"Sorry. I'll just go sit at the corner and not be a bother."
Ale spoke with a dejected expression and slouched shoulder as he went and sat in a corner.
"It's fine. Please don't feel bad."
"We'll deal with the disaster for now. It should take care of the problem for a while."
"We can just inform a temple in the meantime. They'll take care of the artifact."
Rudy and Ron came up with a temporary solution while Stuart decided on what they should do to prevent any future disasters.
All of them were trying their best to make sure Ale didn't feel bad or guilty for being unable to help since they could understand the risks very well.
First of all, there were other dangers at the ocean bottom even without the disasters and artifacts.
And what if the disaster decided to ignore them midways to go back down in order to attack Ale and protect the artifact?
Ale would have no way of saving himself underwater and it would take Rudy and the rest a while before they could dive in to save Ale. It was a dangerous and reckless move no matter how much they thought about it.
Everyone was thinking along the same line of thoughts as they agreed upon their future actions.
Everyone except one person. That person was observing Ale closely without making any comment.
'Kevin. That smart guy.'
Ale also knew he couldn't convince Kevin with his poor acting skills and blatant lies.
That's right. He was lying. He had no intention of leaving such a dangerous artifact under the ocean for even one more second. After all, the people in danger were his people, the people of his territory. It was his responsibility, even more than Rudy's.
And Kevin knew that. He had a pretty good idea on how Ale's mind worked after staying and working under his crazy ass for all these years.
It was him who had to deal with the aftermaths of Ale's crazy stunts and decisions. So he knew. And Ale also knew Kevin knew. But he also knew Kevin wouldn't stop him. He couldn't. Kevin was well aware of Ale's stubbornness.
So he just observed. Stared. And stared. And stared, trying to make Ale feel as much uncomfortable and guilty as possible. But it didn't work of course. Ale was thick-skinned after all.
Rudy and his party started preparing themselves in anticipation of the attack that would come sooner or later as Ale went into a corner and quietly sat there.
Phil, Gary and Kevin also sat right next to him making a circle. They looked like they had nothing better to do. Ale looked at them for a while before finally speaking.
"Why don't you go help?'
He thought they'd at least try to help or offer to help considering Rudy and his party was literally doing a favor to the duchy. So he was curious why the two of them just stayed still.
"It's dangerous."
"We need to protect young master first. That's our priority."
They answered pretty easily, without much hesitation, making Ale laugh.
"Only one of you is enough for that."
They were both strong. And Ale reminded them in case they forgot.
"Two is better than one."
"We can't leave you alone."
But they were also stubborn with their own point of view. Ale decided to give up on sending them away and sat back comfortably.
He didn't really need to worry about Rudy's party since they were the heroes who could overcome any and every danger.
And just like that, they reached the middle of the ocean, waiting for the disaster to come out and attack them at any moment.
The sky above the Ocean changed colors within minutes. What was moments ago considered bright and sunny, changed into dark and stormy in the blink of an eye.
The ominous dark cloud flying above their head and the constant thunders gave Ale the chills as he looked forward.
The Ocean looked angry. The waves crashed onto their boat again and again as if someone was taking their anger out on it.
And among all these natural disasters, he could clearly feel the presence of something sinister, something dark and vulgar that made him feel like thousands of bugs were crawling under his skin.
It was a very disturbing feeling, to say the least.
Soon, the ocean in the distance bulged and Ale could see everyone in Rudy's party strengthen their grip on their weapons, getting ready to take action.
"That's probably level six, right?"
Ale wondered leaning further back into the boats wall. He looked like he'd melt and sink into the wall if he leaned back any more.
'I'm sleepy. Maybe I should take a short nap during their fight?'
Ale thought as he kept leaning back more and more. He was almost on the floor, his body subconsciously answering his wish to sleep.
Rudy looked back at that moment and noticed this. He saw how Ale was shrinking away bit by bit and frowned slightly.
'Is he scared?'
