Volume 2 Chapter 51: A True Warrior Dares to Face the Depths of the Sea
"It seems I have no choice!"
Garde's voice echoed from beneath Ishar'mla.
"Let's fight!"
A large hand reached upward, grabbing her by the throat.
At that moment, all of the Ascension Power in his body surged into Ishar'mla's body.
But he wasn't using it to destroy her, rather, it's to suppress her!
"You are still a prey!"
He felt no pity just toward the girl before him who bore the same appearance as Skadi.
Ishar'mla's actions had made one thing very clear to Garde:
Humans and the Seaborn cannot coexist!
While clutching Ishar'mla's neck, Garde let out a savage roar.
"No matter how many of you there are—you're still just prey!"
A thunderous explosion shook the center of the town, the golden and crimson lights intertwined, shattering the walls of the inn like a meteor crashing from the sky.
Still holding Ishar'mla by the throat, Garde slammed her through the inn's wall and hurled her body from the sky, smashing her violently into the town's street below.
The terrifying force split the earth, causing spiderweb cracks to spread in all directions, and shattered stones burst skyward as if freed from gravity.
BOOM——————!!!
The moment she hit the ground, a massive shockwave erupted, sending debris flying like raindrops against the nearby buildings. Garde remained in his gripping stance, staring down at the white-haired girl beneath him.
He was sure of it: that attack, which was done using his full strength, was something that not even Skadi herself could have withstood!
But Ishar'mla had taken it.
Though her body and appearance mirrored Skadi's, her physical resilience far surpassed hers. Garde's massive hand, trying to crush her throat, couldn't even pose a threat.
It's because she didn't need to breathe through her neck at all!
Smack!
Garde pushed Ishar'mla down harder, his immense strength finally bringing a flush to the girl's face.
"Hun...ter..."
Half-buried in the ground, Ishar'mla's crimson eyes gazed up at Garde, still filled with gentleness.
"Is...this...the...path...you...chose...?"
Garde's gaze was icy. All of his Ascension Power had been used to disrupt the Seaborn's consciousness network. Without it, he had lost his most powerful combat ability.
But he had no other choice.
Everyone knew what killing a Seaborn god would bring—but he couldn't hesitate.
There was no way he'd actually plant his seed in Ishar'mla's body and let that monster bear his child—he wasn't that desperate!
Okay, maybe—he admitted—it did cross his mind for a split second when he first saw her.
But everything Ishar'mla had done since made Garde realize something.
A Human-like Seaborn is still a Seaborn.
She would never understand him. She could never coexist with him like a human would.
So what if he can't use his Ascension Power to kill her? He refused to believe that he couldn't kill a single Seaborn on land!
His claws couldn't tear her flesh, but that doesn't mean he's out of options.
Garde opened his mouth, revealing smooth, razor-sharp teeth.
The crocodile man was about to go for the kill.
Smash!
A sudden force struck Garde square in the chest, sending him flying like a cannonball into a nearby building, where he smashed through the wall, leaving a massive hole several meters wide.
A crimson mycelial carpet slithered up beside Ishar'mla like a snake, hissing threateningly at Garde, who now lay in the distance.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
Ishar'mla gently stroked the fungal organism beside her. Even though its form was entirely different from her own, she could still hear the voices of her kin within it.
They were angry.
Because Garde had attacked her.
"What happened?"
Back in the inn, the thunderous clash between Garde and Ishar'mla had jolted Sideroca awake. She grabbed her weapon and rushed to the window to look outside.
Outside the inn, at some point, a massive crater had formed in the street—clearly visible to the naked eye. A red, viscous liquid flowed across the ground, and a girl in a red dress stood atop the crater, her attention undistracted by Sideroca's gaze.
Sideroca turned her head and looked through the window—and her heart skipped a beat.
"Mr. Garde!"
Her room had been adjacent to Garde's.
But now, a giant hole had been blown into the wall of the neighboring room, and there was no sign of the man inside.
Sideroca quickly rushed over to the next room.
Many of the inn's guests had already been awoken by the chaos. In her urgency, Sideroca drew her large blade and struck the door with it—splitting it open. A gust of wind blew into her face.
Sideroca narrowed her eyes.
