Chapter 121. A Castle in the Deep Sea
Chapter 121. A Castle in the Deep Sea
The moment the dragon's ascension tore through the sky, the fleets of each nation hastily widened their distance.
Their formation was restructured into a broader circular net to avoid being swept up in the waterspout.
"All ships, extend detection range! Disperse!"
"Secure the central corridor! Pull back in order!"
I watched in silence as the fleet spread out and retreated.
"...Shall we go in soon?"
Beside me, Laila gently closed her eyes and began murmuring a soft, otherworldly melody.
"O guiding light..."
The moment her prayer ended, a ring of light appeared above our heads.
As the ring formed, our bodies lifted slightly into the air.
"Song Hoon and Laila Hunter are on the move."
"All fleets, standby."
Tense communications buzzed across the fleet's network.
"To the other S-ranks."
I spoke to the S-rank hunters from each nation who would be watching over me.
"Once we're inside, I don't know what might come flying out. Keep a sharp eye."
My words were brief, but everyone nodded. Some drew their swords, others began wreathing their bare hands in mana.
"All fleets, begin countdown."
The cannons of each ship swiveled in our direction, preparing for what would happen after we entered.
"Countdown, 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...!"
─ Fwaaaah!
A thunderous roar tore through the air.
We broke the sound barrier and plummeted vertically, slicing through the sky.
The wind twisted around us as we shot toward the sea's surface at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow.
─ Splash!!!
The surface of the ocean shattered, and a massive column of water erupted.
'No doubt about it, that's the gate.'
In an instant, we plunged beneath the sea and cut through the currents at a terrifying velocity.
I didn't bother to breathe, nor did I care. My body wasn't affected by water pressure in the first place, and I could hold my breath comfortably for hours.
And Laila was with me. She always provided perfect support, after all.
"The Unknown Hunters are about to enter."
Their voices reached me through the earpiece attached to my goggles.
At the same time, the screen showed the silhouettes of Laila and me tearing through the deep sea.
The moment those silhouettes neared the gate—
They vanished from all detection.
"Mana signatures lost."
"Gate entry confirmed."
---
"What the...?"
We had been bracing for combat, but before us stood an enormous castle.
"Hero, is that a castle here...?"
[What's this? Some kind of hidden camera prank?]
[Ah, is this Atlantis?]
[Looks seriously like a movie CGI]
[Bikini Bottom lolololol]
At the very bottom of the sea where light should never reach, a place deeper than the ocean.
There, an impossibly majestic underwater kingdom stretched before us.
A space with no surface, no up or down.
Above the castle, luminous coral sparkled like starlight on a ceiling, and drifting fish moved gently.
And yet, despite clearly being underwater...
"Why can I breathe?"
I muttered instinctively.
My feet were definitely planted on the ground.
Yet it felt oddly like walking on water.
"Hero, look over there."
Laila tugged my sleeve and pointed at the gate.
Beyond it was still the real world, connected to the deep sea.
When I stuck my hand beyond the gate, I felt the cold seawater of the abyss on my fingertips.
"But here... it feels exactly like being outside?"
As soon as I pulled my hand back, the resistance of water and the moisture vanished.
My eyes told me I was underwater, but my senses said otherwise.
A world where the rules of the sea had stopped.
This was not reality.
An alien mystery slumbered here.
'They keep eyeing us—though not unpleasantly.'
There was immense wariness in those gazes.
But that was all.
I felt no killing intent or malice.
'Was it because we're outsiders?'
Ignoring their stares, Laila and I simply started walking around.
- Hunter, we don't see anything unusual around you.
The deep sea was far too deep.
Their equipment couldn't reach this place.
'It would've just gotten in the way for nothing.'
So the only help they could provide was verifying things approaching from my blind spots.
But even that was largely meaningless.
- You could probably just keep going, and...
"No... we're being watched quite intensely right now."
- Excuse me? But... we've got dozens of screens showing the drone footage from the Hunter...
"It's normal if you can't see them."
- ...
If surveillance could be spotted by a mere camera, it wasn't much surveillance at all.
'Let's see how long they hold out.'
- The Hunter's words must be correct. Are there any other anomalies?
Anomalies existed in abundance.
To begin with, a perfectly intact castle underwater...
This wasn't some ruin from a bygone age; it was a castle that was clearly well-maintained even now.
