The Sea Moon Mother (1)
A sudden pause.
The Blood Empress's face stiffened.
Her lips parted in disbelief.
'He caught the tail...?'
Isaac Berilof was an operative specialized in stealth and infiltration.
He had even been entrusted with the Holy Association's highest-grade artifact, the Cloak of Tristan.
Yet, how could he have been spotted?
Had he made a mistake during the mission?
The question crossed her mind, but the Blood Empress quickly shook her head.
'No.'
Isaac Berilof was a highly capable agent.
He had never slipped up once, even while playing the dangerous game of a double agent within the Ruins Merchant Group.
That was why the Blood Empress trusted him implicitly.
She could not believe that Isaac Berilof would make such a rookie mistake on a mission of this gravity.
'Which means...'
Her expression grew grim.
'The abilities of the 13th Sword Master far exceed my expectations.'
It was a shocking realization.
Subduing Isaac, who excelled at stealth, was surprising enough, but to see right through the Cloak of Tristan?
Indeed.
The emergence of the 13th Sword Master after hundreds of years was no mere coincidence.
"Sigh."
The Blood Empress let out a heavy sigh.
Her thoughts tangled.
Whatever the reason, failing the background check was a painful blunder. Now that their tail had been caught, it would be difficult to expect a favorable attitude from him.
After all, who would welcome a faction that pried into their background?
Their relationship had fractured before they could even meet.
'How do I fix this?'
The Blood Empress fell deep into thought.
After a long silence, a look of resolve settled on her face, and she slowly nodded.
No matter how she looked at it, there was only one way to repair the relationship.
'I must prepare a gift in advance.'
Showing absolute sincerity to someone you had offended.
There was no surer way to reconcile.
'Of course, to win the favor of a Sword Master, the Holy Association must offer something of true value.'
Naturally, such a tribute could not be decided overnight.
Deciding to worry about the gift later, the Blood Empress turned her gaze back to the agent.
"So... what happened to Isaac Berilof?"
In truth, she already knew the answer.
Now that the tail had been caught, there was no way Isaac Berilof had escaped unscathed.
Sword Masters were generally violent and prideful. They would never let a rat tailing them go free.
'Still, the fact that we received word from Isaac means he at least kept his life.'
Well, that alone was a silver lining.
But as the Blood Empress consoled herself with that thought, the agent delivered a completely unexpected reply.
"Brother Berilof is currently assisting the Sword Master with his business."
"...?"
"We did not receive details on what the task is, but he is scheduled to return to the Wintersield Magic Academy with the Sword Master once this business is concluded."
"..."
A pause.
Hearing the report, the Blood Empress could only remain silent.
'What in the world...?'
He was casually putting the man who spied on him to work?
Was he simply a man who didn't hold grudges?
Or... did he prioritize efficiency above all else, using anyone who could be of help regardless of their past actions?
"..."
She couldn't tell.
With so little information on Gaon, his true intentions remained completely opaque.
At the very least, it was a relief that Isaac Berilof was safe.
"Sigh..."
The Blood Empress sighed, letting her head drop slightly.
"...Understood. Let us leave the matter of the Sword Master here for now, and focus on successfully concluding the upcoming Ritual."
"Yes, Your Grace."
With a brief bow, the agent withdrew.
As the footsteps faded into the distance, the corridor fell deathly silent.
Staring blankly into the dark void, the Blood Empress recalled Gaon's message conveyed by Isaac.
"Arrange a meeting with the Empress. I will help your association achieve what it truly desires."
'What our association truly desires...'
The Blood Empress's eyes turned cold and deep.
Sword Master Gaon.
Just... what was he planning?
"We are going to kill a Divine Beast."
A sudden halt.
The moment the words left my mouth, Isaac Berilof froze in his tracks.
Adelia, walking beside me, looked at me with equal shock.
"L-Lord Gaon?"
Adelia asked, seeking clarification.
"What did you just say? Kill a Divine Beast? I must have misheard you..."
"No, you heard correctly."
"..."
"We are going to kill a Divine Beast."
As I calmly repeated myself, the two were struck speechless. They seemed utterly lost for words at my declaration to slay yet another Divine Beast, following the Heavenly Dragon Bird.
"Why are you so surprised?"
"..."
"Shouldn't you have figured it out by the time we arrived here?"
I looked around as I spoke.
A forest thick with dark blue trees.
Beyond the thick fog obscuring our vision, a faint blue light shimmered.
As if to bar outsiders from entering, a massive barrier blocked our path.
The Sky Ocean Forest.
That was the name of this place.
A mystical woodland that appeared after traversing the uncharted territories southwest of the central city, Centerium.
Deep within its heart lived a Divine Beast.
Adelia spoke the creature's name.
