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Chapter 178: The Mermaid (5)

“Are you okay, Aquaz?”

“I’m fine. But what about you, Mr. Baker? That was quite a powerful spell.”

“I’ll be alright after a bit of rest.”

Baker groaned.

A deep sense of exhaustion was taking over his entire body.

Aquaz wasn’t much different.

It was a power that had been drawn out with perfect preparation and planning.

It was rare for divinity, which rarely depleted, to be completely drained.

“But…”

Baker looked at the devastated sea.

There, Ketal was fighting the monkeys.

Watching the scene, Baker let out a dry laugh.

“Wasn’t our presence actually unnecessary?”

“…”

Aquaz couldn’t refute and forced a bitter smile.

Even after Baker’s spell, about ten monkeys had survived.

Ketal was dealing with the remaining monkeys alone.

And the battle was overwhelmingly one-sided.

‘I knew he was strong, but…’

Ketal had defeated Ashetiar, the demon of gravitas.

From the way the fight went, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he played with her.

Moreover, he had helped the Kalosia Church by contributing to the defeat of a top-tier demon.

He had even been recognized by the gods for his efforts, so it was known that he possessed incomparable strength.

But the power Ketal was displaying now far surpassed her expectations.

“What is that power…?”

Superhuman-level refers to those who wield inhuman power.

Ketal’s strength was beyond the comprehension of even those who were considered superhuman.

‘Ketal was a barbarian from the White Snowfield, right?’

He was an existence of the Forbidden Land.

And an existence of the Forbidden Land was overwhelming another existence of the Forbidden Land.

Naturally, a question arose.

‘What exactly is in the White Snowfield?’

* * *

[Keeee!]

The monkeys cried out and rushed at him.

Ketal lightly swung his fist.

Boooom!

With a punch, the sea shook.

The monkey hit by the impact flew off, spewing blood from its entire body.

It was buried under the sea and never got up again.

The monkeys that withstood Baker’s magic died in a single blow.

[Keei!]

[Kaa!]

Two monkeys grabbed Ketal’s arms from both sides.

They pulled with all their might, trying to tear him apart.

But they didn’t succeed.

Instead, when Ketal lightly swung his arms, the monkeys were swung around like toys.

Ketal swung them around and then slammed them into the ground.

Sand exploded and scattered in all directions.

The monkeys vomited blood and died instantly.

[Kaaaah!]

The leader monkey, unable to stand the sight of its comrades dying, rushed at him again.

Its speed was incomparable to that of the other monkeys.

It took a rough step and threw a punch.

Instead of dodging, Ketal met the punch with his own.

Boom!

Fist met fist, and the leader monkey rolled and flew away.

“It is indeed strong.”

Ketal muttered, gauging the strength of the clash.

It had far more power than the other monkeys.

It was almost as strong as a superhuman-level swordmaster.

It could even give Maximus a good fight.

“But that’s all.”

[Kaaa!]

The leader monkey quickly got up and took a step.

It leaped high and threw its body to crush Ketal.

Ketal lightly reached out, grabbed the leader monkey’s head, and slammed it down.

Boom!

[Keee!]

The monkey let out a cry of pain and immediately got up.

Despite the overwhelming difference in power, it charged again.

“Determination! It’s the most important thing to survive in a harsh environment. But without matching strength, it’s just a suicidal act.”

Ketal moved his foot.

The leader monkey, kicked, slid back.

It sat down, groaning in pain, unable to get up immediately.

“No, this is…”

Aquaz couldn’t believe the battle unfolding before her eyes.

The leader monkey was definitely strong.

It was strong enough that even she couldn’t guarantee victory if she fought it.

And Ketal was literally playing with it.

Baker was also watching Ketal with his mouth agape, dumbfounded.

[Kaaa!]

The leader monkey howled.

Its body swelled.

It attacked Ketal with all its might, with even greater strength.

Boom!

Ketal didn’t dodge.

He took the leader monkey’s punch with his bare body.

His body didn’t budge an inch.

He grabbed the leader monkey’s arm and twisted it.

The monkey screamed and sank to its knees.

Ketal’s eyes grew cold as he watched.

‘This is another existence of the Forbidden Land.’

It was a primate that had lived and breathed in the depths of the sea during the same era as the White Snowfield.

‘Is this all?’

Facing it directly, Ketal felt disappointment.

Nano, another existence of the Forbidden Land he had encountered before, was special.

Its power wasn’t particularly great, but it had a uniqueness that substituted all things.

It had piqued Ketal’s interest in its own way.

But these monkeys?

What were they?

They were neither strong nor special.

Even Nano’s power alone was greater than that of all these monkeys combined.

They were just monkeys living under the sea.

Such monsters were plentiful even in the White Snowfield.

They didn’t even spark a hint of interest.

“I was hoping there’d be some trump card… but it seems there isn’t one.”

In that case, there was no need to continue.

Ketal tightened his fist.

He struck the leader monkey’s chest.

Boom!

The impact rippled through the sea.

The leader monkey spat blood but suppressed it and charged again.

Ketal clenched his fist once more.

Boom!

The violent shockwave was strong enough to push back Aquaz and Baker, who were standing far away.

The leader monkey stood still.

