A circle of question marks flashed above Emperor's head.
He wasn't one of the Gods and Behemoths, but he was an extremely special long-lived species. He had lived from many years ago until now. It could even be said that the vast majority of divine Gods and Behemoths didn't live as long as him. After all, those Gods and Behemoths that once roamed unchallenged were now pretty much all gone, while he himself was still living free and easy.
Emperor never would have imagined.
Why would so many gods gather in a tiny place like Siesta? Although they were mainly Divine Fragments, these were no ordinary fragments.
"Ayo~ Isn't this Miss Surtr? Long time no see."
As a professional rapper, Emperor spoke in spontaneous rap, even with a built-in autotune.
Emperor recognized Surtr. After all, he had met her in Lungmen a year ago when she helped Penguin Logistics with a small favor.
To be honest.
Even back in the ancient age of gods, there weren't many Gods and Behemoths. Basically, just a handful. And now, in an era where the gods have dissipated, they were even rarer. Although the Gods and Behemoths possessed immortality.
But Behemoths of average strength, after being shattered, were basically only immortal in name. Their divine souls scattered, making it nearly impossible to recover to their full strength. Only the most powerful Gods and Behemoths from the past had the ability to reform into one powerful Divine Fragment after another, still possessing immense strength, even after being broken apart.
So.
For one Siesta.
To gather so many gods at once, the probability was truly lower than winning the lottery.
Beside Emperor.
The four members of Alive Until Sunset frowned slightly when they looked at Lucas Reeve and the others. They were not gods of the land, but from the deep sea. They were barely a similar species, but not the same race.
Lucas Reeve and Surtr nodded at Emperor in response, then everyone's gaze simultaneously landed on the four members of Alive Until Sunset.
They might not recognize Lucas Reeve and his group, but Lucas Reeve recognized them. After all, they had been jumping around on stage all night. With their fame, even Lucas Reeve, who had no interest in heavy metal music, knew a thing or two about them. He just hadn't expected the legendary Alive Until Sunset to also be Divine Fragments.
Their nature was similar to Nian and Dusk's; they were all Divine Fragments that had actively split off. It was just that their main Behemoth body had split into four people. And these four were likely similar in strength to Nian and Dusk, not as good as the three strongest fragments: Big Brother, Second Brother, and Ling. And Sui had split into twelve people, including Big Brother, Second Brother, and Ling.
In fact, just by looking at the quality of the Divine Fragments they split into, one could guess that Alive Until Sunset's original body was likely far inferior to Sui.
Since they weren't familiar with Alive Until Sunset.
They didn't say much. The two sides simply nodded in greeting, memorizing each other's appearance and aura.
And right in front of everyone.
A large group of monsters, resembling both Originium Slugs and Seaborn, crawled out from the sea like nest after nest of cockroaches. They were pitch black. Looking down from above, the entire edge of the sea was filled with these constantly writhing black monsters, exceptionally disgusting.
These monsters also had varied appearances. Due to the Seaborn's evolutionary traits, the monsters didn't all look the same. Each monster had its own adapted evolutionary form. Some were covered in carapaces, some had sharp mouths that could spit various acids, and some resembled a flower, with petals like heavy and powerful whips.
Theoretically.
These tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of monsters crawling up from the seabed... if they relied only on Siesta's Public Security Bureau soldiers, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long. All the tourists and citizens of Siesta would be devoured as nutrients for the monsters. This city was about to become the next Saltwind City.
"Hm?"
Skadi's gaze was fixed intently on Alive Until Sunset next to Emperor.
The four members of Alive Until Sunset were also staring at Skadi, their eyes full of vigilance.
"You... you have the scent of the Seaborn on you."
One of the golden-haired short-haired women in Alive Until Sunset spoke first.
Skadi, in response, tightened her grip on the hilt of her greatsword. For Abyssal Hunters, the Seaborn were not their only enemies in the deep sea. Other powerful existences or powerful races that could potentially threaten Aegir were also potential enemies of Aegir.
"You come from the deep sea... You have a strong smell of the ocean on you."
Skadi said flatly.
While the two groups were talking, the deep-sea Originium Slug monsters had already come ashore and were gradually approaching the group, yet no one paid them any mind.
"We are indeed from the deep sea..."
Alive Until Sunset also couldn't understand why a person would possess the power of the Seaborn. They didn't get along well with the Seaborn either.
Seeing the atmosphere between the two sides inexplicably grow tense.
Emperor quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Our enemies are these sea monsters, yo. This ain't the time for infighting."
The four members of Alive Until Sunset averted their gaze. They could sense that the Seaborn blood in the girl before them wasn't very pure, for now. Besides the Seaborn aura, there was also the scent of a human. This meant they were likely a new species formed from the fusion of Seaborn and humans. It was precisely because of this that Alive Until Sunset didn't immediately merge into their true form. They had been frantically chased ashore by the Seaborn; they knew all too well how powerful the Seaborn were.
A single one might not be strong, but their near-infinite numbers and ridiculous evolutionary traits... as the saying goes, enough ants can kill an elephant. Even Alive Until Sunset's original body couldn't do much against the Seaborn in the sea.
————————
Elsewhere.
At this moment, in the center of Siesta's urban district, a person wrapped in an algae-green robe was walking slowly down the road. Looking at the streets that had been bustling and lively just the day before, but were now almost empty, it was extremely satisfied. It was not a land-dweller. It came from the Church of the Deep within Aegir. It had arrived on land many years ago, and its mission and dream was to allow the great Seaborn to come ashore, to turn the land into a part of the ocean. However, the Seaborn themselves seemed to be somewhat mutually exclusive with Originium.
