Chapter Text
The great Poseidon, the lord of the ocean, the ruler of countless underwater creatures and beasts, the sea god with absolute power and dominance... His mood is visibly bad now.
Cultist rest one hand on the golden guardrail of the chariot, while the other rest freely on his knee, tapping his slender with his’ sharp fingers. Poseidon is driving very fast today, so much so that the scatters tentacles on Cultist's face sre sore from the sea breeze,. Cultist blinkes his eyes, which are slightly sour from being splashed by the seawater. With the help of his hood, Cultist squints at Poseidon beside him, remains silent for a long time, mechanically swinging the reins, and his calm expression, each of which makes Cultist, who is usually enthusiastic about competing and mocking with him, feel uncomfortable.
Poseidon's behavior when angry is the calmest, and Cultist knew about it from the first moment he met him.
“Since I have released you, now, get out of my sea.”
Cultist, who was once confined to the depths of the sea and unable to move, paid the price of obeying the orders of the sea god for the freedom given by Poseidon. After the water prison and iron chains were released, Cultist's first sight when he saw the outside world was Poseidon holding a trident, expressionless, and looking down at him from a high position. Cultist shook his wrist, which had been bound by the chains for an unknown amount of time, and before he could even utter the polite words, he immediately received Poseidon's expulsion order.
Cultist remembers that expression, although it seemed to have no fluctuations, the anger and irritability hidden beneath the plainness were simply beyond words. He is truly a proud and arrogant god of the ocean. Anyway, his own expression cannot be seen from Poseidon’s perspective. Cultist quietly rolled his eyes in the shadow and replied in a sarcastic tone, "Yes, Lord Poseidon," before disappearing into the ocean currents.
But Cultist has never been a submissive type. The so-called obedience to orders is just an excuse to exchange for freedom. Cultist began to frequently appear in the waters of Poseidon, as if this area belonged to a park where he could wander freely in his leisure time. Every time Poseidon noticed him, Cultist would always retreat unscathed with excellent stealth skills and sweet words. In terms of playing tricks, the believer of the evil god always have an advantage.
Although gradually, Cultist could feel to some extent that Poseidon did not seem as disgusted with his presence in his territory as he had said at the time.
“You disappeared for seven days.”
Cultist squints his eyes, the first words Poseidon says to him after they met again in the palace and Poseidon forcefully pulled him onto the chariot and began racing on the sea for several hours. Poseidon doesn't even glance at him, his gaze fixes firmly on the horizon in front of him. Apart from pulling the reins harder, Cultist can’t see any fluctuations in him, as if he was just calmly stating the fact.
Indeed, Cultist does not always stay in the waters of Poseidon. As a follower of the evil god, Cultist will go ashore every now and then to towns by the sea, using the shadow of the evil god to recruit followers and sacrifice them to an indescribable existence in exchange for the divine power he wants. Normally, it would not exceed two days, but this time the town size was several times larger than before, and the number of targets that the evil god longed for also increased accordingly. At the same time, the rewards were more generous. Therefore, Cultist's workload also increased significantly. After he completed the task and received the reward, exhausted Cultist only wanted to find a corner to sleep well.
“Leviathan is running out of food, "Cultist responds casually. Now he knows what Poseidon is angry about, but he was once again dissatisfied with his sudden disappearance and not listening to his advice to feed Leviathan's cubs. Cultist smiles in his most effective mocking tone and says," If we follow your feeding method, let alone a fierce sea monster, the child would probably starve to death.”
But Poseidon still doesn’t look at him, and doesn't even immediately mock him as usual, saying, 'Then follow your feeding method and we will let the child develop towards a fish ball.' He just waves his hand and accelerats the speed of the chariot. The sea dolphins that usually swim with the chariot gradually slow down for some reason, falling behind one after another, leaving only a few smaller companions by the side of the chariot, but they also seems to gradually sink to the bottom of the sea.
