The eerie cries drew nearer.
In the mist ahead, I saw a pair of eyes emitting a purple glow.
No, not just one pair—there were more on the left, and some on the strange rocks to the right… so many eyes… watching me… What were they? Fairies?
As more glowing eyes like ghostly lanterns appeared in the thick fog, my hands began to sweat, and I tightened my grip on Captain Gray, my throat swallowing hard with a gulp.
No matter what you are…
“Stop coming any closer!”
I raised my hand, blue light bursting from my pupils as several sharp ice spears formed above my head, ready to shoot towards the spot with the most eyes, as a warning. These things had unclear intentions, and while I didn’t plan to harm them, I wanted to show my strength, to make them understand that I wasn’t an easy target.
But then, something unexpected happened.
“Mmm…”
Just as I unleashed the Frost Order, dizziness struck suddenly, a sharp pain pulsing through my temples. I couldn’t hold back a groan, clutching my forehead as my vision blurred for a moment. The ice spears that hadn’t been released exploded with a “boom” above me.
My heart skipped a beat.
What’s happening…
It was as if the Order energy surging within me was instantly suppressed by some unknown rule the moment it was released, causing my strength to rapidly dissipate. Before my mind could fully grasp this fact, my body reacted instinctively. With a swift motion, I swung Captain Gray horizontally in front of me and leaped away using Moonwalk, retreating over ten meters to create some distance between myself and those things.
My power…
Is it unusable…?
This is bad… This is really bad…
No, it’s not that bad. At least my physical strength isn’t affected. If these were fairies, I feel like I could punch one to death. No need to panic. Plus, I have two other types of power to try…
In the next instant, I raised my hand again. The blue light in my eyes faded, replaced by a sudden red glow. With a breath, a blazing, blood-red blaze enveloped my entire hand, which I then swung forward.
Puchi-hong—
The surging flames exploded in front of me the moment I swung. The rolling shockwave lifted up, carrying the flickering tongues of fire. In less than half a second, some invisible force seemed to absorb and swallow the flames along with the rising temperature, vanishing into the mist without a trace.
“Ahhh!”
My ears were still ringing, and my body staggered from the impact. Before I could regain my balance, a sudden gust of wind hit me from behind, accompanied by the stench of wild beast and a ferocious roar. I shuddered all over and, without looking, turned and threw a powerful punch.
Bang!
This punch hit the creature squarely in the face, shattering its skull. Blood and white, sticky substances splattered everywhere. I was so shocked that my hair stood on end, my pupils dilated, and my body moved faster than my head, leaping away with Moonwalk, stumbling back several steps, nearly colliding with a rock.
“…Ugh!”
Even though I retreated so quickly, some of the sticky, disgusting substance still managed to splash onto me, even on my arm. My fist, needless to say, was covered in it. This was different from normal blood; the foul smell was like that of a long-dead rat, making my eyes water.
Disgusting…
Too disgusting!!!
“Roar!”
The eerie roar sounded again. Two beast shadows dashed out of the mist at high speed. One leaped onto a nearby rock, while the other circled around to pounce from the side, its fangs bared, aiming straight for my head!
In a flash, I recognized this beast—it was the wolf dog I had seen dead before.
This thing was even more repulsive alive than dead. Its fur was dark blue, its eyes were pale as if blind, and it had no visible ears. Its skin was heavily ulcerated, with pus oozing from wounds, revealing muscles and ribs. Sharp spikes adorned its head, extending down to its neck.
As it lunged at me with its blood-red maw, I raised my blade and slashed, the wicked scythe slicing open the wolf dog’s abdomen. Blood and entrails poured out. I quickly stepped back, and the wolf dog let out a shrill cry, collapsing into a nearby mud pit, twitching and then going still.
Physical attacks work…
I concluded swiftly.
At least this thing is within the realm of living creatures and can be easily killed… though it’s quite disgusting…
“Grrr…”
On the other side, the wolf dog on the rock paced back and forth, growling at me, unafraid even after seeing its companion die. It didn’t act rashly, however. I glared at it, but the sight of its decaying flesh made my scalp tingle, and I had no desire to fight. Instead, I shouted at it loudly, “Get lost! Go away!”
While I was shouting, I noticed more wolf dogs emerging slowly from the mist, their low growls coming from all directions, one after another, surrounding me.
Damn…
My eyes darted around as I began to think about how to escape.
I really don’t want to fight these things… not even touch them…
“Go away!”
I waved the giant scythe, my weak voice offering no real threat. Just as I turned to leave using Moonwalk, I suddenly found myself face-to-face with a pair of pale eyes, now only five meters away, having silently approached without my noticing.
We locked eyes.
“…”
“Aah!”
