Chapter 229
Zeke looked at Caiman kneeling before him and felt a similarity to the Dragon Warriors.
'Are the Dragon Warriors also a type of Shadow Spirit?'
He figured it was due to Shadow Domination, the new authority of Bahamut he had obtained, but he didn't know exactly what a Shadow Spirit was.
Zeke decided to ask the Hermit of Tales when he met him and returned Caiman to the shadows.
He examined the Damascus sword he was still holding.
'It seems to be an artifact. Let's take a look at its information.'
---Sword Information---
Description: A Damascus sword crafted by a master artisan.
Unique Ability: Chains of Binding
Special Note: Can summon chains that bind souls.
"Chains of Binding. Does that mean the black chains I saw earlier?"
Zeke gripped the sword and tried activating the skill.
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
Black chains shot out from the Damascus sword, similar to the Soul Shackles on Zeke's left hand.
Zeke compared the black chains to the ones on his left arm.
"They're almost identical... Did Terakan Draker take the Soul Shackles from Eastern Continent sorcery?"
Zeke thought of someone who might know about Eastern Continent sorcery.
'Oul Draker was knowledgeable about the Eastern Empire. I should meet him and ask.'
Zeke put the chains back into the sword and stored the sword in his inventory.
Having checked the sword as well, Zeke looked at the fallen Captain Hook. His entire body had already turned into a mummy.
When Zeke lightly touched him, his body crumbled like sand and disappeared with the wind.
'Tsk tsk, they say there's no good end to carelessly using demon swords.'
Zeke approached the fallen Peter Pan.
"Are you alright?"
Only when Zeke approached did Peter Pan finally regain consciousness.
Wiping the blood flowing from her forehead, the conscious Peter Pan shouted.
"That damn crazy crocodile wraith bastard! Where did he go! I'm gonna catch him right now and chop him into pieces!"
She steadied herself by grabbing the deck railing and stood up.
Only after hearing that Zeke had defeated both Hook and the Djinn did she look around and finally calm down.
"Damn it, I should have gotten rid of them myself."
The pirate ships that had surrounded their vessel, seeing Hook defeated, had already fled cautiously.
Thinking the situation was resolved, Zeke was about to steer the ship back towards the island.
But Peter Pan suddenly staggered and looked beyond the deck.
Then, she looked at Zeke and said,
"Hey, don't you hear a strange sound over there?"
"What sound?"
"There's been some kind of noise coming from over there for a while now."
Zeke couldn't hear anything, so he wore a puzzled expression.
Then Peter Pan turned her body and looked out towards the distant sea.
Zeke watched her strangely, then wore a somewhat worried expression.
'Did she hit her head badly when she fell?'
Zeke wondered if even a head injury would be healed by Healing Factor.
At that moment, Peter Pan, looking out at the distant sea, muttered something.
"Something... is calling me."
Startled by Peter Pan's sudden words, Zeke asked,
"Something is calling you? What do you mean?"
Peter Pan approached the sea and leaned out over the railing.
As she floundered and was about to fall in, Zeke quickly reached out and barely grabbed her. At that moment, the blood that had pooled on her forehead flowed down and dripped below.
Zeke grabbed Peter Pan's shoulders and shook her.
"Peter Pan! Wake up! What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Perhaps due to Zeke's forceful shaking, Peter Pan suddenly snapped to her senses.
"Huh? What? What did I just do?"
"You just tried to jump into the sea yourself."
Peter Pan looked flustered at those words.
"M-me? Why on earth would I do that? I definitely heard a strange sound earlier..."
That was the moment.
The sea where Peter Pan's blood had dripped began to bubble violently.
Then, in an instant, a vibration that felt like the entire island was shaking could be felt.
'Wh-what is it?'
Groooooooan!
A sound like the island itself was wailing could be heard.
Zeke doubted his own eyes.
The island was rising upwards.
Seawater poured down like a waterfall, and an even larger landmass was rising from beneath the island.
'That is...?'
An unbelievably massive sea turtle raised its head.
