Free Web NovelIsabelle had a very, very long dream.
She dreamed of swimming freely through the azure deep sea; dreamed of sword shadows, thunder, and fire; dreamed of Heroes, clans, and betrayal.
“Hand over the 【Reversed Crown】 and the 【Primordial Scepter】. I can cripple only your foundation.”
A pleasant yet icy female voice sounded by her ear. Isabelle vaguely saw a blurred face, but could not make out anything clearly.
Rumble—!!
Torrential rain poured onto the sea. Storms and lightning linked the blackened sky with the dark ocean.
Suddenly, Isabelle felt an impulse. She wanted to tell the master who was holding her everything—to tell her everything, and then accompany her as they traveled the world together.
But in the end, she did not.
She only turned her head slightly, letting the rain wash over her face.
In the water, a crystalline pearl slowly sank to the seabed.
So even if she ascended to the Demon King’s throne above all living beings, the things she could possess were still only those few.
Life could be ended at any moment. Fate was the ocean—when you can swim freely, you must seize everything you have, because you never know when an undercurrent will arrive and sweep it all away.
......
“Hey, hey, hey! You useless fish, wake up already!”
A familiar voice came from above.
Isabelle slowly opened her eyes. What she saw was—
the sky collapsing, lightning flashing, floodwaters gradually submerging the entire world.
Within this world that was steadily falling apart, her master struggled to hold her while running across the sea surface against gale-force winds.
“This is...?” Isabelle asked instinctively.
“So the thief girl has finally found herself again? Looks like the big slap did work after all...”
Vieya raised an eyebrow, then explained seriously,
“This is your world of consciousness. Don’t worry about anything else. You just need to know that I’m saving you.”
“Oh, I understand, Master.”
Isabelle paused, without doubting much.
Setting aside the fact that Vieya—who had bought her ‘ownership’—had no reason to lie to her about this, before her consciousness sank into darkness, she really had suffered an unknown impact.
Thinking of that, she looked at the slime girl and asked softly, somewhat uneasy,
“Then... does that mean I now owe you two lives, Master?”
“Yes.” Vieya nodded. “Congratulations. You’ll be serving me for free for the rest of your life.”
Isabelle said nothing, nor did she voice any protest.
“Can you hear me? Miss Vieya!” Suddenly, Lano’s voice also reached this shattered world.
“I hear you.” With one arm wrapped around Isabelle, Vieya answered crisply. “The fish has been salvaged—exactly 102 jin! Prepare to haul in the net!”
“Understood. I’ll notify Aislin to raise the buoy.” Lano continued. “Miss Vieya, please walk in the direction of the light. The end of the light is the exit. Also, mind your safety.”
After Lano finished speaking, her voice vanished again.
At the same time—
This world’s collapse worsened further. Apocalyptic floods blotted out the sky and covered the earth. Just existing in °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° this world was enough to leave one’s limbs weak and their courage shattered.
Yet in the middle of the ocean, a door appeared—a door glowing with white light.
‘That must be the guiding light Lano mentioned.’
“We’re going out! Toward the light!”
Vieya slung Isabelle over her back and leapt up, like a spirited rain swallow.
At the instant she stepped through the gate of light—
Rumble—!
The light gate closed. Behind them was endless darkness; ahead was also darkness.
But—
The very next second!
Vieya sensed someone grabbing her hand, followed by a tremendous pull.
Water splashed. Vieya was yanked onto a large ship and landed with a smack, steady on her feet. Isabelle, no longer being held, tumbled to the side, rolling twice across the deck before dazedly rubbing her backside.
“Whew, it’s finally over!”
Aislin let out a long breath, placing Vieya aside, then began using magic to command ladles and spatulas to float in midair, coordinating with her as she piloted the magic ark.
“Auntie Blue, my friend has been rescued! Can we leave now?!”
“Yes. I have already observed that both of you have entered the safe zone. Next, make one final push and leave the consciousness space. Do not look back.”
Lano’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.
“In the ocean of consciousness lie countless lost souls accumulated over tens of thousands of years. They will assimilate other consciousness entities. So do not look at them!”
“Roger!”
“Then we’ll... see each other in reality!”
......
Above the Western Sea, Noon Sky Island.
It was said that this place had originally been nothing but open sea, with no island at all. But one day, a meteor fell from the sky, its flames reddening the entire western sky.
To prevent a tsunami that would have dealt a fatal blow to coastal cities, a ninth-rank powerhouse intercepted the meteor in advance and placed it in the center of the Western Sea.
With the passage of time and shifting ages, a hundred years had passed since that legend.
