The Water Elemental Plane was also known as the Blue Star. Her entire plane was an abyss composed of countless layers of seawater. Unlike other Elemental Lands that had fixed coordinates, the Blue Star had countless secret doors and spatial tunnels. Nobody knew if a certain layer of water led to an unknown plane.
Although this region was called the Blue Star, in reality, only the surface of the water was clear blue. The lower parts of the water were grayish-black, making it impossible to determine the depth of the water. In fact, no one knew how many powerful residents and treasures there were on this water star. After all, the strange undercurrents and natural environment could eliminate any weak visitor.
Lai Wenge Danda was a rather tongue-twisting name. But in the elemental language, it was a synonym for "transfer station". This was the name of a light-blue body of water.
There were even some ships that obviously came from another dimension. This body of water was also a transfer station for the Blue Star to come into contact with creatures from other dimensions. It was also one of the few bodies of water here that had air.
That's right, this was still a body of water. There was no place on the Blue Star that didn't have water. The entire plane was composed of water. However, some places didn't even have oxygen that whales and other aquatic animals needed. Some places were even in a magical realm that was negative 30 degrees Celsius. In comparison, this body of water here was friendly enough for ordinary life forms to survive.
Even though it was the same body of water, the water composition, surrounding water pressure, temperature, gravity, and Elemental Tide would all make the residents of each body of water completely different. This was probably the best archipelago for vacation.
The "transfer station" part of the body of water had a rather mild temperature and air. Meanwhile, there was an artificial waterless area underwater that was a gathering point for merchants and explorers from other dimensions. Normally, this area would be quite noisy, but today, the streets here were completely empty.
That was because the Water Elemental Goddess was here to receive a venerated guest. She didn't want anyone to witness this meeting, which was why she had the Water Elemental Warlord clear the area beforehand.
From a certain standpoint, Ailos was doing the best out of all the Elemental Gods. Right after she broke free from her seal, she immediately took control of the Water Elemental Plane and led her subordinates to stir up trouble in Aichy. Apart from the fact that the water elementals weren't very ambitious, it was mostly because she had always been quite popular.
However, the ruler of the dimension was currently in a very poor state. Although it was impossible to see her expression clearly, her trembling fingers betrayed her emotions.
"Is this Aillé's intention?"
After putting down the letter, Ailos gazed into the distance.
In her own world, Ailos's physical body was like solid white jade. Her appearance was so handsome that it was beyond the comprehension of mortals. But right now, her exceedingly tremendous divine power was causing the air around her to tremble. Her expression didn't seem to change, but a violent storm was brewing outside the waterless zone. Her shaken and even panicked emotions and her authority as an Elemental God were all on full display.
However, the messenger in front of her remained unmoved. Judging from his appearance, he was a handsome young elven poet who seemed to be in dire straits. However, to be able to remain so calm in front of the Water Elemental Goddess meant that he was no ordinary person.
He was the incarnation of music and dance, as well as the Guardian God of bards and wood elves. But now, this incarnation of a powerful God was nothing more than a messenger waiting for a reply.
"You want me to die!?"
As the Elemental Goddess angrily roared, countless waves formed into violent waterspouts on the surface of the Blue Star. The undercurrents transformed into hidden dragons that slammed into the waterless zone's waterless walls. The shattering of the waves brought fear and panic.
In her home turf, a complete Ancient Elemental God didn't fear any other God. The furious Ailos displayed her authority.
However, Solo shook his head.
"The letter should've made it quite clear that we have no enmity towards you. We're just giving you a suggestion."
"You're suggesting that I die?"
Even though Ailos was still angry, she calmed down quite a bit.
"No, it's just that if you die, the City of Rain will lose at least half of its power. Mortals will then take this opportunity to attack the Sea Tribe. 'Her' source of faith will receive a major blow, and we'll do everything in our power to kill 'Her'. Her divine power of the sea will then be used to revive your husband. And if we miss this opportunity, it will be impossible for us to revive your husband. "
All of this was clearly written in the letter. With a God's name and a God's oath as a guarantee, there was no need to worry that the contents of the letter were fake. However, this type of truth actually caused Ailos' heart to waver and panic. She knew that this was her husband's only chance at revival. Right now, she could only choose between sacrificing herself or sacrificing her husband.
"Is there really no other possibility? I'm willing to give up everything in exchange for Stonevilla's revival. "
Solo didn't respond. But right now, his silence was the cruelest answer.
Perhaps Roland would be able to revive the Sea God afterwards. Perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult then. But now that the "plan" had reached its most critical moment, there couldn't be any problems with any of the steps. Aillé didn't have the time to wait or think about "perhaps". Nor would Aillé possibly forcefully kill a powerful God at this time.
If the Water Elemental Goddess was willing to be sacrificed, then the plan to kill Lady Storm would be activated. If she wasn't willing to be sacrificed, then killing a healthy Elemental Goddess in the Elemental Plane would be far more difficult than killing Lady Storm. This series of plans could only be shelved. And considering the current situation, this shelving would basically be forever shelved. It would be impossible for the Sea God Stonevilla to be revived … No, even if Roland had the chance to revive Stonevilla in the future, he wouldn't do so after making today's choice.
