Soul +5,000,000
Soul of Demigod Jax
'Disciple of Silence' Beyonder Characteristic
On the pier, Ash, who was waiting for the Mimic Tear to finish its exploration, suddenly looked bewildered.
Demigod Jax?
Wait, who the hell is that?
There was a Demigod hiding in that volcano?
But why?
And...
That's five million souls!
Sequence 4 only gave five hundred thousand souls. Five million at once—doesn't that make him a Sequence 3 Demigod?
But the real question is—who the hell are you?
[ Soul of Demigod Jax. A deformed soul imbued with power. Using it will grant a large number of souls. Its power can also be extracted through refinement. He was a devout Demigod, yet he worshipped the wrong deity. Is this not a form of blasphemy in itself? ]
"We got it."
Alger pushed through the crowd and waved to Ash.
He was holding a crystal in his hand.
It was shaped like a faded egg, with a shell so thin it looked like it would shatter at the slightest touch.
Even without shaking it, the sound of flowing water could be heard from within.
There was no doubt—this was the Marrow Crystal of the Spring of Elves.
"Didn't you go explore?"
Alger asked, his curiosity piqued. "Or have you already finished?"
"Pretty much," Ash replied vaguely. "Let's leave as soon as possible."
"Alright."
Alger spread his hands in a gesture of acceptance and turned to walk back toward the Azure Avenger with Ash.
Though he was curious about the island's secrets, he wouldn't ask. Mr. Fool had taught him a lesson: everything comes with a price. If he wanted to learn the secrets Ash held, he would have to pay a corresponding price.
And clearly, he probably couldn't afford it.
After all, the secrets of this island were likely something even the Four Kings coveted—or perhaps feared.
Thump!
The Azure Avenger's sails unfurled rapidly, and its anchor was quickly hauled up. Just as the ship was about to leave port, the Mimic Tear silently returned to the vessel, slipping back into Ash's cabin.
Through the Mimic Tear's memories, Ash finally learned exactly what had happened inside the volcano. Yet, this only deepened his confusion.
For instance—
So who exactly is this Jax?
Ash's mind was filled with questions.
He had initially assumed Jax might be a demigod sealed within the volcano—after all, he'd encountered similar situations more than a few times before.
But according to the Mimic Tear's memories, Jax was no "native" of the volcano.
Moreover, every one of the demigod's attacks had been lethal, clearly aimed at killing.
The question was...
Why?
Could the Mimic Tear's forced entry into the volcano have triggered the pursuit?
Was Jax actually the volcano's guardian?
But why would a seemingly ordinary volcano need a demigod's protection?
And if he were its guardian, the volcano's defenses seemed far too weak.
But if he wasn't...
Where did this demigod come from?
It couldn't be that he had tracked them all this way, specifically to kill him, could it?
Surely not... right?
"Forget it. Respect for the dead."
Ash shook his head, casting the tangled thoughts aside.
The man was dead anyway; there was no point obsessing over where he'd come from.
Besides, even if he found out, it wouldn't bring him back to life.
But now, what intrigued Ash most was the secret of the volcano itself.
With a mere thought, a fragment silently materialized in his hand.
The Mimic Tear had retrieved it from the volcano's depths—
The ground at the bottom had been turned to magma by the Wrath of the Volcano, melting everything in its vicinity.
Yet, this fragment was the sole exception.
Everything else had melted, but it alone had survived the Wrath of the Volcano.
This was no mere coincidence.
Ash examined the shard closely.
It was pitch-black, resembling a piece of dark crystal.
Its surface was smooth, yet it seemed to possess no other remarkable features.
Its only noteworthy quality was its extraordinary durability.
Even temperatures of thousands of degrees had failed to destroy it.
Most importantly, it had always filled Ash with a strange sense of familiarity.
It was as if he had seen it somewhere before.
But his hazy memories always eluded him.
"What exactly is this thing?"
A flicker of deep confusion crossed Ash's eyes, but suddenly, a word flashed in his mind—
Star-Falling Beast.
It wasn't his own thought, but a message transmitted to him by the Mimic Tear!
"So that's it!"
As if a switch had been flipped, or a fuse ignited, Ash's memories came flooding back. Information about the Star-Falling Beasts gradually came into focus.
No wonder it looked so familiar. It was a BOSS he had slain before!
The Star-Falling Beasts.
A bizarre race from beyond the heavens, said to be the pets of some unknown 'deity.' They typically disguised themselves as meteorites when descending upon a world, bringing only destruction and ruin. Furthermore, they possessed immense growth potential, evolving through ceaseless devouring and slaughter.