“Driving so fast, aren't you afraid of overturning, Lord Poseidon. ”Seeing that Poseidon still haven't come back to mocking him as before, Cultist, who realizes something is wrong, turns his head and stares at him blankly, trying to open up the topic with his best usual provocation. "Don't say to me, 'This sea is all mine, I can drive as I want.' If you're in the human driving system like this, your driver's license will be revoked.”
However, contrary to expectations, Poseidon remains silent, and even the last few dolphins accompanying the tank sink to the bottom of the sea. Now, the whole world seems to be reduced to the sound of the white horse in front of the tank, the sound of waves crashing against the tank, and the low roar of the Leviathan group coming from the depths of the sea. Cultist notices that they have sailed into an unfamiliar sea area. Although Poseidon's territory as the god of the ocean is so vast that it seems endless, he has been staying in the area where he often frequented. From such a distance, Cultist is even visiting for the first time.
They both remain silent as Cultist stared at Poseidon, who stares at the sea until the sunset gradually approached the horizon. Poseidon then pulls the reins and slows down the speed of the chariot.
“Cultist.”
“I haven't seen you for seven days.”
Poseidon takes a deep breath and then collapses onto the chair of the chariot, the sound of the armor on his shoulders colliding with the metal of the chariot echoing on the sea surface. It is unknown if there would be a nearby fishing village using this echo as a sign of the arrival of the sea god's gift. Cultist couldn't help but find it a bit funny, not only because of this childish idea, but also because of Poseidon's rare decadent appearance.
“I don't want to be like this anymore.”
Cultist suddenly felt that it isn’t that funny anymore.
“…Are you planning to lose interest in me? "Cultist tentatively asks in a forced teasing tone, completely unaware that he has involuntarily straightened his body, and the relaxed and swinging state of the tentacles on his cheeks has become much firmer, even the light green gradient fluorescence has dimmed slightly. He is nervous, and Cultist belatedly admits this fact. He is afraid that Poseidon would no longer be interested in him. They have been back and forth, and their joking "arguments" would no longer have any meaning. At that time, he would have to say as Poseidon had initially said that he would never appear in his waters or meet again.
He is nervous, and Cultist realizes that he is even more awkward than he has imagined.
“No.”
He hears Poseidon immediately take up his words.
“I can't do it, I can't lose interest in you.”
As if it were a stabilizer, Poseidon replies without hesitation.
Cultist looks at him blankly, and Poseidon's emotions seem to remain calm. Even this overly straightforward response left Cultist at a loss. Before he could write a proper and dignified reply in his mind, Poseidon gives him another strong attack.
“Sometimes I think, maybe I shouldn't have released you from the beginning. If you were trapped in a cage all the time, I could see you anytime, anywhere, which might be good.”
“I never expected you to be that type.”
“You are the reason why I became like this, Cultist.”
If it were a normal argument, Cultist would definitely sarcastically reply with a sarcastic tone: "The great sea god is actually influenced by another believer like me, it's really disrespectful." Or "Have you ever thought about imprisonment? Don't blame me for all your strange habits." But Poseidon looks at him calmly and replies so seriously, which makes it difficult for Cultist to organize his words for a while.
The tentacles on Poseidon's head curl up at the end. If Cultist had any spare heart to carefully pick his thorns, he would notice that several tentacles sre quietly entangle together, like some people would involuntarily clench their hands and rub them when anxious. Even if Poseidon pretends to be indifferent again, his tentacles could always reflect his emotional state well.
“So, every time you disappear, it's to complete the transaction with …“those things”, right? "Poseidon sighs, breaking the awkward silence. However, when talking about Cultist's beliefs and affairs, he always has an inexplicable anger. Even though he doesn't know what Cultist believes in or what he needs to do to obtain the power he wants, just thinking about it alone is enough to make him feel the urge to take the Leviathan group to attack “those things”:" Why don't you just believe in me? I can also give you the divine power you need, and what you need to do is even just stay in my field of vision. Isn't that enough?”
Poseidon had mentioned this to him before. At first, Cultist simply thought that this great and proud sea god could not tolerate the existence of creatures who believed in other gods in his territory, and even mocked his arrogance. Then he was content to admire the hilarious appearance of the sea god when his tentacles were blown open by him.
