“It’s a tsunami! A tsunami is coming!”
The first to spot it was a soldier on guard atop the spire of the Emerald Realm. Not long after the Sea Deity had withdrawn, leaving the soldiers’ discipline utterly lax.
Though his discipline might have slipped, the training he received hadn’t disappeared. Following protocol, the soldier rang the bell to signal an emergency, and as the bell tolled, the territory’s soldiers evacuated the residents without question.
At first, the residents were disgruntled, but it wasn’t long before they caught sight of the enormous tsunami looming in the distance and began fleeing for their lives without hesitation.
After evacuating the residents, the soldiers attempting to flee the territory suddenly encountered two madmen charging toward the sea.
“So— You need to escape right now!”
“Are you going ahead?”
“No! If I leave the nobles behind and something happens to either of you…”
“I won’t get hurt.”
The soldier sighed inwardly at Kail and Yuri, who seemed impossible to reason with. It looked like Kail was showing off some ridiculous bravado just because a woman was by his side.
Those hot-headed youngsters… Of course, even the soldier could admit that the woman beside him was a stunning beauty, but did that mean she was worth risking her life against a tsunami? Absolutely not.
Risking one’s life should come from a judgment that it’s worth trying—like wielding a sword against another swordsman.
Putting your neck on the chopping block or rushing towards a tsunami to impress a woman wasn’t bravery—it was just plain suicide.
“Please…! If you don’t go, we can’t run either!”
“What’s worrying you? Why are you men so cowardly?”
Kail flicked his ear, letting the soldier’s words slide out of one ear. Then, he gazed at the distant tsunami approaching.
Tsunamis don’t just appear without warning. Weak waves crash a few times before a massive tsunami follows.
But this tsunami appeared without any signs. An extremely artificial wave. It was clear someone—be it the Sea Deity or otherwise—had created it.
‘Damn. How many meters is that?’
Kail groaned at the sight of the towering wave, dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide. Could he really stop a wave like that? And if so, how?
Would slicing the water with a sword change anything? For a moment, a negative thought crossed Kail’s mind: maybe running away was the right choice.
And then, with a blink, Kail shook off all those distracting thoughts.
“─Hmph!”
He drew his sword and took a deep breath. A sharp Aura Blade erupted from the blade. The Aura, which had been enveloping the sword, amplified further.
One meter, three meters, five meters. Finally, breaking through ten meters, Kail gripped the Aura Blade pulsating wildly as he stepped forward.
One step.
He poured his full strength into it.
Two steps.
He unleashed his latent power.
Three steps.
He released his mind, spirit, and body simultaneously.
A perfect technique drawn out under the best conditions. The ten-meter Aura Blade shot forward along its trajectory.
The Aura Blade sliced straight through the wave, splitting the tsunami in half. The divided tsunami lost its sustaining force and was swallowed up by the other waves.
However, the severed wave soon regenerated, unsurprisingly given the surrounding overflow of water.
“…Shit.”
The problem was that firing off a ten-meter Aura Blade was quite exhausting, and he couldn’t possibly repeat it multiple times.
After all, an Aura Master wasn’t meant to stand at the front lines wielding a sword; they certainly weren’t designed to fire Aura Blades from afar like machine guns.
Feeling a slight fatigue, Kail reached for his sword again when he felt a hand grab his wrist, causing him to pause.
“See? Can’t do it, can you?”
“…I can do it.”
“Don’t be reckless, Kail. Do you think only your life is at stake here?”
Yuri, who had stopped Kail, spoke as she stepped forward. Watching the approaching tsunami, she completed the incantation she’d prepared while Kail swung his sword.
「Frozen World」 「Spreading Ripple」
A Double Casting of two 4th-tier spells by a 4th-tier Sorceress. The two powerful spells spread simultaneously, freezing the sea Kail had cut through solid.
From the tsunami’s perspective, it was as if a wall of ice, equal in height to the tsunami itself, had suddenly appeared.
With the ice wall acting as a breakwater, the tsunami halted, unable to surge over it.
“Hoo, hoo- haa…”
However, Yuri, who had cast two 4th-tier spells simultaneously, was breathing heavily, clearly drained of magical power.
Kail supported her and praised her.
“You did well.”
