Everyone is Young Except for Me - Chapter 348

Chapter 348
Due to the queen’s death, the helcurts who came together were scattered. Naturally, it was now the time for the counterattack to begin. A loud voice was heard from below, [All merfolk, follow me!] 

Deucalion’s loud shout was followed by the attacks of the merfolk soldiers. The blue waters were already tinged with blood. In an instant, Leviathan lost tens of thousands of helcurts and the queen. He opened his mouth and roared, [Neptune! You are blocking my way once again!]

Leviathan’s instincts for blood awakened and his eyes became very red.

[You always do things in the name of maintaining peace! I hate you. Why don’t you eat or dominate the weak with that power?]

Red and black energy started to rise from Leviathan’s giant body. It was the power of envy, one of the innate powers of the demon king of envy. It was also the power of the abyss of the sea which allowed him to move faster than Blash. The merfolk soldiers were influenced by the power of envy and started to attack the same side.

“Why are you so handsome! Unlucky!”

“What? Why are you so ugly?!”

“I’ve never liked you!”

The effect was outstanding. The power of envy weakened the momentum of the merfolk soldiers who tried to attack the few remaining helcurts. What followed was Leviathan’s black Aqua Breath. It was a force that was clearly different from Aqua Breath of the water dragon, Blash. The tightly compressed water pressure that seemed to contain ink shot out and tried to reach the merfolk soldiers. There were also Clymene and Deucalion there. Kang Jaeseong swam quickly and swung the trident to twist its trajectory.

The twisted black Aqua Breath collapsed a huge mountain made of tough underwater coral reefs. Leviathan was satisfied with the power and smiled.

[Huhaha! As expected of Neptune. Then take this!]

Something distorted and a grotesque sensation seemed to surround his whole body. Kang Jaeseong felt a cold sensation and stared at the space behind Leviathan. Leviathan’s words continued, [There is also a sea in the demon world. In that blood-stained sea, demonic piranhas live. Stop them if you can.]

[Uh, this is something I’ve never developed...]

The moment Leviathan’s words ended, the piranhas from the red demonic sea were summoned behind him and rushed forward at a terrifying speed. The number reached the hundreds of thousands.

[Now, let’s try it again. Atlantis, tremble!]

Ice thorns erupted from Leviathan’s body and at the same time, the eight abyss tentacles used the ‘sucker’ cups to grab Atlantis’ soldiers one by one. The demonic piranhas also rushed at them. It was chaos.

* * *

Meanwhile...

I arrived at the place with the monument that Kang Jaeseong mentioned. There was just one problem. I couldn’t figure out how to deal with this stone tablet.

“This is it.”

The name of this monument in front of him right now was ‘Monument of Promise.’

Kang Jaeseong said it was a sign that symbolized the promise he made with Pluto, the god of darkness and death. What type of secret was behind the promise that Pluto and Kang Jaeseong made?

I always thought of Pluto as an enemy to be defeated, but Kang Jaeseong was talking like he was an ally. It was confusing.

“I think the chosen person written here is Senior. I don’t know exactly what it means to break the promise.”

Joseph expressed doubts while touching the monument. He didn’t know the reason why Kang Jaeseong told us to come here. By the way, Kang Jaeseong was an NPC so we couldn’t even send him a whisper. We couldn’t ask him about this problem.

“If I knew it would be like this, I would’ve asked Hyung-nim for more details. I’m sorry, Elder. It is my fault.” Joseph scratched the back of his head to show his embarrassment. 

I shook my head like it was okay. “No. Time was short.”

“Still...”

“There must be a way.” I sighed again as I saw the letters engraved on the monument in front of me. White light was leaking from the engraved letters so I could read them clearly.

[If you want to cross the Sea of Time and go to the land of the dead, break the old promise. However, if you aren’t the chosen one, you will live as a slave to death for the rest of your life.]

It was an eerie phrase. It was a curse that I would live with death for the rest of my life if I wasn’t the chosen one.

[However, if you aren’t the chosen one, you will live as a slave to death for the rest of your life.]

