Chapter 202: Dreams in the game become reality

47. Rondel's Sea (1)

Ivril is believed to have been kidnapped into the sea.

It is not that there are no suspicious persons related to this incident.

That's because during the process of interrogating Celine, it was confirmed that there was one mermaid who was deeply connected to devil worship executives.

'Ieria Nelson, the 3rd prince of Coralheim, the land of mermaids.'

In order to save Celine and hide the fact that I had interrogated him, I pretended that I had found out through the Intelligence Department that the 3rd Prince of Ieria was connected to a devil worshiper and reported it to the Holy Land.

Therefore, the Holy Land quickly dispatched paladins to arrest Ieria Nelson, but he had already disappeared from Coralheim along with his henchmen.

It was not easy to investigate the underwater kingdom, so the fact that it took some time ended up being a loophole.

Afterwards, a thorough investigation was conducted in Coralheim, but no one directly related to the devil worshipers was found, except for the disappeared 'Ieria Nelson' and his henchmen.

"Ieria Nelson, is this his doing?"

"I'm not sure, but it's probably not very likely."

I met with Saint Sylvester and Saint Avis to exchange opinions on underwater searches.

The two people did not find my unexpected appearance strange.

As the benefactor who made Ivril a saint, I was the one who always stepped up to the plate when it came to her difficulties.

- Wow!

"Ieria Nelson… … ."

Saint Sylvester chewed her lips.

A trickle of blood flowed from it, but thanks to the goddess's blessing, the saint's wounds, which had a high healing ability, healed quickly.

"The question is, by what means did Ieria Nelson kidnap the bride-to-be Ivril? "Maybe you have many colleagues."

"The saint, the guards, and even the church investigation team have all disappeared, so not only is it large in scale, but its combat capabilities will also be strong."

"For those who are not devil worshipers, the saint's combat ability is said to be at the level of the 8th circle, but even at that level, there are very few people who can subdue or even kidnap her."

It was revealed during the investigation that Ieria Nelson was a politician and agitator who was trusted by many.

It was he who pointed out the church's excessive power among mermaids and took issue with it, and even instilled that ideology into the fairies.

'It is natural for a created being to respect the Creator and love the world he created. But is it really right for a church that only believes in and follows its Creator to interfere excessively in the world?'

This was not his way of thinking that was formed after meeting devil worshipers, but it was an idea that he had had from the beginning.

That's why devil worshipers approached him and even scattered his faith in the goddess by spreading information related to the Earth.

'Earth and Rondel may merge. However, the Earth's oceans are extremely polluted, and this will be an extremely fatal poison to life under the extremely clean seas of Rondel.'

What mermaid wouldn't be angry after hearing these words?

So, it was completely understandable that Ieria Nelson wanted to encourage devil worshipers.

In other words, he had a clear justification for kidnapping Ivril.

However, what is puzzling is that, externally, the gentleman himself does not have the ability to kidnap Ivril.

So this incident became even more disturbing.

"How do we navigate this vast ocean?"

"First, we have to search for the place that mermaids use as a base."

"They are not stupid and there is no way they are hiding in a place that can be guessed."

"That's right. Moreover, there are probably many unknown hiding places under the sea."

Both the denomination and I, but our main place of activity is on the ground.

It's on the ground.

Unfortunately, the underwater area was outside the scope of expertise.

Even a large-scale search through Black Eagle was impossible, so my mind was confused.

"Is it impossible for the church to trace the saint's energy?"

"If you are nearby, you can feel the saint's energy. However, the scope is not large. "I guess it's about 300 to 500 meters at most?"

At that level, it would be better to just use clairvoyance to look around.

"What about the compass? "Is there any response to the compass chasing Ma?"

So, after thinking about it, I asked about the compass because I thought there might be a devil worshiper among the targets.

But the answer that came back was this.

"There is, but… … ."

"is it so?"

"Unfortunately, that does not refer to our target."

"What does that mean?"

"The Great Hall at the center of the Sea of ​​Storms contains demon energy. "It is a characteristic of Rondel that has nothing to do with demons."

