Chapter 59: Visitor

Chapter 59: Visitor

Sea King…

Upon hearing the name of Ain Kottman’s Sequence, the first thing Klein thought of was the full honorific name of the Lord of Storms:

“King of the Skies, Emperor of the Seas, Lord of Calamity, God of Storms!”

Sequence 3 is Sea King… The Sequence 0 title contains the element of Emperor of the Seas, so it actually corresponds rather well… I wonder what Sequence 0 of the Storm pathway is called… Klein looked out the window again. Though the weather still seemed slightly gloomy, dawn had descended. The sound of the tide receded, and the rain had stopped completely.

He gathered his thoughts and analyzed the situation from what Danitz had revealed.

The potion name is Sea King. In other words, a corresponding Sequence 3 demigod, a Saint, has to act as a “Sea King.” And every kind of acting has one premise: the person must already possess all the abilities needed for the role…

As a Sea King, even with limits of range, one would surely be a powerful ruler within waters under one’s control. They could move freely along the seabed, raise tsunamis at will, make the sea rise, and command marine creatures… Fighting on their “home ground,” they could absolutely suppress every demigod of the same level… The King of the Five Seas and the Mystery Queen should be roughly at this level as well, though differences in digestion progress and mastery of power probably separate their strength to some extent.

But no matter what, as long as they are on the sea, they would find it very difficult to defeat a Sea King…

Given the abilities Sea King displays, paired with the environment of the ocean, if someone has never seen true deities like the Eternal Blazing Sun or the True Creator, worshiping him, believing in him, and praying to him would not be hard to understand…

Perhaps many gods in primitive worship are at this level, most likely not even angels…

Mm, the rule of “one must not look directly at God” refers to true gods. Before, Sea God Kalvetua did not give me that feeling, and neither did Amon’s avatar. Of course, I cannot confirm whether the true body of a King of Angels possesses that same trait…

One is a Sea God on the brink of collapse, at most Sequence 3 in his current state. The other is a Sea King in good condition, able to use Sealed Artifacts at any moment. The outcome is obvious. Ain Kottman can absolutely continue suppressing Kalvetua’s madness, preventing the seawater from drowning Bayam and preventing all of Blue Mountain Island, along with the many cities upon it, from becoming lost undersea ruins.

If they wait a few more days, Kalvetua’s final madness will pass. He will thoroughly disintegrate and disappear, and the matter will be resolved. This is the simplest and most effective method. It will not create any atmosphere of panic, and the majority of people here will not even notice anything abnormal.

But this also has some problems. First, there can be no other accidents. Leticia, that archaeologist, did something on Simim Island and single-handedly directed the death of Sea God. The Moses Ascetic Order or Elemental Dawn behind her may attempt to obtain something in this opportunity. That is the greatest hidden danger. Uh, the Governor-General’s Office and the military should have a High-Sequence powerhouse here as well. After all, this is the kingdom’s colonial foothold in the Central Sonia Sea… Things should not deteriorate too badly…

Second are those fanatical believers. As Kalvetua becomes more and more insane, and draws closer and closer to death, they will most likely become sacrifices, falling one clump after another like stalks of straw during harvest.

However, to the Church of Storms, this may not be such a bad development. The most devout pagans dying together with their god would save the trouble of later identifying and handling them. Those who are not so devout will not be affected too heavily, and can still be reformed in the future… The only drawback is that, for quite a long time, the Rorsted Archipelago will suffer from a shortage of labor. Though troublesome, such a problem can still be solved if they grit their teeth. So the Church of Storms—and Sea King Ain Kottman—will very likely sit by and do nothing… Whew. In the areas where the locals gather, inside the slums, who knows how many people will die because of this… Klein’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by uniform footsteps and a roar from the sky.

He instinctively looked up and saw several dark-blue airships, cannon barrels exposed and machine guns extended, passing before his eyes and flying toward different districts.

Out on the street, Loenese soldiers in red coats, white trousers, and black leather boots carried rifles and dragged artillery. They passed by in neat formation, column after column.

An atmosphere of tension and killing intent suddenly spread.

This is a colony… Klein was strangely moved. He sighed to himself.

“I wonder how long it will take the Church to kill that sea serpent and find where it was hiding. There must be treasure there, countless precious items…” Danitz suddenly spoke. As someone whose main profession was treasure hunting, he sounded both expectant and regretful.

His attitude changed very quickly. He had already lowered “Sea God” into a sea serpent, using “it” as the pronoun.

The Church does not need to do anything. They only have to suppress him like this and wait a few days to see Kalvetua perish… Of course, the Church of Storms might not have that patience. Especially since I heard Ain Kottman’s primary role is that of a high-ranking deacon of the Mandated Punishers, only concurrently serving as cardinal because the archipelago is isolated overseas and unified authority is needed. His style may be closer to the Mandated Punishers… Kalvetua’s hiding place? Those ruins are almost merged with the spirit world. Finding them will not be simple. Otherwise, he could not have dragged out his last breath to this day… Thinking to this point, Klein suddenly felt inspiration spark within him.

