"Retrieve what?"
"A pendulum."
"Any information?"
"Only one clue was given: the Golden Rose Hotel."
If this was a coincidence, Elias certainly didn't believe it.
He had a strong premonition that he was being dragged into some incredible event.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a spirit that had died and drifted to Moon Bay and a captain running ships in Moon Bay both wanted him to go to Hope County to retrieve something.
What exactly was valuable in his original self's hometown?
Maybe the two of them weren't after the same thing.
Elias tried to look on the bright side.
However, right now, there wasn't much time to think about such things.
Because that stone-faced man was still staring at him.
"So I agreed at the time?"
Elias asked in his mind while tightening his grip on the revolver.
His memory was still fragmented; he had to confirm what he had done.
"Mm-hmm."
Edmond's voice sounded a bit helpless.
"You analyzed this for a long time in your hotel room, with clear logic and organized thoughts."
"But the final conclusion could only be that it was a coincidence."
'That... that really does sound like my style.'
"Forget it, let's see what this guy wants first."
Elias rolled his neck, letting out a crisp crack.
"Hey!"
Elias waded through the cold seawater, walking toward the figure with large strides.
The seawater went over his ankles, making a splashing sound that was particularly jarring in this silent night.
"Do you understand human speech?"
The man didn't move.
He remained in that eerie posture, like a poor-quality wax statue.
Only when Elias drew near did he nod stiffly.
The movement was extremely sluggish, like rusted gears being forced to turn.
"I..."
He opened his mouth.
"Want..."
"To..."
"Kill... you!"
Every syllable sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat.
"What? Is your tongue a rental?"
Elias turned on his mockery mode without mercy.
"Or did you leave your vocal cords at home?"
Facing such obvious provocation, the man didn't react much.
He just mechanically raised his hand, palm upward.
Hum—
A ripple abruptly appeared in the air.
A faint white energy emerged out of thin air, and the surrounding light seemed to distort as countless tiny points of light gathered into his hand from all directions.
That energy was extremely unstable, emitting a sharp, whistling sound.
"Careful! This guy is Scale Two!"
The moment he saw the other party's movement, Edmond immediately warned him.
"A believer of the Goddess of Magic!"
"It looks like a 【Chaos Orb】. It's a typical attack spell that can cause both physical and spiritual impact!"
"A mage?"
Elias raised an eyebrow.
His experience from his previous life told him that when facing a mage, the most important thing was—
Close the distance!
As long as you got close, a glass-cannon mage was just a lamb for the slaughter!
No sooner said than done.
Elias didn't hesitate; his left hand quickly drew the dagger used for self-defense from his waist.
With a thought, his spirituality flowed.
A layer of cool silver light instantly covered the sharp edge of the dagger—that was 【Moonlight Enchantment】.
Then, he let out a low shout and activated the 【Rational Circuit】 in his brain once more.
This time, it was 【Moonlight Veil】.
Swish—
A layer of dreamlike moonlight veil appeared out of thin air, wrapping around his body.
Under the bright moonlight, his figure instantly became blurred and indistinct, as if merging with the surroundings, turning into a translucent shadow.
He had tested this spell while on the island.
If used during the day, it would at most summon a faint thin veil, lowering his presence and making him look like a background character.
But under the moon, especially on a night with such good moonlight like tonight, the effectiveness of this spell increased significantly, making it practically a low-budget invisibility spell.
Elias pushed off with his feet, his entire being like a lithe silver fox as he charged toward the man.
However, reality was often cruel.
When the whistling, fluctuating orb of energy in the man's hand finally finished condensing, he looked up.
Those lifeless eyes scanned the surroundings blankly, seemingly unable to determine Elias's position.
But he didn't panic.
There wasn't a single shred of hesitation.
He just slowly raised his other free hand and gently touched his own eyes.
A layer of pale blue patterns full of geometric beauty appeared in his hand, then sank into his eye sockets.
When his eyes opened again.
The originally dead pupils were actually stained with intricate and precise blue patterns.
Those represented the 【Origin Web】; they represented Arcane magic.
In the next second.
His gaze was like it had navigation, piercing through that layer of blurred 【Moonlight Veil】 with incomparable precision and nailing itself onto the sprinting Elias.
Elias's figure was instantly locked in his eyes, with nowhere to hide.
"Holy shit?!"
Elias, who was closing the distance, suddenly discovered that the man's eyes were staring straight at him, a sensation that made his scalp tingle.
The man immediately released the ball of light from his hand.
Boom!
The orb was like a shell fired from a cannon, arriving with a piercing whistle!
Too fast!
