The question was… who exactly was Little Blue?
Ines, Asuna, and Skadi all wore puzzled expressions. None of them had ever heard that name before.
Who was Little Blue?
The story went back to the time when Felix had first arrived in Iberia.
Back then, he had been carrying out a mission for the Justice Bureau together with Mostima and the others. During that journey, they unexpectedly encountered Captain Lance, the man who had once rescued Felix from the Kazdel storm. Together, they entered a coastal Iberian city.
In order to destroy a stronghold of the Deep Sea Church, the group infiltrated one of the church's sanctuaries. It was there that they first encountered the Seaborn.
Instead of killing them, Felix had made a rather unusual decision.
He fed them ice cream.
Surprisingly, that decision proved to be correct. The Seaborn did not show any hostility toward him.
Among them was a small, dog-shaped Seaborn that seemed especially reluctant to leave his side. Before departing, Felix had casually given it a name.
Little Blue.
A name so simple it was almost careless.
The moment it heard the name, the fish-dog shaped Seaborn jumped excitedly. It took several steps forward, but when it sensed Skadi standing beside Felix, it hesitated slightly.
Still, it stretched out its tongue toward Felix, behaving in a strangely familiar manner.
"Little Blue… were you the one calling for me?"
"Coo… coo… ah… ah…"
Felix turned to look at Asuna.
She listened carefully before translating.
"Your Highness, Little Blue says that they wanted to see you. Only you are able to communicate with them."
The Seaborn nodded, turned around, and began moving down the staircase.
Felix and the others followed.
As they entered the hall below, lights flickered to life one after another. Little Blue hopped forward and landed in front of a throne.
A throne.
This enormous Iberian vessel actually contained a throne.
It was a crystallization of arrogance, the fruit of power, and perhaps an accomplice to the foolish pride of a once-great civilization.
Little Blue whispered something to a Seaborn kneeling beside the throne.
That Seaborn wore a crown.
When it opened its eyes, its gaze slowly swept across the golden hall before finally settling on Felix. Yet after only a brief moment, it looked away again.
Its body blended almost perfectly with the curtain behind the throne, kneeling silently beside it as if it were the throne's most loyal companion.
Like a former queen's closest advisor, eternally serving beneath Iberia's golden sun.
At that moment, a figure stepped out from behind the throne.
The bright light illuminated his face clearly.
Calling him Terran would not be entirely accurate. He appeared half Terran, half sea creature. Felix had only ever seen such a transformation among members of the Deep Sea Church.
"Answer me… answer me…"
The man's voice echoed through the hall.
"… why have you come here?"
"Why disturb the silence and seek out this ship that Iberia abandoned decades ago?"
His gaze swept across the four figures before him before settling on Felix, who clearly stood at the center of the group.
Alfonso could sense the intense heat radiating from him. From Felix's posture alone, it was obvious that he held the dominant position among them.
There was also a strange and unsettling feeling.
A feeling that he could trust this man.
Alfonso hesitated.
This Sankta did not seem to have come here with hostile intentions. Despite possessing such overwhelming power, he had not caused destruction nor damaged the ship.
Perhaps… he could be trusted.
With that thought, Alfonso's tone softened slightly.
He slowly sat down upon the throne, completely ignoring the others beside Felix. That included the Aegir woman who clearly disgusted him. Skadi stood nearby, gripping her sword with a confused expression.
"Answer me, unknown Sankta."
"What brings you to the Stultifera Navis?"
Felix noticed the shift in Alfonso's attitude and became more aware of the strange influence he seemed to carry.
He pointed calmly toward Little Blue, who was lying beneath the throne.
"They were the ones who brought me here."
"I see."
Alfonso nodded slowly.
"So you are the 'manager' they mentioned."
"Manager?"
The word was unfamiliar.
It sounded like one of those titles often used in old mobile games, names given to players by NPCs. Titles like "teacher," "commander," "analyst," or "traveler."
Little Blue whimpered softly.
Alfonso pointed toward it as he spoke.
"My current state, half Terran and half monster, is entirely because of the Seaborn."
"I have wanted to take revenge on them countless times."
"They are my enemies. My prey."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"But in their language, they described someone who could communicate with them and live among them."
"That person… is called their 'manager.'"
"And also their… queen bee."
