Devour

Miketsu had previously harbored a question: since the mecha forged from her own remains was so sturdy that it could even defend against the breath of a weakened ancient god, how had the people of Qin processed and forged it in the first place? The reason was simple: the First Emperor was her ritual priest and could wield a portion of her power.

Using his power as a ritual priest, the First Emperor had not only assisted the craftsmen in processing the remains but could also command this entire legion through his status.

"Truly a 'sacrilegious' act. To be a heaven-chosen ritual priest yet possess no heart for revering the gods... though for you, power held in one's hand is far more trustworthy than an ethereal deity..."

Inside the cockpit of the Emperor Mecha, Miketsu spoke with a faint smile. Immediately after, she began preparing the final subjugation of the ancient sea god.

The mecha reached out, and a roar echoed through the waves once more. Several strange, large objects, driven by thrusters, flew toward her. Mid-flight, they began to transform and combine, growing larger in volume. Through constant reconfiguration and shifting, all the parts merged into a single object.

It was a giant crossbow made of dark profound iron, over forty meters long!

This was the only creation in these waters, aside from the twelve mechas, forged purely from Miketsu's remains. It was a weapon specifically configured for the First Emperor's personal unit!

Miketsu operated the mecha to catch the incoming weapon. The Emperor Mecha held the super-giant crossbow—which was longer than its entire body—with both hands, aiming it at the raging torrent of the vortex below.

Bracing the bow with its foot, the "Emperor" pulled the giant crossbow to full draw. A bolt of the same dark profound iron was already in place on the rail. A series of complex runic magical arrays lit up on both sides of the track; the specialized acceleration spells were ready.

The skin depicting the divine bird drifted with the current as the dark bolt took aim.

As if the ancient god's intuition sensed the crisis, the ancient sea god rampaging on the seabed suddenly looked up, seeing the "Emperor" and the black crossbow in its hands.

"————!!"

A terrified roar resounded through the deep sea. A massive torrent of water surged up from the seabed, rushing straight toward the "Emperor." Simultaneously, the eleven mechas that had been entangling it launched a coordinated strike.

The mechas grabbed onto each other in pairs or trios, their thrusters at maximum output to stabilize themselves as they fought through the torrent. As they neared the bones of the ancient sea god, they lunged forward together, firing equipment from their arms that coiled around the target—they were chains.

Eleven chains wrapped around various parts of the skeletal giant fish. The mechas, tossed by the current, immediately opened their thrusters to full throttle, pulling in all directions. The skeletal giant fish was instantly restrained by the numerous chains, its upward movement slowing significantly.

This gave Miketsu a rare opportunity.

Controlling the "Emperor" with her will, Miketsu pulled the trigger of the black crossbow. Amidst a violent explosion of spray, the dark bolt was shot out at high speed. Carrying immense kinetic energy, it tore through the water and pierced the torrent, hitting the thick skull of the skeletal giant fish with pinpoint accuracy. It punched through, leaving a deep hole before continuing its path of destruction, shattering a series of vertebrae.

The ancient sea god's wail echoed through the seabed once more. The torrent shield covering its body vanished into nothingness. The massive skeletal giant fish disintegrated mid-ascent. The giant bones that constructed it lost the will to move and fell from the water one after another. The eerie green energy orb between its ribs also became unstable, slowly sinking toward the seafloor.

"It worked!"

Seeing this, Uminari, who had been watching from afar, couldn't help but shout in excitement. His gaze was fixed tightly on that eerie green orb of energy.

Piloting the Emperor Mecha, Miketsu rapidly descended toward the seafloor. She landed on the seabed littered with massive bones. There, Miketsu exited the mecha and stood on the ocean floor, looking around at the towering remains.

Miketsu paced across the desolate seabed, walking among the remains. Finally, she arrived before the giant fish skull that had two holes punched through it. A trace of dark profound energy leaked from her eyes.

"...No..."

A weak hiss echoed through the space and the water. Looking at Miketsu as she revealed her power, the ancient sea god seemed to realize its fate.

Taking out the crystal containing the dark aura, Miketsu used it as a medium to minutely release her true power. Instantly, dark profound energy began to coil around Miketsu's right hand.

Reaching out toward the massive, thick skull, Miketsu's hand passed through the bone like an illusion, pulling out a faint, ghostly blue speck of light.

This was the divine soul of the ancient sea god. Now, Miketsu was going to extinguish it. According to Suwako, the most common and simple way for an ancient god to extinguish another was quite direct.

Opening her mouth, Miketsu swallowed the blue speck of light directly.

She took the remnant soul of the ancient sea god into her own godhead, where her own divine soul enveloped, devoured, and digested it.

Devouring—this was the standard procedure after a war between ancient gods. It didn't necessarily mean one would gain the other's power, but it could completely extinguish their soul, leaving them no chance of a comeback.

Of course, this had to be done when the opponent's soul was weak and one's own state was good; otherwise, a backlash would be more trouble than it was worth. This was why some ancient gods could survive even after losing; if the victor's condition wasn't suitable for devouring, they wouldn't do it. However, if a soul remained alone without being revived for a long time, it was no different from death; the soul would fall into eternal slumber. Only the faith of mortals could keep a soul active or even grant it a body as a wild god, which was Suwako's current state.

The ancient sea god had already died three times. Its soul was weakened to the extreme, completely unable to resist Miketsu's devouring. Miketsu could eat without worry.

"Burp... tastes like seafood..."

After letting out a burp and evaluating the flavor, Miketsu wiped her mouth. She then surveyed her surroundings, finally looking at the eerie green energy orb still floating nearby.

Miketsu drifted toward the green orb. Looking at the energy sphere that had shrunk by nearly half, she breathed a relief. After glancing at the surrounding desolation, she used her power to lift the energy orb.

"Go..."

Miketsu tossed the orb upward and then controlled the remaining energy to scatter. Suddenly, the eerie green orb exploded like fireworks in the dark depths of the sea, turning into a sky full of green starlight that slowly drifted down.

The entire Sea Nation was instantly bathed in a rain of light.

"The power of the Sea Nation... has returned?" On the desolate plains of the seabed, Otakemaru struggled to support his injured body. He reached out his hand, catching the slowly falling green rain. Feeling the vitality within it, he spoke softly.