The Realm of Eternal Night.
The darkness was as thick as ink, swallowing all light. Here, there was no alternation of day and night, only an eternal, profound silence.
The seawater in the Realm of Eternal Night was more viscous than usual, and the resistance Ning Busan and the others faced as they moved forward grew stronger and stronger.
Lilian sensed something was wrong and swam over to Ning Busan's side. “It's too quiet here. There isn't a single sound.”
Beelzebub frowned. “That's because other than us, there isn't a single living fish here.”
Ning Busan said, “Then it seems we've found the right place.”
The temple of Atlantis was likely in this very area, but it had been hidden so well that not a single trace remained.
“There seems to be something over here!”
Echidna felt a slight disturbance in the flow of the seawater, so he swam over to investigate. Suddenly, he let out a miserable shriek.
Ning Busan saw a collapsing black hole appear behind Echidna. The black hole was frantically draining all surrounding life force, and Echidna's tentacles were shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye.
“Back to the deep-sea canyon!” Making a prompt decision, Ning Busan grabbed Echidna and pulled him back.
They didn't even look back at the black hole as they fled, not stopping until they had completely left the Realm of Eternal Night.
Still shaken, Echidna gasped, “What was that just now?”
“I don't know.” Ning Busan felt a burning pain in his lungs. “But I saw something living inside that black hole.”
Lilian asked, “What was it?”
Just thinking back on it made Ning Busan's skin crawl. “I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I saw a dense cluster of eyes.”
If there were many living creatures inside, that would be one thing. But if it was just a single creature with that many eyes, then it was incredibly Lovecraftian.
Ning Busan said, “The Realm of Eternal Night is too bizarre. Let's stay in the canyon for a few days to rest and recover.”
Echidna clutched his limp tentacles and let out a deep sigh.
His poor tentacles. They had suffered so much along with him!
...
In the dead of night, Beelzebub slipped away quietly. Finding a secluded spot, he had just summoned his fly messenger when a faint, ghostly voice drifted from behind him. “What are you doing?”
Beelzebub's body stiffened, and he turned around to give Ning Busan an awkward smile.
Ning Busan had long noticed Beelzebub acting suspiciously behind his back, and now he had finally caught him red-handed.
“Who are you planning to send a message to?”
“Lucifer!” Beelzebub threw his ally under the bus without a second thought. “He ordered me to monitor you and report on your situation in the deep sea.”
Ning Busan demanded, “How did he know I was in the deep sea? Did you tip him off?”
Beelzebub quickly explained, “My King, I've been wronged! Lucifer was the one who contacted me first. I thought he already knew you were in the deep sea, so in a slip of the tongue, I ended up telling him everything—things I should have said and things I shouldn't have!”
Ning Busan asked, “Did Lucifer ask you to do anything?”
Beelzebub said, “He told me to find a large number of Water-Repelling Beads.”
Ning Busan's eyelid twitched. “What is he trying to do?”
“To assist you in your grand endeavor, of course!” Beelzebub said. “My King, aren't you planning to claim this sea and rule as its king?”
“Hell has only magma and swamps, so very few demons can adapt to a deep-sea environment. The only reason I can live in the deep sea is because I carry Water-Repelling Beads with me.”
“But don't you worry. I'll secure a large batch of Water-Repelling Beads soon. When the time comes, the armies of Hell will surely come to aid you!”
The corner of Ning Busan's mouth twitched. “You guys... sure have active imaginations!”
“My King, say no more. I understand completely!” Beelzebub said. “It's no easy feat to make the sea monsters of the deep sea change their faith. That's why you deliberately disguised yourself as a sea monster—all to seize the Sea God's inheritance, right?”
Ning Busan touched his tail.
Did this really look fake to him?
Beelzebub let out a sinister laugh. “Once you enter Atlantis and gain the power to control the entire deep sea, you can rename it the Sea of Hell and expand our territory!”
“By then, I'll have an inexhaustible, endless supply of deep-sea seafood! Hahahahaha!”
Ning Busan rolled his eyes with a dry chuckle.
Wake up and stop dreaming!
But when the two of them returned, they were greeted by the sight of Echidna binding Lilian with his tentacles.
Ning Busan was shocked. “Echidna, what are you doing?”
As she struggled, Lilian cried out in anger, “He betrayed us! He wants to capture me and hand me over to the Deep Sea Queen!”
Ning Busan pinched the bridge of his nose.
One was tipping off Lucifer behind his back, and the other was outright betraying them to join the other side.
This team was truly a nightmare to lead!
If he had known, he would have just come here with Lilian alone!
Ning Busan stepped in front of Echidna and asked calmly, “Why are you doing this? When did you align yourself with the Deep Sea Queen?”
Echidna fell silent.
“Don't blame him. It's all because of me.”
A familiar figure stepped out from behind a reef.
Ning Busan blurted out in surprise, “Sheldon? Why are you here?”
Sheldon mumbled, “The merfolk tribe has been captured by the Deep Sea Queen. She said if we don't bring Lilian back to her, she will slaughter the entire tribe.”
Ning Busan understood.
Their elimination of the Giant-Jawed Shark King and his lackeys in the deep-sea canyon had indeed served as a warning.
The Deep Sea Queen couldn't figure out their background and didn't dare to face them head-on, so she resorted to underhanded tactics instead.
Ning Busan asked, “The merfolk tribe is being bullied to this extent, and you can't even fight back?”
Sheldon said, “They are deep-sea overlords who rule over their own territories, and their subordinates are all ridiculously strong. Our merfolk tribe was never known for combat strength to begin with. How could we possibly fight them?”
Ning Busan asked, “So you got Echidna to help you take Lilian away while Beelzebub and I were gone, is that it?”
“But what did Lilian do wrong? If she falls into the hands of the Deep Sea Queen, what do you think will happen to her?”
Sheldon's face turned pale. “I had no choice.”
Ning Busan looked at Lilian and sighed.
To be honest, the survival of the merfolk tribe had nothing to do with him, but Lilian would definitely care.
Ning Busan asked, “What do you think?”
Lilian let out a bitter laugh. “I was too naive. I thought that by escaping the merfolk tribe, they would only target me. I didn't expect it to still affect the rest of the tribe.”
Ning Busan's eyes darted around as a plan formed in his mind.
“So the Deep Sea Queen likes to play dirty?” Ning Busan sneered. “I can be even more insidious and shameless than her!”
Rate on N.U.
