Henny still did not understand what Viktor was talking about.
She had not done anything at all, so how had she suddenly become the city lord of the Upper City?
Viktor did not explain much.
His gaze shifted to the other side.
That was the very center of Sea City.
There, a stretch of gray mist hung thickly, as if something was being hidden within it.
That place was Viktor's true destination.
Viktor turned back again and looked at Henny, calmly instructing her, "Wait here. I'll be back."
Henny paused slightly, just about to speak.
At Viktor's feet, a blue teleportation magic circle instantly rose up.
Along with the blue patterns floating in the air, a violent airflow whipped his black windbreaker into wild motion.
The next second, Viktor, standing in the teleportation array, turned into scattered starlight.
He vanished before Henny's eyes.
Henny was still holding out her hand, watching the faint glowing light drifting around her, her mind feeling a little dazed.
The professor… left first?
Then what was she supposed to do?
At that moment, beside her.
A Sea Folk surrounded by flowing water came to Henny's side.
That person was extremely respectful, even carrying a hint of expectation, as they spoke to Henny, "City Lord."
"The daily offering time is about to begin."
Henny quietly turned her head and looked at that Sea Folk.
Not just him, but the other Sea Folk as well.
After being revived, it was as if they had received some kind of decree.
They dropped to their knees together and bowed low before Henny.
"City Lord!"
"Please lead us to complete the offering!"
Henny felt lost, because she did not know what she was supposed to do.
For a moment, she felt helpless.
Everything around her felt so unfamiliar.
The torrential rain was still falling, yet Henny had even forgotten to use magic to block it, letting it pound against her body and soak her through.
Like a child who did not know what to do.
She looked at the Sea Folk kneeling before her, unsure how to respond.
———
The teleportation ended, and Viktor appeared near this area.
The air here felt cold and gloomy, whether because of the mist or because this place was naturally like this.
He raised his head and looked at the white wall before him, wrapped and shrouded in thick white fog.
The fog surged, but nothing inside could be seen clearly.
Viktor stretched out one hand, trying to put it into the white fog.
But the fog was still like a solid wall, airtight, even blocking his hand outside.
Like a heavy curtain separating two worlds, mysterious beyond measure.
Area A7.
This was the name of the central region of Sea City.
But Viktor knew very well that this fog was absolutely not some simple mist that appeared out of nowhere.
Every Sea City had such a place, and in truth, this was one of the abilities of the Water Calamity, Dozale.
There were no living creatures in Area a7, and players could not enter it through normal means.
But Area a7 had another name, known as the Place of Offering.
Here, one could summon the World Boss, the Water Calamity, Dozale.
In the game, the conditions to summon Dozale were extremely harsh.
You had to find Sea City, gather all of Sea City's Guard Stars, and take control of Sea City.
Then, through offerings, summon the World Boss Dozale from the white fog.
No matter where Dozale was in the ocean, it would hear the call of the offering.
Then, it would pass through the fissure of the sea and quickly appear in the Sea City that summoned it.
At that point, it meant the players had to face the boss directly.
So what was the content of the offering?
Vega grinned and opened its mouth, "Didn't expect it. Even calamities like eating people."
Viktor corrected it, "Strictly speaking, they're no longer considered human."
Sea Folk being able to merge into the ocean and revive endlessly was not some kind of blessing.
It was to prevent them from committing suicide.
Because the meaning of the Sea Folk's existence was to become food for the Water Calamity, Dozale.
They had to die "willingly."
That's right, the Sea Folk themselves were Dozale's offering.
Through the Sea Folk's offerings, Dozale would feed part of its power back into the Lower City.
That's right, the Sea Folk who could truly live in the ocean.
They were the ones who truly possessed the 'Blessing of the Sea'.
"First, you need to know that the population of the Upper City of Sea City is dozens, even hundreds of times that of the Lower City," Viktor said calmly.
"However, the Lower City is the ocean, and the range of the ocean is likewise dozens of times larger than the surface city of the Upper City."
It was not that the Sea Folk of the Upper City did not want to live in the ocean.
They simply could not do it.
Without the Blessing of the Sea, they could not breathe or live beneath the ocean.
And the Sea Folk who lived in the ocean had tasted the beauty of life there.
So they were even less willing to give up the calamity power granted to them by Dozale.
Thus, they completely controlled the Sea Folk of the Upper City, forcing them to accept being raised by the people of the Lower City and become food to feed Dozale.
In this way, the Sea Folk of the Lower City could always retain the ability to live in the ocean.
This was also why Sea City was divided into two major districts.
Those who lived above the ocean, needing to breathe air to survive, the Upper City people.
And those who lived comfortably in the ocean, the Lower City people.
This iron rule was the same in all Sea Cities.
"The Ocean Pact is the foundation of how the Sea Folk are controlled."
Within Sea City, there was a clear hierarchy.
The Ocean Pact would gradually assimilate humans into a part of the ocean.
And those Sea Folk who merged into the ocean would never again be able to escape it, never able to escape Sea City.
High-level controllers used the Ocean Pact to control lower-level Sea Folk, and even higher-level controllers used the Ocean Pact to control lower-level controllers.
The lowest level in Sea City was the Sea Folk of the Upper City.
They lived in that area, watched over by the guards of each district.
The guards could control Sea Folk who possessed the Ocean Pact through Guard Stars.
This was also why Viktor said that only those who accepted the Ocean Pact would be allowed into Sea City.
