Entering the Abyss Temple
"H-how is this possible......"
"Makullan, no need to be on guard. He knows everything about the scheme we pulled off."
Dalan spoke, but that only made Makullan's face scrunch up even more.
'That's exactly why it's a problem!!'
He would've shouted it if Adel weren't standing there smirking wickedly, but Makullan couldn't utter a word.
"Ha, haha....... I should've known. The way you showed no mercy in your strikes, ruthless as ever—truly befitting a hegemon."
Makullan rubbed his palms together furiously as he addressed Adel.
"I've got the ship ready. Fine wind today. I'll escort you safely to the sea zone."
He scurried off on quick steps to raise the anchor on the ship moored at the harbor.
"That guy's okay? He looks downright yellow to me."
"Yeah. Yellow and rotten to the core. But it's fine. Con artists like him always have the longest lifespans. They know exactly where to latch on to survive."
"First time hearing that scammer traits help with relic digs."
Adel chuckled at Kasla's skeptical reaction.
"Impressive."
Makullan's ship-handling skills were on par with Gonu of the sea folk.
"Hold on tight!"
The ice had melted, filling the sea zone with water, but the drifting glaciers made the path even more treacherous.
"Not bad."
Yet the ship he piloted weaved perilously close to the ice chunks, skimming over the waves.
Kasla, who had suffered seasickness aplenty on the way to the archipelago, had been terrified even before boarding.
"Adel. Let's recruit that guy into our hunting party. Can't let talent like that slip away."
Adel chuckled at Kasla, who had taken a real shine to Makullan.
"Sounds good. If he can adapt to the desert heat, that is."
"Haha. Miss, kind words, but I've got too much fire in my veins. North Sea suits me better."
"The Ice Palace lord would love hearing that."
"North Sea...... it's nice and all, but I'm thinking of heading out soon. Freely poking around ruins sounds pretty cool, right? Haha."
Makullan waved his hands awkwardly with a forced laugh.
"Perfect. Then come visit the desert sometime."
"Ha...... ha......"
'Damn it, I stepped in the biggest pile of shit! Worst crap in Makullan Hun's life!!'
He inwardly screamed 'I'm screwed' over and over, face on the verge of tears as he poured all his effort into steering the ship.
"Don't push him too hard, Adel. His plan fooled my lady mother, sure, but it gave her hope at least."
Dalan forced an awkward smile and spoke up to Adel.
"No amount of good intentions excuses demanding a hundred sacrifices—that's unforgivable."
"That was......"
Makullan shot Dalan an aggrieved look.
"My idea. Many see the Ice Palace lord as cold, but she's the one who cares most for her people."
"So you thought she'd never demand sacrifices?"
"Yes."
"Buying time, then."
Harun nodded as if understanding Dalan's intent.
"Maybe. I get not letting go of hope, but what if you never conquered the Abyss relic because of it?"
Unlike Harun, Kasla sneered.
"In the end, the Ice Palace lord would've sacrificed lives to summon Kiransha anyway."
"That's......"
"Eh, but we lucked out and met us, right?"
Harun poked Kasla's side, signaling her to ease up on the sharp words.
"The Abyss relic for sure, and Gwanghae's god will descend on the North Sea too. Right?"
He tried lightening the mood by turning to Adel.
"Of course."
"What's up with you?"
Harun blinked in surprise at Adel's quiet agreement.
"Lucky break. He'd feel smug about his clever plan, but realizing it was all for nothing—just fooling the Ice Palace lord and stalling—would hit hard."
"......"
"Anyway."
Harun clicked his tongue at Adel's merciless words.
'That's precisely why. Because he followed me.'
Adel glanced at the dejected Dalan and replied to Kalderet.
'The Ice Palace lord's death is one thing, but if the North Sea's fall stems from his foolish actions, he needs to face reality.'
'By the time I left for the continent, it'd been five years in the desert, and linking with the North Sea came years after. But the Ice Palace back then was no longer a kingdom.'
'All that remained was the Ice Palace itself—not even a city—and only its retainers defending it.'
'They pulled the same stunt. Just a matter of timing—Dalan and Makullan definitely tried conquering the Abyss temple.'
