The interior of the ship can be seen as a strange dark alley. This is not a matter of brightness in reality, but a concept of darkness. In other words, it is not a natural phenomenon, but is caused by mysterious intervention.
A certain barrier made of magic - a barrier specialized in the effect of repelling sunlight - was set up in this large ship.
Even though everything is illuminated by the sun on the horizon, it is still a dark place that makes people feel uncomfortable.
In the almost empty ship, the silver-haired young man was led by Van Phimm and soon arrived at an elegant terrace.
Although it is just a terrace, the table made of fragrant wood and the cabinet filled with wine glasses exude an irresistible elegance. I think it is because they are custom-made furniture.
Then, standing in front of the table, Van Phimm leaned on his crutches and turned his head.
"Mr. Avia is a little special."
"Why?"
"In my opinion, the only person who could be treated like this by Brad is the runaway Ji Jun."
“It should be more than that.”
"Well, it is true. After all, your situation is indeed somewhat special. It is as if you suddenly appeared, and you cannot see the past or the future." Van Feim admitted it very straightforwardly. "Then, it must be you, Lord Avia, who killed Kraken. You were able to kill Kraken who should not have died now."
"Shouldn't the Kraken be dead now?"
Avia did not deny it, but asked with interest about the ancestor of the dead disciples who was later known as the financial devil.
"In a way, this is the planet's choice. After the Nordic Age of Gods ended, it should have been lurking in the North Sea. After its mystery faded, people who had seen it would say it was a legend similar to a creature outside the planet. But since you killed it, naturally there will be other creatures to take its place."
The man in the top hat spoke eloquently, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
The tone is very steady, and I believe that the singers of ancient myths should be like this too.
"Valery Fernando Van Dielstum, what can I do for you?"
As the two were talking, a girl's voice was heard.
At this moment, Van Phimm nodded to Avia to express his apology, and then looked at the black-haired lady who was slowly walking towards him.
"Mr. Ji, I believe you have met Jishuya."
"...So what? Why are you asking this?"
"That guy must have said a lot to you, and gave you a lot of hope."
Somehow, Altluchi knew that Van Phimm was about to say something very special.
Suddenly, she felt suddenly frightened.
She didn't dare to listen, because what Van Phimm was going to say next would be decisive.
Looking down from the direction where Arteluci was standing, one could catch a glimpse of the blue color, the blue of the sky and the ocean.
Because the ship is tall, the field of vision is vast, and the distant other side of the sea can be seen. What you see is the blue color that people associate with the sea, and the unfamiliar deep blue of the sea.
Not only were there no humans, animals or other living creatures on the water, there was not even the clear air where insects and birds could live, reflecting the clear blue sky, and the edges of countless waves sparkled with subtle and mysterious crystal blue.
It is brilliant, yet filled with deep darkness that never lets anyone see its secrets, a deep blue color that hides the clear parts of the deep darkness.
"Yes, that's right, but I came here only after discussing this with Bai Yi Gongzheng."
Van Phimm let out a long and heavy sigh and made the sign of the cross on his chest.
"You are our only Jijun. Since we have no future, then go against the original choice of the planet and join forces with us to wipe out the Jijun who is still in the process of being born and will appear in another 800 years. From now on, you will be the 'strongest' on the planet and the original 'one'."
Van Phim's expression changed slightly, and these words sounded like a confession, falling into the space of this moment.
"What do you mean... who is Ji Jun yet to appear... who is the strongest..."
Then, Van Phimm spoke.
Say what Altluchi wants to hear.
"Kishia Zelrich Schubin-augu, my friend, since the battle of Vermillion, I have been paying attention to and waiting for the factor that will solve the problem of Vermillion on his behalf, but I gave you false expectations. For this, I need to apologize to you, Princess. It is Master Altruci who should be the leader of us Dead Apostles."
The terrace of Van Phimm, the administrator's room of the Dead Apostle Ship, overlooking the East European steppe.
