Chapter 89
Inside the Demon King’s castle, in the council chamber.
“Sea Serpent?”
At the unexpected name, everyone’s expression turned serious.
The Sea Serpent was a monster that looked like a giant sea snake.
Anything that entered its territory was treated as prey and attacked. It was ferocious by nature.
Its domain was known as the Graveyard of the Sea. To sailors, it was nothing less than a nightmare.
“As the Demon King’s domain gradually weakened, maritime trade naturally declined,” Ariella explained.
It hadn’t ended suddenly. For a while, trade had only barely survived.
Then, one day, a fatal incident must have happened, making it impossible to sail anymore.
After digging into old records and piecing them together, Ariella could guess the reason.
“The sun doesn’t rise in the demon sea, so normal animals can’t live there. But as everyone knows, there are exceptions.”
Ulken added quickly,
“Monsters!”
In the Demon Realm, the difference between normal creatures and monsters was clear.
First, monsters had no intelligence.
Second, they could survive without the essentials of life, such as sunlight or the World Tree.
Any creature that fit those two conditions was called a monster.
“That’s right. Back then, the sea was already swarming with monsters. And then a predator that fed on them… the Sea Serpent, came.”
Once the monster appeared near the Demon King’s coastal waters, every ship that tried to pass was destroyed.
“If it was before the fall of the domain, they must have tried to keep the sea route open. But it seems the Demon King’s forces no longer had the strength to fight the Sea Serpent.”
That was the conclusion Ariella reached after researching old books with Philly.
“For the monster, the coastal waters of the Demon King’s land would have been the perfect nesting place.”
“Yes. Plenty of prey, and no demons strong enough to be a threat.”
But what if that same Sea Serpent was still alive even now?
“It’s possible it died of old age or moved to another sea. But that’s only wishful thinking.”
They had to confirm it.
If they ignored the danger and recklessly launched ships, it could lead to disaster.
Ludwig spoke calmly.
“Simple enough. We just find the sea snake and slice it into sashimi.”
Ariella’s face hardened.
“Don’t underestimate it. This one might be harder than the Dead Eater we hunted before.”
She opened a book she had brought.
“According to this description, even back then, the Sea Serpent was already a monster of Demon King level.”
In other words, even a ruling monarch couldn’t guarantee victory against it.
“…Hmm.”
Geru stammered nervously.
“Normally… when such… monsters… appear… the usual way… is to… avoid them.”
“But we don’t have that choice, do we?”
They had no way but to secure the sea route.
“We need to start investigating as soon as possible,” Ariella said.
She prayed silently in her heart—
Please, let that monster snake have moved somewhere else by now.
The next day.
The coast before Ludwig’s Demon King territory.
Whooosh!
The black sea roared and churned violently.
On the uninhabited shoreline, the wind howled sharp enough to tear flesh.
“Ugh! I expected this, but it’s worse than I thought.”
Ariella clenched her teeth. The gale was so fierce, she could barely keep her eyes open.
Her short red hair whipped wildly, as if it would be ripped out by the storm.
“Look out!”
Ludwig rushed over in an instant.
He wrapped around her protectively and swung his sheathed sword with lightning speed.
Thud!
A dull sound echoed.
He had knocked away a rock flying straight toward Ariella’s face.
“Ah! Thank you.”
“…Seriously, you can’t let your guard down for even a moment.”
Relieved, Ariella chanted a spell.
“Shield!”
A transparent wall of magical force formed in front of her.
The raging wind that had battered them was suddenly blocked.
Or rather, the barrier deflected it, forcing it to flow elsewhere.
But Ariella felt the enormous pressure pressing against her magical wall.
“We really have to fly over this ocean in this weather?” Ludwig muttered in disbelief.
His long black hair was puffed up like he’d been struck by lightning.
Ariella’s hair was in the same mess, so she quickly tied it back as best she could.
“There’s no large ship that can sail in this storm. And even if we did, meeting the Sea Serpent at sea would be the end.”
Their task was to confirm whether the monster existed, and if so, to locate its nest.
Ariella had chosen aerial scouting as the only way.
Instead of a ship, they would search from the skies.
For that, she brought in extra help.
“Pi.”
“Yes, Ariella!”
At the sound of her call, the little hatchling’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“I’ll need your help today.”
She remembered what Richmond had said:
“The Sea Serpent breathes air like any snake. It cannot stay underwater forever—it only dives to hunt. Its nest is on land.”
“So, the coastline then?”
“Usually. But in this case, it will be on an island, one hundred percent.”
“Why?”
“Because if it had nested on the coast, the destruction would already be too obvious for us not to know.”
Meaning, they would have to search the surrounding islands.
Whoooosh!
The wind grew even stronger.
If the ground was this bad, the skies would be worse.
Casting flight magic without protection risked them being blown away or slammed into the sea.
But if she used a shield the whole time, her mana consumption would double.
“Pi, you said you used dragon speech magic before to create wind?” Ariella asked.
“Yes! That’s right.”
“Then, could you… stop the wind instead?”
The young dragon tilted his large head, then nodded.
“I’ve never tried, but I’ll do it! Because Ariella asked me!”
With confidence, Pi marched forward.
Then he faced the raging sky and shouted,
“Stop!”
The effect was immediate.
Snap!
“Wow!”
“…Hooh?”
Even Ludwig’s eyebrows twitched in surprise.
The pressure on Ariella’s shield disappeared.
She quickly dissolved her magic wall and gasped.
“The wind…!”
When Ariella used magic, she blocked the force with a barrier.
But dragon speech worked differently.
“The wind itself just stopped?”
Indeed, the howling storm simply vanished within Pi’s range.
The gales shrank into a mild breeze that barely rustled their hair.
“Instead of blocking the force, it cancels the force itself. Incredible.”
Ariella decided to test moving forward.
Ludwig observed carefully.
“The effect range is about three meters?”
Pi tried to expand it but couldn’t yet. It wasn’t because he lacked magic power—he could maintain it endlessly.
It was a matter of skill and experience.
“Three meters…” Ludwig mused.
Too narrow for a ship, but just enough for them to fly together.
“So, shall we go?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ariella nodded.
Step!
“…!”
Ariella flinched in surprise.
Ludwig suddenly spread his arms wide and stepped close, closing the distance between them by half a step.
It looked as if he was about to embrace her.
His broad chest filled her vision.
The sudden closeness made her realize again how tall he really was.
For a moment, Ariella forgot what they had been talking about.
“W-what are you doing?” she stammered.
Her face flushed red. She instinctively took a step back—only to meet Ludwig’s steady ruby-red eyes.
His calm gaze reflected her flustered expression.
His unreal features, which she thought she had grown used to over the past few months, now felt overwhelmingly close.
Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.
