Chapitre 9: The Traitor and the Abandoned City
"Ladies, please, calm yourselves," Grayson said with a smile, stepping up to Alyssia. He quietly took her accusatory hand, acknowledging the circle of merfolk priestesses surrounding her and Ceresia. "Miss Alyssia's integrity is admirable, but I have a question for you."
Alyssia stared back at him fearlessly, gripping Ceresia's trembling hand behind her, as Grayson asked, "Could you tell me why your right index fingernail is broken?"
This question caught everyone off guard as their eyes converged on Alyssia's finger, noting the missing nail fragment as Grayson had described.
"I'm not sure, maybe it broke during the commotion on the night of the incident?" Alyssia replied, her composure unshaken.
Grayson chuckled softly and added, "Then, would you mind explaining how your broken fingernail ended up embedded in the sea cucumber's flesh?"
He presented a fragment of a fingernail which fit perfectly against Alyssia's broken nail, matching in color and shape. The crowd was stunned into silence as Grayson's gaze bore into Alyssia, detecting a flash of concealed panic.
"This I found lodged in the flesh by the sea cucumber's mouth. If I'm not mistaken, it happened as you were forcefully stuffing the relic into the creature's maw. The pain caused the sea cucumber to clench its muscles, trapping your nail and forcing you to break it..."
Grayson held her hand up, removing his cigar with the other, locking eyes with her as he continued, "You're right. Miss Ceresia is innocent—it's you who's the merfolk's traitor, Miss Alyssia!"
"Alyssia!" Ceresia gasped, with Seraphine and the others equally shocked by the turn of events.
Alyssia, her face obscured by smoke, eventually smirked mockingly at Grayson. "It seems my meticulous planning has been foiled by my own fingernail!"
"Why would you do this?" Seraphine asked, eyes wide in disbelief.
Alyssia glanced at her with a cold laugh. "Simple. If the lost relic can't be found, you will lose your position as the Guardian. They promised to dispose of you on land, leaving the Guardian's seat rightfully mine."
"You wretch!" Seraphine, unable to contain her fury, pointed her staff at Alyssia, her teeth clenched in anger. "How could you jeopardize the safety of the relic and exploit your own sister for power?"
"The relic only concerns human safety; it's meaningless to us! As for Ceresia, she was my best 'accomplice,' unwittingly aiding me, though oblivious to her own actions," Alyssia sneered, glancing at Ceresia now recoiling in hurt and confusion.
"Alyssia, tell me—who's the mastermind behind the theft of the relic?" Seraphine pressed closer, demanding an answer.
"I won't tell you," Alyssia retorted with disdainful eyes. "Unless you kill me, but then, you'll never know the truth."
"I'll find a way to make you talk. I hope you don't regret it," Seraphine said darkly, motioning the guards to detain Alyssia.
Alyssia's squid suddenly unleashed a cloud of ink, enveloping the water in blackness. Seraphine quickly dispersed the cloud, and the guards subdued the frantic squid, but Alyssia had already slipped away.
"Stop, Alyssia! You can't escape!" Seraphine shouted after her, summoning a giant shark and signaling Grayson and the others to mount it. They gave chase, the shark's tail propelling them faster than any horse, scattering the fish in their path with each powerful stroke.
"There she is!" Seraphine spotted Alyssia ahead, her tail swishing rapidly as she sensed the predator's approach and glanced back.
"Halt, Alyssia! There's no escape!"
Seraphine's call carried through the water to Alyssia, who glared back before diving deeper. When Seraphine arrived where she descended, she halted the shark.
"What's the matter? Why'd we stop?" Grayson asked, perplexed.
"That's a forbidden zone. Our elders strictly prohibit entry," Seraphine indicated below.
Grayson and Katheren followed her gesture to a vast structure, a silent, submerged city, eerie as an underwater ghost town, devoid of marine life—a stark contrast to the living sea around it.
"This city is known as Atlantis. It once connected the Ice Island to the continent of Oroland and was a duchy within the human empire. The Ice Island was its territory, with the shining castle and wizard towers built by the Atlantean kings."
"Two hundred years ago, Atlantis vanished beneath the waves. The elders sensed a massive explosion and a surge of magical energy from the ocean's depths."
"They speculated that the Atlantean king, obsessed with magic, likely unearthed some ancient power source, whose unstable energies wreaked devastation."
"Regardless, no one truly knows what happened. What remains is the ghost city of Atlantis, resting silently on the seabed. Our elders say it still emanates dangerous magic, hence the ban on entry."
Seraphine's words left Grayson and Katheren exchanging uncertain glances. With little knowledge of Atlantis and its secrets, they faced a dilemma—whether to pursue Alyssia into the depths.
"We must take the risk," Grayson concluded, meeting Seraphine's resolute gaze. "It's key to uncovering both the relic and the puppet master. If we don't chase Alyssia now, uncovering the truth from any other direction will be nearly impossible."
"So be it," Seraphine decided, steering the shark towards the sunken city.
Navigating through Atlantis's silent streets and structures, which astonishingly remained intact, Grayson wondered what force could submerge an entire landmass. As they delved deeper, he caught sight of a chilling red glow from the windows of the derelict buildings.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone