TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 97

Ocean’s words had barely fallen when he raised his hand. Runes materialized out of thin air, forming a vortex-like magic circle that spun around him.

Albin stepped back a few paces, trying to stop him—but Ocean had already adapted to his chain-based attacks.

A sharp pain shot through Albin’s head. He staggered backward, attempting to escape Ocean’s casting range, but Ocean kept closing in step by step.

“I forgot to give you a new holy mark—but it can wait,” Ocean said. “I’ll make you my child, my Holy Son. Everything the Sun God can give you, I can give you too. I’ll teach you to swim, play with you, take you out shopping, even let you keep a whole group of sea demons.”

Albin shook his head repeatedly.

He didn’t want to lose his memory… He had just learned the magic to remove holy marks and hadn’t told anyone yet.

He didn’t know what he would become after being turned into the Sea God’s Holy Son, but he didn’t want to stay ignorant beside the man who had hurt his mother—or be manipulated into hating sea demons.

“I don’t want this!” Albin forced through the pain in his head and shouted back, “You’re a bad person! You bully me, and you hurt my mother—I will never be your child!”

His vision swayed as he clutched his head, barely able to stand.

Ocean caught him. “As expected—”

He didn’t finish.

His expression suddenly changed, and he shoved Albin away.

Blood spilled from his mouth as he stared in disbelief at the divine spear piercing his body.

The radiant weapon—encrusted with jewels, carved with powerful runes—was unmistakably familiar. It even contained part of his own power.

“Sageir’s Spear…”

The God-Slaying Spear forged from the power of all the gods—once used to pierce the Love God.

Why was it in Albin’s hands?!

But Ocean had no time to investigate. He could clearly feel his godhood cracking like shattered crystal, forming fine fractures that spread rapidly.

Divine power leaked uncontrollably from him, like liquid spilling from a broken vessel.

Even his soul trembled, as if invisible blades were slicing through it. He had not felt pain like this for a thousand years.

For mortals and monsters, the God-Slaying Spear was merely a powerful divine weapon—but for gods, it was lethal.

He coughed blood and tried to pull the spear out, but each time his fingers touched its shaft, a violent electrical surge repelled him.

The electricity tore through his nerves, causing his muscles to spasm. His eyes reddened further, his expression growing increasingly feral.

“Brat!!” Ocean roared through gritted teeth, glaring at Albin with bloodshot eyes.

But at this rate, he would soon be destroyed completely.

Fortunately, he was only possessing the priest’s body—not his true form.

Ocean was forced to abandon the vessel and retreat back to his true body.

Somewhere in the deep sea, a massive pirate ship lay motionless on the ocean floor, rotting under centuries of saltwater. Coral and seaweed covered its broken hull, giving it a sinister, abandoned aura.

In a room beneath the deck where no fish had ever entered, a man suddenly opened his eyes.

The calm sea above him erupted into chaos—towering waves surged across the surface, while undercurrents roiled like a volcanic eruption.

Rising from his true body, Ocean wiped his face and sat up. He stepped out of the cabin and faced the raging sea, then suddenly covered his face and laughed softly.

Pain, death, danger, thrill, a racing heartbeat, the relief of surviving disaster—all those familiar sensations he hadn’t felt in centuries returned.

The feeling of confronting storms and waves, of laughing in the middle of a storm while grappling with the sea itself—it was back.

His stiff body felt an indescribable exhilaration, like a fish revived from near death.

His soft laughter turned into outright roaring laughter. Ocean’s eyes gleamed with dangerous delight.

“As expected of the child I chose… this is exactly how it should be!”

He had long grown used to love, hate, killing, plundering, and revenge—eternal rhythms aboard a pirate ship. He was not angry at Albin’s actions, nor did he regret what he had done to the Love God.

A pirate who regrets is no pirate at all.

All he wanted now was one thing: to conquer that troublesome little crab, just as he once conquered the sea.

He kicked off, surging through the ocean like a sea demon, heading straight for his underwater palace.

—

Inside the palace, the priest’s soul had already been obliterated, leaving only an empty shell collapsed on the ground.

Albin retracted the God-Slaying Spear and staggered toward the exit. He knew he couldn’t stay—he had to escape to a place where he could be found.

But his condition was far from good. The pain in his head had lessened, but his consciousness was growing increasingly blurry.

He forced his way out of the underwater palace and used the last of his clarity to cast a spell, letting the currents lift him toward the surface.