The island was actually resting on the sea turtle's shell.
Speechless at the sight he had never even imagined, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have discovered the forgotten Avatar of the Sea God.]
[For quest progression, you will be forcibly entered into the forgotten Avatar of the Sea God.]
"What? Forced entry?"
In that instant, a portal opened before Zeke, and his body was automatically sucked in.
Peter Pan, seeing Zeke like that, shouted.
"Huh? Wh-what is it!"
Even as he was being sucked in, Zeke yelled towards Peter Pan.
"Find my companions on the island! They will help..."
Zhiing!
With a loud noise, the portal closed, and Zeke's figure vanished completely.
***
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
A portal opened, and Zeke appeared.
With a swift movement, Zeke landed on the ground and quickly surveyed his surroundings.
'Where is this?'
It looked like a cave made of solid stone, with a ceiling and floor of the same material.
But surprisingly, the stone walls were moving as if they were alive.
Groooooooan!
A loud sound echoed from within the cave.
Zeke realized that he was inside the body of the giant turtle.
At the same moment he understood this, a message appeared before his eyes.
---Achievement Quest Intermediate Mission (Information Updated)---
[Find the traces of the forgotten Sea God. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: Title - Blessing of the Sea God / Treasure of the Sea God]
'The mission objective has changed.'
The quest objective had changed from finding the forgotten Sea God's Island to finding the traces of the forgotten Sea God.
Zeke grasped the situation as he read the quest details.
He paid attention to the modifier "forgotten" attached to the Sea God.
"'Forgotten' Sea God. Perhaps it's related to the decline of the Deep Sea Clan."
The Deep Sea Clan's sanctuary and tomb had been destroyed by someone.
This also seemed to be related to the traces of the forgotten Sea God.
Zeke decided to go deeper to find the traces of the Sea God.
With each breath the turtle took, the stone cave pulsed and moved.
'Just how long has this turtle lived?'
Zeke thought it must have lived for at least several thousand years as he continued walking.
Entering deeper into the cave, a massive stalactite cave appeared.
"How can there be a cave like this inside a living creature's body?"
But the problem wasn't the cave itself.
Something was attached to the back of the cave's stalactites.
Creak-creak-creak!
Monsters whose bodies were covered in stone flew towards Zeke.
Kaaa-aaaaack!
Zeke drew Bahamut and swung it at the approaching monsters.
Crack!
As the sword swung, the monsters' bodies shattered as if stone was breaking.
But there was something strange.
"Why isn't my Karma Point increasing?"
Normally, Karma Points were automatically awarded for killing monsters, but no points were gained even after killing these creatures.
Zeke examined the monsters.
"Could it be?"
The stone monsters weren't living creatures but constructs created by sorcery.
'That golem back then too... Is it the Sea God's sorcery?'
Zeke frowned and tightened his grip on his sword again, moving deeper inside.
Constructs continued to pop out and block Zeke's path, but he easily dealt with them and passed through the stalactite cave.
Beyond the cave, a massive door appeared.
'To think there's something like this inside a turtle's body... It's amazing and strange at the same time.'
Zeke stood before the door and reached out his hand.
[The Upper Administrator System is attempting to connect.]
[Recognizing Upper Administrator in the security zone.]
[Granting temporary access code.]
[Temporarily deactivating the seal on the security zone.]
Crumble-rumble-rumble!
The thick door shattered into pieces and opened.
The scenery inside was similar to the Tomb of the Dragon Slayer or the Sanctuary of the Sky Clan.
'So it's a security zone. Did the Elder Dragons create this place too?'
Zeke slowly stepped into the security zone.
On both sides of the path leading into the security zone, massive stone statues modeled after the Deep Sea Clan were lined up.
"Are these also constructs?"
Like the statues of the Dragonkin in the Elder Dragon's ruins, the Deep Sea Clan statues also didn't move or show any particular reaction.
Slowly examining them and passing through the area where the statues stood, a circular space appeared.
In the center of that space, Zeke discovered a familiar device.
It was none other than a Spirit Regenerator.
