"Son, it’s your mother! Co here!" whispered the creature.
Crowne glanced around. The voice ca from different directions, as if the creature existed everywhere at once. He pulled out his new weapon, but at the sa mont, the coachman suddenly leapt toward him. Seeing that, Crowne imdiately jumped back, grabbed the coachman’s head, and smashed it against his knee.
Baaak!
A loud cracking sound echoed. The coachman fainted and lost consciousness. Crowne lifted his body and placed him back inside the carriage.
"Son, co here!" the whisper echoed again.
Crowne turned his head. He saw his mother standing on the right side of the road, beside a large rock. Crowne walked toward her, but when he got very close, she vanished. He turned in another direction. The sa voice appeared again. Crowne saw his mother’s figure once more. He followed the direction of the sound, and before long, he was already far away from the carriage.
Her figure disappeared again just as Crowne was about to touch her shoulder. He exhaled slowly. "Ah, finally you’ve shown yourself."
The sound of singing grew clearer, louder, and sharper. At the sa ti, Crowne’s mind almost got taken over. Just as he was about to fall into the illusion and be controlled, he quickly took out a wooden twig and stabbed it into both of his ears with all his strength. Blood dripped down from his ears.
The pain was unbearable, but he endured it.
"You’re surprised, aren’t you? Your power only works when soone hears your singing. Without that, you’re nothing," said Crowne.
The creature kept singing, but Crowne was unaffected. He focused, pulling out several torches at once and throwing them in every direction. In that instant, several creatures appeared—fish-like beings with human-shaped bodies, wrinkled faces, sharp jagged teeth, and hands with claws and webbing.
Crowne frowned. "Aren’t you supposed to live in water? Why are you here?"
At that mont, the sirens turned their faces away when their forms were revealed. They were visibly shocked and quickly turned their backs, trying to flee. But Crowne snapped his fingers.
"Help !" he commanded.
Instantly, several beasts he had previously tad appeared. They nodded and scattered, chasing the fleeing sirens. Crowne stood alone, waiting. But no one ca back. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and began walking again. He climbed up a cliff, moving by instinct.
On top of the cliff, several human bones lay scattered. Crowne rely glanced at them, uninterested. Eventually, he found a descending path.
Following it led him to a small hut hidden deep in a forest at the end of the trail. Crowne approached, frowning in confusion.
"Why is there a hut here?"
When Crowne entered, the hut was completely empty. No one lived there anymore. Still, he noticed a few cooking tools that could still be used, though they were covered in dust, clearly abandoned for a long ti. Crowne stood silently, observing the objects for a while.
"Who could have..."
Before he finished speaking, sothing attacked him. Crowne tilted his head to the right. The strike missed. He instantly turned around, grabbed the attacker by the neck, and slamd the body to the floor. It was a Siren.
"You must die! Die! Kill yourself!"
The Siren kept singing, trying to manipulate Crowne with her voice, but he could not hear a single word. Crowne tightened his grip. The Siren scread in agony. At the sa ti, multiple screams echoed from all directions. Crowne drew his weapon, ready to kill her, but suddenly a voice spoke in his head.
"Master, don’t kill that beast! She might be useful in the future. Make her your servant instead."
Crowne was startled by the voice, but the idea sounded interesting. He used his Tar skill imdiately. The Siren shook her head, resisting, but she couldn’t defy the command.
"No... I must not..."
[Congratulations! Siren the Hell Voice has been tad!]
**
"Ah, what happened?" groaned the coachman.
He held his head. The pain still throbbed fiercely. His vision was blurry at first, but slowly it cleared. He tried to stand because he felt a sudden jolt, but when he did, his head hit sothing, and he fell back down.
Looking around, he realized he was inside the carriage. He turned toward the front and saw soone sitting on the horse. At first, he panicked, but when Crowne looked back, he sighed in relief. He sat down and exhaled slowly.
"Are you alright?" asked Crowne.
The coachman nodded. "I’m fine. My head still hurts, but that’s all," he replied.
Crowne turned away, not wanting to continue the conversation. The carriage was already back on what seed to be the right path, though he wasn’t entirely sure. He was simply following his instincts.
"What happened earlier? The last thing I rember was that we took the wrong path and were almost attacked by Sirens."
Crowne stayed silent for a few seconds before replying. "You must be mistaken. What I rember is that you suddenly fell asleep and dropped unconscious. That’s all. Because of that, I took control of the reins. Maybe you were just exhausted."
The coachman frowned. He was certain of his mory, but without proof, he couldn’t argue. In the end, he shrugged and accepted Crowne’s explanation.
He moved closer and patted Crowne’s shoulder. "You can rest now! I’m fine."
Crowne imdiately stopped the horse, got off, and entered the carriage. The coachman returned to his seat and resud his task. Crowne sat on the bench, leaning his back against the wall. He tried to close his eyes, wanting to sleep, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought. He glanced behind. The road was still dark.
Of course, it was still midnight. There were about five hours left until morning. Soon, they would pass through the Valley of Heavenly Songs.
"What is your purpose in going to Doomsty City?" the coachman suddenly asked.
"I was assigned by the guild master to defeat the monster that attacked the fishern in that city," he replied.
The coachman’s eyes widened. He swallowed hard. "I suggest you reconsider! That monster even killed an A-rank adventurer. It’s far too dangerous."
Crowne was surprised to hear that. The guild master never ntioned anyone being killed by that monster, but Crowne couldn’t turn back now. He had to finish this mission to raise his rank. He had to reach Moonlight City.
"But I’ve already made up my mind," he said firmly.
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