Seeing Skadi sitting there alone, Ines felt a little puzzled. During the time when Gladiia and Specter had stayed in Kazdel, the three of them were practically inseparable. Since they were all from Aegir and shared the identity of Abyssal Hunters, it made sense that they would usually act together.
Now, however, Skadi sat alone in the dilapidated church.
She held her greatsword in both hands, her crimson eyes blinking slowly. She looked somewhat dazed, almost cute in her absentmindedness. When she noticed the three of them, she blinked again, quickly rising to her feet. A faint look of happiness appeared on her face.
"Your Highness. Miss Ines. Miss Asuna."
Skadi stood up straight and explained, "Captain Gladiia and Specter had to leave for a while to investigate something."
"I feel that something is strange about this town."
Asuna was the one who spoke.
Melira's innate scanning ability and art perception made her extremely sensitive to changes in her surroundings. She gently closed her eyes, and the halo floating beside her head began to glow faintly.
"I can sense… an unusual presence within the village. It feels different from that of ordinary Terrans. It may be Seaborn."
"What? Seaborn?"
Skadi immediately became alert.
Although she had come here under an assumed identity, this small village rarely received outsiders to begin with. Members of the Iberian Inquisition also patrolled the area from time to time. She had only stayed here for a few days, yet it seemed she might already have been discovered. That was why she had temporarily stored her weapons in the abandoned church where no one visited.
But how could Seaborn appear within the village?
Had the Inquisition failed to notice?
Skadi herself had sensed nothing, and that realization alarmed her. Had her long, relatively peaceful life dulled the instincts she once relied upon as a Abyssal Hunters?
"I can sense that this presence is especially strong within a particular person."
The Clever projected an image into the air.
It showed a Terran woman walking through the village. Her clothes were far more refined than those worn by the other villagers. Not only that, her face was delicate and doll-like, as if she had stepped out of a stage play. The contrast between her and the exhausted, suffering villagers was striking.
"She is… Amaia, the young bishop of Gran Faro."
During the past few days, Skadi had not simply been hiding. She had also gathered information about the area, and naturally she had heard the names of several prominent local figures.
"Considering that more than half of Iberia's churches are connected to the Deep Sea Church, I can infer that this Miss Amaia is likely a bishop of the Deep Sea Church."
Asuna opened her eyes again. Lines of analysis flashed briefly within her red pupils.
"…Then we should follow her and see what happens."
Just as Ines finished speaking, the ground suddenly trembled.
"This is… Seaborn approaching Gran Faro. Estimated number: five hundred."
"Five hundred?"
Skadi immediately stood up when she heard the number.
She pressed her lips together. An Abyssal Hunters could easily defeat ten enemies alone, but she was currently by herself. Moreover, the Iberian Inquisition held an ambiguous attitude toward the Abyssal Hunters. If she intervened openly, the consequences could become complicated, possibly even affecting diplomatic relations.
"The Inquisition has already mobilized."
"…Your Highness, I do not recommend that we intervene."
Ines turned toward Felix.
"We are already traveling in secret. If we act now, the headline 'The Liberation King of Kazdel secretly appears in a coastal village in Iberia' will give countless people an excuse to stir up trouble."
"I understand what you mean, Ines. We will not confront the Seaborn directly, especially since the Inquisition has already arrived."
Through the image transmitted by the Clever, they could see members of the Inquisition drawing their weapons and engaging the Seaborn in battle. Among them were several adventurers.
After seeing the adventurers, Ines and the others felt slightly relieved. However, the number of Seaborn was simply too large.
Some villagers hid behind the Inquisition's defenders. Others were overtaken by the Seaborn and collapsed to the ground, clutching their heads as they screamed in agony.
They were being corrupted by the Seaborn.
Seeing this, the members of the Inquisition showed no hesitation. Their blades fell mercilessly upon the infected villagers, cutting both them and the surrounding Seaborn into pieces.
Felix listened quietly to the sounds of battle echoing from nearby.
He noticed that Ines frowned slightly at the piercing shrieks of the Seaborn. Yet to him, those sounds carried no particular meaning.
They were merely noises, like the sounds produced when a body swings during an attack. They were not curses filled with hatred, nor whispers filled with malice.
They were simply sounds.
