Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Her voice was a little softer than usual, but it reached Ariel's ears clearly.

The next moment, the light around her suddenly exploded, like a golden flower that was ignited at the same time, melting the phantom of the sea god and herself into a gate of crimson-gold flames.

The door slowly unfolded in the void, its edges swirling with fine wave patterns. Behind the door lay a space filled with golden light, exuding an ancient aura belonging to the authority of the sea god.

Ariel stood before the gate of flames, watching Poseidon's figure dissipate, and the last trace of warmth remaining in her eyes as they turned transparent.

She lifted her foot and stepped through the door.

The crimson-gold light flickered slightly the moment it engulfed her figure, then returned to its stable state.

After confirming her entry, the fiery gate slowly began to close, and the golden patterns at its edges began to recede inward.

Poseidon's figure, amidst the fading light, resembled a watercolor painting scattered by the wind, gradually becoming transparent from the edges.

As the door closed completely, Poseidon's figure also completely dissolved into the dissipating golden light.

The room returned to calm, with only the lingering, slowly dissipating power of the sea god remaining in the air.

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had already set foot on the land.

He hovered above a desolate wilderness, his dark blue robe fluttering in the wind, his long hair billowing backward, revealing his sharply defined, cold face.

The moment its feet touched the land, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's brows furrowed slightly.

It is completely different from the ocean.

The atmosphere in the ocean is pure and singular: seawater, salt, the rhythm of the tides, and the energy fluctuations emitted by the soul beasts living within it.

He could clearly distinguish the source of each undercurrent, accurately pinpoint the location of each sea spirit beast, and sense every subtle change.

But the air above the land was like a pot of broth that had been stirred up.

The scent of grass and trees, the scent of earth, the aroma of cooking fires emanating from human settlements, and the remnants of various types of soul power...

They are like countless threads of different colors intertwined and woven together, forming a complex network that he cannot easily penetrate.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King hovered above the wilderness, its spiritual power spreading in all directions like an invisible mist.

He could sense the outlines of several towns in the distance, and he could also sense the soul power fluctuations emanating from the soul masters active in those towns, but he could not distinguish from those uneven fluctuations the specific traces belonging to Poseidon or the successor of the Sea God.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King was prepared for a long search. He had long anticipated that tracking on land would not be as smooth as in the ocean.

This land covered in dust and vegetation is not his home turf after all; he needs time and enough patience.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King did not rush to move. He hovered in place, extending his mental power as far as possible, like a fishing net slowly being spread out, taking in every city, every mountain forest, and every stream along the way into his perception range.

He was searching for that trace imbued with the scent of the ocean, for that fluctuation related to the power of the sea god.

Those imprints are unlike any energy on land; they are like a drop of oil falling into clear water, forming a thin film on the surface that is difficult to completely dissolve.

Just as the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was covering a location approximately several hundred miles to the southeast, an extremely powerful aura of the Sea God suddenly rushed into his perception.

The aura was rich and pure, as if the entire ocean had been compressed into a warm, golden light, which was spreading outward at a certain stable frequency.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's pupils contracted sharply. Then he opened his eyes.

He would never mistake the power of the sea god contained within that aura.

That is the power of the Sea God that is released only when the inheritor of the Sea God undergoes the Sea God's test. Although it is unknown which test this is, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King knows a little about it.

The divine trial will inevitably take a great deal of time. During the trial, the inheritor cannot move easily and must remain in place, devoting all their attention to comprehension and the trial itself.

A cold smile slowly curved the corners of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's lips.

He had found it. The source of that aura was exactly what he was looking for.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's figure suddenly accelerated in the air, like a dark blue ray of light compressed to its limit, shooting towards the source of the sea god's aura.

He was moving incredibly fast, so fast that the surrounding scenery became a blur of colors in his vision. Wilderness, hills, scattered villages and towns flashed past him like pages of a book being turned.

He needed to arrive before the divine trial ended and devour her before the Sea God's successor completed the trial and her divine position was secured.

……

Bright Moon City.

Eva stood outside the wall of the villa in the east of the city, her gaze fixed on the crimson-gold light that was spreading from the wall into the sky.

She could clearly sense that the power of the sea god contained in that light was steadily rising, like a river being slowly filled, with the water level rising irreversibly.

Ariel's sea god inheritance is still in progress, and it has reached its most crucial moment.

Eva's brows furrowed slightly as she sensed an extremely powerful aura rapidly approaching from the southeastern sky.

The aura carried the salty, vast scent unique to the ocean, yet as it swept across the land, it exhibited a sluggishness that seemed out of place, as if it had been forcibly forced into an alien container.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King.

