"Dragged down from the divine altar, forced to hide like a rat, even having to conceal myself inside the statue of a former enemy."
"While those defiers enjoy endless praise and love in the light."
"I am not willing! I want revenge!"
In the pitch-black and silent deep sea, only Leviathan's ferocious and resentful roars kept echoing.
It twisted its body. Every tremor of its soul released strange and twisted energy.
"War was right. There is nothing left that cannot be lost. There is nothing left to fear."
"Even if I lose everything, I will make those who betrayed me and hurt me pay a thousand times, ten thousand times the price. I will turn this world to ashes in my rage!"
"Great existence who rules over despair and the end… I, Leviathan, offer this broken body as sacrifice and use the authorities of Assimilation and Secrets as the medium to call for your arrival!"
Its body seemed to turn into an invisible loudspeaker, spreading the evil call outward, crossing layer after layer of space-time barriers.
The calling voice grew stronger and stronger.
The darkness of the deep sea rolled and surged violently, forming huge whirlpools one after another. A low roar rose, growing closer and louder.
Ten times, twenty times, thirty times. It was a madman who dared to throw its soul onto the gambling table. Even the deep sea was wailing and begging it to stop.
"I want the power to destroy everything!"
"I call for you to bring down the end of civilization!"
"I want to become the Lament that plunges the world into despair!"
Fifty times, sixty times, seventy times. Its sharp screams grew heavier one after another.
When the eightieth call fell, Leviathan finally felt a fear that pierced deep into its bones. From the endless depths of darkness, a terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe spread out.
A pair of scarlet pupils opened in the darkness. The cold and merciless gaze was like two sharp ice blades that instantly pierced through Leviathan's soul.
A low growl full of killing intent and cold enough to freeze the bones sounded,
"What use are you!"
A single point of crimson light shot out from the darkness and drifted toward Leviathan along with the scolding. The latter trembled in fear and did not dare move even a little.
From the moment that gaze appeared to the moment it disappeared, less than two seconds had passed, yet it felt as if it had suffered for several months. But that deep torment completely disappeared the instant the crimson light fused with it.
Mighty power poured into its dried riverbed like a roaring ocean, violently raising its level.
Whether it was the Assimilation Authority or the Secret Authority, both were strengthened far beyond their previous peaks.
"It is back! All my power is back! The Decree-defiling Mirror of Nightmare is back!"
Feeling the far greater power inside its body, Leviathan could not hold back a crazy laugh.
"Patrol the Heavenly Kingdom—come!"
...
Dark clouds gathered madly from all directions, as if an invisible giant hand had violently crumpled them together. Layer upon layer, they covered the entire Ragunna in an apocalyptic gloom.
Thunderstorms roared. Wild winds broke free of their reins. The howling wind blew Cartethyia's hair into a mess.
"The Threnodian's aura is so strong…"
The terminal in Cartethyia's hand drooped. An unsent message still remained on the screen.
She had been about to invite Noah to discuss the matter of the Civilization Casket, but suddenly the world itself seemed to change color.
She put away the terminal and the Civilization Casket, turned her head in a daze, and looked toward the center of the storm.
There, the pitch-black waves seemed to turn into a tornado, spiraling upward from the low sea surface into the sky and transforming into a huge Dark Tide cloud that expanded outward at high speed.
Dark Tide swallows the sky!
"Not good. It is Leviathan!"
Cartethyia's heart tightened. She hurriedly picked up her terminal and tried to make a call, but only chaotic electromagnetic noise like scraping snow came through.
"I cannot contact the Laureate. No. I have to stop the Dark Tide cloud from forming any further!"
The Crown of Destined Unyielding appeared in her hand. Light and shadow flickered as she switched into Fleurdelys form and raced toward the center of the storm.
Howling hurricanes raged. People on the streets of Ragunna City fled in panic. Pairs of eyes peered out from countless tightly closed doors and windows at the world that had changed color, filled with fear and unease.
Endless roaring came from within the storm. Cartethyia finally saw the huge and twisted figure and drew in a sharp breath.
