Chương 684: The Lord’s Bride

Two ships had them surrounded. There was no mistaking their intent. Pirates. And apparently dumb enough to think they had picked an easy target.

"Drop your weapons, or we open fi—" The man never finished the threat. A blade passed cleanly through his neck, and the maid appeared behind him as if she had been standing there the entire time. His body hit the enemy deck before the other pirates even understood what had happened. Panic ripped through the ship. Shouts, pounding footsteps, orders that contradicted each other before anyone could follow them.

On the second ship, Angie was already cutting across the sky with her wings spread wide, hurling her spear down while bolts of electricity tore through the air and struck the pirates one after another. Each impact lit the deck for an instant, followed by bodies dropping and wood cracking. It did not take long. Within minutes, both crews had been crushed. Anything of value was looted, as proper maritime etiquette demanded.

"Two storage chests, a few stacks of gold…" Eddie said, writing everything down on a sheet of paper with grave seriousness.

"And four barrels of rum."

"No." Stephen appeared beside him.

"There aren't any barrels of rum in there."

"Yes, there are." Stephen grabbed Eddie's pen before he could finish writing.

"No, there aren't. Buddy. Think this through."

"Is drinking the only thing you know how to do?" Maid Number 3 said, in the same cold tone as always. Stephen pressed a hand to his chest, offended.

"I also know a lot of stories involving prostitutes." By afternoon, they had reached a stretch of sea choked with ruins. Ancient structures jutted from the water like broken teeth, leaning at odd angles, covered in dark moss and salt scars. Long shadows moved beneath the surface between them. Eels. A lot of eels.

"The waves are more dangerous here," Isolde said, watching the ruins pass far too close to the hull.

"If they slam us into one of those things, we're going to spring a few leaks." A little later, they ran into another swarm of eels. It was already the fourth since they had entered that region. And the things were huge. Long, thick bodies covered in dark, wet skin that reflected the late-afternoon light. Angie did not wait for anyone to give an order. She swooped down, plunged straight into the sea, and grabbed one. The creature thrashed and discharged electricity into her. The shock lit up the water around them.

Angie didn't even flinch.

"This one's level 100!" she shouted, thrilled. Then she went at the thing. The eel fought back, bucking and twisting, trying to drag her under, but it did not last long. Not long after, Angie landed back on the ship, drenched, satisfied, and holding something between her fingers.

"Fishing paid off," she said. In her hand was a core. Luke accepted the gift gladly. [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [99/1000] Little by little, I'm getting to a thousand. By nightfall, they finally reached their destination.

"Holy shit," Evangeline said.

"Congratulations," Cadmus said.

"You've reached the border of the Abyssal Zone. You're standing on the volcano's rim." They were near the end of the sea in that region. Literally the end. Ahead of them, the water simply plunged over a massive drop, vanishing into another sea far darker than their own, so far below it seemed to swallow the light itself. The Abyssal Zone stretched beyond the fall, a black ocean disappearing into the horizon as if it had no end.

"That's the Abyssal Zone?" Luke asked.

"That's right," Cadmus replied.

"Falling into that sea would almost certainly kill you. The height alone might kill you when you hit the water. I mean, depending on your level and how resilient each of you is. But even if you survived, the waves would throw you against the walls of the volcano's rim. And if you somehow stayed alive after that, you would have to climb."

"Which would be hard," Eleanor said, staring at the drop.

"The water hits the wall and rebounds hard, I imagine."

"Correct. Unless you can fly, there is no way back up. And even flying would not be easy, since the waves could drag you back down."

"Unless, of course, we swam away from where the waves hit the wall," Erza said.

"Assuming we could fly and wanted to escape."

"That is a good strategy," Cadmus admitted.

"But then you would draw the attention of the things that live in the Abyssal Zone. And that would also be certain death. That is, if you are lucky enough not to be pulled under by a current first. Either way, whatever is down there would drag you to the bottom or swallow you whole."

