Chapter 245
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: Riding the Giant Crab
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Honestly speaking, the sea had always been a somewhat uncharted territory for me.
Even from the Shin-gang lands where my sect was based, the nearest ocean was a good half-year's journey away at best.
After bringing the southern barbarians under our control, the sword sects and martial schools of Haenam had flipped to our side to escape the Murim Alliance's persecution, leaving no real need to venture out to sea.
So for someone like me to hop on a massive crab and embark on my very first voyage across the distant ocean—no, across the Trial Sea teeming with monsters and ancient mysteries of all kinds...
Life really was full of surprises.
-Swiiiish...
"Honestly, I was picturing a more ordinary voyage."
"Pruuung!"
Baekpa scraped at the floor with its hooves, as if agreeing with me.
At first, Baekpa had been nervous about the possibility of diving underwater.
But Carcinus's navigation was so flawless, evoking the luxury of a top-tier cruise ship, that Baekpa was now lounging comfortably, peering at the corals and fish in the tide pools.
-Tap, tap, tap!
"Carcinus is asking if you're not getting seasick?"
"Tell your new friend it's so comfortable, it's a surprise."
Surprisingly, this voyage—one of the best I'd count on a hand—aboard the giant crab was incredibly pleasant.
It wasn't just any giant crab. Carcinus's shell, nearly the size of a small island, featured a cozy little hut for Neri and me, plus a stable for Baekpa.
Neri and I savored the sweeping vista of the Okeanos Sea from the hut's rooftop, cool breezes washing over us.
Chiron had told me this Trial Sea was a monster-infested exile for gods and beasts too much even for Poseidon to handle directly. Okeanos managed and ruled it, keeping those horrors from spilling into Greece proper.
And those words rang true. Over the deceptively calm waters, strange energies rose like shimmering mirages, eerie presences making even me click my tongue in awe.
"I figured finding passage would be tough, but crossing the Trial Sea safely on a crab shell? Never saw that coming."
Giant sea serpents, man-eating sea cows, Krakens—stuff like that, I imagined.
But they merely prowled the fringes, eyeing us hungrily yet too wary to challenge Carcinus.
-Crunch, crunch!
One gutsy giant squid had tried its luck and ended up bisected, now reduced to Carcinus's mid-voyage snack.
-Squeak!
-Clack!
Meanwhile, the flame bird Neri had nicknamed Cory had settled snugly between Carcinus's eyes, snapping up chunks of squid that the crab dutifully passed along.
"Heh, looks like those guys are hitting it off..."
But wasn't that thing a Kraken or something?
I recalled Chiron warning in his monster lore to beware sea beasts that mimicked islands.
Word was, even Olympia banned voyages from late summer through early autumn, when mating-season Krakens turned savage. And here one was, legend reduced to a mere snack.
"Huh..."
"Ehehe."
As I chewed on that surreal sight, a cool embrace wrapped around my neck from behind, Neri's giggle tickling my ear.
Glancing back, the sea goddess stared right through me, her face beaming with affectionate warmth.
"Ihihi."
Too adorable.
I'd grown oddly fond of the crab's quirky vibe, my body moving on instinct.
-Mwah!
"Eek!"
Her porcelain skin tempted like a siren's call. I leaned in with a smile, pressing my lips to hers, and Neri's cheeks flushed crimson.
'...Hold it together. Just endure.'
One reason I adored Greek fashion? Those sheer fabrics came with minimal underlayers—pure torture around other men, but with beauties like her...
Let's call it a constant test of will.
Strictly speaking, though, this was Neri's homeland—and the domain of my soon-to-be father-in-law god.
Even in Greece, getting frisky right over his head felt... off.
"Ahem. Neri?"
"Yees?"
This naughty sea goddess seemed to read my thoughts.
Her cool touch against my back grew more insistent, but I clenched my jaw and resisted.
"So..."
I scrambled for a topic shift—anything to keep my patience intact.
Questions piled up, but her rising heat was clouding my head.
"...Damn it."
Maybe it was the thrill of the chase, or perhaps the past month had been too much stimulus for my once-innocent sea nymph.