Seongji had already completed experiments using the compass to chase demons under the sea.

As a result, I learned that when you go underwater, the compass points to only one place.

That place is the Sea of ​​Storms and the 'Great Hole', a trench of infinite depth located beneath it.

When I first heard that demonic energy was leaking from the Great Hall, I expressed my doubts, but neither the saint nor the saintess knew the exact reason.

"I will try exploring with a compass first, but it would be best not to have high expectations. "The demonic energy emanating from the Great Hall is so strong that the compass does not function properly."

"okay."

My mouth is bitter.

Does it feel like you're faced with a math problem that can't be solved easily?

If things continue like this, it looks like we'll be wandering around in the sea at random.

No matter how much we put our heads together, we couldn't come up with a solution.

"Even if I'm ignorant, I should form an exploration team and search the ocean. "Maybe Saint Ivril-to-be has dropped or may be dropping hints about the search."

"I guess so."

So, the saint and saint decided to release priests and paladins to explore, and I decided to create and provide artifacts for swimming in the sea along with troop support.

"Thank you for always. "His Royal Highness Prince Lawrence."

"I'm sure the Great Mother is looking down at His Royal Highness Prince Lawrence with a smiling expression."

Even though the saint and the saint were not in a situation where they could smile, they forced a smile at me.

From their perspective, I was a reliable ally, so it was a natural reaction.

However, I had to make an ambiguous expression when I said that it seemed like a goddess was looking down on me.

'Does the goddess really look upon me favorably?'

* * *

"Where?"

A spacious cavity with open spaces in all directions.

In the center, there was a 20-30 meter piece of land like an island, and the surrounding area was filled with lapping water.

Ivril, who came to her senses in a space with a strange atmosphere, looked around blankly for a while, then remembered what had happened and jumped up from her seat.

"ah! "I definitely am."

And she looked all over her body.

Artifacts, including communication equipment and subspace, were all detached, clothes were torn here and there, and blood scabs were stuck to the hands and knees.

As I wiped my hands and knees with the water around me, my clean skin was revealed.

Due to the goddess's blessing, the injured area healed on its own.

'A battle broke out during the investigation, and he was defeated and kidnapped.'

She understood the situation facing her now.

But why is the kidnapper not visible?

Ivril expressed doubts and searched around.

However, there was no visible exit anywhere inside the cavity.

Just in case, I made a sphere of light and dropped it into the water, and a huge hole of unknown depth was revealed.

'Is there an exit connected to the outside somewhere down there?'

With her face pressed close to the water, she put her tongue out to smell the fishy smell on the tip of her nose, and then stuck out her tongue, startled by the strong salty air that rushed over her.

"It looks like a space under the sea."

If you turn the gourd upside down and put it into the water, an air-filled space will form inside the gourd.

I thought that maybe this place had that kind of structure.

Could it be that the reason the kidnapper left her alone like this was because it was a difficult place to escape?

Ivril decided that she had to do something before the criminal came.

This was her second experience of being kidnapped, but she was a completely different person then and now.

"Shall we try drilling a hole?"

If you drill a hole in the ceiling, this place will be locked, so if you fail to escape, the worst will happen.

So, if you drill a hole, you have to target a place that is submerged in water.

Ivril boldly threw herself into a trench with an unknown bottom.

Then, she condensed intense divine power into her small fists, which spread a shield under her feet and created the floor.

What followed was a stabbing of the regime.

A powerful energy filled with pure white light spread out in a straight line.

-Cow!

It was an energy that could pierce even a meter of steel, but unfortunately, it only created a large crater in the wall and did not open a hole.

It was only a single blow, but she was able to realize it.

This is not a wall thick enough to easily break through.

Moreover, her blow sent vibrations through the wall and echoed far underwater.

This was no different than a signal to the enemy that he had awakened.

While in the water, she felt a powerful presence rising from beneath her feet.

At the same time, a bright blue eye light, like a cat's eye reflecting light in the dark, came into view.

She was scared and hurriedly tried to swim away from the shore... … .

-Kwasik!

"Bwak!"

Something sprang up from beneath her feet and bit her lower body even faster.

