Ch. 561"Words of the Stars"

Lumian questioned Lato Giaro about the Children of the Sea, the Sea-Praying Ritual, and the Death Navigators, then freed Norfie and Batna. Norfie revealed that she intended to destroy a palace beneath the sea, which she believed was the source of the sea’s influence.

  • Lato Giaro described the powers and roles of the Children of the Sea, including their ability to navigate special waters and their belief that Death Navigators were former Governors of the Sea.
  • Lumian made Lato release Norfie and Batna, then left without killing him so Juan Oro would hear about Lumian’s powerful allies.
  • Norfie and Batna joined Lumian outside, and Norfie explained that Sea Maidens and Children of the Sea eventually became lizardlike humanoid monsters.
  • Lumian questioned Norfie’s plan to stop the Sea-Praying Ritual, and she said she could destroy a palace beneath the sea that her mother had seen.

Ch. 562A change of plans

Lumian changed his approach after learning about Norfie’s plans and negotiated with Juan Oro instead of trying to disrupt the Sea-Praying Ritual. He offered cooperation in exchange for the Fishing Guild releasing innocent people, including the fake Governor of the Sea.

  • Norfie told Lumian that she planned to hide until the Sea-Praying Ritual ended so she could receive a bestowal and grow stronger, despite the risk of transforming faster.
  • Lumian asked Norfie and Batna to do something for him, then returned to the Solo Hotel and discussed changing plans with the Knight of Swords.
  • Juan Oro warned Lumian that the sea’s kin could rebuild their village and retaliate, then asked what Lumian and his allies wanted.
  • Lumian said he had never intended to disrupt the Sea-Praying Ritual and proposed cooperation if Juan Oro released innocent captives, including the fake Governor of the Sea.

Ch. 563Try Again

Lumian agreed to cooperate with Juan Oro and learned that none of the Paco Family’s Children of the Sea had gone missing, deepening his suspicions about the family’s secrets. In Milo Village, Charnem questioned the surviving sailors about last year’s failed Sea-Praying Ritual and successfully summoned the spirit of Iru, whose apparition bore signs of violence and hatred.

  • Juan Oro accepted Lumian’s cooperation terms, and they agreed that Juan would gather the surviving sailors from last year’s ritual at his home.
  • Juan told Lumian that all the Paco Family’s Children of the Sea had appeared recently, and he shared his own suspicions about why the family had hired an outsider to handle the humanoid lizard.
  • The following night, Charnem arrived at the Oro family home and began questioning the unconscious sailors in Juan’s presence.
  • The sailors confirmed that Iru and Sara had carried the sacrificial lambs and died when the ritual failed, while Juan said earlier attempts to summon their spirits had failed.
  • Charnem performed a Summoning Ritual using Iru’s tooth, and Iru’s spirit appeared with a wound on his forehead and pain and hatred in his eyes.

Ch. 564Their respective roles

Charnem and Juan Oro uncovered how a fake Yilu infiltrated last year’s Sea-Praying Ritual, while Franca and Lumian identified Wandering Poet as the likely impersonator and began investigating the other conspirators. Lumian concluded that uncovering Ultraman’s role could reveal April Fool’s Day’s true objective.

  • Charnem summoned Yilu’s spirit and inferred that the real Yilu had been kidnapped and later shot, while an impostor took his place aboard the ceremonial ship.
  • Juan Oro confirmed that Yilu’s family was easy to impersonate and told Charnem that Milo Village’s ancestral records were mostly lost, though some undecipherable remnants remained in the Governor of the Sea’s residence.
  • Charnem deduced that the saboteurs had chosen Yilu because he was easy to impersonate, and Juan Oro agreed to let Miguel go free after this year’s ritual succeeded.
  • Franca told Lumian that Wandering Poet was likely the fake Yilu, responsible for stealing and replacing the Ritual Ring before faking his death by jumping into the sea.
  • Franca speculated that Madwoman had extracted Wandering Poet and that Ultraman had helped plan the prank, while Lumian suspected Ultraman was a local who initiated it.
  • Lumian concluded that discovering Ultraman’s other role in the prank could expose April Fool’s Day’s true objective.

