Because Siesta hadn't been very peaceful lately.
For safety, the kids like Ceobe and Ifrit had basically stayed in the hotel the entire time. The other operators were also in the hotel. As for the Rhodes Island operators, they were helping to settle the agitated populace at Amiya's request. The only ones outside, besides the few gods and Abyssal Hunters, were Jessica, Amiya, and the others.
Uhh...
When the group landed at the spot Lucas Reeve had marked, following the scent of his soul, everyone's gaze fell on the Originium Slug in Ceylon's arms.
An Originium Slug??
A bug??
Fuck!!
Beside them, Franka's mind was filled with a million question marks and exclamation points.
Lucas Reeve became a bug?
At the same time.
After a moment of silence, even Skadi, who was carrying Lucas Reeve's physical body (the Doctor's), was lost in a dorky contemplation. The dozens of deep-sea Originium Slug monsters that had just crawled in through the window were instantly wiped out by a single horizontal slash from Skadi.
"Stop laughing, what's so funny..."
Lucas Reeve's consciousness returned to the Doctor's body on Skadi's back. He raised a hand in protest. However, Lucas Reeve's protest didn't stop the girls' laughter; instead, it made them laugh even more joyfully.
Even Jessica was finding it hard to hold back. But she wasn't as unrestrained as Laurentina or Franka. She covered her mouth with her small hand, laughing delicately, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents.
As for Ceylon.
"???"
A million question marks appeared above Ceylon's head.
However, the only person present more baffled than Ceylon was Schwarz.
At least Ceylon knew the Originium Slug was Lucas Reeve, but Schwarz knew nothing at all. She had only rushed over to protect her young miss after learning she was in danger. But before she even had a chance to act, she encountered a talking Originium Slug. Then, a bunch of people she didn't recognize fell from the sky, followed by a powerhouse who casually swung a sword like a kitchen knife, easily slicing in two the monsters that her crossbow could barely pierce.
Friends of the young miss??
No...
Probably not.
After all, Schwarz could see that Ceylon's expression was just as baffled.
Lucas Reeve, having switched back to his Doctor 'vest', waved at Ceylon, his face beaming with a warm and gentle smile.
"Hello there, Miss Ceylon."
"You... you..."
Ceylon froze.
That voice, that tone of speaking, was exactly the same as the Originium Slug in her arms. Since they had been together for six days, and given Lucas Reeve's talkative nature, the two had easily become friends, despite being completely different species—one human, one Originium Slug.
After all.
Ceylon rarely had anyone to talk to when she was in the villa.
Her only friend, Schwarz, rarely made small talk with her. Besides, Schwarz spent most of her time running errands for Ceylon's father, Herman. This led to the young lady Ceylon feeling inevitably lonely at times.
So, Lucas Reeve's appearance, coupled with his naturally chatty personality, happened to fill this void for Ceylon.
As a result, Ceylon had often stayed up late in her room, chatting with Lucas Reeve until they fell asleep together.
Therefore.
Ceylon was exceptionally baffled looking at Lucas Reeve.
"Err... it's complicated to explain. It's a long story. I'll explain it to you slowly once things calm down."
Lucas Reeve gave Ceylon a simple explanation.
And Ceylon seemed to understand, more or less.
It must be... this Originium Slug and this handsome guy in front of her must be the same person, both are Lucas Reeve. As for why, although Ceylon didn't understand... there was no need to think too much about it. After all, during their chats these past few days, Ceylon had her suspicions. Lucas Reeve often brought up topics that an Originium Slug shouldn't know about.
If that was the case, it all made sense.
Ceylon also loved reading fairy tales as a child.
She had heard the story of the Frog Prince, about a handsome prince who was cursed by a witch and turned into a frog. To return to his form, the frog needed a princess's kiss. Then, the Frog Prince went searching for the first princess, and the moment he spoke, he was killed for being a monster.
Tsk tsk...
Laurentina couldn't help but click her tongue, her sexy red lips pouting.
"So this is Miss Ceylon. She's really pretty, and so cute, gives off a real 'young lady' vibe. Mr. Reeve really knows how to pick girls."
Hmph!!
Surtr grunted unhappily in her heart.
And Skadi, being the closest to Ceylon, felt a dorky sourness in her heart. A low growl rumbled in her throat like a kitten's, incredibly cute. As for Jessica, she was completely used to it by now. She just looked Ceylon up and down, as if sizing her up.
