The scale of the oncoming wave was radically different compared to the one that Libris had already stopped. Considering that only three ‘sources’ had left to create this tidal wave, which seemed to span the horizon to the west, he could not figure out the logic behind how they increased their size
Worse yet, this wave seemed to be moving even faster than a normal tsunami, and it appeared as though the entire time it would take between appearing on the horizon and crashing into him would be no more than ten seconds. With that little time, he did not even consider protecting the sailor, as he would have to use his powers to ensure his own survival.
With a wave of his hand, a small sphere of water encompassed the sailor next to him, with Libris planning to send him away. However, Libris did not notice the thin teeth forming along the top of the sphere, his eyes fully focused on the encroaching wave. The moment the sphere closed, and the jaws snapped shut, the sailor vanished.
Libris looked over in alarm, as he had not yet activated the power to teleport the sailor away. Stretching his arm out, he pushed that newly formed sphere away and turned his attention to the wave, now far closer to him than he would like. Its height was a staggering thousand meters, and its width was far beyond what Libris could personally see. At the top of the wave, Libris was able to see dozens of rows of sharp teeth, each one ready to tear into him.
Waving his hand again, he forced the massive wave to halt in its tracks, just as he did the one before. Although this wave was many magnitudes larger, it was still just water. As the God of Water, that made him the perfect counter to a wave of any size. “What are you…” He muttered to himself as he stared at the frozen wave, feeling a massive source of heat within it.
The water within the wave was almost boiling, bubbling up in a mass of white foam that rose to the surface. The wave was clearly struggling against his control, and he could feel as much through his divine power. This was something that he had never felt before, as even water elementals could do little to resist him.
Regardless, there was little more that he felt he would be able to learn from these waves without genuinely risking his life to let them crash over him. He did not know what happened to the sailor who vanished, but he was not about to take the risk to join him and find out. With a thought, he crushed the wave, forcibly smoothing out the surface of the water.
White foam still rose up from where the wave previously stood, showing how the mysterious power was still trying to rise and reform the wave. Shaking his head, Libris spoke the command to return to Sanctum. Golden mist wrapped around him, and he was thankful that Aurivy’s method of transportation had nothing to do with water.
Back on Sanctum, Tsubaki was still waiting atop Libris’s raft. When the heroc deity appeared again, she looked at him inquisitively, awaiting his report. Libris let out a faint sigh, shaking his head. “There’s nothing I can do about these creatures, though I have learned a few things from a… first hand encounter.”
“The creatures behave in a similar manner to a shark, and seem to be drawn by the scent of blood. When I took a man with a small wound with me onto the surface of the water, they immediately began circling. The creatures don’t seem to have any physical form, but can be found by the vague phantoms of heat that they generate.”
“What I find most disturbing is that they can appear at any point of water that counts as a lip, even when I tried to send someone away with my domain… it simply devoured him without me being aware of its presence. Also, these creatures seem to come together to form far larger waves, but I did not see the logic behind their increase. Only that they created far more heat when they came together, enough to boil the water at the heart of the wave.”
Tsubaki nodded her head as she took in the information. “What happened to the person it devoured? Were you able to get any information from the corpse?”
Libris gave a bitter smile at that. “There was no corpse, Lady Tsubaki. As soon as it attacked, he simply vanished. I don’t know if he was instantly digested, or if he was teleported away elsewhere, but there was nothing for me to see or recover after it struck.”
Tsubaki’s brow raised a notch when she heard that, noting it down. “Then it seems very likely that we are working with a void entity, after all. Thank you for your help in this matter.” She said in a more gentle tone, sending him another payment. This one was more than double the down payment that he had received before, showing that Tsubaki did value the information that she had been given.
By the time Libris had processed the number on the payment, Tsubaki had already vanished in a flash of light, returning to her own palace far away. There was much for her to think about, and she was currently unsure how to resolve the problem on her own.
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After Libris left the scene, I watched the wave once again taking shape, seeming to let out an angry roar as it sped into the distance. At the rate it was going, there was only a matter of time before it reached another ship. Or worse, if it reached an inhabited coast. “Leowynn.” I looked at the elven girl lounging on a nearby chair, her eyes lighting up as she was called.
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“I’m on it, dad.” She smiled, starlight seeming to shine in her eyes for a brief moment. Without warning, the wave simply collapsed as if it had lost its driving force.
“So, it really is a void creature, after all?” I asked, causing my daughter to nod her head.
“Well, it’s the projection of one.” She clarified, holding her hand out for the remote. Accalia rolled her eyes, tossing it over for Leowynn to catch. She hit a button, and the scene shifted to the void outside of the Earth dimension. I could see a vague figure seeming to swim around the marble that represented that dimension, and let out a low sigh.
