When they reached the open clearing below, the beasts guarding the mine surged forth to greet them warmly. Players from both guilds, forced into a temporary alliance, scattered into groups of three or four. This tactic kept the beasts from clustering for overwhelming attacks while also ensuring they would not trip over one another during battle.
"Their brutality lives up to the rumors,"
Peach Blossom muttered, watching Demos with a mix of disdain and begrudging admiration for his combat prowess.
Both guilds fought fiercely against the beasts, but they never lost sight of their true objective. They fought the beasts while preventing the opposing guild from claiming the mine nearby. The fight escalated as players from both guilds tried to touch the ore deposits first, triggering the transformation of those ores into their guild's emblem.
As the beasts' numbers dwindled, skirmishes between players from the rival guilds beca more frequent—and much more intense. Both sides had brought their top players, and it showed. Siegfried and Demos faced each other calmly. Demos flashed a provocative grin.
"My guild's ahead. Your guys aren't as impressive as I thought they'd be. I expected more of a challenge."
"Want to test that?"
Siegfried replied evenly, eting Demos's challenging gaze head-on.
"Perfect. Last ti, the fight I wanted most ended unresolved because soone got too injured to continue. I hope you're as fun to fight as she was."
Demos smirked. Without further preamble, Demos beat his massive wings and shot toward Siegfried at blinding speed. Siegfried responded by swinging his sword with such force that the air pressure beca a razor-sharp gust. Demos flapped his wings again, avoiding the attack, which sliced into an unlucky player behind him.
Siegfried did not stop there. Predicting Demos's evasion, he moved with lightning speed, leaping to deliver a powerful slash aid at the airborne man. Demos seed montarily startled but managed to block with his claws just in ti. The collision sent Siegfried hurtling to the ground, where he landed in a ready stance, prepared for anything.
The calm deanor of the Pendragon guild leader gave way to a more aggressive glint in his eyes. anwhile, Demos's gaze sparkled with exhilaration as he looked at his opponent. He grinned, clearly pleased to et this foe—a rival who made him excited when facing off, sensing the killing intent, and clashing weapons. The man who made Demos want to tear his life and soul apart, and devour them.
.....
The Bloodied Angel floated silently amidst the still waters. So of the crew had retired to rest, while others remained on watch. The light mist of early evening thickened, enveloping the ship until visibility was reduced to less than a ter. This oppressive haze unsettled the crew. They patrolled nervously with apprehension. No one had ventured into the Siren Waters before, especially at night. They strained their ears for any unusual sounds but heard only the sound of the waves.
Chang Long lay asleep in a hammock, with Kitsune curled atop her chest. Deep in slumber, she found herself dreaming. A dense, white mist engulfed her surroundings, stretching endlessly in every direction. Alone in the emptiness, she called out for Kitsune, Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, Alice-chan, and even Ackeran, but no voices answered her. She kept wandering, until a silhouette erged in the distance. Hastening toward it, she discovered a man she had never t before.
"Greetings,"
the man said. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with pale skin and cold, emotionless eyes. Despite his lips curling into a smile.
"Who are you?"
Chang Long asked curiously, her unease growing at his grin.
"Captain Lewin,"
the man replied, stepping closer.
"The Siren Waters are no place for rest. No matter how urgent your reasons, anchoring here is folly."
"Huh?"
Chang Long looked at him in confusion. Captain Lewin smiled and spoke again.
"It has begun. You and your crew will die here. Even if you try to sail away, it's too late. At best, your ship will wreck in the Graveyard of Ships, where the Mists of Death blanket the waters endlessly, night and day."
As his words faded, the crew's anguished screams filled Chang Long's ears. The image of Captain Lewin dissipated, and when she opened her eyes, chaos had erupted around her.
The Bloodied Angel's crew were shouting and running about in disarray. They grabbed crossbows and darts, charging toward the deck while yelling at the top of their lungs:
"Siren attack. Plug your ears. Don't let them drag you into the water!"
Chang Long sprang from the hammock, Kitsune standing guard beside her, growling and bristling in alarm. She unsheathed the Sovereign Sword and hurried to the deck, following the others.
