CHAPTER 125: | LEISURE

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  In the deepest, shadowed part of the forest, kelp stretched like green ribbons far and wide.

  It grew alongside other vegetation that resembled a variety of trees from the surface above.

  Here, one could see a tree-like structure that comically resembled an oak tree, or perhaps a raspberry bush surrounding it.

  This bush bore berries that looked like raspberries, but unlike the authentic fruit, these had a peculiar, shimmering difference, their skin was surrounded by colorful spots, indicating it was an extremely poisonous plant.

  Then, near the center of the expansive forest, the visage of an ancient manor masoned from stone and marble could be seen.

  The shadowy structure itself was not simple at a glance, since it pretty much resembled a pagoda meant for worship, but not quite, since it was a residence.

  This was the residence of an ancient beast that the founder of this manor had sealed inside.

  It was where one of the overseers lay in waiting, looking for the perfect opportunity to escape from the grasp of his captor, the god of water Varuna himself.

  Inside the expansive hall, which stretched for a mile, one could see that its walls shimmered from time to time.

  The light was not silver, instead, it was golden-laden scripts masoned into the walls, along with a depiction of an entity whose appearance itself screamed for taboo.

  Its thousands of limbs spread for thousands of miles, covering the world with its tendrils.

  It was a nauseating scenery, as its body, which stretched for unknown miles, could be seen in the deepest part of the abyss.

  It was as if it was covering something that shouldn't be seen in the world.

  Deep in that darkness, one could feel the gaze of millions, its eyes, which accounted for millions, glowed with an infinitely brilliant light even in this endless darkness where even colors had already faded.

  This entity merely stared at a figure that looked like a woman with a crown donned on her head, striking a pose while she was pointing a gilded spear at the aberrant abomination.

  It was a depiction of something weird happening in this world, as if this depiction itself was warning of an impending darkness that could only be known when one had deciphered the meanings of the scripts etched in the walls.

  That task stretched for miles, a task that required an immense amount of time that no mortal could ever spare just to decipher an unknown text that foretold an uncertainty.

  Even those who live in the deepest part of the abyss knew nothing about something like this, nor could they feel the existence of this entity.

  So the countless researchers or scholars deep in the abyss deemed this monument as fiction, written by a madman of the past.

  "..."

  The group of people observing the carvings in the walls, the monuments, went completely still, as if they had seen something they shouldn't.

  The lamps in the walls of the expansive hall flickered.

  Green flames eerily rose from the ground, one by one, slowly forming into a circle.

  Then, the scripts on the walls melted like wax.

  A sudden chill filled the air as the flames that lit the room flickered out, engulfing the hall in endless darkness.

  Silence followed suit.

  Shadows loomed all over the ceiling, they moved collectively before completely stopping in the next second.

  An ember of light flickered in the center of the chamber.

  It was followed by the embers flickering back to life in the lamps, just before they exploded in the next second.

  Burning red embers, looking similar to eyes glowing softly in the darkness, stared at the intruders trespassing the monument of the entity laying in wait for ages.

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  This all happened a few hours ago, when we first arrived at the manor located near the center of the 'Endless Ancient Sea-Forest.'

  From what I'd heard from Samantha on the way here, when she had finally calmed down her anger at me after I threatened Solia, she gently said that we would shortly be arriving at the ancestral manor of the 'Seashore Clan', located ten miles from the center of this forest.

  She said that this clan was one of the fearsome clans of the now-fallen empire of Atlantis.

  I could tell from it, since Aubrey was the heiress of this clan, with Varuna being a god.

  And the biggest threat to Atlantis was the very founder of this clan, who had probably fallen after the encounter in the imperial capital.

  But Samantha would probably have no idea about it, since she didn't witness the fall of Varuna himself.

  She probably wouldn't guess it, since Varuna himself wasn't the type to carelessly reveal his fields of operations to anyone other than his siblings.

  So I could tell that Samantha wouldn't be able to deduce this residence to be one of Varuna's tools.

  She had probably encountered one of Varuna's siblings in the imperial palace, since I could feel the trace of one of Varuna's sibling's presence in the palace once I had arrived.

  But he or she was probably dead, since I could only feel a faint trace of their presence.

  From what I could tell, that presence was from a woman, since it was pretty much feminine in its scent, unlike the scent of Surtr or Varuna himself.