In his fading awareness, he vaguely heard a beautiful song, as if someone were calling him.

“Albin!”

His blurred vision couldn’t make out who it was—only something like octopus-like, flexible tentacles reaching toward him.

—

The sea above raged under storm winds; below the surface, it was no calmer.

Lalima held Albin tightly in his arms as he swam at full speed.

Behind him, a terrifying presence pursued them relentlessly—something that felt like a predator of the deep sea, like a shark, yet at times even more monstrous, like an ancient beast awakening.

The distance between them kept shrinking. Lalima’s heart pounded as he pushed himself faster and faster.

Suddenly, countless translucent tendrils shot through the water, passing him and striking directly at the monster behind him.

It was his sister.

Lalima swam upward to meet her.

Hailan had many things she wanted to say, but at this moment, she asked nothing. She only said urgently, “I’ll handle this here. His family is on the surface!”

Lalima immediately understood and changed direction toward the shore.

But just as they completed the handoff, a column of water erupted from the sea.

“Do you think you can escape?” Ocean stood above them, looking down coldly.

But the next second, a blinding white flame fell like a meteor from the sky, striking him violently. The scorching heat distorted the air, and steam rose from the ocean surface.

A rain of destruction descended from above, followed by countless attacks. Each strike was lethal.

Ocean hastily raised a towering wall of water to defend himself. Spray and boiling steam exploded into the air as sea and fire clashed violently.

The entire ocean trembled under his fury. Massive waves rose dozens of meters high, meeting the firestorm head-on. Water and flame collided again and again in a battle that escalated within moments.

Through the boiling steam, he looked up in rage—only to see a white-haired man with crimson eyes standing lightly in the void, gazing down at him. A terrifying, ice-cold aura radiated from his body.

Although Ocean had never cared about the affairs of other temples, the white hair, red eyes, and the sun-marked clothing made his judgment immediate: this was the High Priest of the Sun God Temple.

And with this level of power… he didn’t believe for a second that a mere priest could fight a god. The entity inside that body was clearly the Sun God himself.

He had destroyed the holy mark engraved by the Sun God, so the Sun God would naturally sense it. Coming here wasn’t strange—but this was much faster than he expected.

If he were in peak condition, fighting the Sun God wouldn’t be an issue—after all, he had taken the Sun God’s Holy Son.

But Ocean knew his soul and godhood had just been severely damaged. He would likely gain nothing from this fight.

Still, even the Sun God couldn’t kill him. During the siege against the Love God, they had all agreed: gods could no longer kill each other.

Thinking of this, Ocean struck out without restraint.

He hadn’t had a proper, satisfying fight in years.

Waves surged, winds howled, and he shouted boldly:

“Sang, I’ve taken a liking to your Holy Son—I’m going to make him my son!”

Zeman’s gaze sharpened. Killing intent flooded his eyes, as if someone had reached into the softest part of his heart.

A terrifying aura erupted from him like a predator enraged to its peak.

“My son? Impossible.”

The words had barely fallen before both sides struck like thunder. Their attacks tore through the air with deafening roars. Shockwaves lifted mountains of seawater; flames evaporated entire waves. The sky and sea changed color under their power—this had become a battlefield on an entirely different level, beyond anyone else’s interference.

The surface of the sea turned scorching hot. Hailan and Lalima quickly brought Albin to shore.

Gold had also arrived on the beach after receiving Albin’s message and immediately checked his condition.

Under everyone’s worried gaze, Albin slowly woke, frowning in confusion.

“Albin! Are you alright?” Gold asked quickly.

Albin rubbed his aching head and looked blankly at the people before him.

“…Who are you?”

Hailan and Lalima didn’t fully grasp what that meant yet—they hadn’t met Albin many times—but Gold’s expression changed instantly.

“You don’t remember me?” His voice trembled.

Albin thought for a moment, then nodded.

“But I can feel you’re very kind… I… I think I can’t remember anything.”

He lowered his head, trying hard to recall.

The siblings immediately realized it: Albin had lost his memory.

Lalima looked toward the sea in fury.

“The Sea God must have done something to you!”

“The Sea God?” Albin blinked. “I don’t remember that.”

He followed Lalima’s gaze and looked curiously toward the sea, where explosive booms echoed.

Through steam, seawater, and flames, he could barely make anything out—only a distant silver-white dragon radiating destruction.

Instantly, his eyes lit up.

“So cool! That dragon is so cool! Oh—he’s roaring! Rawr!”

