“…”
The young elf lady curled up instinctively upon hearing Rhode’s voice, lifting her head in uncertainty toward him. For some unknown reason, Cheryl felt familiar with this voice and this left her in lingering fear. She thought that Rhode didn’t know who she was, but most people in the Country of Light knew who he was. To her surprise, not only did Rhode recognize her immediately, but he also called out her name. This baffled her and she didn’t know how to respond. On the other hand, Mini Bubble Gum turned around curiously, shifting her gaze between Rhode and the young elf lady.
“Leader, you know her?”
“She’s from the Country of Light. I met her a few times.” Rhode didn’t explain further. In fact, what he said was the truth and their meetings happened in the Munn Kingdom… Back then, if his movement speed with the sword was much quicker, perhaps this elf mage wouldn’t be alive now. Considering their current location, perhaps it would have been the best choice to kill her back then?
“What happened to your eyes?”
Rhode gazed at the young elf lady who kept her eyes closed, where there were clear, purulent and heavy scars. But Rhode couldn’t recall her having such injuries back then. And now, she closed her eyes tightly and seemed like she was gravely injured.
“I-I… hurt myself by accident… during the bloodbath…”
“Wow… you actually survived the bloodbath.”
Mini Bubble Gum said and sized up the young elf lady curiously. Judging from her extremely delicate state, Mini Bubble Gum couldn’t imagine her surviving a bloodbath as it definitely wasn’t easy. Shortly after, Mini Bubble Gum nodded as though she understood something and soliloquized.
“Hmm… but it isn’t actually surprising for one in the Peak Master Stage to survive.”
“…!”
Upon hearing Mini Bubble Gum’s words, a chill ran down Cheryl’s spine. Before coming here, she spent a lot of effort to conceal her strength. However, she totally didn’t expect Mini Bubble Gum to see through her in a single glance. This terrified her. Of course, she wasn’t aware that these people were veterans in battles. Right now, they weren’t located on the main plane, so even if one were harassed by demons in the Steel Fortress, one would lack the strength even to truss a chicken. Such people couldn’t possibly survive for so long.
In an instant, the atmosphere turned heavy. Cheryl took two steps back worriedly, unsure of what to say. Canary and Mini Bubble Gum scanned her curiously, while Lesa continued to close her eyes and pray. On the other hand, Rhode and Celestina admired the scenery outside the window that wasn’t considered pretty. There were no changes to Cassidy and Celia at all. As soon as Stefania arrived, she broke the awkward silence in the room.
“Your Majesty Rhode, I’ve just contacted them and we can move out right away… Hmm? Who is this young lady?”
The River Styx.
It was the only presence that could be weighed up as a ‘river’ in this dried, bloody hell. However, it wasn’t as simple as just a ‘river’. Rumor had it that the River Styx carried along lost souls and sent them to where they should go. It was the only channel connecting the Ninth Floor of Hell and abyss. Be it demons or devils, they would board the boat and sail down the river as long as they wanted to start a war.
Then, they would go through the teleportation vortex that would bring them to their destination. Of course, the River Styx wasn’t as calm as it seemed (even though it didn’t appear calm at all). If anyone were to fall into the river and drank the ice-cold, bone-piercing water, one would lose all memories and turn into a zombie-like being. One’s body and soul would become empty as though a reset computer. Be it demons, devils, or anything, there were no exceptions.
But among players, the water of the River Styx was highly popular because players were there for the fun of the game, after all. They couldn’t possibly turn into idiots by simply falling into rivers (if not, such games would have already been balanced by then). Instead, after drinking the water of River Styx, their levels, memories, skills, classes, and others would start all over again from zero. Even though this seemed like grievous news for most players, some players who intended to start over with a new character used the river water as a tool to reset everything. This was because even though drinking the river water would reset everything to zero, their attributes wouldn’t change. Some players had also purposely searched for items that could permanently increase one’s attributes, before drinking the river water to restart from zero. Whenever there was demand, there was supply. Most players wouldn’t specially make the trip down to hell just to reset to zero. Therefore, players who were capable or strong enough to make trips back and forth between hell and main plane became the best merchants for this business. Besides, the river water didn’t require processing or digging. As long as one filled up the bottle with it, it would be a great business without needing any capital.
And now, Rhode’s group stood by the river and gazed at the small ferry flowing down the stream in the distance.
In fact, the small ferry wasn’t actually that small. Even though it wasn’t comparable to the cruise ships in Rhode’s world that could carry thousands of people, it was still slightly larger than most fishing boats. A skinny and eroded human-corpse-like creature wrapped in a tattered mantle held a long pole and sailed forward on the ferry that seemed to be made from a combination of bones and human flesh. The ferry moved steadily like a sled smoothly sliding across the icy surface. Shortly after, the ferryman noticed Rhode’s group by the river and rowed harder using the long pole. The small ferry quickly, yet silently arrived before them.
“Oh-oh-oh, what’s this that I’m seeing?”
Before the ferryman said anything, one of the demons on the ferry gazed at the group with an excited smile.
“These lowly…”
“Shut up.”
The ferryman interrupted the demon’s provocation harshly. He clutched the pole and stood in a slanting position. Under the filthy, ugly hood, Rhode’s group sensed a dark, sinister, and ice-cold stare.
“Greetings, dear ferryman.”
As Rhode’s spokesperson, Stefania casually stepped forward and greeted him with a friendly smile. After all, she had to get things done after getting paid by Rhode.
“You are the ones who requested to board the ferry?”
The ferryman let out a cough upon hearing Stefania’s greetings. Then, Stefania nodded with a smile.
“That’s right, ferryman. My companions and I are heading to the Rift Plain, which is why we need your help. If you can bring us to the Rift Plain through Casselly in the shortest time possible, we will give you a huge, generous remuneration for your efforts…” Stefania said as she extended her hand to reach out for a bright soul gem from the bag of coins. The top-quality purity of the gem instantly caused an uproar in the group of demons on the ferry.
“Your reward sure is generous.”
The ferryman seemed impressed, but the tone of his voice didn’t waver at all as though it were just a piece of rock that Stefania laid out before it.
“But my apologies. There isn’t enough space on the ferry. I can only take in four more passengers.”
“Heh, heh…”
The group of demons on the ferry giggled complacently. They whispered into each other’s ears, before turning to the group and bursting into laughter.
“It’s fine, there is lots of space here. Those women won’t take up much space anyway, since they can sit on us… hahahahaha…”
No one responded to the demons’ teases, but Cheryl curled up in uncertainty. Rhode didn’t even look at them once. If one took notice, one would discover that Rhode had moved his fingers slightly, where two cards flashed abruptly and disappeared into thin air.
At the same time, the irritable laughter came to an end.
In the blink of an eye, two petite figures in white cloaks flitted across the air like ghosts. Their razor-sharp blades penetrated the demons’ hearts and tore apart their throats mercilessly. In an instant, before a dozen of demons seated on the ferry reacted, their flame of life extinguished completely without any warning. Shortly after, an ice-cold storm rose abruptly, flinging their massive corpses into the river. The seemingly crowded ferry suddenly became empty.
At this moment, Canary laid down her palm, while Gracier and Madaras who had sneaked onto the ferry let out a string of crisp, bell-like giggles, before hiding into the shadows. Upon witnessing this scene, Stefania smiled and turned to the ferryman.
“Now, it seems like you’ve sufficient space for us?”
“… Of course.”
The ferryman standing by the bow laid down his defensive arm gradually, swirling his ugly eyes that glinted in yellow radiance, and let out an ear-piercing laughter.
“Welcome aboard my ferry, everyone. I guarantee to provide you the best and most comfortable service.”
