"We're going to crash!"
Tos yelled at the top of his lungs.
John told him to stop yelling in his ear.
"Move the boat."
He drew his wand and waved it, and the little boat moved as though an invisible hand had seized it and pushed it along.
It was more than ten times faster than Tos could row.
Drawn by the scent of the living, the great ship emitted the unconscious groans of giants.
Ymir, which ferried the souls of giants, pursued the living.
John's expression grew grave as sprays of water converged on their little boat.
Just before the water hit them, an invisible shield blocked it.
His wand waved again.
This time, the entire boat leaped into the air.
Like a skipping stone, it bounced rapidly into the distance a dozen times, until the swaying Ymir finally disappeared from sight.
Unfortunately, after all those jumps, John's boat fell apart when it landed.
Fortunately, their final leap had brought them ashore.
This was an entirely new, unknown place.
Having crossed the poisonous river, they should soon reach the spring of Hvergelmir.
Tos had never imagined he would actually have a chance to come here.
It was somewhere even the Noble Black could not reach.
Any one of the obstacles along the way would have been enough to wipe out an army.
The king of Niflheim had once sent an army, but even it had failed to reach this place.
"Stop grinning like an idiot." John patted Tos's cheek. "This is where the difficulties really begin."
Tos did not understand why he said that. They had even escaped the swaying Ymir.
John pointed beneath their feet.
Tos looked down.
Only then did he notice that the ground around them was sunken.
They were standing in a footprint.
"If only