The ship remained anchored in the Dnieper River, but even with its large size it could not completely stop the rocking.
The boat rocked as if it was somewhat puzzled by the countless scenery of the city that never sleeps. As it admired what it saw, a voice came from behind the man who squinted his eyes in the chair on the terrace.
"Lord Van Pheum, I got it."
One of the six puppet sisters was holding a bottle of wine with a beautiful appearance. She picked up the glass filled with wine and admired the fragrance while tilting the glass slightly and smiling indifferently.
He looked at Arteluchia through the wine and said:
"If I had said this thousands of years ago, no, at least a hundred years ago, I shouldn't have done this, and I didn't have to do this. But if I said this, I'm sure even Kishua and my friends would despise and look down on me."
Listen attentively.
There was the sound of waves.
Human beings come from there, all living things come from there, and most gods are no exception.
Because this is an ocean planet.
So, what about the Dead Apostles?
Where do lifeless things come from? And where do they go?
Only the moon, floating gently in the dark sky, seemed to be laughing.
"You surpassed Zhu Yue in some aspects, but were abandoned by Zhu Yue because you were too unstable."
"But now, the past king is dead, leaving only the only heir to the throne, the only princess, the only... 'one'?"
Van Phimm's breath blew over the surface of the wine.
Flowers bloomed on the surface, and deep red rose petals overflowed one by one.
"Altluci, the factor that the Demon Marshal saw in his solution to Zhu Yue's problem was not you. Because of this, you are destined not to become the One, nor the King. Your nature, future, and efforts are just as Zhu Yue, who has already abandoned you, said—"
Whether it was a trick or a magic, the petals were blown away by the sea breeze and flew into the Dnieper River in Eastern Europe.
“It’s just a failure.”
135: Ji Jun who chose 'shame on you'
"Failure."
In Altluchi's eyes, Van Phim's words overlapped with the words of the former Moon King.
There was a ruthless tone in the condescending words, and that tone left Artluci speechless at the time.
She didn't know how to answer, so she just nodded gently, as if lowering her head.
Because apart from this, Ji Jun didn't know what else to do.
But later, after the battle of Millennium City.
"Now that Zhu Yue is dead, as the future king, you should go and wipe out the restless Dead Apostles, the human church that is eyeing us covetously, and the True Ancestors who have fallen into the 'Demon King'."
The True Ancestor is a species created by the planet, a being with natural sense of touch, but there are flaws in the birth of the True Ancestor, including the urge to suck blood. This is probably because the prototype used as a reference has flaws in itself.
All True Ancestors desire to suck the blood of "humans" whom they are supposed to control, and they constantly consume their mental energy to suppress this urge. Even so, there is a limit. Because they cannot fundamentally resolve the urge to suck blood, their desire is slowly accumulated, and eventually they cannot suppress it by their own strength. Such True Ancestors will personally sink into eternal sleep, and this is the end of their lifespan.
Among them, there are also True Ancestors who cannot resist their desires and end up sucking human blood indiscriminately, and are thus called Fallen True Ancestors.
"Altluci, you are the king who commands us True Ancestors."
After Zhu Yue's fall, the Magic Association, the Church, and the vampires suffered the heaviest losses, with the True Ancestors of the vampires being the most killed or injured. Now that the basis for cooperation no longer existed, the True Ancestors were in urgent need of a "hunting machine" to act as their "judge", and the princess with the strongest ability was of course the best candidate. Moreover, she was the "relics" of the "sinner" Zhu Yue, and the True Ancestors would not feel guilty even if they used her as a tool.
But no one wants to be someone else's prop, so Hei Ji at that time ran away with the black and white knights who were loyal to her, the royal army who swore allegiance to the original royal family, and her own pets.
However, the True Ancestors were not really worried about Ji Jun's departure, because at that time, there was already another Zhu Yue's "legacy" in the Millennium City.
That is the one that will be truly born as time goes by, a replica that appeared in the twelfth century with combat capabilities almost equal to Zhu Yue. Eltluki's sister, Elquet, is a princess destined to become the true ancestor of the original 'one'.
