I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature Chapter 130

Chapter 130. Aelia

It wasn’t intentional, but it did seem that after eating the food, their moods had improved. The wariness he had felt earlier was gone.

“Let introduce myself again. I’m Aelia Invicta.”

“Tzzbit. I’m Piruka. I was cursed and turned into a white mouse.”

"You were a mouse?"

Rather than a mouse, it looked more like a clump of white fur. If not for the snout sticking out from the cottony mass, he might not have realized.

“First, let ask—why are you wearing those clothes in this cold?”

“Those clothes?”

“Yes. Those clothes whose tal impact area is extrely narrow.”

"……Ah!? You can see inside?"

“Tzz, Tzzbi? What do you an by that? If the impact area is extrely narrow, wouldn’t that an underwear? Are you wearing underwear right now!?”

“…?”

So even the mouse companion that was always on her shoulder hadn’t known about it?

“You pervert!”

Kicking the mouse away with her foot, Aelia wrapped her entire body with her cloak.

“M-my master said it would only look like thick leather clothing from the outside!”

“…?”

“T-this is the Holy Armor Moerntos, worn together with the Holy Sword Solara.”

“Tzzbitzzbit! To think the secret of the Holy Armor Moerntos was sothing like that, this Piruka is surprised for the second and third ti today!"

Aelia looked at Yul with her face completely red. She seed to be the type whose emotions showed easily on her face.

“You pervert!”

“Gahhh! Why !?”

She stepped on the fallen mouse.

“Well, at least it seems that illusion doesn’t work on .”

“I’m going to go complain to my master….”

Aelia, her face flushed bright red, wrapped herself in the cloak and curled her body up.

“You said you’re a Hero. What exactly do you do?”

“I travel all across the Eures Keynes Realm, helping people who need help. It’s also part of my training.”

“Are there people even in the Arctic?”

"Hmm. There are 'people,' but only a few humans."

At first, Yul thought it was a translation error, but it seed that in their understanding, “people” referred to intelligent bipedal beasts.

In other words, there were more non-human beings than humans.

“Right now, we’re searching for the Stag of Endless Branches. Because I have to make it pay a price.”

“A price?”

“Yungdheim was destroyed. Many of the people who lived in that city died.”

With her eyes closed and head lowered, Aelia seed to be recalling mories. A brilliant platinum hairpin decorating her hair caught his eye.

“Those things that run around killing people recklessly in the na of gods—I’ll make every one of them pay the price.”

“Does that include the mouse over there?”

“? I’m helping Aelia. I’m looking for the witch who cursed .”

“She’s helped with various things, so I promised to help her find the witch.”

“At the very least, I want to escape this white mouse form.”

“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

Yul explained what had happened in the sea before the Arctic—the enormous floating stone suspended in the sky, and the spear embedded in it that looked as though it had been made of frost.

“A spear that spews frost? Isn’t that the spear of the Northern Grand Duke?”

“Northern Grand Duke?”

“Norspelskard. The ruler of the giants. He’s in the northern part of the Frost Dragon Mountains. But I heard he was a reclusive being.”

“Tzzbit. Since the World Tree collapsed, quite a few have begun to move. So it wouldn’t be strange for Norspelskard to start moving as well.”

“The collapse of the World Tree?”

At Yul’s question, the white mouse, Piruka, explained.

“Tzzbit. They say the Wrath of the Sea God surged in and struck the World Tree in the center of the continent. And that’s why it collapsed.”

“I knew it destroyed the Penguin Kingdom near the coast, but it reached this far inland?”

“Tzzbitppi. Who knows? I’m doubtful too, but that’s what I heard from so centaur rchants.”

“Hmm.”

The more he heard about the Arctic, the stranger it sounded.

He was curious how anything could even live in this frozen place in the first place.

“Tzzbibi. Wait. I hear sothing within the blizzard. A deep and high wind is mixed into it.”

“Is it him?”

Aelia drew her greatsword. A sparkling golden light began to spread across the entire blade.

“Yes. He’s here. The Stag of Endless Branches has entered sowhere within the city.”

“Yul, wait here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to kill it. I’ll cut it down together with this blizzard.”

Aelia vanished in an instant, greatsword in hand. Piruka, who remained behind, spoke.

“Judging by that look in your eyes, you’re thinking of following.”

"That's right. I want to see this 'Stag God' fellow for myself."

“Be careful. It’s a calamity.”

From Piruka’s tone, Yul felt more warning than concern.

It seed he was wary of what might happen if soone as powerful as Yul followed. Aelia had shown none of that, but Piruka clearly had such thoughts.

Piruka vanished as well, and Yul headed in the direction the two had disappeared, pushing through the blizzard mixed with magic power.

At first, he couldn’t tell, but between the storming snow, he could clearly sense exactly where the opponent was.

'There it is—a powerful magic power.'

The calamity that brought the blizzard.

The Stag of Endless Branches.

It had colorless fur, and instead of eyes, nose, or mouth on its face, the entire front of its head was covered only with antlers.

Not only that, its entire body was covered with antlers so densely that not a single strand of fur could be seen. If not for its four legs, one wouldn’t even recognize it as a stag.

It stood upon the ruins it had created, facing a warrior dyed in golden light.

Aelia raised her greatsword to the side and aid it at her enemy. The sharp tip pointed toward the god opposite her.

“In place of the people you killed, I’ll make you pay the price.”

-The disappearance of Yungdheim happened decades ago. Why declare revenge only now?

“Because I didn’t exist back then.”

