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The crew moved slowly through the darkness, treading across waterlogged ground, their footsteps drowned out by the rain.
There were quite a few man-made structures on the island. They had used these ruined buildings as landmarks when they disembarked, but now everything had been swallowed by darkness. There was nothing on the island but the sound of rain, as though they were walking through the deepest ocean.
Ahead and all around lay only bottomless darkness. There was no hope, no direction in sight, and the only light in their hands was slowly burning away.
Kircheis grew increasingly agitated. It had definitely been more than thirty-five minutes since they left their shelter, yet his spiritual perception told him he still had not entered the Death Announcer's spiritual detection range!
They had either gone the wrong way or been walking in circles!
"A compass! Who brought a compass!" Unable to endure it any longer, he growled, "If we lose our way, we'll all die here!"
The group stopped. The pirates looked at one another before one of them finally held up a compass with a cracked face.
"We've been heading toward the Death Announcer all along, Second Mate!"
The compass's red-and-blue needle swayed slightly. Kircheis snatched it and changed its angle several times, but the needle pointed firmly in one direction throughout. It did not appear to be broken.
He could not tell whether the compass was pointing the right way. "Then why haven't we arrived yet?!"
"I-I don't know..." The seasoned sailor who had held the compass lowered his head fearfully. "Maybe it's because of all the thunder? Lightning affects compasses..."
Kircheis's eyes were bloodshot. "I don't need you to tell me that! I just want to know if the compass still works!"
"M-maybe... not..."
"Then why didn't you say