Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

He looked at Kal'tsit, then glanced at the Doctor who was being protected by Kal'tsit behind him. Suddenly he understood something, and he turned sharply to look at Lotin.

He was incredibly foolish to flaunt his knowledge of the Deep Blue Tree in front of two orphans from a previous civilization.

"As for you, Buodes, I hope you die knowing why."

"There's someone who'd be more eager to take action than I am."

Although Lotin has not yet seen Ubihan appear, he must be lingering near the city. He and Buodus were once close friends, and Buodus's actions will turn their former affection into a deeper anger.

"Unbelievable, is this really Maritus? That great Argonaut philosopher, the founder of the Arena of Wits, Maritus..."

What Clementine found even more difficult to accept was that this great philosopher was actually called a "traitor and sinner" by Nautilus.

"I hope to broadcast this statement to all of Agor."

Lotin's tone was tactful, but Clementa instinctively felt she couldn't refuse.

It wasn't until another, more powerful Agorian sent an urgent message—that the governor of the Scientific Development Planning Institute, Heratia, Goredia's mother—that things changed.

“If Milyalium sends this broadcast, Agor will assume that a rebellion has broken out in the city.”

"Please be sure to send the broadcast; this is the truth about Haisi."

Lotin calmly crushed the projection device; to him, it was just another ordinary, arrogant Agorian.

Clementine's collar was now soaked with cold sweat; she knew that a single "please" did not necessarily mean the other person was genuinely discussing things with her.

“Agor will be saved because of this.”

"including you."

Clementa desperately hoped that the strong signal jamming would prevent the broadcast from going through, but the threat from Haisi had made the major cities of Agor more isolated than ever before. Miliarum was under special surveillance because of the shipping route project, but it was difficult for all the other cities to be closely monitored.

In the end, Clementa gritted her teeth and prepared the program to send the broadcast.

Chapter 250: Unveiling the Fig Leaf

Even without any external intervention, Brandos wouldn't live much longer, because he had performed similar procedures on himself in order to recreate the Hay-Agor cell balance that he had achieved in Ulpian.

This procedure was initially classified as a "surgical accident," so he was prepared to die when he conducted this experiment on himself.

The experiment did not cause the mutations seen in the Deep Sea Cultists; his Deep Sea Cells remained in an extremely inactive state, so inactive that they could not be detected by Agor's existing rapid testing reagents.

Similarly, he did not gain superhuman powers like the Deepsea Hunter as a result.

It seems that Hais and Agor did achieve some kind of balance in him—if we ignore his rapid aging.

But now, he was filled with an unprecedented will to live, and another secret was enough to make him die with regrets. Only Maritus could unveil this secret.

Buodes waited, utterly exhausted, for Maritus to begin his speech.

"I thought Governor Clementsa would be tougher, but I didn't expect her to agree so easily."

Buodus's breathing became so rapid that even the emphasis in his speech became quite comical, while Clementa continued to give the traitor a cold shoulder.

“You have no right to speak now. You have been deprived of your civil rights, Buodus.”

"This inquiry, which is two hundred years overdue, should finally begin."

Was Clementa unwilling to refuse? Having single-handedly resolved the massive tidal wave that Miliaruum was completely unable to handle, Clementa knew very well the consequences of forcibly disobeying the other party.

Moreover, she always felt that only by doing this could she truly save Agor, let the Agor people know why Haisi had become what he was, and, more importantly, make the Agor people remember the mistakes they had made.

To ensure that as many cities in Agor as possible received the broadcast, she even violated regulations by using emergency communication equipment that had been specially placed in Milaliaum for the "Channel" project, which possessed superior transmission capabilities.

"My fellow countrymen in Agor..."

When the word "compatriot" was mentioned, Maritus subconsciously looked at his hands. As a spirit, he did indeed have human arms, not slimy and ugly tentacles.

The momentary wavering did not lead him to genuine remorse; he delivered the broadcast speech entirely under duress and torment. However, none of this mattered to Loting, for within the Soul Prison of the Blood-Drinking Sword, his punishment would never cease.

"Two hundred years ago, I led an exploration team and disappeared during an excavation of the heritage of a prehistoric civilization."

"As is well known, it was a failed exploration mission."

“Previous humans hollowed out entire rock layers to build a labyrinthine complex. The traces of this alteration extend all the way to the lower mantle, and our excavations over the past thousands of years have only reached its periphery.”

"The mantle ruins, the origin of the Agorian civilization, we thought that more heritage, more secrets, and more answers were buried deep within them."

The former glory and splendor of Agor brought Maritus only a moment of nostalgia, for what he saw next prevented him from indulging in the fragile illusions of the Agorians.

“My teammates all got lost along the way, only I, only I reached the end of the road.”