“So it won’t just be that planet… every planet in that universe is likely experiencing the same thing.” Thankfully, it appeared that the void entity could only target one dimension at a time, for now at least. Naturally, Leowynn should be able to destroy a creature like this if she exerts herself… at least I hoped so. But, she and I knew how each other worked by now. Unless she was asked to resolve the problem, she would not make a move to try and allow the people of the world to fix it themselves.
Leowynn nodded her head. “Probably. This is easily the strongest void monster that we’ve encountered to date, since it is able to impose its rules on an entire universe at once.”
I blinked as that sank in, realizing that she was right. Until now, we had only dealt with void monsters able to influence small regions or individual people at a time. Sometimes, they would be able to spread like a virus, but that was still a far cry short of being able to directly influence an entire universe.
“If you needed to, would you be able to destroy this void monster?” I asked, no longer as sure of the result as I was before. However, Leowynn nodded her head as if it were a simple matter.
“It’d take a lot of my energy, but I could wipe it out if I needed to.” Her words let me feel a sense of relief, realizing that the matter wasn’t nearly as hopeless as I was starting to expect.
“Okay, good. Are there any others that are rising along the path of a fallen god? With all these void monsters that are acting nowadays, we need more people that can act on our behalf.”
When I heard that, Leowynn gave a small smile. “There are some priests of mine that are cultivating void energy. I asked Terra for some assistance on that, so it shouldn’t be a problem for some of them to ascend when the time comes.”
I gave a small nod at Leowynn’s words. Having more fallen gods would be a huge help in the future, as it would allow us to properly fight against the void monsters without always needing to rely on Leowynn’s power. Although she was strong, she was not a true fallen god. Rather than fighting them as one would, she was more crushing them with the raw power of the void.
Sinclair walked through the city streets, gazing at the happy faces of those who passed him by. It was not often that he would visit a city such as this, as he typically spent his time merely wandering around. However, he felt that the time had long since come for him to do what he promised himself so long ago.
As he arrived at the center of the city, seeing the great palace before him, he spoke with one of the black-armored guards. “I would like to request an audience with the God-Queen.” He spoke in a reserved tone, the guard looking at him for a long moment.
“Your name?” He asked in a simple, gruff voice.
“Sinclair Song, the God of the Lost.” Sinclair answered, not holding back his own divine status. The guard simply nodded, but did not move from his position. Sinclair similarly did not feel any mana waves being transmitted, or any other signs of communication.
Just as he was beginning to wonder if he had been ignored, the guard spoke up again. “You may enter.” As the guard said that, the gravy door of the palace swung open, two black-haired maids standing behind it and offering a small bow.
“This way, please.” One of them spoke with a smile, turning to lead Sinclair down the long hallways. Naturally, he was not blind to the rather obvious color scheme of the palace’s serv grand throne room.
Atop a raised dais sat an elaborately carved, obsidian throne. The Goddess of Life sat atop it, her silver dress and golden hair a stark contrast to the otherwise dark color scheme of the room. “I’ve been wondering when you would arrive, Sinclair.” Udona said with a faint smile as the God of the Lost slowly sank down to one knee. “ants. All of them had black hair and black eyes, regardless of if they were a maid, a guard, or even an advisor.
Sinclair had to wonder if this was a decision of the Goddess herself to have them change their appearances, or if there was something else going on. However, these were all rather small concerns, as he was soon led to theI take it that you have made your decision, then?”
Sinclair nodded his head, keeping his eyes low. “If you will still have me, I would like to join your Holy Knights.” The offer had been made to him long ago through Aurivy, the very first day he had ascended and returned to his home world. At the time, he thought he needed to consider it further. After all, he was almost complicit to stealing the very crown that now sat upon her head. What right did he have to serve the new queen?
Udona’s smile grew wider as she nodded her head. “Of course you are welcome.” She said in a vibrant tone. “Do you plan to establish your own palace within Sanctum, now that you are settling down?”
Sinclair raised his head to look at his new liege. “I do not possess a fitting domain to create a residence. If you would have me, I would continue residing within this castle. If not, I may find my own place within the city.”
Udona shook her head. “You misunderstand. You may consider it more of a symbolic thing, but I prefer each of my Holy Knights to have a palace near my own in Sanctum. This allows others to see that we all stand together. If you are unable to make one yourself, I can ask a friend of mine to make one for you.”
Sinclair blinked at that, offering a small nod. “Then, I suppose that I will take you up on that offer, my Goddess.”
Udona let out a small giggle. “It’s no problem. She’s the same one that made my own palace, after all. She’s gotten quite good at constructing them lately, so I think you’ll be quite pleased with the arrangement.”