Staring at the rolling greyish-white waves that almost filled their entire field of vision.
Kuroka felt her scalp tingle!
Although the waves were still far away, estimated to take about 2 minutes to reach them at their current speed, and as a mixed-blood demon, Kuroka did possess flight capabilities...
For some reason, Kuroka had a feeling that the lurking greyish-white waves weren't a disaster that could simply be overcome by flying.
Just as Kuroka was thinking this, she suddenly heard Sun Seto beside her exclaim softly:
"Ah, it looks like someone's flying up there in the sky!"
Hearing this, Kuroka looked in the direction Sun Seto was pointing.
Immediately, Kuroka saw a yokai wearing a tengu mask, holding a naginata, constantly flapping crow-like wings, circling and flying in the sky above the waves.
"That's... a white wolf tengu?" Kuroka was somewhat surprised to see the yokai: "Does the Second World have this kind of tengu too?"
At this, Sun Seto nodded and said quietly:
"Yes, and there are many of them. Tengu are distributed across Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, but the largest tengu group should be in Chiba's Katori area, which has almost all types of tengu."
As she spoke, sharp-eyed Sun Seto noticed a pattern of three partially overlapping mountain peaks on the flying tengu's clothing and immediately understood.
"That tengu should be a white wolf tengu from the tengu group, generally responsible for scouting and vigilance duties."
Hearing this, Kuroka immediately understood Sun Seto's meaning:
"So that means there's another tengu nearby who can command this white wolf tengu, right?"
If the white wolf tengu was fleeing due to the encroaching waves, it should have flown towards higher ground away from the sea.
Yet now, it kept circling above the waves, clearly searching for something, indicating it was currently performing reconnaissance duties.
Since it was carrying out a mission, there must naturally be someone who gave the order. Generally speaking, only a higher-ranking tengu could make such an arrogant yokai submit.
Drawing from experience, Kuroka judged that there must be a high-status tengu nearby.
Thinking this, Kuroka couldn't help but glance at Luo Shu and ask quietly:
"So, my master, whose name I've yet to learn, what should we do now?"
"Should we capture the hidden tengu and force them to scout the surroundings for us, or should we head to higher ground to avoid the waves?"
Just as Kuroka voiced this question, Luo Shu raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture:
"Quiet, it's about to begin."
Kuroka was taken aback, then quickly realised something and turned to look towards the white wolf tengu.
Below the white wolf tengu, dense clusters of bubbles rapidly began forming in the greyish-white waves.
Then, one after another, greyish-white crocodiles surfaced, gathering together at incredible speed, piling on top of each other until they formed a mountain of crocodiles reaching up towards the white wolf tengu in the sky.
The swift aggregation looked like a greyish-white arm suddenly extending from the sea surface, enveloping the white wolf tengu in the sky almost within a single breath.
The next moment, a sharp, piercing scream came from the distance.
Instantly, Kuroka's expression froze.
She watched as the white wolf tengu was covered by the greyish-white crocodiles, saw its body rapidly begin to dissolve, leaving only a skeleton after two breaths, and after four breaths, even the bones completely disappeared.
In that moment, Kuroka thought for the first time that having excellent eyesight isn't necessarily a good thing.
"Melted away..."
Sun Seto murmured softly after witnessing the same scene, her gaze turning towards the still-approaching greyish-white waves and the lurking crocodiles beneath:
"It seems there are crocodiles hidden under the waves that can melt whatever they touch."
"Wrong, Little Sun." Luo Shu observed the waves thoughtfully and corrected: "They're not hidden under the waves - the waves themselves are the crocodiles. Or rather, the crocodiles are something transformed from the waves."
"What?" Hearing this, Kuroka clicked her tongue while staring at the surging waves in the distance.
This massive tsunami was entirely composed of crocodiles that could even melt yokai?
"What kind of monstrous thing is this?!"
"...It's gastric acid."
Luo Shu said ominously.
"Gastric acid?" Kuroka's expression instantly changed, clearly realising the implication: "Are we currently inside a dragon's body?"
At this moment, Luo Shu stated calmly:
"To be precise, we're inside the remains of a True Dragon of Angel Rank that has completely died."
Saying this, Luo Shu examined their surroundings, cut off a piece of red rock from nearby, and borrowed Nia Honjo's power to analyse the rock's composition using Raziel.
The answer obtained was exceedingly clear.
The 'fragments of the True Dragon's deceased body' undoubtedly confirmed Luo Shu's conjecture.
From the moment he entered this world, Luo Shu had vaguely sensed it.
That faint, transcendent pressure that permeated the heavens and earth, looming above nature itself.
In Luo Shu's eyes, having wielded authority before, such pressure was far too conspicuous.
The fact that the entire heavens and earth were imbued with authority presented evidence before him, instinctively reminding Luo Shu of something similar.
That was the body of a Class holder, transformed by authority after ascending to Angel, completely metamorphosing into a divine lifeform.
In a sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this the corpse of a deity.
After all, the True Dragon was a god among dragonkind.
At this point, upon realising they were inside the True Dragon's body, Kuroka couldn't control her expression, her lips twitching as she asked:
"If the True Dragon is already dead, then what were those crocodiles feeding on earlier?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu calmly explained:
"Those crocodiles are merely remnants of their deceased body's lingering feeding instincts."
"If we were to name them, they're likely monsters born from the dragon's gastric acid, influenced by the power left behind after the True Dragon's death."
Upon hearing this, Kuroka wished she could cover her ears.
The corpse's residual instincts still craved nourishment? So the gastric acid turned into those ashen crocodiles, devouring all 'captured' food?
"Is this even a corpse anymore?"
Weren't they just supposed to be competing for a Class?
Why was the venue inside a dead True Dragon?
And come to think of it, this place is so vast you can't see the end—it's actually the stomach of a dragon?
How enormous must this dragon's true form have been?
And Vali, that guy, wants to compete for the legacy left by such a monster?
Is that really alright?
As Kuroka grew anxious, Luo Shu sighed, his tone tinged with emotion.
"Even after death, it's still absorbing nutrients. It seems that even though this True Dragon has fallen, there remains an organ inside its body that draws in nourishment."
"And that organ..."
Hearing this, Sun Seto murmured what Luo Shu intended to say:
"The Dragon Pearl? Or perhaps, the so-called Class?"
Luo Shu nodded, acknowledging Sun Seto's words, then said calmly:
"Let's go!"
"Where to?" Kuroka couldn't help but ask.
Already striding forward, Luo Shu replied without looking back:
"Follow the path through which the gastric acid transports nutrients, to the core!"
Hearing this, Kuroka immediately understood and hurriedly followed Luo Shu:
"Wait for me, meow~"
"A master mustn't abandon their cat, meow~~"
Stumbling a few steps, Kuroka and Sun Seto quickly caught up with Luo Shu.
Destination—the location of the Dragon Pearl!