Rudy wondered to himself as he shook his head and then looked forward, focusing on the enemy that was about to pounce on them. There was nothing he could do to lessen Ale's fear even if he was scared.
He was worried about Ale and wanted to say something comforting since he thought Ale was scared. But since they weren't exactly that close yet, he couldn't just muster up the courage to open his mouth.
Instead, he decided to show him how reliable he was by gathering all his energy in his sword and releasing a burst of energy that vibrated the air around them.
Vrrrr vrrrrr vrrrrr!
On the other hand-
'Umm.. Is he mad? He's mad, right? Why is he mad at me?'
Ale kind of curled up as he saw Rudy's sword vibrate like that. He was scared. As for the reason behind this misunderstanding, let's go back to a few moments earlier.
Ale was leaning back, almost yawning as he was feeling sleepy. Everyone around him was nervous and worried about the situation.
But since Ale was someone with knowledge about the future, someone who had seen stuff far more dangerous and scary than these, he wasn't particularly scared or worried.
But at that moment, Rudy turned back and looked at him. He was startled for a second since he was caught off guard. And then he saw Rudy frown and shook his head.
'Is he shaking his head after seeing me lean back and laze around in a situation like this? Is he disappointed?'
The thief caught in action was flustered and looked around, but no one else was looking. And then he looked back at Rudy again and saw how he was gathering all his energy in his sword and releasing them as if he was trying to calm his anger or express it in some way.
All of these led Ale to the conclusion that perhaps Rudy was disappointed and mad at Ale for having such laid back attitude in such a time of danger.
Ale sat up straight in an instant and fixed his posture, focusing on Rudy and his team who had already engaged in a battle with the disaster.
There was large tentacle like structured attacking their boat from all direction. The disaster had acquired the water attribute and could control the ocean water to some extent after merging with it.
And it was using those water as whips to attack them. That was the only way how an intangible energy(dark/negative energy in this case) could come in contact with the tangible world.
Swords, axes and bows attacked those water whips coming at their direction and destroyed them one by one. Rudy, Ron and Ash, the three of them were on the offensive while Alice aided them from the back.
'She has some really useful spells.'
Ale thought as he observed Alice. He knew everyone in Rudy's party was exceptional, and he was amazed every time he saw them use their powers.
Alice, for example, she was using double casting, buffing her teammates at the same time while debuffing her enemies. The two spells worked simultaneously, making things a lot easier for Rudy and the rest. Double casting was a talent only a few people in the history of the continent owned. And all of them went on to become great figures in their life.
Stuart was on the back, protecting Alice at the same time keeping an eye on the whole battlefield. He was more like the brains of the team so he just gave instruction while observing everything from a wider perspective.
"Wow.."
"They have amazing teamwork.."
Even Phil and Gary were mesmerized by their amazing group work as they watched, or rather, observed carefully. The two of them had already stood up even before Ale noticed.
They were guarding Ale with swords and shields in their arms and had their mana activated, ready to tackle any sudden attack.
Ale was amazed by his hard working knights and gave them a pat on the back. While they were all too focused on the battle going on ahead, Ale took a quick glance at Kevin, the one with the sharpest intuition here.
Whew. He's not looking.
He made sure that Kevin wasn't looking as he took a step back and went closer to the edge of the boat. It was a subtle movement and due to all the clashing noises ahead of them, nobody noticed it.
'Hmm.. How do I use my power again? Close my eyes.'
'Focus on my heartbeat..'
'Sense the energy being created at the core...'
'Direct a small portion of that energy into my fingers..'
Ale's hand, which he had hidden behind his body started glowing dimly with a golden light. It was his power. The power to control light, one of the purest elements.
He was only using a miniscule of his powers, and he was using it as bait. He wanted to lure the disaster towards his direction by baiting it with his power.
And it worked. The disaster that was so busy trying to drag Rudy's party under water, was aiming for Ale's neck the next moment.
'Finally!' Ale cheered on the inside as he saw his plan work.