"So, where's your ship and your companions?"
Anderson asked hopefully. He craned his neck, straining to peer past Silas toward the sea behind him, trying to spot a ship that didn't exist.
"Ship? There isn't one."
Silas replied, "I was caught in an accidental teleportation and ended up on this island alone."
Hearing this answer, the smile on Anderson's face slowly crumbled. A mont later, he smiled again, though this ti it was purely bitter.
"I should've known… It seems bad luck still hasn't left ."
He sighed.
But monts later, he straightened his back, adjusted his attitude, and said to Silas with a smile, "Well then, do you have an axe? Do you know anything about sailing? Maybe we could work together to build a raft and get out of here."
This guy's pretty optimistic, at least.
Silas thought to himself.
"What did the painting you saw look like?"
He didn't answer Anderson's question, instead continuing to probe.
"The mural, you an?"
Anderson glanced at Silas's blood-red robe, his eyes shifting slightly before he said, "It was a painting with heavy religious overtones.
It depicted a procession of pilgrims. The sea before them had been parted, revealing a path.
An angel was leading them, guiding them along the road into the ocean's depths."
"That angel had long silver hair and closed eyes."
Ouroboros, the Tail Devourer!
The instant he heard this description, Silas imdiately thought of a certain rcury serpent.
In that abandoned temple, there had been a similar mural, though that one depicted pilgrims marching into the depths of a dark mountain range.
Combining the two paintings, perhaps one could reach this conclusion: in so distant era, this "Angel of Destiny" had once led nurous pilgrims across the ocean and over mountain ranges to visit that mad, corrupted, and filthy deity.
Where was their destination?
If this mural and the one in the "Forsaken Land of the Gods" were from the sa period, could it be assud that this pilgrimage route passed through the Sonia Sea and the Forsaken Land of the Gods?
In other words, the Forsaken Land of the Gods could be reached!
"Did you think of sothing?"
Anderson noticed the subtle change in his expression and spoke up.
"None of your concern."
Silas snapped back to attention.
"Don't say that. We're companions in hardship now."
Anderson smiled.
"I heard your Aurora Order sent a lot of people to these waters, apparently looking for sothing. That mural is on a subrged island in a temple. If you help build a boat, I'll tell you where it is."
As he said this, he quietly used the Hunter pathway's Incitent ability.
Then he noticed the man in the blood-colored robe across from him reacting with a slight shift in expression.
"Your Aurora Order?"
He repeated.
"That's right."
Anderson smiled with confidence.
"You're obviously a Shepherd. I can tell. Don't get wrong, I an you no harm.
I'm actually from the Iron and Blood Cross Order in Intis. I'm also a believer in the Lord. We share the sa faith, so we're partners."
Heh, only an idiot would share the sa faith as you lunatics.
He thought silently. Still, using your Lord's na to trick you into helping is completely fair.
"Oh, so you're a believer of the Lord?"
Silas smiled.
"Yes, yes, exactly."
Anderson was pleased to see him smile.
That's it. I've got him!
I'm a Hunter. Deceiving these fanatics is easy as pie!
Just as Anderson was thinking this, he heard the man across from him say softly,
"Drop dead!"
"BOOM!"
Profane Words exploded directly in Anderson's mind. Caught off guard, he felt as if his head had been struck by a sledgehamr!
Before his cry of pain could even escape, the red-robed man's hands ignited with pale blue flas.
"Pyromaniac"?
And flas of a higher sequence than mine?!
Seeing those flas, the Beyonder characteristics within Anderson reacted violently, as if feeling imnse suppression.
The flas transford into a spear and shot toward his body.
Too dangerous!
Anderson's scalp exploded with alarm as he desperately threw himself aside.
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion rang out. Sand sprayed everywhere, heat and shockwaves hamring into his back.
Where he'd been standing monts before now gaped a terrifying pit, the center burned beyond recognition, the sand lted into an orange-red liquid state.
God of Wisdom…
"Misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding!"
Anderson shouted. "Whatever I said wrong, I can apologize!"
"Aren't you a believer of the True Creator?"
Silas chuckled lightly. "I happen to dislike that guy. Whenever I et His believers, I kill them."
"You're not His believer?"
Anderson's eyes widened in shock.
"Why would I worship an upside-down idiot?"
Silas asked in return.
"How is that even possible…"
Anderson was on the verge of tears.
To actually run into a Shepherd who didn't believe in the True Creator… his luck had to be unbelievably bad.
"Misunderstanding, complete misunderstanding. I don't believe in that evil god either." He hurried to correct himself. "I only said that to build so rapport with you."
"I know," Silas said plainly.
In truth, he hadn't sensed the corrupted aura of an evil god's believer on this man. His Shepherd abilities also told him that this Anderson was a Sequence 5 Beyonder.
"Then why did you still attack …"
Anderson was completely lost.
"To teach you a lesson."
Silas shot him a cold look. "Don't bring up that damned thing so casually again."
"Got it."
Anderson forced a dry laugh. He could feel intense hatred in Silas's words. "So, can we cooperate now?"
He'd been trapped on this island for so ti and truly wanted to leave.
"First, tell your entire story in full detail. Then I'll decide."
Silas said.
"Just like I said earlier, I'm actually a fairly well-known treasure hunter.
To search for treasure, I ford an expedition team with a group of other treasure hunters."
Anderson said, "The first half of the journey went smoothly, until we encountered that mural.
The other mbers also saw the mural, and gradually they all beca entangled by misfortune.
So mutated into monsters, so were caught in storms afterward, so were attacked by monsters… In the end, only I, the strongest, survived."
"Mutated into monsters?"
Silas keenly caught the information in his words. "How did they turn into monsters?"
"They explored that dream."
"Explored a dream?"
Silas didn't understand what he ant.
"The dream in the night." Anderson looked at him strangely, then realized sothing. "Wait, you haven't encountered nightti since coming here?"
But it's been noon the whole ti. Where would night co from…
Just as Silas was thinking this, he suddenly felt the surroundings darken in an instant.
Complete darkness!
One mont it was noon, the next, deep night had arrived. This transition was so abrupt that Silas almost thought his eyes had broken.
"Quick! Lie down and sleep!"
Then he heard Anderson's urgent voice.
Reviews
All reviews (0)