“Huuh… Didn’t I say I can’t do anything without you, my lady?”
Yuri chuckled weakly, seemingly forgetting how to maintain her facial expression due to exhaustion.
Carefully laying her down to rest, Kail cautiously glanced at the ice wall.
‘As soon as I cut it, the wave reattached itself. If it were a distant wave, that wouldn’t be possible…’
Most likely, the Sea Deity was nearby, continuously manipulating the sea from close range.
And if that were true, Yuri’s freezing of the sea wouldn’t hold for long.
The Sea Deity would soon manipulate the sea to summon an even larger tsunami than the ice wall.
“Yuri, rest for a bit.”
“…Kail?”
“I’ll finish this and come back.”
Ignoring Yuri’s hand trying to stop him, Kail dashed straight toward the ice wall. The soldiers watching him run across the sea gasped in disbelief.
Blocking out all the noise, Kail arrived at the ice wall and leaped onto it in one bound, standing atop the towering structure.
Beyond the ice wall, he spotted the Sea Deity gathering waves to overcome Yuri’s frozen barrier.
“Caught you red-handed.”
─Grrrrrl?
Kail smirked as he stared at the Sea Deity. The Aura emanating from him seemed familiar, and the Sea Deity began trembling upon seeing Kail.
This was the same bastard who had pierced its eye.
Instinctively realizing this, the Sea Deity erupted in rage.
─Kwoooooo!
Opening its massive jaws, the Sea Deity unleashed its signature breath attack, capable of crushing anything with ease.
Through its ability to manipulate the sea, the water pressure—strong enough to cut diamonds—shot toward Kail.
Watching the Sea Deity unleash the seawater, Kail casually drew a circle with his Aura Blade.
Swish!
─Grrl?
The moment the breath touched the Aura Blade, the devastating attack evaporated completely, replaced by thick steam.
Blinded by the steam, the Sea Deity momentarily lost sight of Kail, only to realize a sharp pain on top of its head.
─Gweeeeeek!
“Shut up, shut up.”
Having climbed atop the Sea Deity’s head through its blind spot, Kail was propping himself up with a single sword plunged into the creature’s skull.
The Sea Deity thrashed about, trying to shake Kail off, but the sword was firmly lodged in its skull.
Unless it wanted to smash its own skull to pieces, there was no way to dislodge Kail.
“Let’s end this.”
The fact that a sword was embedded in its skull meant Kail could kill it at any moment.
Kail infused the sword with Aura. The Aura Blade erupted from the tip of the blade, tearing through the Sea Deity’s brain.
No living creature could move without a brain. Sensing its impending death, the Sea Deity went berserk, but there was no escaping its fate.
For hundreds—or perhaps thousands—of years, the Sea Deity, guardian of the Emerald Realm, had lived. And now, it was dead.
Kail, standing on the floating corpse, pondered what to do next.
* * *
“Thank you so much for saving our territory.”
Not long after the ice wall melted, the territory’s soldiers approached Kail by boat. After collecting the Sea Deity’s corpse, they escorted Kail back to the lord’s castle.
The lord of the Emerald Realm, the Emerald Count, immediately thanked Kail and Yuri.
Kail let out an exclamation, as if marveling at the absurdity of it all.
“Not at all.”
“No, truly. If the two of you hadn’t been here, our territory would be…”
“That might have been the case.”
Throughout this exchange, Kail refrained from mentioning that he had provoked the Sea Deity in the first place. Instead, he simply remained a hero to the territory—a favorable outcome for everyone involved.
After expressing his gratitude, the lord asked for their names.
“Kail Meyer.”
“Yuri Grace.”
“The Empire’s Sword and Shield…!”
Finally understanding the extent of their prowess, the lord nodded. Then, he invited them to a party.
“I sincerely hope you’ll attend.”
“Yes, sure. We’ll come.”
“You won’t regret it. Tonight’s banquet will feature the Sea Deity’s meat.”
“…You eat that?”
“Why wouldn’t we? If you kill it, you eat it.”
Hearing the lord’s words, Kail chuckled dryly, recalling the massive fish he had slain. Would it even taste good…?
Later, at the banquet, Kail cautiously sampled the steamed fish dish made from the Sea Deity’s meat and tilted his head.
“It’s… good?”
Why does it taste good?