The entire outer wall of the room had collapsed, and Garde was nowhere to be found. Only a white-haired, red-eyed little girl remained, standing near the broken edge of the room, baring her fangs.
"Watch out!"
Remembering the reason Garde had hired her, Sideroca quickly grabbed the Seaborn child who was about to leap out of the inn. Her ample chest accidentally pressed into the back of the girl's head as she pulled her close.
Seeing the child wasn't injured, Sideroca let out a small sigh of relief.
"Little Shark, don't worry—I'll protect you."
She didn't know the girl's real name. All she'd heard was Garde calling her "Little Shark." Now that Garde wasn't here, protecting the girl was her responsibility!
"Le-let go!"
The child stammered in protest—she still wasn't very good at speaking—and Sideroca's chest was making her quite uncomfortable.
But Sideroca ignored her, instead stepping up to the spot where the girl had been standing just a moment ago.
At that moment, with a booming crash, a tall figure shot out from the shadows not far away.
"Mr. Garde!"
Hearing Sideroca's voice, Garde only glanced at her before turning his eyes forward again. He'd realized that the commotion just now had already woken up the townsfolk.
So he didn't stop.
Charging straight into the oncoming red fungal carpet, Garde moved like a high-speed locomotive, crashing into Ishar'mla once more.
"Get out of here!"
Garde couldn't keep fighting Ishar'mla inside the town. There weren't many people here, but if they continued to clash at full force, the collateral damage would kill countless innocents.
The white-haired, red-eyed girl said nothing. Behind her, the crimson fungal mat rose high—and then slammed down toward Garde.
BOOM————!!!
The red carpet, formed from biological matter, tore the earth asunder.
Garde didn't dodge Ishar'mla's attack. Instead, he grabbed the fungal mass as if it were just a piece of cloth.
Zzzzz~
Tiny, worm-like creatures wriggled out of the fungal mat, crawling across his hand and gnawing into the flesh of his palm. But Garde held on coldly, tugging hard on the red carpet—dragging Ishar'mla along with it.
Her body was dragged by the fungus, and in just a few breaths' time, Garde had pulled her outside the town's defenses.
At that moment, the fungal carpet in Garde's hand tore apart, disintegrating into a fine red powder that surged toward his body.
"Damn it!"
Garde had no fear of giant enemies—but these minuscule creatures, like ants, were something else entirely. No matter how fast his reflexes were, some of them still managed to burrow into his body.
His flesh began to rupture from the inside—the piercing pain was like being stabbed with needles, and a crimson light flickered in Garde's eyes. A surge of blood-red energy erupted from within.
"Get out of me!!"
Just because he'd lost his Ascension Power didn't mean he was powerless.
His physical strength alone was monstrous.
And when he was furious, he could still unleash combat power nearly equal to what he could do with Ascension.
There was no time to hesitate. Garde once again charged at Ishar'mla.
He heard her give a single command:
"Hold him!"
From the ground, the crimson fungal carpet that had spread across the town suddenly receded like a tide—then surged toward Garde all at once.
Garde felt as though he had been transported back to that moment in Acahualla, when he first fought against the Seaborn. Back then, he had been surrounded by an endless swarm of Sea Terror—which was his first time facing the tactics of the sea.
And now, once again, he stood face-to-face with the Seaborn.
But this time, Saria wasn't with him. There'd be no reinforcements riding to his rescue.
Still—he was no longer the man he'd been in the rainforest.
Hadn't he come to the Hotlands to become stronger?
To become strong enough to fight the Seaborn?
If he couldn't even overcome the enemy in front of him, how could he ever face the ones that lurked in the true depths of the ocean?
"I told you— you're nothing but prey!"
The crimson fungal tide surged toward Garde, threatening to engulf him whole—but in that moment, the red glint in his eyes faded, and a deep calm took hold.
"No matter how many there are... prey is still just prey."
He took a single step forward—and an unfamiliar power rippled out from him, shattering the crimson growths that clung to his body.
He had thought he'd exhausted all of his Ascension Power—spent it all to disrupt Ishar'mla and the Seaborn's mental link.
But the truth was…. he had never truly mastered his Ascension Power to begin with.
How could he speak of "using it all"?
The power had always been inside him—from his skin to his muscles, from his blood to every single one of his cells.
He only needed to release it.
