Chapter 114

Episode 114: The Drowned King (1)

"What the..."

In a reflexive motion, Isaac moved. He didn't have time to determine the truth of Hyanis's words. The nagging sense of dissonance and the assumption that "the Drowned King had no intention of performing the Moonwell ritual" were enough reasons to act.

As he leapt away, the Drowned King's tentacle brushed past the space he had just occupied. The railings and deck of the Brave Salmon shattered, causing the ship to rock violently. Yenkos, in horror, quickly grabbed Eiden to prevent him from falling into the sea.

Clinging to the mast for landing, Isaac thought, "He had no intention of performing the Moonwell ritual? Why? Wasn't the plan to send a messenger to awaken the deity?"

The Drowned King's tentacles aimed for Isaac again. It was hard to gauge expressions on an octopus's face. The visage, covered in a mucus-like substance, was expressionless. However, the roughened winds and waves substituted for his urgent emotions.

With a loud crash, Isaac evaded again, but this time the Brave Salmon's mast was utterly destroyed. The ship, now immobile without its sails, was completely isolated on the sea.

Isaac pieced together the clues and circumstances given.

"The Salt Council was confused, even fractured, due to a misinterpretation of the Drowned King's message. Ultimately, the council split, and they sailed out to execute the Drowned King. Amidst this, they were attacked by sea monsters and nearly sunk, barely surviving with the Drowned King's intervention. Then, he revealed the misinterpretation and announced the Moonwell ritual to send a messenger to the afterlife."

Isaac, retracing the events, realized there was a problem from the start.

Could the Drowned King, despite his dialect, have been so vague as to confuse a volunteer for the ritual and a sacrifice for human offering? For such an important ritual, the Drowned King should have been precise.

But if not...

What if it was deliberately vague?

"Could the misinterpretation have been my doing?"

In truth, Isaac hadn't heard the original message.

Perhaps the council members had translated it accurately. The Drowned King's message, filled with poetic words prone to misinterpretation.

"He really intended to receive a human sacrifice!"

***

Isaac's angry exclamation focused everyone's attention. Hyanis gritted his teeth, and Yenkos's eyes widened, holding her breath. The Drowned King stopped flailing his tentacles and stared at Isaac.

Continuing to thrash his tentacles would risk sinking the ship entirely. Instead, he wrapped his tentacles around the Brave Salmon, causing the ship to creak as if it were about to be crushed.

Isaac, determined to protect Eiden, drew the Luadin key. The searing heat radiated in all directions, causing the tentacles to recoil.

Isaac began to expose the truth.

"You intentionally made the message ambiguous to divide the Salt Council! You wanted to filter out those willing to accept human sacrifice and those who would risk their lives to protest! And then, when the protesters came to the sea, you planned to sink them all!"

A simple method of purge.

A king feigns weakness or engages in nonsensical actions to reveal the true colors of a disloyal subject, then swiftly suppresses them.

For what purpose? It's obvious.

A angel, cut off from communication with their deity, decides to become the new deity of the order.

[You're being absurd, Holy Grail Knight. Why then, would I have saved you from the sea monsters?]

Despite being accused, the Drowned King's tone remained calm. Since Isaac's ship was already in his grasp, there was no need for lengthy justifications, but he seemed to be saying, "Let's hear your argument."

An overwhelming presence loomed over Isaac.

In defiance, Isaac shouted, "Because the attack by the sea monsters was your doing!"

The scale and organization of the sea monsters were abnormal, something Hyanis had already pointed out.

But if an angel was involved, it made sense. The Drowned King sought mercenaries to dirty their hands in his stead, to avoid scorn from other deities of the Salt Council.

"You promised to save the sea monsters in exchange for a human sacrifice, claiming you'd become their new deity to replace the one they lost! A deity for both the Salt Council and the sea monsters!"

The origins of the sea monsters were said to be the same as the Salt Council. They chose to return to the sea to worship another ancient deity, while the Salt Council remained above the waves. Thus, it wasn't far-fetched for the Drowned King to accept them again.

In this case, the Drowned King might be entering the role of a deity for the sea monsters.

"And you saved us? Because the sea monsters's song would've drowned not just the 'traitors' but also the councilors loyal to you! You wanted to consume the Salt Council in its entirety!"

Indeed, the ship carrying Chairperson Yenkos had surfaced shortly after the Drowned King appeared. For the Drowned King, it would have been problematic if even those who might side with him ended up at the bottom of the sea. Thus, he intervened and saved them from the sea monsters, who began to sing their siren songs, staging a rescue.

Had things gone as planned, all would have proceeded smoothly. The hardliners like Hyanis would have been drowned, and only the conformists like Yenkos would have remained.

However, everything changed with Isaac boarding this ship.

And thus, an opportunity was created.

