Odin took the Ocean Crystal into his hands, then looked at the unconscious Mermaid lying beside the feet of his six-winged warhorse.
He stared at her silently for several moments.
Then he calmly said to his horse,
"Let's go."
The horse prepared to move forward as Odin turned his gaze away from the little Mermaid.
He was not worried about her.
On the contrary, he was certain that whoever arrived at the island later would eventually find her.
Although the Mermaid was considered fairly powerful compared to most members of her race, in Odin's eyes she was nothing more than a helpless little fish.
Odin let out a quiet chuckle before ordering his horse to head toward the ocean.
The horse advanced with steady steps until it reached the shoreline.
But...
Just before placing its first hoof into the sea...
Odin suddenly commanded it to stop.
Silence filled the air for a brief moment.
Then Odin slowly turned around and looked back at the Mermaid.
A faint smile appeared on his face, as though he had just remembered something important.
He raised his right hand.
Suddenly, the unconscious Mermaid's body rose from the sand, as though an invisible force were pulling her through the air.
Within moments, she arrived in Odin's enormous palm.
He caught her effortlessly and laughed once more.
Afterward, he ordered his horse to continue forward.
The horse stepped into the ocean.
At that very moment, Odin activated the Ocean Crystal.
The instant the crystal's power was released, a transparent blue sphere of water formed around the horse and its rider, radiating a calm aura that blended seamlessly with the surrounding sea.
The watery sphere gradually carried them deeper beneath the surface.
No one sensed their presence.
The crystal concealed every trace of them so completely that even the surrounding sea creatures were unable to detect them as they passed.
Odin continued his journey through the depths of the ocean, while the Mermaid remained unconscious in his hand.
He quietly laughed as he gazed at the crystal he had obtained.
No one knew why he had decided to take the Mermaid with him.
Anyone who knew Odin understood that he was not the kind of man who acted out of compassion.
Every step he took had a purpose.
Every decision he made had a reason.
It was therefore certain that the Mermaid held some value in his future plans.
Perhaps...
She would play an important role in the days to come.
Meanwhile, high in the sky near Treasure Island...
The Fallen Angel continued staring at the island with eyes burning with rage, while the Aura of Death continued pouring from his body and spreading across the surrounding region.
Then suddenly...
The Aura of Death stopped expanding.
The Fallen Angel sensed a dangerous presence approaching at incredible speed.
He immediately turned around.
In the next instant...
The space nearby was torn apart.
A gigantic rift opened across the sky.
From within that rift emerged a colossal creature resembling an octopus.
It possessed dozens of long, constantly moving tentacles, while hundreds of eyes covered its entire body.
Each eye was a different color—red, yellow, blue, violet—as though every one of them belonged to a different world.
The creature's appearance was so horrifying that even the air itself seemed to grow heavy beneath its overwhelming presence.
The Fallen Angel looked at the newcomer with obvious irritation.
"Why have you come here?"
he asked.
Then he continued sharply,
"You should have remained beside our King with the other Rulers."
The colossal creature turned its countless eyes toward its companion.
Its enormous mouth slowly opened, revealing hundreds of razor-sharp teeth that resembled swords.
A strange and terrifying laugh echoed across the heavens.
Then it spoke in a deep, unsettling voice,
"I haven't seen you this angry in a very long time."
Still staring at the Fallen Angel with dozens of eyes simultaneously, it continued,
"What happened?"
"The Demon King sent me to make sure you were all right."
Silence lingered for several moments.
Then the Fallen Angel slowly raised his head and looked directly at his companion.
That colossal octopus...
The owner of hundreds of eyes and dozens of tentacles...
Known among every race by the title...
The Ruler of Fear.
The Fallen Angel continued staring at him in silence before finally speaking in a low voice.
Yet the danger carried within those words was enough to wipe the smile from even the Ruler of Fear's face.
"A new race has appeared in this world..."
he said quietly.
"...Ruler of Fear."
The moment the Fallen Angel uttered those words, a strange aura erupted from the Ruler of Fear's body, causing the surrounding space itself to distort.
