His burning eyes looked directly at Ace, and Ace stared into Bahar's eyes for a moment...

"It's a waste of effort."

Ace severed Bahar's will and also severed his body.

Bahar was slashed with his saber, and this time he really fell down.

"hateful……"

Ace glanced at Bahar lying in a pool of blood, then left the scene as if nothing had happened.

Not long after that.

Just as Bahar's consciousness was about to disappear into the mist, he suddenly heard footsteps.

"——!"

Someone gasped slightly, and after Bahar rolled his eyes, he himself gasped in surprise.

"...Li...Liju?"

Then another person gasped. That person was the one Bahar was looking at with his hazy eyes - Mei'er.

She looked exactly like Lizhu, as if Lizhu had come from the underworld to greet her.

But Bahar immediately thought that it was he who made her unhappy, so it was impossible for her to come to greet him.

So he discovered it, and then he figured it all out. He knew what the secret was that Lizhu refused to tell him until the end.

"So that's what's going on..."

The woman who stared at him with eyes shining brightly and finally revealed a helpless smile must have believed him.

But, in the end, I probably still couldn't gain her "trust," so she continued to hide the treasure. I had no right to blame her; it was simply because I was too weak and it was all my own fault. A self-deprecating smile naturally appeared on Bahar's face.

"May I have your name?"

"I'm so cold, I probably won't last more than a few minutes." Bahar summoned all his energy and asked this question before dying.

Mei'er approached with an expression of hatred, anger, and a hint of confusion.

"My name is Mei'er, and I'm the woman whose mother you took away."

"...You and her...look alike."

Indescribable emotions welled up in Mei'er's heart. "You have no right to talk about my mother," she cried inwardly. Knowing Bahar was dying, she still wanted to swing her sword and end his life.

"It's okay, go ahead and kill me... If it's you, I can give you my life."

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't want to accept anything from you!"

Mei was overcome with emotion. Natsu, standing behind her, put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Listen...you have to be careful of Ace. They're in the ruins...Tigne...I'm leaving it to you."

"Shut your mouth."

He spoke as if he cared deeply about Tignes, worried about his safety, but Mel refused to believe him. To Mel, Bahar was an object of hatred, a symbol of evil. Mel raised her sword, not allowing him to pretend to be a good man in his death.

What stopped her saber from falling was the still-active glance.

“…What the hell is that?”

We can see Bahar shielding Tigne from falling rocks, attempting to allow Tigne to escape, only to be betrayed by Ace. We can also see Bahar desperately fighting to reclaim his daughter from Ace.

"...You took my mother away from me."

Mei'er said again.

"You're greedy, cruel, and you dominate everything with violence. You're just such a rotten man, aren't you?! You're a wicked person, worse than an animal, aren't you?! And now you're showing that you have a conscience, that you love your mother, and that you care about Tigne—stop it!"

Mei'er's roar echoed in the cave. It was the roar of hatred and anger that had been hidden in Mei'er's heart since the day her mother was taken away.

"You're right."

Bahar didn't deny it. He closed his eyes, exhausted, and couldn't even make out what he was saying. He just spoke the words that came to his mind.

"I don't know... any other... way to survive."

Because they have never been loved, they don’t know how to love others; because they live in a violent world, they only know how to rule with violence.

There was only one thing he understood.

"The treasure I want most...I can't get it."

He was unable to obtain everything from Lizhu and only brought misfortune to his daughter.

Bahar laughed at himself, "Evil man? I don't deserve it at all. I'm just the monkey king in the mountains."

"My family... my people... my daughter... you can take them all... I'm sorry I took Liju."

His heartbeat gradually weakened, his body grew weaker and weaker, and even with the naked eye, it was obvious that his vitality was fading...

--Father?

Mei'er's mind flashed back to the confused expression and voice of Tigne when she visited.

Mei'er bit her lip, her gentle smile gone. Her expression twisted as if she were enduring unbearable pain. Her nails pierced her palms from her clenched fists, and blood dripped continuously.

When the object of her hatred was about to die, Mei'er was in a fierce struggle between her conscience and her desires.

"When you die, it's over. Nothing will be left behind."

"Natsu-kun?"

The one who suddenly spoke up was Natsu, who had been watching quietly from the side without interrupting.

Mei turned around and saw Natsu looking at her seriously.

"Is that okay?"

"--!I……"

Bahar's heart was about to stop.

“I… Ahhhhh, seriously—‘Absolute Situation’!!”

Mei screamed, her confusion seemingly fading away, unleashing the power of regeneration from the Age of Gods. This was the highest level of healing, capable of pulling someone back from the abyss of death, as long as they were still alive.

The sacred light of the morning glow illuminates the cave brilliantly.

"Huh? This is... you..."

Bahar regained consciousness, his wounds healing as if in reverse, his body rejuvenated. He was bewildered. But then he realized the miracle was being performed by Mel, and his eyes widened in astonishment. Bahar was astonished not only by Mel's healing power, which surpassed Tigne's, but even more by the fact that she had actually saved him.

