Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 709

Ian had never seen the ocean. In fact, most of those born and raised in Bariel would be the same.

Watching the endless waves, Ian was briefly in awe. When he opened his eyes in the abyss sea, he was already submerged. He hadn’t realized how magnificent the surging waves were.

“Ian!”

“Lord Ian!”

*Swoosh!*

The waves crashed over them. It was an unstoppable force. Beric, Hale, Tommy, and Nakina all instinctively held their breath, curled up, and let the raging current carry them.

“……!”

Damn it! I should have filled the barrier with air. Nakina and Tommy clung to each other, pressing against the wall, while Hale held onto a pillar for support.

*Thump! Thump!*

The vibrations continued. They squinted their eyes. A faint light was visible in the depths of the water where nothing could be seen. And a huge monster was constantly circling around it.

“Ah.”

Nakina couldn’t help but make a sound.

The monster was greedily swimming, flapping its fins, trying to devour the light. And in the middle of that light, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure stood calmly.

‘Lord Ian?’

Long platinum blonde hair, a young man who had shed his boyish looks, and sharp blue eyes….

It was definitely-

‘Ian Verosian.’

Of the royal family.

Ian, as if used to it, swept his hair back and followed the monster’s movements with his eyes.

“My goodness. Lord Ian!”

“Huh, what? He can talk.”

“He can breathe too.”

“Captain Hale. Breathe, breathe! It’s okay!”

Nakina, startled, realized that breathing was possible. This isn’t normal water, is it? Other than the difficulty in maintaining balance due to the current, everything was naturally possible.

“L, Lord Ian’s appearance…….”

“I didn’t get a good look back then, but seeing it like this is amazing.”

Ian Verosian.

His appearance was revealed to the world by the Secret-Eating Gypsy, but it was only for a moment, and most of the time, it was only glimpsed between the darkness and the light. But to see Verosian so completely… They watched Ian without saying a word.

*Kyahhh!*

The monster, which had been waiting for an opportunity, turned behind Ian and aimed for an opening. In terms of size, it was too small to even be a mouthful.

Ian turned smoothly, his long hair fluttering with the movement. And what blocked his path was-

*Swoosh!*

“You son of a bitch! Fish head!”

It was Beric.

In the deep water, although his magic greatsword couldn’t produce flames, it had no problem cutting the monster’s gills. He was about to shove his sword into the monster’s breathing hole when the monster reflexively bounced back to create distance.

“…Damn it, I can’t get used to this.”

As Beric grumbled, Ian smiled faintly.

“Is it frustrating?”

“Yeah. Who are you?”

“It’s Ian.”

“Huh? You’re a bit different from the Ian I know!”

“How so?”

“…Well… you’ve become more of a goody-two-shoes.”

*Swoosh!*

At that moment, a sharp wave flew through the water. Ian raised his hand to draw a magic circle, but Hale, Nakina, and Tommy were faster.

*Zzzing! Boom!*

They converted their magic into waves and collided head-on.

When Ian turned to look at them, the three were standing there blankly, a little dazed. …Goodness, goodness. Is there any other appearance as enchanting as this?

“Everyone-”

As Ian was about to say something, Nakina, who had quickly regained her senses, added hastily.

“Don’t even think about telling us to go back now! It’s already too late.”

“Yes, if you’re going to leave, we’ll go with you, and if not, we’ll help you until you’re done. Would we be afraid of your scolding when death is right in front of us? Isn’t that right, Beric?!”

“Yeah. It’s perfect. They were making a fuss about running out of rations. If we fillet that thing, we can eat and play for a whole month.”

“……?”

The three mages stared at Beric with serious expressions, as if they had heard something they shouldn’t have.

“What’s with that look? Doesn’t it look delicious?”

“…You eat as much as you want. As expected of an Atan [a person from the Atan tribe].”

Ian smiled at his subordinates’ bickering. Then, he focused on the direction from which the wave had come and said,

“Since you won’t listen even if I tell you to go back, tell me.”

“Yes, tell us anything. Except for going back, we’ll listen to everything.”

“This is the abyss sea water.”

“The abyss sea, you mean the place below the rift?”

“Yes. During your ten years and my ten days, I have seen countless darkness here. Beric, do you remember what I defined this place as?”

At Ian’s question, Beric hesitated before answering.

“…The place where all the darkness of the world is.”

So, you left your darkness here.

Then, wouldn’t it be possible to find it again somewhere here?

“I am truly grateful for your concern, but this is not a place where I can ask you to join me. So-”

“If we’re having a hard time, you’ll have a hard time too.”

Nakina drew a line, saying let’s stop talking about that. Then, she raised her hand to her right ear and sent a message to the mages upstairs.

“Is everyone safe? There’s a small problem in the basement, but we’re all safe.”

-Yes, the water suddenly rose, so we’re evacuating upstairs. We don’t see anyone else in the temple.

-This is the second-floor hallway. The water hasn’t reached here yet, but it sounds like it’s gradually rising.

-Are you all really okay?

-Should we open a portal from outside?

-Cedric!

-Cedric, I’ve joined up with Aileen.

-Why are you coming up alone? There was a vibration, did your senior die?

-Cedric, everyone is listening. And Beric didn’t die, according to the message.

