As the banquet reached its latter half, melodious singing drifted from across the sea, adding a joyful atmosphere to the gathering. Everyone listened entranced to the pleasing song, glancing around in search of the enchanting songstress. They looked everywhere, yet no such figure could be found.
Despite the steering position being in plain sight for all to see, it was completely ignored. At that moment, a humanoid figure covered in fish scales appeared there. He was not particularly tall, but his muscles were tight and bulging with power.
His palm had pierced deep into Sharon’s chest before she could even react. She stared blankly at the figure in front of her, feeling a chill in her heart. Death was now just centimeters—no, millimeters—away from her.
Everything happened in a flash. No one realized what was occurring; just a moment ago, Mende had been teasing Blan about his height, and the next, they were nearly witnessing Sharon’s death.
The thick, scale-covered arm was bulging with veins, seemingly exerting maximum force. Yet, those few millimeters were an unreachable distance for him. His sharp claws had only just sunk into his target’s body when he froze completely. A fair, small hand was resting on his arm, gripping it tightly.
“Hello.” Li Yue still held a fork in one hand with a piece of roasted meat on it. She stood sideways, feeling somewhat annoyed that she had retracted her perception for the sake of peace and then forgotten to reactivate it after relaxing, allowing this Sea King to take advantage of the opening.
“Let me guess. You decided to kill the strongest first for that piece of God's remains, then quickly finish off the carrier beside her, right?” Li Yue said flatly, her grip showing no sign of loosening.
The Sea King had a half-human body but seemed to have no intention of speaking. He gave a disdainful smile and slowly channeled magic into his arm, intending to use the magic at his fingertips to pierce through her heart directly.
And so, his arm was ripped off. In that same instant, his body was sent flying backward. Li Yue pulled the arm out, casually healed Sharon’s flesh wound, and tossed the severed limb into the Death Abyss.
“This scent... a sea snake?” Li Yue said calmly. The figure flying backward crashed into the sea, kicking up a spray of water several meters high. Immediately afterward, his form seemed to vanish, and a dark shadow beneath the water grew larger and larger.
“A Sea King class sea monster that can take a semi-human form.” Li Yue thought of something and smiled mysteriously. “Then what about gods? Those deities whose true forms are monsters... they seem to transform into humans.”
Li Yue let out a few soft laughs, quietly waiting for the giant sea snake to emerge from the sea.
“That was just...” Sharon clutched her chest. The instantaneous experience of life and death made her feel as if she had fallen from the clouds to the bottom of a valley and been pulled back up again. The rollercoaster-like thrill turned her leisurely enjoyment into the fear of death, followed by the joy of survival.
“It seems the octopus sea monster’s territory has been occupied. Even the outermost reaches have been arrogantly invaded.” Mende supported Sharon, feeling a lingering fear. “Did it chase the aura of the God's remains across an entire sea area?”
“Don’t underestimate the intense aura that a piece of God's remains emits in an instant, nor the powerful perception of monsters.” Li Yue smiled; the term 'monster' applied to her as well.
The blood-red tide slowly spread out, and in an instant, the nearby waters were covered by a black tide. For a moment, the originally calm sea surface seemed to transform into a vision of hell. Everyone could see countless skeletal remains in the reflection and feel the intense emotions from various moments of death.
Fear, relief, resignation, resentment, indignation...
And the extreme, soul-piercing cold that seeped into the very spirit.
Li Yue was aware of these effects, so she didn't plan to keep the Death Abyss spread for long. Although she harbored no hostility toward anyone on the ship, they were still affected, perhaps because the gap in their strength was simply too vast.
A giant snake appeared within the Death Abyss. This was the sea monster’s original form; its body was likely long enough to coil around Cook’s ship dozens of times. Its head alone was larger than their vessel.
It radiated an intense murderous intent. A patch of flesh and scales was missing from the right side of its body, undoubtedly Li Yue’s handiwork.
Its body moved rapidly, rushing toward Li Yue at high speed. The others were still immersed in the terror of the Death Abyss, completely oblivious to the incoming attack.
Suddenly, the Death Abyss stirred. Deep within its furthest reaches, a massive figure seemed to awaken. It opened its eyes slightly, and its body leaned out just a fraction.
Li Yue’s hand trembled slightly. This was a scene she had not anticipated.
That was... a head larger than a mountain range. It emerged from the Death Abyss for a fleeting moment, making the sea monster’s body look like a tiny loach in comparison before the creature vanished somewhere. The half of a head that emerged had scales that were far larger than Li Yue’s ship. To the tiny humans, it felt as if a black wall that blotted out the sun and sky had risen out of nowhere, plunging the world into darkness.
All of this lasted for only a heartbeat. After that moment, everything returned to tranquility. Only Li Yue’s body continued to tremble. She felt her Death Abyss; it was empty, yet it felt as if it were full, just as it had before.
That gargantuan entity... she was so familiar with it... yet it was so strange...
That thing... why... the God's remains are all telling me... that is me... No, no...
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