Souta raised his foot and stepped on the water. Eilish followed behind him.
The two continued to walk until the water level was above their waist. It was at this moment that several fluctuations of energy soared to the sky. It was coming deep in the sea.
Boom!!
Intense best feram spread out in the surrounding.
Souta and Eilish were unfazed as they continued to descend to the bottom of the sea. Judging from the fluctuations, they could sense more than fifty third stage monsters and hundreds of second stage monsters in the area around them.
All of them were baring their fangs at the two living creatures from the land that invaded their territory.
"I'll leave them to you," Souta said as he placed both of his hands on his back. He continued to descend without care about the wrath of the sea monsters around him.
Eilish glanced at him and sighed. She knew that this was gonna happen. Well, she didn't have a choice but to follow him.
"Okay."
She took out her staff and silently circulated her energy around her body.
"You guys are sea monsters. If you turn around I will spare you but if you attack us then don't blame me for killing all of you."
Her words traveled throughout the water. It contained her energy that made the water vibrate. Since there were a lot of third stage monsters in this area, she was sure that some of them could understand her words. After all, a lot of third stage monsters possessed intelligence like humans and demis.
Roar!!
The answer that she received was a fierce roar.
Eilish narrowed her eyes and her expression turned cold.
"Then don't blame me for what will happen next."
Her energy burst out as a magic circle shone brightly beneath her feet.
Souta ignored everything around him. He continued to descend at his own pace. He was sure that Eilish would kill all the monsters that would try to attack him.
The battle had started and Eilish fought hundreds of monsters alone.
Meanwhile, Souta reached five thousand meters below the sea surface. The battle was inevitable as he knew it from his past experiences. He had to get what lies here no matter what as it would build his future foundations regarding his sublimation of combat arts and creation of forbidden spells.
Heimer, Baldur, and Princess Dreimi from above felt the intense fluctuations of energy. They saw water would burst from below every second.
They knew that a big battle has occurred deep in the sea. Eilish's energy was highly noticeable since it overpowered most of the energies of the third stage monsters. So they knew that Eilish was the one that was fighting those fierce monsters.
Seven thousand meters beneath the sea surface...
The sea monsters that Eilish was facing had increased. The number of third stage monsters reached five hundred and it was still increasing every minute. It was like she was fighting the whole sea.
Souta didn't care about the commotion. He went down and after a few minutes, he reached the bottom of the sea.
Ten thousand meters below the sea surface.
"Finally..."
His goal was here.
There was a huge palace here and a dome that prevented the water from coming inside.
It was the city of merfolk, a type of demi that lived on the bottom of the sea.
A group of merfolk came out of the dome and approached Souta. All of them were armed and each one was emitting fierce energy.
"What do you want, surface dweller?" The merfolk in the middle asked.
"Can you grant me access to enter your holy ground?" Souta asked even though he already knew the answer.
The expressions of the merfolks turned cold and the aura in the bodies grew stronger when they heard him mention their sacred holy ground.
"Surface dweller, you're pushing your limit. We don't even let anyone of you enter our city so don't think that you can enter our holy ground just because you want it." The merfolk in the middle said coldly.
The only reason they even bother to talk to Souta was because of Eilish. Eilish was fighting hundreds of third stage monsters alone. That alone speaks of how powerful she is.
"You won't let me even for a little bit?" Souta raised his eyebrows. If he could avoid resorting to violence then he would avoid it but he knew that he was running out of time.
He could only stay in this world for seven days so he had to finish this as soon as possible.
"Surface dweller, don't dream. This place isn't for you. I suggest you to go back and return to the surface. No matter what, we wouldn't let you enter the holy ground. That's the tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation." The merfolk in the middle answered coldly.
"I understand..." Souta nodded as he turned around.
The merfolks looked at his back warily until he disappeared from their vision. They had to be careful. Souta's companion was powerful so there's no need to doubt that Souta also possessed power.
Souta hid his presence before he turned back.
"I don't want to do this but..."
What he gonna do now would tarnish the tradition of the merfolk.
Souta knew that no matter what surface dwellers wouldn't be allowed in their holy ground. In the past, he helped the merfolks by completing tons of quests. He helped them in the crisis but he was never allowed to the holy grounds.
He only managed to enter that place when the merfolks were destroyed by their enemies.
Souta couldn't wait for that time. The merfolks in this world would get destroyed in the future but not now. So he was going to forcefully enter their holy ground even if they like it or not.
Before they realized it, it was already too late.
Swoosh!!
Souta entered the dome, the barrier that was preventing the water from entering the city.
He recalled some pieces of his memory before he advanced. The location of the holy ground was beneath the palace.
No one among the merfolks realized that Souta already entered their land.
In just a few minutes, Souta arrived in their most guarded place without anyone knowing.
"If I was a bit weaker they would certainly detect me. Plus, the energy fluctuations from the battle above are hindering their senses." Souta said with a smile.
The holy ground was beneath the palace. It has a radius of five hundred meters and there was an altar in the center. Tombs of the previous kings were on the north side while there was a small golden house on the east side of the altar.
There were trees and grass. There was even a light crystal on the ceiling that acted as a sun. The whole place gives off a certain vibe. It was calming and pleasant.
Souta approached the golden house. He entered it and found that the space inside was wider than what it looked outside.
A space ability expert should be the one that created this house.
Inside the golden house were rows of books. There were weapons and various accessories on the other side.
Souta approached one of the bookshelves. He stretched his hand and took one of the books.
"If my memories are correct, this is the right book. The key."
He stared at the book in his hand and poured his energy into it.
Ohm!!
A faint fluctuation of energy burst outside.
Sensing it, a smile formed on his face.
He exited the golden house and observed the altar. The altar was vibrating and emitting a blueish light.
Ohm!!
In the next second, the entire holy ground started to shake.
"It's here..."
Souta raised his head. He slowly pulled the vajra sword on his waist and prepared himself.
"Now, the final step is to kill the guardian."
Bang!!
The entire holy ground vibrated heavily. The merfolks naturally noticed the strange happening inside their sacred place. The guards at the entrance have no idea so they hurriedly went inside to check what was happening.
Bang!!
The ceiling cracked open revealing the vastness of the sea above. The palace was split into two along with the holy ground. Then, a large pillar of light burst from the altar that landed on the dome.
Swoosh!
The transparent dome turned white blocking everyone's vision from outside.
Seeing this scene, thousands of merfolks panicked. They didn't know what was happening except that something strange occurred in their holy ground.
The guards arrived but Souta swiftly knocked them out before they could anything.
Boom!!
An intense aura spread out coming from the white dome. The entire white dome was connected to a space and a powerful living creature was beyond it.
The aura alone knocked thousands of merfolks around the city. The heavy best feram was like a boulder that was pressing on their shoulders.
Souta glanced at the book in his hand before he stared above.
"So it's still here... The position was a little bit different but it's here in the sea."
The book was an artifact to sense what he wanted to find.
It was a guide.