-Ah, I see.”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

Beric retorted in disbelief, but no answer came. Ian listened to the mages’ voices, which continued to buzz, and fell silent as if deep in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

At Hale’s question, Ian took his hand off his right ear.

“I’m puzzled.”

“About what?”

“The timeline outside isn’t the same.”

One day in the abyss sea is one year on the ground. This was a fact known to both Ian and the mages. But now that they had shared the situation outside through the message magic, they confirmed that there was no distortion of time.

“Ah. That’s right.”

“What could be the reason?”

“Hmm. Even if the abyss sea is pouring out, isn’t it because we’re still in Gaia [the world they inhabit]? It’s like the boundary line between that world and this one, so there might be no change in the flow of time.”

After hearing Tommy’s words, Nakina added her reasoning.

“That makes sense. But I think it might be because of the magic message.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re ‘connected.’ Us here and those upstairs. As long as the line isn’t cut, we might be able to return no matter how deep we dive.”

It was a hypothesis that since they were sharing time in real-time, there would be no room for distortion.

They couldn’t know the answer right away, but what was important was the current situation. Beric grinned and pointed his sword at one place. The direction from which the wave had come.

“Hey, are you sure you’re hiding? I can see everything.”

It was High Priest Razu. He appeared, swimming smoothly. His faint smile looked somewhat chilling.

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“Yeah, right, liar. If you’re embarrassed, just say you’re embarrassed.”

“Ian Verosian. It’s touching to actually witness you.”

Actually witness? Then, does that mean he’s seen him in other ways? Ian gripped the Idgal Sword and carefully examined his appearance. What the hell is this guy? He’s definitely resonating with the monster.

“Since you mentioned the name Chronie, you’ll have to live up to my expectations.”

Even while warning him, Ian didn’t stop thinking. Is it possible that he knows about me through the power of the underground god? It’s highly likely. This is a temple that serves him, and it’s connected to the abyss sea.

High Priest Razu smiled, showing the finger that Beric had cut off.

“It’s already started, hasn’t it?”

The blood was slowly spreading. Little by little, and-

“Something’s wrong, Lord Ian.”

It was spreading unusually profusely. The surroundings turned red around High Priest Razu, and soon the vision gradually darkened.

In the meantime, the monster’s eyes flashed. Beric reflexively flew towards it. Honestly, he didn’t care about the abyss sea or anything else. It wasn’t like breathing was uncomfortable.

“Dieee!”

*Swoosh!*

Hale, Nakina, and Tommy were also about to attack High Priest Razu. Razu took out a dagger and stabbed himself in the heart.

“Ah.”

*Thud!*

Then, crimson blood gushed from his heart and quickly spread around.

And since it reached the mages as well, their vision instantly darkened, and the fishy smell made their minds dizzy. Something was wrong. Where is this place…….

“Hey! You guys! Wake up!”

Beric, who was swinging his sword at the monster, shouted in dismay as he watched the mages gradually disappear into the darkness. Do something, don’t just stand there! Idiots!

“Ian!”

And then he suddenly realized. Like the mages, Ian had also disappeared somewhere. Beric stopped abruptly and then threw himself into the darkness filled with blood.

* * *

“Cedric. Can you hear anything?”

“No. Nothing.”

Aileen fidgeted, anxiously looking towards the temple entrance. The mages who had been stationed throughout the temple had all come up, but there was still no news from Ian and the core of their forces.

Even Cedric, the magic swordsman with more sensitive senses than ordinary people, had put his ear to the ground, but it was silent except for a few vibrations.

“What about the message? Is it still connected?”

“Yes. It was until just now, but there’s no response now.”

The mages also rubbed their earlobes with worried faces. Please, at least give us an answer, please! Then, Acorella, who was standing with her arms crossed, snapped her fingers and gave an order.

“Don’t cut off the message magic. If anyone hears even the smallest thing, share it immediately.”

“Yes, I understand. What should we do now?”

“Objectively speaking, if Lord Ian has been defeated, it’s not something we can solve by stepping in. Hale, Tommy, and Nakina are all core forces of the magic department.”

“Y, yes, but-”

Still, they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, could they? It was the moment the mages were about to add something.

*Flop*, Acorella threw off her coat and stepped into the temple. The water had already risen to the very top. Even going down one step would soak her whole body in that ominous water.

“What are you trying to do, Acorella?”

“Don’t overdo it when your legs aren’t even healed!”

“Are you crazy? Who said anything about swimming?”

“Then what?”

Acorella brought her face close to the water’s surface and whispered.

“Vanusa. Are you there?”

She was calling Vanusa, the spiritist of Tolun.

But when there was no answer, she whispered again.

“I know you’re there, so respond. You said you needed our help, right? We need your help too. The abyss sea and the water you control, aren’t they mixed together?”

“C, Captain.”

“If you don’t come out, I’ll release a poison more potent than the sewage you guys spilled into the wells of the Tolun capital. If you think I’m lying, try to endure it.”

*Drip*. The sound of water droplets falling was heard from somewhere. Acorella continued to stare at the water with a calm and cold gaze, and soon she found a flickering figure in it.

*Swish.*

It was Vanusa. She showed her face in the water with her eyes closed. Her glaring eyes were sharp, but it was useless against Acorella. Her superior and colleagues were either dead or alive, what was she supposed to do?

“Come out now. Come out and tell me what’s happening down there.”