And the meteor of that year had taken on a new form, renamed 【Noon Sky Island】.
At this moment, upon Noon Sky Island—
White Cloud Whales cleaved through wind and waves, accompanied by rolling thunder, arriving one after another to encircle the island.
Next, one of the White Cloud Whales transformed into human form and spoke, organizing the others to lay themselves across the sea surface, forming a pristine floating bridge that stretched to the horizon.
Though called a floating bridge, it was more stable and solid than an arch bridge poured from reinforced concrete.
In the next instant, numerous shape-shifted oceanic monsters suddenly appeared on Noon Sky Island—yellow sea stars, black octopuses, red shrimp, purple crabs, and more. Each retained traces of their original forms, yet all of them radiated powerful auras.
And now, these powerful ocean monsters arranged themselves into formations, orderly and precise, as if welcoming a truly high and mighty sovereign.
Soon, upon the floating bridge built from countless White Cloud Whales, a woman in light armor stepped forward proudly, her figure elegantly outlined.
From her jet-black hair sprouted a pair of tender dragon horns, shimmering with flowing light. She was unmistakably the center of the endless oceanic monsters, her golden eyes blazing like flames over the sea.
She was the mistress of Dragon Gauze Palace—【Zhuyou】.
Looking at the neat and disciplined ocean army, Zhuyou nodded in satisfaction, then gazed toward the distant continent.
Though she wished to march straight into the Western Lands, she knew clearly that her own strength was nowhere near enough to contend head-on with the entire Human Alliance. Thus, she had previously sought cooperation with the Demon King who resided in the Western Sea.
But that Demon King seemed to have been scared witless by Heroes, hiding in the seabed—either sleeping or poking at little shrimp to eat.
Even though that former chief Hero had long since died, the Demon King still dared not make any extra moves and rejected her goodwill.
Following such a Demon King—how could the demon race ever have a future?
There had to be a revolution!
Coincidentally, the Western Sea Demon King’s own followers had long been dissatisfied with their lord’s lazy and cowardly nature. Upon hearing of a revolution, they immediately raised the banners of rebellion, shouting, “With sacrifice comes great resolve—dare to make the sun and moon change the sky!”
‘It’s a pity I couldn’t bring myself to be ruthless back then and let her escape with her life.’
‘If not for the sake of old sisterly bonds, how could that foolish Demon King—abandoned by all—have escaped my layout?’
‘But this time, after deliberately making a trip back to the Eastern Sea and uniting the monsters already here in the Western Sea, assembling one hundred thousand demon troops—even if she finds Heroes to help her, she’ll have no chance whatsoever!’
Beyond that, Zhuyou had further plans.
Once she completely took her good sister’s life, she could take the scepter and the crown, becoming the new 【Demon King of Storms and the Ocean】! With a true Demon King’s seat, she would never idle away the years hiding on the seabed like Isabelle.
When that time came, she would unify the four seas.
Just then, an ocean monster hurried in to report,
“Reporting to the Palace Master: we have confirmed that seven days ago, Isabelle was captured near the coast by a human slaving group. Afterward, she was detained at an auction house and sold as a rare slave.” freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
“Sold?”
Zhuyou lifted her beautiful eyes and asked with amused delight, “Tell me in detail—who bought my dear sister to play with? Some potbellied, greasy human nouveau riche old man? Or a decadent, lust-addicted noble wastrel?” freēwebnovel.com
“N-neither!”
“Tsk. Not either of those? Then who?” Zhuyou frowned. “Don’t tell me she got lucky and was bought by some great human philanthropist who healed her injuries and released her?”
“Th-that’s not it either,” the yellow sea-star monster stammered, shaking its head.
Zhuyou paused, then raised her brows smugly. “Then she was exposed by the human authorities, bought for bbqq dissection first, then sliced into sashimi and grilled into skewers!”
“...Also not that.” The sea star shook its head again.
“Then who is it?! If you keep dawdling, I’ll kill you with one strike!” Zhuyou finally lost her patience.
The yellow sea star flushed red, trembling as it answered,
“I-it was... the bearer of the Holy Sword!”
......
In the Elven Royal Court, inside the convalescent house.
Vieya’s consciousness slowly returned. But the moment she opened her eyes, she was lifted by the back of her collar, her feet leaving the ground.
“Who the hell—who dares be so disrespectful to me...” Vieya turned her head and met Phoenix’s blazing red eyes, freezing. “What are you doing?”
“Little one, when you saved that demon, I discovered a serious problem on you.” Phoenix frowned, her voice stern.
At the same time, several other elves in the room cast subtle glances toward Phoenix.