"Face the reckoning."
The growled words echoed from his throat.
Outside the quiet night of the town, a golden sun rose over the land—its light conjured by the storm of Ascension Power erupting from Garde.
His body expanded, swelling with power.
Energy spiraled around him in a blazing vortex.
The red fungal tide surged in—and died.
They withered beneath his radiance, turning to dust.
They were her people—her precious kin—but in Ishar'mla's eyes, there was no flicker of emotion.
She remained as she always was, gentle, serene.
Garde advanced. She began to retreat.
The seemingly endless tide of crimson carpet kept flowing toward him, desperately trying to halt his march.
One second. Two seconds. Three.
Garde was getting closer and closer.
Beneath their feet lay the remains of Seaborn who had evolved into fungal mats—so fragile that the mere light of his Ascension Power was enough to kill them.
At the fifth second, Garde's enlarged form began to shrink—his remaining power was running dry.
He couldn't hold it for much longer.
But it was enough.
The red carpet, still surging toward him, couldn't slow him down—not anymore.
Ishar'mla stopped retreating.
Because... she had nowhere left to run.
All her kin lay dead in Garde's wake.
"You've lost."
Garde's hand once more closed around her throat.
The battle had been brief but ferocious, and he was left breathing heavily.
If he hadn't spent so much of his Ascension Power at the start to disrupt their link, he could've ended this fight much sooner.
Ishar'mla had only brought these crimson fungus-like Seaborn to the surface.
Is it so to avoid being seen by land-dwellers?
That didn't quite make sense. The Seaborn never cared about being seen.
After all, to them, humans weren't a threat at all.
Garde's breathing grew heavier.
Was it from the fatigue?
At some point, Ishar'mla had been pinned beneath him.
Even with death so near, that face—identical to Skadi's—still wore a faint smile.
Her crimson eyes stared at Garde—completely unafraid.
"Hunt...er..."
Her voice rasped, hoarse from his grip on her throat.
She reached up, a delicate hand gently brushing against his face.
"Please... mate... with... me..."
Now?!
Of all times?!
Choking a Seaborn like her is nowhere near enough to kill her.
Panting, Garde opened his mouth, and like tearing into raw flesh, bit down on Ishar'mla's neck.
Blood spilled from the wound, flowing into his throat.
He knew full well that the Seaborn flesh wasn't edible, he had learned that a long time ago.
But the idea that her blood could influence him?
That was ridiculous.
Still—
Garde was human, not a god.
As long as one is human—there will always be weakness.
The moment Garde swallowed the Seaborn's blood, he finally realized something was wrong.
"No... What did you do to me!?"
He noticed that his movements had changed.
The way he was biting Ishar'mla—it no longer felt like an act of violence.
It was more like… a kiss.
A kiss on Ishar'mla's neck.
His body started to feel hot. Burning.
When he looked at Ishar'mla, he thought he saw Laurentina, and then Saria, then Gavial, and even Ho'olheyak.
"Those fungal mats…"
Gritting his teeth, Garde finally understood.
Those red growths that had invaded his body, they hadn't been trying to harm him.
They were trying to inject him with aphrodisiacs.
Even Ishar'mla's blood carried a powerful arousing agent.
Despicable.
How could anyone be this underhanded?
They tricked him.
Ambushed him.
Him, an eighteen-year-old crocodile man.
This— this is what people meant by the dangers of society.
His Ascension Power was spent, and even if there was any left—he couldn't draw on it now.
He didn't even want to imagine how many doses of aphrodisiac Ishar'mla had pumped into him.
Even his enhanced biology couldn't hold out.
He was going to explode.
He couldn't control the flood of desire anymore.
Even if Laurentina and Saria were right in front of him, he wouldn't dare touch them.
He would be too rough, they would die.
Garde looked down at Ishar'mla in despair.
She had already wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against his burning body.
That face—identical to Skadi's—drew close to his ear, and with warm breath, she whispered:
"Hunter… give me your seed."
In that moment, the last thread of reason snapped.
No matter what kind of creature lay behind Ishar'mla's beautiful façade—Garde no longer cared.
He was an Adakrys, a crocodile man, a warrior of proud Tiacauh blood.
And a true warrior is brave enough to face the abyss of the ocean, head-on!
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