The cacophony of sirens' songs mixed with the desperate cries sent shivers down her spine. The sirens had launched a full-scale assault, using both gentle and forceful tactics to deal with the Bloodied Angel's crew. Captain Columbus was rigid with tension, barking orders to the ship's mages to unleash their spells on the sirens.
The battle raged fiercely. Chang Long commanded Kitsune to breathe fire at the sirens drawing close to the ship. Despite the watery battleground, the flas of her pure-blooded sacred beast inflicted severe injuries on the sirens. Their cries of rage, pain, and fear filled the air, reverberating across the waters. This clamor awoke sothing far more terrifying, far more malevolent, and far more dreadful from its slumber...
Beyond the battlefield, the once-calm whirlpool in the sea began to churn violently for unknown reasons. Waves crashed with ferocity, and the water rose into a massive cyclone. The thunderous roar of the maelstrom drowned out the sounds of battle between the crew and the sirens. The fight halted abruptly. The sirens scread in abject terror. They dragged any crew mbers within reach into the water with them as they fled the monstrous storm.
"Raise the anchor. Sail deeper into the mist!"
Chang Long shouted commands to the stunned, frozen crew, who was staring at the massive, inexplicable storm forming before their eyes. Captain Columbus, regaining his composure before anyone else, barked orders for the remaining crew to follow Chang Long's instructions. The diminished crew hastily raised the anchor and unfurled the sails to catch the night breeze, but the ship's progress still felt agonizingly slow to the anxious captain as the storm brewed. He directed a portion of the crew to head below deck and use the oars to propel the ship faster away from the storm.
Chang Long's gaze remained fixed on the storm. Deep down, she knew this was no ordinary tempest. Her spectral companions were equally tense. Even the ancient force within her, dormant for so long, stirred in response to the storm's presence. A surge of anger bubbled up from within Chang Long—an inexplicable fury directed at the storm, though she had no idea why.
The Bloodied Angel's crew shouts and scramble seed to fade into the deafening roar of the storm. In her subconscious, Chang Long heard a furious refrain:
"Hatred, endless hatred. Leviathan, I loathe you!"
To her shock, the storm itself seed to answer, its voice raspy and chilling, sending icy dread coursing through her veins:
"Hatred, endless hatred. Azrael, I loathe you!"
Then, as the colossal storm dissipated, an enormous beast erged from its center. Its gargantuan, serpentine form stretched hundreds of ters long, glistening with a dark, slick sheen. Its body was adorned with fin-like structures resembling seaweed, delicate yet razor-sharp. Its gaping maw revealed rows of crystalline, dagger-like teeth, as its cloudy white eyes locked onto a small figure, who stood rigid with tension on the deck of the Bloodied Angel.
"Legendary Beast Leviathan, Level 145, has appeared. Players slain by Leviathan will incur an additional five-hour confinent penalty,"
the system notification echoed across the ga, audible not just to those on the ship but to every player online.
Players everywhere halted their activities to listen again, ensuring they had not misheard. Once confird, chaos erupted in towns and cities. High-level players began forming parties—among friends and guildmates. mbers of the Mariti Association were roused from their sleep to handle the surge of bookings from players desperate to hunt the legendary beast. Ship rental prices skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, with fees covering not just hazard pay for the crew but also insurance against catastrophic damage—or total loss—of their vessels.
Chang Long stared at Leviathan in stunned silence, her wide eyes reflecting awe. It was the most terrifying creature she had ever encountered. The beast had concealed itself within the enormous storm, slowly erging as the tempest weakened and dispersed into a mist.
Leviathan's form resembled a massive black serpent with a gaping maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its bloated body was covered in fins resembling seaweed, while its long, subrged tail bore the appearance of a sleek black fish's tail. Its misty, white eyes locked unblinkingly onto Chang Long. When it opened its mouth to speak, its voice sent shivers through every fiber of her being.
"Azrael!"
The raspy, eerie cry of Leviathan echoed thunderously, shaking even the sea itself. The crew of the Bloodied Angel turned as one to face the terrifying beast, their hearts gripped with paralyzing fear, as ti seed to froze.
The monstrous creature reared its head, preparing to strike. Chang Long, though overwheld by the sheer scale and presence of Leviathan, braced herself in a stance.
"Die... to ease the hatred that consus !"
