The Seahorse Elder’s Gambit
There was one thing that bothered me about the secret meeting. Defeated worlds were ultimately repurposed as stages for the next cycle, weren’t they? Could the “Kings of the Sea” truly have been unaware of that? The Helper had called them traitors—cowards who fled the great battlefield to hide in the cold depths. But escape had never been possible in the first place. So what exactly had they been waiting for, cowering in that torn and cloned world?
Hmm.
The first possibility that came to mind was that even after defeat, there might still be a way to become a sponsor again. But was that even feasible? Even the “Ocean Navigator,” who was treated like a mere underling in sponsor society, had possessed an overwhelming presence. Don’t tell me…
The Helper had said the gods waged war while traveling between this place and the “Divine Realm.” The “Divine Realm” he referred to must have been the previous cycle’s stages—just like the one I was experiencing now. A space where explosive growth was possible. When the world met its end, the gate to the “Divine Realm” closed, and the path of growth vanished. Yet in the end, it would open again, wouldn’t it? Once enough time passed and a new cycle arrived.
They were… waiting for the next cycle.
They had been waiting for us. Just as the Goddess had prepared gifts for us, they too had remained here—to steal what belonged to Earth and escape their defeat. They were plunderers from the previous world.
***
The sea lay beneath a deep darkness. Between the gently lapping waves, a school of seahorses approached. Twenty of them. Considering we had agreed to meet quietly, the number felt excessive.
Park Seona asked worriedly, “Do you think they’ve betrayed us?”
“Let’s hear what they have to say first. If they’re just idiots, we can always turn them all into zombies.”
“That’s true.”
One particularly large seahorse climbed onto the reef. The way it was draped in all sorts of jeweled ornaments suggested it was a high-ranking figure. The rest of the seahorses formed a circle around the reef, emitting a dense ghostly aura. The jeweled elder bowed its head.
“I greet the Lord of the Equator. I am Valuro, First Elder of Al-Alsa-da, the city of the seahorses.”
The seahorse that had climbed onto the reef offered me a deep bow. It didn’t seem they had come to fight.
“So, Valuro. What’s all this commotion about?”
At my displeased tone, Valuro looked puzzled. Then, as if realizing something, he quickly explained.
“It is because of the Lord of Gold. We mobilized high-ranking Ghost Shamans to move in secret, which increased our numbers. If we caused any inconvenience, I offer my sincerest apologies.”
As he said, the ghostly energy only spread outside the reef. Apparently, secrecy for them meant bringing along multiple elite forces capable of wielding ghostly power rather than traveling in small numbers. I decided to accept the explanation.
“I understand. Then let’s get straight to the point. Explain the current situation in Al-Alsa-da.”
The elder glanced at me cautiously before speaking.
“Ahem… If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous, could you first prove that you are indeed the Lord of the Equator?”
I smiled inwardly. Asking to verify my strength meant they were willing to cooperate—as long as the conditions were met. Just as I had expected, the seahorses weren’t particularly friendly with the “Lord of Gold.”
Following the elder’s request, I summoned the red reefs.
Thud— Splash—
In an instant, the rocks erupted from the sea, shattering the seahorses’ formation. They leapt about frantically to avoid the massive landmass.
“Eek!”
“Get out of the way!”
“Aaaah!”
Thinking I had taken offense, the First Elder prostrated himself flat against the reef.
“I-I’m sorry! This matter concerns the fate of Al-Alsa-da… Please forgive me if I have offended you!”
Now I understood. These creatures were desperate for outside help. Otherwise, the elder of an entire city wouldn’t have needed to act so subservient toward someone whose identity hadn’t even been fully verified. All I had to do was play along.
“I won’t tolerate any more pointless questions, Valuro.”
“O-Of course not.”
Valuro began trembling as he explained.
“You may already know this, but Al-Alsa-da is a society governed by five clans. The heads of each clan serve as elders and rule the race. Among them, the Lord of Gold is a distant relative of the Fourth Elder—a figure who was once exiled.”
Since he had introduced himself as the First Elder, the creature before me was effectively the supreme ruler of the seahorses. That fact only made me more curious. If the highest authority had to hold a secret meeting like this, they must be in a dire situation. In that case, Al-Alsa-da should have already been engulfed in war. Yet this area remained quiet.
There’s no war, but the ruler is under threat…? Is the Lord of Gold playing political games?
“Did he come here because of the jar?”
“Yes, that is correct. According to his claims, a great threat has appeared in this world, and he insists that our race must unite to overcome the crisis. As a result, the Fourth Elder has revoked his exile and is now demanding the unsealing of the jar.”
It was laughable. The threat to the world had already come and gone, and the “Lord of Gold” had chosen to flee from it, hadn’t he? The Helper would have been furious if he’d heard this.
“Explain the jar.”
