"No way! Take everything with you?!"
Elara shot up from her seat, her silver-white eyes widening like saucers. Her palms slammed against the rough wooden table with a sharp thud. "That's insane! How do you expect to outrun Bloodbeard dragging half a fortress behind you?"
Her voice echoed through the small room, vibrating with a mix of disbelief and frustration.
She leaned forward, glaring at Luciel as if she could shake some sense into him by sheer will. "I know you don't want to part with your loot, but there's a point where practicality outweighs greed. Do you really think you can fight off an entire band of mutant trackers while hauling this much?"
Luciel didn't answer. He was too calm, too… collected. That, somehow, made it worse.
Elara's lips parted, ready to continue lecturing him, but before she could, Mino spoke up from the other side of the table.
The rabbit-eared girl puffed her cheeks, her voice trembling but firm. "You—you've got it all wrong!"
Elara blinked, thrown off. "...Wrong?"
"You'll see," Mino said, glancing at Luciel for support. "Just go outside and look for yourself."
Luciel didn't even look up from the rough parchment he'd been sketching on. "She's right," he murmured. Then, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, he gave a mental command.
The ground beneath them trembled—softly at first, then steadily.
"Go on," Luciel said, his tone almost teasing. "You'll understand soon enough."
Elara frowned but turned toward the door anyway, suspicion prickling at her. "Go out? What's that supposed to mean?"
The moment she stepped outside, a strange sensation struck her. The horizon wasn't still—it was shifting.
Her hair lifted slightly with the wind as the earth beneath her feet… moved.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait—no. The ground is moving?"
She ran toward the edge of what had once been the stationary clearing and froze. The trees on the horizon were sliding backward. The hills were drifting away. The land itself—her entire environment—was gliding forward like a massive beast slowly awakening.
"This… this can't be real," she breathed, her silver eyes shimmering in shock. "How can an entire section of land be moving?!"
Behind her, Luciel stepped out, his expression calm and faintly amused. "Still think we need to throw things away?"
Elara turned toward him, speechless. "You—! You planned this, didn't you? You wanted to see my reaction!"
Luciel's smile deepened, but he said nothing.
She huffed, crossing her arms as her gaze swept over the receding landscape. The trees, the hills, even the scattered stones—all slowly shrinking in the distance. "No wonder you weren't worried about moving. Your house walks."
A low sigh escaped her lips. "Unbelievable…"
The puzzle pieces finally clicked together. His strange confidence. His refusal to abandon supplies. His unhurried tone even while enemies hunted them. It wasn't arrogance—it was assurance.
Luciel didn't need to run. His home could simply move.
If she'd had something like that, she thought ruefully, she would've emptied Bloodbeard's treasure room herself.
Luciel raised a hand. "Black Tortoise, stop."
The earth rumbled again, then gradually stilled. A deep, resonant hum followed—a sound that felt less like a voice and more like a vibration through the air.
"Woooo~~"
The ground beneath them exhaled. The very land they stood upon—no, the massive creature beneath it—lifted its enormous head.
Luciel placed a hand on Elara's shoulder, his voice calm and proud. "Meet another member of my family. This is the Black Tortoise. Our home."
Elara's mouth fell open, her eyes tracing the towering figure before her. A massive tortoise shell stretched out for what seemed like miles, its rough surface covered in patches of soil and moss. From above, it would look like an island drifting across the earth.
"'Little' Black Tortoise?" she repeated blankly. "There's nothing little about that!"
Luciel shrugged lightly. "Perspective, I suppose."
The creature's size was staggering—easily a thousand square meters wide, as large as two or three basketball courts put together. It wasn't just an animal; it was a moving fortress.
And yet, compared to the mythical beast it was named after—the divine Black Tortoise of the northern legends—Luciel's companion was still only a fledgling.
"It's… magnificent," Elara admitted softly, awe flickering in her voice. "So that's how your 'house' moves."
Mino emerged from the doorway moments later, wiping her hands on her apron. Her ears perked up instantly at the sight before her.
"Wow!" she gasped, clapping her hands. "Black Tortoise grew even bigger!"
Without hesitation, the bunny-eared girl dashed forward, running across the creature's back like an excited child on a playground. Her laughter rang clear and bright in the morning air.
Elara watched her, then sighed, muttering under her breath, "Honestly, her energy is unreal."
Her gaze shifted back to Luciel. "Still, you should be careful. Something this big is impossible to hide. If Bloodbeard's trackers spot it, they'll be here in hours. Unless…" She hesitated. "Unless you head deep into the wilderness, somewhere even mutants wouldn't dare go."