Since that first night in her palace bath, she'd craved me relentlessly, day after day.
She'd weave these sultry vibes and tangle with me at every turn. Fine in the sea's depths where restraint was optional, but up here? Pure agony.
"Ca—Carcinus!"
"Yeah?"
"Hera sent you, right?"
"...Ugh, back to that?"
I'd desperately pivoted the topic, and Neri sighed. But Hera wasn't a light subject for her either—she pouted and dove in.
"A while back, Iris showed up at my palace out of nowhere, Carcinus in tow."
"Iris?"
"Yeah, the rainbow messenger. Hera's herald."
Come to think of it, Hera had mentioned Carcinus before.
Something about loving seaside naps with a Hydra sprawled on its back?
"She said you're heading out on a long trip soon. You'll have to cross the sea, so you'd need Carcinus's strength."
That's why she'd handed Carcinus to Neri—my sea-tied ally among my closest bonds—so I'd have backup for the Trial Sea.
"Carcinus had been submerged deep for ages, down in Father's deepest realm. Keeping its divine spirit from fading, just waiting... and waiting for Hera's messenger."
-Clack!
Neri stroked the shell sympathetically, and Carcinus clacked its claws in response.
By now, I could guess: that meant "all good."
"But the wait's over now. It's beyond thrilled."
Nesneria gazed at me with proud admiration, more radiant than anything in creation.
Memories of our first meeting on Pasos Island—feeling like ancient history now—flooded back. Grown as we were, we lingered, eyes locked.
How long?
"Oh yeah—you're Hera's successor now? With Carcinus and all, what's the deal?"
"Ah... well, it's like..."
I'd shared awakening my divine duty and the divinity taking root, but not the specifics.
Too sensitive; loose lips could spark trouble. I'd kept it vague: "loosely tied to Hera."
But Neri held Hera's entrusted charge, so she deserved the full story.
I laid it all out: swallowing the curse in Acro Corinth, unlocking divinity, and the divine duty that followed.
"...And that's how it went."
"So... you inherited Hera's ancient divine duty? Regathering the mighty ones she once shielded?"
"Short version? Yeah. First up: Orthrus, under Geryon's watch."
"Whoa...!"
Neri clasped her hands over her mouth in awe, eyes sparkling like sunlit gems.
"You're becoming a god, then? One who might climb to Olympus!"
"Olympus..."
Olympus.
The heavenly realm, near-absolute symbol of authority in Greece.
Maybe my demonic roots clashed, or Hermes's tales of Zeus's tyranny soured it—but the name left a sour taste.
"Not yet. Just keeping it in mind."
Ascend Olympus? Or raze it?
For now, power-building via Hera's quest.
Titanic divine beasts that terrified even gods.
Power to rally what would birth future monsters and fiends. With Olympus's deities pinned heavenward and unpredictable, this was my window.
"Mhm, no worries then!"
Hm? Worries?
What worries?
I shot Neri a puzzled look, and she linked arms with a playful smile.
"Well... to reach the Erytheia archipelago, there's a spot you gotta pass."
Erytheia wasn't just some big island—it was a vast sea studded with island chains, Geryon's ranch deep in the heart.
"And guarding that entrance is Poseidon's son, granted rule over the area by Father."
"Uh, Poseidon's kid?"
Hold up.
I'd heard whispers of the sea god's son lording over the western fringe...
"That demigod, by any chance..."
-Bwooooooo!!
A colossal trumpet blast cut me off, booming across the waves.
"What's that?"
A mighty fleet, presence heralded by the horn.
Five massive warships, emblazoned with blue tridents and stone shields on their sails, bore down fast.
"That emblem. Ah, got it."
Poseidon's boastful son, tales I'd overheard seaside over drinks.
Gaia and Poseidon's spawn, earthquake god robbed of Apollo's constellation.
The bluish giant at the lead ship's prow thrust a fist skyward and bellowed.
-Waaaaah!!
-Antaeus! Antaeus! Antaeus!
The roars of countless heroes and demigods in his wake chanted the giant's name.
Antaeus.
Poseidon's son, mightier than Heracles himself—a fellow inheritor of the primordial blood—arms wide in welcome.