But Artluqi doesn't know this. To this day, she is still working hard to become the king of Millennium City.
Avia, who was listening quietly at the side, naturally understood the purpose of Van Phimm's coming to find Altluchi.
It was too late for Elquet to be truly born, and the current dead apostles could not hold on until that time, so Van Phimm and the White Winged Prince decided to bring their dead apostles to attack the Millennium City and let Altluki kill and devour Elquet, who was still in the process of being born.
This made him one of the "original ones" who could fight against the church.
"did not expect--"
After listening to Van Phimm's words, Altluchi sighed.
The cold-blooded Dead Apostle, who rarely wavered and would not show it even if he did, sighed as if he didn't know how to express his emotions.
"I have a younger sister."
This fact made Altruci, who had deliberately used all her energy to transform into an adult, purse her lips slightly.
She felt nothing. Even when she heard that she actually had a 'sister', she still had no emotion. Maybe it was just based on 'blood relationship', but it was still too unfamiliar to her. Or maybe she was destined to fail. This fact that she was forced to experience made her sad and depressed.
"What do you think, Lord Ji?" Van Feim still had the same smile on his face as when they first met. "If the dead disciples of Lord White Wing and I, together with the two black and white knights, the original royal guards, and the demon dogs, can delay the remaining True Ancestors, it is very likely that you will succeed."
In Avia's opinion, the proposal of the Financial Demon King was simply a replica of the original True Ancestor's request for White Princess to hunt Black Princess. He first sent elite troops to hold back the Black and White Knights and the Demon Dogs, and let the two beings that were infinitely close to nature start a tug-of-war...
"Oh, and what's your attitude, Van Feim? Who gave you the right to speak like that? What's more, you are the ones who need my help."
Somehow, the girl laughed happily, as if the person who had just spoken condescendingly was her.
"I'm so sorry."
There was no way Van Phimme had changed his mind.
In Avia's opinion, neither the White Winged Prince nor the Financial Demon King has changed their mind that Altluchi is a failure.
Even so, the dark princess still sternly expressed with words and indifferent and calm eyes that she would not allow others to insult her.
"I will consider your proposal. Just wait for my reply."
"It's natural."
Van Feim raised his wine glass and saluted Ji Jun who was about to leave.
When she turned around, the black-haired girl seemed to remember the agreement she had made with Avia in Constantinople, so she stopped and turned around immediately.
"Well, I'm leaving, you have to stay with me, Avia."
She said this very naturally.
"In that case, I won't bother you any more. We'll talk next time, Mr. Avia."
In response, Van Feim treated Avia the same way he treated Ji Jun's departure. He squinted his eyes and watched the two figures gradually leaving. He drank a sip of the wine, which was basically just used for decoration, with great interest.
.......
"Have you decided yet?"
The silver-haired young man who was walking side by side with him turned his head and asked, the cold figure of Ji Jun reflected in his blue eyes.
"Ah."
Altluchi, who had transformed into a young girl again, carefully adjusted her expression and tone, and nodded briefly and indifferently.
"To be honest, I don't have any hatred towards the True Ancestors who tried to use me... To be honest, I don't hate them at all, and I don't want to hate them. There's no point in doing so. The same goes for my little sister whom I have never met before. It doesn't matter what happens to her."
Then Altluchi laughed, and contrary to the content of her words, her laugh was extremely cold and sad.
"But if I can't become 'One', then everything in the world will be meaningless to me."
Art Lucy.
The princess of the Dead Apostles, the Black Princess who was considered a failure, said this to the human beside her.
"So I can only 'embarrass myself'."
136: Sassanid Elegy
Only the people of Altluchi's family and Avia knew about Van Phimm's visit and purpose.
Avia didn't ask when Heiji agreed to go to Millennium City, because he thought it was very simple.
If you invite me, then I will go with you. If not, that’s fine too.