Seaborn really disliked the Originium on land. For a mindless species that only pursues survival and propagation, trying to make this species go against its nature and do something completely unrelated to its propagation was extremely difficult. But after so many years of this Bishop's efforts, the Seaborn had adapted to a portion of the Originium. Some Seaborn had even successfully devoured a large number of Originium Slugs on the volcano. Now... the time was ripe. They just had to wait for Siesta to be full of people.
Let these Seaborn that had devoured Originium Slugs come ashore, devour these humans, and evolve human characteristics. Moreover, information and consciousness among the Seaborn are almost interconnected. As long as the Seaborn here adapted to some Originium characteristics, the other Seaborn would adapt as well. This was the power of the group network.
And now.
The goal was about to be completed.
Let the Seaborn that devoured the Originium Slugs come ashore, devour these humans, and evolve human characteristics. Then... the Seaborn will ascend to the land, and the glory of the God of the Deep Sea will shine upon the entire land of Terra!
Decades!
Decades of patience!
When it first arrived here, this city was just a small town.
The dream was finally about to be realized! And itself! As the guide of the Seaborns' evolution! It would finally return to the embrace of its god!
As for retaliation?
Heh...
It just wanted to laugh.
It had come to land decades ago. In its eyes, even Victoria, the most powerful country on land today, was like a primitive tribe before Aegir, let alone the deep sea. From its perspective, it was like a person from an interstellar civilization looking at the Stone Age. Barren, backward, boring. Besides Iberia, these land-based countries didn't even understand the deep sea. Even if it erased this entire city's population, the people on land wouldn't even know who did it.
Victory was already in its grasp.
The Bishop walked alone down the street.
And wherever it walked, dark blue, disgusting tendrils, like veins and vines, would grow on the ground. These tendrils seemed to have a life of their own, spreading outwards along the ground. If no one organized to stop them, the entire city of Siesta would be reduced to ruins under these terrifying tendrils and deep-sea monsters.
Below...
The Bishop arrived at the center of the large stage Siesta had built for the Obsidian Festival. The cameras that hadn't been packed up yet were pointed at it, and its image was projected onto the giant electronic screen behind the stage. Many tourists and citizens, hiding in their hotels and houses, looked at this person in fear.
On the top floor of the hotel.
Ceobe was lying on the edge of the sky garden, a juice box in one hand and a dessert in the other, looking down at the person on the stage below. She asked in confusion.
"Sister Zumama, what is this person doing? Is he a singer? But there's no audience."
Ceobe didn't know what was happening.
Zumama walked over. The High Priest also fluttered over.
"Hm... maybe he just sings terribly."
"Indeed."
The Bishop spread its arms, as if about to embrace the whole world.
"Humble land-dwelling mortals, you have the honor of becoming a part of the gods! Be proud."
The Bishop's gaze turned towards the beach not far away.
By this time.
The Seaborn should be arriving.
The sound of mortals wailing is truly so delightful.
Just then.
A child's call came from above the Bishop's head.
"Hey!! I don't know if you're a big brother or big sister, but can you hurry up and perform? Ceobe has been waiting for a long time! I'm almost done with my cake!!"
Ceobe shouted from the balcony. She was getting a little impatient. After all, it had been a while since he got on stage, and there was still no movement.
The Bishop raised its head, a million question marks flashing. Soon, a fierce glint flashed in its eyes. It had memorized the people on that top floor.
It just had to wait for the Seaborn to come up, then...
*BOOM—*
A massive explosion rang out. The terrifying shockwave even caused the glass on the hotel to tremble violently, as if it was about to shatter. The Bishop's ears were ringing.
A huge mushroom cloud slowly rose from the beach not far away.
The Bishop: "???"
Suddenly, a very bad premonition arose in its heart.
No... no....
Absolutely impossible!
This is just a tourist city. It doesn't have much combat power on its own. The Bishop, having witnessed Siesta's development for so many years, knew this perfectly well. Besides, it had an inside source in Siesta.
——————
Mayor's office.
Herman, the mayor of Siesta, was staring sharply at the trusted subordinate he had personally trained.
"Cronin, you!!"
Beside Herman, a group of the mayor's personal bodyguards, holding various advanced standard-issue weapons, protected him. Schwarz had already been sent to protect Ceylon, so she should be fine.
Standing in front of Herman, the Mayoral Assistant Cronin's handsome face flashed with a thick madness.
"Mr. Mayor, why be so stubborn? I am also grateful. You personally cultivated me for so many years, and now that I have joined the service of the gods, I naturally have not forgotten your past kindness."
"After today, Siesta will cease to exist. This city will officially become the domain of the gods. And I, as the gods' most devout believer, will also receive grace and eternal life."
"You!!"
Herman's brows furrowed. How could he not understand now? These monsters that had inexplicably crawled out of the sea were likely lured here by Cronin and the people behind him.
"Our god is omnipotent."
Cronin raised his hand. Then, a violent explosion suddenly rang out from outside the government building. Amidst the roar, the entire ground trembled. A huge mushroom cloud rocketed into the sky, clearly visible from the mayor's office.
Cronin turned his head and looked down contemptuously at the distant beach.
"Huh???"