Felix pulled up his hood and stood, leaving the dilapidated and abandoned church.
The village streets were already crowded with members of the Inquisition, but along a narrow road leading toward the sea there were no guards. Since the Seaborn had attacked the village head-on, some of the Inquisition members originally stationed nearby had also rushed toward the center of the village.
Felix and the others followed the path leading toward the sea.
As they walked, the ground beneath their feet gradually changed. The ordinary ground was replaced by a dark blue, viscous substance that spread across the path.
Skadi visibly felt uneasy. It showed clearly in her eyes.
Ines, on the other hand, felt something different. The blue substance beneath her feet seemed alive, yet it carried no sense of danger. It was not sticky or unpleasant. Instead, it felt strangely soft, almost like walking on a thick carpet.
Felix continued forward without hesitation.
Around them, scattered Seaborn began to appear.
Skadi instinctively reached for her sword, but Ines raised a hand and stopped her.
"Seaborn… are ignoring us?"
Ines frowned slightly as she watched the spider-like creatures crawling toward the village. She could clearly feel their gaze. The strange coral growths covered with eyes turned briefly toward their group, observing them.
Yet after only a moment, those eyes shifted away and focused again on the village in the distance, as if something there had attracted all of their attention.
Several smaller, dog-sized creatures even ran straight past them. They hissed and bared sharp teeth as they rushed toward the village.
"Why aren't the Seaborn attacking us?"
"I… cannot sense their emotions," Asuna said softly. "But I can sense that they hold no hostility toward us."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Your Highness, perhaps we will understand the reason once we get closer to the sea."
Felix gave a small nod.
The four of them continued walking toward the shoreline.
During the entire journey, Skadi struggled to restrain herself. Countless impulses urged her to draw her sword. She stared in disbelief at the scene around them.
The sworn enemies of Aegir, the Seaborn, were launching a frenzied assault on the village as though Felix's group did not even exist.
The once pitch-black ocean had now turned a deep azure.
But this was not the calm, beautiful blue of ordinary seawater. It was a vivid, almost living azure that symbolized the overflowing vitality of the sea.
Beneath that color shimmered a faint radiance, like the ocean itself glowing with life.
The sight sent a chill down both Ines's and Skadi's spines.
Could the village really withstand such an overwhelming number of Seaborn?
Soon, however, they realized that the situation was not entirely hopeless.
Where adventurers were present, the strength of Terra could not be measured by ordinary standards. Although these adventurers were not as powerful as the first wave who had joined Tomorrow's Development, they were still quite capable. After cooperating with the Inquisition, they were performing well enough.
At the very least, dealing with Seaborn posed little difficulty for them.
"I can sense that the Seaborn are retreating."
Only a few seconds after Asuna spoke, the azure color of the sea began to fade.
The ocean slowly returned to its former blackness.
However, several Seaborn remained behind, letting out hoarse cries as they faced Felix and his companions.
"The language module is analyzing their sounds," Asuna said after a moment. "Preliminary interpretation suggests that these Seaborn are inviting us… into the ocean."
She pressed a hand to her ear, listening carefully to the strange language spoken by the creatures. After a long pause, she finally delivered her conclusion.
Felix nodded slightly.
He had already begun to suspect the reason why the Seaborn showed no hostility toward him, even ignoring his presence entirely.
Since the day he descended upon this land, he had never personally killed a single Seaborn.
Could the Seaborn possess some form of collective or hive consciousness?
Felix rested his chin on his hand as he looked out toward the distant sea.
Directly or indirectly, he had never taken the life of any of these creatures.
After a moment of thought, he nodded to himself and extended a hand toward Ines and Skadi.
The two women hesitated briefly before grasping his hand. Skadi looked slightly embarrassed as she did so.
Once they were ready, Felix spoke calmly.
"To avoid detection, we will travel faster."
The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished.
Ines and Skadi suddenly felt an intense pressure of wind rushing against them. For a brief moment, it became difficult to breathe.
After adjusting to the sensation, Ines cautiously opened her eyes.
She saw blue flames burning beneath Felix's feet.
Only then did she realize that they were not flying through the sky. Instead, it felt as if they were running across solid ground upon the surface of the sea.