A blue gem floated above the regenerator.
Zeke approached the Spirit Regenerator.
"Is the spirit of the forgotten Sea God going to appear?"
He didn't know if a constellation could exist as a spirit, but he decided to activate it anyway.
Zeke placed his hand on the crystal and poured mana into it.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The Trial of the Forgotten Sea God begins.]
"What? The Trial of the Forgotten Sea God?"
Before Zeke could do anything, the Spirit Regenerator activated.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
A blue form appeared and soon changed into the figure of a person.
Thump!
It was the figure of a warrior holding a trident and a round shield, clad in blue armor covered in scales.
The warrior wore a helmet modeled after the face of a Deep Sea Clan member.
Without saying a word, he pointed the trident at Zeke.
Grasping the situation, Zeke drew Bahamut and steadied his breathing.
'The Trial of the Sea God. It reminds me of the Inverted Tower.'
As if judging that Zeke was ready by his actions, the warrior gestured for Zeke to come at him.
'If you're going to give me an opening, I won't hesitate!'
Zeke's figure shot out quickly.
He swung a gold-infused sword strike.
Clang!
The warrior raised his trident and lightly deflected Zeke's sword strike.
Zeke, surprised by the warrior who had deflected his gold-infused sword, also gauged his skill.
'He's not ordinary. In that case...'
Zeke unleashed Forceful Vibration, expanding the area of the shockwaves.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
At the same time, he invoked the Will of the River, becoming a River Incarnate, and unfolded the Infinite Chain Binding.
The Sun Sword Art and the Golden Sword Art mixed dazzlingly, piercing the warrior's openings.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
The warrior smoothly spun his trident, skillfully blocking Zeke's attacks.
On the contrary, Zeke was almost drawn into the flow of the spear.
Gritting his teeth, Zeke broke the flow for now and retreated backward.
'That's no ordinary spear technique. Just what is his identity?'
Zeke realized that this was not the time to be careless.
He immediately focused his consciousness on his sword.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The sword spirit growled softly.
That was the moment.
Thwack!
The stationary warrior aimed for Zeke's opening and thrust his trident.
Clang!
Zeke hurriedly raised his sword to block the warrior's spear and retreated backward, unleashing a sword strike.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The warrior swung his spear, lightly deflecting Zeke's sword strike. Then, he quickly thrust his spear at Zeke again.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
The spear, both fluid and heavy, pierced Zeke's openings.
Zeke invoked the ultimate technique 'Will of Speed' and blocked the warrior's spear.
Clang!
Having parried the spear and retreated backward, Zeke felt an unusual drain of strength.
'It's not a problem with my stamina. This is... I'm being completely drawn into the flow of that spear.'
None of Zeke's attacks could penetrate the trident.
Zeke raised his sword again and tried to focus his mind.
But at that moment, the warrior's body disappeared.
'Where?'
Whoosh!
The trident shot out from a blind spot.
Zeke deployed Dragon Scale Armor to protect his body and stepped back.
Then, he unleashed Dragon's Claws towards the warrior.
Clack-clack-clack!
Dragon's Claws struck the warrior's blue armor.
Then, the warrior, holding his trident, stopped.
He stood still, looked at Zeke, and slowly removed the helmet he was wearing.
Zeke was startled by the warrior's face.
'A Dragonkin?'
The warrior's two eyes were the blue draconic eyes of a Dragonkin.
However, something felt off.
The feeling was different from that of Hoshgar, who was also a Dragonkin.
The warrior looked at Zeke and said,
"Neither properly wielding human strength, nor fully knowing how to use dragon power. Strange indeed. What is your true identity?"
Zeke spoke to the Avatar.
"My name is Zeke Draker. I am one who holds the spirit of an Elder Dragon."
At Zeke's words, the warrior wore a surprised expression.
"The spirit of an Elder Dragon..."
After a moment of silence, the warrior looked at Zeke and spoke.
"I am Poseidon, the Avatar of the forgotten Sea God and the guardian of the Southern Sea."