Chapter 118: Karathen
The display of power indeed helped.
There are some advisors who immediately fell under the queen's control and began to repent for being wrong... as expected.
Those who did not back down died quickly but demonstratively.
"You are quite harsh to your enemies, I see..."
Mera noted this as I returned to the palace.
There was no water here, making it easier to talk.
The barrier that Orm had broken with his back was now working properly again.
"To fools who don't know when to retreat."
I corrected.
"You didn't touch the normal soldiers, and I am grateful for that... but now Xebel has no king,"
Mera added after a moment.
"Then become the queen of Xebel. You are the daughter of the previous king, and this one was clearly... unworthy. You've had bad luck with marriage... either Nereus or Orm. It's not the best choice."
"But thanks to you, I don't have to marry either of them now."
Mera's voice held a note of joy.
"I grew up here with Orm and became the queen's chief protector... I saw that Orm was not the king we needed. But I also knew about Neron... They were both very similar, both had boundless ambitions. I wouldn't be surprised if Neron eventually planned to betray Atlantis, considering we were enemies not long ago."
She explained when I noticed my look and the joy in her voice.
"When I saw you, I immediately felt something like... danger as if it surrounded you and was ready to strike at your command... "I never imagined that someone from outside would help us."
Mera shared it with me.
"I see. And... I'm sorry about what happened to Arthur... if you two were..."
"No, we weren't in a relationship... of course I would have chosen the former between him and Orm. They initially didn't want to return, but I tried to follow the queen's orders and just kept bothering him... It worked. And now he's dead..."
To avoid making the situation awkward, I turned to Atlanna who was currently speaking with Vulko.
He had witnessed spears formed from the water piercing those who disagreed with Atlanna's continued rule.
It was a bloody but very instructive display.
It is more important to be strong in Atlantis than on land.
Mera is still unmarried because she is connected to the Blue and has hydrokinetic abilities.
Additionally, the Xebel Kingdom would not give such a valuable asset to just anyone.
The prince of Atlantis was a significant match, but one prince had died, and the other was under arrest likely to be executed by Atlanna.
"May I call you Your Majesty now?"
I smiled at Atlanna.
"Come now, Anthony. If it weren't for you, all of this could have been destroyed."
She said, looking out the palace windows at the part of Atlantis visible from there—a rather beautiful sight, as I had mentioned before.
"A war between us and the surface would have brought nothing but casualties."
"I'm glad we agree, but now that everything is settled here, I must return to the surface. I hope tsunamis won't come to our shores again?"
I smiled.
"No, they won't."
She responded with a gentle smile, but it was evident that it wasn't easy for her.
She had not yet recovered from the loss of her son, and soon possibly her other son too as she blamed herself for his death—and rightly so.
This had not broken her, and she understood that she couldn't give up now because Atlantis was once again her responsibility.
"By the way, is there a way to ensure that no one doubts your right to rule?"
I asked.
There may have been traditions unknown to me.
I had already removed the Zodiac Crystal from Orm's trident and planned to study it further later.
After all, I had interfered in something that wasn't my business, killed many people, beaten up a prince, and even killed a king.
I needed to help stabilize Atlantis as I didn't want innocent residents to suffer if things went wrong.
"I don't think so…"
She began.
"The Trident of Neptune."
Mera interrupted Atlanna.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but that would definitely show your authority. You have royal blood, and you should be able to wield it."
"The trident forged by Arion and taken by Atlantean?"
I clarified.
"Exactly. This trident embodies power and is the symbol of Atlantis's authority. Only a complete fool would challenge her authority if the queen possessed it."
"The possible location of the trident harbors the dangers of the depths... The Fallen, who have mutated far beyond what we know turned into terrible creatures, attacking everything and everyone. That's their habitat."
Atlanna added after a pause.
"I was considering going there to prove Orm was unfit to be king, but he... got there first."
She said this while touching the scar on her back from Orm's dagger.
"Can you point out where this place is?"
I asked, drawing the attention of the two beautiful women.
"Yes, it's not difficult... There likely won't be anything there to threaten you. But still, be careful; you changed my life and freed me."
Mera said, placing her hand on my chest and looking into my eyes with gratitude.
"I can take you there..."
"No need, just show me the approximate location where I need to go... I mean swim, and I'll manage on my own."
"Very well,"
Mera nodded and glanced at Atlanna who also nodded.
This place is known to the Atlanteans by many names—the Depth, the Crevice, the Trench, the Fallen, and more.
The essence is that people avoid venturing there because it's simply dangerous.
I began teleporting deeper into the area when Mera showed me where to go until I felt a magical source hidden within a space distortion.
It wasn't hard for me to get into this space distortion because as soon as they got within five meters of me any of the thousands of mutated creatures that wanted to attack me disintegrated.
The space distortion turned out to be a dimension hidden within the ocean where there was an island with a combination of vegetation.
"And there's some huge beast sitting under it."
