The Magician of Sound

"This place is called Shekmesh, the place to preserve humanity."

"To preserve humanity?" It took him a moment before he realized what was going on. "So, he has predicted that a few millennia will be an era where not a single Protector can protect the race… And he prepared this promise to make sure humanity survives if I fail…"

The Whale Queen nodded. "He already knew that his doom would bring a disaster. Hence, he exchanged everything for humanity, including this promise. And I believe you already know who the inhabitants are in this place."

Kai thought for a moment and opened his mouth in shock. There was one incident that Rapakha told him about. It was when the Whale Queen wanted to bring the entire population of Rapa Nui people under the sea.

"Yes. I informed them there would be a clash between Human Race and Mermaid Race in the future and they will be the ones who witness the entire story. It took them several hundred years to evolve to their current appearance, and I believe it will take another several hundred years for them to adapt to the environment on the surface.

"If you fail, I will talk to Neptune, ensuring humanity's survival on the land. This is the only thing I can do." The Whale Queen let out a long sigh.

However, Kai noticed another point in her words. "How about the people on the surface? I mean like Rapakha and the others?"

"It's entirely up to your choice whether you answer their pleas or not, O' Human Race's Protector, Kai Carter."

"!!!" Kai drew a gasp and pinched the bridge of his nose, never expecting that the truth was like this. "I see. Thank you very much."

"It's fine. It's just a promise." The Whale Queen shook her head.

"In any case, this is the purpose of this place. Let's go meet them first, so they can see the Human Race's sovereign." The Whale Queen continued while walking forward.

Kai nodded and followed her while looking around, amazed by the environment.

He could say that the place wasn't that bright. In fact, he was surprised that they could still survive without even getting sunlight.

Instead of sunlight, the lamps were made from a green-colored stone which he had no knowledge of. Still, the fact that they could survive meant Neptune wouldn't harm them anymore unless he planned to fight the Whale Queen.

The Whale Queen herself was among the strongest and oldest protectors, so fighting her would need a considerable amount of resolve.

At the same time, she had taught many protectors, so offending her would mean a possibility they would be attacked by those protectors.

Kai ended up believing this place to be the last stronghold of humanity if he indeed failed. Though, he would do his best to make sure he won the war.

After walking for a few minutes, he finally arrived in front of a large field where all the people assembled. He counted them for a second and muttered, "Around a thousand."

Although he wanted to ask what kind of food, lifestyle, and other things they had, it seemed he had no freedom to do it when the Whale Queen stepped forward.

All people quickly fell to their knees, kneeling.

"(May I know what do you have for us, Your Majesty?)"

The old lady stepped to the side and pointed her finger at Kai. "(I have brought someone with me.)"

Kai furrowed his eyebrows when he looked at these people. They all had similar features, but still… not a single of them wore a single strand of cloth. It seemed they needed to do it to survive or it was a part of their evolution.

Either way, Kai was indeed amazed by the fact there was a human civilization on the ocean floor that lasted for hundreds of years.

"(Let me introduce you, Human Race's Protector, Kai Carter.)"

All of them raised their heads and looked at Kai's face in amazement. However, their focus shifted to his clothes as some of them muttered.

"(Is that…)"

"(Clothes. The holy artifact of the land.)"

"(It's one of the symbols of the king.)"

When Kai heard their murmurs, he made a weird expression while screaming inwardly, 'What the… These people. This is just casual clothes and you are treating it as a holy artifact? What kind of knowledge has been instilled in these people by the Whale Queen?

'It seems they have some knowledge regarding basic survival things, but I don't know whether they understand math or other subjects.'

Still, Kai put on a smile on his face and said, "(I'm Kai Carter.)"

To his surprise, their reactions became even more extraordinary.

"(This is his voice.)"

"(Such a gentle voice.)"

Despite having a voice that wasn't that much different from their accent, the people glorified him.

Kai was smiling in bewilderment while wondering the purpose of the Whale Queen to bring him here and meet them. Luckily, they both could understand the Sea Race Language, so there wasn't a language barrier.

But the Whale Queen dropped another bomb when she said, "This is the moment of truth. Your King is going to fight Neptune for your freedom. If he wins, all of you may return to the surface. So, you better pray for his success."

"(Ah! Our king is going to fight for us again?! Even when we don't do anything for him…)"

"(We…)"

All of them kneeled and placed their heads on the ground, showing their gratitude. They could only do this because they had nothing to offer.

"(I only wanted to let you know this.)" The Whale Queen turned to Kai. "Unfortunately, you can't stay any longer than this. To be honest, I wanted to show you these people after the battle… As much as I want to let you stay, I need to bring you back now that you are aware of these people."

"…" Kai thought for a moment and nodded. There were many things he wished to talk about, but he knew he should follow what the Whale Queen said at the moment.

Though, he still heard a few comments when the two talked.

"(God Language.)"

"(We don't understand the language, so it must be the legendary God Language)."

Kai's expression started getting distorted the more he stayed here.

Luckily, the Whale Queen extended her hand to the side, asking him to follow her back to the sea.

Kai turned to the people and said with a smile. "(I am happy to meet all of you here. Unfortunately, I can't stay for too long. I hope that I can stay here and talk with all of you after the war.)"

"(Your words are too much for us, Your Majesty.)" All of them placed their heads on the ground again.

Kai scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression before following the Whale Queen to the edge of the bubble.

The Whale Queen summoned an air bubble for him again and brought him to the surface.

Twenty minutes later.

"Hmm…" Kai thought for a moment and looked around the surface. He felt he had something to do but decided to turn around and headed straight to the surface with the Whale Queen.

When he returned to the shore, Kai smiled and bowed, "Thank you for showing me everything, Whale Queen. I know that I can't repay you or whatsoever, but please accept this bow."

The Whale Queen replied, "That's fine. However, please do note that I will remain neutral in the war. Whether humanity loses or not, I won't give you my help."

"I know. This is my job." Kai nodded with a serious expression.

"Then, I wish you luck." She then submerged again.

Kai sighed and snapped his finger, using his Teleportation to send him to another place.

Meanwhile, the Whale Queen seemed to have another destination to go. She crossed the sea and surprisingly emerged from the water once again. The place was a small deserted island, but surprisingly, there was another person standing on the island.

The Whale Queen suddenly summoned the blood-red pearl and tossed it to the man.

The man caught it and said, "Thanks. I hope he didn't trouble you…"

"He is not. However, you are the one troubling me." The Whale Queen stared at the man who finally revealed himself. "Oni, there is something I want to tell you."

Yes, the man was none other than the Oni Race's Protector, Ishii. He stepped next to the water with a serious expression.. "I'm listening."