Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Alon stood poised upon the frozen crimson sea, releasing a soft breath.

“It is done at last.”

His eyes scanned the horizon, taking in the vast, icy plain that stretched out from his position.

Naturally, the formation of this extensive frozen territory was not his work alone; it was Penia who had answered his call.

“…We have traveled a great distance.”

Back on the vessel, Alon’s harsh winter had swiftly turned the ocean to ice around them, yet Penia displayed only minor strain as she sustained the effect. Alon’s moment of respect for her was brief.

His attention moved to Tertogan, who was standing on a deck stained with the blood of pirates.

*Crunch, crunch~!*

Only moments before, Tertogan had been in a human shape, but that form was now gone. In its place was a green egg, oozing an odd liquid, with Tertogan’s hand resting upon it. And atop that hand was a strange, unidentifiable object.

Despite the seemingly straightforward scene, Alon’s expression grew stern. He recognized the egg’s true nature.

*Crack!*

A jarring sound erupted as Alon lifted his arm, sensing a new threat.

Turning, he saw the merfolk, who had been hiding below the surface attempting to capsize the ship, now hauling themselves onto the ice one after another. Their numbers swelled from a few dozen to hundreds in a heartbeat.

Alon gave a soft click of his tongue.

*Crunch, crunch~!*

The merfolk scrambling onto the ice were swiftly pulverized.

“Brother!”

Radan burst forth from the sea. Without a second thought, he not only destroyed the merfolk charging at Alon but also—

“Hah!”

He slammed his foot onto the ice.

*Crash!*

Radan’s stomp shattered the ice, reaching the water below. And then—

*Roaaaarrrrr~!!!!!*

The frozen sea became a raging ocean, a colossal wave thundering up and sweeping away all the merfolk advancing toward Alon.

“Hah!”

He was not finished. Radan immediately drove his spear into the heart of the sea.

*Rumble~!!*

A massive whirlpool formed instantly, sucking in the merfolk caught in the current and the wreckage of sunken ships. Despite their natural affinity for the sea, the merfolk were powerless against the violent vortex, tossed together with the broken ships. The whirlpool soon turned crimson.

“Ah, by the depths……!”

“The boss is in a class of his own……!”

Hope bloomed among the pirates.

“…This is beyond belief.”

“Truly.”

“Hah, can we actually prevail?”

Even the Pirate Lords were filled with a profound, wordless reverence.

Radan’s display of divine power was so immense it was difficult to accept it was the act of one man.

But the moment was fleeting.

*Growl~!*

At the sound, every eye turned to the main deck of the Sea Wolves.

The hand that had been reaching up from the green egg had now vanished completely.

And then—

*Crunch, crunch, crunch!!!*

From the small egg, an impossibly large hand thrust out.

Everyone stared, transfixed, at the hand.

Covered in green scales and dripping with fluid, the hand blocked the light of the setting sun that had been shining on the pirates, as if snuffing out their hope. It throbbed with a life of its own, bringing not hope but a deep-seated fear to the pirates.

It then slammed down onto the whirlpool.

*BOOOOM-!!*

The whirlpool that had been consuming everything vanished with a thunderous roar.

Then, from the small egg, it emerged fully.

*CRACK!*

The hand that had dispelled the whirlpool now rested on one of the Sea Wolves’ ships, while a second hand emerged and gripped another vessel.

A giant was born from the small egg.

It was a grotesque and horrifying spectacle that devoured the hope of all who witnessed it.

The massive head of the merman, emerging from the egg after its arms, stole away what little hope remained.

Its body was so enormous it treated ships like playthings, inspiring only pure dread.

It crushed the ship the egg had been on and blocked the sun, casting the area into deep shadow.

“Ah—”

It descended.

###

Its size was absolute.

Moreover, the tremendous power radiating from its colossal form defied understanding.

*BOOOOM-!!*

The creature, showing only its upper body above the water, moved its hand slowly, pressing down on a ship.

Sprays of water erupted, yet not a single scream was heard.

Without even a moment to gasp at the sight of the ship being smashed to splinters—

*CRAAAASH!*

A single sweep of its gigantic hand from left to right shattered more than ten ships.

The terrifying strength born from its overwhelming size was staggering.

But that was not all.

“Damn it!”

The mermen, who had been standing still as if in worship of the giant’s birth, suddenly resumed their attack, throwing the pirates into renewed panic.

‘What is this thing?’
Radan, too, furrowed his brow as he stared at the colossal giant silhouetted against the setting sun.

“Radan.”

Amid the chaos, he heard a voice—devoid of emotion and utterly detached—it was Alon’s.

“Handle the mermen.”

And in that moment, Radan, his expression blank, responded,

“Yes, Brother.”

With that, he retrieved his trident from where it had been pulled into the sea.

Alon, having confirmed the mermen climbing aboard from every direction, looked at the giant, which was slowly raising its massive hand once more.

“Hah.”

Alon let out a low sigh as he assessed the situation.

To call it favorable would have been a lie.

Even though Radan and the Pirate Lords were slaughtering mermen without pause, their numbers showed no sign of dwindling.

The mermen kept coming, killing pirates, while the giant’s hand rose again, poised to unleash despair upon them all.

But even in this desperate situation, Alon did not entertain thoughts of defeat.

