Antika is a floating island located in the far seas of the West Sea. It is officially called the Sea City, but because of its special creation process, it is commonly known as the Lawless City.
It's a massive island, its levitation a mystery, and inhabited by people unable to live on the mainland. That's right, heretics and criminals, who ultimately end up here.
Some say that the people there are obsessed with desire, loveless and ruthless, and everyone has degenerated into a beast without humanity. It is a place where killing and being killed, plundering and looting are a daily occurrence, and people can only die in pain.
Some people also say that it is the garbage dump of the world.
Some people say that it is a hell abandoned by God.
Some people also say that it is a place of exile for people without faith.
This is how most people on the mainland perceive the place.
There are two reasons why that place was able to avoid the Holy Light Church's hunt for heretics.
First, it serves as a mirror, telling everyone, "Look, it's because of a lack of faith that we end up like that."
Another reason is to use it as a prison. Finding and hunting down the heretics scattered across the continent is incredibly difficult, but what if there were a place where they could evade capture? Then, without any action, the heretics would gather in one place.
Then just let them kill each other on the island and reduce their numbers, and the job will be done.
Therefore, whether it was Niz or Oscar, when they were disciplined as children, they both had the experience of being taught that "bad kids will be sent to Andika!", so they inevitably had some resistance in their hearts about going to Andika.
Seeing the two people's reactions, Mireddy smiled softly and said:
"Among the members of the 'Liberators', there were also people who were from Andica in the past."
The way she described it in the past tense gave us an idea of what became of that person. A hint of loneliness could be seen in the depths of Meredith's eyes, revealing how much she missed that person.
"That person happily told his companions, 'Antikka is a free city!' There, everyone can make their own decisions and be responsible for everything they do. Although they can't be careless, they live happily. Although there are many evil people, there are also many people who are easy to get along with—everyone lives under the rule of free will."
“That person is…”
Six years ago, he was still a member of the "Liberators." One day, he assaulted a priest to protect a child and was arrested. Afterward, he was severely tortured and sent to Leysin.
His name is David Constance.
He was the one who planted a small thorn in Meredith's young heart. He was the sinner who, despite being covered in wounds, still asked Meredith, "What value is there in a world without children's smiles?" He was also the one who started it all.
After leaving Count Lessen's household and joining the Liberator, Mireddy's companions told her about Davey. They said Davey had always had a wish: that one day, a place like Antica would appear on the continent.
"I thought to myself, I must go there one day. Because he smiled like that before his death, and the place he was so proud of must be, absolutely! It must be a great place! So let's go together!"
Meredy smiled brightly, while Oscar and Natsu nodded with wry smiles in response.
"And most importantly! I heard there's a casino there! It's also called Casino Andica! You can make money there! My gambling soul is trembling with excitement! Oh, Xiaonai! Gambling awaits us!"
"You're ruining the atmosphere!"
"…Mileddy is still Mereddy after all."
Needless to say, Oscar and Natsu's faces were filled with disappointment.
For the next three days, they crossed countless sand dunes, engaged in countless battles with monsters, and camped outdoors under the bright moonlight. Just as the sun, radiating a powerful presence, passed through the zenith, Milady and the others arrived at the port city of Epona.
The smell of the sea tide tickled my nostrils, and the humid air, completely different from the desert, caressed my skin.
In fact, it was the first time for these three people to see the sea, so the moment they heard the sound of the tide, their eyes immediately flashed with excitement and they couldn't wait to run out together.
They crossed the street, passed the warehouse district, and then—
“It’s the sea~~!!”
"Oh, oh! That's the sea!"
"..."
Seeing the scene before them, Meredith raised her hands and cheered loudly, Oscar showed an excited expression, and Nez seemed to be overwhelmed by the magnificent momentum of the sea. He opened his eyes wide and was speechless for a moment.
Looking out, what I see is not the horizon, but the sea level. The glittering sea reflects the sunlight like a gem.
Ships of all sizes floated on the sea, and several docks jutted out into the water. Seabirds flew back and forth overhead. As if singing in chorus with their cries, the crews also let out spirited shouts.
