“What the hell!?”
An’as was just about to rush to the edge of the port dock when Lazarus stopped him, his expression still calm.
“…Don’t be hasty.”
An’as opened his mouth, but soon stopped himself. The merchant was right. There was no need for him to be so hasty. The situation was extremely abnormal, and rushing would only do more harm than good.
“I understand.”
An’as sat down on the bench, his gaze still lingering over the spot where the figure was previously standing.
Splash!
The waves splashed against the edge of the sea wall, the water splashing all over with a deafening roar.
An’as could only wait in silence while Lazarus kept his gaze fixed on the spot where the figure jumped. An’as was curious to understand what he was trying to do, but he decided to remain silent while Lazarus lowered his head slightly.
His eyes flickered as he saw the faint outline of a figure stirring just below the water, waiting… waiting for something.
Lazarus’s lips slowly pulled upwards at the sight.
‘So he’s waiting.’
It was unfortunate that he could see right through him with his skill [Mana Sense]. Had the two of them jumped for him after, they would’ve most likely have fallen into its trap.
Lazarus kept his gaze fixed on the silhouette beneath the water, waiting.
…Waiting for it to slowly pull away.
And sure enough, after twenty minutes, his eyes finally saw movements coming from the figure as it dove deep into the water, sinking into its depths.
“Okay, we can start moving now.”
Lazarus stood up from his seat, startling An’as, who had been waiting the entire time.
“Where are we going?”
“Where…?”
Lazarus laughed, his eyes fixing onto the distant water.
“Into the water, of course.”
“Ha?”
Ignoring the stunned expression on An’as’s face, Lazarus moved to the edge of the sea wall and looked down. The water was just a few meters below, and the waves were starting to rage on.
Water splashed across his face, the metallic scent lingering in his nose as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then—
Splash!
He dove down into the water.
“Wait!”
An’as’s voice echoed loudly behind him, but by then it was already too late as he was soon swallowed up by the water, its cold body embracing him from all directions.
Falling into the crimson waters, his body lay weightless and suspended. Almost as if he were back in his mother’s womb, but instead of warmth, all he felt was coldness. Lazarus opened his eyes, and what he saw was nothing short of unnerving.
An endless sea of red surrounded him, the color suffocating, pressing in from every direction. The deeper he looked, the darker it became, as if the ocean itself was really made of blood.
The world around him was still, the silence adding to the sense of suffocation.
But the silence was soon shattered by a splashing sound as Lazarus turned his head to see An’as appear beside him.
His eyes were closed, and his finger pinched his nose.
Staring at the sight, Lazarus smiled.
‘Even though he always seems to disagree with me or wants to get the temple involved, he still follows me.’
Lazarus was happy. In the end, his eyes didn’t deceive him.
He had truly found himself the perfect assistant.
‘If not for his strange obsession with the Goddess, he would’ve been perfect.’
Lazarus waited for An’as to open his eyes before pointing down.
His gesture was simple, and An’as instantly understood what he was trying to say.
‘We’re going down.’
An’as shook his head, but Lazarus ignored him and circled his arms around the water, pushing himself down.
Either way, he was still going to follow…
And sure enough, An’as followed.
Diving down, Lazarus’s eyes were still focused on the faint silhouette in the distance as it moved deeper and deeper into the depths of the crimson sea.
‘I hope this won’t last for long. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold my breath.’
There were still some concerns as Lazarus dove deep into the water. His main concern stemmed from his inability to breathe. Had he been a [Body] user, he would’ve been able to hold his breath for much longer, but as a [Mind] and [Elemental] mage, his body wasn’t very strong.
But in spite of this, his body was still much stronger than a regular human.
If he had to make an estimate, he could probably hold his breath for about ten to twenty minutes.
‘Taking into account the time that it would take for me to go back up, I’ll need to give myself enough time to make it back up before running out of oxygen.’
Lazarus quickly calculated his current situation before diving deeper into the depths of the sea, the darkness around him turning even more pronounced as the cold clung to his skin from all sides, almost as though a thousand cold skinny fingers were brushing against his body.
The deeper he went, the greater the pressure became, and his chest started to feel tighter, as though the very water was trying to crush the air from his lungs.
From time to time, he’d turn around to check on An’as to see how he was fairing.
For now, he still appeared to be okay. In fact, he appeared to be doing better than he was.
