Sea of Chaos

The sound of the crashing Tide echoed clearly, and a damp sensation pattered against my feet, again and again.

Luther opened his eyes and found himself standing before a strange Sea.

What came into view was a vast, boundless sea, its waters dark and viscous, seemingly encompassing all colors and possibilities. Yet, the seawater also appeared incredibly ethereal, as if it did not exist in the Real World at all.

Mysterious, chaotic, lofty, profound.

The horizon of the sea, and the space above where Luther stood, were shrouded in a hazy white Fog, making them impossible to see. All he could see was this chaotic and illusory Sea.

This sea, and the sound of the Tide...

The sound of the Tide felt incredibly familiar to Luther. He immediately recalled that it was this Tide sound that had shielded him from the evil god's corruption and Mental Shock on numerous occasions.

Is this its true form?

Isn't it beautiful?

Someone whispered from the side.

"Who!"

Luther suddenly turned around.

On the surreal, chaotic beach, a woman stands barefoot, gazing intently at everything. The wind blows through her long, blood-red hair, outlining her graceful figure beneath her white robe —Ms. M.

It's you again!

Luther cursed angrily, and the moment he recognized Ms. M, he lunged at her.

"Whoosh!"

Ms. M was knocked down by him and fell into the shallow seawater. He pressed down on her, reached into his pocket, and naturally found his usual Ritual silver dagger.

"You bastard!"

Luther roared, raising his silver dagger high, and the wolf plunged it viciously into her chest, once, twice!

The illusory seawater soaked Ms. M's White Robe, which clung to her body, revealing her slender waist and full curves. Her long red hair floated on the water, spreading out like blooming flowers. Blood seeped into the seawater, mixing with her red hair, making it difficult to distinguish.

Luther raised his dagger and then brought it down, blood staining the water around him and Ms. M. This added a striking crimson hue to the otherwise monotonous, illusory sea.

Ms. M did not struggle, but instead looked at Luther with a gentle smile.

"... Why don't you just die?"

After stabbing her countless times, Luther finally got tired. He stopped, stared into Ms. M's eyes, and asked coldly.

His face was reflected in Ms. M's golden eyes.

"It's really beautiful here, isn't it?" She didn't answer Luther, but smiled and said, "You know, I almost gave my all to get here."

"So your real purpose was to come here?" Luther laughed. "This is the task your master gave you? What a foolish task."

Only then did he finally understand the true intention behind Ms. M.

Ms. M slowly shook her head.

"It has nothing to do with the True Creator."

She said this with a hint of pleasure in her voice.

Luther was taken aback.

True Creator?

She actually called out the name of her deity instead of calling him "Lord"?

Luther had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

In Enmat Harbor, Ms. M was a fervent believer, willing to give everything for the Lord. But when she was met in Tingen, she became less fanatical. She seemed more concerned with herself than with God, and even changed out of her White Robe and into various women's clothing.

Are you surprised?

He heard Ms. M laugh, "I'm no longer a believer of his, all thanks to you... I should thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Right."

Ms. M touched her chest. The wound from Luther's stab had healed, but the torn White Robe couldn't be restored, revealing large patches of her smooth, white skin. "Remember? You stabbed me in the warehouse in Enmat Harbor."

"I truly regret not being able to kill you back then."

Luther said. At that time, he used Grade 1 Sealed Artifact to pierce through Ms. M's earth, pinning her to a bomb made of a large mass of Flesh, and detonating it at close range. Unfortunately, the explosion failed to kill Ms. M, and instead, she has haunted him ever since.

"When you pierced me with that cane, you mixed a trace of this place's aura into the cane."

Ms. M seemed not to hear Luther's malicious words, and continued speaking. The "here" she referred to was naturally the Sea where the two of them were currently located.

"Here?"

Luther is the first witness.

Back then, in order to resist the Corrosion of the True Creator, the sound of Tide echoed in his mind... Could it be that this aura, along with the cane he used, also entered Ms. M's body?

"What a magnificent power..."

Ms. M murmured, her golden eyes shimmering with a mesmerizing haze, like nitrogen shimmering with beautiful mist, "It actually allowed me to break free from the control of the True Creator... After so many years, I have regained my clear Consciousness."

Her words left Luther utterly confused.

In other words, Ms. M, upon arriving in Tingen, no longer believed in True Creator. Were her actions entirely for her own benefit?

That's why she craved Luther's body:

That's why she didn't go to the Aurora Order to treat her injuries.

Therefore, she resorted to numerous tricks until she possessed Luther's body and arrived in this space...

Is this place so alluring that it's worth going to such lengths, even sacrificing your own body?

Luther couldn't understand.

"Certainly."

Ms. M smiled and said, "It turns out that my efforts were worthwhile. This sea holds the opportunity to become a top Sequence, or even above the top."

Her smile gradually widened, widened, until it became radiant and fervent.

"My guess was absolutely right, this is the place [they] said should not be mentioned!"

Ms. M murmured to herself, savoring the touch of the seawater, overjoyed.

Luther gleaned some information from her words.

It seems like this is some kind of extraordinary place.

My cheat system seems to be incredibly powerful... but so far, aside from resisting the Corrosion of the evil god, it doesn't seem to have any other use... Could it be that my Sequence is too low to mobilize the powers here?

He used his existing knowledge of occultism to deduce and came to a rough guess.

"Luther Rondal."

In that moment of distraction, Ms. M stopped muttering. She looked at Luther, her eyes filled with Greed.

Please give me everything you have.

"Whoosh!"

From the blood-soaked sea, several Distortion humanoid Monster suddenly emerged. Luther could vaguely recognize their faces; they were the six people who had given their lives, bodies, and souls to Ms. M!

"Aaaaaah!"

The Monster roared and pounced on Luther, pinning his body down and devouring his Flesh.

Passing the Monster, Luther saw Ms. M slowly rising from the water.

She gazed at Luther, a beautiful smile spreading across her lovely face.