Acting as network bodyguards, we received our client, the destination was confirmed, and the escort mission began.

　　Just like real-world bodyguards, we knew little about this particular client. Protected by privacy regulations, we had no right to inquire about the client’s true identity; we could only fulfill his request to the best of our ability and safeguard his life.

　　Before setting out, Dove, as the executive representative of the Free Birds, confirmed the destination one last time: “The Aquarius Guild, Atlantis—no problem there, Mr. Pufferfishmon?”

　　“There is a problem,” he admitted. “Actually, the destination should be the Deep Sea Temple.”

　　“But the request clearly states…”

　　“It was written incorrectly!” Pufferfishmon’s voice rose involuntarily. Seeing us all staring at him, he immediately lowered his tone in the next second: “Well, don’t mind that. I wrote it that way on purpose. I was afraid no one would be willing to take the job if I wrote ‘Deep Sea Temple’ directly.”

　　Falcon took over the conversation, asking: “Afraid it’s too dangerous?”

　　“Something like that. Every time I go there, I’m driven away by them. To put it bluntly, it’s because my strength isn’t enough. If I get your help and your power, maybe this time I can finally see her.”

　　At this point, Dove was quite confused. He went to Owl’s side and asked if they should still take on this dangerous mission: “Captain, look at this… should we still…”

　　“The client’s wishes come first.”

　　Owl gave a definitive answer. Then, he confirmed once more with our client: “The Deep Sea Temple is the palace of Poseidon, the Guild Master of Atlantis, and his private domain. It doesn’t welcome outsiders. Are you sure you want to go there and risk your life?”

　　“I’m sure.”

　　“If something happens, you won’t regret it?”

　　“I won’t regret it,” Pufferfishmon answered decisively. “She and I met there. That place carries our memories. I believe she must be waiting for me there… No matter what the outcome, even if it’s just to let me see her once and confess my feelings, I will be satisfied.”

　　I wasn’t familiar with these two places, nor did I know their locations, so I approached Crane for help: “Is there any difference between these two places?”

　　“A huge difference,” Crane told me. “The two places are very far apart. The Atlantis guild is in Midgard; you can find it by going west along the firewall. The Deep Sea Temple is hidden deep within the Digital World, specifically in the depths of the Network Sea. It’s protected by multiple undercurrents, and the water pressure is extremely high—standard aquatic types cannot reach it.”

　　“Then we…”

　　“If we can’t go below, we go above. We can use a whirlpool to get down; it won’t take much time. The client has been there before, so he must know which whirlpool is the closest. Following him is the right move. Also, Dove won’t be accompanying us; his mechanical body can’t function underwater, so he’ll stay on standby on the sea surface, ready to provide support whenever needed.”

　　To ensure the success of this operation, Dove had specially prepared a brand-new positioning and tracking device for himself, making it convenient for him to determine our position on the seabed from the surface. He could follow us at all times and, when necessary, provide cover within a certain range using the cannons across his body.

　　With everything confirmed, the escort officially set sail.

　　Passing through the firewall, through the forest, and arriving at the coast—the journey was remarkably smooth. No one dared to cause trouble, unless they had the ability to deal with six Megas simultaneously. Yet, we actually encountered one. The opponent was an AncientMermaimon. When we intended to descend through the nearest giant whirlpool, she proactively emerged from it, holding a golden trident across her chest to block our path. It looked like she was stopping us.

　　Falcon was the first to recognize her. Embracing his role as the Vanguard, he took the lead in setting the atmosphere: “Oh, look everyone! The guardian goddess of the Network Sea has come to welcome us in person.”

　　“She certainly has,” Owl added. Then, he directly called out her name: “Long time no see, Lana. I heard the UNSC P5 went to subjugate Leviamon—so why are you here now? Deserting? Or did you just not go?”

　　“Keep your snide remarks to yourself! Stop making baseless assumptions!” Lana’s tone was full of anger. “I’m exhausted from finally dealing with that Demon Lord of Envy. On my way back, I saw you lot from afar, surrounding this spiky thing. What for? Trying to play the villain’s accomplices?!”

　　Except for her and Pufferfishmon himself, none of us understood what she was talking about.

　　Seeing the confusion on our faces, Lana immediately realized we might not know the client’s true identity. So, she raised her trident, pointed it at him, and revealed his true face to all of us Free Birds:

　　“This guy is a network hacker. He spreads all kinds of rumors about the British Royal Family online, publishes inflammatory attacks against them, slanders, fabricates stories, distorts facts, and makes personal attacks. It has seriously affected their daily lives…”

　　Her revelation sounded more like a cathartic outpouring, saturated with raw, personal emotions, as if she herself were the one being persecuted. I couldn’t bear to listen to the rest, as it was all expletives.

　　I couldn’t help but say to Crane: “This woman has quite the temper.”

　　“Good eye,” Crane remarked. “Fools have their own fortune—she married a member of the British Royal Family and will have the chance to be Queen in the future. Is it any wonder she has a temper?”