-I have heard of an immortal who possesses the god-slaying power to hunt gods. Very well, let see the power of a Hero.

In an instant, as though a fra had been deleted from the screen, the two vanished.

But Yul’s eyes were tracking their movents.

‘A creature possessing divinity.’

It was weaker than Yul, but it still possessed divinity. And the female swordsman fighting it on equal footing was unbelievably fast and unbelievably strong.

When the golden greatsword swung, the surrounding buildings exploded apart.

The aura imbued in the blade scattered, and rocks were cleanly severed in half along smooth cut surfaces.

anwhile, the Stag God on the other side created countless hailstones in midair.

Sharp hail poured down between the falling snow, battering Aelia relentlessly.

However, there were no wounds on her flesh. Aelia’s entire body remained completely intact.

The Holy Sword flashed, unleashing a storm of golden slashes and severing the Stag God’s left leg.

-An armor with the power of a god.

The Stag God stepped back. Then, countless antlers sprouted from the ground, stabbing toward Aelia.

When her sword swung, the antlers that had grown like branches from a semicircle were all cut down. However, the antlers that grazed her left nurous scratches on her arms and legs.

-And a sword with the power of a god. That must be the Holy Sword Solara.

From the severed leg, antlers grew and replaced it.

-Then, how about death that appears in every place where breath exists?

As the Stag God howled, the surrounding space rippled, and antlers began to sprout everywhere.

It attacked from every direction, so Aelia couldn’t escape. Though she managed to dodge sohow, it was nothing for a cut or two to remain on her arms or legs.

But since antlers were sprouting everywhere, the place where Yul was standing was no exception.

“Hmm. So you threw the first punch?”

After all, it attacked Yul first while he was just quietly watching.

The antlers splitting up from the ground suddenly stopped advancing at a certain point.

Under the powerful Telekinesis scattering in all directions, the antlers twisted and were crushed.

Using the Demon Eye of 「Replication」, he analyzed and copied the magic structure.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist.

A new antler the size of a spear blade appeared in the torso of the Stag God, stabbing straight into it.

-…What is this?! How can you use my power?

The Stag God’s gaze snapped toward Yul in an instant.

-Who are you?

At that very mont, during the brief instant its attention shifted away, Aelia rushed forward at trendous speed and severed the Stag God’s head, which had been pierced by a massive antler.

“You shouldn't have looked away.”

Leaving the severed head behind, the Stag God staggered backward.

-We will end this here today…

Just as the headless stag tried to flee, Yul seized its body with powerful Telekinesis, binding it in midair.

-Kraaagh! What grudge do you have against to attack like this, outsider!!

“You threw the first punch, didn’t you?”

-L-let go! I’m sorry!

“Too late.”

The Holy Sword raised toward the sky radiated a golden light as though it would dye the entire world.

Then the stag’s body, suspended in midair, was split vertically.

With a single stroke, the body was cleanly cut apart.

“Haah… Haah… Haah.”

Aelia, her entire body soaked in blood, collapsed to the ground as if falling.

At that mont, Piruka approached and placed a hand on Aelia’s body. The bleeding stopped, and her wounds began to regenerate.

Yul walked over to them.

“Tzzbit. Thank you for helping us.”

“Is Aelia alright?”

“Her wounds are severe, but she’ll recover soon. She seems to have fainted for now.”

“Then that stag’s head, is it dead?”

“It is. The Holy Sword Solara is a sword that kills gods.”

“It certainly doesn’t look ordinary at first glance.”

The light slowly faded from the fallen golden greatsword.

“Shall we move inside?”

“The snow will stop soon.”

“There’s no need to sleep outside.”

With a wave of Yul’s hand, Aelia floated into the air. He left the Holy Sword where it lay without touching it.

“Now that the Stag God is dead, is your journey over?”

“No. There are countless gods roaming the Eures Keynes Realm, and countless who must be punished. The Stag God was only one of them.”

“Let’s talk more tomorrow.”

The next morning.

The sun had risen into the sky, and the blizzard had completely vanished.

“Morning!”

After sleeping like soone who had fainted after defeating a god, Aelia suddenly sprang up and ran outside, jumping around energetically.

“Whoa.”

Yul blinked at the sight of Aelia suddenly springing to her feet. He had never seen such an energetic human before.

Piruka jumped up and climbed onto Yul’s shoulder.

“Tzzbibi. Say, Yul from the south. Is Aelia still wearing only her underwear?”

“Yeah.”

“Heh. I envy you, being able to see through that.”

“After yesterday, it seems she decided not to worry about it anymore.”

Yesterday, she had been incredibly embarrassed, but after killing a god, it seed she had decided not to care about it anymore today.

Piruka climbed down from Yul’s shoulder and quickly moved onto Aelia’s shoulder.

“Yul saved us yesterday. He even left the Holy Sword where it was.”

“Oh, the Holy Sword is covered in snow now. And so is the stag’s head.”

“A stag head covered in antlers… We can submit that to the Ivory City.”

“That sounds right. Yul! Thanks!”

Yul simply nodded silently before asking,

“What is the Ivory City? Is there a city even in the Arctic?”

At Yul’s words, Aelia and Piruka looked at each other.

“Right. Soone from outside the realm wouldn’t know, huh? Well, since we’ve t like this, how about we show you the Ivory City?”

“Tzzbit. It’s a city said to have been built by ancient giants using mammoth ivory. Coincidentally, it’s also our next destination.”

“Then I’d appreciate it.”

In this unknown region, Yul decided to travel together with them.