Eva's gaze darkened slightly. He had indeed come looking for her.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King should still be quite a distance from Bright Moon City. At his current speed, he should arrive in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

This amount of time was neither too much nor too little, enough for her to do a lot of things.

Eva didn't hesitate for long. She raised her right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the sky.

As she moved, an invisible force spread outwards from her in all directions.

The power was not fierce; in fact, it could be described as gentle, like a thin veil being slowly pushed open, silently covering every inch of the entire Bright Moon City.

The rules of beauty.

A real illusion.

The aura of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King is getting closer and closer.

Eva opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the rapidly approaching dark blue dot of light, and a faint smile slowly curved her lips.

That's the expression a hunter has when watching his prey step into a trap.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale's attention was entirely focused on the rising aura of the Sea God. His mental power was like a fully drawn bowstring, intently locking onto the source of the golden light.

In this situation, he finds it difficult to notice the subtle changes hidden in the surrounding environment, the air, light, and airflow gently covered by the rules of beauty, and the illusions that are like a gentle rain nourishing the earth.

They don't attack proactively, they don't make a sound, and they don't arouse alarm. They simply exist quietly there, like the omnipresent air, waiting for the right opportunity.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's figure suddenly stopped in the sky above Bright Moon City.

He hovered high in the sky, his dark blue robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze fixed on the rising aura of the sea god in the east of the city.

That aura was right next to me.

He could feel that power pulsating at an extremely steady rhythm.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King neither looked down at the city below nor noticed the subtle changes in the surrounding air.

His entire attention was focused on that aura of the sea god.

He said in a deep voice, "Found it."

He raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the direction of the villa in the east of the city.

Dark blue divine power condensed in his palm, like a deep blue ball of light compressed to its limit, with fine golden electric arcs wrapped around its edges.

Then he extended his palm forward.

However, the dark blue divine power did not strike the villa in the east of the city as he had expected.

It silently blended into the surrounding space, like a stone thrown into deep water, without causing any ripples or leaving any trace.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King frowned slightly. Something was wrong.

His spiritual power suddenly spread outwards, this time even more violently than before, like a shockwave that had been blasted open, precisely covering every inch of the entire Bright Moon City.

His senses detected the anomaly the moment they touched those spaces. The buildings, streets, and trees that looked exactly like the real thing all showed subtle shifts when his mental power swept over them.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's pupils suddenly contracted.

fake.

The whole city is fake.

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding sky.

Those areas that were once covered by the aura of the sea god are now empty. The golden light that was once as clear as a lighthouse seems to have never existed, leaving not even a trace of its afterglow.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's brows furrowed slowly, and his voice was like a muffled thunder rising from the deepest part of the sea: "Illusion."

“Your Highness, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King,” a calm and smiling voice came from behind him, “Since you’re here, why not sit down and have a chat? You should at least give a greeting before trespassing into someone else’s territory.”

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King suddenly turned around, its gaze piercing like a knife towards the source of the sound.

Eva stood a few feet behind him in the void, her deep purple robes fluttering gently in the wind, her emerald eyes reflecting his tense profile.

She looked at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's cold, hard face, which was slightly tense from being teased, and the calm smile on her lips deepened.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's gaze lingered on Eva for a moment, then his brows furrowed even more.

He could sense the divine aura emanating from this woman, an authority unlike that of the ocean, gentle yet omnipresent, unlike the sharpness of his anger, but possessing a penetrating power like spring water seeping into the sand.

"You are a god of the continent." The voice of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was as cold as icy seawater. "This is a feud between me and the Sea God lineage, and it has nothing to do with you. Hand over the successor of the Sea God, and I may spare your city."

Eva tilted her head slightly: "Your Highness has come from afar. Even if you want something, you should ask the master's opinion first. Asking for the handover of a distinguished guest from the territory right off the bat seems to be a bit improper for a guest."

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's patience was running out.

He raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing Eva.

Dark blue divine power rapidly condensed in his palm, and the golden arc patterns at the edges were even denser than before, like a bolt of lightning compressed to its limit waiting to be released.

"Since you don't want to pay, then I'll take it myself."

The moment he finished speaking, a thick, dark blue beam of light shot out from his palm, carrying a violent divine power capable of leveling an entire city, and slammed straight towards Eva's location.

The dark blue beam of light tore a fine crack in the void, and the golden arcs of electricity swirling around its edges emitted a continuous and dense crackling sound as they passed through the air.

Eva did not move.

She stood still, letting the dark blue beam of light hurtle toward her face.

Just as the beam of light was about to touch her body, her aura suddenly changed.

A semi-transparent barrier, shimmering with fine silver light, silently appeared before her, like a piece of silk that had been crumpled and then unfolded again, completely catching the dark blue beam of light.