Ch. 565A possible breakthrough

Lumian reviewed the Sea-Praying Ritual and found a possible breakthrough in understanding its true nature, but the meaning of the language spoken by Lato Giaro remained unclear. He then bombed the Fishing Guild’s tower, leaving the city abuzz with the news.

  • Franca agreed to investigate other Witches in Trier for Tamara Family members, while Lumian warned her to be careful under the Black Witch’s nose.
  • Lumian discovered that Ludwig could learn knowledge by eating creatures, but Ludwig could not yet translate Lato Giaro’s unknown language.
  • Termiboros confirmed that the phrase did not mean “marry the sea as proof of conquest” but refused to explain its true meaning, so Lumian wrote to Madam Magician asking for help.
  • Lumian visited the Fishing Guild’s tower and planted delayed-explosion fireballs while Lato Giaro waited outside.
  • The fireballs detonated, engulfing the tower and sending Lato flying, and word spread that the Fishing Guild had been bombed.

Ch. 566Converging clues

Lumian investigated the failed Sea-Praying Ritual and learned from Noelia that ancient traces in the Governor of the Sea’s residence might reveal why the Church tolerates it. After Madam Magician analyzed the ritual passage, a message delivered to Lugano added that the sea had mutated after last year’s ritual.

  • Noelia confronted Lumian over the Fishing Guild explosion, then warned him to preserve order in Santa Port as he shared what he had learned about the Sea-Praying Ritual.
  • Noelia told Lumian that ancient traces in the basement of the Governor of the Sea’s residence in Milo Village could reveal important information.
  • Madam Magician wrote that the ritual passage lacked the qualities of a sacrificial language and likely activated the Ritual Ring, asking Lumian to reproduce the ring’s state for further analysis.
  • A stranger slipped Lugano a note, and Lumian read that the sea had mutated after last year’s ritual.

Ch. 567The possible informant

Lumian investigated the sea’s mutation and the failed Sea-Praying Ritual, then learned from Juan Oro that an insider likely helped sabotage it. After obtaining drawings of the Sea Queen’s Ring and ancestral symbols, Lumian prepared to infiltrate the Governor of the Sea’s residence.

  • Lumian suspected the sea’s mutation had weakened the Paco Family and considered Ruvio Paco a possible collaborator of Norfie.
  • Lumian offered Lugano his remaining pay and a teleportation back to Trier, but Lugano refused to leave because he wanted to look after Ludwig.
  • Lumian told Juan Oro he planned to enter the Governor of the Sea’s residence and asked him to recall the Sea Queen’s Ring’s design.
  • Lumian explained how April Fool’s Day may have sabotaged the Sea-Praying Ritual, leading Juan Oro to conclude that a surviving Child of the Sea had betrayed the ritual.
  • Juan Oro drew the Sea Queen’s Ring and the ancestral symbols for Lumian, and warned him that the Sea Kin could counter his abilities.
  • Lumian appeared near the church-like building beneath the crimson moonlight.

Ch. 568The "Ancestors'" Designs

Lumian infiltrated the Governor of the Sea’s residence to investigate the ring-making ritual and the village’s ancestral altar. After discovering two mysterious designs through the “Lie” ear clip, he escaped and sent his findings to Madam Magician for examination.

  • Lumian used a dockside explosion to distract the sea kin, then entered the room where the ring-making ritual’s patterns were inscribed.
  • He trapped the responding sea kin in a Fictional Bottle, escaped through its opening, and used Spirit World Traversal to reach the basement.
  • Lumian found a ruined ancestral altar and tested several objects on it, but only the “Lie” ear clip revealed hidden markings.
  • The altar displayed two designs: a series of doors and a twelve-part disk with one hand, and Lumian sensed something attach itself to the ear clip.
  • Lumian teleported away as the sea kin approached, then wrote to Madam Magician and sent her his observations and a copy of the ritual patterns.

Ch. 569Deciphering the language

After deciphering the Sea-Praying Ritual, Lumian concluded that it was designed to steal power from a sealed underwater palace and began considering April Fool’s Day’s plans. More than a week later, the ritual’s day arrived, and Lumian heard music in the street as he went to the window.

