RUMBLE—!
The sky had been clear moments ago, but now it was filled with dark clouds. Lightning flickered within the clouds. The howling sea breeze whipped up tumultuous waves.
A flash of lightning illuminated Sea God Island, now shrouded in dark clouds, bathing it in a momentary silver light. And in that instant, within the silver light, dark tentacles were revealed, swaying fleetingly.
Nearly two hundred people on the four ships in the deep sea witnessed the changes in heaven and earth. They saw strange shadows hovering over Sea God Island and heard vibrations emanating from afar, as if they were in another world.
Schierke nervously supported the quartet. She glanced towards Sea God Island, then looked again at her teacher Flora, who was in her wheelchair, guarded by Farnese and Serpico.
Flora herself had taken the risk. Her spirit had left her body to go and lead the water elemental spirits to support Nidhogg and Guts. Her physical body could not be lost. The elite members of the Spirit Tree Company's core group had gathered here.
Schierke wasn't the only one nervous. Casca and other members of the Spirit Tree Company were also anxious.
Despite all the preparations and the presence of the mermaids, this terrifying scene still made them worry for Nidhogg and Guts on Sea God Island.
Flora's spirit could be recalled. The mermaids could swim into the deep sea. But when danger came, Nidhogg and Guts could only rely on themselves.
The Sea Horse was closer to Sea God Island. If the situation changed, Nordic would give the order for medium- and long-range bombardment, or to rescue Nidhogg and Guts if they landed in the sea for a quick evacuation.
And the Sea God Island villagers, who had been dragged onto the boats, were shocked by the vision of the island they had lived on for decades.
They knew that the Sea God was under the island. They knew it would extend its tentacles every full moon, invading the sea. They knew those it devoured would never return.
However, only at this moment did they truly understand how terrifying the Sea God was. This scene of wind and thunder, the dark tentacles appearing intermittently in the lightning, were the best witnesses.
Several islanders couldn't help but tremble and kneel facing Sea God Island, praying silently, uttering words like begging forgiveness from the Sea God.
The members of the Spirit Tree Company watched coldly and did not stop them.
Most of them had been on the edge of the storm of death, witnessed the Eclipse, and then gathered to clean up the remains of their brothers and pray to the gods—they could no longer do that.
Unless that god was truly on their side.
Morgan held Isma. She looked at Sea God Island from a distance. After a short pause, she averted her gaze, first glancing at the worried Morgan, then at the bard enthusiastically playing his piano to the side.
Finally, she looked at the islanders kneeling on the deck, praying to the Sea God, who was radiating an ominous aura.
She shook her head, took off the shoes she had just put on, shoved them into Morgan's hands, and then gently broke free from Morgan's grasp and stood on the ship's rail.
Morgan looked blankly at the shoes in his hand, then looked up at Isma standing on the rail. He said with some anxiety, "Isma, what are you trying to do? It's too dangerous to stand there!"
"I felt the call of power." Isma stretched out her arms and turned towards the sea breeze. "Uncle Morgan, I don't need the shoes anymore. Thank you. I want to return to them, not pray here."
The next moment, Isma leaned forward and jumped from the ship's rail.
Neither Morgan nor the Spirit Tree Company nor the sailors could catch her. They could only watch as she fell into the churning waters.
Falling into the icy water, Isma didn't immediately surface. She closed her eyes and sank into it.
She felt something. She opened her eyes again and looked back.
A fishtail.
The lower part of her body had transformed into a fishtail.
Isma, a mermaid returned to her true form, felt not the slightest fear or anxiety, but surfaced with joy.
Wet, she greeted Morgan and the others who cared for her on the ship, then flicked her tail and dove into the deep sea.
Morgan looked at the fishtail and couldn't help but remember the scene when he first met Flora. He smiled foolishly.
FWOOSH—!
With her intuition and this call, Isma traversed the deep waters and quickly reached Sea God Island. She also saw with her own eyes the underwater currents surging beneath Sea God Island, like water dragons.
And the mermaids were singing loudly in the sea water.
Miraculously, their voices could penetrate the sea water and travel far, clearly discernible, and at the same time, they blocked the spread of these water dragons.
"You're here."
A mermaid swam up to Isma and gently touched her body. Isma immediately understood who this person was.
"My daughter, forgive me for not being able to take you away before."
Isma joyfully hugged her mother, Evelyn.
"Mother, I know you were protecting me. Those talismans were secretly sent by you, weren't they? I hung them all on the door."
"It was me." Evelyn nodded with a smile. Then she took Isma's body and pointed towards Sea God Island. "Since you are here, you have chosen the path of courage."
"Come, my daughter. Sing with us. Singing is the weapon of our mermaid clan. Let us support our allies!"
"Okay, Mother!"
Isma followed Evelyn, following her companions, using their singing to contend with the Sea God's power, and also cooperating with Flora to mobilize the water elemental spirits of this sea area.
