The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority

Chapter 160 : Essence of the Deep Sea (1)

Essence of the Deep Sea (1)

The dark blue sea near the Owl Shoal.

The flagship of Blackbeard Barogo, the Death Knell, was thick with the stench of fish and fear.

"Dump it all here!"

The sailors cackled as they poured the nets onto the deck.

"Ah!"

"Kyaaah!"

With the sound of flapping and splashing, a dozen or so merfolk tumbled onto the floor.

It was as rough as dumping out a catch of freshly caught fish.

Having been pulled out of the water, they clutched at the wounds left by the netting, gasping for breath.

"Is this all?"

― Clang!

Barogo hurled his bottle of rum to the floor, smashing it, and growled.

"You useless fish bastards! This isn't even half the quota!"

― Thud!

Barogo kicked a cowering mermaid in the abdomen with his booted foot.

"K-Keurgh!"

The mermaid curled up in pain, screaming.

With eyes brimming with tears, she grabbed at Barogo's trousers and begged.

"Pl-please... have mercy, sir Barogo! The currents have been too rough lately... We couldn't go into the deep. If you give us just a little more time..."

"Time?"

Barogo grinned nastily and drew the curved sword at his waist.

It was the demon artifact "White Shark", a demon sword with sharp, white serrations like shark's teeth.

"The exchange with those cultists is coming up. It's not you who's out of time—it's me."

Barogo pressed the tip of his sword to the mermaid's throat.

"I need to make an example. If I gut one of you and toss you into the sea, the rest will go deeper out of fear."

"N-no—!"

"Kyaaa!"

The cries of the mermaids begging for mercy filled the deck.

At that moment—

"C-captain! Over there!"

The helmsman in the crow's nest shouted in a shrill voice.

Barogo turned his head, annoyed.

"What is it!"

"S-something is... coming this way!"

"What? Another ship?"

"No! It's too small to be a ship... That's... Huh!"

Before he could even finish his sentence—

Something burst from beyond the horizon, cutting through the white-tipped waves and closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

There was no time to get a clear look.

The moment Barogo narrowed his eyes, it was already at the bow.

― KWAAAANG!!!

With a massive boom, the side railing of the flagship exploded.

The whole ship lurched violently, groaning, while the pirates and merfolk on deck were flung every which way.

"W-what! What is this!?"

Barogo stabilized himself and shouted.

As the floating wood debris and thick mist cleared, a figure stood revealed — right in the middle of the deck.

A man with ashen hair, his black robe billowing.

It was Ian Greysel.

"... A person?"

Barogo's eyes bulged.

He made it across the open sea, boarding the deck without a ship?

At a speed enough to destroy the vessel?

'He's... an expert!'

Barogo sensed instinctive danger.

He was a strong fighter whose body had been reinforced by the demonic energy bead granted by Greenyolf, his power at the level of late-stage master.

So he could tell.

The energy radiating from the man in front of him was from a realm far beyond his own reach.

"Who the hell are you! How dare you board my ship! You've broken it!"

Ignoring Barogo's shouts, Ian slowly took in his surroundings.

He saw the merfolk lying on the ground, bleeding, and the pirates hesitating around them.

—Ssh.

Ian's gaze stopped on Barogo.

"I've found you. Barogo."

A dry voice.

Barogo swallowed hard and shouted furiously.

"You bastard... What do you think you're doing, boarding someone else's ship!?"

"Cleaning up."

Ian drew Vladiark from his subspace.

"First, need to get rid of the trash."

"W-what?"

Barogo's face flushed red at the word 'trash'.

But he couldn't just charge in recklessly, sword drawn.

The aura of the man before him was no joke.

That guy was definitely an expert. There was no way to win in a one-on-one.

That left only one option.

Mob him.

He'd distract Ian with his men and look for a chance to land a critical blow.

"What are you doing! Get him! Kill that bastard!"

But the pirates hesitated.

Ian's overwhelming arrival had already broken their spirit.

"Ugh... dammit..."

Barogo grew anxious.

If he lost the momentum now, it would be over.

"You idiots!"

He pressured his men.

"Anyone not charging in right now, I'll slice your head off myself and feed you to the sharks! You think I'm bluffing?"

"......"

The pirates' eyes wavered.

There was a monster in front of them, but behind them stood the infamous, ruthless captain, gripping his demonic sword.

"And!"

Barogo threw them a bait as well.

"Whoever captures that bastard gets to be the next captain! I'll hand over the ship and my treasure!"