  • Madam Magician explained that the ritual’s words activated a ring and that its symbols came from the Amon and Abraham families.
  • Lumian connected the ritual to an Abraham ancestor’s seal and Amon’s design, then realized its true purpose was to extract power from the sealed palace each year.
  • Lumian inferred that the Church of the Earth Mother had tolerated the ritual to manage the waters and had encouraged his investigation to draw out potential saboteurs.
  • Lumian concluded that April Fool’s Day intended to weaken the seal further and wondered how its members would claim the palace’s benefits without facing its dangers.
  • More than a week later, on the day of the Sea-Praying Ritual, Lumian heard street musicians after breakfast and walked toward the window.

Ch. 570Festival

Lumian joined the Sea-Praying Ritual by disguising himself as a subdeacon, while Juan Oro secretly joined him to guard against sabotage. After the Sea Queen's Ring was completed, the ritual moved into its next segment, and Lumian sensed something as he watched the ancestor rites begin.

  • Lumian left Lugano to care for Ludwig and went to the harbor to watch the Sea-Praying Ritual festivities before slipping into Milo Village.
  • Juan Oro showed Lumian two unconscious subdeacons, and Lumian used the Lie ear clip to take one man's appearance while Juan disguised himself as the other.
  • Juan Oro arranged for his wife to guard the unconscious men and explained that he would pose as Jorge while Lumian posed as Brian.
  • Lumian and Juan Oro entered the Governor of the Sea's residence, where Juan told the false Governor, Miguel, to leave Santa Port with his wealth once the ritual succeeded.
  • At midnight, a subdeacon retrieved the completed Sea Queen's Ring and carried it toward the basement; as the ancestor segment began, Lumian sensed something stir in his mind.

Ch. 571The crucial detail

Lumian deduced that last year’s Sea Queen’s Ring ritual had been sabotaged by Madwoman, who left the ring’s final ritual stage incomplete, though he still could not identify Ultraman or predict April Fool’s Day’s plan. Meanwhile, Charnem prepared to sail ahead of the Governor of the Sea’s ship with Norfie and Batna, using a strange power to make the crew follow them.

  • Lumian realized the Sea Queen’s Ring could gain its power-stealing ability only after being placed on the basement’s stone platform, and concluded last year’s rings had been fakes that lacked this crucial step.
  • Lumian deduced that Madwoman had posed as a Subdeacon and brought the incomplete ring aboard the Ceremonial Ship, while Wandering Poet had acted as a distraction.
  • Juan Oro told Lumian that last year’s Subdeacons had all died and that none of them had known the Ring-Making Ritual’s secrets, leaving Lumian unable to identify Ultraman.
  • Charnem asked Norfie whether their ship could reach the special stretch of sea, then announced they would sail ahead of the Governor of the Sea’s ship and wait there.
  • Batna agreed to join Charnem and Norfie, and Charnem used a strange gesture to make the ship’s captain and crew sleepwalk toward the pier.

Ch. 572The true target

Lumian joined the Sea-Sacrifice aboard the ceremonial ship, while Loki stayed behind in Santa Port and revealed his plan to target Ludwig. At the sacrifice site, Lumian recognized a nun as the source of the madness and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun’s lost humanoid Sealed Artifact.

  • Norfie and Batna watched corpses crew a ship as Charnem ordered Norfie to work as navigator.
  • Lumian retrieved the Sea Queen's Ring with Juan Oro, then joined Governor Simon and the others aboard the ceremonial ship.
  • Juan Oro guided the ship through fog and towering waves to a gray, distant sea where the sacrifice began.
  • Giorgia told Lugano that the humanoid lizard was her husband, Ruvio Paco, and then restrained Lugano as Loki watched from across the corridor.
  • Ruvio Paco revealed that he had abandoned his plan to trap Lumian and now intended to use Ludwig as the subject of his ritual.
  • A woman in a black nun's habit emerged during the sacrifice, and Lumian recognized her as the source of the madness and the lost humanoid Sealed Artifact.

Ch. 573"Wandering Poet"

Wandering Poet revealed how he sabotaged the Sea-Praying Ritual, and the ritual failed as the sea erupted around the ceremonial ship. As Juan Oro held back the waves, Jenna and Anthony watched Lugano struggle against Giorgia and suspected her behavior was not intimacy.