The surrounding sea water turned red from blood.

In addition, something bit Ivril and threw her against the walls here and there, and only after a while did it roughly throw her out of the water.

"Wow! omg! Sashimi, recovery."

Breathing was difficult, but Everil instinctively used recovery magic when she saw the tattered and torn skin from her stomach to her legs.

The injury healed quickly, but the pain did not go away right away, so she had to crawl on the floor to catch her breath.

[No matter how high the durability of the saintess, she cannot withstand my teeth with her bare body.]She turned her head with venomous eyes as the voice echoed through the cavity.

Then, a snake-like silhouette emerged from the seawater.

[Be thankful that no poison was used.]It was 'Sea Serpent'.

Among the sub-dragons, it is known as the highest-ranking sub-dragon along with Hydra, Basilisk, and Drake, and is a monster famous for not being able to even scratch its skin unless it uses auror blades and great magic.

But the Sea Serpent is talking... … .

This was no different from proving that the other person was not an ordinary Sea Serpent, but a Named with a name.

"There is no way a mere monster planned the kidnapping of a saint… … . "Who is buying it?"

[Haha, what a bold saint. Have you not yet understood your position?]And as the situation continued, Ivril felt a chill run down her spine.

-Kukukuku! thud!

'Kraken', a giant octopus with saw blade-like suction cups that exudes energy similar to or greater than that of the Sea Serpent in front of you, and 'Leviathan', a quasi-dragon of the same level, appeared as if to surround the island on which the saintess was standing. Because.

[It would be better not to use common sense on land in the sea.] [Compared to the sea, the land on which humans live is only a handful.] [So do not act rashly. Unless you want to die.] 

It was hard for Ivril to understand that these beings were together as if they were on the same side, but the threat to her life was greater than that.

The murderousness emanating from the monsters in front of my eyes was real.

What will be left if I die here?

She sat down, scratching her head roughly.

"What do you want from me?"

[You are a hostage to ensure the autonomous activities of our union. I will try to provide convenience so that there is no inconvenience in life. The saint just needs to remain quiet.]"If I try to escape, will I die?"

[Yes, I will kill you as a warning to the earth. To prove that our remarks were not nonsense.]I don't know where this place is, but it's clear that it's a place that won't be easy to find in a sacred place.

Moreover, if you radiate divine power or reveal your energy to the outside, they will definitely notice and attack you.

There was no obvious solution in sight.

"Do you call your organization a union? "What is the coalition doing?"

She clicked her tongue briefly and asked the special monsters with reason how great they wanted to do.

[It is a propaganda activity for the enlightenment of sentient beings who are being deceived by the goddess.]"yes?"

Their answers were beyond common sense.

Are you being deceived by the goddess? who?

"As a saint, this statement feels like nothing but blasphemy."

[I don't care how you feel.]What returned to Ivril's cold questioning was the monsters' sneer.

"Everyone, don't be like that. "She says ignorance is a sin, but she is a victim of her own deception."

And then.

Someone appeared from the water and intervened between them.

Blue hair and black eyes with large pupils.

He was a man with typical mermaid characteristics.

Unlike the Sea Serpent, Kraken, and Leviathan, mermaids are members of the same terrestrial civilization as humans.

Therefore, Ivril was able to immediately realize that the man who appeared now was the person most deeply involved in her kidnapping.

"you are?"

"Nice to meet you. Your Majesty the Saint. "My name is Ieria Nelson, the third prince of Coralheim."

He was the prince of the mermaid tribe, the patron of a devil worshiper who was wanted in the Holy Land.

"The Holy Land was turned upside down due to the disappearance of Her Majesty Saint Ivril. And Prince Lawrence seemed to be wandering around here and there as if she had a fire in her foot."

"… … ."

Ivril, who had maintained her senses as she listened to the story of the Holy Land, her pupils shook constantly when she heard the name of Prince Lawrence.

Prince Ieria quickly caught her reaction and approached her with an even deeper smile.

"I will tell you the whole truth. Then, even if you are the most powerful person in the Holy Land, Her Majesty will be able to understand our wishes."