Chapter 347: The Sleeping Prince
Sybill immediately coughed up black blood. She widened her eyes and looked as though she could no longer breathe.
Her trembling hands slowly reached for the spear buried in her chest, hoping to pull it out. But she no longer had the strength because most of her energy had already left her body.
"It’s over, Sybill," Azul said quietly.
As the dark entities slowly faded and dissolved into the ocean current, the demon sea beasts also calmed down. They stopped attacking, pulled back, and waited silently for Azul’s next command.
"This is unfair," Sybill said in a hoarse voice. "I’ve spent two lifetimes learning black magic, and yet..." She clenched her teeth so tightly that her jaw trembled. "You’re just a stupid fish who was handed the Sea God’s power."
"If you want to talk about fairness," Azul replied, "then I’m probably the last person you should say that to."
He pulled the spear from Sybill’s chest and black blood immediately spilled into the water, spreading like dark ink. She choked on her own blood and desperately tried to speak again, but the blood had already filled her throat, leaving her unable to say another word.
"After all, life hasn’t been fair to me either," Azul said in a low voice.
He had lost too much to obtain the Sea God’s power. He had endured countless hardships just to fulfill the prophecy that had been made long ago.
If the price of that power was feeding the universe with his own suffering, then there was nothing fair about it.
In the end, he had simply paid the price, and the universe had only given him what he had already paid for.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Azul lowered his gaze and watched as Sybill’s body slowly went limp. The black veins covering her skin gradually faded, and the darkness in her eyes slowly disappeared.
After a while, all the hatred on her face was gone, only emptiness remained.
Her body slowly drifted downward, carried gently by the ocean current, as if the sea itself had decided to take her away.
Azul remained silent because he felt no joy from winning this battle. He didn’t feel any pride either, only relief that it was finally over.
The ocean, which had been filled with roars and violence just moments ago, slowly returned to its usual calm. The currents softened, and the water became peaceful once again.
The long war that had lasted for years had finally come to an end.
And the Devourers, who had once destroyed several underwater kingdoms, had finally become the ones to fall.
"Hunt down the rest of the Devourers," Azul ordered the demon sea beasts. "Don’t let a single one of them escape."
The moment they received his command, the demon sea beasts rushed off without hesitation. They swam across every corner of the ocean, searching for the remaining Devourers who had managed to flee.
Azul lowered his head, thinking that his wife would probably be disappointed that he had shown no mercy to the wounded Devourers.
However, he believed that the Devourers were the true embodiment of evil, and he didn’t want any of them to stain his ocean any longer.
"Azul!" Roxanna shouted. She slipped out from between Mr. Kraken’s giant tentacles and swam toward him as fast as she could.
His eyes widened the moment he heard her voice because he knew he was no longer the kind fish she had once known.
He had taken too many lives and destroyed too much.
"Roxanna, I—"
Before he could finish, Roxanna threw herself into his arms. His spear slipped from his hand and drifted away with the current as he quickly wrapped both arms around her, holding her tightly in return.
"I’m so glad you’re alright!" Roxanna cried as she wrapped her arms around him even tighter. "I thought... I thought those creepy dark things were going to take you away!"
Azul let out a small sigh and gently rubbed her back. "How could I let something like that happen?" he said softly. "I could never leave you and Azura behind."
His words brought a small smile to Roxanna’s face, but the moment she held him a little longer, her expression changed.
[His skin feels so cold...] She frowned. [Is it because he used too much energy just now? Or is it because of the ocean’s temperature?]
She quietly shook her head. [No... he wasn’t this cold before.]
Roxanna slowly lifted her head to look at him.
The moment their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat because Azul’s face had turned frighteningly pale. The healthy color that had always been there was completely gone, leaving him looking weak and exhausted.
"Azul?" Roxanna asked, "What’s wrong?"
He gave her a faint smile, as if he wanted to reassure her that everything was fine. "I’m just... a little tired..."
His voice had grown much weaker than before, and it filled Roxanna with fear. The beautiful fish tail beneath him slowly faded away, changing back into a pair of human legs.
Then, without any warning, Azul lost consciousness. His body went completely limp and fell forward, but Roxanna quickly caught him before he could drift away.
"Azul! Azul! What’s wrong?!" she cried, calling his name over and over again, but there was no response.
She held her breath, fearing that something terrible had happened. But the moment her thumb touched the pulse on his wrist, she realized it was beating steadily.
Azul’s head rested against her shoulder and slowly slipped into the crook of her neck. As she held him close, she could hear his soft, even breathing.
She blinked in confusion. "Are you... asleep?" she asked in a low voice after realizing that his life wasn’t in danger.
Azul didn’t answer her, but the way his body gradually relaxed was enough to tell her that her husband had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion.
"Then... sleep well," she said softly.
She gently stroked the back of his head, holding him close as if she wanted to protect him this time.
After everything he had gone through over the past few days, he had finally allowed himself to rest.
===
Azul ended up sleeping for two full days without waking up.
During that time, everyone decided to stay at the Aquillian Palace. Although much of it had been damaged during the battle, there were still a few parts of the palace that remained standing, giving them a safe place to rest while Azul recovered.
When Azul finally opened his eyes, he was greeted by a dark, unfamiliar room.
Everything around him was pitch black, as if he had been buried inside a coffin.
Wait... had he died?!
His eyes widened in alarm and without thinking, he lifted his leg and kicked the lid above him open.
But instead of a coffin, he realized he had been sleeping inside a giant clam shell, the kind sea beastkin usually used as a bed to keep themselves from being carried away by the ocean current while they slept.
Azul slowly rubbed his forehead as the memories of the battle came rushing back.
Sybill.
The black magic.
The Sea God’s power.
Roxanna.
He instinctively looked down at his hands, half expecting to see them stained with blood again.
Instead, they were clean, so he let out a slow breath.
"So I really survived," he murmured to himself.
He pushed himself out of the giant clam shell, only to realize his body still felt heavy. Every muscle ached, as if all his strength had been drained away.
The room around him was quiet and warmly lit by glowing pearls set into the walls. The gentle light reflected across the polished stone floor, making the room feel peaceful despite the destruction that had happened outside.
As he looked around, he heard a soft humming nearby.
Azul turned toward the sound and saw that not far from his bed, Roxanna was sitting on a large cushion with Azura in her arms. She was quietly nursing their daughter while humming a lullaby under her breath.
She smiled at him the moment their eyes met and said, "Good morning, Azul."
[He looks so adorable when he’s this confused,] Roxanna giggled inwardly. [Just like I told Calen the other day, that clam shell bed feels like a coffin to someone who just woke up from a coma!]
Azul returned her smile, though it looked a little awkward. "How... how long was I asleep?" He asked.
Roxanna answered calmly, "Two days. Oh... maybe it’s already three days now."
His eyes widened. "Three days?"
Roxanna nodded with a small laugh. "You really scared everyone. We tried everything to wake you up, but you just kept sleeping."
Azul couldn’t help letting out a quiet chuckle. "I didn’t know I could sleep that long."
"It’s fine. You’re just exhausted." Roxanna reached out her free hand toward him with a gentle smile. "Come here. Sit with me for a while."
By then, Azura had quietly fallen asleep while nursing. Roxanna carefully laid their daughter down beside her, making sure she was comfortable before turning back to Azul.
The moment he sat down next to her, Roxanna wrapped both arms around him and pulled him into a warm, gentle hug.