  • Lumian saw a nun in black whose gaze made her disappear from his view and seemed unimportant to him.
  • Juan Oro gave Sea Queen's Ring to Simon and urged him to wed the sea, but the ritual triggered a violent eruption of waves.
  • Juan Oro joined himself to the sea and stopped the towering waves from crashing down on the Colorful Flower Ceremonial Ship.
  • Wandering Poet revealed that, disguised as Miguel, he had entered the basement and removed the altar's accumulated stealing power, ensuring the Sea-Praying Ritual would fail.
  • Giorgia restrained Lugano outside the hotel suite and kissed him while Jenna watched through a mirror.
  • Anthony told Jenna that Lugano and Giorgia's movements and expressions did not look like intimacy.

Ch. 574Heavy

Jenna and Anthony realized Loki was controlling Lugano and tried to work out how to find the Marionettist without alerting him. Aboard the Colorful Flower Ceremonial Ship, Lumian used the Lie ear clip in an attempt to contain the crisis, but a heavy Sealed Artifact appeared and dragged the ship toward the seabed; earlier, Charnem had persuaded Norfie to drink a truth-telling potion.

  • Jenna recognized that Lugano's sluggish resistance matched a Marionettist's control and warned Anthony that Loki was likely nearby.
  • Anthony told Jenna that Loki would need several minutes to turn Lugano into a puppet, and they decided to search for Loki while keeping their presence hidden.
  • Lumian sensed the sealed entity's destructive power and considered stealing and distributing it to those with sea blood to complete the Sea-Sacrifice Segment.
  • Lumian used the Lie ear clip to draw in starlight, but a sorrowful woman in a black Nun's Habit appeared, and her immense weight pulled the ship and its passengers toward the seabed.
  • Four hours earlier, Charnem instigated Norfie into drinking a truth-telling potion so he could learn whether she had secret collaborators.

Ch. 575"The handover"

Norfie revealed that a man posing as Juan Oro recruited her to destroy the underwater palace during the Sea-Praying Ritual, prompting Franca to suspect Lato Giaro and Simon Giaro were connected to April Fool’s Day. The chapter ended by showing Simon and Miguel exchanging knowing smiles during the Governor of the Sea handover.

  • Norfie told Batna and Charnem that Juan Oro had secretly collaborated with her, but Charnem suspected the man she met was an impostor.
  • Norfie explained that the impostor promised to help her enter the Land of Sea Sacrifice and activate the palace’s self-destruct sequence with a passage her mother taught her.
  • Franca suspected Lato Giaro had deliberately captured Norfie to control and protect her, and considered that he might be a member of April Fool’s Day.
  • Franca recalled that Simon Giaro belonged to the Giaro Family and wondered whether he was Lato Giaro in disguise.
  • During the handover ceremony, Miguel passed the Governor of the Sea role to Simon, and both men exchanged faint smiles as they departed in opposite directions.

Ch. 576"Palace"

Lato Giaro tried to use the Sea-Praying Ritual to claim the spaceship hidden beneath the sea, but the humanoid Sealed Artifact and Hella’s intervention disrupted his plan. As Lumian confronted him aboard the ceremonial ship, Lato Giaro froze the surrounding waters and prepared to fight as the temporary Governor of the Sea.

  • The humanoid Sealed Artifact drew people and sea power toward itself, while Lato Giaro recognized the silver-gray spaceship beneath the sea as his true prize.
  • Juan Oro merged with the waters, became the temporary Governor of the Sea, and pulled the humanoid Sealed Artifact into the Void Starry Sky.
  • Lato Giaro recited a Password Command, but the spaceship did not respond because he had been trapped in a dream; Lumian, transformed into Brian, approached him.
  • Hella appeared aboard an outdated sailing ship, while a flashback showed her preparing a ritual to conceal the ship and Franca planning to warn Lumian about Lato Giaro.
  • Lato Giaro froze the azure seawater and declared through his actions that he would become the god of those waters for a while.