Leviathan's voice roared, and with blinding speed, it lunged at the Bloodied Angel, which had managed to enter the thick fog halfway. Everything happened so fast as a blow of wind, Chang Long was thrown overboard by the impact just as the vessel vanished entirely into the dense mist.
All fell silent, white and cold. The only sound was the creak of the ship's wood. Chang Long looked around in disoriented confusion, spotting the Bloodied Angel not far away. She swam desperately toward it, clawing her way back to the ship while calling out to her fellow players. No voices answered, only the bark of Kitsune, followed by the spectral forms of Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Alice-chan, all radiating concern.
"Are you hurt, missy?"
Devi-chan asked, his worry evident.
"No, I'm fine, but why is the ship so quiet? Where is everyone?"
Chang Long responded as she searched for a way to climb aboard.
"That thing, Leviathan, is a soul-eating beast. Its attacks don't cause physical damage, but it devoured the souls of everyone on board."
Hisa-chan explained solemnly.
"So... everyone's gone?"
Chang Long whispered in shock. Her spectral companions fell into silence. At that mont, Ackeran appeared on the ship's railing, talking to her.
"Not everyone. There are survivors, but they seem frightened."
"Who? Kitsune, go check and see who else made it,"
Chang Long ordered. Her companion barked in acknowledgnt before darting away. anwhile, Chang Long spotted a rope dangling from the side of the ship. She grabbed hold and climbed aboard.
The deck showed no signs of structural damage, but streaks of black sli marked the remains of what she guessed had once been players. As she inspected the deck, Kitsune returned, leading two figures to her.
"Chang Long," Captain Columbus called out, his voice shaking. His expression was that of terror. Behind him stood Sea Breeze, his arm sared with black sli and bearing a grueso wound.
"Only two survivors?"
Chang Long asked, craning her neck to look behind them, hoping to spot more survivors.
"Just us two,"
Sea Breeze rasped, his voice hoarse.
The three of them sat on the deck amidst the dense fog, the ship drifting so slowly it seed as though it had stopped entirely. Captain Columbus carefully redressed Sea Breeze's wounded arm, undoing the ss Chang Long had made when she turned it into a clumsy bundle. Nearby, Kitsune snuggled close to his master, visibly shaken. Chang Long kept stroking his head to comfort the poor creature.
"What do we do now? With just the three of us, there's no way we can keep the ship moving,"
Chang Long asked.
"We can't go anywhere. The journey ends here..."
Captain Columbus replied grimly.
"Let's just use a teleportation scroll to return to the city."
"And leave the Bloodied Angel here, captain? No way. I can't do that,"
Sea Breeze interjected emotionally.
"We don't have a choice. No matter what we try, we can't take the Bloodied Angel with us now. At least in this fog, she's relatively safe. Once we're back in the city, we can gather others from the association to co and retrieve her."
The captain's words weighed heavily on Chang Long, filling her with guilt. She understood how much Captain Columbus loved this ship—so much so that he had upgraded it instead of purchasing a new one.
"If only there were another player with sailing skills nearby," Chang Long muttered hopelessly. Was this really the end of her journey? Not only was the quest to reach the Mirror of Truth slipping further out of reach, but she had also caused Captain Columbus to lose his beloved ship. Worse still, finding soone willing to take on this dangerous journey again seed impossible. She sighed, resigned to her situation. She would need to wait until she was at a much higher level before returning here. Even though the Sirens feared the Reaper King's aura within her, Leviathan's vengeful words left her certain she could not avoid confronting it no matter how many tis she tried to co here.
"Do you have a teleportion scroll? If not, you can use one of mine."
Captain Columbus asked, seeing that Chang Long had fell silent for a while.
"There has to be another way. We can't just abandon the Bloodied Angel like this."
Sea Breeze tried to persuade Captain Columbus, who seed to have lost hope in finding a way out of this situation.
"We have no crew left, Sea Breeze. I don't see any other way out of this, at least not one that doesn't put us in further danger." The captain replied calmly, but both Chang Long and Sea Breeze knew just how hurt he was.
"A crew, finding a crew in a place like this..."
Chang Long murmured, scanning the impenetrable mist around them.
"Need so help with that?"
-----
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