The underwater civilization, Atlantis, was truly a mysterious place.

First of all, the city itself was built in the deep sea where not even a single ray of light could reach it, so the overall atmosphere was dark. However, lights of various shapes and colors illuminated the entire city, giving it a breathtaking view just like a busy metropolitan that never sleeps.

The light leaking out of the protective barrier shone on the marine life and coral reefs, making them look like the Milky Way galaxy.

‘Whoa... I never knew a place like this existed,’ Siegfried thought as he looked at the scenery, admiring its beauty.

The appearance of the Atlanteans was almost on par with that of the angels.

Though they looked different from one another, every Atlantean possessed a pale complexion and smooth, unblemished skin that would surely be the envy of every woman in the world.

Their eyes with colors unseen on the continent also gave them an exotic look.

“How did this place come to be?” Siegfried whispered to Albion, who was being transported while bound on a large cart.

The Atlanteans themselves were not fish, so there was no seawater inside Atlantis. In fact, a certain amount of oxygen existed in the underwater city, which meant that they had no choice but to transport the sperm whale, Albion, on a cart.

“Well, that is...” Albion began explaining the history of Atlantis.

According to him, Atlantis was created shortly after the dawn of creation. The Atlanteans were not considered humans, but they were still a type of humanoid race.

The closest species to them among the sentient creatures living on land were said to be the elves, so it was easier if one thought of them as elves who lived in the deep sea.

“Hmm... It feels like I’m visiting every hidden map now,” Siegfried muttered.

Who could have thought that he would end up exploring an underwater civilization that even NPCs were not aware of?

“Welcome to Atlantis,” greeted a middle-aged Atlantean clad in an outfit that looked quite luxurious even to human eyes.

“You! Perseus! You son of a seadog!” Albion lashed out.

The reason for his sudden outburst was simple. The middle-aged Atlantean was the one who had framed him for murdering the late king, and he was now ruling Atlantis as the regent.

In other words, he was Albion’s sworn enemy.

The middle-aged Atlantean glanced at him and commanded, “Silence, traitor. Guards! Gag him!”

“Mmph! Mmf!” Albion continued screaming even after getting gagged.

Perseus ignored him and turned to Siegfried’s party.

“Welcome to Atlantis! It has been tens of thousands of years since land-dwellers last set foot here.”

“We appreciate the warm reception,” Siegfried replied.

“Think nothing of it. That Albion was once our prince. However, he murdered the late king in an attempt to usurp the throne, but his sins were exposed, and he was arrested. Unfortunately, he managed to escape right before his execution.”

“Yes, we have heard the story.”

“Our brave warriors have hunted that traitor for countless years, but none could capture him. But you caught him and brought him here! So we, the Atlanteans, owe you our sincerest gratitude.”

“Hahaha!”

“For now, please, come this way. We shall present you with a grand feast you will only find in Atlantis.”

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

With that, Siegfried’s party was invited to a banquet.

***

That night, Siegfried and the others were treated to a grand feast in the Royal Palace of Atlantis. The cuisine of the underwater civilization was very unique. As expected of a civilization located underwater, the Atlanteans mainly relied on fish, shellfish, and seaweed as their staple food.

Thus, all of the dishes served at the feast were ingredients sourced from only the sea.

“Doesn’t this kinda feel like eating Japanese food, hyung-nim?” Seung-Gu whispered after seeing the dishes served.

“I’m not sure about that. But all I know is there doesn’t seem to be any meat. How can there be no meat in a feast?” Siegfried grumbled in response.

He loved meat more than anything else, so the idea of eating nothing but seafood was not exactly pleasing to him. On top of that, the food prepared had an extremely strong fishy smell, making it quite difficult for Siegfried and the others to eat.

‘Ughh...’ Siegfried groaned inwardly while pretending to enjoy the food. He felt he was being tortured with food, but he had no other choice. He had to keep up appearances and wait until the Atlanteans dropped their guard if he wanted to rescue Albion.

While eating, he carefully watched the reaction of the Atlanteans.

“The traitor will have his curse dispelled tomorrow. By then, he will be executed in front of all Atlanteans,” Perseus said.

“Is that so?” Siegfried replied nonchalantly.

“And a new king will be enthroned,” Perseus added.

“Hm? A new king? Why haven’t you done that until now?”

“That is because the traitor is in possession of our treasure, the symbol of the king.”

“What’s the treasure?”

“The Trident of Atlantis.”

“Eh?”

“One cannot sit on the throne without the trident.”

“But I don’t recall that guy holding a trident?”

“Hahaha!” Perseus burst out laughing. Then, he explained, “The Trident of Atlantis is not an actual weapon.”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

“The Trident of Atlantis is a weapon embedded within Albion’s spine.”

“What the hell...?” Siegfried muttered, his eyes wide open in shock.

“Which is why we couldn’t have a new king unless we captured Albion.”

“Then what you’re saying is... You’re going to dispel the curse so you can revert his form just so you can split open his spine and take the Trident of Atlantis out?”

“That is correct. You are quite perceptive, land-dweller,” Perseus replied with a smile.

“Ugh... That’s going to be quite a disgusting sight...” Siegfried grimaced and shuddered at the thought.

“What else can we do? Besides, most Atlanteans think that such a punishment is far too light for a traitor who murdered our late king.”

“Well, I guess you have a point.”

“Once our new king ascends to the throne, the Gate of the Sea will be opened.”

“The Gate of the Sea? What’s that?”

“It is the sanctuary of Atlantis, one that only the king wielding the Trident of Atlantis can open.”

“Oh? And what’s inside it?”

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you anything about the sanctuary.”

