The Sea Moon Mother, Part 8

A movement that was not particularly fast.

At a glance, the swordplay even seemed ordinary.

It was the kind of motion one might see if they handed a sword to a random passerby and told them to swing it however they pleased.

'What is this?'

Isaac Berilof watched the scene unfold with bewildered eyes.

It was an incredibly trivial strike.

No, could this even be called a "strike"?

Not a single trace of special energy could be felt from Gaon's sword.

There was no sword qi, no wind pressure, not even aura. It was merely a meaningless gesture of slicing through empty air.

'Is this really all...?'

He froze.

At that exact moment, a chilling sensation ran down his spine.

Something was wrong.

Just as Isaac Berilof was panic-stricken, unable to immediately grasp the nature of this incongruity...

'Ah.'

...He realized it too late.

The fact that the world had become far too quiet.

Ssssshh—

All sound had vanished. The rustle of the wind, the ripple of the waves, and even the shrieks of the Sea Moon Mother were gone.

It was as if time itself had ground to a halt the moment Gaon struck.

Snap.

Then, the sound of something snapping echoed from somewhere. Isaac's gaze instinctively drifted toward Gaon.

The sword Gaon had just swung. The trajectory that had sliced through the air. Along that path... something was slowly, very slowly, splitting apart.

"...!"

Creeeak!

A crack began to form.

Like a crack spreading across clear glass, a thin line was drawn over the massive body of the blood-red jellyfish.

At first, even with his eyes wide open, he couldn't comprehend it, but as time passed, the mark grew increasingly distinct.

And then...

Boom—!!

A world-shaking explosion erupted.

A massive shockwave rippled outward in all directions.

A violent gale whipped up, and intense wind pressure swept over his entire body. His vision shook, and his hair whipped wildly about.

"Ugh!"

Unable to withstand the impact, Isaac Berilof stumbled backward.

How much time had passed?

When he opened his eyes again, an unbelievable sight lay before him.

"..."

Shhh—

The body of the blood-red jellyfish shattered like shards of glass.

Red crystals slowly drifted through the air before raining down onto the lake, and the remnants of the corrupted body dissolved like foam the moment they touched the water's surface.

In their place, the pure form of the Sea Moon Mother, radiating a soft blue light, was revealed.

"What in the world..."

But that wasn't the end of it.

The crack didn't stop at the body of the blood-red jellyfish.

Rumble!

It was splitting.

Along the path where the sword had swung, everything began to divide into two.

The waters of the lake, the giant trees plastered with talismans... all of them split in half simultaneously with a deafening roar.

Exactly along the trajectory carved by Gaon's sword.

A blue haze shimmered like a fluttering banner from the overwhelming strike.

Even the moonlight in the night sky seemed to waver precariously. The reflection of the moon on the water's surface was split perfectly in two.

Witnessing this, Isaac Berilof's pupils dilated in sheer shock.

'It even... splits the moon...?'

The situation was so surreal that Isaac Berilof could only stand there, completely dazed.

'...Ah.'

Only then did he recall a fact he had forgotten: they were currently inside a barrier created by Doricco Shiro.

Before long, a thunderous roar, as if heaven and earth were collapsing, echoed from all directions.

Creeeeeak—!

Space itself.

To be precise, this entire world was beginning to collapse.

The barrier Doricco Shiro had constructed with such meticulous care was torn like paper before Gaon's single strike.

"..."

The domain that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been filled with a chilling, eerie energy crumbled away.

Isaac Berilof could only stare blankly at this miraculous sight, barely able to breathe.

'This is...'

As a member of the Wintersield Magic Academy, he was well-versed in curses and spells. He also knew of Doricco Shiro's abilities and the nature of her barriers.

Because of that, he understood exactly how nonsensical this situation was.

'...Is this really possible?'

A single strike.

Gaon had destroyed Doricco Shiro's barrier with just that ordinary-looking movement. Not only that, but he had also precisely singled out and killed only the corrupted portion of the Sea Moon Mother.

Yet, despite performing such an absurd miracle...

Sheathe!

...Gaon, having finished everything, simply sheathed his sword as if nothing had happened.

Isaac Berilof exhaled the breath he had been holding. His entire body began to tremble.

'Indeed.'

Even when Gaon had seen through his identity at their first meeting, or when he had seen through Tristan's Cloak, Isaac had not felt a thrill of this magnitude.

Thump.

An awe born from overwhelming might.

An intense emotion, indescribable in words, squirmed deep within Isaac Berilof's heart.

'Is this... the Sword Master born after hundreds of years?'

"Whew."

I let out a short breath.

I had become quite accustomed to handling the Soul of the Sword Master by now.

Actually, there wasn't much to get used to. Everything was resolved with a simple click of the skill.

But even so, I never imagined the skill's power would be this extraordinary.

*Rumble!*

With a thunderous roar, the barrier began to collapse.

Doricco Shiro.

The barrier cast by her—one of the Five Nightmares and a master of illusions—had crumbled from a single swing of my sword.

'...What is this?'

This was completely unexpected.

After all, my only purpose in using the skill was to defeat the corrupted spirit of the Sea Moon Mother.

And yet...

'Crazy.'

It was absurd. To think it would go so far as to tear apart a barrier.

'What kind of skill is this anyway?'

I knew that while the skill was active, I became the Sword Master among Sword Masters, capable of doing "anything" with a sword...

But even so, this felt a bit excessive.