Lazarus nodded, diving deeper into the depths of the ocean, the silence around him starting to feel more and more suffocating.
He continued to follow the silhouette, his gaze never leaving it.
But just as he moved deeper, his head flicked ahead. He suddenly felt some strange, and when he looked ahead, his eyes narrowed.
He activated [Mana Sense] again, trying to gauge for anything, but…
‘Nothing?’
Silence.
The world around him was silent.
He gazed back down to see the silhouette growing further, and he proceeded to move down again.
However, just as he moved down, his senses screamed as a massive shadow loomed, filling his entire field of vision.
“….!”
His eyes shook as he saw the massive shadow, towering over everything his eyes could cover, as a single pale light suddenly appeared.
It was only when the pale light appeared that Lazarus felt the creature’s presence, its silhouette stretching across his entire vision, appearing as large as the temple of the Goddess of Light.
Lazarus held his breath, and he looked at An’as, who stared at the creature in horror, his entire body shaking.
The shadow moved closer, revealing what had only been a vague outline before. Dark skin, with several sharp bones protruding outward, its unfocused white eyes seemed to fade in and out, adding to its terrifying presence.
The pale light flickered again, and for a split second, he saw the creature’s maw. The teeth were enormous, sharp, and thin. Each one was at least five times his size, gleaming like a trap waiting to snap shut.
In seconds, the jaw was already upon him.
Lazarus didn’t think much.
He reached out to grab An’as and took a step forward, activating Step of Suppression.
Swoooosh!
His figure dropped rapidly, bubbles forming as the pressure around him heightened.
He could feel An’as struggling as he was dragged down, but he couldn’t care less about how he was currently feeling. Looking up, he saw the pale light flicker again, turning towards him.
The creature…
It was still following him.
Lazarus’s entire body grew tense, the darkness swallowing him from all directions as he sank deeper and deeper into the darkness.
The deeper he sank, the greater the pressure became.
He could feel his chest starting to ache. The sudden increase in pressure was taking a toll on his body, but he had no choice but to do this.
‘Just a little more, a little…!’
Thump!
He felt something touch his feet.
‘I’ve reached the bottom?’
Lazarus didn’t think much as he activated [Lament of Lies], blending himself and An’as perfectly with the darkness around.
At the same time, he kept his gaze focused on the massive creature up ahead, the light flickering away, and darkness taking over.
It was also in that moment that he lost complete sight of it.
Even with [Mana Sense].
Lazarus held his breath as he crouched down, trying his best to hide in the rocks he was in. They felt rather smooth to the touch, but he didn’t think much of it. He did his best to hide their presence as his body started to shudder under the cold.
He didn’t know how long had passed, but he could feel that he was slowly starting to run out of oxygen.
He was about to reach the point where he’d have to go back up before it was too late.
But could he really go back up?
He looked at the darkness around him, his breath tense as the silence around him felt suffocating. It felt as though it was just the two of them present, but Lazarus could tell there was a third figure…
It was lurking somewhere.
Looking for them.
And sure enough…
Flick!
A pale light appeared, just a few meters away from them, causing Lazarus’s entire body to shudder as he saw the body of the gigantic figure moving past him.
An’as froze entirely next to him, his breathing seemingly stopping as the two stood in absolute silence while watching the frame move along the water.
Lazarus stood cautiously, trying his absolute best to minimize their presence.
He was so focused that he almost jumped up when he felt a subtle tug coming from An’as. Lazarus frowned, his head snapping towards An’as in an attempt to tell him to stop.
However, it was the moment that he turned around that he saw the shocked expression on his face.
‘Hm?’
Lazarus tilted his head, and just as he was starting to wonder what was going on with him, he saw An’as point down.
‘Down?’
Lazarus followed An’as’s actions, and soon, his expression changed.
Because it was dark before, he couldn’t see it properly, but with the faint light coming from the gigantic monster, he finally noticed his surroundings.
The rocks… he took a closer look at them. They were smooth, round, and well-defined as they stretched up around him.
One, two, three, four, five… He counted five such rocks.
Lazarus looked closer, his eyes slowly opening.
Fingers?
Slowly, Lazarus lowered his head, his chest tightening.
That was when he saw it.
The massive frame of a statue that appeared to be twice the size of the strange monster, its colossal form half-submerged in the seabed, as they stood atop its open palm.
‘…H-ha.’