"I will not forgive you."

"..."

"But... Tigne might want to forgive you. I'll protect the future she desires. You said you don't know any other way to survive? Stop acting like a spoiled brat and stay alive and have a proper face-to-face conversation with Tigne."

The light of the morning glow disappeared into the void, followed by a period of silence.

Mei'er looked down and Bahar looked up, and their eyes met.

The first one to look away was Bahar, a slight smile on his face.

"You really look like her..."

"I'll kill you."

Being told that she looked like her mother made Mei happy, but hearing it from Bahar made her murderous.

Hearing Mei'er's straightforward words, Bahar smiled bitterly.

Bahar stood up and walked over to Kelvin and the others. After confirming there was no pulse, he looked at Mei'er, who shook her head. Bahar nodded slightly and gently closed his eyes.

"You've worked hard, so you can go there and wait for me."

Mei'er looked at Bahar's back with a complicated expression.

Bahar stood up, and when he was about to say "I'll take you to the ruins".

——Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

A powerful roar echoed throughout the cave, erupting from the ground like a volcano, the sound inexplicably filled with resentment, hatred, and anger. For a timid person, the roar just now might be enough to make them lose consciousness.

"Gu, Mei'er, are you okay?"

“Yes, yes, but what just now was…”

Hearing the unusual roar of a beast, Natsu and Mel shook their heads in confusion.

"...Could it be Antica's disaster?"

Bahar said this with his eyes wide open.

Mei'er and the others were about to ask, when at that moment there was a sudden strong vibration.

As if the island were being thrust upward, the impact echoed from the distant seabed. Violent tremors occurred intermittently, and in the gaps between the rumblings, the roar continued. The trembling atmosphere was as if the island itself was in fear.

"Bahar! Do you know what!?"

Mei'er asked Bahar loudly about this extremely unusual situation.

"Come with me! I'll explain on the way! Tigne is there too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bahar ran out. Mei'er and Niz looked at each other, nodded, and then followed him.

On the way, Bahar explained to Mel and Niz the existence of the ruins they accidentally discovered, the existence of the divine beast, and matters concerning the seal.

Not long after, Mei'er and others arrived at the ruins.

Bahar kicked the door open and the three of them rushed in. What they saw were the restored murals and altar, Tigne lying under the altar and murals, and Ace standing on the altar with his back to Mel and the others.

"Tigne!"

Mei rushed out, picked up the fallen Tigne, and checked her safety. It seemed that she had simply fainted due to magic power depletion.

That being said, Tine's magic alone probably wouldn't be enough to restore all the ruins, so perhaps Ace had done something. However, Tine was forced to force herself, her face turning not only pale but also ashen.

Mei'er hurriedly cast a regeneration spell on her, and thankfully, Tigne's complexion recovered smoothly.

"Um……"

"Tigne!"

Tigne's eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. Seeing Mel, her eyes widened in surprise. As if to confirm reality, she touched her sister's cheek. Mel grasped Tigne's hand tightly and embraced her. Tigne finally realized that this was real.

"Sister! Sister!"

Tigne seemed to have seen hope, and hugged Mei'er with thousands of thoughts in his mind. Mei'er also fulfilled her long-cherished wish and hugged Tigne tightly.

"I see, you were saved by a user of regeneration magic."

A voice came without any emotion or even any feeling.

Mei'er suddenly became alert and focused her attention on the battle. She held Tigne in her arms and stared at Ace on the altar.

At the same time, Bahar shouted:

"I don't have time for you right now. Hey, you two, destroy this room! It could be sealed again!"

Nizu reacted immediately and prepared to destroy the mural with a space explosion.

But the moment he stretched out his hand, Ace appeared in front of him.

“What—Ugh!”

Natsu was stabbed in the chest by the hand knife, and his body flew out, slamming into the wall with great force, and he was momentarily breathless. If he hadn't deployed the barrier in time, his abdomen might have been pierced by the hand knife.

"Natsu-kun!"

"Just be quiet."

When Mei'er swung the water whip, Ace kicked her from behind. Mei'er hugged Tigne tightly to protect her, but the impact still made them both almost lose consciousness.

Bahar caught the flying Mel and Tigne, who was in her arms. Thanks to this, Mel was able to avoid hitting the wall and losing consciousness, but Bahar, who was protecting them, felt his ribs crack.

"Rebels, the inhabitants of the false paradise, those wandering the sea, and those who seek to subjugate them. When all factions gather in one place, disaster will awaken."

With a swish, Ace put on a black cloak with a hood that he had taken out from somewhere and moved towards the altar.

Because Ace's strength was unexpectedly strong, and they were hit hard, Mei'er and the others were temporarily unable to move. Ace turned his back to them and said:

"The time has come. The calamity of Antica, the great monster sealed away long ago on this island, the King of the Sea—the mythical beast Leviathan—has been resurrected."

At that moment, a roar incomparable to the previous one was heard, and the impact caused the entire island to shake.

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