Alfonso dragged his partially transformed arm across the floor, grabbed a longsword, and suddenly swung it toward Little Blue.
Little Blue yelped twice and quickly scurried away, fleeing toward the outside of the golden hall.
Seeing this, Alfonso did not continue the pursuit.
The "Terran" standing beside him, already transformed into a sea creature, grabbed his arm and whimpered softly.
Alfonso let out a quiet sigh and turned away.
Then he looked back at Felix.
"How is Iberia now?"
"Although I am not Iberian, the golden age of Iberia has long since passed. The Deep Sea Church now occupies the vast majority of its churches. While the Inquisition still holds absolute authority, the nation itself is in turmoil. It is no longer one of the great powers on Terra."
"…Heh. Just as I expected."
Alfonso let out a mocking chuckle. He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling of the Golden Hall.
"We have guests again," he muttered. "This time… Iberians. And those disgusting Aegirians."
"Then we'll be leaving."
"…Goodbye."
Felix stepped past Alfonso and continued walking deeper into the Golden Hall.
Just as she was about to leave the chamber, Alfonso called out from behind her.
"Thank you."
Felix paused.
"Thank you for what?"
"Look at me," Alfonso said quietly. "Look at my first mate's eyes."
"They are the eyes of Terrans. The eyes of Terrans. Not the eyes of Seaborn… not the eyes of monsters."
Alfonso stood with his back to them, a crooked smile appearing on his face.
"Thank you for treating us with respect."
He paused for a moment before adding softly,
"But I doubt we will ever meet again."
"Goodbye."
"Then… farewell."
Felix walked further into the depths of the ship.
Little Blue was waiting for him there.
However, Little Blue was not alone.
Standing beside the small creature was a woman.
"Bishop Amaia of the Deep Sea Church."
"You are…" Amaia's eyes curved slightly as she studied him. "Ah, I see. The King of Kazdel."
She gently stroked Little Blue's head, a gentle and beautiful smile appearing on her delicate face.
"I was worried that the next scene might be a little dull without an audience."
"This is… a deal."
Little Blue suddenly spoke.
Its voice was clear and bright, completely different from the hoarse sounds one would expect from a Seaborn.
Its gaze turned toward Amaia.
"You… want… us… to evolve?"
"Evolution is a beautiful treasure," Amaia replied softly. "It is not sacrifice, nor devotion."
"It is simply… observation. Anticipation."
"A curiosity about what the marine life of this land will eventually become. A hope for even greater possibilities."
"So," Little Blue said calmly, "you want me to devour you."
Amaia smiled.
She opened her arms and gently embraced Little Blue.
"But I refuse."
Little Blue's voice slowly changed.
What had once been a strange animal voice gradually transformed into something light and ethereal, almost like the voice of a young girl. Yet hearing that voice come from the small body of the puppy-like creature felt strangely unsettling.
She looked at Amaia calmly.
"I do not need to hunt."
"I can still evolve."
"That was a transformation of the soul."
She then turned her gaze toward Felix.
"As long as manager exist, it reflects self-awareness and the will of the entire race."
"I am also part of the race."
"I am also Little Blue."
"I am Manager's Little Blue."
After speaking, Little Blue walked forward and stopped beside Felix.
She raised her head and stared up at him with her hollow eyes.
"We believes that you are our leader."
"What does it mean to be a manager?" Felix asked.
"Every race needs a brain."
Little Blue gazed deeply into Felix's eyes before continuing.
"The environment of this world has changed dramatically. Every race faces immense challenges."
"Time is running out."
"I want to meet your people, Little Blue," Felix said calmly. "Can you take me to them?"
Little Blue looked at him silently for a long moment before finally nodding.
She ran a few steps forward and gestured for Felix to follow.
"Your Highness, please allow me to accompany you."
Asuna stepped forward.
Her design allowed her to adapt to almost any combat environment. If the situation moved into the water, Ines would not be able to keep up, but Skadi certainly could.
However, at that moment, Skadi's gaze remained fixed on Amaia, whose gentle and harmless expression hid something far more unsettling.
"Your Highness… I will wait for you here," Ines said quietly.
She was not incapable of protecting herself. Even in the worst situation, she was confident she could escape from the Stultifera Navis.
Felix nodded.
Then he quickly followed Little Blue and leaped into the dark depths of the sea.