'Oh?'

Of course, I had no complaints. Thanks to this, I had even obtained an entirely unexpected reward.

'Barrier Breaker...'

It was a familiar skill that I had obtained multiple times during my playthroughs of the game. It was a technique that allowed the user to destroy barriers or bindings below a certain level.

'Normally, it's a skill you barely obtain after breaking through barriers a dozen times.'

This was the first time I had acquired Barrier Breaker so easily.

'No, wait. In a way, is it a natural reward?'

After all, I had shattered Doricco Shiro's barrier. And not just any barrier, but the "Domain of the Evil God" that she had meticulously designed.

This was equivalent to breaking through a hundred barriers at once, let alone a dozen.

*Ring!*

Before I could even marvel at the reward, a second system window popped up in quick succession.

Seeing it, a smile played on my lips.

After all, the very reason I had visited the Sky Ocean Forest before heading to Wintersield was to obtain this.

'A success.'

Soul Kill.

Literally, it was a skill that drastically increased damage dealt to spiritual entities.

Its power would double when facing ghosts, souls, or undead monsters.

'Actually, looking at it this way, it might seem like just another common skill, but...'

...Since I already possessed Immortal Slayer from defeating Camilo von Taribas, fusing the two skills would grant me an even more powerful ability.

The authority skill, Eternal Slayer.

And even the suffix "Jin (眞)" attached to it.

'With this, all preparations to meet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Blood Empress are complete.'

I had achieved my primary objective in coming to the Sky Ocean Forest.

I wanted to examine the details of the Eternal Slayer Jin skill. To check if there were any differences from the original game and to fully savor my achievement.

But for now, I couldn't afford that luxury.

Adelia and Isaac Berilof. The gazes of these two had been fixed on me for a while now.

I glanced around.

Isaac Berilof stood dazed, looking deeply shocked. Adelia, as always, was looking at me with eyes full of reverence.

Right.

Let's clean up this chaotic situation first.

"I trust you watched closely."

I murmured quietly.

The words were meant for both Adelia and Isaac Berilof.

Isaac would report everything he had witnessed to the Blood Empress.

Then my standing within the Holy Assembly would naturally rise, and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would hold a more advantageous position in negotiations.

'And in Adelia's case...'

'It seems she gained enlightenment this time as well.'

Her level had gone up by one in the meantime.

Some might say a single level is no big deal, but in the high-level range of the 80s, gaining even "1" level was a truly remarkable achievement.

I felt it every time, but she grew incredibly fast. The girl who was level 77 when I first saw her had already reached 81.

'But we can't be satisfied with this speed.'

I had to accelerate Adelia's growth even further.

To survive in a dangerous world where unpredictable variables could occur at any moment, I had to use every means to make "my people" strong.

And at this point, there was no one who pledged their loyalty to me as deeply as Adelia.

In that sense...

"Adelia."

"Yes."

"Go and finish off the Sea Moon Mother."

...It was now time to achieve the second purpose of visiting the Sky Ocean Forest.

"What do you mean by that, Sir Gaon?"

Adelia turned to look at me with a bewildered expression.

"Kill the Sea Moon Mother? We already destroyed the corrupted spirit and broke the barrier. Isn't the Sky Ocean Forest safe now...?"

"No."

The Sky Ocean Forest dungeon wasn't over yet.

After all, a notification window confirming the dungeon's clear hadn't even popped up.

I replied calmly, looking at the Sea Moon Mother.

"Look over there."

"...!"

Instantly, Adelia's eyes widened as she looked at the Sea Moon Mother.

Despite having removed the corrupted spirit within the "Spirit Separation Barrier," the creature was showing signs of extreme weakness.

The light visible through its translucent body was fading. The blue glow of its spirit began to flicker intermittently like a dying candle.

"Why..."

"Even if it was for a short time, merely being influenced by the evil god has severely damaged its life force."

"..."

"Trust me, Adelia. The only way to resolve this situation is to slay the Sea Moon Mother. And it must be by your own hand."

Hearing my words, Adelia pressed her lips together. Then, without a shred of hesitation, she nodded.

"...Understood."

She didn't even ask for the reason.

Complex emotions flickered across her face, but I could see Adelia suppressing them. She was keeping her promise not to hesitate to kill the Sea Moon Mother.

*Step.*

Adelia walked slowly toward the Sea Moon Mother.

Killing a divine beast she had bonded with since childhood was by no means easy, but the reason I made her slay the Sea Moon Mother was clear.

'The blessing obtained upon passing the Sea Moon Mother's trial.'

It was a useless ability for me. I already possessed the Soul of the Sword Master, which was a superior alternative.

But Adelia was different.

If she defeated the Sea Moon Mother, underwent the trial, and obtained that power... she would finally possess the "talent" to rise to the ranks of the strongest in this world.

'If that happens...'

An existence that could reach heights I could not achieve alone.

And someone who would faithfully follow my commands.

In other words, a perfect "helper" would be by my side.

*Squelch!*

Right on cue, Adelia's sword pierced the body of the Sea Moon Mother.

At that moment, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠jellyfish's body began to scatter into particles of light. It was a beautiful yet sorrowful sight.

*Flash!*

Before long, the light spreading in all directions enveloped Adelia's body.

Her figure was buried in the light, gradually growing faint.

'Hang in there, Adelia.'

There was no need to worry. Even in the original story, the one who cleared the Sea Moon Mother's "trial" was none other than her.