The three of them looked out at the vast and magnificent scenery with excitement.
After a while, they found that at the very edge of the pier where there were no moored ships, several children jumped into the sea and played happily. Perhaps they were local children.
"Let's go! Brothers! Follow Xiao Mi!"
Meredith screamed and rushed to the dock. When Oscar and the others came to their senses, Meredith had already taken off her cloak, stockings and shoes while running.
“Ahhh~~♪”
Meredy cheered and jumped right into the center of the astonished children.
"Ahhh, really, it's so rude to be like this in front of others."
Oscar smiled wryly as he collected the clothes and luggage that Meredith had taken off and scattered on the ground. When Meredith exposed her legs, she attracted the crew's lustful gazes. Nez glared at them and ran after Meredith.
However, Meredith herself did not care about the feelings of the two men at all.
"Wahahaha! How's it going? Children of the sea! Is your sister a better swimmer? Come on, come on! If you can catch up with me, come and try~~"
“What! Who are you that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?! Damn it! Stop! I’m definitely going to catch you!”
"Who is the big one?"
"Don't underestimate me, I won't lose to outsiders!"
She immediately blended in with the children and became one of their friends.
At the same time, the children seemed to vaguely sense the aura exuded by the sudden appearance of Meredith, or perhaps their heartbeats quickened because they saw a beautiful girl of a type that was not seen nearby. The cheeks of the children, both boys and girls, seemed to blush a little.
"It's a shame she's such a beautiful girl."
"Haha, you don't have any objection to her being a beautiful girl."
Oscar didn't respond to Naz's complaints, but pushed his glasses up to cover it up.
"Ah~ Look, did that Meredy guy use gravity magic again?"
"She wouldn't want to lose to the kids even if it meant she had to fight for her life..."
Seeing Miledi swimming towards the shore at an unusual speed, Oscar and Niz both showed helpless expressions.
A mischievous-looking boy exclaimed in astonishment, "I can't catch up! What's going on with that guy?" The youngest girl, covering her face with her hands, warned, "Big Onee! Your underwear is showing!" As the other children paused, exclaiming, "Could that guy actually be a Sea People?" and "Outsiders are so scary!" Meredith, confident she was well ahead, finally stopped near the sea.
She floated on the water, waving her hands to emphasize her presence, then smiled brightly and pointed her index finger toward the sky, as if declaring victory, announcing that she was number one.
"Alright! It's about time you came back~~!"
Oscar shouted, bringing his hands to his mouth.
Meredi immediately crossed her arms, as if refusing to return, and then waved with both hands. It seemed the leader wanted his companions to come over.
Oscar and Nez looked at each other, shrugged, and said, "Oh, there's nothing we can do about her," and prepared to take off their clothes to fulfill Meredith's wish.
Meredith seemed to be unable to wait any longer. She smiled and shouted loudly:
"Ah~oh~! Nai-chan~! Come~over~faster~huh!?"
Then she was eaten.
Suddenly, a fish that looked like a shark jumped out of the sea and swallowed her in one bite.
The fish seemed to be over ten meters long. Incidentally, it emitted a faint, ominous, dark red glow, suggesting it possessed magical powers. In other words, it was a demonic creature.
“…”
Oscar and Nez, still tugging at the clothes, stopped and stood there in silence. The children were also stunned. The sight of a person being swallowed by a fish and drowning in the sea was too shocking.
Therefore, no one could move and could only watch the shark fin and the trace of water flow towards the north at a fierce speed.
Ten minutes later—
On the beach on the north side of the harbor, a girl was washed ashore by the sea and fell to the ground - it was Mireidi.
"...It's so miserable."
Just as Niz said, when Mireidi drifted ashore, her ponytail that she usually tied up became disheveled like seaweed, her clothes were torn in many places, and her body was covered with jellyfish-like slime. She looked very miserable.
"Are you alright, Meredith?"
Oscar's expression twitched slightly, and he gently turned Millefiori over to face him.
He immediately saw a pair of emotionless eyes.
"This is definitely weird."