Gold’s mouth twitched, but a small part of his tension eased.

At least it was only memory loss—not a loss of common sense.

And, as expected… he still liked Zeman. That hadn’t changed at all.

Gold gritted his teeth.

Hailan looked at Albin with complicated eyes. “Even if you don’t remember… thank you for saving my people.”

After Ocean took Albin away, the sea demons left in the carriage also swam over and told her everything—that Albin had rescued them.

She didn’t understand what had happened. Her younger brother, who normally despised humans, clearly held this boy in a different light. And without question, this boy was their benefactor.

Just as she had resolved to hate humans completely… she had instead encountered one who was genuinely kind. Her emotions were in turmoil.

Perhaps that was why her brother cared about him.

Albin smiled a little blankly. “Even if I don’t remember… I’m just glad everyone is safe.”

—

At the same time, another black figure joined the battle over the sea.

“Sang, you’ve actually allied with the Night God!”

Ocean, already heavily injured and at a disadvantage, glared in shock and fury at Zeman.

Although he found Zeman’s monstrous form strange, he assumed it was just another trick of the Sun God. He did not believe Zeman was still human.

If a human possessed such power, the Sun God would never tolerate it.

So this transformation might just be something the Sun God had arranged—Ocean dismissed the thought.

What surprised him most was that Zeman clearly intended to kill him.

The Sun God had broken the agreement?

But that didn’t seem impossible either…

What he didn’t understand was why the Sun God had suddenly gone insane trying to kill him.

It was just a backup vessel—he could compensate for it later. Was beating him up not enough? Why escalate it to godslaying?

Could it be that the Sun God, like him, had taken a liking to that child?

He speculated.

And when Moon appeared and the two clearly joined forces, his fear and rage peaked.

He didn’t know why the Sun God had switched sides to the Night God, but he realized they were serious.

He couldn’t defeat even one of them—let alone two.

If he didn’t escape now, he would die here.

For Ocean, surviving even a disaster counted as victory.

He deliberately took one of Zeman’s attacks, enduring severe injury, and used the opening to flee into the sea.

Realizing Ocean had escaped, Moon immediately froze the entire sea region—but it was useless.

Zeman also plunged into the sea, but found nothing.

The vast ocean was Ocean’s domain; finding him here was like searching for a needle in the sea.

They had received messages from both Albin and Gold, only learning that the Sea God had attempted to take Albin as his Holy Son.

Although the Sea God wasn’t eliminated, his injuries meant he wouldn’t be able to approach Albin for a long time.

Both of them returned to shore with cold expressions—only to be met with devastating news.

Albin had lost his memory.

Healing and detection spells swarmed over him immediately, surrounding him in layers. Albin curiously poked at the magic.

Moon stared at him in a daze, voice trembling.

“Brother… you don’t remember me?”

“Oh, so you’re my older brother,” Albin said with a smile as Moon went pale. “Even if I don’t remember, I can feel you’re very kind!”

He hugged Moon and rubbed his head against him. “I don’t feel like you’re a stranger at all.”

Moon’s expression eased slightly, though his gaze toward the sea still burned with killing intent. He stood up at once.

Zeman asked, “What are you going to do?”

“He will go kill the Sea God.”

Zeman did not stop him. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at Albin, who was curiously staring at him.

Albin’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him. “Mr. Dragon can turn into a human too? So cool! Are you also my family? I feel like you’re familiar too.”

Even after losing his memory, he still couldn’t forget Mr. Dragon.

Zeman felt helpless.

“I am your father.”

Albin’s eyes widened instantly, and he cheered excitedly, throwing himself into his arms. “That’s great!”

Zeman patted his head and asked softly, “Are you scared now that you suddenly don’t remember anything?”

Albin shook his head. “I’m a little confused, but with everyone here with me, I’m not scared at all!”

The Sea God’s spiritual magic cast on Albin was not something ordinary healing magic could undo.

Moon specialized in necromancy and had little expertise in spiritual magic, while Zeman, who was skilled in all elemental magic, had never deeply studied spiritual magic due to the ancient restrictions of the [Divine Magic] system.

“I will definitely heal you,” Zeman said firmly.

For Albin, he was willing to begin studying spiritual magic from today onward.

“I believe you, Dad!” Albin smiled brightly.

They temporarily returned to the house on Shell Street, letting Albin rest first while the adults discussed matters outside.

They exchanged information and clarified the situation, and Zeman and Moon also understood why Albin had called them here earlier.

