Alon stood elegantly atop the frozen sea of blood, letting out a light sigh.

“It’s finally over.”

Looking around, Alon saw the endless tundra expanding from where he stood.

Of course, the continuous creation of this frozen land wasn’t Alon’s doing alone; it was thanks to Penia, who had fulfilled his request.

“…So, this is how far we’ve come.”

On the ship, Alon’s harsh winter had rapidly frozen the surrounding sea, but Penia only showed a slightly strained expression as she maintained her efforts. Alon’s brief admiration for her was short-lived.

His gaze shifted toward Tertogan, standing on a deck soaked in the pirates’ blood.

Crunch, crunch~!

Moments ago, Tertogan had still been in human form, but now he no longer existed in that shape. What was left was a green egg, secreting a strange fluid, with Tertogan’s hand atop it. And above that hand was a bizarre object.

Despite this seemingly simple situation, Alon couldn’t help but harden his expression. He knew the nature of the egg.

Crack!

The unpleasant sound broke out as Alon raised his arm, sensing the presence.

As he turned his gaze, he saw the merfolk, who had been lurking below the surface trying to sink the ship, now climbing up onto the ice one by one. In an instant, their numbers grew from dozens to hundreds.

At that moment, Alon clicked his tongue lightly.

Crunch, crunch~!

The merfolk climbing onto the ice were quickly shattered.

“Brother!”

Radan appeared, erupting from the sea. Without hesitation, he not only crushed the merfolk rushing toward Alon but also—

“Hah!”

He stomped on the ice.

Crash!

Radan’s foot pierced through the ice, reaching the seawater beneath. And then—

Roaaaarrrrr~!!!!!

The frozen sea transformed into an icy ocean, a massive wave bursting forth with a deafening roar that swept away all the merfolk charging toward Alon.

“Hah!”

It didn’t end there. Radan immediately plunged his spear into the center of the sea.

Rumble~!!

A massive whirlpool formed in an instant, sucking in the swept-away merfolk and the sunken ships. Despite their deep familiarity with the sea, the merfolk were helpless in the overwhelming current, mixed with the wreckage of the sunken ships. The whirlpool quickly turned red.

“Ah, truly……!”

“The boss is on another level……!”

Hope spread among the pirates.

“…This is unbelievable.”

“Indeed.”

“Hah, I wonder if we can actually win.”

Even the Pirate Lords were filled with unspeakable awe.

Radan’s divine might was so remarkable that it was hard to believe it was the feat of a single man.

But it was only momentary.

Growl~!

At the sound, all eyes turned to the central deck of the Sea Wolves.

The hand that had been reaching up from the green egg had vanished without a trace.

And then—

Crunch, crunch, crunch!!!

From the small egg emerged an impossibly large hand.

Everyone stared blankly at the hand.

Covered in green scales and fluid, the hand blocked the sunset’s rays that had been shining on the pirates, as if extinguishing hope. It pulsated as if alive, bringing not hope but fear to the pirates.

It then struck the whirlpool.

BOOOOM-!!

The whirlpool that had been sucking in everything suddenly disappeared with a thunderous roar.

Then, from the small egg, it emerged.

CRACK!

The hand that had dispelled the whirlpool rested on one of the Sea Wolves ships, while another hand emerged, grabbing onto a different ship.

A giant appeared from the small egg.

It was a grotesque and terrifying sight that devoured the hope of everyone present.

The massive merman’s head, emerging from the egg after its arms, took away all remaining hope.

Its body, so large that it could treat ships like toys, inspired only dread.

It crushed the ship the egg had been on and blocked the sun, plunging the area into darkness.

“Ah—”

It descended.

###

Its size was overwhelming.

Moreover, the tremendous power emanating from its massive form was beyond comprehension.

BOOOOM-!!

The creature, showing only its upper body above the sea, moved its hand slowly, pressing down on a ship.

Sprays of water burst forth, yet not a single scream was heard.

Without even time to gasp at the sight of the ship shattering into pieces—

CRAAAASH!

A single sweep of its gigantic hand from left to right shattered more than ten ships.

The chilling strength derived from its overwhelming size was staggering.

But that was not all.

“Damn it!”

The mermen, who had been standing still as if worshipping the giant’s birth, resumed their movements, throwing the pirates into a sudden panic.

‘What in the world is this?’

Radan, too, furrowed his brow as he stared at the colossal giant against the backdrop of the setting sun.

“Radan.”

Amidst the chaos, he heard a voice—emotionless and indifferent—belonging to Alon.

“Take care of the mermen.”

And in that moment, Radan, with a blank expression, replied,

“Yes, Brother.”

With that, he retrieved the trident that had been pulled into the sea.

Alon, having confirmed the mermen climbing from all directions, looked at the giant, which was slowly lifting its massive hand.

“Hah.”

Alon let out a low sigh as he surveyed the situation.

To say things were favorable would have been a lie.

Even though Radan and the Pirate Lords were killing mermen relentlessly, their numbers showed no signs of decreasing.

The mermen kept coming, killing the pirates, while the giant’s hand rose once again, ready to unleash despair upon them.

But even in this dire situation, Alon did not entertain thoughts of defeat.

