Ah...
It couldn't be that unlucky, could it?
There really are Seaborn.
The moment he heard it, Lucas really wanted to speak up and ask for clarification. However, realizing he was currently an Originium Slug, he quickly dismissed the thought and continued to play the role of an Originium Slug, openly eavesdropping and peeking from the sidelines.
But...
Thinking about it carefully.
It wasn't necessarily Seaborn.
After all, Lucas and Skadi had been to Iberia before.
The moment they arrived in Saltwind City, the Seaborn in the ocean had swarmed toward Skadi like crazy, as if they had smelled her. If there really were Seaborn in the waters off Siesta, there was no way they wouldn't be frantically coming ashore to find Skadi and Laurentina.
And...
Although the Obsidian Festival hadn't officially started yet.
Tourists had been arriving in droves for the past week, and the beaches were already packed. If there really were Seaborn, how could it have been this quiet for so long? They would have been discovered long ago.
"Mm..."
Ceylon nodded, her attention completely focused on Lucas, as if she could never get tired of looking at him. After all, this Originium Slug was genuinely tiny and actually pretty cute.
It was the same feeling as getting a new puppy. Even if the puppy was just lying on the floor sleeping, you could lie on the floor and watch it sleep for ages, just feeling that it was inexplicably adorable.
"Schwarz..."
Suddenly, Ceylon called out to Schwarz, who was about to leave the room.
"Um, I'm finally back home for a visit. How about you explore the city with me tonight?"
Schwarz, who was just about to step out of the room, froze. She then said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, Miss. I still have work tonight. It's the Obsidian Festival, and it's not safe outside with so many people. If you really want to go out, Miss, I will arrange for bodyguards..."
"No need!!"
Ceylon puffed up her cheeks, her pretty face swelling with anger. Her 'young mistress' temper flared up slightly. She looked like a cute, angry hamster, making one want to reach out and give her cheeks a good petting.
Schwarz sighed helplessly, bowed respectfully to Ceylon, and left. This gesture only made Ceylon even angrier. She stomped her foot, which was wrapped in thin white stockings, on the floor.
"I don't want you... to treat me like this!! We're friends, Schwarz!"
Schwarz didn't say anything. She turned, left, and gently closed the door for Ceylon.
After Schwarz left.
Ceylon deflated like a popped balloon, collapsing into her chair without much of her 'young mistress' decorum. Although her ladylike etiquette was deeply ingrained, she would let loose a little when no one was around.
"Why is Schwarz always so busy? Ever since I went to university, she's rarely hung out with me like she used to... We used to be the best of sisters, but ever since I went to university, things seem different..."
Ceylon slumped onto the desk, meeting the gaze of Lucas in the container, and muttered dejectedly to herself.
Lucas pretty much understood.
This 'Ceylon' was likely some young heiress, and Schwarz's attitude was more akin to that of a family bodyguard. A princess and her knight.
When Ceylon was younger, they could act like friends, but as she grew up, a distinction of status had to be made. Ceylon, as the one in high society, might not understand, but her friend naturally couldn't be so casual.
This plot.
It was so common in novels. The most common was the noble lady and her handsome bodyguard. Books with this theme used to sell really well. Later, as 'aesthetic fatigue' set in, readers' tastes gradually shifted from this kind of outrageously wish-fulfillment-style plot to... something more twisted. Back then, these plots leaned toward pure love, but now... hypnosis was all the rage...
*Regarding the Matter of the Tsundere Young Mistress Being Hypnotized by Me, Her Humble Servant, and Becoming My XX.txt*
Ceylon reached out and poked Lucas's body.
"So cute..."
Ceylon had already tested the unknown mucus secreted by this Originium Slug's body. It was just ordinary, non-toxic, harmless mucus, completely different from the venom on a toad's skin.
Seeing Ceylon get busy searching and recording things on the computer again, Lucas returned to the Doctor's body on the beach.
Meanwhile, the 'murder volleyball' main battle had already reached the fourth round.
The match between Nian and Dusk ended with Nian winning by one point. After beating Surtr, Laurentina faced off against Skadi, and once again relied on her wits to beat Skadi. All one could say was, when it came to a battle of brains, Skadi and Surtr were just no match for Laurentina.
And, as the competition heated up.
It seemed...
The prize no longer mattered. Many people joined the competition just to defend their pride.
As for the main beach, many tourists were confused.
Was that an earthquake?
Why had the ground been shaking nonstop? Some could even see what looked like meteors streaking across the sky from time to time.
Finally, this 'boring' beach volleyball tournament ended before a winner could even be decided.
The entire competition was truly a chaotic battle of gods. A small, ordinary volleyball could never have imagined that it, too, would one day become a meteor and pierce a volcano.
When it was over.
Lucas told Skadi and Laurentina the information he knew.
However, Skadi shook her head.
"There shouldn't be any Seaborn.."
"Sharky and I haven't sensed the presence of any Seaborn since we arrived here. Besides, given the Seaborn's collective nature, with so many people playing by the sea... that's practically an invasion to them. The Seaborn's collective will would not allow a threat that hinders the group's development to exist."
"That's true.."
After Skadi's explanation, Lucas also felt it made sense.
After all.