The water dragons were torn apart. The underwater currents gradually disintegrated. Flora and the mermaids were slowly stripping away the Sea God's power.
---
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—!
The closer he got to the Sea God's heart, the more Nidhogg felt an invisible shock that rattled his internal organs.
If not for Melina's protection and "Oath of Vengeance," he would have been stripped of his five senses.
The current situation was not much better. To stop his advance, all the sea monsters within the Sea God's body moved and sealed themselves before him like a wall.
It was like a large group of deep-sea monsters. The huge sea monsters charged at Nidhogg like mad!
Nidhogg raised the Grafted Blade Greatsword and killed the sea monsters one by one, using Crucible Horn, Crucible Tail, and Star Shower, carving a bloody path.
The Carian Knight armor was stained with blood. He could no longer distinguish its original color. He shook off the flesh and blood scraped from the sea monsters onto the Grafted Blade Greatsword and surged forward.
The heart, huge as a mountain, was completely exposed before his eyes. A deformed, single eye opened on the epidermis of the heart and stared directly at him.
By this point, Nidhogg had already drunk the last of his Flask of Crimson & Cerulean Tears.
Melina floated above him, blessing him with her grace, slowly healing the features and organs damaged by the Sea God's sound waves.
It was time for the final, life-or-death battle.
Nidhogg charged straight at the heart of the evil god.
"OOOOH—!"
The Sea God intensified its screaming, slowing Nidhogg's movements.
At the same time, the sea monsters not affected by the sound waves also approached from behind, like a tide.
At that moment, from the depths of the sea, through the sea water, through the cave, through the sea monsters, through the Sea God's body, an explosion of the mermaids' singing arrived, completely disrupting the Sea God's screaming!
Moreover, the sea water accumulated within the Sea God's body, under the influence of the witch Flora, became violent.
The water elemental spirits summoned a tsunami within its body. It surged and rolled, engulfing all the sea monsters caught off guard and sweeping them into the torrent of sea water!
At that moment, there were no obstacles before Nidhogg!
Nidhogg raised the Grafted Blade Greatsword and fiercely struck the Sea God's heart. He suddenly carved a huge gash. Blood gushed out!
The Sea God let out a piercing scream. Its struggle and vibration were even stronger. But it couldn't stop Nidhogg's next strike!
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
Several bloody gashes completely caused the Sea God to release a massive amount of blood. The terrifying single eyes were either severed or gradually closed due to blood loss.
The Sea God also gradually slowed down, until, at a certain moment, an unprecedented explosion occurred.
BOOM—!
The explosion of qi and blood blasted Nidhogg and Melina away!
At the same time, the Sea God's massive body suddenly exploded within the cave!
Countless clots of blood spewed out. The energy completely destroyed the sealed cave. The stone walls shattered and collapsed downward!
Guts was also caught in the sudden shockwave. It felt like a heavy blow. He was sent flying into the cold water, crashing through stone cones and flying out of the pit.
He fell into the sea water. It took him a while to surface. Then he looked back into the depths of the cave, where the earth-shattering explosion had subsided.
Guts climbed ashore, breathing heavily.
Worried about Nidhogg's safety, he dragged his exhausted body and quickly ran back into the depths of the cave. But he saw that the cave was half-buried.
Countless gravel was falling, crushing the writhing sea monsters below. The remaining water in the pool was almost completely filled.
But more importantly, the originally bloated Sea God had shrunk and sunk from its head, like a bowl filled with gravel. It no longer had its former life.
Was it... dead?
Just as Guts hesitated, he thought of Nidhogg and immediately rushed towards him.
The three knight spirits that were still alive—Ingvall, Oleg, and Lhutel—had all vanished. He feared they had been shattered by the shockwave of this explosion in their residual blood state.
Guts wasn't worried about them. Nidhogg could resummon them with his Spirit Calling Bell at any time. Now, he was only worried about Nidhogg.
He used his Dragonslayer to smash the boulders blocking his path. Just as he was about to approach the Sea God's corpse, the entire cave shook again. This time, the momentum seemed greater than all the previous times combined.
Suddenly, Guts heard a familiar voice—Flora's words.
"Guts, get out quickly! The cave is no longer safe! The Sea God is dead. Its body, its seal—these were the foundational existences supporting this Sea God Island. Now that they are lost simultaneously, Sea God Island will collapse!"
"But I haven't found Nidhogg yet!"
"It's alright. I've contacted Melina through incantations. They are safe. But Nidhogg is currently in a state of grace and cannot get out for now. You don't need to worry. Get out of there!"
Guts hesitated for a moment, then decided to trust Flora and Nidhogg. He cast one last look at the Sea God's corpse, turned decisively, and ran out of the cave.
The vibration of Sea God Island grew stronger and stronger. Wherever Guts went, he saw stone walls and the ground cracking inch by inch.
Almost at the same moment he ran out of the cave, the entire Sea God Island disintegrated into several pieces and collapsed, forming a huge vortex in this sea area, devouring everything around!