However, Alex paid no attention to Atlanna at all. He didn't bother explaining anything to her either, and instead walked straight up to the waterfall—
And went right in.
"Arthur, let's go in too and take a look!"
An anxious look appeared on Atlanna's face. She immediately called out to Arthur and rushed toward the waterfall as well.
Arthur knew very well what the Sacred Trident represented.
On top of that, Alex had just helped him reunite with his mother—an enormous favor by any measure.
Naturally, Arthur couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
After a brief moment of thought, he raised no objections.
He quickened his pace and followed Atlanna.
Mother and son plunged into the waterfall together.
Passing through the opening behind the cascading water, they swam into a "cavern" beyond it.
This place—
Was none other than the palace of the First King of Atlantis.
Only, it had long since fallen into ruin.
"There!"
The palace wasn't very large, and Alex hadn't gone in for long. Mother and son spotted him almost immediately and hurried after him.
"ROAR!"
At that moment, a thunderous beastly roar suddenly exploded through the space.
It was as if a bomb had been detonated directly inside Arthur's mind, causing his entire body to shudder.
At the same time—
An incomparably massive shadow burst forth.
Arthur looked up and saw a terrifying "serpent," over a hundred meters long and covered in jagged spikes, blocking Alex's path in an instant.
Karathen!
Without a doubt.
This terrifying monster was the very beast Atlanna had spoken of—the guardian of the Sacred Trident.
Arthur's pupils shrank violently.
In that instant, every muscle in his body tensed up.
His nerves went into high alert.
Danger.
Terror.
Even though Karathen's target was Alex, not Arthur—
Arthur still felt as though he had been locked onto by a ferocious beast.
Gulp.
He couldn't help swallowing hard.
Terrifying.
Those two words flashed unbidden through his mind.
They hadn't even fought yet.
Karathen had merely shown itself—nothing more.
And yet it exerted such immense pressure on Arthur.
That alone said everything.
A monster like this…
Could even the Homelander really deal with it?
Arthur instinctively glanced at Alex, then quickly swam toward him.
"Homelander, I know you want the Sacred Trident, but maybe we should think this through!"
Whoosh!
Arthur's movement immediately caught Karathen's attention.
Karathen's massive tail whipped violently, slamming straight toward Arthur.
Despite its colossal size, the creature was unbelievably agile.
Arthur didn't even have time to react.
Boom!
He was struck head-on.
His body shot backward like a cannonball, smashing violently into a stone wall.
The wall collapsed on the spot.
Arthur felt as though his entire skeleton had nearly come apart, his insides churning violently.
That single casual strike from Karathen had almost killed him.
Arthur's eyes widened in shock.
Staring at the colossal monster ahead, waves of disbelief crashed through his mind.
So this is Karathen?
No wonder it's a legendary monster!
"Arthur!"
A cry filled with concern rang out.
Queen Atlanna rushed to her son at top speed and helped him back to his feet.
"I'm fine, Mother," Arthur said quickly.
But as he looked at Karathen again, his expression remained far from calm.
With a monster like this guarding the Sacred Trident…
Could anyone really take it away?
At this moment, even Arthur began to doubt Alex.
"Thanks for your concern, Arthur."
Alex's calm voice sounded from nearby, utterly unconcerned.
"But this monster… means nothing to me."
Queen Atlanna didn't even know what to say anymore.
Was something wrong with this Homelander's head?
Before, when he hadn't seen Karathen, his confidence could be excused.
But now that he had witnessed Karathen's terrifying power firsthand—
How could he still be this blindly confident?
Was he looking for death?
She wasn't unwilling to consider that Alex might truly be strong enough to completely ignore Karathen.
But that thought was immediately dismissed.
Atlanna simply couldn't believe that such a being could exist in this world.
Still…
Karathen had yet to make a move against the Homelander.
That alone was strange.
What Atlanna didn't know was that Karathen had already sensed an overwhelming pressure from Alex—
So overwhelming that it didn't dare act rashly.
Before Alex, Karathen felt the same way she and Arthur felt before Karathen.
"Listen."
Alex spoke again.
But this time, he wasn't addressing Atlanna or Arthur.
He was speaking directly to Karathen.
"I know you can understand me. I know it's your duty to guard the Sacred Trident."
"So leave now, and I won't make things difficult for you."
"But if you refuse to see reason…"
"I'll just have to kill you."
Alex warned it solemnly.
Queen Atlanna couldn't bear to watch anymore.
At this moment, she genuinely began to wonder if something was wrong with Alex's mind.
Threaten Karathen?
What a joke.
There was no doubt that Karathen could understand human speech—Atlanna knew that much.
So of course it understood what Alex was saying.
But the real question was—
Would a legendary feral beast like Karathen ever be intimidated by a threat?
It was utterly ridiculous.
"Mother…"
"Karathen… she's afraid."
But at that moment, Arthur suddenly spoke in disbelief.
Here, it must be mentioned—
Although Arthur was a half-blood Atlantean, he possessed an ability no other sea-blooded being had:
He could communicate with sea creatures.
Arthur could hear the thoughts of all ocean life.
This was a power only the First King of Atlantis had ever possessed.
"What are you talking about, Arthur?"
Queen Atlanna froze, as if she had just heard the most absurd joke.
Whoosh!
But in the very next instant—
She watched in absolute shock as Karathen turned around and retreated.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the cold, pitch-black depths, disappearing completely.
As if it had never existed at all.
Queen Atlanna: "..."
Aquaman Arthur: "..."
This has to be fake, right?
A monster that could one-shot Aquaman—
Was scared away by a single sentence from the Homelander?
What kind of joke is this?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 60 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~