Atlan (5)

Marc Horizon had assembled the entire Arina army. Unfortunately, Rihan Daniel is not a knight-minded figure who will serve to challenge every Arina warrior. The holy-weapon chain moved swiftly around Marc's body.

"Let's just end the fight here," said Rihan, a little lost in his fighting spirit.

"Do not!!!" Indra Saka Horizon's voice suddenly stopped the link that was about to stab into Marc Horizon's neck.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Indra. The man became nervous for a moment. "Please don't kill him," he said after a moment.

"I know my father has made a lot of mistakes. Kills a lot and makes you suffer. He deserved to die. But… he's still my father after all. He is still our king." Indra begged.

But the reaction that the Arina warriors gave was not like that. They looked at each other and whispered in disagreement.

Indra was silent again. His hands squeezed tightly on the hem of his shirt as he tried to string together the right words to say. "Please, just take it as a return for my help to Ririn and also my mother who helped Aunt Luna. Please let my father go…"

Rihan laughed coldly. "Indra Saka Horizon, you are too naive. Even if I stab you a hundred times your father will not die." Rihan didn't just say. He also proved his point by stabbing the link through Marc Horizon's neck.

Everyone was shocked.

Not just stab. The links began to move up and down as if they were trying to split the water.

Mark smiled widely. "You're smarter than I thought, young man," he praised for some time.

"But…." Rihan retorted quickly. "It would be a different story if I put nullified power into my weapon," he said triumphantly.

Mark's smile faded. He more or less understood how terrifying nullified power was for him who was a power user too.

Rihan's smile grew wider behind the mask. "Don't worry, I didn't kill you this quickly, Horizon." The holy-weapon chain seemed to be pulling itself out of Marc's neck.

"First is this Atlan." Rihan threatened to use something far more terrifying than Marc Horizon's tiny life. His irises began to turn magma red. While the tribal tattoo symbol appears on the left eye. His gaze grew colder and crueler.

"You can't destroy this underwater world with that little power of yours, young man. Don't be silly!" Marc didn't take Rihan's threat seriously.

Atlan is not just a city on a mountain with a church building on top. The real Altan stretches much wider behind a chain of intertwined mountains. Wanting to destroy Atlan is not an easy job.

But Rihan was serious about his words.

The holy-weapon chain swooped high into the Blue Labyrinth's ceiling and the next second a gigantic serpent, Qiu-long, appeared. The dragon's gigantic and long body managed to cover the entire view of the ocean in the Atlantic sky. The glow of the yellow-orange flames that smoldered throughout Qiu-long's body seemed to displace the dominance of blue in this underwater world.

Qiu-long spouted flames burning in a straight line at the area beyond the only mountain visible from the Blue Labyrinth. Don't know how big the impact will be. But after that the dragon just circled up there.

"Is it just my shadow or is Qiu-long's form bigger and longer?" Andra couldn't hold back the awkwardness in her heart.

"It's much bigger than the last time we saw it," replied Raka, shuddering in horror. The tip of Qiu-long's head was on the other side of the mountain, while the rest of the dragon's long body still ruled the sky of the Blue Labyrinth.

Marc Horizon and the rest of the Arina army began to feel their courage dwindle. The reach and intimidation of Qiu-long's roar was truly eye-opening for them. Marc had to rack his brains even harder. Either way he must be able to buy time until he finds an opening to kill Rihan Daniel!

"W… Young man, t… calm down. We can… talk nicely." Marc Horizon stammered.

Rihan tilted his head slightly in thought for a moment. "I've tried it a while ago. Did you forget?"

Marc tried to take a step back. Suddenly a flash of light flashed in the corner of his eye and a cold object pressed against the skin of his neck. Marc glanced back in trepidation without daring to move a finger.

"Don't think I'm the same as the Dragons, Horizon. If the one facing you is one of the three Dragons there, maybe they are still thinking about their dignity and prestige," said Rihan right behind Marc Horizon. Silva who was brought along from the Land of Agra seemed to press deeply on the neck of the king of Atlan.

The stiff smile behind Rihan's mask turned into a condescending smile. "The world you live in is a world where the strong dominate the weak. Attacking the Dragons who are on guard, destroying the Ifrits you consider dangerous, kidnapping, torturing, and conducting experiments on other Peoples and your own People."

"Do you think after doing all this, your head can still be stuck to your neck? Your body still remains intact and flawless?" Rihan's voice was like the hiss of a snake behind Marc's ear.

"Horizon, look around you. When your life was in danger, did any of the Arinas come to your aid?" Rihan asked while turning to look at one by one the Arina warriors who were too afraid to come forward to protect their king.

"Th—They were only taken aback by your dragon-form threat! I can't believe they would let me get killed! I am their king!" Marc's assertion involved quite a lot of emotion.

Rihan pressed more and more on Silva's blade. The thin scratch on Marc's neck turned into a three millimeter deep cut. Red blood seemed to flow out uncontrollably.

