Shrouded Seascape

Governor Julio sat sideways on his massive white marble chair inside a magnificent hall located somewhere in the middle of Cat Island. He was listening quietly to his subordinate, who was in the middle of his report.

"According to our spies, Governor Charles of Hope Island has safely returned to his island, but Lylejay has gone missing. From their expressions, our spies presume that Lylejay has most likely died in action."

Julio sighed with his brows tightly furrowed. The news was like adding fuel to a raging flame. Julio wasn't even sure whether he could defeat Pope Lylejay, but the latter had actually perished at the hands of the Foundation.

In other words, the Foundation was far stronger than Julio had ever imagined.

"Contact Charles via telegram. We must convene a council meeting and discuss our next steps in the face of this crisis," Julio said.

"Governor, we've already tried to contact him, but the staffers of Hope Island's Telegraph Bureau told me that Governor Charles is not on the island at the moment."

"What? He's actually not on his island at a time like this? Where did he go?" Julio asked. He was taken aback by Charles' sudden departure.

"I'm not sure, Lord Governor. They didn't tell us. And it's not just Governor Charles, Governor Anna is absent as well. Hope Island's current affairs are currently being managed by Admiral Weister of Hope Island's Navy."

"I really can't stand those two bastards! How could they not share any information before disappearing? Do they not have any idea that they are governors as well?"

Annoyed, Julio stood up and started walking out of the hall. "Never mind them for now. I want you to start a Subterranean Sea Council meeting using my name. This issue has to be prioritized before anything else."

"Understood, Lord Governor."

Julio's leather boots stepping on the smooth ground left crisp footsteps that echoed throughout the spacious hall. Just as he was about to reach the hall's entrance, where multiple personnel stood guard, he abruptly came to a halt.

The strategist following closely behind him looked up and saw that Governor Julio seemed to have fallen into deep contemplation.

"Send a fast ship to the Sea of Mist. Tell them to move at the fastest speed possible and deliver my message to the Foundation. I want to know whether there's any room for negotiation or not. If possible, we are willing to stand on the side of the victors," Julio said.

Julio had been pondering over his next move amidst the ongoing crisis. This crisis was vastly different from the previous one. The rising sea levels were a natural disaster, but this one was a man-made disaster.

The fact that it was man-made made Julio think that perhaps there was some room for negotiation. If Julio wanted to ensure the safety of his own island, then Julio ought to stand on the side of the other Governors.

However, Julio seemed to be thinking that even selling out the others could be done as long as the other party would keep their word.

After passing down his orders, Julio walked out of the hall and looked down on his territory from up above. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he'd always look at his own domain just like this.

Upon hearing the name "Cat Island," one would assume that the island was an island of cats, but in reality, there weren't that many cats on the island. It was called "Cat Island" due to the fact that the island's shape resembled a cat at first.

Rather than cats, Cat Island was full of many different bizarre insects.

There were fleas capable of burrowing into a human's skin to lay eggs, and there were also white threadworms that could live and propagate throughout one's blood vessels, killing its host through ischemia if left untreated.

There were deadly insects throughout the island, but there were also useful insects throughout the island such as the colossal sand-digging worms useful for land reclamation; the purple snails with shells that could be crushed to create dyes; the pitch-black leeches that were tasty when deep-fried; and the male-enhancement powder made out of crushed flies.

The male-enhancement powder was particularly popular among the upper-class men of the Subterranean Sea.

The insects on Cat Island and their special products created special industrial chains that allowed Cat Island to flourish through the taxes that these special industries were generating for the island.

Cat Island had experienced two major calamities so far, but the island was still bustling with activity. The light from electric lamps, gas lamps, and candles illuminated the entire island.

Julio was sweeping his gaze slowly across his domain when he suddenly sensed something. He turned and saw what looked like a wall of darkness approaching them slowly from the Sea of Mist.

The wall was black, but it was different from the perpetual darkness of the Subterranean Sea. It was something blacker than any black that Julio had ever seen before. It was like the manifestation of extreme darkness.