"So basically," Stephen said, "fall into the Abyssal Zone, and you're done."

"Practically," Cadmus replied.

"Almost no participant would survive. Except for Luke Moon. He managed to escape from there. But only because he was near a halo."

"Even that didn't guarantee I'd be saved," Luke said.

"Something in the Abyssal Zone screamed. I'm sure that sound would've paralyzed anyone else." What saved Luke was the [Eye of Sariel]. That entire region of the Sunken Realms lay inside the volcano's crater, filling the vast hollow where the caldera had once opened. The waves rose and crashed against the inner walls of the rim. It was like a gigantic aquarium. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Luke climbed up to the crow's nest and studied the broken edge of the volcano. There was a hole in it, an opening wide enough to let something pass through. Along the rim sprawled what looked like a ruined city, with many ships anchored in a massive harbor.

"I think we found where the challenge is going to happen," Luke said.

"The City of Waves?" Charlie asked. As the ship approached the area serving as a harbor, Cadmus studied it in silence for a few seconds.

"This isn't the City of Waves," he said.

"That's below. The final city, built on the border of the Abyssal Zone. It was used to study the sea."

Alastair stood beside his master, Damian, inside the temporary castle he was using during the event. The place was luxurious enough to look permanent, which said quite a bit about Damian and his inability to exist anywhere without turning it into something excessive. His master was dining at a long table with a guest. Maxwell. The Hero of Flame.

"I'm not loving the way your lackey is looking at me," Max said, staring at Alastair over the rim of his wineglass.

"My apologies, sir," Alastair said with a polite smile.

"I'll try not to look directly at you." The hero took a sip of wine and narrowed his eyes.

"That's not it. Spit out whatever you're thinking, or we're going to have a problem." Damian laughed, relaxed in his chair.

"We're among friends, Max."

"Not that guy." Maxwell tilted his head toward Alastair.

"He's being weird, Damian."

"The Hero of Flame has the best intuition there is," Damian said.

"The bastard is always suspicious. No wonder his Hero skill is Intuition… or was it that Vision one? Or both, one evolved from the other. Ah, sorry, Max. I forgot which skill I helped you get."

"It was Vision," the Hero of Flame said with a fake smile. He did not like being reminded of that.

"Intuition came from the title. Vision was the one you helped me obtain."

"Right." Alastair knew a little about the Hero class because his lord had explained it several times. Heroes received an extra power and could unlock other powers tied to their own path if they completed special tasks. In the past, Damian had helped Maxwell complete one of those tasks.

"Serena's special skill is a thousand times better than your Intuition. That Sensor of hers…" Damian cut a piece of steak.

"Can't you trade with her? Or return yours for store credit?" Maxwell did not seem amused.

"Say it. Whatever this is, it's bothering my Intuition." Damian looked at Alastair.

"Tell us what's on your mind, Alastair. We're among friends." How does his Intuition work? Alastair decided to be honest. His lord made a small gesture with his finger, a discreet code telling him to speak the truth.

"I'm curious," Alastair said.

"Why would a hero sworn to protect humanity work with us?" Usually, Damian handled his missions alone. Alastair knew he had helped the Hero of Flame a few times in the past, but now the two of them were here, eating and drinking together. This was more than simple business.

"Because scum like you have value," Maxwell replied, mocking him.

"By using you, I get information on other vampire factions. Then I wipe them out and do humanity a favor."

"So at some point, you intend to turn your blade against me and my master?" Alastair asked. Maxwell chewed his meat calmly, as if the question were just another seasoning on his dinner.

"When we all return to the planet, it will be a New Earth. It will be my right, and the right of the humans from my world, to rule every other species sent there. Even if they are human too." He smiled faintly.

"When I say humanity, I mean mine."

"I imagine you would be quite pleased if we vampires attacked the other humanities," Alastair said.

