Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 401: Turbulent Seas (8)

"Mother Queen..." Athena looked toward the rapidly approaching figure and spoke up.

At this moment, the immense silhouette of the queen had already appeared before them. The sea churned violently with every step she took, like a massive whirlpool drawing near.

Athena raised her voice. "Mother Queen, you still recognize me, don’t you?!"

The eyes behind the queen’s mask showed no light. No one could see what lay within them.

"Athena... you’ve grown..." the queen’s voice stretched out, solemn and majestic, as if this were their very first meeting.

Right after that, she lifted her hand. A massive trident appeared silently in her grasp.

The trident was even taller than she was. Its prongs lifted toward the heavens as energy gathered from all directions. Even though they were at the bottom of the sea, the group felt as if a fierce wind was sweeping toward them.

In the next instant, they saw the queen grip the trident with both hands and drive it straight into the ocean floor!

A shockwave burst outward. The water nearly blasted them away at an inconceivable speed, followed by a thunderous sound that sent tremors rippling through the entire sea!

"Boom!"

Next came the continuous roar of collapsing structures.

Nana and Athena felt something catch them. Before they could react, they were already seated on Caesar’s back.

Caesar shot forward like a streak of lightning, swiftly carrying them away from the collapsing structures of the Aqualon royal palace.

Fortunately, Athena had cast an illusion barrier around the Aqualon palace earlier.

So to the other Merfolk, it was nothing more than rough waters. In their eyes, the Aqualon royal palace still stood tall, never once collapsing.

Caesar landed on the barrier, hovering in midair.

Its eyes remained tightly shut.

It opened its jaws and let out a thunderous roar. The others looked toward the queen with heavy expressions. The trident in her hands still shone with the strange light of that endless, overwhelming energy.

For now, even figuring out how to bring the queen to the tower was a major problem.

Nicole looked at Nana and said in a low voice, "Be careful. I don’t want you risking your life."

With that, she turned to Athena, her tone cold and decisive. "Go. Carry out your plan."

Athena smiled. "My only plan is to save you."

And after that, Nicole was the one who handled everything else.

Nicole looked at the excited smile on Athena’s lips, having nothing left to say.

After ordering Caesar to protect the two of them, she leapt off Caesar’s head, her small body diving straight forward.

At that moment, the queen had also turned toward them. With a flick of her hand, a powerful surge of energy shot toward Nicole with lightning-like speed.

Nicole continued advancing. She didn’t even need to move; a magic circle formed on its own in front of her, blocking the queen’s attack.

The overwhelming energy from the trident slammed into Nicole’s shield, instantly triggering a violent shockwave that made the surrounding waters roil and heat up. The entire scene trembled again and again, and the ocean floor let out a deep, echoing lament.

Light burst outward, almost blocking everyone’s vision. When the brilliance caused by the collision of their powers finally faded, the scene before them revealed itself.

The queen hovered over the ruins of the Aqualon royal palace. What was once a symbol of splendor and eternity—its gold and jewels—had all been crushed.

The water moved like wind, swirling endlessly around the queen as its center. The shimmer weave covering her body rippled and flowed, nearly filling their entire field of vision, creating a dreamlike beauty amid the destruction at the bottom of the sea.

Above Nicole, behind her, a massive magic circle had taken shape in the air—its diameter nearly matching the queen’s size, radiating a blazing golden light.

Nana, her hands gripping Caesar’s fur, couldn’t help but stare in astonishment.

It was the largest magic circle she had ever seen...

The descendants of the Aurellan family, born with powerful light abilities—their defining trait was the use of magic circles for countless purposes without ever needing to study them. Complex runes of light bent to their thoughts, and they could control them freely.

But the queen did not stop after her previous attack. She didn’t even move her massive body. She simply lifted the trident in her hands, and energy gathered immediately. This time, it began condensing into a gigantic sphere of power.

The water twisted together, forming a powerful vortex—then shot straight toward Nicole!

The energy sphere was large enough to swallow five Nicoles at once, yet Nicole did not move an inch.

"Elder Nicole!" Nana shouted. She felt Nicole had gone mad and almost instinctively tried to leap forward.

"Whoosh!"

But in the next moment, light burst forth violently, nearly drowning all of them in its brilliance. In an instant, a massive figure emerged behind Nicole.

A towering, radiant silhouette—larger than the queen herself—formed from pure light. Her long hair streamed wildly, with runes flowing down each strand. She wore silver armor, and ribbons of light drifted around her in a hazy glow.

From her hands, magic circles bloomed from her palms. Smaller circles wrapped around her arms.

Veils woven from light billowed through the seawater. Her face shimmered indistinctly within the glow, but the crown on her head shone sharply, like a crown of radiant thorns. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She raised her enormous hands and seized the blazing energy sphere barehanded, crushing it, tearing it apart, creating a violent explosion of energy—like a blooming fire flower erupting in the depths of the sea.

The shockwave blasted outward, forcing Nana and Athena to shut their eyes and press themselves flat against Caesar, clinging tightly so they wouldn’t be swept away by the raging storm on the ocean floor.

They struggled to open their eyes, staring at the two colossal beings clashing within the fury of the waters.

In the Aurellan family’s records, Nana had seen that crown before, and its owner was known as Aurellan’s Blade.

Nicole could summon her... just how much flux did that require? The bloodline of the Aurellan family alone shouldn’t be enough for this!

As the name suggested, with this technique, Aurellan’s Blade would manifest, borrowing the summoner’s flux while wielding her own full power. The flux only determined how long Aurellan’s Blade could remain in this realm.

How long... could Nicole maintain this?

The answer would only come later. Because right now, the two immense forces hurled themselves at each other without hesitation. Before another explosion of energy could consume them, Caesar urgently carried Athena and Nana away, fleeing toward The Aetherium Tower.