Chapter 187: Spirit of the Ocean

"Something is… coming"

"Viel?"

Sofia stared at Viel's eyes, but no matter how much she tried for the green flickering lights, they weren't there. So that would mean that Viel was himself. Sofia could only let out a sigh of relief as she fixed her spectacles.

"Vi, what's coming--"

*RUMBLE*

Before Sofia could finish her question, the ship started to sway violently. The items in the stores fell and most people that were leisurely walking around the ship could not help but stumble and roll on the ground.

"It's here", Viel whispered as he once again ran, but not in the direction of their room, but to the deck outside.

"Vi, wait!", Sofia summoned a bubble in order for her to slightly float and not be affected by the swaying of the ship. She then rushed to chase Viel outside.

"Sofia?"

Before she could go outside the deck, a voice called for her from behind, it was Diao Mei and the others.

"Why are you out of the room? It's dangerous!", Sofia hollered as she quickly cast a bubble around Diao Mei, Diao Chan, and Lu Xun.

"It's Matriarch Yinji…", Diao Mei shouted, "She suddenly ran outside saying that something was here!"

"Her too!?", hearing that Yinji also stepped outside the deck, Sofia quickly turned around without any more delays and floated outside to the deck. If Yinji also detected it, then it must mean that it was something strong. If only Sofia could detect the qi as well. But ever since she came here, she had trouble in detecting the world's powers.

She had spent time in her newly built lab in order for her to learn about the flow of the mana of this world, but how the inhabitants of this world perceive power is entirely different. Qi of this world and her Mana are almost identical to each other, but how they get it and how they use it is where Sofia was currently stuck in her research.

As soon as she stepped outside, a gigantic tidal wave instantly came into her view, about to swallow the ship whole. She was about to cast a huge bubble for the colossal ship, but then she realized that the wave wasn't moving at all. In fact, it would seem that the ocean itself stopped moving.

"What is… happening?", Sofia could not help but open her eyes wide in awe as she canceled her bubble and started walking towards Yinji and Viel, who were on the edge of the deck.

Most of the people that were inside, passengers and sailors alike, also stepped out to see what was happening.

"This… the Spirit of the Ocean has blessed us with her presence!"

"What!?"

"Are we going to die!?"

As soon as a sailor saw what was happening, he shouted with glee and ran excitedly towards the edge of the ship.

"Spirit of the Ocean?", Diao Mei and the rest of the group also ran to see what was happening. And when they got near Viel and the others, their eyes instantly widened in shock. There was also a hint of fear in their eyes, but their amazement completely clouded it as the Spirit of the Ocean reflected from them.

The so-called Spirit of the Ocean was currently stagnant inside the colossal tidal wave. It looked like a bird, but at the same time, it looked like a turtle. Its wings, which protruded from its shell spanned almost the same size as the ship, it might even be able to wrap it if it wanted to. It had 7 tails, all of which were swaying, but even then, the waters remained calm as if the Spirit of the Ocean was separate from the ocean itself.

Its beak slightly opened, as if it wanted to say something but none of them could hear it.

"It's… crying", Viel said as he blinked a couple of times.

"C… crying!?", Diao Mei's eyebrows quickly lowered as she heard Viel's words, "What's wrong with it, Viel!?"

The rest of the group instantly looked towards Viel. Was it really crying? Why could no one hear it besides him?

"I don't know", Viel shook his head as he continued to stare at the colossal creature.

The Spirit of the Ocean, as if feeling the confusion of the people, rotated its body, its fin-like arms elegantly swinging in the unmoving water. And as soon as it turned around, a cloud of red mist flowed through the tidal wave.

"That…"

All of the people present could not help but widen their eyes in shock. There were creatures beneath the Spirit of the Ocean, chewing on its body and eating her alive.

"!!!", but that was not the first thing that caught their eye, no. It was…

"Is that… a portal!?"

"How is that even possible!?"

There was a Portal hovering on the Spirit of the Ocean's stomach. The creatures that were eating her alive came from it.

Everyone was perplexed. Was something like this even possible? The Portal attached itself onto a living being? And to a Divine Creature at that?

