"Merlin, don't let your guard down! This battle isn't over yet!"

Hearing that voice, Merlin was startled.

"What do you mean, Lyserra? Is that monster still alive?" he asked anxiously.

"No, it's not that. But there's another figure watching from the shadows. It seems that figure is your true enemy!"

Merlin froze. He looked around warily, but strangely, he could not sense the presence of the figure Lyserra was referring to.

Seeing his unusual behavior, Catrine, Nysera, Margaret, and the others grew curious.

"What's wrong, Merlin?" Luna asked.

Merlin did not answer immediately. Instead, he called Lisa over, and the woman quickly appeared beside him.

"What is it, Young Master Merlin?"

Merlin patted her shoulder and said, "Lisa, the true enemy is hiding in the shadows. Can you check it out?"

Hearing this, Lisa and the girls were startled.

"The true enemy? Are you saying there's another figure hiding here?" Liora asked doubtfully.

"That's right. And I can't detect that figure at all. Lisa has reached the pinnacle of this world, so she should be able to find them," Merlin explained briefly.

Lisa took a deep breath and nodded.

"Let me check."

She closed her eyes and began scanning the hall around her. As an expert at the Ninth Awakening level, she could detect the presence of anyone within a hundred-kilometer radius.

Since the hall was relatively small, scanning it should have been easy.

But strangely, even after five minutes of searching, she still could not detect the "figure" Merlin was referring to.

"This…" She slowly opened her eyes, her expression filled with confusion. "Why can't I sense them?"

Margaret, Merlin, Luna, Catrine, Liora, Monica, and Nysera were stunned by her words.

If even someone as powerful as Lisa could not sense that person's presence, how could they possibly do so?

Almost instinctively, they all turned toward Merlin, as if searching for an answer to this dilemma.

Merlin fell silent. He had not expected even Lisa to fail to detect that person's presence.

"Wait a moment."

Merlin closed his eyes and summoned the system.

"System, tell me—where is that person?"

"[Ding! Analyzing request… Ding! Results are in! It will cost 10,000 system points to locate the target! Do you wish to proceed?]"

Seeing that, Merlin rolled his eyes. But he had no choice but to nod and reply flatly, "Proceed."

"[Ding! 10,000 system points deducted! Initiating search…]"

It took the system quite a while to complete the search. That alone proved one thing—that figure possessed extraordinary concealment abilities.

Lisa and the girls looked confused by Merlin's prolonged silence. However, none of them voiced their unease.

Finally, five minutes later, the system's voice rang out once more.

"[Ding! Target located! Master, that figure is right beneath your feet!]"

Merlin's eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, he clasped his hands together, and his body, along with Lisa and the girls, was instantly lifted into the air.

Then, Merlin raised his left hand, and a blazing fireball appeared above his palm.

He hurled the fireball toward the spot where they had been standing moments earlier.

Boom!

The explosion was so powerful that Merlin and the others, who were still suspended in the air, were blasted even higher.

Fortunately, Merlin quickly cast a wind spell, allowing everyone to regain their balance before landing safely.

"Merlin, what happened?" Luna asked worriedly.

She did not understand why Merlin had suddenly destroyed the place where they had been standing just moments ago.

The others looked just as anxious as they waited for an answer.

Merlin did not reply. He stared at the scorched area and said coldly, "Come out, coward! Or do you want me to force you out?"

A few seconds after he spoke, a laugh echoed from the direction of the ruins.

"Hehehe… how interesting… truly interesting! Who would have thought a kid at the Fourth Spirit Core level could sense my presence? I really underestimated you."

A man slowly rose from the rubble. He was handsome, tall, and did not resemble a typical monster at all.

Instead, he looked like an ordinary human.

The moment Merlin and the others saw him, they immediately grew wary and instinctively stepped back. Their weapons were raised, ready for the worst-case scenario.

However, unlike the others, Margaret looked genuinely shocked when she saw the man.

"You… the man from that painting? Van D'Sersan!? How are you here?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"What!? That man is Van D'Sersan?" Merlin blurted out in surprise.

The others were equally shocked. They had only heard stories about him from Margaret and had never seen his true appearance.

"Yes, he's that man, Merlin!" Margaret said firmly. "I'm absolutely certain because his face is exactly the same as the man in the painting."

The man gave Margaret a faint smile before nodding calmly.