"Let's see Arina's decision, Marc Horizon. Loyalty to the king or hatred?" Rihan raised Silva's knife and was about to stab Marc's neck.

"DO NOT!!!" Indra's scream echoed slightly in the Blue Labyrinth. He ran fast in front of Rihan and stumbled down due to the inner turmoil inside him.

Rihan frowned while Silva stopped just a few miles from Marc's neck. "One person…." Rihan muttered regretfully. "Your life is only worth one Arina's life, Horizon."

"How many children do you have?" Rihan tried to remember the actual number he never knew.

"Thirty…." Marc answered as if the soul was no longer with him. He was devastated by this fact. None of his generals begged for his life. None of his wives helped. The children he had loved and pampered did not show their noses either.

"Daniel, don't kill daddy..." Indra begged. "Killing him won't make either party feel any better." The two parties that Indra meant were the Nagas and the Arinas.

"Indra is right, sis. If the strife of the two Clans here can be resolved peacefully, why force the use of blood?" Raka intercedes.

"Daniel, blood will only bring more hatred. This cycle of revenge will never end. I'm sure father and all the Dragons don't want this to continue." Andra joined in the conversation.

Rihan shook his head slightly. "Then who can guarantee that in the future these people will not attack us?"

"I…." Indra answered very quickly.

Rihan squinted his eyes from behind the mask.

Tiana Roselake took a step forward to stop her son from speaking more. But it was too late.

"As the son of Marc Horizon. I can guarantee it with my own life," said Indra, looking confidently into Rihan's eyes.

"Show." Finally Silva was released from Marc's neck. The weapon turned into a sword and was thrown until it stuck right in front of Indra Saka Horizon.

All pairs of good eyes that are currently visible at the scene, as well as those who are hiding around there are waiting while holding their breath.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives were replaced by one life. I think this is more than fair." Rihan still wants blood.

Indra strengthened his resolve. His hand began to reach out to grab Silva's hilt with a slight tremble. If his life can atone for all the mistakes of his father, save the Arina and Atlan, Indra feels that his little life deserves to be sacrificed.

"Wait! If Indra guarantees with his life, then what do you guarantee with? Who can guarantee that after my son dies, the Dragons will stop attacking Atlan?" Tiana Roselake couldn't give up Indra Saka Horizon.

"Nothing can be guaranteed. Blood debt must be paid blood too. I've been kind enough to only take one life here." Alvi had never seen Rihan as cold-hearted as now.

"Mother, he is right. This is not a negotiation, it's paying off a debt. From the start this incident was our fault." There was a sense of regret behind Indra's resigned voice.

"Thank you ma'am, see you again in a much more peaceful world. Ririn, aunt Luna, thank you for everything." Indra didn't wait any longer and he slit his own throat with Silva.

The sharp object that had almost separated Marc Horizon's head from the body suddenly lost its sharpness. Indra tried again a second time and the result was the same. Silva is like a toy sword made to deceive small children.

In the distance, Qiu-long seemed to land his forelegs on top of the mountain peaks visible from the Blue Labyrinth. One of his limbs crushed the church building up there. The dragon spewed fire again, melting the mountain on which it stood.

"Daniel, you—" Indra was at a loss for words as he witnessed Qiu-long's ferocity.

"Reform. Change of ruler of Atlan. If you can do it now and at this very moment, I can leave by destroying only one mountain." Rihan changed his mind. He seemed to be walking towards the eel and leaning tired there. The man is too greedy.

Indra Saka Horizon and Tiana Roselake followed Rihan's movements with anger mixed with disbelief.

"The mountain is gone. Arina people. We have all evacuated at his request." Caroline Azurlake finally revealed herself after a long hiding while watching what was happening in the Blue Labyrinth.

"In reality, we are all relieved that the mountain was finally destroyed. A place that became a nightmare for the underwater people. Don't you guys feel relieved too?" he asked softly, smiling as sincerely as he could.

"We can rebuild our Atlan together. We can restore this supposedly beautiful and peaceful underwater world. Yes, right?" The Arina Warriors nodded in agreement.

One of the generals stepped forward. His body is big and his muscles are strong. He wears battle armor with a shield in his left hand and a large ax in his right.

"For thousands of years we have been indoctrinated with the stigma of 'obeying the king's orders'. It didn't matter whether the Arinas wanted to do it or not. Marc Horizon has abused his power." He spoke loudly.

"What Caroline Azurlake said is true. We can rebuild Atlan into the beautiful and peaceful world it used to be. But we need a new king to make it happen." he continued.

The general landed his gaze on Indra. "Here is an Arina. At first he was nothing in our eyes. He was of Horizon blood but not a son to be proud of. He was neither an elite soldier nor an intelligent person. But look. He had great courage to sacrifice his own life for us, for Atlan."

"King." Immediately the general knelt down and bowed to Indra.

Simultaneously, the Arina warriors knelt down to pay their respects to an Indra Saka Horizon; the innocent man who was famously the most useless among the Marc Horizon kids.

