Silas didn't know how long his hallucination had lasted. Perhaps it was an instant, perhaps several minutes.
In the sea ahead, there was an island formed of ruins.
Giant stones were piled up, walls had collapsed, and that terrible gasping sound was coming from within.
For others, the sound only made them feel uncomfortable in their hearts, but for Silas, this sound was violently assaulting his spirit.
Amid the pain, Silas seemed to form an image in his mind: a massive, rotting corpse buried beneath rubble.
He had long since died, yet his pale, lusterless eyes remained open, his mouth agape, endlessly emitting foul gasps...
Can't listen anymore.
Silas decisively thought, immediately summoning the illusory tide of the sea in his mind.
As the sound of the tide rose, the pollution from that voice was instantly expelled from his body.
"Are you alright?"
Bernadette asked.
"Barely managing. Please leave here as quickly as possible."
Silas struggled to stand, his face pale.
Having just arrived in this peculiar sea area, he had already received a welcoming gift.
The Dawn immediately filled its sails, rapidly leaving that island behind. The gasping sounds gradually diminished until they could no longer be heard at all.
"That voice comes from the True Creator."
The Queen briefly explained.
"Yes, quite similar to what I usually hear."
Silas nodded in agreement.
This polluted, blasphemous feeling, this intense saturation of the spirit, came from that evil god he was so familiar with.
But...
"Why is it a corpse?"
He murmured softly.
The True Creator clearly hadn't died, so why was that corpse emitting His ravings?
The Queen glanced at him.
"I advise you not to delve too deeply."
She said, "This sea area is extremely dangerous.
Many ruins contain remnants of divine power that bring terrible consequences to those who approach.
Even I can't guarantee I could escape unscathed... So, we'd better proceed along the already explored safe routes."
"...Alright."
Having witnessed scenes of divine battles in his hallucination, Silas agreed with the Queen's words.
After resting for a while, his mental state gradually recovered.
Although the sunlight in this sea remained perpetually at midday, time still continued to flow.
The Queen's numerous invisible servants busied themselves in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous lunch for the guests on the Dawn.
Even Luna received specially prepared cat food mixed with caviar and grains, which she ate while constantly licking her lips, her eyes watery.
As for Silas, he sat with the Queen in the exquisitely decorated dining room.
The long table was filled with Intis-style delicacies: pan-seared foie gras, red wine beef, tender steak, assorted smoked meats...
"To a smooth journey."
The Queen raised a glass of red wine.
Silas thought to himself, also raising his glass filled with plain water.
"Cheers."
For ordinary ships at sea, to ensure water didn't spoil, they basically substituted weak beer for drinking water.
But this was the "Queen Mystic's" ship after all, so naturally there were ways to provide fresh water.
Silas picked up his knife and fork.
During his days in Loen, he had become accustomed to these two utensils, skillfully using them to cut the tender steak and spearing a piece to put in his mouth.
"How is it?"
The Queen casually asked.
"Very good, but it would be even better if it were more tender."
Silas answered, "Like rare, no, medium-rare?"
The Queen looked at him with amusement.
"Don't worry. After dinner, the kitchen will provide you with a batch of raw beef."
That would be even better.
Silas nodded.
Only then did he relax and begin enjoying the food.
To be honest, he hadn't eaten foie gras in his previous life and didn't know if there was any difference from this world.
"By the way, Your Majesty, I'd like to know where in this sea area my 'Black Knight' extraordinary characteristic is located? And in what form does it exist?"
Silas asked curiously while cutting his foie gras.
He had wanted to ask this question for a long time.
At the time, the Queen had only given a "prophecy" without further explanation, and he had entered this dangerous sea area entirely on trust.
"That characteristic... he's still currently a person."
The Queen's answer surprised him.
"Huh?"
Silas was slightly stunned, then quickly understood. "Is it an Aurora Order saint?"
"That's right. The Aurora Order's 'Black Saint' Leomaster led a team of pilgrims to the True Creator's sanctuary, but their fleet got lost in this sea area.
Everyone died, and only he remains trapped within."
The Queen said, "As long as you kill him, you can obtain the 'Black Knight' extraordinary characteristic from his body... You don't mind killing an Aurora Order member, do you?"
"Of course not."
A trace of coldness flashed in Silas's eyes.
For his sister's revenge, he had long ago vowed to clean out all Aurora Order members.
Killing a high-ranking Aurora Order member naturally posed no problem.
Especially since the Queen could provide assistance, the two of them working together would naturally have confidence in defeating a Sequence 4.
"But as a demigod, he should have some ability to protect himself here, right?
Since the pilgrimage team has been completely wiped out, why doesn't he leave this place and return on his own?"
He suddenly thought of a question and asked.
The Queen nodded.
"Because..."
The next moment, both their expressions changed simultaneously.
Because a giant ship had appeared.
The ship's hull blocked out the sunlight, casting a shadow over the dining room.
Through the dining room windows, they could see it was a massive, black warship.
This ship had appeared without any warning on the sea surface extremely close to the Dawn, with only about ten meters separating the two vessels.
For two giant ships, this distance was almost touching!
What was most incredible was that clearly, the moment before, the waters around the Dawn had been calm golden seas, and the next instant, this ship had suddenly manifested.
It was as if it had been wandering through the void and only now appeared, or as if they hadn't noticed it at all before, and only when it had the intention to communicate did it actively draw their attention!
The two quickly rushed out of the cabin.
Seeing the approaching ship from outside gave an even stronger sense of oppression.
This giant ship was also a sailing vessel with wooden hull, but it had numerous cannons on both sides, and at the very front of the bow was even a massive cannon opening shaped like a dragon.
Similar to the Dawn, this giant ship was also empty, with only a single figure on the deck.
This was an elderly gentleman sitting in a black wheelchair, with a pale complexion, long pale yellow eyebrows, and hair neatly combed back.
At this moment, the old man was looking at Bernadette, showing a gentle, calm smile.
"Queen, please return that item to me."
The old man said.
But the Queen showed him deep wariness and didn't respond.
"Your Majesty, who is he..."
Silas asked in surprise.
For a pirate king to show such an expression, the other party must be extraordinary!
Bernadette took a deep breath and said, "This guy is Barros Hopkins."
"At sea, he's also known as the King of the Black Throne."