Many people had been in Siesta for so long, and nothing had happened. Could the Seaborn really be that patient? They had little intelligence, only instinct. Unless... there was someone here who could specifically control the Seaborn. But how was that possible?
The Seaborn were collective creatures that only obeyed the will of the swarm.
It seemed he was overthinking it.
If there really was a way to control the Seaborn, how could Aegir's technology not be capable of it? And if they could control the Seaborn, why would Aegir go through all the trouble of the Abyssal Hunter project to assassinate the Seaborn's gods?
After 'murder volleyball', at Laurentina's suggestion, the group played a game of 'smash the watermelon' blindfolded.
However, this silly game was far too simple for everyone present. After all, no one here was an ordinary person. Even blindfolded, they could
easily locate the watermelon. There was no challenge at all. So the rules changed from just a blindfold to blocking all senses except hearing, and then trying to find the watermelon while others verbally interfered.
And then...
These poor watermelons never knew they would die such tragic deaths.
Since this competition didn't require direct confrontation, almost everyone used their own specialties.
Skadi was direct. She didn't even move. She just relied on her own powerful strength to swing the wooden stick. The moment she swung it, the stick moved so fast it shattered the air, wrapping itself in a powerful shockwave. This shockwave not only left a deep trench in the sand but also directly caused the watermelon in the distance to explode.
FrostNova used her frost to cover the entire ground to pinpoint the watermelon's location, then finished it off with an ice spike.
Dusk painted an ink fiend that could see and think, and the ink fiend easily smashed the watermelon.
....
And so on.
The myriad ways of smashing a watermelon left many of the onlookers numb. All they could say was that when gods fight, mortals can only watch from the sidelines.
The group played from day until night before finishing. Since tomorrow was the first day of the Obsidian Festival, the main stage was already starting to warm up. The organizers had some moderately famous guests perform on stage to liven up the atmosphere, and the speakers began to broadcast the works of the invited superstars.
After playing all day, by the time night fell, the group wasn't as excited anymore. Even the playful Ceobe just wanted to go back to the hotel, eat some barbecue and honey cakes. After all, although Ceobe and the other kids hadn't participated in the gods' volleyball match, they had their own happy game of 'dodgeball' with others.
Amiya and the others, having spent the day with Jessica, also left in the evening, returning to where the Rhodes Island Operators were staying.
And Lucas, after a word with Jessica, let his consciousness descend onto the Originium Slug.
The moment his consciousness descended.
It was a critical hit right from the start.
Ceylon seemed to be changing clothes in her room. Her sleeveless, luxurious dress was thrown messily on the bed. She had changed from her formal dress into an explorer's outfit, more practical for moving around. Her pink, waterfall-like hair was now tied up, and her noble, gentle 'young mistress' aura suddenly became heroic and valiant.
She wore tight denim shorts on her lower half, which hugged her pert posterior, outlining Ceylon's nearly perfect, graceful curves.
She was currently sitting on the bed.
Her long, slender, snow-white legs, like popsicles, were covered in black stockings. She gently pulled them up with both hands.
Tsk tsk...
This scene.
It was quite something.
"Mhm! Let's go."
Ceylon, now in her exploration gear and thick leather boots, carefully put 'Lucas' into a portable container. She quietly pushed open the door, and after confirming Schwarz wasn't in the villa, she carefully slipped out.
Lucas watched the whole time, wondering what Ceylon was planning to do.
Ceylon avoided the crowded areas, taking shortcuts. She seemed to be very familiar with Siesta; she was probably a local heiress. She expertly bypassed Siesta's bustling main district and headed along the edge toward the volcano behind the city.
When Ceylon reached a beach on the side of the volcano that very few people ever visited.
The next second.
She froze in place.
"???"
What happened??
Ceylon stared at this side beach, usually deserted, which was now riddled with craters. She was completely stunned.
A war?
Did someone fight a war here??
Ceylon stared at the massive craters, one after another, so shocked she couldn't speak. Such large craters... only an Originium bomb could cause this kind of destruction...
The soul fragment of Lucas, fused inside the Originium Slug, couldn't help but cover its face.
This beach was on the other side of the volcano.
It was completely separate from the main beach where the tourists were. Even Siesta locals rarely came here. So, when Ceylon secretly went up the volcano, she usually went this way.
But...
The craters littering the ground made Ceylon sink into deep thought. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out how these craters got here.
After a moment of silence.
Ceylon continued up the volcano.
This was one of her summer research projects: to observe the activity and cyclical changes of Originium on an active volcano. Ever since discovering this never-before-seen Originium Slug in the volcano, Ceylon had become fascinated by it.
The mountain forest at night was much more dangerous than during the day.
Ceylon climbed carefully. After an hour, she had barely made it halfway up the mountain. Just a little further and she would be in her observation area.
Suddenly.
A sound from the bushes made Ceylon instantly alert. When she aimed her flashlight at the bushes, a creature crawled out.
The next second.
Ceylon's eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth in terror.
Forget Ceylon, even Lucas, who had been watching from the sidelines, was stunned.
An... Originium Slug the size of a Golden Retriever.
Oh, no!
Not an Originium Slug, this looked more like a... fish?
Or rather, a hybrid of an Originium Slug and a fish...
After this one monster emerged, rustling sounds echoed from the bushes all around.
One after another, never-before-seen monsters crawled out of the bushes.