Boom!
At that very moment, the massive underwater mountain where the three of them stood suddenly shattered.
Countless fragments of rock rained down from above. Lucas casually flicked his hand, and a powerful current of water swept the falling debris aside.
The next instant, all around them appeared a wide variety of Atlantean underwater warships, completely encircling the trio.
Dark cannon muzzles were aimed squarely at Lucas, yet his expression remained calm and untroubled.
"M-Mother… is that really you?!"
A trembling voice rang out.
Moments later, Orm emerged from the hatch of one of the warships, staring at Atlanna with disbelief written all over his face.
At this moment, the longing he felt for his long-lost mother completely overwhelmed the fear Lucas inspired in him.
Orm swam up to Atlanna and knelt on one knee before her.
Atlanna reached out and gently stroked his head, then spoke softly:
"As royalty, you must have pride worthy of a king. But for the sake of your life… let it go, my child."
She continued calmly,
"I have already reached an agreement with him. As long as you surrender now, your life will be spared."
However, Orm shook his head and slowly stood up.
"Mother, please forgive me—I cannot agree."
He then turned to face Lucas and said firmly,
"You once taught me that as royalty, no matter how dire or dangerous the situation, we must never surrender easily."
Lucas sneered.
"Are you not afraid of death?"
Orm raised his hand, signaling the surrounding warships to retreat, then lifted the Trident of Poseidon and pointed it at Lucas.
"The honor of the King of Atlantis must not be stained in my hands!"
"Pointless stubbornness," Lucas said, shaking his head.
"In that case, I'll grant you your wish."
Humm—!
Suddenly, the Trident in Orm's hand erupted with intense light.
The glow seemed almost alive, forming a colossal phantom figure behind Orm.
"I never expected that after so many years, someone would awaken the will I sealed within this weapon."
A majestic voice echoed through the surrounding waters.
"Y-You are… Lord Sea God!" Atlanna exclaimed in shock.
Arthur looked at his mother in confusion. She explained,
"He is the guardian deity who bestowed knowledge and power upon our Atlantean ancestors—the totem god of Atlantis, and the very source of our bloodline."
"I thought Dad said the Trident was forged by the first King of Atlantis?" Arthur asked doubtfully.
"Yes," Atlanna replied,
"But the materials, the technology, and the divine power within it were all granted by the Sea God himself."
"Otherwise, how could a mortal lifeform ever forge such a divine weapon?"
"…I always thought that was just a bedtime story Dad made up," Arthur muttered.
The phantom spoke again:
"My descendant, you possess a king's sense of responsibility, ambition, and—most rare of all—benevolence."
"From this moment on, I recognize you as the true master of the Trident."
"Go. Defeat your enemy. Prove yourself."
With that, the phantom dissolved into countless specks of golden light, which then flowed directly into Orm's body.
One of the Twelve Roman Gods—
Neptune, God of the Sea.
Lucas had heard of that name.
And he could clearly sense that Orm's ki had undergone a strange and profound transformation after the golden light entered him.
"Interesting… It seems this world doesn't just have the Aesir and Olympian gods. Even the Etruscan pantheon exists."
As Lucas pondered this, a powerful hostility surged toward him.
"So you've gained greater power," Lucas said calmly, looking at the battle-hungry Orm.
"Come—let me see how much stronger you've become."
Orm's eyes now glowed entirely gold as he charged at Lucas with the Trident in hand.
His speed was at least ten times faster than it had been on land!
Lucas sidestepped the attack, preparing to counter—
when suddenly the surrounding water currents changed violently.
'Water manipulation?' he thought.
As expected of a weapon blessed by a sea god—complete control over nearby water.
For ordinary people, such sudden shifts in water pressure would have been devastating.
But Lucas trained in twenty-five-times gravity.
This level of resistance meant nothing to him.
He smashed Orm's thrust aside with a punch and immediately followed with a brutal strike to Orm's abdomen.
Hm?
The unusual feedback from his fist made Lucas pause briefly—
then he struck again, even harder.
Before a third punch could land, the surrounding seawater suddenly seemed to solidify, forcing Lucas to expend greater strength for every movement.
Still—this was no real obstacle.
With his power fully unleashed, his halted fist surged forward again, smashing directly into Orm's chest.
The terrifying force compressed the surrounding water so violently that its density visibly changed.
Boom!
Golden light flickered across Orm's body as the punch landed.
Pfft!
A mouthful of dark blood spilled into the seawater as Orm was sent flying backward more than ten meters.
"Not bad," Lucas said, a trace of admiration in his eyes.
"You actually managed to take that punch."
If this had been the Orm from before, he would have lost consciousness instantly.
"Why…?"
Clutching his chest, Orm stared in disbelief.
He had awakened the true power of the Trident—
so why was he still no match for Lucas?
"No matter how much stronger an ant becomes," Atlanna said softly, shaking her head in sorrow,
"it will never be a match for an elephant."
She possessed a unique ability—one that allowed her to vaguely sense a person's strength.
If Orm was a lightbulb…
Then Lucas was a roaring furnace.
His overwhelming presence could no longer be concealed.
"No… I haven't lost yet!"
Orm gritted his teeth and charged forward once more, Trident raised high.
Lucas clenched his fingers into a fist and swung straight toward the oncoming Orm.
"NO—!!!" Atlanna screamed.
Orm's vision went black.
In that instant, the world vanished, leaving only a single massive fist filling his entire field of view.
Death engulfed his senses, erasing all else.
His spiritual world collapsed completely—
crushed without resistance.
---
In the outside world—
Lucas's fist stopped abruptly, less than one centimeter from Orm's face.
He opened his hand, removed the Trident from Orm's limp grasp, and tossed it to Arthur.
"I'm taking him with me."
"Once you settle matters here, deliver what you promised."
With that, Lucas grabbed Orm and shot toward the surface at blinding speed.
"Mother—are you alright?" Arthur asked, holding the Trident while supporting her.
Yet he couldn't help but turn his head, staring in the direction where Lucas's punch had been aimed.
Behind Orm's previous position stood what had once been a towering underwater mountain—thousands of meters tall.
Now—
There was a massive hole punched straight through it.
A cavity over a hundred meters long, unmistakably shaped like a fist.