Lord of Mysteries : The Undead Do Not Die from Kindling the Fire

"Whoosh!"

"I found it!"

A plump but nimble swimmer surfaced from the water, as flexible as a 'mermaid,' shouting excitedly towards the nearby Golden Dream, "Captain, I found it!"

"Well done!"

"Woohoo! Let's fly! Daniels, extra rations for you tonight!"

"Shut up! Do you think I'm your pet dog?"

"Aren't you?"

"Even if I were a dog, I'd be the captain's dog!"

"Hahaha!"

Amid the sailors' laughter, they began skillfully preparing for the upcoming task.

First Mate Daniels had confirmed the location of the sunken ship, leaving only the recovery work to be done. This wouldn't be difficult, especially since they had performed similar tasks dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to head back tonight," said Edwina, appearing beside Ashes with a cool and calm voice.

"How long will it take?" Ashes asked.

They had already fallen behind schedule. The original plan was three days, but it had taken them five just to reach this sea, and two more days to search for the shipwreck.

Of course, this was assuming they had accurate information about the wreck's location. Without it, the search could have taken even longer.

"About six days," Edwina replied softly. "Sorry, that's a few days longer than we initially thought."

"I see," Ashes nodded thoughtfully.

With this delay, Mr. Hanged Man would have to wait for him on Tuscate Island for an extra two days.

Meanwhile, several sailors were already preparing to dive. They were Beyonders from the 'Sailor' sequence, the most common sequence of superhumans on the sea. Even at Sequence 9, they could move fluidly underwater, giving them a significant advantage in salvage operations compared to other sequences.

"Splash!"

As the sailors dove into the water, they began popping in and out of the surface frequently.

"You seem to know what's on that ship," Ashes looked curiously at Edwina, noticing a faint trace of anticipation in her expression.

"Just a guess," Edwina shook her head lightly, pointing to a section of the sea on the right side of the ship. "Do you know what that place is?"

"The Ruins of the God War," Ashes answered, staring out at the sea. He had learned this from the sailors' conversations.

"Right," Edwina nodded slightly. "It's said that isn't a real ocean but the ruins of a battle between gods. Regardless of the truth, it's a dangerous place. Most pirates who enter never come out again."

"The ship we're salvaging is rumored to have carried something important from those ruins. But not long after leaving the Ruins of the God War, it sank here for unknown reasons."

"Whoosh!"

Daniels, with his barrel-sized waist, resurfaced again, this time looking more excited than ever. "Captain, I found something good!"

He raised a large black iron key in his hands. The other sailors quickly pulled him aboard, with a few trying to sneak away with the key. But Daniels glared them back into place, proudly presenting the key to Edwina like a victorious rooster.

"Captain," he said.

"Well done," Edwina said as she accepted the massive black iron key.

"Of course!" Daniels grinned with joy, glancing at the other sailors with a bit of smugness in his eyes.

"Anything else on the ship?" Edwina asked, furrowing her brow after examining the key.

"Not much," Daniels shook his head. "There's a chest of treasure, but most of the other stuff has rotted away in the sea. Only this key…"

Daniels clicked his tongue in amazement. "You saw it yourself, Captain. It hasn't rusted a bit after all this time in the sea, and its size clearly wasn't meant for an ordinary human."

"Giants," Edwina thought immediately of a race, her mind beginning to connect the dots.

Before long, the other sailors returned to the ship. As Daniels had said, there was little else of value in the wreck.

Edwina didn't want to linger, so she ordered the crew to set sail.

However.

Just as they were about to leave, a loud, deep whale-like cry echoed in the distance. The sailors' expressions changed as many of them instinctively reached for their weapons.

Then, a massive, terrifying creature suddenly emerged from the calm blue sea in front of them.

"Boom!"

The colossal sea monster's rise sent waves crashing against the Golden Dream, rocking the ship violently. Despite the sailors' supernatural abilities, some were caught off guard and thrown to the deck.

"Obnox," Edwina whispered as she gazed at the sea monster in the distance.

Ashes also looked at it.

It had countless massive tentacles, thicker than the ship itself, with black skin covered in strange patterns. Three heads, each with multiple glowing green eyes, stared back at them, its mere appearance causing a spine-chilling, sanity-draining effect. Its massive size left no doubt that it could swallow the entire ship in one bite.

As the crew braced for an attack, a silent sailboat appeared behind the monster. Oddly enough, the terrifying creature made no move against it.

Edwina's expression shifted slightly, as if she had realized something.

"The Deep Sea Admiral!" First Mate Brew said in a low voice.

Ashes mind immediately recalled the related information:

Deep Sea Admiral Hal Constantine, one of the Seven Pirate Admirals, was rumored to possess some sea monster blood and could control sea creatures to some extent. This pirate general was at Sequence 5, and the monster accompanying him was equally as powerful. Together, they were among the strongest of the Pirate Admirals.

But that didn't mean they had to fear him.

"This could be trouble," muttered Yordson, the 'Bow Tie,' though there was no fear in his eyes.

Orpheus, dressed in his Sun Knight gear, said gravely, "Captain, I suggest we fire the Purifying Cannon first. Even a sea monster can't withstand a blast from that!"

"The Purifying Cannon?" Ashes followed Orpheus' gaze to the bow of the ship, where a cannon rested along the central axis. Its barrel was adorned with symbols and runes glowing with faint but pure light.

That was the Purifying Cannon Orpheus mentioned, a weapon that could only be fired ten times. Recharging it required a ritual by six Sequence 5 Priests of Light, praying to their god. Though the process was complicated, its immense power made it worth the trouble.