“The Filth Jar is an object that seals away countless evil spirits. If the seal is broken, we could command powerful ghosts, but in the long run, it would bring great harm to our race. We are currently divided between those in favor and those against the proposal.”
Ah, so that’s what’s going on.
With that, I finally understood the full picture. Politics were indeed at play. The Fourth Elder was trying to seize control through the “Lord of Gold,” while the First Elder standing before me had no intention of losing his own power.
“Why doesn’t the Lord of Gold simply take the jar by force? I assume Al-Alsa-da’s military strength isn’t enough to handle him.”
After a brief pause, he answered.
“You are correct… However, to properly handle the Filth Jar, at least one hundred high-ranking Ghost Shamans are required. The Lord of Gold is also a Ghost Shaman, but he alone cannot manage one hundred.”
Though Valuro hadn’t intended it, his words applied to me as well. Even if I turned the seahorses into zombies, it was unlikely they would retain their Ghost Shaman class. In the end, if I wanted a ghost army, I would have to preserve some of them.
But if this is a political situation… wouldn’t my involvement as an outsider actually work against them?
I looked down at the First Elder in silence. Valuro didn’t seem like a fool who wouldn’t realize that. In other words, they were probably losing.
“So what exactly do you want from me, Valuro?”
The First Elder prostrated himself once more.
“Currently, aside from my own clan, all the other clans want the seal broken. The reason is that our clan has grown too powerful. We have a total of 108 high-ranking Ghost Shamans. More than half of all high-ranking Ghost Shamans in Al-Alsa-da belong to our clan.”
Having heard this much, I understood what he was proposing. Valuro was suggesting he would steal the jar and defect to the Equator along with his clan.
Huh? So there really was a thief here.
This old seahorse was saying he would rather entrust his race’s fate to an external powerhouse than lose his power. Of course, it wasn’t necessarily the wrong choice. If they had sided with the “Lord of Gold,” they might not have survived the day and would have become zombies instead.
I burst into laughter and approached him. Meeting his eyes, I spoke.
“Enough. I understand what you’re saying. Bring me the jar along with El Dorado’s location. From that moment on, you will be the King of the Seahorses, First Elder Valuro.”
“A-Ah…”
The moment I finished speaking, a deep greed spread across his eyes. He gazed toward the Equator—his golden land.
Judging by the jewels he’s wearing, I can roughly tell his personality. Still, just in case, I should take out a little insurance.
I tore off a piece of red reef and shaped it into a dagger. Then I plated it with a fingernail’s worth of White Stone and handed it to him.
“This is a token of goodwill I bestow upon you.”
The profound energy emanating from the dagger made the First Elder tremble like a leaf. His ghostly aura reacted to the White Stone. If he harbored any other intentions, the dagger would correct his judgment.
“A-Ah… Lord of the Equator…!”
“Go. Go and do your work.”
The seahorses offered me the deepest bow they had shown yet before returning to Al-Alsa-da. I, too, returned to the Equator. Once the thief brought the item, the battle would naturally begin.
***
On his way back to Al-Alsa-da, Valuro stared at the White Stone dagger and swallowed dryly. The secret meeting had been something of a gamble.
The “Lord of Gold,” though an exile, had become famous throughout the sea for the immense power he had amassed. If a few more days had passed like this, Valuro would likely have had everything taken from him anyway. And once the Fourth Elder seized power, Valuro would have been eliminated.
Or perhaps forced to live as a cripple for the rest of his life…
Going to meet the Lord of the Equator had essentially been Valuro’s only option. And the sight of him had been shocking. The first thing Valuro noticed were the blue tentacles writhing around him.
Many of the “Lord of Gold’s” forces bore scars from massive tentacles. That alone was enough to prove the Lord of the Equator was pursuing the “Lord of Gold.”
But Valuro had been cautious. While the man’s military strength was appealing, it wasn’t proof that he was the ruler of the red island. That was why Valuro had asked for verification—and nearly screamed in shock at the result.
Something like that is possible…
The red rocks had followed the man before him as if they possessed free will. There was no denying he was the Lord of the Equator.
And finally, the dagger now in his hands. Every instinct as a Ghost Shaman screamed at him to destroy it immediately, sending a chilling warning. It was clearly something that stood in direct opposition to darkness.
That was why Valuro found himself sinking even deeper into thought.
Haa… Which daughter would be best?
He had seven daughters. They were renowned beauties even within seahorse society. For Valuro, who had lived in a clan-based society, such an excellent son-in-law was an opportunity he absolutely could not miss.
The position of official wife will be difficult, of course… But she must enter his household, even as a concubine. For the sake of the seahorses’ future…!
After much deliberation, he reached a conclusion. The second daughter. She was the one with twelve pairs of hands, a peerless beauty among seahorses. Valuro had no doubt that his second daughter would usher in a second golden age for the seahorses.