What happens when a hidden gem awakens? Expect the unexpected.

We have been traveling the forest for a month now, and I have to say, it was a great experience. It was exciting to camp inside the forest, not to mention the cute animals that I see around here. It was a peaceful travel, unlike the plains, monsters were rare at this forest. Actually, it is probably because of Ciela. She always moves ahead of us, and probably kills every monster she sees for training, Feric scolded her for that though. Feric said that even monsters have a right to live, and we should live them alone if they aren’t attacking us, I doubt it would stop Ciela though.

Right now we are camping near a lake. Nero & Ciela are running around the forest for food, while Feric was temporarily in charge of the horses. I am swimming in the lake, with a swimsuit that Feric bought for me. It was a one piece swimsuit with transparent skirt...what’s the point of adding a skirt if it doesn’t cover anything? Since the lower part of the swimsuit was kinda embarrassing, I also wore white shorts. I used air bubble spell on my head to breath underwater. I compressed air into 40 small air bubbles inside the main air bubble covering my head. If run out of air, one of the smaller bubbles will pop, which restores the air around me. Right now I have 50 story building amount of air, so I can dive all I want.

I used water to boost my speed underwater, and I found a small hole in the deepest part of the lake. Since it was probably time to eat, I went back to the others. When I resurfaced, Nero & Ciela were already back. Nero was already cooking the food, while Ciela was swinging her sword repeatedly. Feric handed me a towel, and helped me get out of the water...really, it’s not like I even need help.

“So, did you have fun?”(Feric)

“Yes, there were a lot of colorful fishes that ran past me. There were a lot of corals, and old looking object under the lake. Ah, and I found a small hole in the deepest part of the lake.”(Shera)

“Hole?”(Feric)

“It was enough to fit one person, since it looks interesting, I plan to go back after I eat.”(Shera)

“I see, since we will still fix the supplies for a while, you can still play on the waters. Come back after 2 or 3 hours, and stay safe ok?”(Feric)

“I am not playing, I am swimming, they are two different things.”(Shera)

“Ok ok, for now go to Nero, I am sure he missed you.” Feric pushed me to Nero’s direction.

I was just gone for a few hours...

After that, I spoke with Nero about the different things I saw on the lake while eating. When I said I would go to a small hole in the lake, he told me not to. If I wanted to go on such a suspicious place, then Nero also had to go. With Feric’s help, we persuaded Nero to let me swim alone. 20-30 minutes after eating, I went back to the lake, I wanted to go earlier, but Nero said I should rest after eating or else my stomach would hurt later.

I went to the hole, and started swimming. I used light magic to see what’s in front of me. The path was small, and only one person could travel here. I have been swimming for an hour, and there was still no signs of the path ending. I used higher leveled magic, to propel myself faster, and after another hour, I found and open space. I used a yellow class light magic called, Astral Nova. It is a spell I created, the name also came from me of course. It is a spell that expands by a few kilometers, and doesn’t affect the caster. Everyone aside from me that is inside the range will slowly vaporize.

Ok so it is a copy of celestial flare, but mine is better cause it expands outwards, unlike the original that just goes in one line. Anyways, the light spread through the waters. It was empty, I couldn’t see anything except water. I continued to go down, and my body started to feel more and more pressure, still not that much for me though. I continued to swim down, and casted Astral Nova every time the light fades. I have been going at it for hours, should I go back? The others are probably worried, but I am curious as to what I will see in the deepest part of this place...

With a slightly worried face, I continued to descend to the vast yet empty waters.

___

(Nero’s POV)

“I TOLD YOU, SOMETHING HAPPENED TO SHERA AND WE NEED TO GO AFTER HER NOW!”(Nero)

“Calm down, I believe master only saw something interesting, and probably forgot about returning for a moment.”(Pooch)

“IT’S ALREADY BEEN A DAY AND SHE STILL HASN’T COME BACK!”(Nero)

“Brother calm down”(Ciela)

“We are also worried, but we have to believe in Shera.”(Feric)

“Nero, I don’t think she would be in any dangerous situation that you are thinking. Only gods could defeat her as she is now, so calm down.”(Pooch)

“Fine, I’ll go after her.”(Nero)

I am disappointed, Shera has been missing for a day and yet you still don’t want to search for her? Even if she is strong, there are still things she can’t handle alone. What if she got lost? What if something sealed her powers and imprisoned her? Damn it!

As I was thinking, Pooch reverted back to his colossal form, and blocked my path.

“You have to go through me first, If you can defeat me, then I’ll allow you to go after master.”(Pooch)

If killing you will let me save Shera, then I’ll do it. I think of you as an important comrade, but Shera comes first.

“Blood hunt” My body started releasing red aura.

