The fact that Meruem wanted to freeze the entire sea was, in Poseidon's eyes, not merely arrogance but sheer delusion.
Could Meruem actually do it? He really could. The quantity of "Source" within him was so vast it could practically be called inexhaustible.
In an instant, the intense cold enveloped even Poseidon himself. The surrounding ocean surface froze over in a heartbeat.
Meruem's chill surpassed even Camus's, exceeding absolute zero. Though he had never trained in cold techniques specifically, after traversing so many worlds—and with his monstrous talent—achieving this much was not difficult.
Wherever the cold reached, the water solidified into slabs of thick ice. Everything within sight froze solid. In a sense, Meruem truly had frozen the sea.
"Damn!" Cracks spider‑webbed across the ice encasing Poseidon, and then the frozen shell shattered into sparkling fragments.
Aurora Execution had not killed him. Meruem had never expected it to; if Poseidon could be finished that easily, he wouldn't be a Sea Emperor, just some nameless god.
Even so, Poseidon was far from fine. He was shivering violently.
Breaking free, he looked around at the frozen ocean and felt a rage he had never known before.
Not the fury of being hurt, but the fury of humiliation.
To have the Sea Emperor's own sea frozen before his eyes—how could he not be furious? Especially when Poseidon was not exactly known for his calm and magnanimous temperament.
"Great Deluge of Wrath!" "Noah's Tempest!" "Final Judgment!"
Blazing with anger, Poseidon threw everything he had at Meruem, pouring divine power into his most devastating attacks without regard for the cost.
Killing Poseidon in front of the other gods might have been unwise, but just defending against him was easy for Meruem.
He wielded repulsion and spatial force with incredible finesse. Outwardly, it looked like he was barely holding off Poseidon's strikes, but in truth he was constantly luring the Sea Emperor into a trap.
Divine power was not infinite. Gods could also exhaust themselves. A battle of attrition was the last thing Meruem feared; his Source reserve was virtually bottomless.
And Poseidon obligingly burned through vast amounts of his own divinity.
"Poseidon's Trident!" After unleashing his strongest outburst, Poseidon was left gasping for breath.
Meruem, by contrast, looked perfectly fine—not a hint of strain in his face or heartbeat.
Even a hot‑headed, impulsive god like Poseidon could sense something was wrong by now.
"Human, what trick did you use?" He glared at Meruem with those glassy blue eyes.
"Trick? I've fought fair and square all along. Some gods are just too stupid." Meruem had no qualms about provoking divine rage. If he could anger the other man, he would.
"I'll crush you, damn ant! Poseidon's Trident!"
"You keep going on and on about 'ants'… fine, then. Let me show you the fury of ants. Galaxian Explosion EX!" Even mud has its limits, let alone Meruem. Without another word, he unleashed his own improved version of Galaxian Explosion, hurling it straight at Poseidon.
Poseidon was shocked that Meruem, who had been defending all this time, dared to attack head‑on. He simply did not believe a human could stand against him.
Mortals could not surpass gods.
He charged straight in to meet the blow.
Come, then—fight me head‑on!
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips. To his astonishment, it was he who lost this clash. The instant his Cosmos collided with Meruem's, Poseidon seemed to realize something impossible, his eyes widening.
"You—"
"Saori, now!" Meruem knew exactly what Poseidon was about to say. Without giving him the chance, he cut him off and shouted toward the space behind the Sea Emperor.
In that same instant, countless talismans inscribed with Greek runes flared into existence around Poseidon, hemming him in from all sides. Each slip of paper was packed with divine power, locking his body in place.
When Poseidon finally forced his head to turn, he saw Saori holding a familiar amphora aimed at him. He recognized it at once—the artifact used every Holy War to seal him away.
He tried to speak, but no sound came. He roared silently, eyes full of fury and unwillingness, but it was useless. A mighty suction surged from the amphora, ripping his soul from Julian's body.
Sea Emperor Poseidon—sealed.
With Poseidon's soul torn free, Julian Solo's body simply dropped, falling onto the frozen ocean Meruem had created.
"Hu… finally done." Saori patted her not‑so‑large chest as she sighed in relief.
Even that motion was enough to draw Meruem's eyes; perhaps she had moved a bit too vigorously, and a generous swath of pale skin peeked out beneath her collar. He couldn't help glancing in that direction over and over.
Softer and fairer than Pitou's by far, a stray thought flitted through his mind.
It was hardly surprising. Of the two girls closest to him, one was Pitou, one of the three Royal Guards. Cute catgirl she might be, Chimera Ants were a warrior race; expecting her skin to be silky smooth was asking too much—being merely not rough was already a blessing.
The other was Uchiha Ruiko, from the Uchiha clan. Though she came from a notable family, her status was far from lofty, and compared with a goddess like Athena, the Uchiha were very much ordinary.
He'd simply never noticed it before, but little Saori had grown up.
Coughing softly, he shook his head hard and drove those errant thoughts away.
Seeing his obvious awkwardness, Saori only covered her mouth and laughed, eyes narrowing in delight.
Like a songbird's call—light and clear.
"Damn you, Athena—let me out!" The faintly charged atmosphere shattered as a grating voice echoed forth.
"As a god, consorting with humans… Have you no shred of divine pride?" Poseidon ranted from within the jar. Being sealed didn't prevent him from speaking.
In the original story, he'd still been able to send the Gold Cloths to Elysion during the Hades arc.
However, the seal Saori used this time was far stronger than in the original. All Poseidon could do now was curse and vent; he had no other options.
Not a flicker of divine power could leak through. Unless two hundred years passed and the seal weakened with time's erosion, Poseidon was going nowhere.
Poseidon, trapped in a vessel, raging impotently…
Was this what one would call the "old master in the ring"?
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