"We should help it!", Diao Mei said as she summoned her weapon. Her mother, however, quickly stopped her before she could jump towards it.

"Are you crazy!?", Diao Chan screamed, "You don't know what's going to happen once you jump inside the tidal wave. It might suddenly come crashing down! And can you even breathe underwater!?"

"But--"

Before she could even say anything again, Lu Xun also blocked her path. "Your mother is right, Mei", he said, "We don't know what will happen"

"It's blocking our path", as the group was starting to panic, Viel's calm words stood out as they all looked at him.

"Should we kill it?"

As soon as he said that, his eyes lit up and glowed red. "Sofi, can you summon a bubble and protect the whole ship?"

"...Vi?", Sofia could not help but furrow her eyebrows with Viel's words. But still, she summoned a bubble that covered the entire ship since she had actually been gathering her mana already as soon as she saw the Spirit of the Ocean.

"What!?", Diao Mei quickly stepped in front of Viel and stretched her arms, "What are you doing, Viel!?"

Matriarch Yinji also stared at Viel with her eyebrows furrowed. Was the boy normally like this? She was about to jump towards the wave to kill the creatures that were eating the Spirit of the Ocean, but she could not help but be curious as to what choice Viel would make.

"It's blocking our path", Viel repeated his words as his eyes grew brighter, "I am going to destroy it"

"No!", Diao Mei shouted, "It's a Divine Creature, Viel! It's peaceful! We should try to help it!"

Lu Xun, who was watching on the side, could not help but raise his eyebrow. He couldn't really feel any power from the red light that suddenly appeared in Viel's eyes. Is this some kind of illusion? He thought, still not believing that Viel actually had the strength from the stories.

"It is already dying", Viel said in a cold tone, "We can help it by ending its pain"

"Vi…", Sofia placed her hand on Viel's shoulder, "Can't you heal it instead?"

Hearing Sofia's words, Diao Mei's eyes instantly glistened as she once again stared at Viel. Viel, however, only shook his head, "It is not my place to intervene with the natural order of life", he said, his tone completely monotonous.

Hearing the tone in Viel's voice, Sofia could not help but slightly back away. It is happening again, she thought.

"Natural order of life!?", Diao Mei waved her hand, "Then why are you killing it!?"

"It is already dying", Viel instantly replied, "This is mercy--"

But before he could finish his words, a loud slapping noise reverberated through the air as Diao Mei hit Viel on the cheek.

"Who are you!?", Diao Mei screamed, "You… you've really changed…"

Viel's heat vision quickly disappeared as he touched his cheek. And in that instant, Sofia let out a slight breath as he saw the flickering green lights that were dancing in Viel's eyes. It was faint, but it was there.

Yinji also squinted her eyes as she noticed the dim green lights in his eyes. Previously, she could feel the same feeling that the Demon God was emitting from Viel, a feeling of fear but also admiration. But now, it was completely different. It wasn't a sinister feeling at all, but something inside Yinji was telling her to avoid Viel as much as possible.

It was dark, but it wasn't evil, not at all. It was just... cold

"And how is this the natural order of life!?", Diao Mei continued, "There's a Portal on her stomach!"

Hearing Diao Mei's words, Viel could not help but blink a couple of times. And with his last blink, the green flickering lights on his eyes were gone.

"Oh…", Viel muttered, "You're right"

He casually said before he suddenly jumped from the boat and onto the stagnant tidal wave.

"V… Viel!", Diao Mei could not help but release a stuttered scream. She was about to follow him to the waters, but Matriarch Yinji quickly pulled her back.

"I will follow the boy", she calmly said before looking towards Sofia, "You can protect the ship, yes?"

Yinji did not even wait for Sofia's answer as she jumped to the ocean with a slight smirk on her face. She already knew what Sofia was capable of, after all, she had a taste of her power when they fought in the other world.

"Tch", Sofia could only click her tongue as she reinforced the bubble she summoned.

Lu Xun, however, could only stare at the ocean, his eyes filled with confusion.

'Surely… this is also an illusion?'