Just before I could get punch Pooch, a 3 layered wall appeared in front of me. My punch destroyed 2 walls, but was stop on the third. While my movements were suspended, I felt a strong killing intent from the back, which came from Ciela.

“Brother, please stop this. If you continue, I will be your enemy.”(Ciela)

“I’ll also stop you.”(Feric)

“You have grown a lot Ciela, you already got this strong...but I won’t let you stop me. I will save Shera, and I will do it NOW!.”(Nero)

___

(Pooch’s POV)

I am back to my child form, which master keeps calling ‘the cute form’. I am currently watching as 3 of my friends fight, and I’ll have to say. They are surpassing my expectations, by a gigantic margin. I have been alive for almost a million years now, and I have traveled a bit before staying in the mirage desert. I have met a lot of people, other gods besides the animal gods, and majins. So I could easily say that the 3 in front of me now, will become a part of the strongest in this world.

They have talent, they are growing faster than the average...No, they are even growing faster than the so called prodigies. At first, I thought it was just because they are getting a lot of experience from traveling with master, but I was wrong. They are people that were born to do something big in this world, and right in front of my eyes, these people are growing at a frightening level while fighting. Especially the person that I think has the most potential, Ciela.

“Do you give up brother?” Ciela was currently pointing her sword at the beaten Nero.

She wasn’t that injured, in fact her body didn’t have any injuries at all. It may be because Ciela & Feric ganged up on Nero, but I feel she could fight Nero by herself as she is now. In fact, even though there is a large amount of gap between us, I could feel a bit intimidated just by looking at her.

“...”(Nero)

“Please stop, we are all worried sick, but it’s not like we can even travel in the waters like Shera.”(Feric)

“...”(Nero)

“Brother, I believe in onee-san, do you not believe in her? Do you mean your trust in her is that little?”(Ciela)

“It’s not that, she has been gone for more than a day, and we don’t know what’s happening to her.”(Nero)

I walked in front of Nero, and returned to my true form.

“Nero, I promise you as one of the animal gods that master is safe. If by some chance something did happen to her, I would allow you to kill me.”(Pooch)

After that, Nero calmed down, and stayed quiet inside the coach. I know he is still worried, but it is also the same for us. Does he think we care not about master? If I have to choose between my life or hers, I would choose hers. If I have to, I would sacrifice myself for master. I don’t know where master is now, but I am sure no matter what she faces, she could protect herself.

___

I am currently on top of a gate...gate on the deepest part. I don’t know how much time I have spent swimming, so I punched the gate with all of my strength...and I fell. The gate opened and sucked me inside. When I opened my eyes, I was inside an expensive yet old looking castle. There was one thing that I noticed, there is no water, and there is light. I could see the castle in front of me, and everything around me were gigantic walls. I jumped as high as possible, but the walls extended infinitely.

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After running outside of the castle, I entered it. I couldn’t sense a single life inside, so I simply checked each and every room inside. All I could see were old decorations, paintings, equipment, and letter. I found a secret passage while checking everything, and entered. The path went downwards, and as I got deeper and deeper, I started to sense someone.

At the end of the path, was a gate, a gate that is 30 ft tall and 25 ft wide. Just like before, it opened on its own, and a figure was there to welcome me.

“Welcome, to my castle...I mean secret basement.” The person that welcomed me was an old lein at about 65-70. He had horns like me, and a red tail. His skin was glossy white, and his body was well developed despite his age. He had  a short purple hair, and red eyes. He spoke to my in majin language by the way.

“T...thanks?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Please come in, it has been 400 thousand years since I have seen someone.” The Lein...I mean majin guided me inside. Despite being underground, there was a lot of light. The was an expensive looking table and chairs in the living room, and two rooms at the side. He guided me to the chair, and gave me a cup of tea.

“Please, drink that. I am sure you would like it, it was the favorite of Miya after all.”(???)

Who’s miya? Anyways, I drank the tea, and despite its slightly bitter taste, it was surprisingly delicious. I smiled happily while drinking the tea.

“I am glad you liked it, so, why did such a young majin visit me?”(???)

“Eh? No, I just happen to find this place.”(Shera)

“Hahahaha to find this place by simply swimming randomly, quite an odd fellow.”(???)

That’s rude, I am not odd, I am a bit different but I am not odd. The majin noticed my expression.

“Ah sorry, It was just a bit rare for someone to come here. You didn’t even know about this place, yet were able to find my castle.”(???)

“S...so where are we?”(Shera)

“I am sure you already have something in mind, this is a castle I built underwater. The gate you saw before entering this space stops the water from flowing inside the castle. There are some magic circles carved in the gate to block the water even if it opens.”(???)

“I see, but why did you create this castle? I mean, there isn’t anyone here except for you.”(Shera)

“You see, us majins have the strength to rival gods, we could even be called gods ourselves. Because of our power, greedy people try to use us for their own schemes. We tend to hide, and simply act as we see fit, Like if we could do something to stop a war from happening, we will do it.”(???)