"Well, how should I put it? This is just bad luck. Well, seeing how miserable you look, I'll build you a makeshift shower. How about you change your clothes?"
"Thank you, Ao, but there are times when a woman cannot give in."
"I don't understand you."
"Xiao Mi! I want to have a good swim in the ocean!"
What Miledi seemed to mean was: How can a mere monster block my way!
"I, Millardi Lessen, am the embodiment of free will! I stand against all unreasonable people!"
"In many ways, you are truly a free man."
"O sea, oh monster, I will avenge my humiliation! If you can resist me, then resist!"
A beautiful girl (?) who looked like a shipwrecked woman roared and rushed out to sea again. She swam a beautiful freestyle, heading for the coast.
"--ah!?"
The result was obvious. It seemed that Meredith had entered a phase of attraction that only attracted sea monsters, and in front of Oscar and the others, she was washed ashore approximately ten times.
About a week passed after that.
Miredi and the others focused on gathering intelligence. After enjoying a seafood feast today, they arrived at the northern beach early in the morning.
Oscar was repairing a medium-sized metal ship, while Nez was writing a letter.
A cream-colored eagle perched on Natsu's shoulder. That eagle, named Cream, was the partner of Tim Rocket, a young man in charge of liaisons for the Liberator. It was a bird of Isonia, used as a carrier pigeon on the mainland.
Tim possesses an innate magic called "Bird and Beast Protection" that can enhance ordinary birds and beasts to the level of magical beasts.
Through this inherent magic, Cream can fly at an average speed of 120 kilometers per hour for three to four consecutive days, exerting extraordinary abilities, and as a result, becomes a means for the "Liberator" to transmit information at high speed.
Cream had just brought a report letter to Meredith, as well as letters from Sisha and Ruth, so Naz was writing a reply.
Incidentally, Oscar and Meredith had already written their replies and put them in the small bag hanging around Cream's neck. The reason why Naz was still writing was because he was being extra cautious.
This is to prevent the sisters, who have extremely keen intuition, from having strange misunderstandings.
Meredith sat with her knees hugged, away from the sea, gazing at Oscar and Nez. She didn't go near the sea because of the trauma she had left in her heart.
"The sea is so scary... woooo." Whenever Meredy thought about it, she would burst into tears. Even though Oscar and Nez tried to comfort her together, it took them a long time.
Looking at the two people working on their work, Meredith sighed and said:
"Since Xiao Mi has been meeting Ao and Xiao Nai recently, I thought I would definitely meet the Saint as well, but things haven't been going so smoothly."
Oscar seemed to have heard her mumbling clearly. He smiled wryly and replied:
"Because that's normal."
"Oscar is right, so aren't we preparing to go to Andica?"
Natsu looked up from his gaze on the letter and said.
During this week, they asked around but found no clues.
In this case, it would be better to go to Andika, but there is another problem.
That is—there are no regular shuttle boats to Antica. Not only that, there aren't even any merchant ships. But that's understandable. Who would want to publicly reveal "I'm colluding with the city of heretics"? Antica is a place that is only tacitly accepted by the world, not a place that is recognized.
"How did those who fled to Antica cross the sea and reach Antica?"
Meredith tilted her head in confusion, but this was the only thing they couldn't ask anyone about, because doing so would be tantamount to publicly admitting that they were heretics.
"Is there a secret channel? Or maybe merchants secretly transporting it...? Well, probably no one has their own ship like we do, so I guess there must be some way."
"The question is, we are amateurs in navigation. Can we reach Antica safely without getting into trouble?"
They didn't know the exact location of Antika. Although they had a rough map of the island, it was quite far out to sea, about 500 kilometers away, a distance that would normally take three to five days to sail.
What's more, Meredi and the others don't know how to sail, and they have to search at the same time...
Oscar pushed his glasses up to dispel such doubts:
"We can determine our location from the position of the stars. I'll set up a transmitter at the port. Using the silver disk, even in the worst-case scenario, we can still return to land. And..."
Oscar let the ring with a red gemstone on his right hand glow.
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