  So it was probably Edythe, his younger sister, from what Varuna himself recounted of their past to me.

  But sadly, I didn't have the opportunity to devour her, since Ashin Sae Acoustine had probably killed her in a gruesome way after Edythe was trying to accomplish whatever order Varuna had given her.

  So I guess Samantha finding that the Seashore clan is related to Varuna would be impossible without a lead, since Varuna isn't that dumb as to let some outsiders know of his operations.

  I lifted my arms, then creased my chin.

  I was interested in giving a lead to discovering this sort of information, but I shook my head.

  It wouldn't be that fun right now, because this very clan itself had already been destroyed along with Atlantis.

  So I guess I should just keep this information to myself and let her figure out the reasons why the renewed 'Seashore Clan's' ancestral ground is empty, when it was supposed to be full of their clansmen loitering in there and guarding their pagodas and pavilions with their utmost best.

  I smiled, a knowing smile, as I watched Samantha sitting next to me raise her eyebrows into a frown.

  Her expression turned grim at the discovery that the members of the usually loyal retainer of the empire of Atlantis, the 'Seashore clan', would already be greeting them at this distance.

  This was especially true when they were using the imperial carriage of the royal family.

  She pondered at this weird response, especially this strange quietness lurking in the forest, since this could only mean one thing, they were staging a rebellion by setting an ambush at their carriage.

  She turned her head to her man. Her expression was serious, but it was visible to those watching outside as she hushed.

  "Aister, this situation is quite weird... those loyal retainers of the imperial family should be greeting us by now, but they haven't done so. This could only mean one thing, and that is they are setting an ambush to stage their opposition to the imperial family. So could you please use your field of perception to detect how many assassins have already surrounded us?"

  I smiled at her words.

  Her suspicion would be understandable if a usually loyal retainer hadn't greeted the carriage that was only used by the imperial family visiting their territory.

  There could only be two types of people using the carriage, it was either the sole royal family of the empire, the emperor of Atlantis, or an envoy sent by the emperor.

  Not greeting them when their carriage is this near means they're staging a rebellion by setting an ambush.

  But I laughed it off.

  When could a dead clan set an ambush or stage an uprising?

  "Hmmm..."

  I hesitated to answer, just to see her expression.

  To my surprise, Samantha herself was nervously looking at me.

  It was silly, seeing her this nervous, but it's understandable.

  A renowned clan of an empire as massive as this would probably pose a threat, even to me, once they've surrounded me.

  But with them already resting in peace, it was impossible for them to surround us.

  So I waited, then glanced at her with a worried look.

  I could see her frown deepening, since she was nervous as fuck at this situation.

  I guess I should stop teasing her right now, since she's probably about to burst into tears.

  I smiled gently, then ruffled her hair until it was messy before I whispered in her ear in a deep voice.

  "Could you tense up for a moment, Samantha? I just hesitated to answer you since you were pretty much tense about this situation. So lighten up for a moment, because I couldn't detect any presence in this forest, or even in their manor. So relax yourself for a bit."

  Upon hearing my voice, Samantha sighed, then grabbed me by the collar.

  She stared at me in the eyes, then muttered coldly.

  "I... I really want to kill you right now."

  I smiled at her words, then grabbed her hands gently as I whispered softly in her ears.

  "That's why you should try to loosen up, Samantha. Your deductions won't be correct every time, just like how you've come to a conclusion that they were staging a rebellion when there's not even a single soul in their ancestral residence."

  I gazed at her, straight in her eyes, then sighed as I saw her roll her eyes.

  She proceeded to ignore me as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the window of the carriage right beside her. She whispered softly.

  "Did you have fun, making a fool out of me?"

  I smiled innocently, then rested my head on her shoulder as I whispered softly.

  "Why would I make a fool out of you, my spouse, when it doesn't benefit me? I'm just trying to say that overthinking isn't the solution every time. Maybe take your time? Look for clues, even if they're subtle, before judging the situation? Maybe when you can think that rationally, maybe you'll be someone I could entrust everything I have, right?"

  At my words, Samantha pondered for a moment, then nodded subtly as she understood.

  But she wasn't quite fond of my methods, so she continued to rest her head by the window, unbothered by my gaze.

  I smiled at this, then shook my head.

  "Well, I guess this is how the pettiness of women's works?"