"Ugh... where is this…?" Julian slowly opened his eyes, staring at the white ceiling.
"Lord Julian! You're awake!"
Two voices—one male, one female—sounded nearby. Julian turned his head.
"You are… Sulant? And you're… Ditis?"
"Yes, Lord Julian."
"It's wonderful that you've woken up."
"Ugh… I feel like… like I'm… ugh… remembering something…" Julian struggled to sit up, his face contorted in pain.
"It's alright, Lord Julian, please lie down," Sulant quickly supported him and tried to comfort him.
"But… ugh… it's happening again…"
"Lord Julian! What's wrong? Doctor! Where's the doctor?!"
…
…
Ditis was startled by Julian's pained expression and hurried to fetch the doctor.
The doctor and nurses arrived quickly. After all, this patient had been personally brought by Melin, who had emphasized the importance of his care. They dared not make any mistakes.
After a thorough examination, the doctor and nurses finally sighed in relief. Turning to Sulant and Ditis, the doctor said, "The patient is stable. He just needs to rest. As for the headaches… has he experienced memory loss before?"
"…Yes." Sulant and Ditis nodded in response.
"Then that explains it. This is a good sign. His memories are beginning to return. However, the process is very intense, and his body is still weak. I've administered a sedative. Try not to stimulate him too much. It's better if his memories come back gradually," the doctor advised.
"Understood. Thank you."
"Just doing my job. I'll be going now. Call me if anything happens."
"Alright."
After the doctor left, Sulant and Ditis exchanged a complicated glance.
Julian had indeed lost some of his memories, but… was it really a good thing for them to return?
Julian wasn't just anyone—he was the human vessel of Poseidon, brought back by Melin. With Poseidon's soul gone, the memories of the war between the sea and the earth should have vanished as well.
It was only without those memories that Julian could continue living as a normal human.
But now that those memories were returning… what kind of thoughts would that awaken in Julian?
Harboring such mixed feelings, the two returned to the room, only to be surprised to find that Julian was not asleep, as the doctor had said. Instead, he was staring intently at the ceiling.
"Lord Julian!"
"Ah, Sulant, Ditis. You're back." Julian turned his head toward them.
"Lord Julian, you…"
"Sulant, Ditis, thank you for everything."
At those words, both of them froze.
"It was Melin who saved me, wasn't it?"
"You—!" Their faces changed dramatically.
"Heh… he's gone… just like he so irresponsibly took over my body back then," Julian said as his gaze returned to the ceiling. "Poseidon, the Sea God… I suppose now I have a tale worth boasting about, even if we lost."
"Lord Julian, you… how could you…" Sulant asked hesitantly. He was now certain that Julian had recovered his memories. But this shouldn't be possible!
During the war, Poseidon had fully taken over Julian's body. With Poseidon's fall, Julian should have lost all memory of those events.
"Heh… He left them to me in the final moments before his fall. He said… he couldn't bear to disappear without a trace. He wanted someone to remember that Poseidon, the Sea God, truly existed," Julian said with a faint smile.
"I-Is that so?"
"Yes. I think Melin, you can confirm that, right?" Julian looked to the side.
"What!?" The two instantly took defensive stances, but they had forgotten: even with their scale armors intact, they would never be able to defy Melin. And now, their armors were destroyed.
As expected, Melin stepped out from the shadows.
"Looks like that old guy left you with quite a gift," Melin said with a grin, pulling up a chair next to Julian like an old friend.
"Yeah, quite a gift," Julian acknowledged.
Poseidon hadn't just left him with memories that should've been erased—he had also passed on the method to create Scale Armors and cultivate Sea Generals.
"Even though he's gone, he didn't want the ocean to be left unguarded. So… I'll rebuild the Marine Army. That was his last wish, and now it's my vow," Julian declared.
"And then what? Invade the Earth again?" Melin raised an eyebrow playfully.
"…No. I don't want to follow in his footsteps. Besides, I'm human too," Julian replied.
"Even if you did, it'd be fine. I wiped you out once, I can do it again." Melin shrugged casually.
"You—!" Sulant and Ditis glared.
"Enough, Sulant, Ditis. Calm down. It's the truth. We lost. Nothing wrong with admitting that," Julian said to soothe them.
"Yes, Lord Julian."
"So, what else did that old guy say?" Melin asked Julian, unfazed.
"He said… not to provoke you two unless I'm confident I can kill you both at once," Julian said with a mischievous smirk.
"Then he'll be disappointed. If nobody succeeded in the mythological era, they definitely won't now."
