Om led her to a dead end; in Mera's puzzled gaze, he fiddled around the corner of the wall for a while, and the wall 'swished' down into the ground.
Behind the wall lay a corridor that had never been known to anyone; this corridor connected Atlantis's true secret, which Om had never told anyone.
"I deleted this part of history during my reign and modified the architectural plans of the Royal Palace; here hides Atlantis's most powerful weapon."
Om briefly explained to Mera as he continued to go forward.
At that moment, Mera suddenly felt a headache, as a mental consciousness connected to her.
She saw Arthur being pressed by three monsters, obviously turned into a captive, while Black Manta stood by watching the fun.
"Arthur?! Where are you?"
"It's me, my love, you must run quickly..." Arthur's image appeared in front of her, reaching out his hand to her: "These are Alien Sea Gods; I'm at their so-called Blood Reef, you must hurry..."
Mera also reached out her hand, but before her fingers could touch, the communication was cut off, and Arthur's image disappeared in front of her.
"What's wrong?"
Om turned back, finding Mera still standing there, holding her head like she was dazed.
"I just saw Arthur, it was some kind of spiritual energy connecting my thoughts, not telepathy, but something more advanced..."
Mera gathered her spirits and caught up with Om's speed.
Om's expression changed dramatically upon hearing her words, and he swam even faster: "This means they've discovered Arthur's true ability, damn it, we have no time, hurry!"
They swam a short distance, and ahead was a giant door, carved with beautiful reliefs of seahorses and shells.
And Om kicked the door open and led Mera inside.
"Tell me, Mera, what do you know about Aryan?" Om spoke quickly, leading her to the depths of the hall.
"Uh... A great explorer, he was an Atlantis hero, he formed an alliance maintained by seawater."
Mera turned to close the door, but it was like welded in place; once opened, it couldn't be closed.
"This is the Crown Hall, I also erased it from history during my reign; keep talking, what else do you know?" Om urged her, seemingly anxious.
Mera furrowed her brows, trying her best to recall: "Legend has it that he was favored by Poseidon and created a Divine Artifact that could connect to the Cosmos, but what he summoned were just monsters. He formed an alliance with Amazonians and humans to fight against aliens and finally sacrificed heroically."
Om let out a cold laugh: "That wasn't Poseidon's favor but a curse; what he fought against were three Alien Sea Gods. Undying? As if!"
Mera shook her head, her red long hair floating in the seawater.
"But it's just different versions of fairy tales, like the land people's Legends of King Arthur. It's just a story, we tell the children this story, hoping they hold awe for the unknown seas."
Om sighed and extended a finger.
"Firstly, King Arthur's story is true, he really existed, you know too little about the surface! Secondly, Aryan's story is true, it's a secret hidden in the Atlantis royal family!"
"Why did you bring me here, what are you up to?"
Mera looked around the room, apart from dozens of statues of past Kings and Heroes, there were crowns they wore during their lives placed here.
In front of each tall statue, there was a small stone platform with the corresponding crown, but Mera felt that the gaze of these stone statues was not fixed on the crowns, but gazed into the distance.
"For a weapon, do you see Aryan's crown?"
Om turned back and pointed; on the highest stone platform, there lay a particularly magnificent crown.
Atlantis crowns were generally made of gold, at most inlaid with a few small gemstones.
But Aryan's crown was different from other crowns, with a large gemstone in the center of its forehead as big as Mera's two fists combined.
And at this moment, in the purple sea water, it still glows with a bluish light, rippling like a wave.
"This is the Divine Horn! An alien conch, and it has another function; it will guide you to Aryan's tomb, where there's the 'Tear of Extinction', that thing is the most powerful weapon in Atlantis, powerful enough to kill Gods, just like Aryan used it to kill Alien Sea Gods back then."
Upon hearing this, Mera excitedly swam over, gently exerted force to remove the Divine Horn from the crown.
She held it in her hands, feeling its warm and smooth texture, as fine and delicate as a large piece of gemstone.
"If true, then we can save this world."
"I don't care about the surface world." Om looked into Mera's eyes, blowing out a string of bubbles: "I only care about this city, remember your responsibility, remember Aryan's lesson, save Atlantis."
As Mera was about to answer him, another strong voice echoed in the hall.
"You've got nothing left to save!"
It was Blackbeard's Lone Brave Captain, this Alien Sea God had arrived, bringing along his strangely-shaped Sea Race army.
Perhaps earlier when Arthur and Mera communicated, it was done with good intention? Let Sea King see his wife one last time before dying?
Not at all, they were merely locking onto Mera's position, making it easier for the Sea Monster 'Flood Demon' to teleport the army...
Arthur had a kind of Ocean's Life Force within him, the ocean is the origin of all life, and Arthur is the crosspoint between land and ocean, he's unique.
The Sea Gods know this, but the so-called Power of Life is the target of their new ally.
Luthor wants it, he wants the Power of Life.
And the Sea God Triumvirate wants revenge and to rescue their companions!
The Tomb of the Gods is actually not a cemetery but a prison for these Alien Sea Gods; the ones who originally came to Earth were far more than the Triumvirate; they are the survivors who escaped from the prison. More companions are still locked up there.
They escaped, but in that strange space, without a Key, they can't find where others are imprisoned.
They need the Key to rescue people, find others' cells.
