That light was so dazzling and pure without a single blemish that the first reaction of everyone who saw that holy sword was simply the word "relic."
"That is a grace bestowed by Lord God! That is a reward granted to the brave! Let me go! Let me go!!! I am going to behold Lord God!"
Perhaps stimulated by that dazzling light, the zealous believer actually forcefully broke free from the restraints and leaped straight up from the hospital bed.
Six or seven medical operators could not hold her back, and just as the zealous believer was about to lunge toward Kal'tsit's side—
"Do you want to go out?"
Kal'tsit instead turned her head back and spoke, "Want to behold your god?"
"Yes!" the zealous believer was frantic, looking as though she would cause a huge scene if Kal'tsit did not agree.
Yet Kal'tsit turned to the side and said, "Then go."
"Eh...?"
"Keeping you here by force will only disquiet people's hearts, so let you out. If you die, it means you were wrong, and the rest of the people will feel at ease hiding here to slowly develop. If you don't die, it means we were wrong, and then you will be the final spark to carry on the human race."
Kal'tsit spoke quite bluntly, but that zealous believer did not care.
The zealous believer merely looked at the medical operators surrounding her and shouted, "She agreed to me! Hurry up and step aside! Let me out!"
With Kal'tsit's tacit approval, the medical operators no longer blocked her.
They merely watched as the zealous believer sprinted out of the medical room, left the bunker, and ran all the way in the direction where that "holy sword" had descended.
"Doctor Kal'tsit... is this really okay?"
There were still medical operators who felt uneasy about this and instinctively asked like this.
As a result, when they turned their heads to look, they found that Kal'tsit had already begun packing her luggage, looking as though she was also about to go out.
"Doctor Kal'tsit?! What are you...?"
"I am going to make a deal with that god."
Even though these words were spoken, even Kal'tsit herself wanted to laugh.
A deal?
What could she possibly use to make a deal?
But there was no other way.
The mere fact that a god existed had already pronounced the death sentence upon this land.
No matter how hard these surviving humans tried, whether this world and this planet lived or died was nothing more than a single thought from that god.
If that one was an evil god, then humanity no longer had any hope whatsoever, and could not even manage to drag out an ignoble existence.
Therefore, Kal'tsit could only make one last desperate gamble.
To personally behold that god, to pray that god was a benevolent god, and to exchange every price she herself could pay for a sliver of vitality for this world.
"If I do not return, remember to awaken the Doctor."
After leaving behind these words, Kal'tsit turned and left.
Leaving the bunker, she encountered no obstruction along the way.
The colossal soldiers that blotted out the sun followed around her surroundings, and strangely enough, they did not launch attacks, instead acting as if they were escorting her.
Consequently, the great beasts that passed by hid far, far away one by one, allowing Kal'tsit to proceed unhindered all the way.
Just like that, Kal'tsit successfully arrived at the place where that "holy sword" had descended into the world.
And Kal'tsit also spotted the zealous believer who had arrived here a step ahead of her.
Yet that zealous believer chose not to pull out the "holy sword," and did not even glance at it at all, but instead was—
(Screaming) (Twisting) (Dark crawling) (Rolling) (Fiercely wriggling) (Roaring) (Worming) (Sinister low growls)
The zealous believer looked just like she was engaging in performance art, crawling back and forth on the ground: "Lord God! Lord God, look at me! I want to evolve into a sea creature! Hurry up and let me evolve!"
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
What on earth?
015. This is a sea creature; it is cute, but to humans, it is not.
Very clearly, this zealous believer had firmly and unquestioningly believed that being assimilated into a sea creature was the correct path.
And what were sea creatures?
Though they grew in a riot of colorful shapes, the most classic style was still like a little puppy, down on all fours, crawling darkly. If their intelligence evolved a bit higher, they might even be able to speak human words and call you big brother.
So this zealous believer was studying, crawling, shouting, and attempting to attract the glance of Lord God.
And hard work paid off.
Accompanied by a swoosh, the clouds parted to reveal the sun, holy light sprinkled down from the sky, and amidst special effects like floating feathers, a divine messenger descended from the skies.
Behold, that divine messenger had white hair and red eyes, a small flower on top of its head, an off-the-shoulder and midriff-baring small shirt, hot pants, fishnet stockings, and high heels...
You divine messenger are quite fashionable, huh?
Seeing this, Kal'tsit frowned and retreated behind the believer.
Kal'tsit was far too familiar with this face of the divine messenger.
"Skadi...?"
No, that wasn't it; this wasn't Skadi.
Skadi's gaze was never this clear.
"So... this is a sea creature...?"
Yet why had the sea creatures evolved into this kind of appearance?
All evolutionary paths of sea creatures were for better survival and predation, and the human physique was definitely not the optimal solution for sea creatures.
Could this be the decree of that god?
Yet what was the meaning of this decree?
Good-looking? Pleasing to the eye? Or simply the personal preference of that god?
"Is this... really a proper god?"
Kal'tsit felt some regret.