'Yeah. You know what happens when you mess with a sealed god's relic, Kalderet.'
The North Sea's glaciers shattered all at once from the flooding meltwater, sweeping away every city save the Ice Palace in an instant.
'I thought a new Ice Palace lord took over after that, but it was Dalan's doing.'
Adel thought, eyeing Dalan.
'Right.'
Conquering the Abyss temple was on track, but the timing differed from his past life.
Hunting the Kraken in the Garam Archipelago had altered the seas, which Makullan sensed as a chance for conquest and crossed to the North Sea.
'Maybe Makullan wasn't around in the past life. He's sharp at looking out for himself—no way he'd help Dalan recklessly without the archipelago conquered.'
Without Makullan's expert tomb-raiding skills, conquering the Abyss temple would've been near impossible for Dalan alone.
And the result was catastrophic.
"Dalan. You should be grateful to me."
"......Of course. Bringing Pola's Key, helping conquer the Dark Sea temple......"
"Not that."
"Pardon?"
"You won't end up with a prosthetic arm. This time, you can learn proper swordsmanship suited to you."
"......?"
Dalan tilted his head, unable to grasp Adel's mutterings.
"I-is this the place?"
As the ship reached the marked spot on the map, Makullan whispered lowly.
"Better stay cautious. Waking the ice whale would be a headache."
Dalan drew his three swords, scanning the surroundings.
"Opening the temple entrance comes first. Suspected sites one by one......"
Woooong—
Then it happened.
Pola's Key in Adel's hand trembled lightly, resonating.
'Yeah. Good thing.'
Pola's Key resonated with the Abyss temple.
"Gonu would've loved seeing this. Shame."
Adel murmured softly.
"Yeah. Reviving the sea god is the sea folk's deepest wish too."
"Just the beginning. Abyss relic's in the North Sea, but Pola's is somewhere else—we gotta find it."
Kasla and Harun replied.
"But no one handles sea god relics better than sea folk."
"Once my lady mother's curse is lifted, all treasures from the two sea god relics go to the sea folk."
Dalan jumped in eagerly.
"Stating the obvious like it's some grand reward. Dalan, hanging with Makullan turning you scammer-ish?"
"N-no way!"
As flustered Dalan protested, Pola's Key spun like a compass on Adel's palm, pointing one way.
Shwaaaack—!!!
The chaotic drifting ice split apart toward that direction.
"......!!"
Dalan and Makullan couldn't hide their shock.
"Best not entertain funny ideas."
Adel said, lightly stepping across the floating ice.
"Heh heh, as if."
Makullan groveled toward Adel, far his junior in age.
Clank......!!
Thud—!!!
Inserting Pola's Key into the temple door slumbering in the ice produced a mechanism-unlocking sound, and the door slowly opened.
"......Without Gwanghae's god's key, we couldn't have entered at all."
Dalan said, looking at Adel.
"Not just that. See those statues? Ancient golems. And barriers linked to both sides of the door. Force it without the key, and they activate."
Makullan quickly scanned the interior.
"What if the golems activated?"
"Who knows....... These aren't the crude ones we've seen. Look—blades on both arms."
He ran a finger along the golem's edge.
"Razor sharp. Something would've come off—neck or arm."
Dalan flinched at his words, clutching his wrist.
But puzzled by his own reaction, he followed with an embarrassed look.
Boom—
The door shut.
Then, like will-o'-the-wisps in the dark temple, two blue water droplets floated up into the air.
"W-what the hell?!"
Makullan yelped, ducking behind Adel.
The things began circling the party.
Two eyeballs floated within the translucent droplets, screeching grotesquely at the intruders.
Splat—!!!
Then one droplet burst like a water balloon, spilling its contents across the floor.
Crunch......
Adel mercilessly crushed the eyeball inside with his boot.
"No mouth, yet so noisy."
The noisy one's chatter cut off.
Adel kicked the empty droplet husk aside.
"Trial, my ass. If you're Abyss's lingering thoughts, go tell it this."
He strode into the temple depths.
"I'll show you what a real trial is."