A fish spine a thousand meters long broke out of the pitch-black waves. Its scale fins spread open like wings that covered the sky. Its head was huge and ferocious, like a mountain range lying across the sea surface.
"Fleur-de-lys!"
A sharp cry came from within the heavy shell. Every movement stirred up large waves and created disaster.
"My daughter, my creation, there is no need for useless resistance. Come with me and spread the gospel throughout Rinascita!"
"In your dreams!"
Cartethyia's expression tightened. The Crown of Destined Unyielding in her hand swung out like a meteor. Several radiant sword lights accurately struck Leviathan.
On the fish scales, apart from a few sparks being scraped out, there was no other effect.
"My creation, why are you always so blindly foolish."
Leviathan's four pairs of fish eyes flashed with strange and terrifying light. Cartethyia saw that the situation was bad and was about to retreat, but the evil whispers had already locked firmly onto her.
"Since you refuse to listen, then I will take back everything I bestowed upon you!"
"What!"
Cartethyia stared at Leviathan in horror. Suddenly a sharp pain flowed from every part of her body toward her chest.
Her frequency and her power were being forcibly fused into a single point by Leviathan without control, then easily seized.
"Ah—!"
A bolt of lightning fell. The entire world was illuminated in black and white. The figure holding the sword looked as if something had instantly pierced through its chest. It lost all vitality, fell from the high sky, and its tall body shrank and became smaller.
The gray-white of death's despair climbed bit by bit into Cartethyia's eyes. She could not understand why Leviathan had suddenly become so powerful.
Buzz!
A cyan spatial barrier caught her. A pure and noble giant winged horse appeared.
"Imperator!"
Leviathan called out the newcomer's name, then laughed arrogantly.
"You came as well. Perfect timing!"
Its heavy shell lightly swung its tail. A hundred-meter-high black wave wall instantly rose. In front of the towering waves, even the complete form of Imperator looked tiny.
A thick cyan barrier appeared at once and blocked all the waves. Imperator looked at Cartethyia, whose vitality was gradually fading, and felt anxious inside.
"How could this happen… Leviathan… where did It get this power from? How could It become so many times stronger."
No. It cannot stay on the sea surface for long!
Imperator made a sharp judgment and was about to retreat with Cartethyia when the cyan spatial barrier that had been submerged by the Dark Tide was suddenly smashed apart.
A thick black fish tail as large as a mountain swung over like a falling meteor and solidly struck Imperator, slamming It heavily into the black waves.
"Time Authority—haha, so you were relying on Time Authority to temporarily restore your complete form."
Leviathan's unrestrained mockery came from all directions.
"Unfortunately, even at your peak, you cannot be my opponent."
"Now—"
"I will beat you back to your original form!"
Silver-white lightning exploded. The huge fish body fiercely lunged at Imperator. A blood-filled giant mouth opened, and tens of thousands of triangular sharp teeth gleamed with cold light.
"This ends here!"
A terrifying and furious power approached. A giant sword flashing with electric light fell from the sky. Crimson lightning storms swelled against the wind and crashed straight down like a falling sun.
For a moment, the world seemed to have the pause button pressed. The waves no longer roared. The dark clouds no longer moved. Only a huge blade of light faced the ferocious giant mouth.
Boom—
The hundred-meter-high waves were cut into reverse flow by a single slash. Leviathan's huge fish body was blasted backward and fell back into the pitch-black seawater.
"Noah, it is you!"
A deep cut that reached the bone had been left on Its tongue, but it healed in an instant under the Dark Tide.
Looking at the figure standing high in the void, a trace of wariness flashed through Leviathan's eyes, then It laughed loudly again.
"You cannot stop me! I will make you watch with your own eyes how the people you want to protect die in front of you."
The huge fish body leaped up from the black waves and charged toward the Dark Tide cloud high in the sky.
Noah looked down at his clothes that had been stained with black tide spots, gritted his teeth, and was about to chase after it when Imperator behind him urgently called out to him.
"Righteous One! Quickly save Cartethyia! She is going to die!"