Everyone froze as the attack slamd into the spirit and sent it spinning, its small body rotating drunkenly in the air. Its veil slipped for a brief instant, revealing a blank, doll-like face.
All the Awakeners near the attacker imdiately backed away, creating distance and leaving the attacker completely alone. The man glanced around wildly.
"Do... we have support, right? We can’t let those of us without coins be cheated!"
No one t his eyes.
From where I stood near the back, I watched the space around him empty out.
He’s on his own, totally and absolutely on his own with the consequences of his actions.
The spirit floated closer. The air vibrated a powerful aura coiled tightly around its small fra, scraping against my skin like invisible razors. Every Awakener flinched.
"No, no, no, no!" the man stumbled backward, his face pale and eyes wide. "Leave ! I’m not the only one who complained! Take them too! Forgive ! Forgive! Please! Please....!"
When the spirit spoke, a shiver ran through and every other Awakener. Its voice rolled like thunder after a storm and the air seems to beco even more darker as if the light were shy of its anger.
"You filthy human! You dare touch ! Your existence is no longer needed on this plane!"
The spirit spread its hand as if plucking sothing from the sky, then clenched its fist.
The air around the man warped and bent inward.
With a wet, crushing squelch, his body collapsed inward, bones and all folded together. Blood sprayed like rain, pooling beneath him as flesh was wound together unnaturally tight. What hit the ground was no longer a man, but a compact ball of flesh, bone, and blood.
A chill passed through us all.
What the spirit had done so casually couldn’t possibly be the power of an Iron-rank being. Just how strong was this thing? And where the hell were we?
My gaze shifted from the flesh ball back to the spirit, my throat dry as the realization sank in.
One wrong move and we were gone. This thing would kill us so totally and surely. Are we really in a zone? I swallowed hard.
The spirit spoke again, as though it hadn’t just crushed soone to death without much effort. "Then we proceed! Now go and prize your way across the sea! And don’t forget my warning, only ten ships on the other side!"
With a small burst of blue light, it vanished.
"Co on," Temur said grimly.
He pushed forward, his bulky fra clearing a path through the confused mass of Awakeners. "How many coins do we have, Torvan?"
"I don’t know," I admitted.
Before we reached the captains, Litha raised a shield around us. With the others blocking sightlines, we counted quickly.
"Wow, Torvan," Litha said, eyes widening. "You really ca through again just like when you brought all those monsters back from the test."
Temur grunted and smirked, and Litha couldn’t hide her expression. I was apparently full of surprises to her. "Good one. We have a total of two hundred and sixty coins. That should be enough to secure passage across the sea."
He looked at , lifting a bundle of coins. "You okay with this?"
I shrugged. "It’s for the team."
Temur didn’t waste ti. He led us toward the ships, scanning the lineup that was before he, he ended up choosing a warship made entirely of green tal.
"How much for passage across the sea?" he asked the captain.
The captain was a large, rugged man with eyes like worn steel. His body looked human, but I could see straight through him, as if he were a ghost.
"I don’t offer safe passage," he said flatly.
"But you’ll keep the ship moving?" Litha asked.
"My job is to take you to the other side if you pay reasonably. What happens on the sea is entirely up to you."
I got the feeling this ship wouldn’t stop for anything, but things might try to stop us.
"How much?" Temur asked.
The captain sniffed. "Three hundred green coins."
Temur started to speak, but Litha cut in. "We won’t give you more than one hundred."
The captain’s eyes narrowed but Litha didn’t flinch.
"Two ninety," he said.
"One fifty."
"Two seventy."
"One fifty," Litha replied coolly. "Take it or leave it. We’ll find another warship, there are plenty here "
"You won’t find a ship that handles high winds better than this," the captain snorted. "My speed isn’t a joke, and I’ve got a boost. Pay up or bother soone else."
Litha smiled. She clearly had no idea what a boost was, but it sounded useful. "When do we depart?"
We moved soon after, among the first Awakeners to set sail. So groups pooled their few coins together, while others with enough bargained individually.
Many of the stronger freelance Awakeners banded together to claim warships. Back on the beach, fights broke out as people began stealing coins from one another. Either way, the sea soon filled with creaking wooden hulls and groaning tal fras. Ships of every kind dotted the water.
"I count thirty-seven ships," I said. "But more might be coming, oh... thirty-six now."
A massive wave rose and smashed into a cannon, tearing it loose and dragging it into the sea.
Temur nodded sharply and then gestured. "Litha..."
A barrier shield flared to life around the warship, humming with static energy as Litha poured all her strength into maintaining it. Her role was clear, and it was to keep the shield up while the rest of us focused on speed and attacking.
Cele and Tim took their positions, one at the front and one at the rear, ready as our long-range attackers.
Fortunately, the ghostly crew didn’t interfere. We could pass straight through their translucent bodies as they worked.
I finally let out a long breath as my body relaxed.
"Finally," I muttered. "So peace and quiet since we entered this forsaken zone."
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