She looked at Gandalf, a hint of apology in her eyes.

"Sorry, little hottie from Great Xia Country."

Facing Polina's sudden change, Gandalf's face first showed bewilderment.

He seemed not to have expected that this woman would betray him so decisively.

Immediately, that bewilderment turned into obvious disappointment, and even a hint of hurt.

"Polina... how could you do this?"

His voice held a barely perceptible tremor.

"I'm so disappointed in you."

Seeing his expression, Polina merely shrugged indifferently, her beautiful azure eyes showing no hint of guilt.

"Sorry, for the pendulum of life, I have no choice."

She extended a slender finger, tidying her golden hair, which had been disheveled by the sea breeze, her tone flat.

"Who told me I was just a support class?"

"Naturally, I have to stand on the stronger side."

Hearing this, Thor's face revealed a satisfied smile, unique to a victor.

He lunged forward, and amidst Polina's startled cry, scooped her up by the waist.

His strong, powerful arms tightly embraced her voluptuous figure.

He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, which exuded an alluring scent.

"My dear, don't be afraid."

After speaking, he didn't even spare Gandalf another glance.

He transformed into a dazzling blue electric light and, without hesitation, plunged into the bottomless ocean vortex ahead!

On the island, Park In-maeng and Yingsi Lan exchanged glances.

They watched the figure disappear into ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the vortex, then looked at Gandalf, who stood alone on the sea surface.

Finally, they gritted their teeth and, one after another, leaped in, following Thor's footsteps into the massive vortex.

With the departure of the four, an eerie silence once again descended upon the shattered island.

Only Gandalf and the charred Karen remained, staring at each other.

"That damned bitch!"

Karen watched the continuously spinning vortex, trembling with rage, and cursed loudly.

"How dare she switch sides at the last minute! I really misjudged her!"

He raised his blackened hand, pointing to the sky as he swore, his voice filled with endless malice.

"Even if she kneels on the bed and begs for my forgiveness in the future! I will absolutely never forgive her!"

Zhou Huai felt a bit speechless hearing this.

Big brother, can you stop fantasizing?

She's currently being held by that Thor.

With your dark, sooty appearance, how can you compare to him?

However, he did not voice these thoughts.

The next second, the disappointed, hurt expression on Gandalf's face completely vanished.

It was replaced by his usual calm and indifferent demeanor, which had remained unchanged for years.

As if everything that had just happened was merely a play he had acted out.

"Don't worry about her."

He spoke calmly, no emotion detectable in his voice.

"She probably has her own plans."

To be honest, Zhou Huai had never been able to see through this young woman from Great Bear Country.

He always felt that every step she took had a deeper meaning.

Now, leaving her to Thor was actually a good thing for Zhou Huai.

It saved him the trouble of constantly having to guard against this woman stabbing him in the back.

He turned his head to look at Karen, who was still grumbling beside him.

"The current situation has changed from an initial three versus three to two versus four."

"Are you still planning to go down?"

To Zhou Huai's surprise.

Upon hearing this, Karen immediately stopped cursing without hesitation.

He turned his head, and on his dark face, two rows of white teeth appeared.

"Go down! Of course, I'm going down!"

He fiercely punched his own chest, emitting a dull 'thump' sound, his voice filled with absolute confidence.

"As long as you dare to go in, I dare to follow you in!"

"I still have a score to settle with that damned Thor!"

Zhou Huai thought, you've already been electrocuted into charcoal, and you're still making big boasts.

However, he still didn't say it aloud.

Lest he dampen his black friend's self-confidence.

At this moment, Zhou Huai was not in a hurry to jump into the vortex.

He cast his gaze towards the six bronze keys lying quietly on the ice not far away.

He always felt that the purpose of these keys should not be as simple as just opening a passage.

Otherwise, why would it be in the shape of a key?

Since it's a key, there must naturally be a lock that it's meant to open.

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf to slowly reach out.

He attempted to collect all six keys into his spatial ring.

The result was successful.

The six keys were collected without any hindrance.

And the giant ocean vortex in the distance was still spinning wildly, showing no signs of disappearing.

Zhou Huai's face showed an 'as expected' expression.

These six keys definitely had other uses.

After doing all this, Zhou Huai no longer hesitated.

He lightly tapped the water surface with his toes.

An invisible current appeared out of nowhere, supporting his body, and slowly flew towards the bottomless vortex.

Karen, behind him, also followed without the slightest hesitation.

... ...

The moment he entered the vortex, Zhou Huai felt an irresistible, terrifying suction coming from below.

His and Karen's bodies were uncontrollably pulled downwards by the rushing current.

The surrounding light grew dimmer and dimmer.

Soon, they plunged into a pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.

The temperature also became increasingly cold.

That cold was not merely a physical low temperature but a chilling cold that could freeze the Soul.

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, instinctively pulling the star moon magic robe tighter around him.

He could clearly feel it.

In this pitch-black deep sea, something seemed to be lurking, secretly watching them.

Malicious gazes, like invisible sharp swords, were cast from all directions.

It sent shivers down his spine.

The surrounding atmosphere was as oppressive as a horror movie.

They continued to descend for an unknown duration.

Perhaps ten minutes, perhaps half an hour.

Zhou Huai felt that he had already entered thousands of meters into the deep sea.

Yet, this passage still showed no end.

Finally.

Just as Zhou Huai's patience was about to run out.

In the endless darkness below, a faint glimmer of light appeared without warning.

The light was soft, yet filled with a certain sacred aura.

Immediately after, the terrifying suction suddenly vanished.

Zhou Huai's and Karen's bodies passed through a thin, soft barrier, like a jellyfish.

The next second, both men landed heavily on solid ground.

The terrifying water pressure around them, strong enough to crush steel, also disappeared without a trace at this moment.

This place was actually an independent space filled with air.

Zhou Huai looked around, but it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Nor did he see the figures of Thor and the other three.

Just as he was wondering.

Karen, behind him, seemed to sense something.

He extended his blackened hand and gently beckoned towards the darkness ahead.

"In the name of the God of Ila, grant us light!"

Buzz--!

A spherical object emitting a soft golden light appeared out of nowhere, slowly drifting towards the darkness ahead.

Wherever the golden light passed, the darkness receded like a tide.

The mysterious underwater world around them finally revealed itself to the two men.

Beneath their feet were soft, fine sands like white jade.

Around them grew various strange seaweeds with unknown names, as well as colorful coral reefs.

Those seaweeds and corals all emitted a faint glow, adorning this underwater world like a dreamlike wonderland.

However, what shocked Zhou Huai the most was not the magnificent scene before him.

But rather, not far from them.

A terrifying black shadow, too massive to describe in words, had appeared!