The black wall was moving slowly, but it was moving nonstop. Soon, it devoured a distant lighthouse and some fishing boats floating on the sea.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dazzling fireworks blossomed in midair. Cat Island's Navy fleet docked at the pier acknowledged the threat, and the entire island was plunged into a state of emergency.

Unfortunately, shells, mines, and even the swimming fish were helpless against the black wall. Soon, the wall of darkness arrived on the island. Every single thing that it had devoured never managed to come out.

The islanders of Cat Island were living their peaceful daily lives just a few seconds ago, but they were immediately stricken with panic upon recognizing the danger of the encroaching black wall.

They cried and screamed before proceeding to trample each other to run as fast as possible to the pier. Their goal was to seize ships for themselves and leave the island as soon as possible.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Julio's brows were knitted tightly as he kicked off of the ground with both feet, jumping high into the air. He shuttled quickly between the islands and arrived at the edge of the black wall in the blink of an eye.

Julio extended a finger and touched it carefully, but the black wall sucked him in.

And just like that, Julio was never seen again.

Meanwhile, the encroachment of the black wall on Cat Island continued, and it soon devoured half of the island.

Among the panicking crowd of islanders was a pregnant woman holding her belly up while running for her life.

The pregnant woman suddenly came to a screeching halt amidst the chaos, and her bulging belly abruptly exploded into a bloody mist.

The next moment, Julio covered in blood and flesh stepped out of the bloody mist. He seemed to have emerged from the pregnant woman's belly.

He was completely naked, but he couldn't care less as he looked up at the black wall in front of him. The black wall was gradually closing in, devouring everything in its way.

His eyes became filled with fear upon being reminded of what he had seen beyond the black wall.

He had never felt so fragile. He was the strongest human being throughout the Subterranean Sea, but his strength was useless against the black wall.

This was his first time experiencing despair since he became the strongest throughout the Subterranean Sea.

The black wall was familiar to Julio. He could swear that he had seen the black wall before—he had seen it on the surface world. He was very certain that the black wall was made out of the darkness of the Subterranean Sea.

Julio turned around and glanced at the panic-stricken islanders. Julio gnashed his teeth and hopped with both feet. It was just a hop, but it propelled him to the tallest building throughout the entire island—Cat Island's clock tower.

With a hand on the large brass bell next to him, Julio glared at the towering black wall obscuring the horizon and roared, "What on earth do you want from us?!"

He received no response from whatever was beyond the black wall. The black wall ruthlessly continued its encroachment. It was moving slowly—oh so slowly that it seemed like it wanted to take its time devouring the entire Subterranean Sea.

The black wall engulfed Julio once again. Then, the screaming crowd was devoured and finally, the entire harbor district vanished beyond the black wall.

And just like that, silence reigned supreme over the island.

The black wall's appearance was so sudden that news of its appearance only spread throughout the entire Subterranean Sea through telegram by the afternoon of the next day.

A solemn air blanketed the entire Subterranean Sea. It hadn't been that long since the world-ending crisis involving the rising sea levels was resolved, but they were plunged into another world-ending crisis once again.

The Subterranean Sea Council meeting was convened at the first opportunity, and every single governor attended the meeting.

However, Charles and Julio—the spearheads of the previous campaign to save the Subterranean Sea were missing.

The only spearheads present in the meeting were Jenny, the representative of the Western Seas, and President Jax of the Explorers Association.

The missing Charles and Julio added to the nervousness of the governors, but just as they were about to start murmuring to each other, an unexpected figure appeared in their midst.

The figure was none other than Octett, one of the elders of the Fhtagn Covenant's twelve-member council. It had been a long time since Octett was last seen, so everyone was taken aback by his presence.

Octett's mucus-covered transparent scalp, writhing tentacles, and drenched red robe were enough to make just about anyone uncomfortable after just one glance at him.

As if gargling thick phlegm, Octett's voice echoed in everyone's ears.

"Where are Charles and Julio?"