“White Apostles?” Lalimar, hearing this for the first time, was puzzled. Larimar paused and explained to her.

Hailan listened in surprise—her brother, who despised humans, was actually introducing her to an organization that sought peaceful coexistence with humans!

If this had been before today, she would have agreed without hesitation. But after witnessing the true face of humanity, she hesitated.

Whenever she thought of that horrifying sea monster specimen, her anger toward humans surged uncontrollably.

Moreover, these people were still strangers.

“Why not try it?” Albin’s voice suddenly came from the doorway. Smiling, he walked in. “We won’t interfere in your internal affairs. If you’re not satisfied, you can leave at any time.”

“Albin?” Gold looked at him in surprise. “You recovered your memory?”

Albin shook his head and raised a stack of letters in his hand.

“I saw these. They record what I experience every day, my goals, and what I plan to do. Since I left for the Coral Kingdom, these letters kept appearing, but for some reason they were never sent.”

He looked at the address on the letters, scanning the crowd with confusion. “Who is Xiao Hei?”

All the letters were written by him to someone called Xiao Hei.

He guessed there were more, just not with him.

Thanks to these letters, he quickly understood what had happened recently.

He had met a sea elf sister, eaten a mediocre potato feast, planned to open a magic school under a false identity, and met a strange man sleeping on the sea…

As he recalled these events, they felt strangely familiar.

He fully agreed with some of the goals written in the letters.

The letters were like a diary—sharing his daily life with Xiao Hei, filled with longing, almost like a backup of his memories.

He couldn’t help but feel intense curiosity about this “Xiao Hei.”

Who was he? A friend? Family? Or… a fiancée?

“He’s a friend of yours who went missing a few years ago,” Zeman replied.

Moon, however, immediately became alert.

He had just learned that Albin had written so many detailed letters to Xiao Hei—and never wrote this much to him!

“Oh…” Albin looked disappointed.

The discussion about the White Apostles continued. Seeing Albin, Larimar hesitantly said to Sea Blue, “Sister, Albin is right. We can try this. They’re also magical beings. I don’t trust humans, but maybe we can trust other magical races.”

He glanced at Zeman, who had once transformed into a dragon.

Hailan looked at him deeply.

Even her brother, who once despised humans, had made such a choice…

After a long silence, she nodded.

“I understand. Let’s try it. The Sea God’s Saint and priest are both out of commission. We may be able to use this chance to support forces friendly to sea demons.”

Larimar immediately said, “I can transform into the priest’s appearance!”

He activated his [mimicry] ability, becoming the exact likeness of Ocean.

Compared to working with cunning humans, Larimar clearly trusted himself more.

“What if the Sea God returns?” Sea Blue worried.

“That would be perfect,” Larimar said, looking at Zeman and Moon. “The Sea God is our greatest enemy.”

Indeed, if the Sea God appeared again, Zeman and Moon would not let him go.

Using him as bait to lure out the Sea God was acceptable.

And so, the sea demon joined the White Apostles.

Moon stayed behind temporarily to coordinate with them.

Meanwhile, Albin returned to the Holy Sun Kingdom under Zeman’s constant protection.

“Padma and the others should arrive tonight. Rest first,” Zeman said.

Albin nodded and watched his father leave before collapsing onto the soft bed.

But suddenly, he remembered something and jumped back up, searching the room.

Based on his habits, there should be letters to Xiao Hei here too.

Sure enough, he soon found a large box full of letters.

He was startled by how many there were.

He must have been very close friends with Xiao Hei.

He began reading from the first letter.

The handwriting was still youthful, and in it he introduced his family in great detail.

As he read, a sense of familiarity washed over him.

He smiled happily.

Back then, he probably never expected to be separated from Xiao Hei for five years and continue writing so many letters afterward.

A new question arose.

How did he meet Xiao Hei? What did Xiao Hei look like?

These letters naturally wouldn’t explain things both sides already knew.

While reading, he found a rolled-up paper beside the letters.

He opened it and discovered a missing-person poster for Xiao Hei.

Excited, he unfolded it completely and studied the drawing.

It was a somewhat fierce-looking portrait, but strangely familiar.

Albin suddenly realized: “So Xiao Hei has a crocodile face…”

What a unique look.

He studied it carefully, memorizing it.

“But even with a crocodile face… it still feels kind of cute,” he said softly, smiling as he touched the drawing.

I want to see him.

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