The icy seawater gradually wrapped around his body.
It began to drain his strength.
Blue flames ignited around him instinctively. Yet before the flames could fully spread, the transparent sea creatures surrounding him gathered together.
They formed a massive hollow sphere.
The sphere enclosed Felix and Asuna inside, protecting them within its watery shell.
After using his flames to dry his soaked clothes, Felix gazed quietly at the vast and untouched ocean surrounding them.
This was not Aegir, nor was it the land of Terra.
This was the deep sea of Terra itself, the place people feared most.
Since the earliest inhabitants arrived on this world, no one had ever truly set foot in the depths of the sea. Only a handful of scattered records mentioned the so-called Great Silence.
No one wanted to talk about the ocean.
Felix looked around him.
Gradually, more and more unknown sea creatures came into view. Some resembled coral that writhed slowly along the seabed. Others were transparent jellyfish drifting through the water, their bodies glowing faintly in the darkness. There were also fish of every possible size, twisting and gliding through the currents.
The deeper they descended, the more numerous the Seaborn became.
And the deeper they went, the larger those creatures grew.
Countless Seaborn gazes swept across Felix's body.
Below them, schools of fish followed Felix as he moved further down into the depths.
"Ishar'mla…"
A whisper echoed through the water.
It sounded like a mournful chant, like the quiet weeping of something ancient.
"Ishar'mla will not return… but our God has returned."
Deep within the darkness lay a mass of blue substance sleeping at the ocean floor.
Its form was indistinct. It was impossible to tell whether it was a living being or the corpse of a Seaborn.
Felix landed steadily upon the seabed.
He raised his head and looked at the countless sea creatures leaping and circling around him.
Were they… welcoming him?
"Manager… please…"
Little Blue spoke slowly, her voice hesitant.
"Time is running out for Terra."
"Our race was born from nothing. We wish to fulfill the destiny of our species… to purify Terra."
"You want to purify the Terrans?" Felix paused.
"Do you intend to destroy them… and then leave this planet?"
Little Blue fell silent for a moment.
Then her body swam slowly through the blue substance.
"That was the race's previous conclusion."
"But with manager, we can awaken the colony."
"You are the manager of the colony."
"You are the queen bee of the colony."
Awaken the heirs?
Felix paused, recalling something from the Preservers' archives.
A project known as the Deep Blue Tree.
Almost every extraordinary phenomenon on Terra had been created by ancient civilizations that came before. If that was the case…
Why had those civilizations never created sea creatures?
Unfortunately, Felix only knew the name of the project. Even the Preservers had no information about its later stages or the plans that followed.
How was he supposed to awaken it?
Did he even possess such an ability?
Felix looked at the flame burning in his hand.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
When he became a Teekaz, he had gained a racial ability belonging to the Diablo.
Any enemy he killed or subdued could be transformed into a spark subordinate. Through his flames, he could purify them and grant them a new life. They would retain their consciousness and fight under his command.
Was that what they meant?
Felix's flames erupted outward, breaking through the oppressive pressure of the deep sea.
The blue fire clung to the surrounding blue substance, outlining shapes hidden within the darkness.
Those shapes were enormous creatures that had been sleeping or lying dead for an unknown length of time.
If one had to describe them in a single word, they were deep-sea beasts.
Some possessed long serpentine bodies that shimmered faintly with light. Others were deep-sea dragons with powerful wings, resembling creatures from ancient legends.
Felix's flames seeped into their bodies.
They flowed through their blood and etched his mark into their existence.
From this moment onward, they would recognize only one queen bee, one manager, and one master.
And that was Felix.
The sea dragons remained motionless for a moment longer, lying silently where they had slept for ages.
Waiting.
Waiting for their master's command.
So Felix spoke.
"Stand up."
Blue flames blended with the deep black seawater.
One after another, the massive sea dragons and sea beasts awakened.
They stirred the ocean around them and slowly lowered their heads toward Felix in submission.
"The race has evolved."
Little Blue spoke again.
At this moment, she no longer resembled a fish or a small dog.
Instead, she appeared as a girl wrapped in a flowing blue gauze dress, her figure faint and ethereal beneath the water.
She opened her arms toward Felix.
"Master."
"Please lead us."
"Lead us to purify what you believe to be the filth upon the land of Terra."