Luciel's expression didn't change. "They'll be afraid to follow."
There was something in his tone—cold, measured, unyielding.
Elara frowned, her curiosity piqued. "And how do you plan to make that happen?"
Luciel's dark eyes glimmered faintly with confidence. "You'll see soon enough."
He stepped forward, the ground trembling slightly under his boots. "Black Tortoise, form the descent."
At his command, a series of thunks echoed through the air as stone shifted and reshaped. A long rock ladder unfolded from the edge of the tortoise's shell, stretching downward in a perfect '7'-shaped arc until it touched the earth.
Elara's lips parted. "That's… convenient."
Luciel turned to the crimson ghost spider perched on the shell's edge. "Arachni," he called. "Bring me that wooden spear from last night."
The spider twitched its legs in acknowledgment, scuttling off to obey.
Elara, meanwhile, stared down at the stone ladder in fascination. She stomped a foot lightly on the shell, trying to mimic Luciel's movement. "So if I just do this…"
Thud.
Nothing happened.
"Hm?" She stomped again—harder this time. Still nothing.
"Hehe~" Mino giggled behind her, covering her mouth. Her long ears bent cheerfully as she laughed.
"Don't laugh!" Elara snapped, though her flushed cheeks betrayed her embarrassment. "I was just testing something."
"Of course you were," Luciel said dryly.
"Cut it out," she muttered, hopping down the newly formed rock stairs.
When she reached the ground, she paused, frowning. "Wait… wasn't the ladder shorter yesterday?"
Luciel's voice came from behind her, low and focused. "The most obvious trail they can follow is Arachni's silk. So…"
He knelt and began tracing lines into the soil, his tone sharpening. "We'll use it as bait."
They were in a narrow gorge between two small hills—a natural bottleneck, perfect for an ambush.
Luciel studied the terrain carefully, eyes gleaming with tactical awareness. Years of soldier's instinct guided his hands as he began shaping the battlefield.
He used his awakened ability—Earth Rock Manipulation—to sculpt the terrain itself. The soil shifted, rocks split and reformed. Within minutes, the gorge began transforming.
He hollowed out the base of a nearby hill to form a hidden cavern. He dug shallow pits into the ground, embedding sharpened wooden spears inside before layering them with dirt and a delicate web of spider silk. From above, it looked untouched.
Then, with another gesture, he shifted the boulders lining the canyon walls—positioning them perfectly for a rolling stone trap.
Elara stood beside him, silent, her silver eyes following every movement.
"You really think this will stop Bloodbeard's men?" she asked finally.
Luciel wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Stop them? Maybe not all. But enough to make them hesitate."
He smirked faintly. "Whether they live or die after stepping in depends on their luck."
Elara stared at him for a long moment, then exhaled softly. "You're terrifying when you're calm like that."
Luciel chuckled under his breath, though his focus didn't waver. "That's the idea."
As the final layer of soil settled, the gorge looked as innocent as before—quiet, ordinary, deceptively safe.
"Done," he murmured, stretching his arms. His breathing was a little heavy now; manipulating such a wide area took both strength and concentration. But the exhaustion didn't dull the satisfaction in his eyes.
Elara studied him quietly, her thoughts swirling.
She'd known many awakeners in her life—hunters, warriors, assassins—but Luciel was… different. His power didn't fit into one category.
Earth manipulation. Beast communication. Energy condensation. Even spider silk creation…
Her mind reeled as she counted them off silently.
Four separate abilities.
In one man.
That shouldn't even be possible.
Her gaze lingered on his back, her heart thumping unexpectedly. "Just what are you…?" she whispered under her breath.
Could it be…?
Could Luciel be a man favored by the heavens themselves?
A ridiculous thought—but one that refused to leave her mind.
Luciel dusted his hands off and looked back at her, completely unaware of her inner turmoil. "Let's move. If Bloodbeard's men survive this place and still manage to follow, then maybe they deserve to catch up."
He smiled faintly—sharp and confident, a soldier's grin before the battle.
Elara glanced back toward the gorge, her pulse quickening as the wind howled softly through the narrow passage. The traps were invisible to the eye, but she could feel the danger lurking beneath the surface.
She shivered slightly, more in awe than fear. "Bloodbeard's going to regret ever meeting you," she murmured.
As they walked back toward the enormous tortoise, Elara cast one last look at the gorge behind them.
She whispered a name under her breath, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Death Canyon."
..
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