Chapter 454: Jeci's Resolve [Part 1]
The entire sea had returned to its calm state. Northern stayed on Aerisyles for a few more seconds, observing if there were any more abnormalities in the ocean.
As soon as he had dealt the last damage to the sea, he quickly withdrew all his void essence from the Soul Taker. His eyes switched to Chaos Eyes as he stared down.
"It's still there..." Northern clicked his tongue angrily.
'If it has merged with the ocean, then I just need to leave the ocean, right?' Northern speculated and turned away.
After so much damage that the sea itself had taken, the ligatures would probably be too weakened to pull as much force as they were able to. Hence, the Kirithon's options were probably limited.
Northern didn't expect that it would stop its attack, after the monster was resolved to see the end of him.
But the sea's calmness would give him more time to move as quickly as he needed to.
Northern flew back to the top of the tower and entered.
"Your Highness! What was that?!" Jeci inquired in a big flare.
Her face seemed pallid; she had probably been struck with so much helplessness while she had to watch Northern battle the sea all by himself without being able to do anything.
"What was that? What is going on?" Jeci followed Northern in a hurry as he made his way to the center of the control room.
Northern stood in front of the control panel and began to wave his hand into the air, obviously controlling something.
However, whatever it was he was controlling, Jeci could not see it.
She just watched Northern, lost in absolute confusion. Northern's focus on wavering, his eyes narrowed as he arranged a code of information to the tower.
A couple of seconds later, the tower's pace began to pick up; its movement seemed less like a ship and more like a shark that was on the move to devour.
Northern sighed and leaned on the panel table. Now that he had temporarily taken care of the situation, he could feel all the tiredness settling into his entire body. And this was all because of the Soul Taker.
'Damn, I never thought handling a sword would be so tasking.' His mind swayed away for a moment as he recounted the whole experience. 'I wonder what Dark Mortal will be capable of. Even Grengar, I don't think I have used it after getting this void.'
Northern straightened his back and raised his hand, yawning as he stretched his entire body.
Jeci was still intensely looking at him by the time he turned back. He looked at her, blinking for a moment before querying her.
"What? What is it with the stare?"
She shook her head. "I don't know where to begin... but what exactly are you?"
"I don't think I am ready to share that information with you. Get ready, we probably will be getting bombarded from all sides."
Jeci's demeanor changed, becoming more serious, and she asked, "I thought you have taken care of-"
Northern cut in, "The monster that is threatening us is an Apex level and Maelstrom rank. More so, as of now it has no physical body and uses the sea as an extension of itself."
He paused, looking intensely at Jeci as his voice picked up. "So no, I have not taken care of anything, Jeci. In fact, from here on out, it will be an even tougher battle."
His eyes narrowed with determination. "But don't worry, both of us are going to get to the Central Plains, safe and sound."
Jeci's eyes widened the moment he spoke, then she thought for a second, 'How can a child be so manly?'
Her cheeks reddened, and she quickly looked away but suddenly realized herself and raised her head back up with a stark frown on her face.
"NO!" she shouted.
Northern looked back with his brows raised, "Sorry, what now?"
"I am the one that should be protecting you. Not the other way around," she proclaimed, her eyes and voice brimming with confidence.
Northern rolled his eyes away from her and turned to leave the control room.
RUMBLE
The entire tower suddenly shook again with tremors; this time, the feeling was heavier and more powerful, like something had crashed into them.
Northern frowned and gritted his teeth. 'Come on, not so early...'
Jeci immediately went on one knee. "Please, give me the chance to protect you. It's quite obvious you need a lot of rest. Why don't you let me take care of this?"
Northern looked at her with a puzzled expression, then said:
"This is pure stupidity. I am sure you felt the tremor just now, that thing is definitely big. The only ability you have is an ability that can block others' abilities. And the others in this case are obviously not monsters."
His voice took a very short break and continued, "You have trained to fight humans and drifters all your life; fighting a monster, and one this big for a start, is just pure recklessness to me. And I will not have it."
Jeci's eyes widened. If she was to be honest....
'His words hurt.'
Because this had been the entire definition of her life.
While she was indeed considered a valuable asset, at the end of the day she was just like a low-class drifter. With not many abilities to boast of, even her growth was limited; all her opponent needed to do was best her talent-locking ability.
And as a drifter, she was no good against a monster. It was a truth she dreaded all her life.
Northern was right, and she was grateful he said it to her with no ounce of sympathy.
Her brows furrowed together. "Even though..."
Northern, who was walking away, suddenly stopped.
'I didn't expect her to still be able to talk...'
Northern had opted to break her morale completely for her own sake; however, he was beginning to fear he could have even fueled whatever desire it is she was feeling inside her.
"Even though," she continued, "I want to go... I want to be reckless, if it means I can protect you."
Northern sighed pitifully at her helplessness and said in slight frustration, "You do realize that I don't need protection from you."
Jeci nodded. "I know... but what good am I if I can't even carry out menial tasks like this one?"
Northern shrugged. "Alright then, suit yourself."
After speaking, he waved a finger, and the tile of the ground area Jeci was standing on suddenly elevated her to the roof, where she could get a clearer view of the enormous sea creature that had attached itself to the back of their ship-tower.
As she reached the rooftop, her crimson spear came alive in her hand. The sky above was stained with the fading light of day, giving everything a muted, ominous hue.
The tower itself seemed to creak and groan under the weight of the monstrosity that had
latched onto it.
The creature's vast, serpentine body coiled around the base, its scales glimmering faintly in
the dim light like wet, dark steel.
Jeci's eyes darted, trying to gauge the size of the creature.
"It's huge," she muttered, gripping her crimson spear tightly. Her weapon seemed to hum,
responding to her anxiety and resolve.
She furrowed her brows and kept her eyes on the creature. The sea monster was slowly shifting, each movement sending tremors through the tower.
Suddenly, the creature lunged. Its enormous head reared back, then snapped forward like a
viper striking its prey.
Jeci reacted with blinding speed, her body blurring as she dodged the strike and slashed at the Kirithon's snout in one fluid motion.
The impact sent a reverberating shock through the air, and the creature recoiled, spraying sea foam as it roared in fury.
Without giving herself a moment of respite, she spurred into action again, leaping on the concrete wall of the ship and leaping off, her spear spinning in her hands.
She thrust it forward, aiming for the creature's eye.
The spear crackled with red energy, piercing the tough hide with a hiss.
However, this time, her strike barely penetrated, glancing off the creature's scales, which
shimmered like armor.
"Damn it!" Jeci cursed, pulling back just in time as the creature whipped its tail toward her. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
The impact of the tail shattered the crashed on the wall, sending shards of debris flying.
Meanwhile, Northern inside felt the tremble and saw what was going on outside, just behind
the ship.
He wondered, 'Can I really leave it to her, or should I just go there...?'
He wasn't so used to leaving things to people and not doing anything.
Hence, finding himself in a position like this felt quite strange.
At the same time, he had said all those mean words to get her to back down, the least he could
do is give her the chance like she had asked.
But still, he was still being bothered. He scratched his head in frustration.
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[A/N]
Hello, it's me, the author. Last month hasn't exactly been how I thought it would be, trying to
put pieces of my life together while also making sure I don't disappoint readers, I was unable to update as much as I intended which I feel incredibly sorry for.
I just made sure that I don't stop updating no matter what. I will make no futile promises this month. I just want to keep writing and delivering the best of this story to you guys.
As this Arc is coming to its end, I can't help but be grateful for your immense patience and longsuffering. Thank you for the power stones and golden tickets.
And please, keep supporting me! ;)