Trying to find the ruins where Kalvetua had hidden from the real world would be very difficult. Even after the other party fell, discovery might not happen for a year and a half unless more accurate intelligence was obtained.

But what if one started from the spirit world?

The spirit world was even harder to locate within, but it was not completely impossible. The Mercury Serpent, Will Auceptin, had once demonstrated a method using the paper crane he had folded… I still do not have a concrete idea of how it should be done, but that is not important. I can ask Mr. Azik. The domain of Death controls a portion of the spirit world’s authority… The underworld, or hell, was opened up in the spirit world by the ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace… A thought flashed through Klein’s mind. He took out the ancient and exquisite copper whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew.

He believed that, even if he returned to the bedroom or went into the washroom, the messenger’s enormous body would inevitably be discovered by Danitz, whose spiritual intuition was not low. Therefore, he did not deliberately avoid him.

Danitz was imagining Sea God Kalvetua’s treasure when he suddenly felt a chill around his neck.

His heart stirred. He quickly activated spirit vision and looked toward the side behind him. One white bone after another erupted from the floor, flying upward and assembling into an enormous skeleton whose illusory head pierced the ceiling.

The skeleton lowered its head slightly. Two pitch-black flames could be faintly seen even through the ceiling.

The pressure brought by its gigantic body made Danitz leap sideways at once, half crouching while gathering crimson flames in his right palm.

What monster is this? Danitz stared in astonishment at Gehrman Sparrow, only to see him holding a copper whistle, head raised, silently staring at the skeletal monster.

Klein looked up at the enormous messenger. The enormous messenger looked down at him. The two sides seemed to freeze there.

…Hiss. I was too impatient. I have not even written the letter yet, and I already summoned the messenger… Should I ask it to wait here for a while, or should I send it back first and summon it again later… I am Gehrman Sparrow right now. Yes, Gehrman Sparrow! Klein said nothing. With indifference, he withdrew his gaze, unhurriedly rummaged out paper and pen, and began writing with swift strokes.

He roughly described the matter of Sea God Kalvetua, but concealed the details about how he had almost been possessed and had needed to rely on the gray fog to dispel the influence. He folded the ruins where the other party hid into the dream he had seen earlier.

“…Perhaps there is a method through the spirit world, but I lack the corresponding knowledge. I hope to receive your guidance.”

Klein folded the paper, turned his head, and discovered that the messenger’s lowered hand had, at some unknown point, closed into a fist.

Pretending he had not noticed anything, he tossed the letter upward.

The messenger remained still for a second before spreading its palm and catching the letter.

Its body abruptly collapsed. White bones fell with a clattering sound, then burrowed into the floor.

“Wh-what was that?” Danitz finally found his voice.

Klein glanced at him and answered calmly, “A messenger.”

A messenger? Danitz only understood what he meant after a brief daze.

Such an enormous, such terrifying monster is actually a messenger that delivers letters? Gehrman Sparrow really does have a powerful and hidden organization behind him! If—if I had a messenger like that, everyone on the ship would envy me. That would really, really be too cool! Danitz began fantasizing about bragging after returning to the ship and showing off the messenger.

After putting away Azik’s copper whistle, Klein found a chair and sat down, preparing to enjoy breakfast after a short wait.

After some time, he heard knock, knock, knock at the door.

Danitz went over vigilantly. Through the peephole, he discovered that the person knocking outside was a middle-aged man wearing a ship-shaped hat.

“Elland? How did you find this place?” Danitz opened the door and asked.

The visitor was none other than the captain of the White Agate, Fair Elland.

Elland, the corners of his eyes slightly wrinkled, looked into the room and chuckled.

“When you checked into this inn, you registered under Gehrman Sparrow’s identity. A single check was enough to find you.”

Because this identity is very proper and clean, and, in the eyes of the Church of Storms, belongs to the military’s side… Klein slowly rose and asked Elland, who had entered the room, “What is the matter?”

Elland gestured outside.

“Bayam has had a small incident, though the problem is not severe. The military and the Church have joined forces to search the whole city. The targets are a few fairly capable Beyonders—nominally archaeologists.

“To find them as quickly as possible, the military has mobilized every available resource. But for a city this large, it still is not enough. Heh, they believe that although your origins are unclear, your attitude toward us is friendly. They hope you can help with the search and prevent accidents. A corresponding reward will be paid afterward.”

This should be thanks to you, exaggerating my friendliness… In other words, after the Church of the Goddess and the Church of Steam, I can now receive money from the military too? Klein’s feelings became oddly complicated for a moment.

Seeing that he did not answer immediately, Elland added, “Although there should not be any major problem, the earlier we find the targets, the earlier we can control the corresponding disaster.

“And perhaps save a few more people.”

Klein fell silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.

“Alright.”