Sphinx had been lazily lying down, but in that instant, its eyes snapped open. It looked up and saw a dark shadow engulfing the entire courtyard.
All of its lion fur stood on end as its body tensed up.
There was no doubt—only one being could give it that kind of pressure.
The Gatekeeper.
But what surprised it even more… was the sight of Germain—the young man it thought it wouldn't see again for a long time.
That very same young man was flying alongside the Gatekeeper.
It seemed that even the Gatekeeper had taken a strong interest in him.
Yes, our god had finally acted toward the west after such a long time.
Not long after, two waves of people arrived at the Boundary Gate from the west.
Could that really be a coincidence?
Sphinx couldn't see through Germain himself, but it could see through his companion.
From that companion's memory, it had glimpsed the scene of that divine battle.
What exactly is our god trying to do?
Sphinx didn't know. But it believed the Gatekeeper might—perhaps that's why the Gatekeeper had taken action of his own accord.
In its memory, this was the first time the Gatekeeper of the Deep Sea Gate had ever personally attacked someone trying to pass.
—
"Captain, look!" a mercenary shouted, his face full of terror.
Muherr, who looked like a silver-haired elf, raised his head.
And then he saw it—an unimaginably massive beast flying across the heavens.
It felt like BW-1 flying just over their heads—up close.
Its dark wings spread wide, blotting out the sky. More terrifying still were the tendrils hanging from beneath its chin, writhing like Medusa's serpents.
If one looked closely, they would see a small black dot flying beside the massive beast, shimmering with a silvery white glow.
Muherr's mercenary squad was just about to set up camp on the clearing near the scientific vessel.
After all, they were waiting for Germain and his team to return.
But they hadn't expected to witness such a shocking scene.
When that massive creature hovered in the sky, Muherr only then became aware of its presence.
Perhaps this was the rumored Gatekeeper.
Sure enough, it possessed immense size, overwhelming presence, and an eerie, terrifying aura.
But why was the Gatekeeper here?
Why would it fly so far from the island?
As Muherr and the mercenaries stood confused, they suddenly saw the Gatekeeper swing its trident at an angle.
A towering wave, over ten meters high, rose with a deafening crash.
And then — a silver flash darted agilely from within the engulfing wave, launching itself into midair.
The wave crashed down, missing its mark completely.
Only then did Muherr finally notice the silver flash.
A gut feeling told him he had figured out why the Gatekeeper was here.
And also — what that silver light truly was.
But the more he speculated, the more surreal it all seemed.
Either he had gone mad, or the world had.
Perhaps... Germain was far stronger than he had ever imagined.
Maybe Germain had simply never revealed his full strength in front of him.
Now, more than ever, Muherr believed he had made the right choice.
Compared to Beyond, Pariston, or Saiyuu — none of them could possibly reach this level.
"This place is called the 'Sea of Raging Tides'."
After stirring up a massive wave, the Gatekeeper clearly wasn't expecting to make Germain back down so easily.
"The battlefield is wide enough, and your companions won't be affected. I've met the conditions you asked for."
Germain didn't show the slightest hesitation.
His silver wings had long since spread open, his black robe billowed around him, and in his hand, the Burial Blade gleamed coldly—a curved, narrow scythe that exuded a chilling aura.
"This place does meet my requirements."
He looked around calmly, completely unfazed by the Gatekeeper's overwhelming presence.
The Gatekeeper raised one clawed hand, pointing directly at Germain, its tone tinged with curiosity.
"I've been meaning to ask since earlier… That form you've taken… Did you absorb the power of the 'God of Curse of Resentment' during the chaos?"
Germain didn't answer.
He had no intention of being led into the other side's tempo. "Flying here, and speaking with you… it all counts toward the time."
The Gatekeeper suddenly remembered the agreement between them—the ten-minute limit.
Roughly three or four minutes must have already passed.
It let out a low, self-deprecating chuckle.
For a long-lived being like itself, it often forgot the concept of time.
It simply didn't care.
"In that case, I suppose I don't have much time left, do I?"
The Gatekeeper's tendrils stretched wide, and its grinning mouth curled into a wide arc.
"Then show me what you can really do."
The moment it finished speaking, it didn't pause.
It raised the Trident of Terror high into the sky.
Under its guidance, dark clouds gathered rapidly overhead.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
A fierce wind tore across the battlefield.
And the already-violent sea began to surge even more wildly.
The so-called raging winds and roaring thunder, the crashing waves and violent storms—this must be what they meant.
Still, this scene wasn't nearly as bizarre and magnificent as the divine battle Germain had once witnessed near the New Continent.
It felt more like a scaled-down replay, confined to the skies above this realm.
Even so, the power the Gatekeeper was gathering was still enough to shake the heavens and stir the clouds.
This was its domain.
With a sudden motion, the Gatekeeper lowered its trident.
After a series of brilliant flashes, thunder boomed violently, streaks of lightning tearing through the clouds, striking down toward Germain!
Germain dodged the first golden bolt of lightning.
Then the second.
Then the third.
His silver-white wings allowed him to weave gracefully through the storm.
His eyes never left the Gatekeeper.
He was watching, reading its next move.
The lightning strikes were nothing more than distractions.
And the Gatekeeper didn't keep him waiting.
*******
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