"Correct." The Hero of Flame smiled.

"You learn fast. Even your kind has its uses. As long as you sink your fangs into someone else, I'll look the other way. That's why I like Damian. He's civilized enough to accept that arrangement." Damian and the hero resumed their conversation.

"But there is one small problem with that plan," Alastair said, interrupting. The Hero of Flame turned his eyes toward him, irritated.

"And what would that be, vampire?"

"What will you do if the newcomers aren't human? Because in that case, we vampires would have to keep feeding on your humans to survive."

"That's simple." Maxwell put another piece of meat in his mouth.

"I'll keep hunting every last one of you." He chewed slowly, then looked at Damian.

"This is very good."

"One of my concubines prepared it," his lord said. Then we'll just have to kill you first. For a moment, Maxwell chewed more slowly. Alastair watched him. His Intuition reacts to hostility. Or maybe to anything that could threaten him, even indirectly.

"Has the heroine Serena unlocked any of those special powers besides Sensor?" Damian asked.

"No. She hasn't completed any of the special tasks." Maxwell set his glass down on the table.

"But stop dancing around it, Damian."

"You already want to jump straight to the main subject?" Damian raised his eyebrows.

"You used to at least take me out to dinner before trying to fuck me." He glanced around, as if only just remembering something.

"Oh, wait. I'm the one taking you out to dinner here."

"Serena's sword glowed for you. She has that information."

"And now I also have the information that she would probably deal far more damage to me than she should. And that damned woman already has plenty of vampire-unfriendly skills."

"The issue is the other individual who made the sword glow as much as you did," Maxwell said.

"There's no way you haven't thought about it or deduced the reason. I want your opinion."

"No clue, Max. You're the Hero here." Damian speared another piece of meat.

"Besides, didn't you manage to convince Serena that the guy was bad for humanity because he hurt himself, or some philosophical bullshit like that?"

"I was lying to buy time," Maxwell replied.

"I had to keep her away from him. That guy is a jackpot. The hero who kills him will be well rewarded. And I'm not in the mood to split the prize."

"I'm sure he will." Damian smiled.

"And in a way, I'm also one of those rare winning tickets. I wonder what you unlock when you manage to take a step forward by killing a special individual like me." Maxwell ignored the provocation.

"And you know why Serena's sword categorized you as dangerous. You are a vampire lord. That is a good reason. But what about that guy? What is he?"

"No idea. Kill him and find out. How's that?"

"That is exactly what I'm going to do," Maxwell said.

"There's no way I'm letting a golden opportunity like that slip by." Then his eyes narrowed.

"But what about your fiancée, Damian?"

"What about her?"

"Don't you want to go there and kill him too?" Damian smiled lazily.

"Scared to face him alone? Don't want to find out why the Hero system considers him just as dangerous as a vampire lord?"

"No," Maxwell said.

"It's my Intuition bothering me about you."

"Don't worry. By doing nothing, I'll already be rewarded." Damian leaned back in his chair.

"I revealed that this Charlie girl was a vampire just as the heroes were about to attack her boyfriend. See, if you kill him, she'll be furious. She'll probably want revenge against you, or perhaps against all humans. Then she'll want more vampire powers. Sooner or later, she'll need a vampire faction, and then…" He smiled calmly.

"Well, I'll be there waiting for her. Me, the vampire lord. See? All of this happened while I did absolutely nothing. Imagine what would happen if I actually tried to manipulate things. Anyway, I don't need to tell you all my plans."

"And if she dies?" Maxwell asked.

"What if I have to kill the vampire to claim that jackpot?"

"If she dies, she dies." Damian shrugged.

"You see, my fiancée needs to be strong. Beautiful, yes, but strong."

"That was all I needed to hear, Damian," Maxwell said, rising to his feet.

"Where are you going, my dear friend?" Maxwell adjusted his clothes, and there was nothing cordial left in his eyes.

"To claim my reward."