Treasure and the position of captain—rewards they could never hope for in a lifetime.

The captain's threat and sweet bait clouded the pirates' judgment.

Foggy minds. Poor decisions.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Kill him! All at once!"

First the dumb ones, then dozens of pirates, axes and sabers raised, charged at Ian.

Ian looked at them with disinterested eyes.

—Vwoom!

Vladiark cut a black arc through the air.

― KWAAAANG!!!

With a single, light swing.

The blade did not even touch them.

Just the wind pressure sent the pirates flying.

Sounds of bones shattering and flesh bursting.

Those at the front were wiped out without a trace. Those behind, bloodied, bounced into the sea.

"W-what the...!"

Barogo's legs nearly gave out as he watched from the back, searching for an opening.

Among his men were some with the skills of an expert.

But all of them got wiped out by a single sword wind?

'He—he's a real monster! He's not human!'

Ian walked over the corpses of pirates, heading for Barogo.

His stride was leisurely, but to Barogo it sounded like the footsteps of an executioner.

"Now it's your turn."

Barogo backed away.

But soon the railing touched his back.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

He couldn't charge him head-on. That was certain death.

'If only I can bind his limbs for even a moment...!'

There was only one thing Barogo could still try, even though it wasn't foolproof.

― Fwash!

Barogo exploded the power of his Demonic Energy, moving like a bolt of lightning.

He grabbed the mermaid with the most beautiful scales by her hair.

And pressed his demon sword, white Shark, deep against her pale neck.

"Don't come any closer! One more step and I'll cut this bitch's throat!"

"Kyaaah!"

The mermaid screamed.

Barogo's blade had already broken skin—red blood trickled down.

Barogo swallowed hard, watching Ian's expression.

'Be shocked...! Hesitate...! Please!'

But—

"... Ridiculous."

Ian's reaction shattered Barogo's expectations.

He did not stop advancing.

If anything, his gaze only turned icier.

"W-what! You don't care if this girl dies!?"

"Don't be mistaken. I'm here to kill you. I haven't come to negotiate for hostages."

Ian's voice was cold.

Of course, it was a lie.

If possible, he wanted to save the merfolk too.

But if he showed hesitation in front of that scumbag, the value of the hostage would only skyrocket and ruin the situation.

From his previous life, Ian knew.

Trash like that, if they felt the card in their hand worked, would only grow more arrogant and insufferable.

"Stay right there. I'll cut your head off soon enough."

Ian raised Vladiark.

The killing intent pressing from Ian's aura gripped Barogo's heart.

'What the hell...! Even the hostage isn't working!?'

Barogo's pupils shook.

His hands, gripping the sword, were slippery with sweat.

Ian was closing the distance, unimpeded.

At this rate, he'd be decapitated before he even got a chance to kill the hostage.

'Damn! Whatever!'

Barogo threw the mermaid at Ian.

If only he could blind Ian's line of sight for a moment—he could land an all-out strike in that window.

"RAAAAAGH!!"

Barogo pushed his demonic energy to its limit.

Master-rank demonic energy and the demon sword's curse mingled, a grim crimson aura boiling up along White Shark's blade.

A demonic sword powerful enough to crush adamantium with ease.

Trusting in its power, Barogo stabbed at Ian's opening with everything he had.

"Die!!!"

The mermaid came flying, and behind, the vicious demon sword followed.

Ian did not panic. With a swift motion, he caught the flying mermaid and set her aside, unharmed.

Then, as Barogo's strike came in, he swung Vladiark.

—CLAAANG!!!

A deafening sound as Barogo's wrist twisted weirdly.

"Gu-uurk!?"

Barogo couldn't believe his eyes.

His full-power strike was deflected by that mere casual swing!?

No, it wasn't just deflected.

—Thunk.

At some point, Ian's sword was touching Barogo's shoulder.

—Shwooooook!!

"... Eh?"

Barogo uttered a stupid sound.

The demonic energy he'd pushed to the limit, the strength swirling inside his dantian—it all began draining away as if sucked out by the tide.

"W-what! M-my demonic energy!"

Tentacles sprouting from Vladiark's blade coiled themselves around Barogo's body.

It was a creepy sight, like a starving octopus greedily devouring its prey.

"My demonic energy...! It's being eaten!?"

Barogo watched in horror as his limbs began to shrivel.

He tried to tear off the tentacles, but they clung like magnets, impossibly tight.