The Moonwell ritual.

"And now, you plan to offer a sacrifice under the guise of the Moonwell ritual. It's the simplest way to attain divinity. Is that what you wanted, Drowned King?"

[Ha ha...]

The Drowned King let out a slow laugh.

[Interfering unnecessarily in the faith of others, you hasten your end, living sin]

***

With the howling wind, rain began to pour down.

The sky contorted wildly, developing into a typhoon. Pillar-like raindrops battered the deck. Amidst this, the Drowned King and Isaac locked eyes without blinking.

[I did say conspiracies don't suit me... Should've stopped when those skeletal beings urged me on.]

Isaac realized from the Drowned King's words that the Immortal Order had been involved again. Apparently, Kalsen Miller had been in contact with them.

The Drowned King seemed to have no intention of hiding that fact.

"So, you have no intention of making excuses?"

[Though I found our conversation enjoyable enough to indulge, it seems there's no need for lengthy justifications.]

Arrogance and leisure still laced the Drowned King's words.

Initially, there was a hint of disarray when he tried to capture Isaac. Now, displaying such ease suggested he had no intention or need to hide anything anymore.

This was typical of the relationship between angels and humans.

Angels do not converse with humans.

They are messengers and representatives of the divine will, only declaring and delivering.

[Listen!]

Isaac felt a painful intensity in his mind, similar to when the Nameless Chaos conveyed its will.

The method of using faith to transmit will. Yet, it was much cruder and rougher than that of the Nameless Chaos.

However, the Drowned King could deliver his will with no room for misinterpretation.

[The long wait is over!]

The storm intensified.

Amid the tumultuous waves that shook the ships senseless, each crew clung to the railings, awestruck by nature's fury, the Drowned King's forcefully delivered voice, and the fear of the unknown unfolding.

[I intend to lead your way forward, not wait for an answer from a father who won't respond!]

Captains who had heard about the Moonwell ritual exchanged perplexed looks.

Wasn't the purpose to send a messenger to the afterlife?

Has the ritual already concluded?

Is our deity not returning?

They were so shocked by the mention of "a father who won't respond" that they missed the significance of what came after.

But Yenkos understood exactly what it meant.

[Wanderers and sufferers adrift, heed the call from beneath the sea!]

"Take Eiden inside the cabin!"

Right after the Drowned King's declaration ended, Isaac shouted forcefully. However, Yenkos, who had been protecting the unconscious Eiden, was barely able to breathe, let alone move.

Yenkos did not know the specifics of the conversation between Isaac and the Drowned King, but the King had openly declared apostasy without even attempting to justify himself.

Yenkos sensed that Isaac's words were all true.

'He deliberately used ambiguous expressions to cause division?'

Indeed, the words they heard upon meeting the Drowned King had no room for misinterpretation when translated slowly.

Hyanis then forcefully grabbed Yenkos's shoulder, his face tense with anxiety as he looked around.

"The currents are moving the ships as a whole. We're already far from land, in the middle of the sea. He's preventing us from escaping!"

"Not able to escape? Why..."

Yenkos muttered in confusion, then recalled Isaac's words. The Drowned King intended to "purge" those who might oppose him to engulf the Salt Council. And now, more than half of the Salt Council's members, whether in support or opposition, were gathered here.

This meant the fate of the Salt Council would be decided here.

Hyanis exclaimed as if desperate.

"We must prepare for battle, Chairperson Yenkos!"

Whether to offer a human sacrifice and worship the Drowned King as a new deity or to slay the apostate fallen angel, the Drowned King.

Either option was daunting to Yenkos.

She had only passively supported the idea of human sacrifice for the sake of maintaining the status quo. And now, she found herself unable to make a choice.

Losing the Drowned King meant not only the complete departure of their deity but also losing the only angel left beside them.

Hyanis tried to pull the still unresponsive Yenkos, but she pushed his hand away and drew her cutlass.

Her trembling blade pointed at Hyanis.

"Step back, Hyanis. The ritual is still underway."

Isaac was too preoccupied to notice what was happening on the other side of the ship. The Drowned King was too vast an adversary to be distracted by other matters. Despite having weakened over time, his power to summon storms was evidence of his formidable strength.

And this battlefield, the sea, favored him immensely.

Isaac struggled even to maintain his balance on the ship.

[Do you plan to resist, Holy Grail Knight?"]

Instead of lashing out with his tentacles, the Drowned King whispered with a voice full of amusement.

[If you are under the illusion that the sea's surface is still within your reach, I wouldn't mind having a conversation after plunging you into the abyss and draining the air from your lungs.]

The Drowned King lifted a massive tentacle and slammed it down towards the ship, intending to split it in two.

Flames fiercely erupted from the Luadin key, colliding with the tentacle.