Then, bleeding, it collapsed.

The only one left standing was Ketal.

The existence of the Forbidden Land that had ravaged the mermaid’s city was thus annihilated.

Ketal smiled.

“It’s over.”

“Oh… yes.”

Aquaz stammered, nodding.

***

The monkeys were exterminated.

There were no longer any creatures defiling the mermaid’s city.

Kukulitan quickly gathered the mermaids and returned to the city.

He shouted loudly.

Mermaids who had been hiding in the city, he told them to feel safe.

All the monkeys were dead and gone.

They had reclaimed their city.

Hearing his shout, the mermaids began to appear one by one.

Initially, their faces were filled with fear, but once they confirmed that the monkeys were all dead, their expressions brightened.

“Waaah!”

“We’re saved!”

They hugged each other, rejoicing in their survival.

Many mermaids had died, but about half had survived.

It wasn’t a small loss, but considering they had feared the total destruction of their city, it was a miracle.

The mermaids were elated at their survival.

And they expressed their gratitude to those who had helped them.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“It’s all thanks to you!”

The mermaids ran to Ketal and his companions, expressing their thanks.

Aquaz and Baker, though exhausted, smiled and accepted their gratitude.

Sincere thanks from those they had saved were always heartwarming.

Even the sailors, who were caught in between, received the mermaids’ gratitude with bewildered faces.

“Thank you!”

Kukulitan repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

“Thanks to you, we have reclaimed our city! I will soon prepare the artifact I mentioned. However… since the city is half-destroyed, it will take some time to find it.”

The monkeys had destroyed the city’s structures and converted them into their own homes.

The city was in a completely ruined state.

There was a need to restore the ruined city to its original state.

Aquaz nodded.

“We will help you.”

“Oh… thank you.”

They helped rebuild the city.

With the assistance of three superhuman-level warriors, the reconstruction progressed rapidly.

The mermaids rejoiced and praised them.

And every night, there was a festival.

Although they hadn’t fully recovered from the damage, the mermaids expressed their joy openly.

They mourned the dead and celebrated the joy of survival.

They acted as if all problems were solved, and indeed, it seemed that way, so no one pointed it out.

Everyone enjoyed the festival together.

And as the city gradually rebuilt itself,

Aquaz, now recovered, spoke.

“I will go to the Forbidden Land to verify.”

“You mean you will descend to the depths of the sea?”

“Yes.”

Aquaz nodded at Ketal’s question.

“The monkeys came from the deep sea, much deeper than the mermaid’s city. Since the leader monkey came up, it is likely that the rest have also surfaced, but it’s necessary to verify.”

To do that, Aquaz planned to descend into the deep sea.

Originally, she intended to go alone, but when Baker heard of the plan, he immediately volunteered to join, so it became the two of them.

“I see. That’s brave of you.”

“R-really?”

Baker grinned widely at the compliment.

“Is it alright for just the two of you to go?”

“Yes, it’s sufficient. Ketal, please rest here in the city. We will take care of it.”

“If that’s the case.”

Ketal didn’t insist on joining them.

He had already completely lost interest in the monkeys.

If it were a great fantasy realm, he might be curious, but he had no intention of exploring the Forbidden Land.

“Then we’ll be off.”

“Take care.”

“You don’t need to worry. The monkeys have poor hearing.”

By completely concealing their presence, the monkeys wouldn’t be able to detect them.

This was understood from past experiences.

Aquaz and Baker headed towards the sea floor.

Ketal saw them off.

* * *

Seeing Ketal alone, Kukulitan asked with a puzzled expression.

“Where did the others go?”

“They went down to the deep sea to investigate.”

“Oh… so they headed to the Forbidden Land’s base. To personally go for verification… as expected…”

Kukulitan murmured in admiration.

There was no worry on his face.

Almost all the monkeys had surfaced.

Even if some monkeys remained in the deep sea, they would be nothing more than remnants.

Kukulitan firmly believed that Aquaz and Baker could handle it without any issues.

Ketal shared a similar thought.

If it’s those two, they could handle any remaining monkeys without a problem.

However, his expression was ambiguous.

‘…Something feels off.’

The existence of the Forbidden Land that invaded the mermaid city had been exterminated.

The problem was completely resolved.

But something felt off.

‘…Is this really all there is?’

Even without Ketal, two superhuman-level warriors could handle it.

Was this truly the entirety of the Forbidden Land?

Nano was special.

It could substitute anything without even superhuman-level warriors noticing.

The power it possessed when unified was incomparable to the monkeys.

These primates had existed in the depths since the era of the White Snowfield, ancient entities of the Forbidden Land.

Was their power truly only this much?

Of course, they weren’t weak.

Their intelligence was quite high, potentially comparable to humans.

Considering the uniqueness of the underwater environment, they were incredibly difficult to deal with.

But for entities of the Forbidden Land, they were too weak.

If there had been more of them, it might have been understandable, but there were only a few dozen monkeys.

No.

That couldn’t be it.

There’s no way it’s just this.

He kept feeling an unsettling emotion.

From experience, Ketal knew he shouldn’t ignore this feeling.

At that moment, Ketal realized.

The quest completion notification had not appeared.