"Huh?" Markham shot up from the sofa. He had been ready for his muddle-headed aunt to start rambling again, but instead, she dropped a bombshell that made his heart jolt.
"That Zane girl? You an Amber Zane?" Blackie asked, looking stunned.
"Honeymoon Presidential Suite?" Micah’s eyes went wide.
"Cruise ship?" Leo blinked, his expression full of question marks.
"Sacred Sea Island? A vacation?" Williams’s tone was half incredulous, half confused. His gaze drifted toward another room—Celeste’s. Everyone exchanged odd looks. Even the usually unflappable Regis’s eyelids twitched slightly.
Starfall, Ethan’s father, who still wasn’t fully aware of his son’s escapades, twitched his lips into a half-smile he tried to suppress. Inside, though, he was secretly thrilled. That rascal... unbelievable. He hasn’t even settled things with the Whitmore won, and now he’s got the Zane girl too?
But he didn’t dare show too much amusent. The group had been searching for Ethan for so long, only to learn he had apparently taken off to enjoy himself with a girl. Anyone would feel a little resentful. Still, he was worrying for nothing.
"Hold on, hold on—what are those looks for?" Aunt linda cut in quickly, seeing the sudden shift in the room’s mood. "Ethan isn’t that kind of person!"
Once everyone’s attention turned back to her, she continued more seriously. "Do you know Kiara Quinn? She’s gone missing. lody Quinn, the head of the Quinn family, told that Ethan and Amber Zane went to find her. And it seems Lyla’s disappearance is connected to Kiara’s as well."
As Aunt linda explained, the pieces finally fell into place. They now understood why Ethan had boarded the Flying Dragon and why his destination was Sacred Sea Island.
"Kiara Quinn... that little girl... Heaven’s Dawn!" Victor said suddenly, scanning the roster Leo had brought. He pointed to a na listed among the Renegade Alliance’s core mbers, which included both in-ga handles and real-world identities. "I didn’t realize she was an Energy user—and a direct disciple of the Quinn family head!"
Leo gave a low whistle. Heaven’s Dawn had been their team’s main healer. Normally, a Druid wouldn’t make it into the core roster, but she was different. Her healing output had surpassed that of Divine Priests, and her skill set was unusually versatile. She had mastered a collection of rare abilities, including so that hadn’t even been released to the public. Her most impressive spell was Rebirth, the power to resurrect a fallen ally mid-battle. It could only be used once per fight, but its value was beyond asure—especially when the main tank went down. Leo himself had been brought back from the brink by her more than once.
Just as he finished, Markham added grimly, "She’s not only a direct disciple—Kiara Quinn is Aunt lody’s own daughter. And her father’s surna is Quinn... as in the Quinn. Of the chessboard."
"Quinn?" Celeste frowned. "You an one of the Noble Eight Lineages? The Quinn family?" She had always prided herself on the Ninth Division’s intelligence network, but even she hadn’t known that.
At her question, the Chase siblings and the three mbers of the Whitmore family exchanged glances and nodded.
Celeste blinked in disbelief. "You all knew already?"
"Yes," Evelyn said softly. "We found out during the last Decennial Ranking Tournant, back at the Silverwood family’s territory."
A murmur passed through the room as everyone connected the dots. Kiara had gone missing first. Lyla had followed a lead and vanished soon after—taking Astrid with her. And now, Ethan had followed that sa trail, which led all the way to the so-called Sacred Sea Island.
"In that case... let’s get ready to go!" Victor said, his voice charged with determination.
"It seems we can’t go anywhere," Williams replied grimly, handing his phone to Kai. "I just checked the global map. There’s no such place as Sacred Sea Island. Not only that, the Flying Dragon’s service has been suspended."
Victor’s expression darkened as he looked down at the screen. The words Tickets Suspended glared back at him in bold red letters. They had finally found a lead, yet the path forward was completely blocked.
"The Flying Dragon’s route disappears once it reaches international waters," Leo muttered, scrolling quickly through his own phone. "Everything after that is hidden. This is definitely suspicious."
The room fell into uneasy silence. Just as everyone was trying to make sense of it, Celeste spoke up suddenly, her voice calm but certain.
"I know where it is."
---
Far below the surface of the ocean, deep within the mysterious Cosmos Isle, Ethan was locked in a fierce struggle with a gigantic pufferfish-like guardian beast.
He had already clashed with it countless tis. Even with the Twilight War Spear in hand, his attacks were useless. The creature’s entire body was a perfect sphere, soft yet elastic; every blow he landed sank into it like a fist into cotton, only for the recoil to hit him back several tis harder.
Still, Ethan had noticed sothing—the beast’s attacks, while powerful-looking, lacked real force. All it could do was hurl its massive body down like a wrecking ball, and even that strike packed less power than the rebound it gave off.
After so many failed exchanges, frustration was building on both sides. The pufferfish’s tiny eyes glared at him with outrage. It hadn’t been summoned for who knew how many centuries—this was its first ti acting as guardian—and yet it couldn’t handle one stubborn human. Ethan darted around like an insect it couldn’t squash, and that "toothpick" spear of his was actually hurting it.
"Doo... doo... doo..."
As Ethan braced himself for another charge, the creature’s mouth puffed open with a strange rhythm, and a thick cloud of dark green mist erupted toward him.
Beep, beep, beep—warning! Toxic substance detected!
Ethan’s combat ch’s alarm blared in his ears.
"Huh?" He blinked in surprise. "This thing can spit poison too? What is this—actual pufferfish toxin?"
For a second, he almost laughed. ’Too bad for you, I’m immune to all poisons.’
Then he paused, rembering a certain embarrassing incident. The Lust Serpent’s venom had once put that confidence to sha. He grimaced slightly. Let’s hope I don’t crash and burn again.
The green fog rolled over him. A mont passed... nothing. His system readings stayed normal. The toxin had no effect.
Across from him, the massive pufferfish hesitated, its blubbery body trembling as if confused that its secret weapon had failed.
Ethan grinned. "I’m done playing with you."
With a sharp hiss of tal, the ch armor folded back, revealing his own body beneath.
"Battle Embodint—activate! Panther. Bear. Owl. Swift Flight!"
Energy rippled outward as all four forms flared to life. Here, inside this strange, enclosed world, he no longer felt bound by the usual restrictions of Earth’s laws. He could finally use his flight form freely, soaring upward like a shadow streaking through water.
"Force Resonance. Energy Accumulation..."
A low hum filled the air as power coursed through him, muscles vibrating with tension.
Shred. Heavy Strike. Solar Flare!
Ethan compressed every ounce of strength, funneling it all into the Twilight War Spear. He hadn’t had a chance to charge before—the guardian’s relentless assaults left no opening—but now he was done dodging.
The pufferfish lood above him, massive enough to fill the entire cavern, its shadow swallowing him whole. There was nowhere to retreat, nowhere to hide.
Perfect.
Ethan took a deep breath, his eyes burning with focus.
"This ends now."
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