― Shwooooooooook!

"AAAAAAGH!!"

"..."

Ian gripped his sword, controlling his aura to keep Vladiark from going berserk.

'Calm down. Can't let it drain everything.'

If this were the Vladiark of a few years ago, it would have mummified Barogo instantly. But now, Ian could control the beastly hunger.

'Just drain enough strength to capture him alive.'

"L-let go! Let me go!"

Barogo screamed desperately.

Ian looked down at him, ice-cold.

"You became a demonic human for such a shabby power? Pathetic."

—CRACK!

By the time Ian sheathed Vladiark, Barogo's demon sword was cracked and split in two.

"K-keurgh..."

Barogo fell to his knees, all strength sapped.

His source of power, his vitality—his demonic energy—was emptied in an instant.

All that remained was a body on the verge of death and a primal fear for the monster before him.

"Spare... me..."

The pirate king of the Sapphire Sea, groveling on the deck, begged with a voice like an old man.

"Don't worry. I have a use for you."

Ian kicked Barogo in the solar plexus.

—THUD!

"Gu—guh!"

Barogo's eyes rolled back as he passed out.

The situation was over.

Silence fell over the deck.

Ian turned his gaze to the merfolk huddled in a corner.

—Shiver shiver shiver...

They were trembling in terror.

The man before them, with power far greater than the villain who had tormented them, stood there, and they couldn't even dream of fleeing.

"..."

Ian, without saying much, tossed the bunch of keys from Barogo's waist to them.

—Clatter.

"Please release your shackles and go."

With those words, Ian turned away.

He intended to check for any leftover pirates and any loot to be gathered.

"W-wait!"

A trembling voice called out to Ian.

It was the mermaid he had safely caught earlier.

She steadied herself, looking at Ian.

Despite her fear, clear gratitude glimmered in her eyes.

"Why... did you save us?"

A moment ago, when she was taken hostage, he'd acted like he didn't care if she died.

But he'd caught her safely when she was thrown.

He'd cut down Barogo, who tormented them, handed over the keys, and asked nothing in return.

She was curious about this man whose words and actions didn't match.

Ian looked at her briefly and answered honestly.

"I only came because I needed something. Saving you was just a coincidence."

"Something you needed...?"

"The Essence of the Deep Sea."

The mermaid's eyes widened at Ian's answer.

Ian glanced about.

"Do you perhaps know where they stored the essence?"

"..."

The mermaid hesitated.

The Essence Of The Deep Sea was something the pirates had forced them to mine, at great cost in blood and sweat.

But the man before her, despite his strength, was not threatening them, only asking politely.

She nodded slowly.

"... Yes. I saw them move what we mined under that hatch over there."

She lifted a trembling hand and gestured toward an entrance at one side of the deck.

She wanted to guide him directly, but it was hard to move outside the water.

Ian nodded and immediately moved in that direction.

A darkened hold.

There, boxes of Essence of the Deep Sea extracted by the pirates were stacked high.

More than he expected.

It was enough to run the ancient golem, and then some.

'Things turned out well.'

Ian stowed the boxes of essence into his subspace.

His business was complete.

Just as he was about to leap back into the sea, a mermaid stopped him.

"Wait a moment!"

She produced a jeweled conch, one she hadn't been holding earlier.

"I am Aila. I lead the captured merfolk here... I am their chieftain."

Aila bowed her head.

"You may have come for your own reasons, but your saving us from hell is a fact. We merfolk of the Sapphire Sea never forget a favor."

She pressed the conch into Ian's hand.

"If you ever need the help of the sea, call us with this shell. Land is difficult, but if it's on the ocean, we'll come wherever."

Ian looked at the conch.

An unexpected gain.

When the coming war with the demon realm's grand dukes spread to the sea, he might truly need their help.

"Thank you, lady Aila."

Ian accepted the conch with a gentle smile and tucked it away.

"I am Ian Greysel."

"Ian..."

Aila repeated the name as if engraving it into her heart.

Without further delay, Ian hoisted the unconscious Barogo.

—Fwoooosh!

Ian leapt off, dashing again across the night sea.

From the pirate ship receding in the distance, the merfolk bowed deeply until he was gone from sight.

'I got the Essence of the Deep Sea...'

Ian glanced at the slung-over Barogo and smiled faintly.

'I also secured a new pouch of magic power.'

The power of the Demon Cult was being gnawed away, piece by piece, by Ian.

His revenge from the previous life was progressing smoothly.