"He also told me… to ask you for the path forward for humanity. He said only you hold it."
Cough cough—Melin choked on his own spit. "That old bastard had some nerve! If I'd known, I wouldn't have killed him outright—I'd have beat him half to death, healed him, and beat him again. An endless cycle! His face was thick enough to take it!"
"Haha, and he also said…"
"There's more?" Melin's face darkened. He was really starting to regret killing Poseidon so quickly.
"He told me… to protect the sea… and to witness where humanity's path will lead."
At those words, Melin paused, then grinned.
"Haha… That old guy finally gets it, huh?"
With that, he stood up, ready to leave.
"Looks like you'll be out of bed soon. Enjoy yourself. Sanctuary's quite lively right now."
After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned back.
"Oh yeah—come find me before you leave."
Watching Melin disappear, Sulant and Ditis were left in a daze. His conversation with Julian had completely scrambled their thoughts.
Rebuilding the Marine Army? Protecting the sea?
It was thrilling, yes—but why did Melin show support instead of eliminating the threat once and for all?
"Sulant, Ditis."
"Lord Julian." The two snapped out of their thoughts at Julian's call.
"Would you be willing to start over with me?"
"Of course, Lord Julian. We'll do anything for you. But…"
They were willing—more than willing—to help rebuild the Marine Army. But realistically, it didn't seem possible.
"Then it's settled. My Sea Generals. My Mermaids." Julian cut off further argument with finality.
"…Yes, Lord Poseidon!"
"Just call me Julian. Poseidon was his name. Even though he's gone, I won't seize that title."
"Yes, Lord Julian."
…
Melin didn't return to the temple after leaving Julian's room. Instead, he went into another hospital room—where the injured Saints were.
As soon as he entered, Howard's sharp tongue could be heard.
"Steve, seriously, you've been through countless battles. How did a trip to the ocean floor knock you out so bad?"
"Howard, believe it or not, even like this, I can still smash your face in!" Steve snapped from his hospital bed.
"Wow, terrifying!" Howard mockingly raised his hands in surrender, grinning without a care.
"If it were me, I'd have punched him already!"
"Go for it, Steve! Rip his mouth off!"
"Be a man! Do it! Peggy-sensei is watching!"
…
The other Saints joined in the heckling—even if it made their wounds hurt more, they didn't stop.
"Shhh… Peggy, you're still the most popular, huh?" Howard whistled teasingly.
"What, regretting it? Sorry, there's no chance for us," Peggy shot back, lips curled in a smirk.
"That's impossible—Maria is the only one in my heart!"
"Oh? Is that so? I believe I still have your hotel bills stashed away somewhere…"
Pfft! Cough cough "Where'd you get those!?"
"From way back. I was going to destroy them, but now I think they make great keepsakes. Maybe I'll show them to Maria…"
Thud
Faced with Peggy's combined air-land-sea bombardment, Howard "willingly"… dropped to his knees.
"Sis! I was wrong! Say the word!"
Booo~ The whole room jeered at Howard's lack of dignity.
Pfft~ Standing at the door watching, Melin couldn't help but laugh, finally drawing everyone's attention.
"Sir!"
"Lord Melin!"
"You're here!"
The Saints were thrilled—Melin had come to visit them personally!
These were mostly Bronze Saints—the lowest-ranking—and none of them had expected Melin to come see them in person.
"Alright, lie down," Melin said, using telekinesis to gently press them back down when they tried to get up.
"It's fine, Lord Melin! These wounds are nothing!"
"Yeah! I'm almost healed!"
"I could fight 300 more battles… Ow~!"
…
Seeing them so energetic, Melin's mouth curved into a dangerous smile.
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm!" The Saints nodded so hard it was almost a blur. Only Howard, Peggy, and Steve turned their heads, already sensing the trap. That smile was never a good sign.
"Then… I'll go tell Shion that everyone's training will be multiplied by ten."
"Ah!?"
"Nooo!"
"Lord Melin! I'm sorry!"
"That'll kill us! We'll actually die!"
…
The Saints turned pale and quickly begged for mercy. Their current training was already brutal—ten times more? They'd rather be dead!
And Melin didn't say it was just their training—he said everyone's. If this got out, their fellow Saints might kill them before the training even started.
"Alright, get some rest. There won't be any battles for a while. Heal up so you're ready for the next one," Melin said.
"Yes, Lord Melin."
"Mhm. I'll be going now. Howard, come with me."
"Yes, Mr. Melin."