A deep blue, gently undulating sea, so vast it stretched beyond the horizon, was now laid before the eyes of the City of Silver exploration team. It was no longer merely a passage in an ancient text or a combination of words spoken by an outsider.
Though still distant, it now seemed within reach.
Wine-red-haired Antirna stared at it with fascination, her lips parting slightly as if to voice her awe, but only a single word escaped her mouth:
"The sea..."
The moment she spoke, a silvery-white crack suddenly appeared on her forehead.
The crack shot up and down in an instant, splitting Antirna's body cleanly in two. Warm, scarlet blood burst forth, drenching the head and face of Derrick, who stood beside her.
Silently, more silvery-white light burst from within Antirna, carving her body into countless bloody chunks.
Her face, filled with longing and obsession, shattered like a jigsaw puzzle hitting the ground, fragments scattering everywhere.
It was only then that Colin the Hunter reacted, swinging his two straight swords in a horizontal sweep and a diagonal slash, as if fighting an invisible enemy.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As silver light flashed and the sound of metal clashing echoed, the dawn light around Colin Iliad shattered and scattered in disarray.
At that moment, the silvery-white phantom behind Lovia the Shepherd stepped forward and drove its blurry greatsword into the ground.
Clang clang clang clang clang! Around the members of the City of Silver, beams of sharp silver light appeared in different places, desperately cutting at the invisible barrier nearby, like insects struggling in amber.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The fine and coarse silver light flickered continuously, shaking the protective force covering the exploration team, making it seem on the verge of collapse at any moment. Yet, whether it was Colin the Hunter, Lovia the Shepherd, or Derrick and the others, none could find any trace of the enemy.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein the Fool was about to offer some guidance when the Chief of the Six-member Council seemed to have an idea and crossed his two straight swords before him.
Clang!
A massive silver light struck the two swords, driving Colin the Hunter's feet deep into the solid stone floor.
Seizing this opportunity, he suddenly roared:
"Domain of No Darkness!"
Hearing the Chief's reminder, Derrick did not hesitate. He stabbed his finger fiercely into the thorny spikes of the Cross of No Darkness.
As his blood seeped out, a transparent, bright, pure, and blazing light burst forth, enveloping the entire area between the two structures.
In this domain, not a single shadow could exist, nothing could hide. Light reigned supreme.
A massive figure rapidly took shape beside the Giant King's palace. "It" was clad in a full suit of silver armor, nearly five meters tall. Behind its faceplate flickered not a crimson or orange glow, but a single veritable vertical eye.
This was a giant, a living giant.
It would not wait for the enemy to enter its alert range before attacking; it possessed sufficient intelligence.
Unlike other silver-armored knights, this giant's arm plates bore distinct markings. One on the right side was blood-red, encircling the arm, and one on the left side, in the same position, was dotted with black patches.
The giant knight raised its broadsword, pointed it at the people of the City of Silver, and spoke in a thunderous voice:
"How dare you trespass in the King's Court and disturb the slumber of Lord Sasrir!"
Sasrir? The Dark Seraph Sasrir? Above the Gray Fog, Klein the Fool was shocked by what he heard and involuntarily sat up straight.
The former Left Hand of God, the Vice Lord of Heaven, the leader of the King of Angels, one of the two chiefs of the Rose of Salvation, had not vanished into the river of history? He slumbered deep within the Giant King's Court, within the residence of the Giant King? Why had he chosen to sleep? A torrent of thoughts flashed through Klein's mind as he instinctively shifted his gaze to the palace guarded by the giant knight.
That was the tallest and most magnificent structure in the Giant King's Court. The light of dusk seemed to have condensed into a tangible form, coating its surface and imbuing it with a pronounced sense of decay, giving one the feeling of twilight's curtain falling and everlasting night approaching.
On its sides stood a spire and a round tower, and the main double doors, open outward, were primarily grayish-blue, towering more than ten meters high, covered in symmetrical symbols, sigils, and patterns, both solemn and mysterious.
About three to four meters up, to the left of the door crack on the great doors, there was a pitch-black hole, the size of an adult's fist.
Seeing this, Klein suddenly remembered a "Dream Divination" he had conducted before. Back then, he had seen an identical scene, and the medium for the divination was the Giant Key obtained from the Admiral of Iceberg.
Was that the key to the Giant King's dwelling? Klein reached out to summon it while simultaneously trying to use his "True Sight" to penetrate the obstructing structure and see inside the palace.