Chapter 283: Triton (8)

"S***! Faster! More, more!"

"I can't go faster than this!"

"S***!"

It was a mess above deck.

The Ghost Ship was moving faster than it had ever moved after entering the 28th floor. The Wind Spirits blew their winds behind them, and the old Cannibal Monster Humans were rushing around.

It was a fast speed that most boats would never have been able to catch up with, but Waltz was easily gaining on them. At first, she was only a small dot, but now they could see her body clearly.

Pupupung—

The players fired the cannons in warning. The cannonballs flew at Waltz with the magic power and skills of the players, but Waltz just brushed them off like they were flies.

Kwakwakwang!

The cannonballs exploded in the air like that. Explosions rang and black smoke spread out. Waltz passed through it all.

"S-S***!"

It was a scary appearance for the players and the Cannibal Monster Humans.

To them, Waltz looked like an invincible disaster.

It was understandable because Waltz had a crumpled face, exuding an immense aura.

With the arrogance of the One-horned tribe's and the Dragon Fear that only a half-dragon could have, she was ruling as the new fear of the Tower after the Summer Queen.

Of course they would be scared because such a being was flying at them.

At this rate, they would sink into the River of Souls along with the boat.

Then, they would become like the ghosts that floated around in the river. They were at a loss for what to do.

Still, Heidi didn't give up. Blood was streaming from her mouth, and her hair was turning from silver to a dry white, but she continued to move the ship.

Looking at her, Yeon-woo slowly got up.

He had fainted in Duke Ardbad's arms earlier and now regained some of his consciousness.

His body was being healed. However, his energy wasn't completely restored yet, and his body was heavy, like cotton in water.

"You can't stand up like that!"

Heidi tried to stop him from getting up, but Yeon-woo cut her off coldly.

"Why.....did you save me?"

Heidi didn't answer for a moment.

"You could've left me behind."

Yeon-woo truly didn't understand Heidi's decision. When Waltz's Primeval Body first appeared, he had first begun to think about how he could get out of his situation.

He didn't imagine that he would receive Heidi's help suddenly. He thought that she would have escaped while he was fighting with Benteke.

He could understand if it was Phante or Edora, but he never considered that Heidi would help.

That was why he was curious.

Why had she saved him?

Was it to get something from him or pay back the generosity he showed on the island?

It might've been something he should think about when Waltz wasn't following them, but this was an important subject for Yeon-woo.

Trust in strangers. It was like a hard assignment that he couldn't find the answer to.

"Because I don't want to be like someone."

"Who?"

"Yes."

Heidi nodded her head heavily and continued.

"That's all I can say."

Without meaning to, Yeon-woo grinned. The response he had expected hadn't come out.

It seemed like she had trauma of her own.

'Silver hair and those eyes. I guess it might be that.'

The legendary Frey Family who had once ruled over High Elves. They were once called the "Caretakers of the World Tree," and were closer to godly blood than the One-horned tribe. However, the tragedy of their family not only led to their demise but also dried up the World Tree.

This tragedy might've been the reason why Heidi had such strong beliefs about "companionship."

However, it was enough of an answer for Yeon-woo. Trauma pushed people into corners, but it could also become the motivation for something new. Trauma made Yeon-woo into what he was today.

"I suppose I can trust you this once."

"What.....!"

Yeon-woo ignored Heidi and stood up. His body screamed at him, but that pain cleared his mind.

He could feel that he had been arrogant. He thought that most players would be easy to defeat, but that wasn't the case.

He was glad to be presented a challenge.

The beast that was unleashed inside of his heart-the monster-had grown, and it was freer than before.

Of course, he wouldn't have let himself be swallowed by the monster.

He left his body to the monster while his head stayed cold. He released Draconic Eyes and Extrasensory Perception at the same time. While he activated Time Difference, he thought of an escape from this situation.

Thankfully, there was a way.

A place to protect his body from Waltz's chase.

'But the problem is how I'm going to lose her and make her follow us there. And I don't know the exact location either.'

He couldn't think of an easy way to get to that place. He had a destination, but he felt like it was blocked by fog.

