Within the range of the cannon lies the very essence of justice!

Enemy.

Once that was confirmed,

without a word, not even a glance exchanged, Amy had already taken the initiative.

Like a sudden gust of fierce wind, the dozens of meters between them vanished beneath the youth’s feet in an instant. The abrupt mist might have obscured his sight, but the Glorious One, no stranger to such situations, had already pinpointed the culprit’s location by sound the moment the fog began to spread.

Then he swung his sword.

The slender blade tore through the air and sliced through the dense, impenetrable mist.

The monstrous visage of the half-human, half-fish deep-sea priest—with jagged fangs—emerged. Immediately after, blasphemous words that defied reason echoed from within the fog.

For a fleeting moment, the world seemed to warp subtly in the Glorious One’s perception.

Then—

A crimson-black short sword flashed down like a bolt of lightning, cleaving the towering, savage figure in two.

Yet the youth’s expression was grave.

No one understood better than him that what had just been cut was not the flesh and blood of the half-human, half-fish monster, but merely the remaining false semblance and illusion.

The true monster had already shifted the moment the fabric of space-time twisted.

An ability?

Recalling those familiar, profane words filled with blasphemy and the power contained within them, Amy Ulysses raised an eyebrow.

No, it didn’t seem so.

If judged merely by instinct, it was closer to the indescribable Old One beneath Hemtica—a weakened version of a similar nature. Upon reflection, the blasphemous words spoken by the staff-wielding skeleton that had unexpectedly appeared during their battle with the dark lords shared much in common with the evil divine power flowing from the primordial chaos—only gentler and more controllable.

What exact connection lay between these three remained a nagging curiosity, like ants crawling beneath the skin, impossible to ignore.

But now was not the time to investigate.

The black-haired, black-eyed youth set aside his curiosity and doubts, closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and searched for the enemy’s hiding place through the faint sounds barely audible in the thick mist.

But there was nothing.

“Joshua,” he called.

Since he could not locate the enemy, the only option was to regroup with his companion.

“I’m here.”

The silver-haired, crimson-eyed Glorious One announced his position aloud. Had this been natural fog, he might have worried about revealing his location, but now, immersed in the enemy’s summoned mist, concealing his presence on their home turf was unnecessary.

Rather than pointless hiding, it was better to unite with his comrade to prevent those monsters from picking them off one by one.

Yet, the moment the voice left his lips, he sensed something was wrong.

His gleaming longsword was drawn in a flash—and then swung through empty air.

The sound—

Gone.

That monster, its target was me!

Joshua Onions immediately realized this. Sword at the ready, wary of the half-human, half-fish creature lurking within the fog, he cautiously adjusted his footing.

No… sound came?

In other words, it wasn’t just that he couldn’t speak; his very ability to produce sound was sealed or erased.

Surprised by this result, the silver-haired, crimson-eyed Glorious One wore a grim expression—within the realm of abilities, anything was possible, no matter how bizarre or illogical. When such things happen before one’s eyes, the only choice is acceptance.

Because only by confronting the problem can it be solved.

So,

What now?

Joshua pondered this straightforward question, carefully stepping forward.

Passive waiting had never been his style. Though he couldn’t communicate his position by voice, why wait for Amy to find him?

As the aggressor, Amy had shown no effort to hide his location.

Moreover, his earlier call had already revealed where he was.

Therefore, it was only fitting that he take the initiative to find Amy.

But caution was paramount.

The silver-haired, crimson-eyed Glorious One had no intention of treating the enemy as fools. These inhuman monsters from the depths of darkness, though fearsome in appearance, had somehow not been corrupted by the twisted darkness but instead possessed near-human intellect—a logic comprehensible to normal beings, meaning their actions had reason. Since they had sealed off the sound in his immediate vicinity, they would surely strike before he could regroup.

That was certain.

Hence, he maintained the highest level of vigilance.

Yet, despite this, when the enemy launched its attack, he found himself trapped in dire straits.

His limbs—no, his entire body—was bound.

Ensnared by some viscous, glue-like darkness.

He could not move.

Desperately, he struggled, ignoring the cracks forming in his wounds, letting crimson blood spill.

But it was futile.