"You're not mistaken. I am indeed Van D'Sersan, the owner of this ship," he admitted.

Everyone's doubts instantly vanished, replaced by even greater vigilance.

Merlin raised the two daggers in his hands and asked coldly, "So, did you come here to wipe us all out?"

Van D'Sersan chuckled softly and waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't get the wrong idea, kid. I never had any malicious intentions. If I did, I would have killed you and the others long ago."

Merlin recalled the situation from earlier and realized it made sense. Van D'Sersan had been right beneath him and the girls the entire time.

If he had wanted to, he could have killed them in the blink of an eye.

Merlin gradually calmed down, though his vigilance did not lessen in the slightest.

"Then tell me—what is your purpose?" he asked bluntly.

Van D'Sersan smiled faintly and answered honestly, "I came here simply to express my gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Liora repeated in confusion.

"That's right." Van D'Sersan nodded before explaining, "Ever since my ship became a ghost ship, I've been trapped in darkness and despair. I couldn't move my body and was completely imprisoned within that painting. And it was all because of that damned skeleton."

He glared at the giant monster's corpse that Merlin and the others had managed to defeat, his eyes filled with hatred.

"It turned me into this… and it's also the reason my crew died."

The atmosphere instantly grew cold and tense. However, it lasted only for a moment before warming again when Van D'Sersan turned toward Merlin and the others.

"And it's all thanks to you. On behalf of my deceased crew, I offer my deepest gratitude."

He placed his right hand over his chest before bowing respectfully.

The sight clearly surprised Merlin and the others. They had been expecting another fierce battle.

But it turned out that was not the case. Van D'Sersan was not as evil as they had initially thought.

Merlin fell silent for a moment before asking inwardly, "Do you think he's lying?"

Lyserra let out a short breath and replied, "I don't know. But one thing is certain—I don't sense any malicious intent from him. So his intentions are most likely sincere."

Hearing that, Merlin's wariness decreased by half.

He smiled and said, "You're welcome. We only did what we wanted to do, so there's no need for you to feel indebted."

"I can't do that. You saved me and my ship, so I have to give you something in return."

Van D'Sersan then reached into his pocket, pulled out a half-torn scroll, and tossed it toward Merlin.

"Take it. I'm not sure whether it will be useful or not, but I'm certain you'll need it someday."

Merlin caught the scroll and opened it. The moment he saw its contents, his eyes widened in surprise.

"A treasure map?" he exclaimed.

Luna, Margaret, Catrine, Nysera, and the others quickly gathered around to look at it.

"It really is a treasure map! But it's only half of it," Monica remarked disappointedly.

"Pfft! Even if it's only half, it's still incredibly valuable," Margaret said with a chuckle. "If this were put up for sale, I'm sure sailors all over the world would go crazy trying to buy it. This map is worth a fortune."

After hearing her explanation, the girls no longer underestimated it.

After all, Margaret was the daughter of the wealthiest merchant family in the world, so her words carried considerable weight.

"Thank you," Merlin said as he rolled the map back up. He looked at Van D'Sersan and continued, "I'll keep it. And…"

A faint smile appeared on his face. "I read the biography of your travels in your former office. It was truly fascinating, as though I had journeyed alongside you. And most importantly… I'm sure Jaline still misses you."

Van D'Sersan's calm expression wavered slightly. His eyes widened, and his gaze toward Merlin changed.

"You…" He was about to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he simply smiled and nodded. "You're right. That is my greatest regret. Unfortunately, everything has already happened, and I can no longer change it."

Although he tried to remain calm, Merlin could still sense the sadness hidden beneath his words.

"Regret, huh?" Merlin muttered inwardly.

After reading Van D'Sersan's biography, Merlin had sworn never to make the same mistake. He did not want regret to consume him.

"By the way, thank you, Margaret. Because of you, I'm finally free. I have a gift for you," Van D'Sersan said sincerely.

He waved his hand, and a necklace suddenly appeared in midair before falling gently into Margaret's hands.

"It's a magic necklace. Inside it are all the treasures aboard this ship. Please accept it."

Margaret was startled. She stared at the necklace in a daze, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded toward him.

"Thank you. I'll make good use of it."

Van D'Sersan smiled and gave a slight nod.

"My time is up. Goodbye, everyone."

Whoosh!

Merlin and the others' bodies suddenly shone with light before disappearing from sight.