The ruler of the western sea, Regarda Obier.
In the first place, the title “ruler” was not attached to just anyone.
Just as the Supreme Heavenly Demon within Bentair was called the Ruler of Flame, it was an epithet given to the strongest in that field.
The Supreme Heavenly Demon’s trait was also Ruler of Flame, and all his related skills concerned fire.
Then one might expect Regarda, the ruler of the western sea, to use skills that handled water, but that would be only half correct.
Regarda Obier.
For the skill of the guardian who protected Arilleia was of the summoning type.
Luminous scales that shimmered from deep blue to pale sky blue.
Two horns rising from an inverted triangular head.
The eyes of a predator holding light within them.
A highest-rank divine beast, a sea dragon.
Summoning and commanding that was Regarda’s skill.
Heavy rain and fierce wind. In the middle of a sea where lightning flashed and thunder raged.
Only the space around the sea dragon that had surged up from the deep abyss amid a spray of water was tranquil.
It could manipulate currents, change the weather, and though it did not quite live up to the legend that it ruled the sea, it was a divine beast with powers similar to that.
Upon that sea dragon’s head, Regarda stood without the slightest tremor.
His blue eyes, resembling a dragon’s, were turned toward the sky.
Hio Pavlenko, looking down from atop a Phantom Steed.
And Regarda’s voice, cast toward him, was firm.
—Go back.
A warning that he could never proceed beyond this point.
At that, Hio rummaged through his pocket, took out the Whispering Stone, and held it out toward him.
“A friend named Freyja here asked me to come help.”
Was Freyja not presumed to be an important figure in Arilleia?
He had first made it clear that he was trying to go there with a definite purpose.
Regarda, after confirming it, nodded as if he understood.
—So you are one who has no intention of turning back.
From his standpoint, unless an Arilleian accompanied him… no, even if one did accompany him, an outsider could not be let in.
Who had called him, or for what purpose, was not important to Regarda.
The only important thing was whether he would accept his warning and turn back, or not.
And by his judgment, that man in the sky belonged to those who ignored his warning.
It happened from time to time.
Those who ignored Regarda’s warning, insisting that they would enter Arilleia no matter what.
Or those who came recklessly because Regarda himself was their goal.
What they had in common was that they each had a certain confidence in their own ability. They could be called fools who did not know the terror of the sea.
Whatever the case, whatever their purpose, more than two words of warning held no meaning for such people.
Regarda governed his will. He conveyed it.
At the same time, lightning began to fill the sea dragon’s two eyes.
“I knew it wouldn’t work, but…….”
Seeing that, Hio released his Shield magic and smacked his lips.
Regarda had always been like this even in the game.
Regarda, who merely blocked the way. As if that alone were his duty, he repelled intruders without much conversation.
Even after Hio brought up Freyja’s name, he gave Hio his final words as if to say, so what of it?
—Never cross over to this place again.
At the same time, with an immense flash of light, lightning burst from the sea dragon’s horns and mouth.
Kwa-gwa-gwang—
An electric breath that covered the space where Hio had been in the blink of an eye.
Anyone faint of heart would not have made it this far in the first place.
And anyone half-baked would have been reduced to ash by that single attack.
Even knowing it was coming, one could not react to it, nor block it—that was the power of the sea dragon. The breath of lightning.
The pups who first came swaggering in with arrogant attitudes all fled without looking back after a single breath like this.
Even those who boasted of being somewhat strong could barely block it or endure it at best.
That was the limit of most.
But this time was different.
—…What are you?
For the scene soon revealed was one that far exceeded Regarda’s expectations.
He had not blocked the lightning, nor had he avoided it.
He had simply received it.
“Is this your first time seeing something like this, Regarda?”
The space through which the sea dragon’s breath, laden with electricity, had passed.
The man revealed there was far too unharmed.
No, beyond merely unharmed, did it not seem as though the man himself had changed?
A vast energy leaping from his entire body.
It was lightning.
Both eyes glowing white.
That, too, was lightning.
