Arrival of the Unhuman

The Monster’s crew had prepared thoroughly: barricades were set, heavy crossbows fully drawn, and scimitars unsheathed. A palpable confidence filled the air, stemming perhaps from the belief that nothing would dare approach them under such a formidable display of force.

Despite the bizarre and eerie vessel, the sailors showed no fear, roaring battle cries and eager for a fight. This bravado lasted only until they finally discerned the enemy they were truly facing.

As the colossal black ship truly drew near, the boisterous crowd fell silent.

An unsettling quiet instantly blanketed the entire deck.

“Ah… ahhh…!”

Occasionally, a few withered cries escaped, ostensibly battle roars against the enemy. In truth, they sounded more like the wails of a terminally ill patient.

It was simply too immense.

The black ship loomed impossibly close, a cold, merciless titan. It crushed down upon them like a mountain of pure darkness, leaving a chilling, deathly silence in its wake.

Compared to it, the Monster, beneath Saranya’s feet, seemed nothing more than a pathetic, minuscule toy boat.

“Ohm— ”

The black ship emitted a prolonged, deep hum that vibrated through Saranya’s very organs. A powerful wave of nausea forced her mouth open, and most of those around her, similarly afflicted, doubled over in agony.

The next instant, Kaelan’s hand touched Saranya’s shoulder. A murky, blackish magical glow pulsed from the witch’s fingertips, ominous yet profoundly comforting. Beside her, Paresha received the same protection, and under Kaelan’s shield, both were rendered immune to the black ship’s influence.

As the discomfort vanished, Saranya straightened, horrified to realize that the open-mouthed figures were now screaming piteously. Their supplies and weapons clattered to the deck, their features contorted, their expressions etched with unbearable pain.

“Ah!”

A young sailor, veins bulging on his face and eyes rolled back, shrieked as he shoved Saranya. Then, he abruptly clutched his own head, his nails digging deep into his scalp, tearing away a strip of flesh.

“Save me… save me! Save me—!!”

“Useless…”

Kaelan, a look of disgust on her face, kicked the sailor to the ground. She then turned back, ensuring Saranya was unharmed.

Under Saranya’s astonished gaze, the sailor scrambled to his feet. With blood streaming down his forehead, he shrieked and charged the ship’s rail, smashing his skull against the wooden planks. His body, propelled by inertia, was flung from the deck, creating a gruesome shower of red and white liquid in the air before vanishing into the sea.

Cold sweat beaded on Saranya’s skin, soaking her freshly changed clothes once more.

“Saranya, get below deck now.”

“Master…”

The Monster suddenly veered sharply, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the black ship. The three young women stumbled, Saranya particularly affected. Severely wounded, she failed to secure her grip on the rail and nearly toppled into the dark, churning sea below.

!

Kaelan’s face instantly contorted into a look of utter despair, and she clutched Saranya in a panic. Only when their bodies were pressed tightly together did the young witch’s composure gradually return, her expression settling back to its usual state.

Paresha, however, was not so fortunate. The unloved, uncherished priestess maiden slipped, landing with a painful thud on her backside.

“Listen to your lady!”

Borok, gripping the helm with one hand and a scimitar with the other, had a trace of blood at the corner of his eye. His expression was entirely ferocious.

“Injured personnel, get below deck immediately! Don’t cause any more trouble up here!”

Indeed, they were right. With her severe injuries, remaining on deck served no significant purpose.

Saranya pulled Paresha to her feet, and the two women, supporting each other, moved quickly. Saranya then urged Paresha to drop into the cabin below first.

Paresha landed steadily, her short boots splashing through the thin layer of water on the floor. She then looked up, extending a hand to Saranya.

“Lady Saranya!”

Saranya shifted her weight and grasped Paresha’s hand. Just as she resolved to leap from the deck into the relative safety of the cabin, the situation shifted once more.

An indescribable chill suddenly descended from above, freezing her to the spot.