Even a Sequence 5 being would die from a direct hit.

The cannon's accuracy against agile Sequence 5 beings was questionable, but for a massive sea monster, it was the perfect choice. It was the Golden Dream's most powerful weapon, without a doubt.

"Wait," Edwina said softly, watching the sea monster and the ship in the distance.

She wasn't familiar with the Deep Sea Admiral, and they weren't on particularly good terms. But he should know just how formidable the Golden Dream's firepower was. If he wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't make the first move.

Sure enough.

As Edwina had predicted, the sailboat began to turn away just as the two sides exchanged glances. The sea monster, too, started to sink back into the depths, its dozens of green eyes still staring at them.

"It seems there won't be a fight after all," Yordson clicked his tongue, sounding slightly disappointed.

"We're all Pirate Admirals here. He probably doesn't want to start anything with us either," someone remarked.

"That's right. Although people say the captain is the weakest of the Seven Pirate Admirals, the other Admirals know better. If she were truly weak, she wouldn't hold her position. We're all evenly matched, and any fight would end in mutual destruction."

"Deep Sea Admiral? That's it? Hah!"

"Hahaha!"

"No, something's not right!"

The sailors were beginning to relax, cracking jokes again, but Edwina's expression suddenly changed. She had noticed that the sailboat was speeding up— not towards them, but away from them. The sea monster had completely disappeared, sinking beneath the waves.

What was he afraid of?

"What's wrong?" First Mate Brew and the others exchanged confused glances, about to ask for clarification, when a cold voice suddenly rang out.

"Did you kill the Mad Captain?"

"Demi-god!" Edwina's pale face tensed, a few beads of sweat forming on her brow.

Now she understood why the Deep Sea Admiral had fled, but it was already too late.

"I'll ask again." The demigod standing calmly on the deck spoke coldly. "Did you kill the Mad Captain?"

"Mad Captain?" Edwina instinctively glanced to her side, but there was no one there. The place where Ashes should have been was now empty. He had vanished without a trace.

His reaction had been quicker than anyone's. While they were still watching the Admiral of the Deep Sea flee, he had already taken the opportunity to leave. Edwina's eyes flickered, and she forced herself to look at the man in front of her.

He was a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit, with short hair, a large beard extending from his mouth, and thick eyebrows. His deep blue, almost black, eyes stared coldly at the crew with extreme indifference.

"It wasn't us," Edwina gritted her teeth. "I don't know who you are, but the Mad Captain's death has nothing to do with us."

"Nothing to do with you?" The demigod sneered. "Then how do you explain your presence at the scene?"

"He divined it," Edwina said quietly, her expression darkening. "We just happened to pass by."

"You're lying!" The demigod's gaze sharpened, and Edwina felt a sting under the intensity of his glare.

"Captain!" The first mate and others were filled with anxiety, their faces full of anger even in the presence of a demigod. But the demigod remained indifferent. To him, everyone on board was already dead. He didn't care about the anger of dead men.

Why was he so confident? Because he was a demigod. A genuine demigod. He wouldn't even fear the Pirate Kings, let alone a mere Pirate Admiral.

"I'll give you one last chance," the demigod stared at Edwina's delicate face and said calmly, "Who killed the Mad Captain?"

"Come after me," Ashes muttered quietly from inside the cabin, his expression understanding.

The moment the demigod appeared, he had turned invisible and sneaked into the cabin. After realizing it was a demigod looking for him, he knew what to do.

Ring, ring, ring~

Ashes took out the Yuria Holy Bell. This was his first time facing a demigod in this world. Though he didn't yet know the extent of the demigod's power, he needed to prepare.

So—when in doubt, buff up.

"Stone Vow!" Ashes half-crouched on the deck, shaking the bell as a warm light appeared above his head. A golden magic circle glowed beneath his feet. "Great Magic Protection!" A white light enveloped his body. "Iron Body!" "Inner Potential!"

Finally—Ashes took out a military flag.

Clang!

A pale golden magic circle appeared. Battle preparations complete.

…

"Sir," Edwina gritted her teeth, "we are with the Church of Knowledge!"

"I know," the demigod said indifferently. "But so what? I've sealed this space. No one will know you died here, nor will anyone know I did it. But," the demigod chuckled darkly, "if you don't want to talk, that's fine. I'll make you talk."

The demigod licked his lips, a greedy glint in his eyes. "In bed."

"Bastard! What are you planning to do to the captain?!" The sailors glared at him furiously and charged at the demigod in anger.

But, as expected, their actions were in vain. The demigod simply smirked and waved his hand.

The sailors who had been rushing towards him suddenly began to retreat unnaturally fast. Their ankles twisted a full 180 degrees, bones snapping as they forcibly bent their own legs. Even with their injuries, they kept retreating, crashing into the ship's railings before falling into the sea. Despite their pain, they continued to move backward into the deep, where they would soon drown themselves alive.

But there was one exception.

"Die already!" 'Bowtie' somehow avoided the demigod's ability and roared, lunging at him with a dagger. But in the next moment, his hand twisted impossibly downward, snapping with a sickening crack as the dagger plunged into his own chest.

Splurt!

Blood splattered as 'Bowtie' was flung backward with even greater force.

"Jodson!" Edwina's expression shifted dramatically, a flash of anger crossing her usually calm face. No matter how incompetent her crew had been, they were still her subordinates!

"Foolish," the demigod sneered with disdain. But in his arrogance, he failed to notice a hidden figure quietly slipping through the cabin walls, silently appearing behind him with a raised talisman.

"Silencing Curse!"

(Chapter ends.)