'I still have to try.'

Obviously, Yeon-woo wasn't planning on fighting Waltz in his condition. Even if she was a Primeval Body, she was still way more powerful than him.

'I have to use that path.....'

Beyond the territory of his Extrasensory Perception, in a sea area not too far away, he could feel a large-scale fleet approaching them at a quick pace.

At first, he thought Triton was coming back, but when he looked closely, they were completely different.

They looked more like the 92nd Squad than Triton. Yeon-woo thought they might be from that Fantasy Regiment or whatever they were called.

If so, it was a good thing, but even if they weren't, it was obvious they were a pirate crew, so it wouldn't be bad to bring them into this situation.

「That personality.......」

Shanon muttered to himself reading Yeon-woo's thoughts, but Yeon-woo pretended not to hear it and pulled Vigrid out from subspace.

Tshing—

The Philosopher's Stone spun with magic power. Thankfully, his overheated Cores were working normally after his rest.

Soon, Waltz was right on top of them.

Gripping Vigrid tightly in his hands, he got into position and swung it down.

[Wave of Fire]

[Holy Fire]

[72 Bian - Nye, Byuk]

Lightning came from the sky as the three skills were combined with the Eight Extreme Swords.

It was an attack with all his remaining strength in it.

Kwakwakwang!

Krrrr—

"Useless!"

Waltz's Primeval Body snorted when it was hit with lightning. As her Primeval Body was split in two, her strength decreased but not enough to be hurt from that powerless lightning. It was just annoying.

Waltz drew her hands in the air. In the shattered space, lightning scattered around her. The broken pieces of lightning landed in the surface of the ground, and a column of water shot up, white steam flowing up.

Krrrng, krng, krrrrr—

However, even though his attack was rendered useless, Yeon-woo continued to bring down Fire Lightning.

Waltz's hands moved faster. Plum flowers blew in the air, and their strong scent wafted around.

〈Twenty Plum Flower Arrow〉. With just a single stroke of her hand, twenty shadows were created, and the space around Waltz was cut as the lightning fell down endlessly.

An intense light that was enough to blind people lit up the world.

Within it, there wasn't a single lightning bolt that had hurt Waltz. Only a nice-smelling plum flower scent wafted around her.

Even in that situation, Waltz's attack didn't let up.

She was close enough to the Ghost Shp to reach them if she leapt into the air.

She could see Yeon-woo standing on the head of the boat.

Then.

Flash!

Krrrr—

Like all the lightning that Waltz had dealt with up to now was condensed, an intense Fire Lightning rained down on her.

Waltz realized this was the last of his strength, and she paused, catching her breath.

This wasn't something she could easily cut away. It looked like she would have to break it apart with one blow. Just when she was about to.....

".....What?"

The lightning that looked like it would come down on her suddenly changed direction and fell somewhere else.

Waltz didn't know what Yeon-woo was planning and turned her head subconsciously in that direction.

At that moment, Waltz could feel that the other Primeval Body that was connected to her was cut off.

The last Fire Lightning fell on the Primeval Body that Duke Ardbad was dealing with!

"......!"

Of course, it wasn't that the Fire Lightning had caught her Primeval Body. However, it was enough of a surprise, and Duke Ardbad didn't miss the chance that was given to him. He immediately cut the neck of the Primeval Body.

As the Primeval Body crumbled, its repulsive power was delivered to the Waltz near the Ghost Ship.

Gulp!

Waltz unwittingly vomited blood. Her form was fading away. At this rate, her remaining Primeval Body would be destroyed too. She tried to control it when a portal suddenly opened above her head.

"You rat-like bitch!"

Duke Ardbad fell through it, bringing his giant bastard sword down. He had appeared using a teleport scroll.

His entire body was bloodied, but his eyes were flaring.

His pride was stepped on when she dared to play games with him.

Waltz crossed her arms before she could control her body.

A blade condensed with magic power fell on her, and the impact of the collision shook the River of Souls once again.

Then, the fog that had surrounded her suddenly retreated, and she could clearly see around her.