Her hairs stood on end, and every muscle in her body stiffened. Involuntarily, she turned her head to gaze at the colossal black ship.

What first caught her eye was not the ship itself, but the towering waves it had stirred. These colossal walls of water crashed against the Monster’s side and deck, making the vessel groan and shudder violently.

Then, a calamitous mist rode in on the waves. The swirling black-purple fog enveloped the Monster, attempting to climb onto the deck. However, Kaelan raised a hand and cast a spell, instantly conjuring a transparent barrier in the air that shielded the ship.

Yet, none of these were the true cause… nor the towering waves, nor the calamitous mist, that truly unsettled her.

Saranya continued her search, lifting her gaze. Her eyes slid along the dark, twisted side of the ship, and her pupils abruptly contracted to pinpricks.

A particularly dense mass of calamitous mist was coalescing on the black ship’s deck. Amidst flashes of black-purple demonic light, two tall figures slowly materialized.

Humanoid… they were two humanoid beings, a male and a female. They stood side-by-side at a vantage point, silently gazing down at her.

The male wore a sleek, form-fitting dark suit, his face exquisitely handsome. Silver-white strands of hair fell across his forehead, framing a pair of narrow, molten-gold vertical pupils. He held a black staff, wreathed in purple mist, his overall posture one of relaxed nonchalance.

The female possessed a graceful figure, clad in a jet-black, off-the-shoulder gown. Her eyes were abyssal black, utterly devoid of color, like two terrifying voids. With slightly upturned outer corners, a pair of small, curved black horns subtly emerged from her cascading raven hair.

The striking commonality between the two was their skin, which was an icy white, contrasting sharply with their blood-red lips. Their eyes and expressions were unnervingly indifferent, utterly devoid of warmth.

This reminded Saranya of Kaelan. Yet, even Kaelan, for all her cruelty and coldness towards her, never exuded such a complete absence of humanity as these two figures.

Evidently, these were not humans, nor any race she recognized. They had to be demonic beings, yet no humanoid demon she had ever encountered projected such an aura of coldness, nobility, and intellect.

Saranya instinctively trembled, perceiving the enemies as simultaneously terrifying, beautiful, and majestic. A mere exchange of glances was enough to involuntarily instill in her the notion that she was base and lowly, while they were truly superior beings.

Naturally, she recoiled from such a thought, which was tantamount to surrendering on her knees. Yet, no matter how she tried to correct her thoughts, the conclusion had already taken root deep within her mind:

‘Don’t deceive yourself, Saranya. Mortals cannot defeat such entities. All resistance will ultimately be futile.’

The two figures watched her, their gazes unblinking, intensely focused, and curiously amused…

“I feel… they seem, they seem to know me…”

As if in response to Saranya’s thought, the male demon’s lips moved slightly. He then raised his staff, lightly tapping its tip in her direction.

The female demon nodded, and also mouthed a few words. This time, Saranya could discern her words from her lips:

“Indeed, it is she.”

A wave of icy dread instantly surged, piercing through Saranya from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. The Legion Commander let out a trembling whimper, clamping her weakened legs together as an overwhelming urge to urinate washed over her lower body.

Fear.

A primal fear that drove her to the brink of madness, making her yearn to draw her sword and end her own life just to escape.

“Ah… uh… ooh… oohh…”

This was the first time she faced an enemy without a shred of fighting spirit, lacking even the courage to flee.

“Still staring?!”

Kaelan swung her arm, delivering a sharp slap to Saranya’s backside. The impact of skin on flesh produced a crisp ‘smack.’

“Go!!”

This blow finally jolted Saranya into action. She shrieked uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down her face, a small, warm patch of liquid spreading across her crotch.

Paresha, by contrast, proved remarkably capable. Seeing Saranya frozen on deck, the priestess maiden immediately sprang onto the ladder, pulling her into the cabin.

The cabin door slammed shut. Immediately afterward, a series of magical explosions reverberated through the wooden planks, causing the entire interior to shake violently.