The ship slowly entered the waters of the Gulf of Sumer, though the word "slowly" only applied to its speed, for everyone except Kayn and Daniel, their hearts were pounding in fear and tension, including Veronica and the entire crew.
The sky above looked like a thick blanket of black smoke stretching endlessly. The sun was there somewhere, but it felt like no one had seen its light for a thousand years. The air they breathed carried the scent of iron and blood, strange, bitter, heavy, and almost suffocating.
For some of the weaker crew members, even breathing became difficult. They started coughing violently, their lungs damaged to the point that they coughed up blood.
The water beneath the ship changed color every few seconds, a thin red for a moment, then colorless again, as if blood from some massive unseen wound deep beneath the gulf leaked out and was reabsorbed. The waves struck in short, harsh pulses, like the heartbeat of something hidden below the surface.
Daniel looked down at the water, expressionless, then sighed. It was clear that the reddish tint came from real blood.
Kayn had already told him before, whenever large groups of demons and humans slaughtered each other, they would drain the blood and remains of their victims into the sea.
That was why such an enormous amount of blood now lingered in the water.
"This is it... we can’t go any further. Beyond this line, it’s extremely dangerous. We could be attacked at any moment," Veronica said, trying to sound composed, though her voice trembled slightly.
"Yeah. We should disembark here. Going further isn’t a good idea," Kayn agreed immediately, his eyes turning serious.
Daniel nodded, tearing his gaze away from the blood-stained waters and turning to Veronica.
"Thanks. Getting us this far is more than enough."
Veronica hesitated for a moment, as if something was stuck in her throat. Then she pulled out a small talisman, dark blue with golden patterns, from her robe and handed it to Daniel.
"Thank you for saving our lives. This is a communication talisman. If you ever need help, you can contact me with this."
"Don’t get me wrong. We might be weak, but we’re not without influence. We can still help a little." she added quickly, sounding awkward but determined.
"I know." Daniel smiled faintly, as if his plan had partially succeeded.
Then he and Kayn jumped off the ship. Their feet landed on a cold, rocky surface, nothing like a normal shore. There was no sand, no plants, no sound. Just a dry, gray terrain that reeked of decay and blood, giving the sense that no living creature had set foot here for ages.
They stepped away from the edge of the water. Daniel spoke quietly,
"So... what now? Where do we go?"
Kayn pulled out a leather map and pointed at a spot.
"We’re here, the entrance to the gulf, the Dahlesin region. To reach our main target, we’ll have to circle around the entire gulf and enter from the other side."
"Couldn’t we just sail straight across?" Daniel asked.
Kayn shot him a look, like Daniel had just made a bad joke.
"No. Going straight means suicide. If we went any further, demons would’ve attacked us already, not to mention the other side of the gulf is under their full control."
"For our objective, we have to be extremely cautious and act in secrecy. If we’re exposed, the mission could fail."
"But the long route isn’t that bad. With our speed... we can reach it in two days. There’s a narrow strip of land that connects both sides of the gulf," Kayn explained, tracing the map.
"We don’t even need to walk the whole way. Once we’re close enough, I’ll open a rift and jump straight across," Daniel said lazily.
After reaching Rank A, he gained the ability to break the void and create a rift between two geographic locations.
Of course, with his current power, the distance he could bridge with a void rift was still very limited.
Even so, creating a rift from one side of the bay to the other shouldn’t be a problem, so long as they moved a bit closer.
"I like that plan. Then let’s move," Kayn smirked.
The sky remained pitch black. No sign of the sun, the moon, or even a single star, only smoke, blood-colored mist, and a dim light that seemed to come from nowhere. There was no telling what time it was. Day? Night? Or something in between?
Daniel and Kayn moved in silence for hours. They ran across the rocky terrain, sometimes gliding through the air to cover more distance.
There was no sound except the wind, a wind that carried the stench of long-dead corpses.
After a long while, the faint silhouettes of buildings appeared in the distance.
"A border city... Grahan Town. We don’t need to go inside. We’ll circle around it, not worth the trouble," Kayn said after checking the map.
Daniel nodded. Entering an unknown settlement in a place like this sounded like asking for trouble.
"Still... why does the smell of death and blood feel so strong here?" Daniel muttered with a frown.
"Maybe there was a battle nearby, and they brought the wounded here or something. It’s normal," Kayn answered after a short pause.
Still, even he could feel it, the scent of death here was far stronger than usual. But he didn’t dwell on it and brushed the thought aside.
Daniel simply shrugged.
But then—
As they passed by the edge of the town, Daniel sensed several shadows moving quickly.
They looked like people... but the feeling they gave off was neither human nor natural.
"Kayn... looks like we’re being followed," he said sharply.
Kayn grunted, twisting his wrist as a short blade appeared in his hand.
"Probably bandits. Or worse, something pretending to be bandits. It’s normal around here. From this point on, stay alert."
The wind grew colder. The silence heavier.
And the shadows... were getting closer.