The atmosphere instantly turned strange.
Aislin, confused, saw that no one was joking. Before she could even catch her breath, she hurriedly stood up from the floor and asked the Elven Queen,
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong with my friend?”
“Let go of my Master...”
Isabelle pushed herself up against the wall. In her memories, these elves loved peace and disliked conflict—but they had never shown mercy toward enemies or demons.
They must be holding her accountable after the fact because she had lost control and implicated the entire Elven Royal Court.
And as her guardian, Vieya was naturally being seized.
“It’s fine.” Vieya first soothed Aislin and Isabelle, then sighed. “If you want to talk, could you let go of my clothes...? This is very impolite.”
“Tch. Since when have you ever been polite to me, an elder?” Phoenix chuckled. “Besides, I’m just here to notify you of some great news. Opportunities like this are rare—let me hold you while I talk. It shows closeness.”
Vieya remained calm. “Speak.”
“Just now, I discussed things with the four clan heads present. If you and Little Ai can perfectly resolve the matter concerning this Demon King, each clan will contribute two thousand merit points to support your candidacy.” Phoenix smiled.
“How much?” Aislin froze, her ears unconsciously perking up.
“Two thousand from each clan. Four clans makes eight thousand in total. Added to the merits you already have, that’s enough to firmly secure you a spot in the top five among all candidates.”
“And during the merit settlement two days from now, the top ten elves can enter the next round of testing.”
The Elven Queen spoke softly. “That means you won’t need to stay up late running around everywhere, taking on tasks just to accumulate merit. Aislin can directly begin preparing for the written test in a few days, the heart-assessment, and finally the martial trial.”
While Aislin was still immersed in the sudden joy, Her Majesty began discussing with the elders and clan heads present the follow-up handling of this incident, as well as how to explain matters to the wider elven populace.
Most of it involved post-incident cleanup.
Afterward.
Night gradually fell.
Vieya wanted to stay and listen to the elves’ high-level meeting, but suddenly remembered that the medicinal herbs she had gathered for her daughter had been left outside all day. She immediately lost any desire to continue listening, took her leave, and hurried off.
A short while later.
The Elven Queen glanced at the great elven elders and the heads of the four major families seated there and asked calmly,
“What do you think of that girl?”
“I think she’s quite good. It’s just that her background seems a bit problematic.”
“No opinion. As long as Her Highness is happy—everything has a first time, after all.”
“Good. Very good.”
The great elves discussed among themselves for a moment. Opinions varied, but overall they were fairly approving.
By midnight, the Elven Queen declared the meeting adjourned. The other elves rose, saluted, and departed in an orderly fashion.
The room emptied, leaving only the Elven Queen and Phoenix.
“Ah Le? If there’s nothing else, shall we head back as well? It’s not early, and after what happened today, you’ll probably have a lot of documents to review tomorrow. Get some rest early.” Phoenix suggested.
The Elven Queen looked out the window and suddenly asked,
“What do you think that mark on the child is?”
“The mark...”
Phoenix frowned, thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“I’ve never seen it before. It looks like a Hero’s imprint, but also like a Demon King’s imprint. Yet those two completely opposing powers can’t possibly exist in the same body at once... If it weren’t able to light up and circulate mana, I’d suspect that brat was just a delinquent girl who got bored and tattooed herself.”
“......”
The Elven Queen gazed at the sky outside the window—stars brilliant, the Milky Way hanging overhead.
After a long while.
She sighed softly.
“Very well. That girl bears no ill intent toward Aislin or our elven race. If she has secrets, then help her keep them.”
Phoenix smiled. “Got it.”
......
“Earth-Vein Dragon Moss, Bubble Sunflower, Dragon-Saliva Grass... and there’s Dragon Sprout Grass as well. Physician Ruoyeone, are you sure all of these medicinal ingredients can be taken together?”
Late at night, Vieya was still in the apothecary near the convalescent house, compounding medicine. Looking at the green pills, she felt a bit worried.
“And there’s no dosage limit. My daughter is only seven years old—if she eats too much, won’t something go wrong...?”
“Although humans like to say that every medicine has some toxicity, you can rest assured with what I make here.”
Exhausted after a long day, Ruoye sounded weak and drained.
“The harm is basically the same as candy. If you’re still worried, just have your daughter take one in the morning, one at noon, and one at night. And if you’re still not reassured, you can eat one on the spot—if there’s a problem, go straight to the Elven Queen to file a complaint.”
“Thank you!”
Vieya bowed deeply to Ruoye while holding the medicine jar, then ran off in high spirits.