“You can't force me to do something I don't want to do. We've been together for so many years, you know that. "Cultist doesn't mock him again this time.
“I know.”
“But that doesn't mean I won't do that.”
Poseidon does not express his anger directly from the bottom of his heart as usual. Instead, he speaks in a relaxed and calm tone, as if he had planned ahead. This unusual reaction makes Cultist realize that Poseidon seems to have really thought about this matter seriously.
Poseidon, who is even less candid than he had imagined, surprisingly made a shocking statement during the confessional session, and Cultist does not take his words again.
So they stop looking at each other. Poseidon lowers his head and looks at the tightly held reins in his hand, while Cultist stares at the calm sea on one side. They remain silent for a while, until the clear sky slowly becomes cloudy, and the sunset gradually pushes towards the sea level, casting an amber veil over the blue sea. Cultist seems to make a bet in his heart and speaks up to break the silence.
“You don't actually dislike me that much.”
“I don't reject it.”
“That's really dishonest.”
“What about you? Have you been staying in my territory just to retaliate against my words at that time?”
“Your competitiveness has returned, hasn't it.”
Cultist laughs, realizing that Poseidon, who can argue with him back and forth, is not as slow as he had imagined. He is just awkward in all aspects, and the outcome of this gamble with his true feelings is a win-win situation.
In that case, they are quite compatible.
“You don't hate me that much too, Cultist. ”Cultist's laughter and counterattack makes Poseidon not avoid his mockery of competitiveness, but rather returns naturally as if he is relaxed: "Admit it, octopus, you quite enjoy arguing with me.”
He calls himself 'octopus' again. Compared to his real name, Poseidon is always fond of playfully addressing him by sea creatures with similar appearances, as if afraid that Cultist would not know the rule that "all sea creatures are under Poseidon's control". However, unfortunately, Cultist is the exception, as he has the privilege to live in Poseidon's territory but does not obey him, and even has the power to confront the sea god. This is an acknowledged fact, he is special to Poseidon.
“Yes, so what? "Cultist stares at him, his tentacles curl up and open with a relaxed force, losing their usual charm in the warm sunlight and adding a touch of softness." I really like it.”
“Then be my sea queen, "Poseidon also stares at him and says without hesitation. “Stay with me for the rest of your life, argue whatever you want, and I'll be with you anytime.”
“What?”
Cultist laughs out loud this time, while Poseidon showes his most familiar awkward expression: 'What's so funny? 'Queen of the Sea God,' 'My wife,' you understand, don’t you? ”
“If you were the god of the sea, wouldn't your worshippers call me the 'goddess of the sea'? I don't like that, "Cultist pauses for a breath, but his tone still unconsciously carries a smile. He leans forward, and the soft metal tentacles flexibly climb onto Poseidon's chest, covering his hand and tracing the muscle texture of him. He had done this seductive posture to himself before, and Poseidon occasionally felt that he was not an octopus, but a Siren. He just transformes his gorgeous tail into soft tentacles emitting a faint light, tempting him to explore the hidden treasures inside the metal shell.
“Do you agree or not.”
“What if I say I don’t agree?”
“If you don't agree, you can't swim back to the distance between this sea area and where we live by yourself.”
“This is the Lord Poseidon I am familiar with, "Cultist puts his head on Poseidon's chest and let out a muffled laugh under the hood." ‘Kidnapping’ me to a strange place and telling me ‘If you don't accept my proposal, you'll stay here for the rest of your life.’ What's the point? That's how you propose?”
“For you, you don't like the soft style.”
“Sounds like you know soft style.”
“So from your perspective, am I forcing you to agree?”
Sure enough, he still likes to talk back to himself so much. Upon hearing this, Cultist just blinkes leisurely, then pokes Poseidon's fluorescent pattern on his chest with his fingers, and suddenly pushes him back onto the back of the chariot, revealing his familiar, but not smiling expression to the sea god.
“Unfortunately, no.”
“But you still have to listen to me about feeding the child.”
“Do you really want to feed him into a fish ball!?”
【Fin.】