“It’s the Deep Ones! Rotting Sea Kin!” Lillian whispered harshly, confirming the origins of these monsters.
As a Sage, she possessed knowledge regarding such magical creatures.
“Seven targets! Four on the port side, three on the starboard!” Jiang Ming’s words were rapid as Raven was already raised. Instead of aiming for the nearest one, he flicked his muzzle toward the fishman furthest to the right, who was raising a bone spear to throw. *Bang!* A bullet enveloped in a pale green airflow accurately threaded the gap of its raised arm, entered its half-open maw, and exited through the back of its skull. Without a sound, the monster tumbled back into the sea, dyeing a patch of water red.
Elvira had already taken a stand at the most dangerous position on the port side. She did not charge blindly; instead, she held her giant scissors in a defensive form before her.
As two fishmen brandished their weapons and lunged, she lowered her shoulder, shifted her weight, and parried a bone spear thrust with the thick body of the blades. She followed through with a swift shield bash, slamming it hard into the other fishman’s flank! The agonizing sound of cracking bones rang out, and the creature fell back into the sea with a scream.
But the crisis was not over. On the starboard side, the remaining two fishmen took the opportunity to cling to the gunwale, their claws digging into the wood as they struggled to climb up! One had even managed to heave its upper body over the railing. Its murky yellow eyes locked onto the nearest person, Elvia, as foul-smelling saliva dripped from its mouth.
“Get back!” Jiang Ming didn’t have time to reload. He flicked his left hand, sending a silver light flying. Under the subtle manipulation of Heavenly Wind, the throwing knife carved a tricky arc, bypassed the railing, and accurately pinned the fishman’s webbed hand to the wood! The monster roared in pain, its movements slowing.
Almost simultaneously, Lillian’s second wave of spells arrived. An Arcane Missile compressed at her fingertip shot out. With a flash of purple light, it struck the chest of the other climbing fishman, exploding into a small burst of magical fire and knocking it back down.
Jiang Ming seized this fleeting window to finish reloading. He fired two consecutive shots, piercing the heads of the fishman injured by the knife and its companion attempting to re-climb from the water below.
The battle broke out suddenly and ended just as quickly. All seven fishmen were cleared out in less than two minutes. Several grotesque corpses floated on the surface, slowly sinking as the dark green water was gradually diluted and dispersed by the currents.
“Threat cleared. We can pull alongside now.” Jiang Ming holstered his gun, his gaze never leaving the solitary boat. The Argo slowly drifted closer until the hulls gently bumped together.
Jiang Ming was the first to leap across, landing on the swaying small craft. The hull was more decayed than it appeared, creaking under his weight. He approached the curled-up figure with caution.
That tattered uniform… though covered in sea salt, bloodstains, and an unidentified slime, the style was still recognizable. It was a deep gray high-collared uniform with torn shoulder patches and a worn-down emblem on the chest.
The Order Bureau.
Jiang Ming’s heart sank slightly. He crouched down and gently touched the person’s shoulder. “Hey? Can you hear me?”
The man shuddered violently, as if being forcibly dragged out of a deep nightmare. He raised his head slowly and painfully, revealing a weather-beaten face covered in a mix of old and new scars. He had stubble, sunken eye sockets, and vacant pupils, yet a faint glimmer remained in their depths — a trace left behind by years of training and brushes with death.
His gaze drifted across Jiang Ming’s face for a moment before sweeping over the figures of Lillian and the others on the Argo. Finally, his eyes fixed on the black arrow-shaped mark on the back of Jiang Ming’s hand.
“You… you all…” His voice was dry and raspy, like sandpaper rubbing together. “Are you Players too? Not… their disguises…?”
“Order Bureau, Special Operations Group,” Jiang Ming reported his identity in a low voice. Even though he knew the title might be meaningless here, it was likely the only identifier the man would understand. “What happened? Why are you here?”
“Order Bureau… Special Operations Group…” the man repeated. His vacant eyes seemed to focus for a split second, erupting with a terrifying light that mixed despair with a final shred of hope. He knew what those words meant. “Go… leave quickly… get away from this sea… never… never go to that island…”
He began to cough violently, spitting up bruised blood laced with black threads. His breath grew weaker, but he used every ounce of strength to grab Jiang Ming’s arm, his nails nearly digging into the flesh. “It’s useless… we tried… every method… we tried everything…” His voice twisted with fear. “The Angels… They aren’t something we can fight… They are the rules themselves… the Writer of Destiny… We are just… lines and props…”
His body began to convulse uncontrollably, clearly reaching its limit, yet some lingering obsession kept him going. His other hand trembled as he reached desperately into the inner pocket of his tattered uniform. He fumbled and pulled something out — a strange horn-like object about the size of a palm.
“Take it. We lost an entire squad to get this out.” The man shoved the device into Jiang Ming’s hand. “It can’t… it can’t defeat the Angels… impossible… but… it might… at the most critical moment… give you a… chance to choose… a chance to deviate from the established course…”
He used his final strength to look up, his murky eyes staring fixedly at Jiang Ming. He spat out his words one by one through a bloody froth.
“We… failed… destined… unable to defeat them…”
“But… you… get out… even just one… would be enough…”
“Human will… so we cannot… submit…”
Before he could finish, the hand gripping Jiang Ming’s arm went limp. It was as if the last spark of life had been sucked out of him. His gaze went completely dark, his head slumped powerlessly, and his breath ceased.
Only the hand that had reached out to offer the device hung stubbornly in the air for a moment before slowly falling.
The sea breeze blew across the deathly silent boat, carrying away the last trace of body heat.
Jiang Ming gripped the cold and heavy Finger of Divergence. The milky-white crystal at the center of the device still rotated slowly, its faint light reflecting off his somber face.
Behind him, Lillian, Elvira, and Elvia had all silently leaped onto the small boat, watching the scene in silence.
Beside the Argo, the dark seawater gently lapped against the wreckage, as if whispering countless stories that had perished before they could be told.
The Secret Keeper still stood at the head of the main ship’s table, his mask turned toward them, silent and motionless. It wasn’t until Jiang Ming and the others returned to the Argo with the device and heavy hearts that he finally spoke. His voice carried through the sea breeze, steady and rippleless as always.
“You have obtained a relic from the dead, and you have inherited an unfinished warning. The voyage continues; the shadow of the Isle of the End grows clearer.”
“Now, please roll the dice.”