'If this place weren't underwater, I'd think people actually live in this castle.'
Another peculiarity was that nothing existed besides the castle itself.
Normally, a village should have formed in a circle around the castle, but...
"Of course, I have no idea what it looks like inside."
- I see...
"We'll go in."
The area around the castle was silent.
Nothing was there.
'If we rule out the gazes that keep watching us...'
At the word 'in,' the voice on the other side of the comms went quiet.
- ...Please be careful.
I nodded at that, but didn't stop.
As we drew closer to the castle, something previously invisible came into view.
[What's this?]
[Water?]
[It's like jelly and feels so weirdly pleasant;;]
A transparent, shimmering, and somewhat alien dome-shaped barrier.
It was a hemisphere that seemed to gently enfold the entire castle.
"Hero, this... looks like it blocks outside intruders?"
Cautiously, I pressed my palm against the barrier and pushed.
My hand sank into the barrier, and ripples spread out like waves.
─ Ripple...
Like pressing on a still water surface, the barrier trembled and let the vibration flow away.
When I withdrew my hand, it returned to its original form.
"Hmm..."
This time, I clenched my fist and lightly tapped the barrier.
─ Thuung...
Along with a deep, unfamiliar sound, the surface of the barrier rippled like a wave.
"Interesting."
My curiosity was piqued.
This time, I wrapped mana around my hand and stabbed the barrier with a knife-hand strike.
─ Fshk!
With a quiet sound, the barrier tore.
But when I pulled my hand back, as if it were alive,
it sutured itself and returned to its original form.
"Breaking it isn't that hard... but I don't want to cause some trouble outside for no reason."
"Mmm..."
I mulled it over.
An unidentified barrier surrounding a castle.
I had no idea what might happen if I carelessly shattered it.
"Hero, shall we tear it just a little and slip inside?"
I nodded at Laila's suggestion.
I raised both hands and carefully drove my fingers in.
The barrier rippled like a wave and accepted my fingers.
─ Sssik...
The moment I put strength into my fingertips to tear it open.
"Wait just one moment!!!"
An unfamiliar, yet unmistakably female voice echoed through the space.
In this empty underwater void, where no one had been, the voice burst out, ringing clearly and desperately as if spoken right beside me.
"...?"
- J-just now...!
[What the hell, is that a ghost?]
[That wasn't the Saintess's voice, what the heck???]
[Yongseo-un ghost story lol]
At the voice that came out of nowhere, my eyebrow twitched slightly, and I stopped my hand.
"...So it's you, the one who's been watching us since earlier."
"..."
"If you have something to say, isn't it polite to do it face to face?"
"..."
There was no answer whatsoever.
Feeling insolent, I put strength into my hand, intending to rip it open in one go.
"Well, if you don't like that, I'll just come find you myself."
At that moment, mana began to swirl like a tempest.
- Kzzzt... kzt...
Noise began flickering on my goggle screen, and static started to crackle from the earpiece.
Laila urgently grabbed my sleeve and pointed at the gate.
"Hero, the gate!"
"?"
─ Click.
When I turned to look, the spot where the gate had been was now gone.
And at the same time, all communications cut off.
"So you really want to do this?"
But I wasn't too flustered.
Whoever would pull a stunt like this had to be inside the castle.
All I had to do was wreck the bastard one way or another and make them open it again.
─ Zzzzing...
"Oh?"
Rendering my immediate plan to tear it open pointless, the barrier parted to a size big enough for a person to enter.
"So this is telling me to come in?"
"Hmm, I don't know who it is, but it sure looks that way, doesn't it?"
Fine, I'll come to you.
Let's see if you could keep up that stubborn attitude face to face.
When Laila and I passed through the rift in the barrier, the royal palace came into view.
A sanctuary adorned with gold and sapphire.
And inside, dozens, hundreds of armed beings
surrounded us, their weapons aimed at us.
'A trap?'
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.
But directly in front, one person stood among them.
'Was she even human...?'
A woman so dazzlingly beautiful and dignified she seemed the personification of the world's strangeness.
I tilted my head for a moment, then raised the corner of my mouth and spoke to her.
"What, so you're the boss of these guys?"
At that, the armored man standing beside her flared up and stepped forward.
"You dare! Do you not know who you're speaking to, to utter such insolence?!"
"Butt out, lackey."