A man standing alone in the sky, his body wreathed in lightning. Behind him, the dark clouds gathered even more thickly.
His figure was truly that of a monarch who ruled lightning.
The Thunder Emperor.
—Interesting.
An expression appeared on Regarda’s face, which had not changed in the slightest until now.
Extremely faint, but unmistakable interest.
A tiny amusement that had arrived in the midst of a long span of time difficult to fathom.
Had it sensed Regarda’s change? The sea dragon let out a low cry.
At that, the surrounding sea heaved along with it.
“It is interesting.”
A smile also rose to Hio’s lips.
There was a way to enter Arilleia without fighting Regarda. In other words, he did not have to fight.
But if he did that, how could he move forward?
The enemies he would have to face from now on would be countless, and they would surely be so strong that he could not even gauge them, yet he was still weak.
The road ahead was far too long.
That was why Hio moved his hand.
Above the storm-tossed sea, just beneath the heavy, low-hanging dark clouds, he called the lightning.
At that, the dark clouds overhead grew even denser.
Rumble— A heavy peal of thunder shook the sky.
—But nothing changes.
Regarda raised the spear in his hand.
At the tip of his spear, the symbol of martial might began to rise, creeping forth. Aura.
A bright yellow aura resembling him surged up like a dragon.
The tip of his spear aimed at Hio in the sky.
At the same time, the sea dragon lifted its head and roared.
Every part of the surrounding sea surged upward and lunged toward the sky.
“It won’t do if nothing changes.”
At the same moment, Hio also moved. His hand pointed downward, and light poured out from every cloud in the area.
A miracle in which a dazzling baptism of lightning, so brilliant one could not even open one’s eyes, stood against the sea.
Hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of lightning bolts descended past Hio.
“Show me what you’re hiding, Regarda.”
The sea surged upward and the sky fell down.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The world turned upside down.
* * *
When he had stayed at the imperial palace, he had asked Vitalianus.
What is Intent?
He knew that he could not handle Intent, and so he had sought advice.
‘Intent… You ask something difficult, mage.’
He said that and fell silent.
As though deep in thought, as though choosing his words with the utmost caution.
And after a long silence, the answer that came from the mouth of the Sword Saint, the pinnacle of warriors, a superhuman above superhumans.
It was something Hio had not expected.
‘I do not know either.’
He had answered so with a laugh.
Toward Hio, who had begun to suspect that he simply did not want to tell him, the Sword Saint added more.
‘I cannot predict what result my careless advice may bring, so understand.’
He said.
Intent was something one had to realize for oneself, something one created on one’s own.
It was both the process and result of melting one’s own life into it.
That was why another person could not carelessly offer advice on it, he had said.
‘Mage. For you, it likely will not take too long… but still, always be careful of those who handle Intent.’
And then, at the end, he gave a warning.
‘Every last one of them is impossible to predict.’
* * *
Have you ever seen the sea beneath your feet heaving in order to devour you?
Have you ever seen it go further, freely changing its form as it surged endlessly upward?
That was terror itself.
To be hated by the sea was such a thing.
It felt as though one were fighting infinity itself.
The violently surging sea suddenly took the shape of a gigantic hand and rushed in to snatch Hio.
Kwaang—!
With the power of the Thunder Emperor, he immediately escaped that grasp, but what greeted him in the end was the sea.
Hundreds, thousands of spears made from it.
“…Tch.”
He immediately changed direction and rose high into the sky, and a dazzling radiance followed behind him.
But as if they had been waiting, tidal waves surged in from every direction.
How reckless was it to fight the ruler of the sea atop the sea?
That thought flashed through his mind, but there was no regret.
He would only do his best.
Because he had to advance.
Because the things he would have to face from now on would surely be even more tremendous than this.
Nor could he belittle the tidal waves pouring in from all sides as mere water.
Was the power contained within them not vividly apparent?
「Skill - ‘Blue Flame’ is activating.」
And so he called forth blue flames and made them stand against the endless tidal waves.