The myths of Earthlings are all wrong; the Tomb of Gods is not where the Tear of Extinction is stashed, only Luthor knows this truth.
And this cunning bald man did not tell anyone the truth, not even his Destruction Legion, which remained in the dark...
What he's searching for is Aryan's tomb, not the Tomb of the Gods; that's just a smoke bomb.
Luthor knows his opponent is Batman; he's long familiar with Batman's intelligence-gathering abilities.
If Atlantis doesn't reach dire straits, how could they possibly bring out the hidden Divine Horn?
So the bald man sent out a beacon and made a deal with the Alien Sea Gods.
The bald man will help them save people and let them wreak havoc on Earth for revenge; what he needs is the Power of Life and the Tear of Extinction.
He sent Cheetah and Manta Ray to kill Poseidon, partly to sell favor to new allies and partly to mislead Justice League's investigation.
A double win.
However, the Tear of Extinction, this terrifying rule weapon, is also coveted by the Sea Gods, so Luthor generously agreed that both sides would get half.
The original plan of the Triumvirate was not like this, as they just needed to find the Key to the Tomb of the Gods.
It was Luthor who had Manta Ray leave a Ship in a Bottle at the lighthouse, with clues so obvious that even a fool could understand them, leading Sea King into the trap.
The Alien Sea Gods could have used that Ship in a Bottle to find the Key themselves, but Luthor concealed this information once more and did not share it with his allies.
He needed the Sea God Triumvirate to confront the Justice League head-on; the information imbalance regarding the Ship in a Bottle was a heaven-sent opportunity.
He only told his foolish allies to monitor the man in golden armor, as he would go to find the Key to the Tomb of the Gods.
And indeed, the Alien Sea Gods fell into the trap.
When they saw Arthur finding that Scepter, they got it from him without lifting a finger and immediately ordered the Sea Monster to teleport them to Blood Reef.
However, things took a wrong turn.
Who could have predicted that a Sea King would give the treasured artifact of the Aquatic Race to someone else?
The three Alien Sea Gods never expected that after finding the Key, Arthur would just weigh it a few times and then casually toss it to Diana.
The Key was in another woman's hands, and during the teleportation process, the woman's numerous Divine Artifacts, plus her constant struggles, seriously affected the teleportation's accuracy, ending with her being thrown into an unknown part of the Cosmos...
Even the three Sea Gods had no idea where exactly the woman had ended up.
There was no way they could blame anyone for losing the Key themselves, was there?
And the bald ally did what he was supposed to do; now it was their turn to help the bald man find the Tear of Extinction.
Of course, to Luthor, the Alien Sea Gods were just pawns, used to divert Justice League's attention, as well as free muscle, convenient for Luthor to achieve his own goals.
By the end, Luthor would let all gods, whether from Earth or from space, witness the power of human wisdom.
.................
"Who are you?! Who dares trespass on sacred ground?!"
Mera shouted angrily at the Lone Brave Captain.
"I was once the Sea God of the planet Ocarina! My planet was as large as your Solar System's Jupiter, and I once had the deepest sea in the Cosmos, but now, I have nothing! Damn Earth Sea Race, feel the wrath of Ocarina!"
The Lone Brave Captain was clearly even more furious than her, and his power was also stronger.
With just a wave of his hand, a jet stream as big as a train shot toward the two, as the minions behind him swarmed forward.
Mera used hard water to manifest a Shield to protect herself and Sea Lord, struggling to hold on, but against a god, just a casual wave of water from them was difficult to counter.
She and Om were pushed back by the torrent, the hard-water protective shield was continuously worn down, leaving deep ruts in the ground, gouging out deep furrows beneath their feet.
"I... Om, I don't think we can hold on much longer."
Mera grit her teeth, exerting all her energy to keep the Shield from breaking; if she were hit by that train-like Purple Water, both would undoubtedly turn into Fish-Men.
Turn into puppets that only obey the Alien Sea Gods' commands.
"No, you must leave with the Divine Horn, I'll buy you time, leave me some safe waters, you go quickly."
Om didn't hesitate; he dashed out of the Protective Shield, using his body to withstand the Alien Sea God's torrent.
"No! Om, come back!"
"If my brother survives, tell him he's a bastard, not worthy of this country... For Atlantis!"
Om shouted loudly, wielding the Trident as he launched a counter-charge at the enemy; he not only blocked the water column but also the pursuing soldiers.
But the torrent was eroding his hard water protection, transforming him.
Nonetheless, his Willpower let him continue to fight, his half-Fishman self battling amidst the pursuers.
This was a chance Om secured with his Life, and Mera wasn't about to let it go to waste.
She took one last look at Om, who had turned into a Fish-Man and was surrounded by enemies, then seized the opportunity to escape through the main door.
Still clutching the blue Divine Horn in her hand.
"Go after her! Kill that woman, retrieve the Treasure!"
The Lone Brave Captain commanded his minions to pursue Mera, while he himself was tightly entangled with Fish-Man Om.
For some reason, this Sea Race member, even after being transformed, still wasn't obeying his orders, and the mutation had only made Om stronger, forcing the Lone Brave Captain to defensively evade his reckless attacks.
On the other hand, the reason minions are called minions is that they can't accomplish much or finish the job.
The Water Race, resembling either octopuses or lobsters, couldn't keep up with Mera's Speed, soon losing sight of her.