Approximately one hundred ships were circling around Waltz and Duke Ardbad.

They had a symbol of a cross with a sword below it. It was the 2nd Squad of the Fantasy Regiment, the Illusion Knightage, who followed Creutz.

The Fantasy Regiment looked surprised at the two who suddenly fell from the sky, but they quickly regained their senses and aimed all their cannons at Waltz.

Kwakwakwang—

The cannons then fired as one.

"Hoarderrrrr!"

Waltz looked for Yeon-woo with a furious voice, surrounded by countless attacks.

* * *

"C-Captain!"

Creutz nodded at his subordinate's shout.

He had frantically rushed here after hearing that Triton, the Blood Land, and the White Dragon were after Yeon-woo, but in the place that he had followed Yeon-woo, he saw a bloodied Duke Ardbad and Waltz.

He was greatly surprised by them, but calmly moved and aimed the cannons at them.

It seemed like they were chasing after Yeon-woo. It was strange because he didn't see Triton, but more importantly, he had to stall for time for Yeon-woo to escape.

Creutz nodded his silver helm. The secretary next to him shouted at their subordinates.

"Shoot! Don't leave any of them alive!"

Pupupung!

The magic attack created by artisans who had the Master qualification flew at Waltz and Duke Ardbad.

* * *

".....Are we out?"

After escaping the battlefield with Waltz, Duke Ardbad, and the Fantasy Regiment, the passengers on the Ghost Ship sighed in relief. Plop. Dylan, Jun, and the rest of the players all sat down on the ground, weak-kneed.

While escaping, they couldn't relax because they thought that Waltz might come back.

However, Waltz didn't appear even after an hour passed, and they were able to catch their breaths.

Their legs felt wobbly. Their hands were still shaking.

Heidi was the same. She just breathed out, leaning on a column. The use of magic power and her Spirits pushed her to her limits.

Because of that, the silver hair and eyes that she had been hiding were revealed. But it was obvious that she would've become another ghost wandering the river if she hadn't pushed herself this much, so she didn't have any regrets.

Also, she was relieved that she was able to make a different choice from her father.

Once she caught her breath and calmed down a bit, she lifted her head.

Far away, she could see Yeon-woo sitting on the bow of the boat looking at the ocean.

After getting away from Waltz, Yeon-woo sat still there and didn't move.

'He's probably the most exhausted person here. Is he okay?'

There was no way he was. When he was first carried onto the boat, his condition was critical. But the fact that he didn't let his guard down meant that his mentality was outstanding. Just what kind of life had he led?

Heidi wanted to ask Yeon-woo if she could help him with anything, but she couldn't easily approach him in case he would be bothered.

She was still hesitating when Yeon-woo suddenly looked over. Their gazes met.

"Heidi, right?"

"What? Yes!"

"Are you feeling a bit better?"

"Yes. Enough to move around....."

Was he about to order her to do something? Heidi nodded and burst up.

But.....

"Then I'll leave the rest to you. I set the destination, so you don't have to worry about anything."

"What.....?"

Before Heidi could ask, Yeon-woo suddenly pitched forward. She dashed forward to catch him. Thump. Yeon-woo's face fell into her chest. She could feel his heavy and firm body.

"C-Cain?"

Heidi carefully called his name, but there was no answer.

When she looked more closely, she saw that he had fainted. She could feel his light breaths.

Ah, so he was a human after all. She had thought he was a monster because that was the only side of him she'd seen so far, but that wasn't the case.

She felt a bit closer to him.

".....Rest well."

Heidi put Yeon-woo's head in her lap so he could rest more easily and stroked his hair. The Spirits flew around busily to help him sleep.

His hair fluttered in the soft breeze.

Their destination was Bayluk's island, which was probably somewhere nearby.

* * *

Meanwhile, a Monster Portent that had wandered away from Yeon-woo snatched something up from the river while swimming.

Keekeekeekeee!

How happy his owner would be if he saw this! The Monster Portent already felt good imagining his owner complimenting him.

What he found was Benteke's severed right arm.