At the same time, his gaze turned toward Regarda, who stood atop the sea dragon.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Lightning layered to the limit fell upon that head.
The lightning tearing through the air as it struck down was so powerful that, from the shock, even the end of the deep abyss was briefly revealed.
“Damn, he’s fast.”
But Regarda was already no longer there, so it was as good as futile.
He was as fast as Hio, who was using Thunder Emperor, and he freely controlled the sea by imbuing it with Intent.
From the sea dragon, a breath of lightning and a gale would occasionally come sweeping in; at times, rain suddenly poured down, only to rush at him like blades.
Then was Regarda weak in close combat?
Look at the bright yellow aura surging along his spear.
Only one word came to mind.
“What kind of monster is this…….”
Invincible.
An invincible existence who could never be opposed upon the sea.
The reason no one had been able to set foot on Arilleia, which was surrounded entirely by sea.
He was the living, breathing proof.
Even so, he could not simply sit on his hands.
This was a battle Hio himself had wanted, was it not?
He had not been idle either.
After the battle with Ataolf, he had realized that simply having many highest-tier skills did not mean one became strong.
Until he learned how to handle Intent, he had thought up various methods of his own to oppose it.
One of them was the synthesis of skills.
The idea was to select only the strengths of the highest-tier skills “Thunder Emperor” and “Blue Flame.”
Of course, it was not true synthesis done through the point shop, but a new technique he had created by using the two skills simultaneously on his own.
「Skill - ‘Blue Flame’ is activating.」
First, he called forth Blue Flame, then compressed all of those flames as much as he possibly could.
This was inspired by the way Ataolf compressed his black mist.
And the trait “Genius of Mana Sensitivity” allowed him to immediately put it into practice.
—…….
Behind the Blue Flame compressed in that way, he placed lightning.
It looked like a single thin line of lightning, but this, too, was an immense power layered hundreds of times.
A spear concentrated into a single point, piercing through everything it touched.
With the power of the compressed Blue Flame, it would destroy whatever blocked it, and immediately afterward, the small bolt of lightning that followed would pierce through.
He grasped that lightning in his hand as if it were the shaft of a spear.
The power of the lightning monarch filling his entire body made that possible.
When he looked down like that, Regarda was also looking up at Hio.
—Not bad.
He calmed the sea and gripped his own spear at the ready.
With a faint smile still on his face, he slightly bent his knees.
He intended to move his spear personally and face the joint creation of Blue Flame and Thunder Emperor.
For Hio, it was a good opportunity.
If Regarda had pressed Hio with all his sincerity, he would never have had the chance to attempt such a technique, but he had not done that.
In fact, when Hio seemed to be trying something, had he not even waited for him?
Truthfully, simply grasping lightning in his hand and compressing Blue Flame was already a tremendous advance. It meant he was handling his skills and that their proficiency had greatly increased, so the battle with Regarda had already produced a great result with that alone.
What remained now was to confirm just how much effect it would have.
His arm rose high, gripping the lightning.
The lightning in his hand flashed, and the Blue Flame hanging at its end was compressed to the limit, as if it would burst at any moment.
If his concentration wavered even slightly, these two utterly different skills would each run wild on their own.
“…….”
At that, Regarda also lowered his stance further and gripped his spear with both hands.
His dragon-like aura poured endlessly through the spear blade and began to take form.
Regarda’s spear, carrying Intent, and the spear of lightning containing flame.
Within that taut tension, where it would not have been strange for everything to explode at any moment.
Rumble—
The instant lightning suddenly flashed in the sky.
The tips of the two spears had already met.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The shock that began from that tiny point spread out, making the entire vast sea tremble.
It went beyond the sea and reached the island, until at last it even made the land shake.
The light that began there covered Arilleia.
Kwaang—!
The impact was enough for every resident of Arilleia Island to feel.
The flashing light was visible even from the port city of Lugo.
“Hey, a-are you getting this… u-uaaaagh!”
“Wh-what is this! Save me……!”
And a ship that had been secretly lying low a considerable distance away was flipped over and sent flying.