Maritus's thoughts returned to that day.

"There, I saw the silhouette of a colossal creature slumbering in the deep blue shadows of the trees."

This broadcast was sent as far as possible across the vast sea area. Apart from the major cities that were directly controlled by the Science and Technology Development Planning Bureau, almost all cities that could receive Agor General's emergency distress signal received this communication with holographic images.

In a relatively safe large city in Agor, the residents initially treated the broadcast as a personal artistic creation based on a citizen's application, until they saw the projected Maritus begin to recount the despairing details of the exploration of the ruins.

Any Agor citizen who has completed basic social education would know that the relevant authorities would not approve the creation of works on such sensitive topics—even in Agor, individual freedom has its limits.

Some governors of major cities wanted to cut off the broadcast, but found that it was being broadcast on the highest priority emergency distress frequency, making it very difficult to cut off the broadcast except by completely shutting down the power.

Forcibly cutting off the power would only lead to suspicions among citizens that something was amiss. Some cities chose to do this, but many more responsible and accountable officials chose to publicly discuss Maritus's speech, following the custom of the Agorians.

In cities constantly plagued by the Haisi, the Agor people who live there place even greater importance on this broadcast, their intuition honed by their long-standing struggle against the Haisi.

His tentacles clung to the transparent, sealed walls. He remained in that position, perhaps waiting for a touch, or perhaps...

"By the time I realized what was happening, I was already standing in front of Him, with my hand outstretched."

"The bulkhead was cold, but I could feel its warmth. Then, a tidal wave of vision surged toward me from all sides, engulfing me."

"A fallen city, a low-hanging sky, a burning earth, an extinguished stargate, shattered star rings, a broken road network..."

Upon hearing this, the doctor's memories began to loosen slightly. The memories before entering the sarcophagus, the catastrophic destruction that had befallen the planet before Prissis grabbed her hand and placed her in the sarcophagus, were beyond words to fully describe.

No matter how much the remnants of memory stir, they can never be pieced back together into a complete picture; the doctor is simply suffering for nothing.

"Was that the destruction of my prehistoric civilization?"

The doctor blurted out the words "the destruction of civilization," and the remnants of that moment were enough to leave an indelible mark on her.

"Yes. Agor was never able to confirm the cause of the destruction of the ancient civilization, but at that moment, the scene of destruction was replayed before my eyes."

"But that's not the end. After that, there was still a continuous stream of visions—visions far beyond the boundaries of my understanding."

Chaotic clumps of particles and a desolate, devastated desert, a chaotic and collapsing celestial ladder and a shrinking black hole—all these apocalyptic phenomena are made more realistic by Maritus's depiction, but this is still not all.

"In the end, the behemoth that shared my consciousness and vision only sent back an empty void—no life, no meaning, no information—"

"So, in your desperation, you resorted to any means necessary, blindly succumbing to the instincts of that behemoth?"

With Kal'tsit's help, the Doctor covered his head and questioned Maritus with a hint of anger.

Lotin noticed the Doctor's discomfort, so he took out a bottle of mana potion from his ample stock and had Laurentina hand it to her.

"At this moment, He and His offspring devour all living beings and disintegrate the stars and the moon. The living and the dead become His nourishment, and He murmurs in the darkness at the end of time—'Existence'."

He recounted what he had seen and heard, hoping to answer the doctor's question in this way.

"The true nature of these behemoths lies in their restraint, and why do they devour everything? I thought the old man was already an anomaly among the behemoths, but I never expected there to be something even stranger!"

Ling stumbled out of the Mountain and Sea Scroll, drunk. As part of the giant beast, she knew its true nature very well, and naturally became curious about the newborn sea creatures.

"The transformation they underwent was bolder, more exaggerated, more ambitious, and more desperate. Their essence has long surpassed the so-called 'biological ark'."

“It is indeed more radical than your most radical distant relative on land, a broken behemoth.”

Only then did Maritus realize that the person who had been blocking the transmission of information from the sea to land was also a behemoth, or rather, a part of a behemoth.

"But their subsequent actions did not follow the established procedure... for reasons unknown."

The doctor unearthed the ruins of the "Deep Blue Tree" from the rubble of memories, and she was certain that this was not the original direction of the plan.

“That’s right, they are still constantly incubating new offspring within themselves. However, the weak life trapped inside the behemoth’s body is iterating and evolving too slowly. The offspring need to be liberated, leave the behemoth’s body, adapt to more environments, and seize more nutrients.”

"The gods of the ocean are ethereal and illusory; how do you convince those who have fallen to accept such a belief?"

Laurentina, at Lotin's behest, raised the same question in direct response.

“I believe Agor should be a contributor to this rescue, so I had a heart-to-heart talk with some of my compatriots.”

