"Mmm... The weather is so nice, I overslept..."
Paimon slept until noon the next day before groggily waking up.
"Good morning, everyone! What are we having for breakfast today?"
Paimon rubbed her sleepy eyes and floated towards Feng Yi and the others.
"Breakfast? Paimon, are you sure you're not dreaming? It's already noon, it's time for lunch," Feng Yi said to the yawning Paimon while busy with something.
"It's time for lunch? Then why didn't you call me for breakfast?" Paimon felt like she had lost a lot by missing a meal.
"Who said we didn't call you? We shouted with a loudspeaker next to you, and you still wouldn't wake up. What were we supposed to do?" Feng Yi never knew Paimon could sleep so soundly, like a dead pig that couldn't be woken up no matter how hard they shook her. If it weren't for her normal breathing and heartbeat, Feng Yi would have thought Paimon had kicked the bucket.
"Hehe, no wonder it felt so noisy, like a competitive eating challenge was happening. So it was all a dream..." Paimon giggled sheepishly and scratched her head. She didn't know why, but ever since arriving on this island, her perception of time seemed to be a bit off. It was likely due to the special magnetic field of this region. Her deep sleep last night was an adjustment to these changes. Of course, this was a secret she couldn't tell anyone else, not even Lumine or Feng Yi, at least not yet. Seeing that no one was pressing the matter, Paimon quickly made an excuse and brushed it off.
"Everyone, come quickly to Klee! Klee found something strange!" Suddenly, Klee's excited voice was heard, and everyone quickly followed the sound.
"Klee, what is it?"
"Look at the sea, there's something strange floating on it..." Klee was picking flowers on a beautiful hillside covered in all sorts of blossoms when she looked up and spotted something new on the sea's surface. The part exposed above the water was a long, slender cylindrical object, about two meters high, somewhat resembling a lamppost. As for what was below the water, Klee couldn't see clearly and had no idea.
"A slender device, it's probably a buoy," Jean said, making a rough guess based on the object's shape and condition.
"But, when we were sailing yesterday, we didn't seem to see this device..." Barbara recalled carefully. While they had seen some markers to guide their direction when sailing through the misty sea yesterday, they looked nothing like this object.
"It must be something theDodoco Big Demon King put there!" Klee's eyes lit up, and she folded her arms, convinced.
"A strange device that appeared overnight, this is not simple," Paimon, her energy fully restored, floated beside Lumine, joining everyone in speculating about the mysterious object.
"He hasn't come to find me, does he not acknowledge me? Or... is he waiting for me to go find him?" Klee, firmly believing it was placed by the Dodoco Big Demon King, delved deeper into her assumptions.
"Why don't we go take a look?" Lumine suggested.
"Yes, we can't solve the problem just by guessing from the shore."
"Exactly, it's better to confirm. It's hard to say what else might be waiting for us at sea, so just in case, everyone should be prepared for a fight..." Lumine's suggestion was unanimously approved.
"Feng Yi has prepared lunch for everyone. After we enjoy our meal, we'll form a team and go explore..." Jean, accustomed to handling affairs, quickly devised a reasonable and feasible plan based on the current information.
"As expected of Acting Grand Master Jean, so reliable!" Paimon applauded admiringly, thinking it was a wise decision to bring Acting Grand Master Jean along.
"You... you flatter me. It is my duty!" Jean blushed slightly at Paimon's praise, feeling it was all part of her responsibility.
During lunch, everyone gathered, enjoying grilled fish, roast duck, and grilled rabbit, chatting about various topics, from their fondness for the island's summer to their speculations about the sea buoy.
"Although it might be a bit out of place to say this now, the sea here is truly beautiful. The sea and the sunshine... a dream summer! It would be wonderful to hold a concert facing the sea..."
"If Barbara performs, Paimon would be looking forward to it."
...
"This archipelago is isolated, like a naturally formed secret realm. We came here with both a divine message and the help of Dvalin and Venti... Everything is too coincidental. But everyone, please don't worry, I will do my best to protect you all..." Before setting off after lunch, Jean gave everyone a pep talk to boost their morale.
The group sailed their Waverider around the buoy devices for a long time but found no useful information. Klee then suggested using the Waverider's heavy attack cannon to blast them. Jean and the others discussed this wild suggestion for a while before deciding to try it as a last resort. After preparing for battle, they activated the Waverider's magical armament. The heavy attack cannon was very powerful, and after just two shots, the metallic buoy device was destroyed. The moment the buoy device was destroyed, everyone clearly felt a special energy rush towards the seabed. However, this information was not enough to draw any conclusions, so Feng Yi continued to bombard the other buoys with the Waverider. After the last buoy device was destroyed, the sea surface began to shake violently. Feng Yi knew this was a precursor to the underwater island surfacing, and they needed to hurry back to shore.
Rumble—
After Feng Yi and the others successfully reached the shore, the ground shook violently, and the small island began to rapidly ascend. Looking from afar, several islands of the Golden Apple Archipelago rose from the sea, revealing their true forms that had been hidden beneath the waves.
"How... how could this happen? This sea area is too mysterious!" They were originally on the beach, but now they were standing halfway up a mountain. Paimon gasped in astonishment, covering her mouth.
"The entire landmass has risen!" Barbara was also stunned, gazing at the distant islands and the dramatically changed terrain, unable to imagine who could achieve such a feat.
"Big Demon King, Big Demon King, wah! Klee is coming to catch you, Grrr—" Klee didn't care about any of that. She had a feeling that the time to meet the Dodoco Big Demon King had arrived.