　　“So, Guild Master Poseidon is her…”

　　“Correct. They just got married recently and built a Deep Sea Temple to fulfill his dream of a kingdom ahead of time.”

　　“Crane, do you think Owl will terminate the agreement with the client and abandon this mission to protect the reputation of the Free Birds?”

　　“Who knows.” Crane folded her arms. “Anyway, in my impression, he isn’t the type to break a promise. From what I know of him, he probably won’t.”

　　Owl’s actions proved Crane right—he indeed didn’t waver. He took a protective stance, standing alone in front of the client, facing the trident in his old acquaintance’s hand, and stated his position: “We can’t just take your word for it. Who knows if what you say is true? What happens in reality should be resolved in reality. The network has its own rules. I ask that Miss Lana show us some leniency and not make things difficult for us Free Birds.”

　　“You’re dreaming! The Deep Sea Temple will never welcome a social cancer like him!”

　　Seeing Owl not giving her any face, Lana simply broke off with him completely, showing no regard for their past friendship: “Let me make this crystal clear, Owl—no matter if it’s you or the people behind you, whoever dares to assist him in stepping one foot into the Network Sea, I’ll make sure they regret it!”

　　“Lana, I’ll ask you one last time,” Owl couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Are you truly going to be our enemy?”

　　“I should be asking you that!” The trident moved closer to Owl’s face. “Are you truly going to protect this guy who opposes us at every turn and makes our lives a mess? Hmph! Fine, friend or foe—it was determined the moment you took this request!”

　　“Is that so,” Owl remarked coolly. “In that case, don’t blame me.”

　　“Come on! As if I’m afraid of you!”

　　As she spoke, Lana raised her trident, raising a massive whirlpool that trapped all of us. We were momentarily thrown into confusion. Before we could react, in the next second, Lana used her trident to drive the sea water from the whirlpool wall, launching her favored finishing move toward us—Crystal Billow.

　　The crystallized water was no less hard than metal. It came down like a storm; without Dove—that massive, natural slab of steel—shielding us, everyone would have had a few holes punched through them.

　　As the battle began, Falcon took the lead, using Beast Wolf Great Revolution to deflect all the water crystals shot at him, rapidly closing in on Lana. Knowing she couldn’t win in a contest of strength, Lana promptly summoned a stream of water, swatting Falcon out of the whirlpool. Simultaneously, the Dark Despair attached to Crane’s left hand was about to be delivered. Lana had no time to dodge and could only curl her body, using her fish tail to deflect the blow with a sweep, hitting Crane’s head and causing her body to tilt to one side, finally using her trident to send her toward the bottom of the whirlpool.

　　Seeing this, Owl quickly detached the Brave Shield from his back, held it in front, and used Dove’s massive body as a springboard to leap upward, heading toward Lana and directly slamming her into the nearby wall of water.

　　“Sakura, take him down quickly! I’ll stall Lana!”

　　“Roger!”

　　Owl dived into the water and engaged in a struggle with Lana. Seizing this chance, I quickly took our client Pufferfishmon and leaped down from Dove’s shoulder, falling toward the bottom in the direction Crane had fallen.

　　“Was… everything she just said true?”

　　I sought confirmation from the client, hoping he would deny it. Unexpectedly, he nodded. “I had to do it for a living, otherwise… I, I have my own hardships too! Please believe me!”

　　It was the first time I had encountered such a feeble explanation.

　　“Whether I believe you is up to me; whether you did it is up to you.”

　　This was an established fact, beyond doubt.

　　I advised him: “I believe no one in this world wants to do things against their conscience. So, next time, before you do such a thing, ask yourself, ask your conscience, if you are building your own happiness on the suffering of others—and if the person you have been longing to see will forgive you.”

　　After hearing my words, he fell silent.

　　I am no saint, nor am I a relationship counselor; I don’t know how to speak pretty words. I can only do my best to prompt a minimum level of self-reflection from him, hoping it awakens the kindness sleeping in his heart so he stops causing trouble and distress for others.

　　“By the way, you said before that every time you go, you are driven away by ‘them’. Who are ‘they’?”

　　“The Amphibious Brothers. You should have heard their names. They… WATCH OUT—”

　　He suddenly shouted at me, then grabbed my hand and pulled my body aside, delivering a British Punch right past my back. From the sound, it seemed to have hit a very hard metal object. Looking back, it wasn’t a metal object at all, but a MetalSeadramon. It had just tried to rush in from outside the whirlpool and swallow me whole. Fortunately, my client noticed in time and acted, saving my life.

　　“Thank you.”

　　“Don’t mention it. Ouch, that hurts…”

　　Indeed, even with a knuckle-duster for protection, hitting metal with a fist wouldn’t feel good.

　　“…It’s the Amphibious Brothers. They’re here.” While rubbing his fist, he explained: “It will take some time to reach the bottom of the whirlpool. They will wander around the whirlpool, looking for opportunities to attack us. Triplets, three brothers, three MetalSeadramon, all looking exactly the same. Be very careful; they aren’t easy to deal with.”