“Am I the chosen one...?”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Here’s the thing. It would be embarrassing if it is denied that I’m the chosen one. I really don’t want to be a slave to death. I don’t have long left to live.”

“Hahaha. Elder, even you have things you’re afraid of. Are you afraid of death?”

“I’m afraid. It might be different in the past, but now I have many things to protect.”

Literally, there are many things I need to protect right now. The people of the Atlan Kingdom, my family, and my new friends. Right now, the world here and the real world might be in danger. We can’t just stand by.

“Things to protect... it somehow resonates with me.”

Joseph nodded slowly and then smiled a bit like he was thinking about something. He must’ve thought of his wife and the twins. In any case, he was a surprisingly homely guy.

“By the way, the Sea of Time and the land of the dead seems to refer to a certain place. Then what is breaking the promise? This is definitely the most important clue. It is a riddle...”

Dudududu.

It was at this time that the ground started to shake. I had felt it a few times when coming to this place, but it was a much bigger earthquake than before. Even the ground supporting this place was split.

“Elder, avoid it!”

The moment Joseph cried out, the ground shook and pieces started floating into the sea. I was fine. It was Joseph who shouted for me to avoid it that was the problem. Who should be worried about whom?

“This guy. You should be worried about yourself more than me.”

“Haha. It is a bit embarrassing.”

Joseph once again scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. It happened just then...

“Ah, Elder! Take a look here!” Joseph shouted loudly and called for me.

“......?!”

I cocked my head to see where he was pointing. Joseph was pointing to the cracked ground behind the Monument of Promise. Surprisingly, something like a black energy was leaking out there.

“This...?” Just then, something flashed in my head. “If Kang Jaeseong made a promise with Pluto and this monument is a sign of that promise then perhaps...”

“Elder, have you figured something out?”

“Stay away for a second.”

Joseph stayed silent and kept a distance from the stone monument. Once I confirmed that he had moved away, I immediately used the features of the leather shoes made by Drain, Lazy Feet Clouds. I gently kicked off from the ground with one foot.

There was slight shaking and the ground started to crack again. There was already one earthquake so the ground split easily. I was aiming to crack the monument in front of my eyes. The Monument of Promise was cracked and a black energy flowed from the gap. Only then could I be certain.

“I really have to do this to break the promise.”

I quickly struck at the center of the monument with my feet. The Monument of Promise couldn’t withstand the power and started to crack. A black wind blew quickly.

“Ah, Elder. If you do something like that...!”

However, Joseph learned his worries were groundless.

“Ah, this is perhaps...”

Joseph guessed my intentions and looked surprised. It was because there was a jet black portal in front of me. I turned to Joseph and told him, “You go back.”

Then I threw my body into the black portal. The portal disappeared in an instant like it had been waiting for me.

* * *

At first, I heard a drop of water. The water droplet caused ripples that spread gradually. This made me flinch. The next thing I heard was the sound of waves. A calm, rough sound tickled my ears and I could tell that my eyes were closed.

“...Gasp!”

I gasped and raised my upper body. I exhaled and felt like I was alive. I quickly looked around and found that I was on a beach. The scary thing was that the sea here was completely black. I slowly recalled what happened previously.

“I definitely went into the portal...”

I had entered the portal and then an unknown energy grabbed me. I couldn’t fight against it. My eyelids became heavy and darkness came. It was clear that I had fainted. The place I fell into must’ve been the middle of the black sea and floated to the beach like this. My mind calmly subsided and I gradually regained my calm.

I raised myself up.

“Then how did I survive?”

I had clearly fainted. I wouldn’t have been able to breathe. How was I alive now? I touched the area around my neck and found that the effect of the mermaid’s scale that Torres had given me was gone. The gills that allowed me to breathe in water had disappeared and there was no chance of surviving.

Then how was I alive? Additionally, where was this place?

My head was full of questions. It happened just then...

"It has been a while, King of the Seven Stars.” A very familiar and aging voice was heard from behind me.