From Star-Falling Beast, to Star-Falling Beast-Beast, and even...
Ash looked down at the black crystal in his hand.
What kind of black crystal is this?
This is clearly a fragment of the crystal armor worn by a Star-Falling Beast!
"Then everything makes sense!"
"There was never a volcano here. That's the crater left by a Star-Falling Beast when it descended!"
"And there seem to be far more than just one of these 'volcanoes'!"
"This means a massive number of Star-Falling Beasts might have descended upon this world in the past."
"These creatures must have brought immense panic and destruction, but the Beyonder individuals of this world were clearly no pushovers."
"From what we know so far, this world once experienced a massive 'meteor shower.' But those 'meteors' were actually disguised Star-Falling Beasts—their true nature was an invasion of this world."
"This must have sparked a defensive war among the world's Beyonder individuals to protect their homeland."
"And if my guess is correct, the major Churches were the main force in this 'defensive war.' After all, the faith of the major Churches remains the mainstream today, and humanity hasn't been wiped out."
"The invasion must have ended in victory for humanity and the gods. At least, most of the Star-Falling Beasts were eliminated, though it's possible some few managed to escape."
"And these 'volcanoes' were artificially created by high-sequence powerhouses in the aftermath. Their purpose was to conceal the traces of the Star-Falling Beasts' presence, deliberately using the towering volcanoes to hide the impact sites."
"But what does any of this have to do with the Pirate Assembly?"
"If the Star-Falling Beasts are dead, the appearance of these pirates shouldn't matter at all."
"And if the Star-Falling Beasts aren't dead, then those 'volcanoes' on the island wouldn't exist."
"There seems to be no tight connection between the two."
"Or is there some secret I'm missing?"
"Or perhaps... are these pirates actually here to lure out the few that managed to slip through the net?"
"Ash!"
Just as he was lost in thought, Alger's voice suddenly called out from outside the cabin.
Ash pulled his thoughts back and opened the cabin door.
Alger stood in the corridor, his expression grave.
"I think you should come out and see," he said, his voice low and heavy.
"Alright."
Ash nodded and followed Alger through the corridor onto the deck.
The Azure Avenger had already sailed away from the island. In the waters ahead, several sailing ships were cruising steadily.
Leading the fleet was a red-sailed warship, its sails emblazoned with a crimson tree.
"That's the flagship of Admiral Blood—the Tree of Flesh," Alger said, taking a deep breath. "Though rumors say Admiral Blood and Vice Admiral Iceberg have clashed, I haven't seen the Golden Dream anywhere nearby."
"But either way, I have a feeling he's after us!"
"Don't rush to conclusions," Ashes said, his gaze fixed on the distant fleet. "Let's sail straight toward them and see if they try to stop us."
"Understood."
Alger nodded and immediately ordered the Azure Avenger to full speed.
"Lord Señor."
Second Mate "Steel" Maveity said in a low voice, "A ship is approaching."
Señor glanced at the Azure Avenger sailing straight toward them and said coolly, "Ignore it."
There were tens of thousands of pirates attending the Pirate Assembly; he couldn't rob every single one of them.
Besides, pirates who left the event early were mostly just here to join the fray. What good loot could they possibly have?
It wouldn't even be worth the effort.
Moreover, they hadn't come here to plunder in the first place.
"Yes, Lord Señor."
Mevity bowed his head respectfully, but after a moment, he hesitated and said tentatively, "Lord Jax... he seems to have been gone for a long time."
"Hmm?"
Señor shot him a cold glare.
"Lord Señor," Maveity trembled, quickly adding, "I'm just a little worried..."
"Worried about what?" Señor sneered. "Lord Jax is a Demigod, a Sequence 3 Demigod! Do you really think there's anything on that island that could threaten him?"
Maveity lowered his head, cold sweat streaming down his face.
He didn't argue, nor did he dare to.
Of course.
Lord Jacks was a Sequence 3 Demigod. Even the Four Kings would have to yield and avoid his edge if they met face-to-face.
How could anything go wrong when he was sent to deal with a mere False Divine Envoy?
Perhaps Lord Jacks is already interrogating the man right now.
"Lord Señor," Maveity said softly, "Perhaps Lord Jacks has already extracted the identity of the person who sent the 'False Divine Envoy.' He might have gone directly to pursue them, which is why he hasn't responded for so long."
"Hmm?"
Señor glanced at him and nodded imperceptibly.
The analysis was reasonable. After all, with Lord Jacks' strength, dealing with a mere rat shouldn't have taken this long.
"Wait another half hour," Señor said coolly. "If Lord Jacks hasn't returned by then, we'll turn back."
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