In fact, he felt a measure of relief, believing this was not the worst possible outcome.

After all, the creature before him was not an Outer God.

‘Technically, it is merely a byproduct.’
With his Eyes of Truth, Alon could see through all things, perceiving even the potential to drown any being, regardless of water—a fraudulent power of the Outer God, Kalak-Kul. When Kalak-Kul descends, true disaster begins.

However, the being before him, “Galgik,” was not an Outer God.

It was merely a byproduct containing the reincarnation of the Outer God, a guardian that protected Kalak-Kul until its full descent.

Destroying it now would prevent the Outer God’s arrival.

Thus, Alon spoke without hesitation.

“Array of Thunder.”

The conditions were fulfilled.

*CRACKLE!*

Blue sparks spread rapidly across the frozen sea of blood.

“Decomposition.”

At his command, the sparks broke apart into minute particles, scattering in all directions.

In the darkness that had swallowed the sunset, the shimmering blue particles—

“Dissolution.”

—were absorbed into Alon’s unsteady form.

Simultaneously, Alon’s body began to glow with a brilliant blue light.

Just as Galgik raised its hand to crush dozens of ships—

!

With an incomprehensible, eerie roar, it swung its hand down toward Alon’s head, as if instinctively seeking to eliminate a threat.

*RUMBLE~!!!*

The sound of the impact felt as if it were pressing down on the entire ocean.

“Cycle of All Things.”

Even in that moment, Alon, forming a seal with his index and middle fingers, declared—

“Form of the Thunder God.”

As soon as he uttered the final word—

*CRACKLE!!!*

He became lightning.

*Tssss-!*

He surged forward with incandescent speed.

*BOOOM!!!*

The frozen sea where Alon had stood exploded as if hit by a bomb, and Alon shot straight toward Galgik.

He aimed for Galgik’s exposed heart.

He knew instinctively that a simple charge would not be enough to pierce Galgik’s outer shell.

Yet he pressed on without hesitation, enabled by one of the relics recently appraised by the Arbiter—the “Insignia of the Blind One.”

The artifact’s effect allowed him to bypass a single limitation he had previously imposed upon himself.

This freed Alon from the restrictions that had weakened his magical power.

In this instance, the restriction that could alter the world’s laws to permit magical combat against the Great Duel God, Ulthultus.

There was another reason for his confidence: Alon had mastered the usage of the Form of the Thunder God.

As the blue lightning launched towards Galgik, it shifted from a human shape.

At the focal point of the magic’s array, Alon twisted his body, reshaping it into a spiral—a distinct spiral visible to all who watched.

*CRACKLE~!!!*

The spiral illuminated the darkness that Galgik had cast over the world, cleaving through reality itself as it shot forward.

*Tsss-!*

With a faint sound, blue sparks engulfed the world.

###

When the blue sparks faded, a massive hole was visible in Galgik’s heart.

And through that enormous hole, Count Palatio came into view, filling everyone’s sight.

“……Hah.”

They were all rendered speechless, unable to look away from that single figure.

Alon, standing atop the wreckage of the ship and the center of everyone’s gaze, thought,

‘Don’t just stand there; help me……!’
The situation was critical.

The deck beneath Alon’s feet was slowly sinking.

Though it wasn’t obvious, the platform he stood on was gradually descending beneath the water.

The reason Alon remained silent on the collapsing deck was the strain from using the Form of the Thunder God.

‘I thought my control had improved.’
Unlike before, he hadn’t made a major error this time.

Thanks to extensive research and training, he had refined his mastery of the Form of the Thunder God.

Aside from a few minor cuts on his arms and legs, he was unharmed.

The problem was mana.

‘I didn’t expect the Form of the Thunder God to consume such a ridiculous amount of mana just from manipulating the array.’
He had anticipated this during his research, but the actual mana cost was truly staggering.

During his first use of the Form of the Thunder God at Colony, his mana had been drained, but he had still been able to walk.

Now, Alon experienced physical rigidity, a symptom of mana exhaustion, just from altering the magic’s array.

As a result, he could neither move nor speak as he sank with the ship.

‘I can’t swim!’
As he let out a silent scream, unable to vocalize—

*BOOM!*

The previously calm sea suddenly erupted with green scales.

*CRACK!*

Before he could react, the scales seized Radan, dragging him into the depths.

Alon lost the chance to think.

Seeing Radan being pulled under before his eyes, Alon threw himself from the deck and into the sea.

At least, that’s how it appeared to the pirates.

In reality, the green scales had simply swiped the deck Alon had been standing on.

As he plunged into the sea, Alon frowned.

Fortunately, the rigidity from mana exhaustion was slowly fading, making it likely he would reach the surface before he suffocated.

The real issue, however, was the massive eye staring back at him.

‘Kalak-Kul?!’
Alon was horrified.

Despite it still being twilight above the sea, the depths were as dark as the abyss.

And within that darkness was the enormous eye.

It was the same eye he had seen many times in the game—the eye that drowned all who met its gaze.

‘The manifestation shouldn’t have happened yet~!’
He was bewildered.

From his knowledge, the Outer God’s manifestation should not have occurred once Galgik was killed.

And yet, the Outer God had descended.

It was looking directly at him.

From the deep, pitch-black depths below— Silent and unwavering.