All the situations and conditions were laid out in front of Ailos. Either she would die, or her husband would die. Perhaps when she agreed to Lady Storm's conditions and joined forces to cast a spell to transform the City of Rain into a mortal's nightmare, she didn't expect that she would end up in a life or death situation because of this.
"… I, I need time …"
Ailos, who always had a straightforward personality, hesitated. She deeply hesitated. Her tightly clenched hand crushed the letter, revealing her inner hesitation.
However, Solo cruelly shook his head.
"What we lack the most is time. We must have a result by today."
Perhaps the cruelest truth of all was the truth. Even Solo, who had no interest in women at all, was now looking at Aylos with sympathy.
Aillé fell silent. After a while, she squeezed out a bitter smile and replied, "… I know.
"… I know, give me three hours."
Solo nodded and got up to leave. The current Water Elemental Goddess's emotions were unstable. If she wanted to vent her anger, it wouldn't be worth it for Solo to inexplicably lose an incarnation.
Contrary to Solo's expectations, Aylos, who was left alone in the living room, didn't vent or go hysterical. On the contrary, after chasing away all of her subordinates, she calmly sat there and took out a small dimensional bag. She took out an old fishbone comb and started combing her hair in front of a mirror.
When the fishbone comb came into contact with her watery hair, it naturally passed through her hair. Ailos paused in surprise for a moment before she shook her head with a bitter smile.
A white light flashed. What remained wasn't the powerful Water Elemental Goddess. Instead, it was a blue-haired physical beauty. Her silky long hair reached the ground, and her beautiful face was exquisite yet weak. Her petite body reclined on the ground, and only shells faintly covered her upper body. She was wearing the Water Elemental Goddess' traditional clothing. Her pink scaled fishtail indicated her identity as a mermaid.
Now, she was able to quietly comb her hair, just like how a strong man would do it every morning.
Back then, she would quietly sit there with her tail curled up like this every morning, waiting for the man behind her to comb her hair.
"… How many years has it been? You've always said that my current appearance is too weak, that my subordinates will look down on me, and that you need to transform into a strong and large person in order to control the situation …"
The comb sliced through her silky long hair. Her long blue hair fluttered in the air, and it glistened like a beautiful rainbow.
But what followed the rain were strands of hair and uncontrollable tears that fell from the sky.
"… You always said that I was a crybaby, and that you wanted me to learn how to be strong. Otherwise, my subordinates would bully me …"
There was no powerful Elemental Goddess here. There was only a weak mermaid who was crying because she had lost her lover.
Her tears fell onto the ground, shattering the moment they transformed into silver pearls. Meanwhile, on the surface of the Blue Star's ocean, the entire world began to drizzle.
"… Do you still remember? You were so angry at me because I let go of that maid who stole my tears. You said that doing that would only make others think that I'm weak and easy to bully …"
But her tears didn't stop. The rain in the entire plane kept getting heavier and heavier. The mermaid's physical body began to become transparent along with her tears.
"… I've always admired you. You're so strong and resolute. Nobody can match up to you. You're just like the main character of the world. But, what I like about you the most is the gentleness in your heart. Back then, you even asked me why I liked you, and I immediately got angry … Ha, did you think that I was angry because you doubted my feelings? I was angry because you forgot about the little mermaid that you saved from a magical whale … "
Her tears blurred Ailos' vision. However, she still took out a red memory gem from her pouch. The scene that appeared within the gem was that of a strong figure that was even taller than the sky. He wore a crown and had a confident smile as he looked around at the sea. Everything under the sky was his territory. He was the true uncrowned king.
"… You said that being weak will always be bullied by others, and that you need to use strength and authority to make others submit. But, why was it that even though you did all this, you were still betrayed by your most trusted subordinate …"
Even though her body was beginning to collapse, Ailos reached out with her now semi-transparent arm and gently touched the heroic looking man. However, her arm passed through the illusion. She looked at her half-gone arm and the similarly illusory man and smiled. She seemed to have seen that person again at the very end.
Everything returned to its original form. The mermaid's final words echoed in the empty hall …
"Big guy, your little mermaid really wants to see you."
Only a puddle of water remained where she had been …
…
From a certain standpoint, Solo's emotions were quite complex. The goal that he had been looking forward to for so long was finally going to be realized. Naturally, he was quite happy. However, he was rather unhappy that he had to complete such a mission.
Not long after he walked out of the hall, he saw that there were already berserk tides and waves outside. The rapidly increasing water pressure caused the waterproof walls in the waterless area to begin collapsing. Everything was in trouble.
Solo was astonished when he sensed that the Elemental Tide behind him was becoming even fiercer.
"Wait, how could she be so impulsive? Didn't she say three hours?"
Solo immediately started running back, searching his pockets as he ran. After taking out a harmonica, a leaf, a flute, olive oil, and other miscellaneous items, he finally found his target.
It was a white ice crystal, but it contained a completely unfamiliar power. It was a creation from another world.
"… If Ailos agrees, I'll give this to her. Perhaps she'll be able to protect us … Forget it, the success rate is too low. I'll just treat it as a test. If possible, we don't want Stonevilla to risk his life against us."
That was what Roland had said at the time. However, this ice crystal that should have been given to Ailos was now in Solo's hands. Solo furiously waved it around as he shouted.
"You must be a super slow-witted water elemental, right? Why are you so impulsive? Don't play around like this! Boss Aillé will tear me apart! "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