Indra bowed his head full of mixed feelings. He didn't understand why it had to be like this. The choice Rihan Daniel gave was too good for Arina, and in no way commensurate with the atrocities his father committed. Indra did not accept the choice, he felt unfair to the people who were almost destroyed by his father.

Indra approached the general and snatched the big ax from the hands of the Arinas. The next second a hysterical shriek was heard among the Arinas. Indra did something too reckless. He severed his own left hand.

"Indra!" Tiana Roselake suddenly ran to her son.

"Dragons, you refuse to take my life. But I hope you will accept this one hand of my hand in exchange." Indra said while enduring the pain.

"I like people with character," said Rihan.

Indra tried to stand up straight with the help of the general. His eyes swept slowly across every Arina including his own father. "I don't know why you chose me. The reason you entrusted Atlan's future into my hands is also the blood of a Horizon. The reality is that I am nothing. I'm not strong like Lycan. Not smart like Lady. Does not stand out among the Arinas. Then what made you choose me?"

"Let's stop this ridiculous dispute with the People above the sea. From now on we will only focus on Atlan's glory." Indra seemed to force himself to speak at length like a new king giving a speech.

"Boring," thought Rihan as he glanced at another angle. Alvi suddenly chose to stand beside him.

"Horizon's era has ended. With my left hand severed, it means that I have removed my relationship and name from the Horizon family." Indra began to find it difficult to maintain consciousness. His vision started to blur.

"I, Indra Saka, will open a new era for Atlan. The Saka era…" Indra suddenly fell limp unconscious. He bled profusely.

Rihan snorted mocking Indra's reckless actions.

"Ryan, thank you." Alvi suddenly thanked him.

Rihan turned to Alvi. "Veena, I just did what I wanted to do."

"If you really wanted to kill Indra, I would hate you for the rest of my life," said Alvi.

Rihan frowned. "Oh yes? Why? Haven't they made you and your family suffer?"

Alvi didn't answer right away. He looked down slightly for a moment. "Ryan, what I wanted since childhood was not to take revenge on the Arinas. But reunited with my family," said Alvi.

"Although the hope is very small, sometimes I like to dream of meeting them. Then now I don't have to dream anymore. Father, mother and also my sister Ririn, they are all safe and for me that is more than enough." Alvi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Veena, I don't know whether to call you stupid or naive. But I like it…." Rihan had no other intentions. But the word 'like' made Alvi's heart beat fast.

Caroline Azurlake approaches Rihan with an elderly grandfather. They bowed their respects to Rihan and Alvi. After he finished straightening, the grandfather introduced himself as Harris Azurlake, an elder of the Azurlake family which is the oldest family in Atlan.

Without further ado, Harris made his point. "Are you sure that with an ending like this the Dragons won't prolong this dispute?" he asked worriedly.

"There are three witnesses of the Dragons there. They are Lord Arken's sons." Rihan pointed at Raka, Gina and Andra.

That answer still couldn't convince Harris. "It's better for the Arinas to talk directly to your leaders," he said, not because he doubted Rihan Daniel. He just wanted to ensure the safety and future of the Arina people.

"Umm… Master Arken has already left this to me. I guess he doesn't mind my decision here," Rihan said after thinking for a few seconds.

"But…." Harris didn't know how to explain his doubts.

"Ryan, take off your mask. How can they believe it if they don't know your face," Alvi suggested quite reasonable.

Rihan followed the advice. He took off the mask. The magma-red irises and tribal tattoo symbols are still visible in the right eye. But there is no cold and cruel impression behind the mask. Rihan smiled mischievously as usual.

"If you're still in doubt, I'm a little forced to use my status as Venerable Dragons to convince the Dragons." Rihan spoke in a relaxed voice.

Harris gasped in surprise. The term Venerable Dragons was long gone and he didn't expect at this old age to hear that title again. "The noblest…." Harris suddenly knelt down. The right hand is crossed in front of the chest while the left hand is clenched perpendicular to the ground. Harris Azurlake is giving the Dragon People's highest mark of respect.

"No, no, no. I don't deserve this token of respect." Rihan reflexively kneeled down and asked Harris to stand up.

"It has been thousands of years that the name of the water dragon nation has been removed from the list of the Dragons. All because of one small mistake, only because of one small and ended with expelling us from the Land of Agra." Harris said while sobbing.

"We?" Rihan didn't catch the 'we' in Harris's words.

"Horizon, then Azurlake, Roselake and all family names ending in -lake are descendants of the water dragon nation. But the current generation is no longer pure blood. We mingled with the Arinas who wanted to accommodate us in Atlan." Harris explained.

"Revenge on the Dragons, doctrine, experiment… I can more or less guess what happened next." Rihan chimed in. He took a deep breath as he led Harris to his feet.

"I'm not interested in past stories. All of this has been recounted by others. We don't know what really happened at that time. Go home, it's been a long time since you guys haven't been able to sleep peacefully, have you?" Rihan smiled widely before leaving. Alvi followed behind.