[Vol. 7] Chapter 18: An Absurd Truth
But whatever King Willipol was using as a reference clearly wasn’t left behind in this secret chamber.
The moment Violet entered, she carefully examined every corner. Aside from a few old and damaged everyday items, scattered sea charts, and an overturned chair, there was nothing else of significance.
The chamber’s layout was simple and open, leaving almost no possibility of a hidden compartment.
Could it be that King Willipol took that mysterious object with him before he disappeared?
…Either way, the only thing she could do now was keep watching.
The shadowy figure of King Willipol continued drawing at the table for a long time. He seemed impatient, his strokes became increasingly fast and erratic. Occasionally, he would slam the table in frustration, as if his mental state was unraveling.
No wonder he had to lock himself in this soundproof chamber.
A side note, while observing through the [Yin-Yang Eyes], time didn’t flow the same way as in reality. To Violet, the scene appeared to unfold slowly and naturally, but in truth, the information was transmitted to her in an indescribable way, so much so that, to anyone watching her from the outside, it would have lasted only a fraction of a second.
Otherwise, Le Qiaoqiao and Hongyan, who couldn’t see anything, would have noticed something strange and interrupted her by now.
Then, suddenly it happened.
The shadowy figure of King Willipol abruptly stood up, violently throwing his pen to the ground. The force of the movement knocked over the wooden chair behind him.
In a fit of rage, he swept everything off the table, sending papers and objects flying. Then, clutching his head, he let out a roar of despair, his body convulsing as if he were fighting against something within himself.
Even though Violet could only see a blurry black silhouette in this white void, the sheer madness of the scene made her shudder.
What could drive a king to such madness?
Even though the Merfolk didn’t have lifespans as long as Dragons or other mythical beings, they still lived twice as long as humans, with the Mingjiao tribe being even more long-lived.
So what kind of situation could cause this already over a hundred years old king to fall into such uncontrollable madness?
After venting his emotions so violently, King Willipol’s shadowy figure finally seemed to calm down a little. However, instead of picking up the chair and sitting back down, he suddenly froze, as if realizing something and hurriedly bent down to pick up an unknown object that had been swept to the floor along with the scattered Ghost Sea documents.
Because he touched it, the mysterious item finally became visible in the white void.
It appeared to be… a book.
Then, King Willipol stood in place and flipped through the pages and suddenly, he vanished!
“???”
The black-and-white world instantly dissolved, and the vision granted by the [Yin-Yang Eyes] abruptly ended. This meant one thing, King Willipol had never returned to the secret chamber after that moment.
So this was… the full sequence of his disappearance.
“......”
Though the entire process lasted only a few seconds in the real world, the way the blood suddenly evaporated into thin air, combined with the black-haired girl’s silver-blue eyes shifting into a mystical black-and-white glow, made it clear that Violet was using a special ability to uncover the truth.
As soon as the black-and-white hues faded from Violet's eyes, Nitila finally dared to step closer, cautiously asking.
“Miss Violet… did you find anything?”
Violet took a moment to process the strange insights from using her power for the first time. Then, she nodded.
“I did see something. But let me confirm one thing, Princess, on the day King Willipol disappeared, the warriors guarding the royal palace didn’t sense any unusual spatial distortions, correct?”
The Merfolk princess immediately grasped her meaning.
“You mean… are you suspecting that my father left or was transported away using spatial magic?”
“...It’s not entirely impossible, but our Merfolk race has a special branch called the Bihaijiao Tribe. They are incredibly rare, exclusively female, and are born with exceptional magical sensitivity and talent,” Nitila explained.
“The royal palace’s magical guards are primarily composed of this group. You’ve already met High Priestess Silisa, who is also from the Bihaijiao Tribe. With them keeping constant watch day and night, it would have been impossible for any spatial disturbances to go unnoticed.”
“Unless… the level of that space-related ability was so advanced and well-concealed that it completely surpassed our understanding. Or…”
Nitila hesitated, as if the thought was too absurd to voice out. But before she could say it, Violet finished the sentence for her.
“Or… King Willipol possessed a mysterious ability similar to that of the Pirate King, Rashid Bachiri. A power that wasn’t space magic, but allowed him to travel through space in an entirely different way. Is that what you were thinking?”
“Mm…”
Nitila softly admitted her suspicion.
“Back then, the royal palace’s barrier defenses also failed to detect any traces of space magic. It was as if that guy had just appeared out of nowhere. So I’ve often wondered, could my father’s disappearance be connected to something like that?”
Violet chuckled lightly.
“Heh… Maybe the most ridiculous and impossible explanation is actually the closest to the truth.”
Then, she briefly described the scene she had just witnessed through her [Yin-Yang Eyes], leaving the others silent for a long moment.
Finally, Nitila spoke up again, her voice filled with disbelief.
“He opened a book… and then vanished into thin air? That’s just… absurd! I’ve never seen my father with anything like that before!”
Violet smiled casually.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know. If it were something obvious, why would this secret chamber even exist? And if my guess is correct… King Willipol didn’t get that item from Rashid. He likely obtained it long before he even built this secret chamber and the underground pool, maybe even earlier than that.”
Hongyan was slightly startled but quickly understood.
“Senior Violet… are you saying that the King built this secret chamber specifically to hide that strange book?”
“Mm, that’s the most likely and logical explanation given what we know so far,” Violet replied naturally, following the available clues.
“And taking it a step further… we could even assume that the Pirate King came to see King Willipol precisely because he knew the book was in his possession and had his own reasons for seeking it. By the way, why are you calling me ‘senior’ again…?”
“Uh… s-sorry…”
Violet, who had long given up on correcting the inconsistent titles people used for her, simply waved her hand dismissively. Then, she glanced at Nitila, who still looked uncertain and overwhelmed, struggling to process what she had just heard.
It was understandable.
For someone like her, this revelation was earth-shattering. The idea that someone could just disappear into thin air without using any kind of space magic was as unbelievable as watching someone on Earth suddenly conjure fireballs and water orbs out of thin air.
She needed time to digest it.
“Anyway, if we want to figure out the truth behind King Willipol’s disappearance, or even uncover the real cause of the disaster involving the [Ghost Sea] and the [Deep Sea Ghost], our first priority is to find that book. At the very least, we need to understand what it actually is.”
“I know that… but right now…”
Seeing Nitila hesitate, Violet nodded reassuringly.
“The book isn’t here anymore, but that doesn’t mean we have no leads. That’s enough investigation for today. Don’t rush, this isn’t something that can be solved through impatience.”
“…However, I do have a method that might help us get some extra information.”
Then, her silver-blue eyes glinted with amusement.
“Princess, could you provide me with a completely secure location? A place that is highly discreet, difficult for outsiders to access, and absolutely safe from prying eyes?”
“It’s about time we called in some outside assistance~”