"Could it be... you intend to slay the Sea Moon Mother?"
"Yes."
Divine Beasts were broadly divided into two categories.
Wandering types like the Heavenly Dragon Bird or the Sky Whale that roamed the world freely, and sedentary types that guarded their territory for a lifetime.
The Divine Beast we were targeting this time belonged to the latter.
'The Sea Moon Mother.'
As the name suggested, it was a Divine Beast in the shape of a jellyfish.
Its translucent body, shimmering with a soft light, evoked the image of moonlight dancing upon the water's surface.
For this reason, people also called it the "Moonlight of Midtemple."
'It's one of the most beautiful Divine Beasts.'
Residents of the holy city often visited the Sky Ocean Forest just to catch a glimpse of this mystical creature.
In particular, children of the Holy Families grew up sharing many memories with the Sea Moon Mother.
According to the original game's lore, Adelia also shared a special bond with this Divine Beast.
"..."
Perhaps that was why.
The reason Adelia's expression suddenly darkened.
"Has the Sea Moon Mother... also fallen to corruption, just like the Heavenly Dragon Bird?"
A nod.
As I silently nodded, Adelia bit her lower lip.
A wave of agitation flickered across her face.
"You look pale."
"Ah, well..."
Adelia snapped her head up. After a brief hesitation, she replied, "When I was young, I used to visit this place often with my father."
To Adelia, the Sea Moon Mother was not just a Divine Beast.
It was a friend she had bonded with since childhood.
A being woven with precious memories of her late father.
To have to subjugate such a creature with her own hands must be incredibly cruel.
'But...'
It couldn't be helped. If we didn't deal with the Sea Moon Mother now, it would return as a far greater catastrophe in the future.
Knowing this better than anyone, I asked her.
"Adelia."
"Can you slay the Sea Moon Mother without hesitation?"
"..."
I watched her face closely.
It would not have been surprising if she hesitated to answer.
However, Adelia's response came much faster than I expected.
"Yes."
Her voice didn't tremble in the slightest.
A firm resolve now burned in her eyes.
"From the moment I became your disciple, Lord Gaon, I prepared myself to accept whatever comes."
"..."
"So please do not worry. I will do my absolute best to subjugate the Sea Moon Mother."
Good.
That was the perfect mindset.
If nothing else, the Sea Moon Mother had to be put down by Adelia's own hands.
Having finished my thoughts, I pointed toward the barrier.
"Then let us head inside."
"Yes."
Adelia nodded and took the lead.
She began to trace the barrier with practiced hands.
A soft hum.
Before long, the veil blocking our path dissolved.
The high-level barrier, which could only be opened by those carrying the blood of the Holy Families, deactivated, revealing the Sky Ocean Forest.
Whoosh!
...Though the scenery was entirely different from the one Adelia remembered.
"Huh?"
Just one step.
We had only taken a single step past the barrier.
Yet the surrounding air shifted instantly.
"W-what is this..."
The once-green forest was dyed in shades of crimson.
Even the sunlight filtering through the leaves looked grotesquely distorted.
It was a chilling sight, as if the entire world had been drenched in blood.
You have entered the Hidden Dungeon: Sky Ocean Forest.
My gaze turned cold.
'Finally... I'm about to face it.'
Screeech!
Deep within the forest where an ominous energy drifted, a bizarre cry echoed.
The Sea Moon Mother was thrashing in agony, flailing its numerous tentacles.
"Hehe."
A black-haired woman flashed a bright smile.
Eerie irises gleamed from behind the talismans plastered all over her forehead.
"You are so pretty."
The woman kissed one of the Sea Moon Mother's tentacles, grinning foolishly. The jellyfish's body, gradually turning red, resembled a blood-colored moon.
"You were beautiful before, but... you look so much more adorable now that you're corrupted. Who's a good girl?"
The woman's sharp, black fingernails poked the Sea Moon Mother.
Screeech!
Each time, the jellyfish convulsed, and the woman burst into a delighted giggle.
"You'll stay with me forever, right? Hmm? Let's live together for a long, long time. I'll shower you with love..."
A sudden pause.
At that moment, the black-haired woman's face contorted.
Snapping her head up, she began to look around wildly like a madwoman.
"What is this?"
Someone had invaded her territory.
No.
...To be precise, three people.
"I was having such a good time with my pet jellyfish after so long... which rats dare disturb..."
Silence.
Suddenly, the world fell quiet.
The raging woman stopped everything and perked up her ears.
It was as if she were listening to someone relaying important information to her.
"...Ha."
Soon, a smirk broke across the woman's face.
"Really? He came here?"
Grin.
Her lips stretched wide into a manic smile.
"The bastard who killed Camilo, that necrophiliac freak... is here?"