In fact, he felt relieved, believing this wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

After all, the creature before him was not an Outer God.

‘Technically, it’s just a byproduct.’

With the Eyes of Truth, Alon could see through all things, perceiving even the potential of drowning anyone, regardless of water presence—a fraudulent power of the Outer God, Kalak-Kul. When Kalak-Kul descends, disaster begins.

However, the being before him, “Galgik,” was not an Outer God.

It was merely a byproduct containing the reincarnation of the Outer God, a guardian that protected Kalak-Kul until its full descent.

At this point, eliminating it would prevent the Outer God’s descent.

Thus, Alon spoke without hesitation.

“Array of Thunder.”

The conditions had been met.

CRACKLE!

Blue sparks spread rapidly across the frozen sea of blood.

“Decomposition.”

At his command, the sparks fragmented into tiny particles, scattering everywhere.

In the darkness that veiled the sunset, the glowing blue particles—

“Dissolution.”

—were absorbed into Alon’s unsteady body.

Simultaneously, Alon’s form began to glow a radiant blue.

By the time Galgik had raised its hand to crush dozens of ships—

!

With an incomprehensible, eerie roar, it swung its hand down toward Alon’s head, as if instinctively trying to eliminate a threat.

RUMBLE~!!!

The massive crashing sound felt like it was pressing down on the entire sea.

“Cycle of All Things.”

Even in that moment, Alon, forming a seal with his index and middle fingers, uttered—

“Form of the Thunder God.”

As soon as he spoke the final word—

CRACKLE!!!

He became lightning.

Tssss-!

He surged forward with blinding speed.

BOOOM!!!

The frozen sea where Alon had stood shattered as if struck by an explosion, and Alon shot straight at Galgik.

He aimed at Galgik’s exposed heart.

He instinctively realized that simply charging forward wouldn’t be enough to pierce Galgik’s outer shell.

Yet he pressed forward without hesitation, thanks to one of the relics recently appraised by the Arbiter—the “Insignia of the Blind One.”

The artifact’s effect allowed him to bypass a single limitation he had previously set upon himself.

This allowed Alon to break free from the restrictions that had weakened his magic.

In this case, the restriction that could alter the world’s laws to allow magical combat against the Great Duel God, Ulthultus.

There was another reason for his confidence: Alon had mastered the usage of the Form of the Thunder God.

As the blue lightning launched towards Galgik, it shifted from human form.

At the focal point of the magic’s array, Alon twisted his body, reshaping it into a spiral—a clear spiral visible to anyone watching.

CRACKLE~!!!

The spiral lit up the darkness that Galgik had cast over the world, dividing reality itself as it shot forth.

Tsss-!

With a faint sound, blue sparks engulfed the world.

###

Once the blue sparks faded, a massive hole appeared in Galgik’s heart.

And through that enormous hole, Count Palatio came into view, filling everyone’s sight.

“……Hah.”

They were all left speechless, unable to take their eyes off a single person.

Alon, standing atop the shattered ship and the focus of everyone’s gaze, thought,

‘Don’t just watch; help me……!’

The situation was filled with urgency.

The deck beneath Alon’s feet was slowly sinking.

Though it wasn’t obvious, the deck he stood on was gradually descending below the water.

The reason Alon remained silent on the collapsing deck was due to the strain of using the Form of the Thunder God.

‘I thought I’d gotten better at this.’

Unlike before, he hadn’t made a significant mistake this time.

Thanks to extensive research and training, he had refined his mastery of the Form of the Thunder God.

Aside from a few small cuts on his arms and legs, he was fine.

The problem was mana.

‘I didn’t expect the Form of the Thunder God to consume such an absurd amount of mana just by moving the array.’

Though he had anticipated this during his research, the mana consumption was truly beyond belief.

During his first use of the Form of the Thunder God at Colony, his mana had been depleted, but he had still been able to walk.

Now, Alon experienced physical rigidity, a symptom of mana exhaustion, just from altering the magic’s array.

As a result, he couldn’t move or speak as he sank along with the ship.

‘I can’t swim!’

As he let out a silent scream, unable to utter a word—

BOOM!

The previously calm sea suddenly erupted with green scales.

CRACK!

Before he could react, the scales grabbed Radan, dragging him into the depths.

Alon lost the chance to think.

Seeing Radan being pulled away before his eyes, Alon threw himself off the deck and into the sea.

At least, that’s how it appeared to the pirates.

In reality, the green scales had simply swiped the deck Alon had been standing on.

As he plunged into the sea, Alon frowned.

Fortunately, the rigidity caused by mana exhaustion was slowly subsiding, making it likely that he would reach the surface before suffocating.

The real issue, however, was the massive eye staring at him.

‘Kalak-Kul?!’

Alon was horrified.

Despite it still being twilight above the sea, the depths felt as dark as the abyss.

Amidst that darkness was the enormous eye.

It was the same eye he had seen many times in the game—the eye that drowned all who met its gaze.

‘The manifestation shouldn’t have happened yet~!’

He was confused.

From what he knew, the Outer God’s manifestation shouldn’t have occurred once Galgik was killed.

And yet, the Outer God had descended.

It was looking directly at him.

From the deep, pitch-black depths below— Silent and unwavering.