Yet unlike Kal'tsit, when that zealous believer saw the divine messenger descend from the heavens, she was pleasantly surprised, excited, scrambling and rolling:
"Lord Divine Messenger! Lord Divine Messenger! Please turn me into a sea creature! I am willing to offer everything I have!"
Yet upon hearing this, the divine messenger wore a face full of puzzlement.
It was as if the second before, it had still been frantically stuffing its face with food, only for someone to grab it the next second and throw it here.
However, this did not prevent it from knowing the cause and effect through the Hive Cluster Mind (Sea Creature Version).
Thus, this "divine messenger" lowered its head and looked at that... zealous believer who was performing performance art.
Then, under the gaze full of anticipation from the zealous believer, the "divine messenger" finally parted its lips slightly and spoke:
"Sis, what era is this, and you're still out here crawling darkly?"
Zealous believer: "?"
Kal'tsit: "?"
"And what kind of aesthetic from what era is this anyway? It's not trendy anymore."
The "divine messenger" stretched out its hands, spread its arms, spun around gently as if in a beauty pageant, and finally reached out a hand to point at the small flower on top of its head: "This is the current mainstream aesthetic, personally approved by Lord God!"
Zealous believer: "... ..."
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
Fine, confirmed; that so-called Lord God probably really wasn't a proper god.
However...
The reason sea creatures were powerful was not only because their own combat strength was off the charts, but also because they could spawn troops limitlessly as if through mitosis,
and could even grab a human and instantly refine them, assimilating them into a sea creature to achieve a free ride.
Yet assimilation was not a good thing, because sea creatures would first erode your mind and alienate your body,
making you watch with your own eyes as your entire body grew scales and your hands turned into tentacles and rotting flesh while your sanity continually ticked down to zero.
But now you're telling me none of this is necessary, that I don't need to grow tentacles, and my sanity doesn't need to drop to zero either?
Instead, after being assimilated, you would turn into a white-haired beautiful girl? At most growing a small flower on your head?
Alright, now that the benefits have been stated, what was the price?
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
Seriously, if sea creatures had possessed this kind of realization back when they were destroying the world, the number of people running over to defect to the enemy would have definitely multiplied several times over.
Why was it only this many?
It was because this "divine messenger," though possessing a pretty exterior, exuded an uncanny vibe all over.
It was much like a monster killing a human, tearing off their human skin, slipping it over itself, and then babbling in clumsy human speech.
A fake human—that was roughly what it felt like.
Yet that zealous believer paid no mind to these things.
This zealous believer had originally thought that the price of believing in that Lord God was having to turn into those dark, twisted lumps of flesh,
and as it turned out, the price was gone now and it was all benefits?
"I'm willing! I'm one hundred percent willing, Lord Divine Messenger!"
The zealous believer eagerly wanted to become a member of the sea creatures, and upon hearing this, the "divine messenger" first raised its head and looked up at the sky.
It was as though it were communicating with its Lord God.
Finally receiving a response, the "divine messenger" lowered its head and said, "If this is what you desire—"
Finished speaking, a single thwip was heard.
The "divine messenger"'s jade-white palm pierced straight through the zealous believer's chest as casually as tearing a piece of paper.
Blood gushed forth, and fragments of flesh splattered.
The "divine messenger" withdrew its hand, looked at the still-beating heart grasped within its palm, and tilted its small head upward.
Its original cherry-sized mouth suddenly split open at the corners all the way to its ears, its lower jaw expanding several times over to reveal a mouth full of ring upon ring of razor-sharp teeth like a lamprey, swallowing the heart in its palm into its belly in a single gulp.
Clearly possessed of such exquisite beauty, its behavior remained that of an untamed beast.
Such a contrast caused Kal'tsit to furrow her brows incessantly.
Meanwhile, the zealous believer whose chest had been pierced had blood flowing from the corners of her mouth, her eyes glazed over, and she staggered forward a few steps before collapsing headfirst onto the ground.
The "divine messenger" licked the remaining blood from the corners of its mouth in deep satisfaction, and then unexpectedly reached back and pulled out its own heart, mashing it to pieces.
Walking over to the fallen zealous believer, the "divine messenger" crouched down, pried open the zealous believer's lower jaw, and shoved all the minced meat from its hand straight down her esophagus.
Deep Sea Hunters, bloodlines intertwined—this phrase was crystallized into reality at this very moment.
Drinking her blood and devouring her flesh, the zealous believer whose bloodline had been infused with physical force by the "divine messenger" saw the pierced hole in her chest repaired and filled as granulation tissue wriggled, swayed, and grew at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Thump, thump, thump.
The beating sound of a heart manifested once again, and the zealous believer's skin began to lose its color, her hair turning snow-white, and her body beginning to be remolded.
Until a small flower grew atop her head, the zealous believer who had already breathed her last opened her eyes once more, her scarlet pupils gazing toward the sky.
Thus, the second "Skadi" was born.
The blood at the corners of her mouth not yet dry, the zealous believer who had already been assimilated into a sea creature parted her lips slightly and uttered her... no, its first words:
"Food, hungry."
Before you continue