Elias only had time to rely on instinct to suddenly change direction to the side, attempting to evade this certain-hit attack.
But the orb seemed to have some tracking property, or rather, its explosion radius was simply too large.
Within point-blank range, that group of violent Arcane energy exploded with a bang!
Hum—!!!
There were no flames, only a pure energy shockwave.
The whistling spiritual storm instantly battered Elias's ears, causing a bout of intense tinnitus that made the whole world seem quiet for a second.
That feeling was like someone had taken a sledgehammer and given his head a hard whack; his brains were rattling.
"He can see me?!"
Elias staggered and rolled onto the beach, getting a mouthful of sand, looking incredibly disheveled.
"That's right, Scale Two 【Reveal Invisibility】."
Edmond's voice was also a bit distorted.
"Trying to use invisibility in front of a mystic is like trying to hide from a searchlight."
"Damn it!"
Elias cursed under his breath and spat out the sand in his mouth.
"Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"You didn't feel paralyzed?"
Edmond didn't heed his complaints; instead, his tone was full of astonishment.
"Paralyze my ass!"
"..."
Edmond was silent for a moment.
"I mean... the 【Chaos Orb】 spell was originally supposed to make you feel paralyzed, even interrupting your nerve signals so you couldn't move."
"But now it looks like, besides taking a tumble, you seem to be fine?"
"Make it clear next time!"
Elias shook his head and climbed up from the ground.
Indeed, besides his ears ringing and some places on his body stinging from energy abrasions, his limbs were still flexible and he didn't feel paralyzed.
"I really don't feel anything."
However, that damn man raised his hand once more, beginning to condense a new orb of energy.
"This is never-ending, isn't it?"
Elias gritted his teeth.
Under the continuous effect of 【Moonlight Blessing】, the wounds on his body were stopping their bleeding and scabbing over at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Although it didn't hurt, this situation of being a passive target made him very unhappy.
Elias raised his gun, the sights aimed at the man's head.
Wait!
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly realized an extremely serious problem.
From just now until now, this man had been attacking him with ruthless moves, clearly intending to take his life.
But...
His 【Malice Perception】 hadn't reacted!
How was that possible?
Unless...
Elias stared fixedly at the man, carefully sensing the feedback on the spiritual level.
It was indeed so.
The man's presence was a dead, empty void; there was no anger, no killing intent, not even any emotion.
It was as if... he wasn't a person at all.
"What the hell?"
If the malice wasn't coming from him, where was it coming from?
In the instant this thought flashed by.
Hum—!!!
The malice wasn't coming from the man in front of him.
It was coming from... behind!
From that pitch-black, deep sea!
Elias's scalp instantly went numb.
I've been played!
This guy in front who could cast magic was fundamentally a decoy!
A target to draw attention!
The real killing move was behind him!
In the blink of an eye, Elias's brain worked at high speed.
He didn't turn around.
Because turning around now would mean that 【Chaos Orb】 in front would hit him squarely in the back without mercy.
He had to resolve the trouble in front first, or at least create an opening.
"Screw your uncle!"
Elias suddenly stowed his dagger with a movement as fast as a magic trick.
He reached down and picked up a fist-sized pebble from the ground, a silver light flashing in his palm.
【Moonlight Enchantment】!
This was probably the most pathetic enchanted weapon in history.
"Catch!"
He let out a roar and used all his strength to hurl the silver-glowing rock toward the man!
The man was indeed fooled.
Facing the glowing object flying toward him, he instinctively pushed out the energy orb that hadn't yet fully formed, attempting to intercept the rock.
Boom!
The rock and the orb collided in the air, exploding into a burst of blinding light.
Now!
Taking advantage of this fleeting visual obstruction and the gap from the explosion.
Elias didn't hesitate; without even glancing at the man, he pivoted on his left foot and performed a hundred-and-eighty-degree spin on the spot!
Turn!
Raise the gun!
The sights instantly locked onto the direction where that overwhelming malice was coming from.
The sea surface!
Bang!
Without any time to aim, he relied purely on feeling.
The enchanted bullet roared as it drilled into the dark, churning seawater.
By the light of the muzzle flash, in that instant.
Elias saw a pair of eyes.
A pair of eyes full of malice were slowly rising out of the water.
It was a monster with a fish tail.
Nearly three meters tall, with four slender arms and sharp claws.
A mouth full of sharp teeth stretched all the way to its ears.
On its fish-like head, hair like seaweed clung to its face.
This seemed to be...
When Elias saw the healed gunshot wound on its massive fish tail.
There was no doubt.
"How the hell is this a siren?!"
Rate on N.U.
