallowing normal food leading to the stomach, while the other was a connection to a safe space resembling a storage room.

These two passages could be opened or closed at the will of the Azure Giant Whale, controlled by its muscles, so there wouldn’t be any accidental swallowing of passengers. It was quite an interesting setup.

The internal space for passengers to rest was very spacious, easily several thousand square meters, and the walls made of the whale’s internal tissues weren’t dripping with bodily fluids like one might expect; rather, they were dry with a hard, iron-gray texture similar to its skin.

Rashid had clearly lived here for a long time, furnished with several pieces of daily-use furniture and even stocked with personal food, supplies, and books for entertainment, along with small magical tools.

The magical lamps hanging from the ceiling emitted bright light, dispelling the terrors and darkness of being inside this giant beast, making it feel quite comfortable.

“Welcome to my humble 《Master of the Sea》, haha! The space is small, so I appreciate your understanding.”

After making a little joke in front of everyone, Rashid then became serious.

“We’ve now entered the interior of the 《Ghost Sea》 and are heading toward the island where Princess Nitira is located. At the speed of Ahei, we still need several hours of travel. You all can rest here for now and regain your strength.”

“Please remember, in the Ghost Sea, living beings’ minds are constantly bombarded by bizarre and distorted information. Even with many protective measures, you can’t be completely exempt, so you must keep your status at the best level—listen less, watch less, think less, and act according to orders to ensure you don’t suddenly turn into a madman at some point.”

Seeing the Queen nod who was personally leading the charge, Alec and the others started distributing the emergency gear that had been hurriedly assembled. The man known as the Pirate King also showed a hint of satisfaction mixed with a subtle tension.

The issues facing the Emerald Sea Region were much more serious than it appeared; Rashid’s and the Azure Giant Whale’s powers alone were absolutely insufficient to resolve them. That’s why he had visited the East Sea Pearl years ago in hopes of gaining the support of the Merman Tribe, the rulers of this sea area.

However, King Willipol had rejected him, even taking some more radical measures that ultimately affected the Merman Princess.

To be honest, Rashid didn’t see King Willipol as a qualified ruler; after all, his actions could lead to too many unknowns, which was a completely irresponsible madness toward his subjects.

But…

Thinking this, the gold-haired man cast a discreet glance at the black-haired girl, who seemed to be curiously examining the surroundings with her companions, seemingly free of any tension or sense of crisis, and something unusual surfaced in his heart.

The unexpected arrival of Miss Vilyric and her companions was completely beyond his plans and expectations. If the rumors he had heard about her were all true, this core figure of the 【Great Alliance】 might bring an unexpected turn to the whole situation…

With this thought, Rashid no longer hesitated.

“Miss Vilyric, are you interested in having a private chat with me?”

“Hmm? About what? A private conversation with a beautiful girl needs a proper reason, you know~”

The black-haired girl turned around, and her expression was not one of surprise or shock; it was more like a teasing smile as if to say, “Oh my, have you finally made up your mind? I’ve been waiting for so long,” as if she grasped everything.

This is really…

After a moment of astonishment, Rashid felt a mix of helplessness and slight relief.

She was just as he had described.

As if recalling the intellectual demeanor he first saw, the gold-haired man lowered his head slightly and smiled politely.

“Of course, it’s a topic of considerable value. I’ve heard that Miss Vilyric has always been very interested in information about the Ancient Gods. So, how about the stories of the two gods who once ruled the sea, as well as the true secrets buried within this sea area…? Would you like to learn more?”

…

“We have arrived…”

Gazing at the familiar yet strangely different entrance to the room, Nitira let out a slight sigh of relief, but quickly her nerves shot up to her throat.

Behind this door lay the target and answer she had been searching for—a way to prove whether the princess truly understood everything from that book… and whether that absurd truth was real.

Clearing her mind, the Merman girl pushed open the similarly battered yet clearly more expensive and intact door compared to the previous ones and stepped inside.

The room was empty, but she didn’t feel surprised. She searched briefly at the edge of the decaying old pool in the center, where stagnant water had collected, and forcefully drove a sharp stone shard she had previously picked up into a crevice in the ground!

“Whoosh…”

The foul murky water in the pool quickly drained away as the mechanism activated, but Nitira didn’t rush to go inside. Instead, she turned to a dilapidated shelf in the room, finding a rather unremarkable rusted metal sculpture, which she twisted forcefully.

“Creek… Creek…”

The jarring metallic noise echoed hollowly in the room like a crow’s wail. Given that it had been soaked in seawater for too long, the rust level was high, and the not-so-strong girl struggled to turn it, but she persevered until she finally heard a “click” from the bottom of the pool and stopped her movement.

“Ha… thankfully it’s not broken. This was just an effort to investigate; I didn’t expect to have a chance to use it so quickly. If it weren’t for Miss Le Qiao Qiao, I probably would have had to use the 【Book of Truth】 again…”

Sighing a little, Nitira leaped into the pool and pushed open the tightly sealed stone door that had slightly popped open.

Since the secret passage was designed with waterproofing in mind, it hadn’t suffered too much seawater infiltration or erosion. Though it still bore the marks of time, overall, it retained the appearance it had just recently.

Until the girl walked through the not-too-long passage and reached the end of the secret chamber, under the dim light of the magical lamp barely operating due to repairs, she finally saw that long-desired yet strangely unfamiliar figure.

The tone that should have been filled with excitement trembled with a touch of quivering.

“Father, is it you…? How did you become like this?”

The figure, now completely decayed and entwined with countless bizarre, muscle, and bone-like wriggling appendages, turned to her. In those eyes that had never changed, a trace of love and more indescribable brilliance flickered, like the shadows from deep beneath the sea.

“Nitira, my child, you have come.”

“Now, let us complete the final step together and liberate… the future of this sea region.”

   

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