He stared at the Fallen Angel in disbelief and asked in a deep voice filled with astonishment,
"Are you certain about what you're saying?"
Then, narrowing hundreds of his eyes simultaneously, he continued,
"How could a new race appear in this world so easily without any of us noticing?"
The Fallen Angel shook his head in frustration.
"I don't know."
Then he continued in a serious tone,
"But what I do know is that the person I fought did not belong to any race that exists in this world."
He gestured in front of him.
"See for yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, a dense black aura poured out from his arm.
The dark aura began to gather, gradually taking on a distinct shape.
Within moments, a complete image of Odin appeared before the Ruler of Fear.
His height, appearance, facial features, and even the smallest details of his body were perfectly recreated, as though the real man were standing before them.
The Ruler of Fear studied the figure formed by the dark aura before asking,
"And where is this person now?"
The Fallen Angel answered in a low voice,
"He was on Treasure Island just moments ago."
Then he looked toward the island and added,
"That is why I am still waiting here, covering the surrounding region with the Aura of Death so that he cannot escape."
The Ruler of Fear remained silent for several moments.
Then he turned his cold gaze toward the island.
"I will see for myself whether what you say is true."
The instant those words left his mouth, he shot toward Treasure Island at an astonishing speed.
He arrived above it in the blink of an eye.
Hovering in the sky, the hundreds of eyes covering his body stared at the island from every direction.
Then he spoke softly,
"Eyes of Truth."
Suddenly...
Strange rays of different colors burst forth from his countless eyes, engulfing the entire island.
The rays pierced through rocks, trees, and mountains alike, scanning every inch of the island.
Within only a few moments, the Ruler of Fear sensed everything that remained upon it.
He also sensed everyone who had set foot on the island.
Then, just as suddenly, the rays disappeared.
He closed most of his eyes.
Turned toward the Fallen Angel.
And said with obvious irritation,
"You let him escape."
The moment he finished speaking, he moved without waiting for a reply.
He opened only one of his eyes.
Within that eye, an enormous violet vortex began spinning at an incredible speed.
In the next instant, the vortex swallowed him completely.
Then he vanished without a trace, teleporting directly to the location where he had sensed the presence of the one who had been on the island.
The Fallen Angel watched as the Ruler of Fear disappeared.
He remained silent for a few moments.
Then he frowned and muttered in a low voice, his anger unmistakable,
"Did that fool deceive me?"
His expression darkened as he continued,
"How dare he..."
"How dare he escape right before my eyes?"
Suddenly, an overwhelming Aura of Death exploded from his body.
The terrifying aura spread across the sky for countless miles, so immense that it seemed as though the entire world could feel its presence.
Yet...
It never once approached Treasure Island.
Despite his overwhelming fury and the humiliation of watching Odin escape before his very eyes, the Fallen Angel had not completely lost his composure.
He was no fool.
He would not abandon his primary mission simply to chase Odin.
Nor was he reckless enough to destroy Treasure Island in a fit of rage.
He understood the island's true value.
And he understood the importance of the mission entrusted to him by the Demon King.
So he forced himself to suppress his anger.
After letting out a slow breath, he murmured,
"I only hope..."
"...that the Ruler of Fear doesn't kill that bastard too quickly."
A cold smile appeared on his face as he continued,
"I hope he tortures him as much as he pleases..."
"...until my anger has finally been satisfied."
Even so...
There was one thing that eased his frustration.
After calming down, he once again observed the aura radiating from Treasure Island.
He noticed that the aura of the treasures had not weakened very much.
That could mean only one thing.
That person...
Had taken only a small number of treasures.
He had not plundered the island completely.
The Fallen Angel smiled faintly and thought to himself,
"So... most of the treasures are still here."
For that reason, he did not leave his post.
Instead, he remained guarding Treasure Island exactly as the Demon King had ordered, waiting for anyone else foolish enough to attempt to infiltrate the island or steal its treasures.
Meanwhile, the Ruler of Fear had already set off in pursuit of the mysterious stranger who had dared to seize the treasures and escape before one of the Demon Rulers.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]