Ch. 577The same approach

Lato Giaro fought Hella and Lumian aboard the ceremonial ship, using his sea authority to banish Lumian into the Void Starry Sky and attack Hella’s vessel. Meanwhile, Jenna and Anthony tried to expose Loki at the Solo Hotel by blowing up nearby rooms and summoned help from Lady Magician’s messenger.

  • Lato Giaro used Ancient Hermetic to weaken Hella’s dream ability, then engulfed her in Holy Light.
  • Lato Giaro banished Lumian into the Void Starry Sky before Lumian could attack him at close range.
  • Juan Oro’s control over the sea weakened as Lato Giaro usurped the Governor’s authority, and Lato Giaro directed the humanoid Sealed Artifact to attack Hella’s ship.
  • Lato Giaro vomited a human-shaped lump of flesh and ordered Madwoman to open a passage into the spaceship; Lumian vomited a similar lump while trapped in the Void Starry Sky.
  • Jenna proposed detonating explosives in empty rooms around Lugano to expose Loki, and Anthony agreed to contact the Major Arcana for help.
  • Anthony summoned Lady Magician’s messenger and reported Loki’s appearance before hiding as Jenna’s explosives erupted on the Solo Hotel’s fifth floor.

Ch. 578Marionettes

Loki abducted Ludwig amid the destruction of the Solo Hotel, while Jenna and Anthony failed to stop his escape. Elsewhere, Lumian brought Mr. K into Lato Giaro’s Void Starry Sky as part of a plan to trap April Fool’s Day, and they prepared to leave the fragile realm.

  • Jenna’s explosives collapsed parts of the Solo Hotel, freeing Lugano from Loki’s influence but badly injuring him and Giorgia.
  • Jenna and Anthony confronted Loki, but his marionette Marta trapped them in a Void Starry Sky and shoved them through the hole to the fourth floor.
  • Jenna returned to the fifth floor and discovered Loki, Marta, and Ludwig had vanished.
  • Loki carried the sleeping Ludwig through the celebration on Aquinas Street, intending to use his marionettes to lure enemies into a staged confrontation and advance to Sequence 4.
  • Aboard the Colorful Flower Ceremonial Ship, Lumian revealed that Mr. K had hidden inside his body and smuggled aboard to help counter April Fool’s Day.
  • Mr. K found a way out of Lato Giaro’s Void Starry Sky, and Lumian took out the Torture gloves before following him.

Ch. 579Energy passage

Lato Giaro seized control of the sea from Juan Oro while Madwoman opened an energy passage to the spaceship. Lumian Lee and Mr. K appeared to confront Madwoman, as Wandering Poet heard someone approaching his room in Santa Port.

  • The chanting from the darkness calmed the humanoid Sealed Artifact and freed Juan Oro from its pressure, but Lato Giaro revealed himself as the new Governor of the Sea and suppressed Juan's powers.
  • Juan Oro wounded himself to challenge Lato's authority, but Lato used spaceship commands to reclaim control of the sea.
  • Madwoman activated the silver-gray behemoth and opened an energy passage, preparing to use her silver ring to disperse the power released from the seal.
  • Madwoman sensed danger and evaded a shadow attack, then saw Mr. K and Lumian Lee on the deck.
  • Wandering Poet waited in the Governor of the Sea's residence, then heard faint footsteps in the corridor outside.

Ch. 580Theft

Lumian stole the silver-gray behemoth’s Rage of the Sea and distributed its power among those nearby, disrupting the struggle for the Governor of the Sea’s authority. As Lato Giaro prepared to attack Lumian, enormous blue-green vines descended around both ships.

  • The Madwoman evaded Lumian and Mr. K while waiting to escape the behemoth’s coming surge of power.
  • Lumian used the Lie ear clip to steal the Rage of the Sea and scatter its gifts among those nearby and the Sea-Blooded of Santa Port.
  • Lato Giaro regained much of his strength, while Juan Oro transformed into a humanoid lizard and merged into the waters, weakening Lato Giaro’s bond with the sea.
  • Lumian realized the sea’s gift gave him a temporary, angel-level false status that could contest the Governor of the Sea’s authority.
  • Blue-green vines descended from the sky and formed a forest around both ships and the surrounding waters.
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Page 29 of 59