I said this when sensing an enormous underground space beneath the island about one and a half kilometers long.
I would have thought it was some kind of kraken if I hadn't read about Kharaten in Arion's Book.
This creature was feared even by King Atlantean, and it was guarding the trident.
My arrival was not exactly welcomed, and its massive tentacles ominously rose as if wanting to crush me.
"Another unworthy has come..."
Karathen's voice sounded.
"Who decides if I'm worthy or not? The trident or you?"
I inquired.
"... the trident."
Karathen responded, and one of the tentacles fell next to me.
"But I can feel the ocean is weak in you."
It tried to crush me while another one came down from above to pin me.
"Not very smart for a creature that's lived thousands of years... but then again, what else to expect from an oversized cuttlefish? Besides, I don't want the trident for myself."
Karathen had immense resilience, and I could understand why even the king feared it... yes, this creature was female.
She could have easily taken on Atlantis's fleet and emerged victorious.
The tentacle that tried to crush me by moving side to side like a steamroller exploded into bloody fragments due to alchemy.
"You know, you'd make a good target for testing the functionality of this experimental model."
At that moment, the bomb began to glow, and the Sunstone inside it shimmered.
This mini version of the S-bomb could destroy her and the entire island.
As soon as the bomb appeared in my hand, one of Kharaten's tentacles seemed to freeze.
"You felt what that was, didn't you?"
I understood.
She has something akin to clairvoyance.
"... what do you want? This trident won't make you stronger."
Karathen's voice sounded panicked and resigned to its helplessness.
"I don't need it for myself. I want to give it to someone with the blood of kings. You can come with me to Atlantis and see the current queen yourself if you want."
I offered.
After all, killing a creature that has lived for so long and is quite intelligent seems unnecessary.
In fact, it could be useful to Atlantis and serve as a warning that anyone opposing the queen would meet this lovely cuttlefish...
"You are not lying."
She stated.
"But... how do you intend to take the trident if only... I see."
Kharaten concluded when I grabbed the trident forged from the Eighth Metal and contained a bit of the Ninth.
The artifact was indeed powerful, but... I can now extract the Ninth Metal myself and do so.
Therefore, this artifact doesn't hold much value for me.
The trident was embedded in the ground, and nearby sat King Atlan with another trident forged by him in his hand.
This weapon was of mediocre quality to be honest.
When I grasped Neptune's Trident, it began to resist while sending destructive vibrations toward me.
An unworthy person would have been torn to pieces, but I am a god and a weapon unless they are significantly stronger than me and shouldn't be able to kill me.
Moreover, I knew what I was getting into and had prepared myself, ensuring that my abilities, Will, and magic without any trouble.
Of course, I could have taken the simpler route and acquired the royal blood genes of Atlantis... but I knew I could handle it without that.
"So, do you agree? I can teleport you closer to the kingdom, where your size won't cause any destruction."
I asked her.
"I... agree."
Karathen moved slightly forward as if in anticipation of a miracle. I would hesitate too after sitting in one place for thousands of years.
There were still artifacts here that the Dead King had forged.
There was an Atlantean Key capable of opening locked gates. It had enchantments that magically adjusted the key to fit the lock, which was useless to me.
The Atlantean Helmet was also here, and it could allow survival without food, oxygen, and water.
Manacles of Force could create shockwaves and generate a useless protective field.
Power Glove was more interesting, with complex enchantments that greatly increased the wearer's strength and could allow them to break both magical and purely physical items.
Globe of Transportation could enable us to travel anywhere on Earth where there is water, and it could also be a useful artifact.
The Seal of Clarity could allow the translation of any language into one that the user understands.
...
Hermione Granger: I think the headmaster was affected by what he saw in another world and decided to change a lot of things... and as his student, I'm helping him. Headmaster Dumbledore put on quite a show, bursting into the Ministry of Magic for a conversation... So many magical disciplines will be returning!
Shinoa Hiragi: Like what?
Hermione Granger: Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Artefact Creation, Rituals and their significance, and he also wants to add Muggle subjects like biology... but that's not certain yet.
Rias Gremory: That's probably a good thing, right? I recently discovered that Issei has been associating with the Fallen Angels... everything feels wrong. And he avoids all our attempts to have a peaceful conversation like the plague...
Shinoa Hiragi: Anything else strange?
Rias Gremory: He has tried to appease Koneko several times, but nothing worked... I think there's really little left of Issei as Tony said. It's terrible... or anything else, I'm not sure of anything anymore.
Winter Schnee: What are you going to do about it? Is he dangerous?
Rias Gremory: Koneko has sensed the smell of blood from him several times, but no one seemed to die on my territory that day. Not even rogue demons. And he stares at Akeno and me when he thinks we can't see him... It's creepy, but nothing would justify killing him. It seems like trying to talk peacefully is enough, and it's time to act more harshly. I don't want such an uncertain figure lurking around me.
Shinoa Hiragi: That's right! Hit him on the head!
...
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