Setting Sail

The moment the Sun Halo unfolded, the Despair Demon Dog let out a wail and grew listless. Clearly, the breaking of its mental hex had caused a backlash.

Seizing the opportunity, Abner raised his hand and fired two Demon-Hunting Bullets. But the demon dog was thick-skinned and tough-fleshed. It merely turned its head aside and let the bullets strike its body, splashing blooms of blood.

Then, enduring the gunfire, it leaped into the air, ready to flee. In terms of cunning, it was far superior to the Demon Mist Turtledove from before.

But Xio had long since blocked its escape route. Relying on the Ring of Prediction, she effortlessly dodged the demon dog's pounce and fired repeatedly at its head, forcing it to jump back to where it had been.

Before the demon dog could steady itself, a Light Flame descended from the sky and set its fur ablaze!

The illusory golden flames radiated the majestic aura of the sun and were especially effective against monsters tainted by the Abyss. Grimacing in agony, the demon dog forcibly spat out a mouthful of black smoke, barely extinguishing the Holy Flame on its body.

However, Abner had already ridden the gale beneath his feet through the air. Raising the Cane-Sword with both hands, he swung down fiercely at the demon dog's neck, the area that had received special attention from the Light Flame.

The Despair Demon Dog had been left in a sorry state by this chain of attacks and had no strength left to dodge. In its panic, it could only activate its life-saving ability—sacrificing one vertical eye as a Substitute to die in its place!

As Abner landed, the demon dog's head was easily severed by the Cane-Sword, rolling far away. After one blow after another, its tough hide and bones could no longer withstand the Cane-Sword's Beyonder Ability to weaken supernatural powers.

Immediately afterward, large amounts of black smoke spurted from the demon dog's severed body. It then toppled to the ground and died completely.

But Abner, who had learned this monster's abilities from the materials beforehand, did not let down his guard. Instead, he calmly waited for Mr. Gaston to make the final confirmation.

As a clear, pure, warm light descended from the heavens, the demon dog's body rapidly melted away, leaving behind only a cold vertical eye.

"Sure enough, the Despair Demon Dog used the Demon Eye Substitute Death Technique..." Abner sighed and put away the Cane-Sword.

"Although we failed to kill it, it won't be able to keep killing people anytime soon. After losing a vertical eye, a Despair Demon Dog must sleep for at least fifteen years before it can act again." As Mr. Gaston spoke, he lightly touched the pearl in his hand and deactivated the Sun Halo.

But at that moment, a sudden Mutation occurred. A trembling sensation originating from their souls rose in the hearts of everyone present. They could neither cast it aside nor break free from it, and even moving was extremely difficult.

"Is there another enemy lurking nearby?!" Abner's thoughts raced as he unhesitatingly activated the Pure White Eye.

As his pupil turned pure white, the suppression from a higher level caused the fear and trembling to vanish at once. Only then did Abner regain control of his body and turn toward the source of that fear.

At some point, a gigantic black insect over a meter tall and four to five meters long had burrowed out of the ground. It was now in front of Xio, opening its mouthparts to swallow her whole!

It had been drawn here by the fluctuations of the Beyonder battle. However, the Sun Halo had previously suppressed it, rendering its fear magic ineffective. Thus, it had remained hidden underground until the halo was deactivated, immediately intimidating its other opponents before pouncing at Xio, who tempted it the most!

Abner had no time to think. He first sent out several Wind Blades to slow and hinder the parasite's attempt to devour Xio, while a gale arose beneath his feet and carried him swiftly onto the monster's body.

Then, he canceled the Cane-Sword's "unsheathed" state, returning it to the form of a cane, and swung it down fiercely!

With a thud, the enormous parasite's body was pressed tightly to the ground by the cane. No matter how hard it struggled, the cane did not move in the slightest.

The Cane-Sword's negative effect is that swinging it in cane form makes it incredibly heavy, so I can only barely use inertia to swing it downward... Heh, this negative effect is incredibly useful against vehicles and large monsters like this! As Abner inwardly mocked it, he drew his revolver and fired six consecutive shots into the parasite's head.

Only then did Xio and Mr. Gaston finally break free from the "fear." Seeing the parasite that Abner had shot through the head, both were momentarily stunned.

"So it was a Fear Parasite. I never expected it to have been hiding underground all this time..." Mr. Gaston remarked. This time, however, he had learned his lesson and reactivated the Sun Halo, remaining alert to their surroundings.

Seeing that the parasite was thoroughly dead, Abner immediately dug out its pair of eyes. Smiling at Xio, he said, "If you take these, you won't get a share of the other spoils!" On the surface, he was teasing Xio, but he was actually saying it for Mr. Gaston's benefit. It settled the matter of Xio taking the eyes and prevented further complications.

Mr. Gaston knew that the Fear Parasite's eyes were a main ingredient for Xio's next Potion, so he did not compete for them, choosing to do her a favor. Xio also did not waste Abner's goodwill. Taking the parasite's eyes, she solemnly said, "Thank you!"

At that moment, the door to the second-floor balcony opened, and Annie Gwen, who had witnessed the entire battle, stepped out. She stared at Abner and Xio in shock. Since they had fought before, she had clearly recognized from certain details that they were the two people who had signed the Notarized Document with her.