Because the controllers could rest assured that outsiders would definitely be under their control.
Someone like Viktor, who had no Ocean Pact, would naturally be treated as a heretic the moment he entered.
Immediately facing resistance and hostility from the Sea Folk.
Vega tugged at its hoarse throat and spoke, "So, what are you going to do now?"
What it meant was, of course, how to summon Dozale.
Viktor touched the white fog and smiled faintly, "I didn't bring Henny here just to let her wander around."
———
Countless Sea Folk knelt around Henny, hoping she would lead them to complete the offering.
But Henny's heart was filled only with helplessness. She could not understand what this "offering" they spoke of actually was.
She could only speak up and ask everyone, "Offering… what exactly is it?"
Someone raised their head, pointed at the flowing water around Henny's hand, and slowly said, "City Lord, the offering is for us to merge with the ocean."
Henny looked at the 'Ocean Pact' wrapped around her hand, feeling even more confused.
At that moment, as if sensing Henny's confusion.
The surrounding seawater suddenly surged.
The sea surface rose high, and the water rapidly began to spin and gather in the air.
A door-like stream of water opened from both sides, and from the split water emerged countless cold guards.
They gathered tightly together, holding flowing water spears in their hands, their bodies thick and strong, their eyes extremely sharp.
The guards stepped aside to both sides and bowed in unison toward the center.
Henny curiously looked toward the middle.
But she only saw a particularly tiny little fish.
The little fish was not even as big as her palm. It blew bubbles on the sea surface and looked especially cute.
It seemed to notice Henny as well and forcefully blew out a bubble slightly bigger than its own body.
Then it squeezed its body and entered the bubble.
Wriggling nonstop, it floated in front of Henny.
The little fish noticed it.
On Henny's arm was a new Ocean Pact.
It lifted its head and looked at Henny again.
"You are a newcomer?"
Before Henny could speak, suddenly, it noticed six stars displayed on Henny's chest.
At once, the little fish grew a bit flustered.
Then, it narrowed its eyes and spoke solemnly to Henny, "So you are the Councilor Cravenna from the Council."
Henny heard this and immediately panicked.
She was just about to explain, but the little fish did not give her any chance to speak at all.
"Even though you are a councilor, I still want to say that your actions have violated our Sea City."
The little fish said calmly, "I believe we signed a non-aggression treaty with the City of Mages."
Henny opened her mouth, "I…"
The little fish sighed and supported its forehead with a fin, "I'll be direct."
"What exactly will it take for you to return control of the Upper City to me?"
Henny felt extremely confused. Her head, which was already dizzy, became even heavier as she said, "I'm… I'm very sorry, I can't do that…"
As soon as those words were spoken, the cold guards around them immediately raised their spears, their gazes toward Henny filled with a chilling readiness to strike.
The water on their arms and spears gradually converged, and the entire spear began to tremble slightly.
The little fish extended its fin and stopped them.
It narrowed its eyes and looked at Henny again, "Councilor."
"I do not wish to go to war with the Mage Council. I only want back what belongs to us."
The more she listened, the more agitated Henny became. She struggled to find words to explain, but her thoughts were tangled and impossible to sort out.
The little fish's aggressiveness and pressure left Henny at a loss.
Finally, the little fish erupted. It let out a loud roar and leaped into the ocean in an instant, "The offering must proceed!"
The next second, the entire sea surface seemed to be covered by night, plunged into complete darkness.
As if responding to a call, countless schools of fish swarmed in from all directions, forming a massive underwater current of fish that twisted upward.
Like a sea monster diving through giant waves, revealing a brilliantly colored head from the depths.
Relying on the power of the waves, a sea monster formed from an enormous school of fish leapt out of the sea.
Like a beast rising into the sky, countless fish spun and circled through the air, and the sky above the sea surface was instantly covered by silver ripples.
White scales reflected dazzling silver light on the dark sea, like hundreds of silver swords dancing across the water.
The damp air was thick and heavy, cut apart until only a sharp fishy stench remained, slapping against Henny's delicate face.
"Give me the control!"
Henny stared wide-eyed at the wildly dancing school of fish, tears of grievance sliding down from the corners of her eyes.
Henny had always been gentle, polite, and approachable.
For the first time, her anger was completely provoked.
"Why won't you…"
"Just listen to someone explain things properly!"
The moment Henny's sorrowful and angry voice rang out.
An even larger shadow slid over their heads from behind her.
The red eyes among the fish froze for a moment, as if sensing a wave of darkness completely enveloping them.
That clearly defined, blood-red body planted one foot onto the sea surface.
The demon's crimson eyelids gleamed as it stared fixedly at the school of fish.
Its breathing was rapid and heavy, blasting over the fish like a gale.
The school of fish suddenly stopped their agitation. Under that shadow, even their silver scales looked dull and dark.
Before they could react, a thick blood-red arm carrying crimson claws viciously grabbed the head of the massive fish formation.
Large swathes of fish flopped and fell onto the sea surface.
Yet it did not care in the slightest.
The crocodile fully emerged its head from the darkness, beneath its rough skin blood seemed to flow, veins bulging.
Massive crimson eyes hung on its head, staring viciously at the fish before it.
"If you fucking don't know how to speak properly."
It split its mouth open. From between its cold, grim teeth came a foul stench, thick saliva constantly dripping, "Then shut that mouth of yours tight."
"And take a beating!"
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