Chapter 380 The City Beneath the Sea
"She's always acting crazy." Zara wrapped several more loops of red cord around the woman's mouth to shut her up.
She was giving Zara a headache.
Then Zara floated back down and handed her backpack to Lucian. "Hold this. There are some emergency rations inside. Grab something to chew on if you get hungry."
Dino's head popped out of the bag. "Who's the emergency ration?"
"You are," Aurelion replied.
He poked his head out as well and looked around. "Where are we? This place looks like it got hit by a natural disaster."
"That's probably exactly what happened," Zara said.
She closed her eyes, and streams of vital essence flowed out of her body. They spread into every corner of the hall, rose toward the ceiling, and seeped into every crack and crevice.
As her vital essence surged, the entire hall seemed to react. A piercing shriek rang through the ruins.
The red cord around Zara's wrist began to pulse as well, casting a bloodred glow.
Desperate wails rose from it and merged with the hall's shrieking, creating an unbearable sound that grated on the ears. The oppressive force behind it was almost suffocating.
Aurelion curled his tail around himself in fear. "Holy crap, what's happening?"
Dino trembled even harder. "I'm scared."
Lucian remained remarkably calm. "Deal with it. You're mystic beasts. I'm the only human here."
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Aurelion snapped. "You think an ordinary human could even make it into our world?"
Lucian fell silent.
How vulgar.
Zara seemed to sense something and opened her eyes again. "This really is impressive. Interesting."
Such a powerful ward had been created solely to imprison this city, most likely to conceal some secret that could never be allowed to see the light of day.
But what were they trying to hide?
Whatever it was, breaking the seal would undoubtedly turn the entire world upside down.
Then again, what did that have to do with her?
Zara lived for chaos.
Besides, they could not leave unless she broke the ward. The portal they had entered through was already gone.
And if the world descended into turmoil afterward, she could always profit off the chaos.
She directed her vital essence toward the source of the ward, and an ominous rumble suddenly echoed around them.
Like the warning tremor before a major earthquake, the entire underground structure began shaking violently.
"Earthquake! Earthquake!" Aurelion screamed. "Drop and cover! Everybody get down!"
Lucian was speechless.
When the woman saw the ruins shaking, she stared in utter disbelief.
"No... Impossible!" She screamed hysterically. "How could you break it? How could you possibly break it?!"
It was infuriating enough that Zara could undo the ward at all. What made it worse was that she barely seemed to be doing anything. She simply hovered in midair while the seal appeared to unravel on its own.
Zara studied the disturbance around her and clicked her tongue. "And here I thought it would be difficult."
Of course, it had consumed half of the vital essence she had stored.
It would take her a whole three minutes to recover!
What a devastating loss.
She was adding another ten percent to the compensation bill.
The hall shook more violently. Loose stones broke away from the already crumbling walls, and several fell toward Lucian.
Zara reacted instantly and placed a protective barrier around him. It was colorless and transparent, but every stone that dropped above his head slid harmlessly to either side.
Hovering in the air, Zara planted her hands on her hips and burst into wild laughter.
"Lucian, look at me! Don't I look like a god?"
Lucian stared at her in silence.
More like a lunatic.
Seriously.
Zara clicked her tongue twice. "Judging by that look on your face, Lucian, I don't think you're thinking anything nice."
"Knock it off," Lucian said flatly.
The shaking throughout the hall grew more violent. Stones continued raining down around them, yet despite all the debris falling, they could clearly feel the entire structure rising.
Even with the rocks missing him, Lucian could barely keep his balance.
Zara flew down, grabbed his arm, and steadied him.
Then she sighed dramatically. "Usually, the hero rescues the damsel in distress. Somehow, I'm always the one rescuing you."
"My deepest apologies for not having supernatural powers," Lucian replied.
"It's all right. I forgive you."
[What can I say? I'm a kind and generous person.]
Lucian was speechless.
While the ruins beneath their feet continued rising, the Lower Realm of the Divine World was descending into chaos as well.
Above the Moonveil Sea...
The area was a famous tourist destination. In the middle of every month, moonlight would cause the surface of the sea to glow with dazzling, dreamlike radiance. Over time, the surrounding area had been developed into a thriving resort city.
The Moonveil Sea was vast beyond measure, and several bittersweet legends had long been associated with it.
One story claimed that a tragic romance had unfolded there several centuries ago. Another said that a magnificent city had once stood upon the sea over a thousand years earlier, only to vanish for reasons no one could explain.
They were all considered nothing more than beautiful local legends.
But that day, the crowds gathered along the shore of the Moonveil Sea began to sense that something was wrong.
The ground was trembling.
The seawater was boiling as though an enormous fire burned beneath it.
Something appeared to be rising from the depths.
Possibly an unimaginably massive mystic beast.
Those who realized the danger immediately fled with their mystic beasts. Others soared into the air and stared down in astonishment as the entire Moonveil Sea churned below them.
The resort city beside the sea was called Highspire City.
At that moment, its detection systems registered an unknown surge of power and sounded a citywide alarm. News of the disturbance quickly reached the Upper Realm.
The locals had no shortage of ways to escape. With flying equipment and mystic beasts at their disposal, they only needed to reach the air to stay out of danger.
So naturally, they remained overhead to watch the spectacle.
Everyone stared at the sea in stunned anticipation, convinced that some colossal mystic beast was about to emerge.
The water continued boiling, and the earth shook harder with every passing second. Towering waves of white foam rose along the vast shoreline, seeming to split the horizon apart.
Then came a deafening crash, like an enormous barrier shattering.
With a thunderous roar, a massive city burst from beneath the sea.
It rose abruptly through the water and towered over the coastline.
The city was no smaller than any of the Lower Realm's major capitals. Its enormous silhouette completely blocked the view from Highspire City. Although much of it had suffered devastating damage, its ruins still hinted at the breathtaking splendor it must once have possessed.
When the seawater finally poured away, the ancient city settled steadily upon the ocean's surface, as though it had always belonged there.
There was nothing supporting it.
Yet it remained firmly in place, defying every known law of physics.
It had emerged so close to the shore that it swallowed the entire beachfront of Highspire City.
In a matter of moments, the famous coastal resort had lost its coast entirely.
Even with the naked eye, no one could see where the newly risen city ended.
Nearly everyone who witnessed the scene stood frozen in disbelief.
What none of them noticed was a shadow shooting out of the ancient city at incredible speed.
In the next instant, it vanished without a trace.