“So you created this place to hide from people?”(Shera)

“Yes, but that’s not all. It is quite a long story but if you want to listen, I’ll tell you.”(???)

“Sure, I already came here, might as well get something out of it.”(Shera)

The majin’s name was Theiros, he was a majin that ventured around the world seeking for something that would make him feel alive. He has lived for a long time, but it also has its flaws, which is boredom. One day, he met a severely injured Vallar child, and just like nero, the child had red wings. The people around the child hated her, so Theiros started traveling around the world in search of a place that would accept the child.

As time passed, the child grew up, and Theiros could no longer let go of the young girl. He got to attached to her, so he just decided to look after her. It’s just for a few hundred years, it’s not that long for a majin. Both of them traveled together, enjoyed each other’s company, and soon, fell in love. The child he found, became a beautiful lady in no time. Both of them loved each other, and see no reason to hide their feeling.

Years passed, and both of them lived blissfully. Each and every moment with each other felt like a million years of happiness, and Theiros couldn’t ask for more. They were happy, and nothing hindered them...except for the girl’s lifespan. No matter how strong he is, he couldn’t change the life span of the girl he loved. As years passed, the girl started to age, the beautiful girl started to be look old, her red hair started to turn white, lip color started to fade, and wrinkles started to appear on her body.

It didn’t matter, no matter how the girl looked like. For Theiros, she will stay as the mot beautiful girl in his eyes. But no matter how he felt, the girl would die sooner or later. Being from different races, the girl couldn’t leave a child for Theiros, and apologized for it. He didn’t care about those, the only thing he wished for was for her to live longer, and stay with him forever. As time passed, the girl got weaker and weaker. In the end, they could no longer travel like they used to.

Theiros asked the girl for anything she wanted before she died, and the girl simply wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Theiros felt that he had to give her something, and forced her to ask for anything, no matter how impossible it is. With his plea, the girl’s final wish was to be buried in a castle located underwater. It sounded impossible, it would take thousand years to finish, and the girl would be already dead before he could show her the castle...but he could do nothing but create the castle that the girl wished for, which lead into the creation of this castle I am staying at right now.

He said it took 130 thousand years to complete the magic formations for the castle. Right now, Miya, the girl he loved, is buried in the basement near his room.

“Hahaha you don’t need to cry for me, I am already fine. Mira is peacefully enjoying her life in the afterlife, so I don’t need anything else. I am simply guarding this place, until my life runs out.”(Theiros)

Just like he said, I am crying. I mean how could I not? After hearing his story, I felt like I had to cry.

“I...idiot, I am not crying. I...I am just...that’s right, this is a special spell I created to protect my eyes.”(Shera)

“Pft...spell? Ahahahahaha”(Theiros)

“Stop laughing, I am serious. I casted a spell to make it look like I am crying.”(Shera)

After his irritating comebacks, I finally stopped crying. Since it didn’t look like I could get anything more, I asked him how I could get out.

“You’re already going back? Stay here for at least a year or two, it’s been a long time since I have seen someone...”(Theiros)

“My friends are waiting for me, so I have to go back. I bet they are worried about me.”(Shera)

“Hahaha if that’s the case, lets fight.”(Theiros)

“Huh?”(Shera)

“It has been a long time since I have done anything beside drinking tea. So before you go, I want to at least move this old body of mine a bit.”(Theiros)

“B..but, I need to get back.”(Shera)

“I know a shortcut, so if you just give this senile old man a fight, then I’ll tell you the quickest way out of here.”(Theiros)

Sigh...I guess I’ll fight with him for a bit, It’s not like I even know how to get out of here. We went to an open space upstairs, it seems like we will be fighting here.

“Before we start, do you want to give a present for your friends?”(Theiros)

“...Like what?”(Shera)

“I have created the best weapon and armor while living here, and if you defeat me, you could take anything that you want. Good deal right? Not only do you get a shortcut, you can even take legendary equipment back to your friends. I am sure you could defeat this senile old man with your eyes closed.”(Theiros)

“I...I see”(Shera)

“Anyways, it is only normal to introduce yourself before the battle, may I ask what your name is?”(Theiros)

“I am Shera, Shera Nillin.”(Shera)

“I am Theiros Grandall, and was once called the strongest entity of the world. I hope we could both enjoy this battle.”(Theiros)

E...EH? STRONGEST? W...WAIT I DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!

Before I even noticed, his fist was already blocking my sight. Just like that, I was sent to a wall...and died once.

“I suggest that you get a bit serious, even if I am old, I should still be strong enough to rip a god in two.”(Theiros)

“T...this isn’t what I had in mind...”(Shera)