"Primitive worship can never be completely eradicated by civilization; it lies dormant at the end of science and can be awakened at any time."

The Agor people, known as the "Deep Sea Believers," are unaware of the truth, but each of them has independent thoughts and beliefs and faces different mysteries and dilemmas.

At this point, Lotin had also achieved his second goal: Maritus himself had said that the promises the Deep Sea Cult had received from him were false, and that once the fanaticism collapsed, it would be difficult for these degenerates not to fall into hysterical self-destruction.

"Have you ever mentioned to your followers whose existence it is?"

The doctor's chilling rebuke did not embarrass the sinner; he simply continued his subtle sophistry.

"During the long years that the larvae nurture and nourish the larger groups, countless species have gone extinct as a result. I have lost count of how many. What I want to say is that the continuation of life is always accompanied by the extinction of certain parts."

"Because when Isamara is awakened, all numbers lose their meaning."

Upon hearing this, Clementa finally drew her sword, now glad she had agreed to Lotin's suggestion.

“You knew from the very beginning the consequences of awakening the ‘newborn’—a catastrophe that would affect the entire ocean and countless species. But you had no regrets.”

"You have even forgotten the number of victims because of your numbness and ignorance. How pathetic and shameful."

The gleaming sword of the ceremonial guard revealed the manta ray lady's gnashing rage.

"The Arena of Wits, you personally designed this building that has inspired countless compatriots... Even I have benefited greatly from it, yet at this very moment, you stand here as if nothing happened, calmly recounting how you pushed Agor into an abyss of no return!"

Clementa's confrontation was also broadcast, which greatly enhanced the credibility of the broadcast.

She had seen images of Maritus. A gentle and thoughtful observer, wearing slightly oversized glasses, who always habitually reached out to adjust them.

“He wasn’t like that afterward, Madam Consul.”

Lotin wielded the Blood-Drinking Sword, transforming Maritus's soul into his depraved and grotesque form.

"The richest thoughts can only be conveyed through the rudimentary bioelectric signals of nerve cells. This is the ugly state of Maritus after his fall. Letting his soul appear in its original form is just a small act of kindness on my part."

Clementa gripped her sword even tighter.

“If you are Maritus, Agor, then I hereby pronounce judgment on the fallen.”

"If you are Haisi, then we'll skip this step!"

The ceremonial sword, used merely to vent anger, pierced through the soul without causing any harm, but Lotin, through the Blood-Drinking Sword, made Maritus truly feel the excruciating pain of being pierced.

"Should the broadcast end here?"

Clementine then realized that she had made an inappropriate and unsightly appearance out of anger, and she quickly tidied herself up.

“There is one more thing I want to say to the Agorians.”

After saying that, Lotin switched his skin to [Astronaut]. Since this form of gigantification could only be performed in outer space, he returned to his normal size.

"About who I really am."

Chapter 251: The Claims of Prehistoric Civilizations

"Lord Nautilus, what exactly is the meaning behind your posture?"

Clementa had initially thought he would give Agor some time to process the shock and impact of Maritus, but it was clear he intended to release more information that would change the entire Agor.

"Dr. Kal'tsit should have already told you, right?"

"About me and the doctor."

Loting himself certainly felt regret for the previous civilization, but even if you really investigated, he wasn't exactly a true person from the previous civilization.

The "Astronaut" skin provides him with a pre-civilizational identity, especially a physical one.

The pride of the Ager people comes from the gifts of their pre-civilization. Their identity is derived from the imitation and portrayal of their ancient civilization, a identity that can further make the proud Ager people obediently lower their heads.

To be honest, if Nautilus didn't exist, Kal'tsit would have kept the Doctor's identity a closely guarded secret and would never have revealed it so easily.

But Nautilus's existence changed everything. His presence rendered the balance that Kal'tsit had carefully maintained meaningless. She knew very well that if she stepped forward to confirm his and the Doctor's identities, it would be the best way to keep the Agorans in line.

"This is Lord Nautilus' true nature. In the sarcophagus in Chernobog, I confirmed his true identity for the first time. As I said before, Lord Nautilus and the Doctor are both living orphans of a previous civilization."

The Agorians' understanding of the pre-civilization was limited to archaeological excavations and the written records found therein. They were certainly unaware of the very everyday organizational structure of the Retro Space Enthusiasts Association, nor could they possibly know about the written records left by "Nautilus the Astronaut," a character who was not important in the pre-civilization.

Therefore, Kal'tsit understood that Lothine needed his help to convince the Agors, because the Agors knew that she herself was a creation of the pre-civilization and therefore admired her extensive knowledge of the pre-civilization.

"So, you two are here to punish the Agorians? To punish the arrogant Agorians for arbitrarily disrupting the bioengineering left behind by our ancient civilization?"