It’s a fairy!!!
I was startled by its ghastly face and let out a scream, swinging my scythe at it. The thin and strange fairy held a sharp weapon, clearly intending to ambush me. Seeing that it had been discovered, it hastily jumped away, but there was no way it could outrun me. The dark blade directly severed its head with a thud as it crashed to the ground.
“Awooo!”
“Roar—!”
“Dukata! Dukata!”
Suddenly, everything around seemed to erupt in chaos.
I retreated again to avoid the spraying blood. The headless fairy stumbled and fell. Amidst the sounds of wild roars, fierce breaths, and sharp, savage cries, I heard several unintelligible words coming from the thick fog.
More wolf dogs appeared, and the fairies hiding in the darkness also emerged. They clung to strange rocks, lay in muddy swamps, their cruel faces exposed, rotten flesh hanging in tatters from their bodies, glaring at me viciously as they rapidly approached.
“Get away…”
The stench of decay filled the air, and the sound of rustling grew louder from all directions. My nerves were already stretched to their limits, and I could no longer hold back the overwhelming nausea.
“Don’t touch me—!”
Whoosh—
Thick black mist rose swiftly from beneath my feet, like countless twisted smoke snakes, enveloping me entirely and spreading rapidly outward.
“Kabagotah!”
“Yuxila—”
As the dead smoke spread, the wolf dogs and fairies suddenly changed their aggressive demeanor. They became terrified and began shouting incomprehensible gibberish, retreating like a flood.
“…Hmm?”
In the midst of the black mist, I looked at my hand in surprise.
Although it felt a bit sluggish…
But the power of the abyss seemed to be usable…
Realizing this, I felt a surge of joy, bursting with unprecedented confidence—chaotic power was working fine, which meant I didn’t have to engage in close combat with these creatures. With a mere gesture, I could make them vanish without a trace of filth.
If you dare come closer again… you’re really courting death…
Whoosh—
I manipulated the black mist, forming several thick smoke serpents around me, flowing like swift dragons. Then, I raised my head and looked around once more.
The movements of the creatures stopped.
They seemed extremely fearful of the power of the dead smoke. Although they still surrounded me, each one stood farther apart than before. The fierce roars turned into fearful whimpers, and countless shadowy figures, shrouded in the mist, almost vanished from sight.
“Kabagotah! Kabagotah!”
From within the thick fog, unintelligible shouts continued to come. The fairies seemed to be communicating. Soon after, their forms parted in front, creating a path.
…Hmm?
Was it inviting me to go through?
No…
Something was coming.
After a moment, a slightly larger shadow broke through the dense fog, riding a vicious wolf dog.
Its emaciated, deformed body, dirty, messy white hair, half of its face seemingly corroded by acid, with pale, wrinkled skin covered in various open sores. This was an old fairy, if it could even be called a fairy.
The old fairy held a bizarre black stone spear and stopped about ten meters away from me. It dismounted from the nauseating wolf dog, holding the spear horizontally in front of it, bending down, bowing, and making a posture that seemed awkward to me.
This creature had no malice…
It seemed to be bowing to me…
“Dokaraya!”
“Dukata—”
The fairies behind seemed to be affected by the old fairy’s actions. They started to get agitated, shouting something. After being scolded by the old fairy, they quieted down again.
“Gulukata…”
The old fairy squinted its yellow, turbid eyes and spoke to me in a hoarse, eerie voice.
“…What?”
I was confused.
This creature wanted to communicate with me… but what language was it speaking? Fairy language? I couldn’t understand it at all. Could there be some trick?
Clang—
Captain Gray pointed his sharp blade toward the old fairy. I remained vigilant and warned him in a low voice, “Stay a bit further away from me.”
Its putrid smell had already reached me…
What’s going on with these guys…
Is this really the land of dragons…
As I moved, the emotions of the surrounding fairies became restless again, mixed with fear. Whether it was just my imagination or not, I saw a hint of reverence on the old fairy’s hideous face. It seemed to respect me… or rather, respected the chaotic power within me.
Under my intense gaze, the old fairy slowly took two steps back.
Then, it spoke again.
“[Abyssal Language] Great… Rabis Hermes…”
These few words made my eyes widen abruptly.
It could speak Abyssal Language…
It knew my name, Rabis Hermes! This name, implanted in my mind since awakening from the abyss, was almost forgotten by myself, yet it knew this name!!!
In an instant, my breathing quickened.
I swiftly gathered the swirling black mist around me, lowered Captain Gray, and forcibly suppressed the tumultuous, indescribable emotions within, clearing my throat. In a cold tone, I spoke the same words as the old fairy, steady and rapid.
“[Abyssal Language] Who are you.”