And just then.
The walls of the villa's fourth floor suddenly cracked open.
If one were to look from the outside, Ceylon's entire villa was now almost completely covered in ugly, disgusting monsters. As for the security personnel who had been resisting, some had managed to escape, while others had already been sacrificed.
With a loud *boom*.
The wall completely collapsed. The moment the wall fell, the monsters clinging to it swarmed in like a black tide, so disgusting it made one's skin crawl. They were a black, writhing mass, and the monsters crawled over each other, their bodies twitching and convulsing, like octopuses thrown into a mud puddle.
Faced with the swarm of monsters.
Schwarz's expression changed drastically.
The dozen or so from before were hard enough to deal with, but she never expected there to be so many. If she tried to hold them off head-on, she would 100% die here. Schwarz grabbed Ceylon's hand, preparing to leave. Ceylon's right hand, meanwhile, was tightly clutching the unconscious, Lucas-Reeve-branded Originium Slug.
These deep-sea Originium Slug monsters didn't seem very interested in the group. They had only one goal.
This Originium Slug...
As the swarm of monsters pounced, Skadi was already swinging the greatsword in her hands as if she were dancing, reaping the lives of these monsters with incredible ease. Against these common monsters, Skadi alone was enough. The others didn't make a move. After all, it was just a group of small fries. If two of them ganged up, it would be a bit demeaning. After all, no one present was an ordinary person.
A group of people watched, while the blue-hat fought.
As for Laurentina, she was focused on observing the monsters' appearance.
Their appearance was extremely bizarre, resembling Originium Slugs but also possessing the features of horror fish. And they had the characteristic rapid evolution of the Seaborn. Just after one monster was headshot by Schwarz, almost the entire group had already grown carapaces capable of defending against long-range projectiles.
Such ridiculous evolution. Besides the Seaborn, Laurentina couldn't think of any other species that possessed it.
A combination of horror fish and Originium Slugs?
Oh, no...
This didn't feel like simple evolution. After all, Originium Slugs and Seaborn are mutually inhibitory. Just like how Abyssal Hunters are almost immune to Oripathy because they are part Seaborn and have Seaborn blood in their veins. But Oripathy is different; it's caused by Originium.
The deep-sea power representing the abyss and the primal Originium power of the land are mutually repulsive. It's basically impossible for them to fuse.
And if it were natural selection.
The Seaborn would most likely not choose Originium Slugs. After all, the Originium power within the slugs conflicts with the deep-sea power in the Seaborn. So, there was only one possibility: the fusion was forced?
Was someone controlling these Seaborn from the shadows, achieving some unknown goal?
Combined with the illusory barrier that had appeared around Siesta, this possibility seemed even more likely.
Moreover.
The difficulty of combining Seaborn and Originium Slugs to create a new species is considerable. It's not something that can be accomplished overnight. So, this person behind the scenes has likely been lurking near Siesta for a very, very long time.
After all.
Siesta was indeed the best choice.
An independent city, not belonging to any country.
It borders an inland sea, convenient for the Seaborn, and its own internal strength is far inferior to Lungmen's.
Schwarz shielded Ceylon behind her.
Ceylon, in turn, held Lucas Reeve's bug-body tightly in her arms.
Jessica, Lucas Reeve, and the others were watching the danger from the sidelines. Only the unlucky, dorky, honest, and earnest Skadi was diligently fighting the monsters, KDA already maxed out, damage output off the charts.
Luckily, this wasn't a game. If it were a game.
Skadi would definitely have made countless people type a big yellow question mark.
Schwarz was already numb from watching.
As an assassin, one of the best, who had once brought down a powerful family single-handedly, Schwarz was extremely confident in her own strength. But at this moment, that confidence... seemed a bit... worthless.
After all, Skadi was just too ferocious. Her greatsword swung wide, looking brutal, yet her posture was as graceful as a dance, like a ballerina on stage. But this ballerina was swinging a massive greatsword. And during the swing, the wind generated by the greatsword nearly made Ceylon fall over. 'Terrifying' was the only word to describe it.
As for Schwarz, in all her time as an assassin, she had never met such a ridiculous girl.
Finally.
With a final swing of the sword.
