I Can Assimilate Everything
Chapter 278 - 278: Cleansing II

Princess Atlana stood amidst the unraveling of her world.

The water trembled around her like a weeping child, and all she could do was wipe her tear-streaked face as she looked into the eyes of the Sea Tribe King- her father.

His expression was that of loss and rage as his heart felt like it was shattering.

And hers… was laced with guilt and inevitability.

"I'm sorry…"

Her voice was soft, broken like driftwood lost at sea.

Then, white light bloomed around her body like a rising sun piercing deep ocean gloom.

And she was gone.

Vanished. Taken back to him.

To the Adrastia Emperor King.

To the enemy they had never anticipated!

BOOM!

A violent shockwave spread across the sacred underwater mountain.

From its zenith… a titan truly awakened.

The High Tiderune, Kael'Voryn, stood at the apex. No longer in contemplation. No longer slumbering.

No.

His body now blazed with the unmistakable might of Neuronova Stage Astral Core Ascension, the ocean itself vibrating in resonance with his fury.

"ENOUGH."

His voice was a tsunami of judgment.

He raised a colossal trident- its haft carved from an extinct Seatitan's spine, its prongs lined with collapsed starlight and marrow of World Leviathans.

The name of this weapon was etched across the seas.

TIDESTAR VENERANCE.

It gleamed. It pulsed.

And Kael'Voryn spoke.

"[One With The Sea.]"

HUUUUUUM!

The entire Thalassphere Arx responded.

Every droplet, every current, every swirl of oceanic mana began to glow- each molecule of water lighting up with golden-blue starlight runes.

And then…

The chains descended.

Chains of Starlight, golden and translucent, shot out from the trident, piercing across billions of water particles in an instant. They didn't wrap, they didn't bind- they became the water.

Every inch of sea across the Arx now bore the Tiderune's will.

And through it, he could see everything.

Every soul.

Every infection.

Every speck of Miasmic Spore contamination.

"Implode."

The word came out like thunder muffled through glorious pressure.

And then…

BOOM–BOOM–BOOM–BOOM!

Across the Thalassphere Arx- every droplet of water within or around the infected exploded.

Each implosion was like the collapse of a miniature star.

No blood. No resistance. Just light.

A billion golden flashes bathed the continent, and when the tide finally stilled…

Every infected being…

Was gone.

No ash.

No body.

Just silence.

Kael'Voryn exhaled slowly, lowering Tidestar Venerance.

His gaze was hard, locked onto the sky far above- in the direction white flames had disappeared to.

The Thalassphere Arx groaned.

A low, aching sound that echoed through the stratosphere, like a dying colossus bleeding water and starlight.

After the obliteration of every infected soul, the once-mythical sea in the sky… began to descend.

Not in chaos.

But in grief.

Torrents of water spiraled down like falling tears, the sky painted in ribbons of deep blue and golden mist. Even the winds wept.

The High Tiderune, Kael'Voryn, stood silently atop the highest peak, his glowing form pulsing with Neuronova light as he extended his influence across every falling droplet and stabilizing what remained.

Then, a ripple in space.

Selamira appeared behind him, clad in quiet judgment, her white robes and golden horn catching the flickering light of a grieving ocean.

Their eyes met.

No warmth. Just understanding. And rage. The shared kind.

Kael'Voryn spoke first, his voice hollow.

"Thank you. I… did not know what was happening in my own home."

Selamira's eyes narrowed, the starlight within them unmoving.

"The enemy this time is a unique one. They use spores and silence and who knows what else. They twist love, loyalty, and lineage. And they will do worse."

She looked around at the crumbling beauty of the Arx, her expression unreadable.

"We will flush them out soon… in the Triarcan Keep. Until then, secure your home."

Her voice softened slightly, though it was no less firm.

"You will receive new directions from the Primordial Light of Darkness himself, Kael'Voryn. Once you slumber… he will show you."

...!

The High Tiderune's eyes widened faintly as his breath pulsed. His shoulders trembled. Not from weakness.

But from wrath.

He nodded once, slowly.

Then he turned, gazing out across the battered expanse of his sea-bound kingdom- his people reeling, broken, trying to understand what had just been taken from them.

"Whoever you are…"

His voice dropped to a near whisper as he raised the Tidestar Venerance trident once more.

"I will find you."

The ocean rumbled beneath his feet.

"I will find you…"

His eyes blazed with the fury of a thousand collapsed storms.

"And I will kill you!"

BOOOOOOM!

The sky cracked as the cry of the High Tiderune echoed through water, wind, and wave.

—

High above the skies and seas.

Carved from a living continent.

Wreathed in forests and rivers born of Forest Generation.

The Vessel of Adrastia floated like a blooming miracle between continents, golden light flowing through its streams, ancient wood and vine rising in sculpted grace.

At its heart stood Achilles Adrastia Maxwell.

Hands around the waist of his lover, his expression carved from stone.

His gaze was locked ahead, towards the Triarcan Keep they had yet to set off for.

And behind him… a shimmer of light.

Princess Atlana appeared, her robes soaked with tears, her aura a fractured storm of emotion.

She looked up, trembling, locking eyes with the one who had taken everything from her.

Achilles.

Her expression contorted.

A mixture of fear, heartbreak… and rage.

To her, he was no savior.

No monarch.

He was a monstrous villain who had broken the sacred balance of her world.

Across from her, Rose stood with a cup of shimmering tea, her green hair lazily braided down one side, a bored look flickering across her ethereal features.

She blinked.

Tilted her head.

And raised a brow.

"Oh?"

She sipped her tea.

"What happened? The dumb goldfish's back?"

Her voice was calm. Curious. Almost amused.

Achilles did not speak.

Not yet. He was thinking of all the terrifying things that had just occurred, and what it all meant going forward!