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"Here, make yourselves at home. It has been a millennia since I've had guests." She said. "Fishmen! Where are you? We have guests!"
And as she called for them, they came. While mermen were people with fish-like features, Fishmen were fishes with human-like legs and hands.
"These are Fishmen, my Homunculi. I created them to be my servants. They might be dumb and clueless, but they're cute, aren't they?" She giggled, giving one a head pat and getting her hand all slimy.
"Uhhh… Sure." I said.
"Guop! Guests!"
"We have guests, guop!"
"Welcome, welcome!"
"Here, handkerchief!"
Suddenly, a red-colored fishman offered me a slimy handkerchief for some reason.
"No thanks."
"G-Guop…"
He suddenly seemed to be about to cry.
"Ah, fine…"
I grabbed the slimy piece of cloth and noticed it had a strange mark, and it was finely made despite being rather nasty. It resembled a shield made of shellfish and starfish.
The Fishmen were very welcoming, offering their own things to everyone as we made our way through the empty and cold corridors of this ancient castle. This was definitely something she brought from somewhere else.
Little Rose seemed the most drawn to the witch, as she had a stigma just like her. Despite this, she was very shy and didn't addressed nor talked with her, hiding behind Benladra. Seriously girl, you have to talk with her! She just said she was your ancestor!
Well, maybe she didn't hear that when she said it.
"And welcome, at long last, we're here. Fishmen, bring my guests some drinks, and snacks, anything you've got at hand. Forgive me if this place is quite… dusty, even with all of my fishmen's efforts the dust never goes away. This castle is… quite in ruins." She laughed.
"In the way here we noticed a lot of statues and other things, some walls were destroyed too, and there were even weapons left behind and empty armor." I said while sitting. The rest of my friends quickly sat around the table as well. "Was there a battle here?"
"Hah, you're quite observant, dragon." She sighed, looking back at Rose, who timidly seemed to look into the floor while blushing. "Indeed, there was once a war here. A battle against a Monstrous Calamity that stole our treasure, killed our god, and almost completely destroyed our entire country."
"The Deep One, I assume?" Benladann wondered.
"Or is there something else?" Miranda asked.
"You're all quite sharp. I suppose I can skip some explanations and so on. You've come here to find out more about the Stigmas, the Deep One, my true identity, and so and so?" She wondered.
"Mostly yes, but that's because I want to kill him and free this country from him." I said nonchalantly.
She looked at me with shock.
"Even after having sealed his powers into four fragments, I was still unable to kill him, yet you think you can do it?" She laughed. "Interesting… You're really an interesting man, Drake."
"So you're who I thought you were." I sighed.
"Huh? Don't tell me…!" Rose said.
"Wait, no way…" Coral muttered.
"Could it truly be, Drake!" Said Pekora in surprise. "Is she…?! But I thought that person…"
"No, I haven't died yet. I am alive as you can see." Sighed the witch. "My true name is Sapphira Aquarius Starfall. I am the Ancient Queen of this Queendom, who was said to have perished together with sealing the Ancient Evil, which is now attributed as the "Ocean/Sea God"…"
"Y-You're the queen? So the "saint" that sealed him was the queen herself?!" Yuki was surprised. "Then why haven't you done a single thing to stop your wicked descendant from bringing this country to shit?!"
"Hah, it's not like I could do anything." She sighed. "If I move from my position, he will quickly use his pawns to enter the Sacred Lands. This entire Mist is a barrier I've created to protect this place. Because in here is where the last Fragment of the Blue Ocean's Tear lay rests."
"The Blue Ocean's Tear?" I wondered. "Oh, you mean these?"
I showed her the fragment of the Blue Orb.
"I-I knew there was something odd about you… To think you possess one as well. Where did you found that fragment!?" She asked.
"I found it inside a Kraken we ate." I said.
"Kraken? Wait, don't you mean the Giant King of the Sea that has been tormenting our seas for generations?!" She asked.
"Huh? So it had a title?" I felt slightly surprised. "Well he was tasty."
"Gods… You lot are truly strange. But perhaps this is… what we truly needed to finally make a change. Fresh talents from another, faraway land." She sighed, sipping some wine.
"So my hypothesis are true then, the Dungeon in this area is protecting the other fragment." I sighed. "There are four, one is possessed by the queen, another by the deep one, one's with me, and the last one is in the dungeon, isn't it?"
"Yes… Though with a single fragment, it would had never been possible to fight them, but now that you've arrived here, perhaps…" She said.
She continued her explanations. Saphira ended being the actual ancient queen of Aquarius that sealed the Deep One in the ancient times. She had to bear one of the Stigmas herself, and all of her descendants as well.
Through years passed, the Deep One's influence slowly began to emerge. She had to hide away and seal the blue orb fragment in the dungeon in here to keep it safe and protect the area using her magic and beating anybody trying to get in using her deadly Stigma's powers.
While Rose had the Stigma of Mirages and Illusions, she had the Stigma of Curses and Beasts, which allowed her to conjure incredibly powerful curse and to summon powerful beasts. She said she made the Fishmen with this power too, and the mist surrounding the area is also a living being named "Living Mist".
"It has been so many years since I considered fighting them… If you truly are willing to do as you said, then… I will also help you. But don't think this will be easy, that Dungeon… It is where the Guardian's remains have been sealed, even after death, he seems to not be able to rest in peace." She sighed.
"The Guardian?" I wondered. "Just who is he?"
"He's an Ancient Being, a Divine Dragon, just like you." She said, her eyes seemed filled with sadness as she recalled his name. "He was Aquarius, the Great Sea God, and the founder of our country."
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l