He was utterly immobilized, and the culprit—an imposing monster with blood-red eyes—finally emerged from the mist.

Nearly three meters tall, it dragged behind it a primitive spear longer than its own height and advanced step by step.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Though its webbed feet made no sound on the ground, Joshua could feel the approaching footsteps of death, and his struggles grew frantic.

But it was merely the last thrashing of a trapped beast.

The half-human, half-fish monster halted before him. Its maw, lined with sharp teeth, opened and closed as if speaking, but no sound escaped. All Joshua could sense was the malevolence surging from it and the spear aimed directly at his face.

Now—

Without hesitation, he activated his ability, igniting the blood scattered on the pitch-black shackles.

He stooped low, aimed his sword at his chest, and thrust!

The sudden turn of events clearly caught the monster off guard. Its spear struck empty air, while Joshua’s sword pierced through his own chest—

Straight into the hilt; from behind, the tip of the blade even protruded!

“Goodbye!”

Though no sound should have been possible, he uttered the word as the blood on the sword ignited.

Then—

Flesh and blood exploded, scattered corpse fragments showered over him.

Victory.

He exhaled a low sigh, hearing his familiar breath, and an inexplicable peace settled in his soul.

“I’m here.”

After a long moment, he raised his head and announced his presence to his companion through a deep but resolute voice.

Then, footsteps drew near, and the youth’s figure gradually appeared through the mist.

“It’s rare to see you this disheveled,” Amy Ulysses’s gaze briefly lingered on his friend before he crouched down, roughly flipping through the corpses on the ground. “The enemy was quite troublesome?”

“Area-wide silencing and binding abilities—” Joshua shook his head. “It caught me off guard. I finished it off with one strike; otherwise, I might have gathered more information.”

“And summoning the fog, plus spatial movement.” The black-haired, black-eyed youth frowned. “But I don’t think those are its true abilities.”

“What do you mean?”

“A voice imbued with magic—right, the area-wide silence. You couldn’t hear anything. But when it moved through space, I heard some kind of sound, a blasphemous language devoid of normal logic. I think that was the trigger for its power, or at least one of the conditions. In other words, its so-called ‘abilities’ might not simply be powers.”

“Perhaps.”

Recalling the blasphemous words he had heard earlier, Joshua subtly agreed with his companion’s insight.

But—

“Now is not the time to delve into this,” he said, explaining before his friend could respond. “That monstrous priest is dead, yet the fog shows no sign of dissipating.”

“You mean…”

Amy’s calm expression rippled with unease.

Before the silver-haired, crimson-eyed Glorious One could elaborate, the surrounding mist suddenly churned restlessly.

Then—

Just as abruptly as it had arrived, the fog vanished.

Yet their tense expressions did not ease; instead, they grew even more severe.

Before them stood eight towering half-human, half-fish monsters.

Indistinguishable in appearance from the one Joshua had slain, even taller than ordinary fishmen, each adorned with various trinkets.

A mere glance at the oppressive aura enveloping them was enough for the two to sense that, like the one they had just killed, these were formidable fishmen possessing special powers.

Behind them stretched a dense army of fishmen.

Trouble had truly arrived.

Exchanging a calm, silent look, Amy and Joshua both recognized this fact in each other’s eyes.

“I think this is a misunderstanding.”

Amy Ulysses smiled wryly, stepping forward toward the group of priestly figures clearly ranked above ordinary fishmen. Somewhere deep in his memory, he seemed to recall their name.

Deep Divers—

Maybe? Perhaps? Possibly?

“I bear no ill will. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

To prove this, he spread both palms, then raised them high, letting the short sword coated in dark blood slip from his hands.

Then, in an instant, he shifted from stillness to motion, dashing forward like a released arrow, catching the falling short sword, and—

His pupils contracted slightly.

The harbinger of death stirred once more.

His body faltered briefly before retreating swiftly.

Immediately after, a violent roar thundered in their ears. Scorching flames ignited the world before them, sand and flesh were hurled into the air, and the ground shook relentlessly under the barrage.

—Within the Glorious One’s black pupils, faintly reflecting the flames,

the once arrogant Deep Divers were blasted to pieces by cannon fire.