As for Asuna, the Melira race possessed built-in flight capability. However, due to energy consumption, they rarely used it in everyday situations.
Ahead of them, a massive sailing ship gradually appeared within the mist.
It was a golden vessel, a ship that had long vanished from Iberian history.
The Stultifera Navis.
Asuna lifted her head, her red eyes tracing the surface of the ship's hull.
"A more detailed scan of the interior is not possible," she said after a moment. "Preliminary assessment suggests that the reason the Inquisition and the Abyssal Hunters have gathered in Gran Faro is because of the ship."
She paused slightly before continuing.
"We have also detected the arrival of Lady Kal'tsit in Gran Faro. She is accompanied by Saint Carmen."
"Saint Carmen… I didn't expect him to come as well. It seems this incident is of special significance to Iberia."
Felix stepped onto the deck from the surface of the sea. He set Ines down first, then gently released the slightly embarrassed Skadi. The moment her feet touched the deck, Skadi immediately shifted into a combat-ready stance.
She had already felt something watching them.
"Are there people here… or some other living beings?"
Skadi drew her greatsword and stepped protectively in front of Felix.
Felix simply glanced around the deck. He had the faint impression that the Stultifera Navis was slowly approaching the Iberian coastline, perhaps circling along the waters nearby. Something within the vessel seemed to interfere with perception, almost like an art. Even Asuna's sensors were failing repeatedly.
Felix's flames flickered through the cabin, sweeping away what lurked within. Only a few starving creatures remained, waiting to be consumed by the fire.
The beings that had boarded this ship were seaborn.
There were none on the deck, and none in the cabin.
Except for one fish.
Though calling it a fish was not entirely accurate. The creature possessed four limbs, and its head carried something like vestigial fangs. It resembled an amphibian or perhaps a reptile more than any ordinary sea creature.
With Felix's strength, there was no reason for him to remain behind while Skadi cleared the monsters or wait for Asuna to scout ahead. He loosened the collar of his coat and calmly walked into the cabin.
At the end of the corridor stood the blue sea creature.
Felix could clearly feel the gaze upon him, the sense of being carefully observed. Yet when Skadi stepped to his side, the four-limbed creature quickly vanished.
"What exactly is this thing…"
"The ship likely contains records of Iberia from sixty years ago," Asuna replied. "This place is also occupied by Seaborn. These materials could be useful for Tomorrow's Development."
Efficient and quick-witted, Asuna immediately entered a nearby room and began scanning for any valuable information.
Meanwhile, Felix walked down the staircase with calm indifference.
After only a few steps, the floor beneath them was already covered in a thick layer of marine growth, like a dense carpet of living organisms.
The moment Skadi stepped on it, her expression changed. She gripped her greatsword tightly.
"I can feel my strength draining rapidly."
Hearing this, Felix raised a finger. A brilliant blue flame appeared at his fingertip and slowly drifted into Skadi's body.
After receiving the energy, Skadi immediately felt the exhaustion fade. Her strength returned, and she quietly thanked Felix.
"The Seaborn have surrounded the ship," Felix said. "They now occupy every corner of the deck."
He listened briefly to the hoarse cries of the Seaborn above and shook his head slightly.
"It seems they have concluded that our kind bears no hostility toward them."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Who would have thought that the best way to prevent the Seaborn from invading is simply to maintain a neutral, non-aggressive attitude from the beginning?"
Skadi opened her mouth, then fell silent.
The Abyssal Hunters and the Seaborn shared a blood feud that had lasted for who knew how long. Their two races had been locked in endless war. The idea of the Aegir civilization coexisting peacefully with such creatures felt almost unimaginable.
Or perhaps…
Was peace with such unknown beings ever truly possible?
At that moment, the blue reptilian creature appeared once again at the end of the corridor.
This time, however, it did not retreat. Instead, it made a strange purring sound toward Felix.
Asuna listened for a moment before translating.
"It says… 'Master Felix has come to see us… Master Felix… we missed you so much… ice cream…'"
"?"
Felix turned his head toward Asuna.
She nodded immediately.
"According to the Seaborn language patterns in the database, this translation appears to be accurate."
Felix looked back at the blue creature in the corridor.
After a moment of hesitation, he spoke.
"Are you… Little Blue?"