Chapter 870

Diana drew in a sharp breath and turned toward her.

Her reaction was practically an answer in itself. As expected, this acting head of the family, who had somehow returned alive from the Black Lands, clearly knew her godfather’s dark secret.

"There’s no way Sir Ian would just stand by and watch us lose our lives," added Elia, pretending not to notice.

It was regrettable in many ways to lose the chance to witness an ancient god up close with her own eyes, but she had to protect Ian’s secret.

Turning toward the captain and Charlotte, who were looking at her curiously, she smiled brightly. "You all believe that too, don’t you? But no matter how much of a demigod Sir Ian may be, fighting an ancient god won’t be easy for him."

Diana finally nodded. "Th-that’s right. That’s exactly what I’m saying. Which is why we need to get out of here somehow."

Her tone was strangely restrained, as though she were struggling to keep her emotions under control.

Charlotte’s eyes twitched slightly, while Yalo stroked his beard with an intrigued smile.

Nikau, who had been looking over the starboard railing on the opposite side, casually said, "Well, the current might split when we pass near an island. If we time it right and use the last remaining magic stone, we might be able to make it near an island."

Diana’s eyes lit up as she immediately turned her head toward him. Elia did the same.

For now, all they could see was the fog drifting in the distance and the violently churning sea.

Rumble! Rumble!

Even when lightning struck in various places and illuminated the surroundings, nothing changed.

Elia’s brow furrowed further because simply staring at the horizon made her senses feel strangely distorted.

"But as I said, if we fail, there won’t be a second chance. Even if we don’t sink, the ship will suffer a tremendous impact," said Nikau.

Peering through the rolling fog, Diana replied, "But we’ll succeed, won’t we?"

Unlike Elia, one corner of her mouth had already begun to curl upward.

"Once we break free, let’s land on an island and wait. All the corrupted are dead anyway. Then, once it looks like the battle is over, we can—"

"No, we’re continuing forward," Charlotte cut her off. "You seem to have forgotten that the Black Wave is behind us. There’s no guarantee both ships will succeed. We certainly can’t stake everyone’s lives on a gamble with such poor odds."

Diana hesitated and muttered, "No, but... we have to trust the captains and sailors..."

The smile lingering on her lips faded.

Charlotte continued, "And as Elie said, Ian is probably struggling as well. I can’t leave him to fight alone just because I value my life. Even if our strength amounts to little, we should contribute what we can. I’m sure there’s something we can do to help."

Diana finally turned to Charlotte and said, "Ian will win. He always has until now. Besides, his order was simply for us to follow him to the other sanctuary. He didn’t tell us to join the fight."

She clicked her tongue softly before adding, "He probably already knew we wouldn’t be much help."

"Then there’s even less reason to worry. He’ll try to finish the battle before we arrive."

"No... you really don’t listen, do you? Damn it."

A groan finally escaped Diana’s lips. She glanced toward Elia as though asking for support.

Elia, however, was tilting her head while looking at Charlotte for a completely different reason than Diana’s.

Do they really not care if everyone finds out Sir Ian’s secret?

Charlotte clearly already knew that Ian carried chaos within him. She had definitely seen those violet streaks, and yet this was how she reacted.

Meanwhile, Diana continued with a weary sigh. "You don’t know anything. The ancient god isn’t the only thing I have to worry about...."

She was rubbing her face with one hand.

It was more than enough to make Elia look back at her again. She could not imagine what could be more concerning than an ancient god in the middle of manifesting.

---------!

At that moment, the intermittent roars echoing in the distance suddenly swelled as though tearing through the air itself.

The captains, who had remained silent throughout the argument among the commanders, turned toward the port side at the same time as Charlotte and Elia.

Rumble! Boom—

Beyond the fog, which was growing thicker and more violent by the second, flashes of light and thunderous explosions erupted without pause.

That was probably the only reason they could vaguely make out Raskagin's howling shape.

-------------!

An ominous blue glow shimmered across its entire body, making it seem like a being destined to bring about the end of the world.

A violet trail, clearly created by Ian, faintly streaked through the area nearby. He was undoubtedly still fighting while fueling the Mantra circuit with chaos.