The last monster successfully died on Skadi's blade. Skadi viciously plunged the greatsword into that monster's chest. The moment it was pierced, the monsters gradually turned into particles of light, as if they had never existed.
Work's done...
Skadi pulled her sword from the ground, then turned around and looked at Lucas Reeve, who was not far away. Her big red eyes were shining. She trotted over to Lucas Reeve, looking just like a child who had done a big favor and was hoping for praise.
Lucas Reeve did not hold back his praise.
He reached out, rubbing and ruffling Skadi's soft, pure white hair. He even used both hands to pinch Skadi's cheeks. They were soft and plump, incredibly comfortable.
And Skadi clearly loved this kind of head-patting.
As Lucas Reeve petted her, she comfortably rubbed her head against Lucas Reeve a couple of times. Jessica also walked over and joined Lucas Reeve in ruffling Skadi's head.
Ah... this...
Schwarz whispered to Ceylon.
"Miss, who are these people?"
Ceylon shook her head. "I don't know."
After saying that, she looked down at the un-talking Originium Slug in her arms.
Just then.
A rushed and hurried voice came through Schwarz's earpiece.
"Captain! Captain!! The beach! The beach!! Ahh!"
Hearing this voice, Schwarz's eyes flew wide open.
Since they were on the top floor of the villa, and the villa was relatively close to the sea, they could see the ocean from the top floor.
And when Schwarz went to the corner to look out, she completely froze.
Dense...
Truly dense swarms of monsters seemed to be mixed in with the dark blue waves, continuously crawling ashore.
It's over!!
The beach...
There are still plenty of ordinary citizens on the beach!!
Schwarz told Ceylon what was happening and leaped from the fourth floor, using her agile skills. She ordered the members of the Public Security Bureau over her earpiece to converge on the beach and protect Siesta's tourists and citizens.
"We're going too."
Nian gazed into the distance. The others nodded. Dusk habitually took out her scroll and pulled the others into the painting. When she looked at Ceylon, she thought for a moment and pulled Ceylon into the painting as well.
The beach...
"Run! There are monsters!!"
Swarms of deep-sea Originium Slugs crawled out of the ocean. There were simply too many of these deep-sea Originium Slugs. The large ones were half the height of a person, while the smallest ones were the size of a Golden Retriever.
Ordinary citizens and tourists were fleeing, while two groups of people were leisurely walking towards the beach.
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect to run into this mess during a performance."
The swaggering Emperor was chugging a large cup of beer, drinking as he walked, looking completely relaxed, as if he didn't take these monsters seriously at all. Behind Emperor, the four girls from Penguin Logistics followed, smiling and laughing.
To Emperor's left, four girls with distinct appearances also walked leisurely beside him.
"Hey, this is your deep-sea crap, you know. You guys have to take responsibility. My favorite performance was ruined by this."
Emperor complained to the Alive Until Sunset band next to him.
The golden-haired short-haired woman in the band, however, was nonchalant.
"You think I wasn't affected?"
Emperor said, "Good thing you're here. With you around, these ugly deep-sea monsters shouldn't be a problem. If you weren't here, I'd probably bail immediately. And Siesta's forces wouldn't be able to stop these monsters. By the time rescue teams from other countries arrive, all of Siesta would have already been eroded by these monsters and ceased to exist."
The four members of Alive Until Sunset didn't speak, just smiled faintly.
Exusiai, behind Emperor, was a bit confused. "Boss, aren't these four just singers? Are they strong?"
"Of course."
Emperor nodded.
"They are gods from the deep sea."
"Oh~ Then who's stronger, them or Lucas's group?"
Exusiai asked excitedly.
"Them, naturally. After all, no matter how powerful a mortal is, they can't contend with a god."
Emperor didn't know who Lucas Reeve was, but from the name, he sounded like an ordinary person.
Suddenly!
The four members of Alive Until Sunset immediately turned their heads and looked to the side.
The ethereally beautiful Nine-Colored Deer landed first, her entire body radiating a celestial aura and shimmering with divine light, like a transcendent immortal descending from the heavens. Nian and Dusk appeared together, alongside Surtr, Skadi, and Laurentina. And on Skadi's back was Lucas Reeve.
"Yo! Lucas, you're here!"
Exusiai happily waved at the group.
Alive Until Sunset: "???"
Emperor: "???"