“Ha… ha…”
On the deserted island, Angelica leaned against the back of a large boulder, her face pale as she panted in pain. Her gaze dropped to her right thigh, where blood had soaked the entire area in red.
It was the wound she had sustained earlier when she leapt from the boat into the sea as the wave crashed down.
Watching her trembling leg, Angelica felt nothing but searing pain. The injury had already crippled her ability to move. Even so, surviving that monstrous wave and managing to drag herself ashore was already a stroke of luck.
“I wonder how they’re doing…” Even now, she still worried about the five villagers. At the mont she jumped, she had caught a glimpse of them fleeing in her peripheral vision.
Those villagers had spent their lives battling the sea; their survival instincts were far sharper than hers.
“I hope they’re safe.” Angelica whispered. Her soft words were instantly swallowed by the roar of the waves.
As she stared at the pitch-black sea, Angelica felt a faint twinge of regret. If she hadn’t gone out to sea, none of this would have happened. But she hadn’t had the luxury of staying behind. After all, she couldn’t allow an unknown threat to endanger Aoma Village.
Angelica wasn’t a saintess, nor a selfless martyr; she was just an ordinary girl who loved her ho. Everything she said and did revealed that sentint. At the sa ti, she was simply a kind, responsible, and helpful girl.
“If I were given another chance… would I still save that Apostle?” Suddenly, she recalled the Eleventh Apostle she had dragged out of the sea that day. If judged by the outco alone, her decision that day had undoubtedly been a mistake. She shouldn’t have saved the Eleventh Apostle.
Yet such thoughts only ca after the fact. Angelica had simply done what she believed was right at the ti. And that was saving a life. For soone raised by the sea, such a rescue was almost instinctive, there was no ti to overthink.
Unfortunately, this rescue had triggered a chain of tragic events. To this day, so people still couldn’t forgive her. As for whether Angelica regretted it… Of course she regretted it. No one ever wished for tragedy. But tragedy often struck precisely when people least expected it.
If the sa thing happened again, Angelica knew she would still save the person. However, after saving them, she would never again allow them to be brought into the village.
Learning from a painful lesson didn’t an she had to distort her principles or her will. Angelica was still growing. “I need to rember this.” she murmured. Right after that, her consciousness began to blur.
“Not good… too much blood loss…” Angelica quickly realized what was happening. Her thigh had bled far too much.
**Rumble—rrrmm!**
At that mont, the sea beast thrashed even more violently, and the entire island trembled as though it were the epicenter of an earthquake.
The intense shaking made Angelica feel unbearably ill. She could clearly feel her life slipping away at a frightening pace. These shockwaves were harmful!
In an instant, a shadow of death enveloped her, filling her with indescribable terror.
“I don’t want to die…” Angelica’s face turned even paler, the fear within her twisting into a claw of death that seed to seize her from behind.
“Relax. With here, you’ll never die.” Suddenly, a clear, soothing voice rang out, smashing that deathly claw like a heavy hamr.
“Princess!” Without even looking, Angelica knew exactly who that voice belonged to.
“It’s . You’re safe now.”
“I’m here too.”
Under the beautiful moonlight, two figures appeared, one tall and one small. It was Yae-hi and Lili, who had rushed over from the docks.
With no one else around, both she and Lili had removed the masks that usually obstructed their vision. Both wore calm expressions, showing not even a trace of fatigue. It was clear that walking across the waves from the docks had cost them almost no effort at all.
“Princess… and Lady Lili!” When Angelica saw them, the terror in her heart imdiately turned into overwhelming joy.
“It’s such a relief that you’re safe.” Yae-hi let out a relieved smile, then flicked a green needle that embedded itself into Angelica’s wounded thigh. In the next instant, a surge of vigorous life force flowed into her, rapidly nding her flesh and replenishing her strength.
“You really made us worry.” Lili walked over and gently tapped Angelica on the head.
Angelica froze for a mont, then her heart filled with warmth. There was no mistaking it, Lili had truly been worried about her. And that light tap on the head instantly brought their relationship much closer.
“The villagers who ca with you don’t seem to be nearby.” Yae-hi scanned the surroundings, her tone calm. The only reason she had been able to locate Angelica so quickly in the vast ocean was because Angelica still carried traces of her life energy. As long as the distance wasn’t too great, she could sense it instantly.
As for the five villagers, there was no way to find them for now.
“They’re very good swimrs. They should be fine.”
Seeing the concern in Yae-hi’s eyes, Angelica spoke to reassure her.
“Mm. We need to take care of that big one first before we search for anyone else.”
The coastal waters were completely thrown into chaos by the sea beast. Relying solely on eyesight to find people would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
“Thick hide and tough flesh. A troubleso one,” Lili said as she looked at the sea beast twisting in the distance.
“Mm. We’ll likely have to drive it back.” Yae-hi nodded.
Even working together, she and Lili would have a hard ti killing this sea beast. Its health and defenses were simply too high. Wearing it down would take an entire day and still might not be enough.
But killing it was never their goal. As long as they forced it out of the coastal waters, the village would no longer be threatened. After that, they could retrieve the five villagers and complete the mission perfectly.
“Mm!” Angelica nodded strongly. She very clearly understood she was only a burden here. Following along would only hinder them.
“Let’s go.” Lili clenched her small fists, looking unusually serious.
“This is my first ti fighting such a huge sea beast. I’m a little excited.” As Yae-hi spoke, she drew out the replica of the Sword of Eternity.
“It’ll be good experience.” With that, Lili tapped the ground lightly with her toes and shot forward.
Yae-hi followed right behind her.
Watching their figures rush toward the sea beast, Angelica felt a wave of longing wash over her. Her heart brimd with excitent, and yearning. “If only I could fight alongside them…”
At the sa ti, Yae-hi and Lili had already arrived before the sea beast. This massive creature—part fish, part serpent, and built with thick limbs—continued thrashing its body as its heavy, pitch-black tail churned the sea relentlessly.
Its face contorted into a disturbingly human-like expression of pain, as though it were being tornted by so terrible affliction.
“Let ask first, can you leave this sea area imdiately?” Yae-hi held her sword in her right hand and stood tall like a spear as she addressed the creature. What answered her was a ferocious, sweeping claw!
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