As Elia’s eyes narrowed slightly, small gasps and mutters spread across the deck.

"What in the world is that?"

"How exactly is the Demigod fighting?"

Even the captains stood staring at the sky beyond with their mouths slightly open.

Diana alone paid no attention to the spectacle. Covering her face with one hand, she merely moved her lips and muttered, "Fuck... please, this time... Ian Hope."

She looked like she was offering a desperate prayer.

"Are you truly certain about this?" Yalo’s rough voice broke the silence a few seconds later.

Charlotte turned toward him as he stroked his beard and cautiously continued, "To be honest, I think the Acting Head of Erenos has a point...."

"We continue forward exactly as we are, Captain," Charlotte replied, her orange eyes narrowing slightly.

Nikau clicked his tongue softly as he looked at her.

Yalo sighed and nodded. "It was merely my opinion. This isn’t even my ship, after all. Still, just in case, we should prepare for the worst."

He walked past Charlotte with a loose, swaying gait, likely heading toward the first mate.

The man, with thick coils of rope wrapped around one shoulder, stood beneath the mast alongside the human dwarf who served as the Silent Storm's first mate.

Like everyone else around him, he was completely captivated by the surreal sight unfolding beyond the port side.

Perhaps it was only natural. A god from the legends of the Archipelago had revealed itself before their eyes.

"Very well. Looking at things now, I doubt we could escape this place anyway," said Nikau, in a different tone.

Elia turned toward him and asked, "Because space is distorting and the currents are accelerating?"

"You use such complicated words. I simply meant the island is much farther away than I expected," Nikau replied, jerking his chin toward the starboard railing.

Elia looked in that direction.

Far in the distance, a coastline came into view.

Whenever lightning flashed, the forest beyond it appeared faintly—a complete wreck, overturned and devastated beyond recognition.

"If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it looks like it got hit by a tidal wave," Nikau added calmly.

A memory flashed through Elia’s mind—the enormous wave that had surged toward them just before they were caught in the current.

"So that was the aftermath of the tidal wave!"

"Probably," said Nikau.

"We were lucky. If a tidal wave powerful enough to do that to the island had come our way, we would’ve sunk long ago," added Charlotte.

At some point, she had also turned to look in Elia’s direction. Being a beastfolk, she was probably able to see the island in much greater detail.

"Fuck…" Diana muttered. By now, her shoulders had completely slumped, as though she had finally given up.

----------!

Then, amid another monstrous cry, Raskagin’s enormous form began tilting beyond the flashing fog. A blazing blue trail stretched behind it like a tail.

Meanwhile, a violet streak curved through the sky and shot upward.

Whoosh—

A massive wave surged toward them against the current. It was enough to throw the entire main deck into chaos.

"Another one! Get low!"

"Hold on tight!"

After all, they had already experienced it several times during the journey.

This was the moment they fully realized that those enormous, sudden waves were Raskagin’s doing.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The deck lurched violently from side to side and rose sharply as Charlotte grabbed Elia’s shoulder and forced her lower.

Curses and shouts erupted all across the rocking deck. Diana’s voice was among them.

---------!

Even as the Silent Storm and the Black Wave teetered precariously over the waves, the battle of the gods continued.

Raskagin’s screaming form rose once more like a towering pillar, while multicolored explosions and flashes burst throughout the fog.

Before long, however, the aftereffects stopped arriving solely in the form of waves.

----------!

The instant a tearing shriek, closer to a scream than a roar, shook the air, several beastfolk and fairies staggered and clutched their heads.

"Ghk...."

"Ugh... damn it!"

The wave contained within the scream made their vision spin and their stomachs churn. It was also a sign that they had begun entering the ancient god’s sphere of influence in earnest.

"And you still think there’s something we can do to help? Even now?" Diana’s mocking voice brushed past Elia’s ears a short while later. She had already pulled her mask back over her face and was looking at Charlotte.

"Yes. I still believe that," Charlotte replied, flicking her tongue.

Diana let out a low scoff and looked away. "Of course you do. Let’s see how many people are even capable of moving properly by then."