“Ah, my bad,” Siegfried said, raising both hands.

He no longer pressed the matter, as he knew that pushing here would only end badly.

‘The altar and the censer might be inside that sanctuary...’ he suspected.

Atlantis was almost certainly where the fifth pillar of light would rise, so there was a high chance that the altar and censer were inside the sanctuary.

‘So they’re planning to take the Trident of Atlantis from Albion, open the sanctuary, and then perform the ritual to summon the Creator. It’s quite a plausible theory...’

Siegfried pretended to enjoy the feast while racking his brains to grasp the situation.

After the feast, Siegfried and the others were guided to their quarters by the servants.

Once Siegfried was inside the room, he summoned the Night Stalkers and sent them out to observe the movements inside the palace.

“Everyone, get into position and be on standby. Once the order is given, the land-dwellers will be dealt with.”

“Yes, captain!”

As expected, the Atlanteans were already planning to eliminate Siegfried and the others.

“Hmm... So that’s how you wanna play it, eh?” Siegfried muttered with a grin. Then, he instructed the Night Stalkers, “Go and inform the others. Ah, not you. I have something for you to do.”

He instructed one Night Stalker to monitor the area where Perseus was staying, as he wanted to confirm whether Perseus was indeed a member of the Illuminati or not.

Using Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, Siegfried found Perseus deep inside a secret chamber within the royal palace, talking with someone.

Siegfried sent the Night Stalker to that location and secretly eavesdropped on the conversation between Perseus and the unknown individual.

“I wonder what they’re talking about.”

***

Perseus was talking to an individual who was anything but normal.

The individual had a hooded cloak pulled low over their head, but that was not enough to hide their horrifying appearance. Although the hood hid much of their face, the little bit of skin exposed was oozing with pus and covered in barnacles.

The individual was definitely not human.

The hooded being asked, “When will the operation begin?”

“We plan to dispose of the land-dwellers when the clock strikes five,” Perseus replied.

“And the key to opening the Gate of the Sea?”

“We will retrieve it six hours after we dispose of the land-dwellers.”

“Make sure you proceed without fail. His Holiness the Pope has passed away, and one of the six sanctuaries has been destroyed. Our Lord’s descent will be lost forever if this sanctuary is destroyed as well, so not even the slightest mistake will be tolerated. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Cardinal!”

After eavesdropping on their conversation, Siegfried confirmed that his deductions were correct.

A cardinal of the Illuminati had infiltrated Atlantis, and they were plotting to open the sanctuary to perform the ritual that would summon the Creator.

Perseus fidgeted nervously and asked, “Once He descends—”

The hooded being cut him off with a hint of irritation in his voice, “Have I not told you what will happen? He will raise a great tidal wave that will sweep across the entire continent, submerging everything underwater. Then, you, Atlanteans, will become rulers of the new world.”

“Ah...!” Perseus exclaimed.

“He has promised eternal prosperity to you, Atlanteans.”

“We, Atlanteans, are grateful! Thank you, Cardinal!”

“This is the beginning of a new era. You must carry out this mission without fail.”

“As you command!”

The secret conversation ended there.

“I knew it,” Siegfried smirked.

Now that he had confirmed that his deduction was right all along, all he needed was to act.

‘We will strike first at four.’

Through the Night Stalkers, he sent messages to all his companions. Every single one of them was still online, as they had already been warned of this exact scenario.

[Seung-Gu: Just give the order, hyung-nim. I’ll bombard this place to smithereens.]

[Goseuran: I’m on standby.]

[Daytona: Roger.]

[Cheon Woo-Jin: Got it.]

[Yong Seol-Hwa: Okay, oppa.]

[Chae Hyung-Seok: Ah, seriously? I’m really sleepy right now. How the hell do you expect me to stay awake until four?! (ㅡ.ㅡ;;)]

Among his companions, only Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled and voiced his discontent.

Of course, Siegfried did not give a damn about what Chae Hyung-Seok thought.

Why? Well, Chae Hyung-Seok had no other choice but to follow once Siegfried gave the command.

***

A few hours later.

“How is the preparation going?” Perseus asked the captain of the royal guards.

“Your Grace! We will strike once the clock hits—”

Boom!

A deafening roar exploded.

“...!”

Startled, Perseus and the captain quickly rushed outside to assess the situation.

And they were greeted by massive lumps of metal wreaking havoc across the royal palace grounds.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

That wasn't all.

Fwoooosh!

Shwiiiik!

Blazing flames and freezing cold filled the entire grounds, too.

“T-Those things are... golems?! How could that many golems suddenly appear out of nowhere?!” Perseus cried out, horrified as he watched the golems wreak havoc.

The Atlanteans had frequently sent scouts to the world above the waters to gather information, so they knew what a golem looked like.

However, they were still a civilization isolated deep beneath the sea, so there was no way they could know everything about the outside world, no matter how diligent they were at gathering information.

The sudden appearance of so many golems shocked them, as they had no idea that someone could summon them from thin air.

“What in the...”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

While Perseus was still reeling in shock, the Iron Golems summoned by Seung-Gu, empowered by Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs, unleashed a merciless barrage that turned half the royal palace into ruins, all in the blink of an eye.

Thanks to Siegfried’s debuff aura and Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs, the Iron Golems' combat ability was increased by over three hundred percent.

“Perseus, you traitor.”

“Y-You! How did you get out?!”

Perseus recoiled in horror when he recognized the golden-haired young man standing before him.

“I, Albion, Prince of Atlantis, hereby sentence you to death for the sin of treason and assassinating my father, the late king.”

The sperm whale, Albion, had already regained his true form and was now standing before him with a gleaming trident pointed directly at him.