"You're actually this strong!" Miss Gwen's beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. Not only had the monsters that had left her helplessly awaiting death been beaten without any ability to fight back, one had even been forced to use a Substitute to escape. With her limited experience, she had assumed Abner was a Mid-Sequence powerhouse.

Abner had likewise confirmed from the arrow of Light Flame and her height that she was the lady who had taken thirty pounds from him to recruit Sailors and lead the way.

However, when she approached and he saw her charming face, clearly marked by Feysac ancestry, along with her striking figure, Abner froze. Thinking of the name that had given Aitris the courage to run away from home, he blurted out, "Miss Annie Gwen?"

Miss Gwen had been about to offer her thanks. Hearing her own name, she was startled as well and asked in surprise, "Sir, do you know me?"

"I saw your case file. Your parents are looking for you!" Abner recalled the file's description of how this young lady had frequently gone out before she completely disappeared. Now that he thought about it, she had probably been saving money to buy a Ship and Potion even then. This had been an organized and premeditated escape.

"Are you the Detective my parents hired? Are you here to take me back and make me get engaged to that impoverished nobleman's son I don't know?" Miss Gwen's expression immediately darkened. If the man before her wanted to take her back, she had no ability to resist.

Abner shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not here to take you back. I merely happened to see your case file at the police station." Besides, no matter how impoverished that nobleman's son was, he would not have waited for you until now.

Since this was not an appropriate place to talk, Miss Gwen did not ask any further questions. Instead, she took the initiative to request joining Mr. Gaston's team and doing her part to clear out the monsters.

Abner and the others could all tell that she simply did not dare to remain alone any longer. But considering that she was still a Sequence 9 Beyonder, they agreed.

Afterward, they encountered another shadow monster. But under the successive attacks of four Beyonders and several Mid-Sequence Beyonder items, the monster could not cause any trouble at all and died miserably beneath the radiance of Holy Light.

It was then that several Mandated Punishers Squad teams finally arrived and took over the hunting and sealing of the monsters.

On the safe route of the Berserk Sea, a clean and tidy sailing ship several dozen meters long sailed through the wind and waves, its surface reflecting a golden sheen beneath the sunlight.

Compared to others of its kind, this sailing ship was exceptionally unusual. A main cannon was mounted along its central axis, its barrel covered in layered symbols and patterns that flowed with a faint yet pure radiance. It no longer resembled a sailing ship, but rather the layout of a modern warship.

At that moment, a beautiful lady emerged from the Captain's Quarters. Her face was oval, with a high nose bridge and thin lips. She had light-blue eyes as clear as spring water. Her long brown hair was parted in the middle and tied into a simple yet delicate knot behind her head before falling smoothly down her back.

She wore no hat. She was dressed in a beige jacket cinched at the waist, with a large white lace ornament woven into palm-sized floral patterns extending down from the collar.

Paired with the jacket were dark trousers and leather boots, adding a dash of dashing vigor to her intellectual beauty.

The lady walked up to a man who appeared to be around thirty, with tawny brows, bright dark-blue eyes, and not especially deep facial features. She ordered, "Danitz, inform Blue that the Golden Dream is to turn back immediately. In three days, we are to sail to the waters southeast of Damir Port."

"Captain, weren't we going to West Balam to search for an antique from the late Balam Dynasty?" Danitz was not questioning his captain. He simply asked out of habit.

The female captain fell silent for a moment before saying, "With your current knowledge, you cannot understand why I'm doing this... For now, consider it an oracle from the gods."

"An oracle from the gods... What exactly is it?" Danitz swallowed and asked with difficulty.

"We are going to intercept a Ship of the Aurora Order and retrieve something important from a cave on an island," the captain said.

Meanwhile, aboard a sailing warship in the fleet under Vice Admiral Dusk, a radiant and alluring lady sat in the Captain's Quarters, listening to a pirate's report. She had waist-length crimson hair and lake-blue eyes.

"Ma'am, as you predicted, the lunatics of the Aurora Order destroyed the seal in the woods north of Damir! The Mandated Punishers Squad teams from the surrounding ports have also been arriving one after another." The pirate kept his head lowered, not daring to look at the beautiful lady before him. The last fellow rash enough to do so had tied himself up and sunk himself into the sea.

"Heh, the Aurora Order people truly have no brains! Still, I did them a great favor this time. I just don't know why the organization wants to interfere in this matter..." The red-haired lady first curled her lips disdainfully, then instructed the pirate, "If they question us because they can't find the item, send someone to apologize, then give them the coordinates of the island to the southeast where the real item is located. Mm, remember to delay for a day or two before telling them." If we tell them the correct location immediately, even lunatics will know we're toying with them.

The pirate visibly relaxed at her words. He was under tremendous pressure dealing with the lunatics of the Aurora Order as well. Now that he had instructions, that was enough.

After the pirate withdrew, the red-haired lady lazily stretched and muttered to herself, "Once this mission is complete, my contributions will be enough to obtain the Hypnotist formula. Then my path will be smooth until Sequence 5... My next step will be returning to Feysac!"

At six in the evening on July 7, Abner and Xio arrived at the Stone Platform in western Damir as agreed with Miss Gwen.

(End of Chapter)