She obsessively tightened and adjusted the straps of her mask. The motion felt almost habitual.

But unlike usual, Elia could not spare the attention to think deeply about that.

Whom—

Above the colossal storm of swirling fog, an ominous night sky stretched overhead as though a hole had been torn through the heavens.

It was a sight that had been completely invisible before they approached this area.

A stunned gasp escaped Elia’s lips. "My heavens...."

She had spotted a purple vortex spreading across the center of the night sky like spilled paint.

Its center was even drawing inward and gathering into a circular shape. It was not difficult to guess that this phenomenon was being created by Ian’s chaos.

"How in the world... could it become something like that?" murmuring, Elia’s gaze suddenly shifted toward Diana.

The things Diana had said earlier flashed through her mind, and a dreadful possibility occurred to her. However, she could not bring herself to voice it.

--------------!

Raskagin’s agonized scream erupted once more, violent enough to shove the surrounding fog away in every direction.

Diana staggered as she clamped both hands over her ears, while golden mana shimmered across Elia and Charlotte.

Zip-zap! Swoosh!

The protective enchantments embedded within the dragon relics had activated.

The sailors, including Nikau, who had already been panting for some time, rolled their eyes back and collapsed onto the deck.

Yalo the sorcerer was no exception.

"Grr!"

"Urgh... blegh!"

Even the beastfolk who had barely been holding on crumpled one after another, while the fairies clutched their heads, screamed, and doubled over vomiting.

However, Elia could not spare a single thought for the chaos unfolding around her. Her gaze remained fixed beyond the tide of fog rolling toward them.

Whoosh—

Countless blue streaks were erupting from Raskagin’s screaming body.

It looked like an unimaginably enormous tree glowing with an ominous blue light. The sight was overwhelming, yet strangely familiar.

It resembled what had happened in Kalinso when the corrupted had all lost their lives at once.

Then every single one of those....

Thanks to that realization, she immediately understood what they were. They were the souls Raskagin had devoured in order to manifest.

It had begun vomiting out everything it had failed to fully digest.

-----------!

Which also meant that the vessel sustaining the manifested god was collapsing.

That was likely why Raskagin’s form, shrieking in agony, was sinking downward as though being dragged beneath the sea.

Near the surface, blue-glowing fog continued surging upward without end.

Whooom—

The souls swept up within the fog were being drawn into the sticky night sky. The enormous hole torn through the center of the storm clouds was slowly shrinking.

"Ian!" Charlotte’s quiet gasp reached Elia’s ears. She had likely realized the meaning of all these phenomena as well.

"That’s right! Raskagin is being dragged back into the depths!" Elia shouted as she turned toward Charlotte.

Without realizing it, the corners of her mouth had curled upward. "Sir Ian... defeated the ancient god!"

It was then that the scream reverberating through them finally faded.

Raskagin’s head had completely disappeared beneath the bluish waters.

Fwoosh!

Immediately afterward, an enormous wave burst upward with a tremendous spray, expanding outward in a great circle.

Sweeping away not only the blue fog but also the swirling waves themselves, it rapidly erased everything in its path.

That was likely why Charlotte no longer felt the need to keep a hand pressed against Elia’s shoulder.

Swoosh!

The ship rocked from side to side as the wave passed beneath it.

Maintaining her balance without difficulty, Elia ‌kept staring at the now-quiet sky beyond the thinning fog.

She had belatedly realized that not everything had returned to normal. The violet vortex swirling in the middle of that sticky night sky was still there.

Its center continued drawing inward in circular layers, making it look as though an ominous violet sun had risen among the storm clouds.

The smile on Elia’s face gradually stiffened.

"N-No..."

A ragged gasp reached her ears. It was Diana.

Frozen in place with wide eyes, she stood trembling, one shaking hand pressed against her side.

"Please... please... please, no..."

Elia stared briefly at the masked fairy, muttering as if possessed.

Then she naturally followed Diana’s gaze.

In the midst of the slowly dispersing fog, she finally saw the violet figure suspended in the sky—its silhouette resembling a creature with its wings spread wide.