　　His last sentence reminded me, making it necessary for me to split my attention and keep an eye on the surroundings, preventing the other two dangerous fellows from suddenly emerging from behind the wall of water.

　　I was puzzled: “How could they be here?”

　　The client answered: “All the ‘Giant Whirlpools’ were created by AncientMermaimon. The Amphibious Brothers are responsible for taking shifts to patrol between these whirlpools. If one is thwarted, the other two can quickly sense it and come over.”

　　“Watch out—”

　　The two of us shouted at the same time, with the difference being the direction we faced. He faced down, and I faced up—one up and one down, two MetalSeadramon poked their heads from behind the wall of water, pouncing toward us in a pincer attack with their mouths wide open.

　　The disparity in size left us with nowhere to hide. My Rose Rapier couldn’t pierce the Chrome Digizoid covering MetalSeadramon’s entire body. The spikes covering Pufferfishmon’s body were of the same material and might be useful; he knew this and wanted to use his ultimate move Spike Storm to resolve the crisis, but to protect me beside him, he hesitated and ultimately had to abandon the idea out of fear of catching me in the crossfire.

　　At the critical moment, Falcon and Crane arrived just in time. One used Geki Iogetsuga, sending out countless ice-forged Yellow-Beast Crescent-Blades, and the other used her right arm to release the arrow of light Holy Hope. The two of them, one up and one down, countered the Seadramon brothers’ pincer and successfully saved us.

　　“Are you okay, Sakura!”

　　Falcon checked on me on Crane’s behalf. After I told him I was fine, both of them shot me a look of validation, which made me feel quite uncomfortable—it felt like they had been underestimating me the entire time.

　　“You did great.”

　　“Tell me something I don’t know,” I reminded Crane. “Get ready, they’re coming again!”

　　The client was the one under our protection and shouldn’t be allowed to act unless absolutely necessary.

　　Falcon and Crane were both natural warriors. They each held off a MetalSeadramon, dispersing to the left and right, leaving only me. Without a single piece of metal on my body, yet having to face a steel leviathan sheathed entirely in metal, alone—this was almost an impossible task.

　　Now, there was no room for any hesitation, and no chance to retreat. The muzzle at the nose was pointed at me, and Ultimate Stream was ready. I couldn’t care about anything else and could only steel myself and charge forward.

　　“Every last one of you… don’t you dare look down on me!”

　　Venting the suppressed emotions in my heart, I concentrated all my energy and released Forbidden Temptation to clash against the cannon blast.

　　Due to the space constraints of the whirlpool wall, the red and green light waves didn’t have enough space to persist in a stalemate; the contest finally turned into a point-blank detonation. The resulting massive impact blew open the wall of water and blocked the whirlpool stream. The rushing sea water came toward me, and with my petite frame, I was powerless to resist. I could only be ruthlessly swallowed up, joining the swirling currents, sinking into the seabed, and left drifting completely alone.

　　As I thought this, my body involuntarily went limp. Tumbling within the turbulent currents, all my struggles seemed so futile. Not to mention the dizziness, my limbs were completely out of my control, and my torso felt like it was about to be torn apart by the strong current. My throat was filled with sea water, and I couldn’t call for help.

　　Suddenly, a pair of strong hands grabbed me from behind. Turning to look, who met my eyes was my hero—Owl. He saved my life once again; to save me, he was forced to abandon his bout with Lana.

　　I stared at him in a daze; for a moment, I even forgot he was still my captain.

　　“Get up! The Support Position can’t be the first to fall!”

　　Expecting romance from him—I must be out of my mind.

　　He led me out of the water wall, back into the cavity created by the giant whirlpool, and met up with Falcon, Crane, and our client. At this moment, the three MetalSeadramon opposite us had already taken their lethal formation, simultaneously channeling energy into the muzzles at their noses, and then, without further ado, released it.

　　The three beams of bright green Ultimate Stream converged, producing an unstoppable impact that could easily overturn everything in sight. Owl, as the captain, to cover us, had to take the Brave Shield from his back, hold it in front, rush forward, and take the full brunt of the blast for us.

　　“Hey, that’s too reckless!”

　　“Captain, you…”

　　“No, Owl—!”

　　The voices of Falcon, Crane, and myself echoed one after another. Along with the three of us shouting, Owl first held the shield and resisted for two or three seconds, then was directly blown away by the strong impact and disappeared without a trace.

　　Everyone, including the client, stood stunned, unwilling to believe everything they had just seen. Trapped within the sea whirlpool, we couldn’t attend to the captain’s safety. Dove on the surface would naturally go to his rescue. What we could do was handle these aquatic enemies before us and vent the anger burning in our hearts upon them.

　　Four against three—we were short on hands, so the client had to make up the numbers.

　　On behalf of the Support Position, I invited him: “Mr. Pufferfishmon, please lend us your strength.”

　　He clenched his fists and replied without hesitation: “I will give it everything I have!”