Lord of Blood

After a while, nothing surrounded the convoy but the vast expanse of rolling waves. The forty colossal vessels moved in a narrow formation, with the fearsome flagship serving as the arrowhead of the expeditionary fleet. Hundreds of formidable cannons were aimed in all directions, their fields of fire overlapping to create a lethal exclusionary zone around the procession.

Nevertheless, Sunny was not reassured.

He stared at the undulating surface below for some time, a dark expression never leaving his face. Despite the grandiose magnitude of their passage, the convoy moved with a surprising measure of quietness. If not for the sound of water being displaced by the mighty bows and splashing against the alloy armor, Sunny could have closed his eyes and imagined that there were no other ships around him.

Wasn't it strange that he had felt much more comfortable aboard flying ships than these far more reliable seafaring vessels?

He sighed, then activated his communicator and accessed the maritime safety procedures manual provided to each member of the First Army. In the past weeks, everyone had to study the sizable document and run a few exhausting drills to familiarize themselves with the strange rules of proper naval conduct.

He pressed on one of the communicator buttons and massaged Gehrman.

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Captain Sunless: [Take care of them while I'm gone make sure nothing happens.]

Vies-Captain Gehrman: [Yes, Captain.]

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Inside the depth of the battleship Raphael looked at the Rhino in front of him.

"Not bad Sunny, not bad."

"It's gorgeous isn't it?"

Raphael looked to his left and saw Luster.

"Don't you have a job to do? Get to it before I drop you in the sea!"

Luster hearing what Raphael said ran quickly inside Rhino.

"Peice of shit," Luster said whispering.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! Nothing! Hahah.."

Raphael sighed and looked at the Rhino.

"So, what's the status?"

From behind Sunny came after finishing talking with Master Naeve.

Samara glanced up from the screen of her communicator, where a diagnostic program was displaying the results of a series of complicated tests. She offered Sunny a small smile.

"Everything seems to be in order, Captain. He's a real beast."

Kim affectionately patted the surface of the APC, which had been painted in a grey camouflage pattern.

"This is a superb machine. Rhino is really fast despite being burdened by heavy armor, highly maneuverable, and has exceedingly durable internals. With the expensive upgrades we procured, he had become nothing short of a beast, indeed."

"Uh… would you like to take a look inside, Captain?"

Sunny looked at her nonchalantly and shrugged.

"Sure."

'Of course I want to take a look inside! What kind of question is that?!'

Following Sunny, Raphael entered Rhino.

"Captain, May I ask you something."

"Can you stop with the formality?"

"No." Raphael replied.

"Sigh… fine what do you want?"

Raphael looked at the very back of Rhino and pointed at it.

"Why is there only one bed?"

"Ah… you see I thought since we are both Master, we would only sleep when the other finished sleeping, that why there is no need for another bed."

Raphael smiled at Sunny and said:

"I'll just sleep on the couch.."

Sunny looked at Raphael and smiled.

'Is this his way to get revenge on me?' Raphael scoffed.

'He is really like a camel, that doesn't forget a grudge.'

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It's been few days and Raphael was now in his room, sitting on his bed.

"So did you find a way?"

"I'm sorry my liege we're still searching."

"Are the corrupted monsters stopping you?"

"Yes, my liege, it seems they have started attacking again."

"Sigh… is there other things to report?"

"Your Majesty I've found what it seems to be a portal created by his Majesty Nether in the past, but I don't know where it leads to."

"There is also the problem of deciphering the runes, since it was created by his majest it will take long time."

"How much exactly?"

"Around a year and three months."

"Hmm… good put all of your focus on it, leave the expedition to Kratos and Lilith."

"With your will your majesty."

Suddenly from the outside Raphael heard a sound, it was the sound of women all singing.

He quickly took his communication devise and sent to all of the Cohort, to prepare for battle.

Thanks to his [Dragon Wrath] attribute, this amount of mind damage was nothing.

Leaving his cabin, he saw Sunny wearing [Chains of Longing] walking towards the security checkpoint.

Raphael looked at Sunny and nodded his head.

"Gehrman do you hear something?"

"Yes, I hear women singing."

"Thanks the gods, I'm not the only hearing them."

"I have messaged the others to prepare for battle."

Sunny nodded his head and continued walking toward the security checkpoint.

Reaching the security checkpoint Raphael saw a man who was seemingly in his early thirties, with pale skin and dark, slicked back hair. There was nothing particularly memorable about him, except for how still his face seemed to be.

"Excuse me."

The officer turned around and looked at Sunny without any particular expression.

"Yes?"

Sunny sighed, and then said awkwardly:

"That, uh… the safety manual says to inform the nearest officer if I hear voices. Well, we both do. Hear them. So…"

The impassive man suddenly became more lively. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes. 

"Oh? What do you hear?"

Sunny rubbed his face.

"...Singing. I hear beautiful singing."

The officer stared at him for a few moments, then nodded. 

"I see. In that case, please follow me to the upper deck."

Raphael looked at the officer and sighed, he walked toward Sunny and whispered in his ears:

"Captain, I'm sure that thing is not human."

Sunny looked back at Raphael and nodded his head, he had already felt something wrong with this man from the beginning.

Sunny looked back to the officer. 

"Why the upper deck?"

The man smiled. 

"Please, follow me to the upper deck."

Sunny stared at him for a few moments, and then took a tentative step back. 

"...I'd rather not."

The polite smile slowly disappeared from the officer's pale face. His dark eyes turned a little hollow. 

"Oh."

As Sunny backed away under the man's glossy stare, his communicator suddenly vibrated and let out a sharp sound. 

The navy officer did not seem to react to it at all.

Sunny, on the other hand, recognized the sound immediately.

In the next moment, the lights in the passageway blinked in a specific pattern and simultaneously went out, submerging it in utter darkness. The battleship vibrated intensely for a split second, and then went still as its reactors were shut down. 

Absolute silence enveloped the mighty vessel.

Condition Black had gone into effect.

Raphael seeing this sighed.

Condition Black meant that the fleet was on the cusp of dire danger. After the alert was issued, every member of the First Army aboard the forty ships had to cease all activity. They weren't supposed to make any noises or movements. They were not even allowed to agitate their essence in any way.

But Raphael didn't give a fuck, he already know that the Condition black was going to turn red an all-out battle.

Summoning his [Death Knell] memory he aimed it at the officer and used the [Slaughtring] enchantment and shot at the officer.

In a second the officer head was gone.

The officer body turned into a formless mass of black water, which then fell to the floor and formed a puddle.

Sunny looked at Raphael in a terrified look.

Raphael chuckled and asked:

"What?"

"Are you crazy!!"

Raphael didn't reply and looked back.

Almost at the same time, the rising voices abruptly disappeared, and the battleship trembled as its reactors came back online. The lamps in the corridor ignited, drowning it in light. 

Jumping back to his feet as the Cruel Sight was manifesting itself into reality in his hand, Sunny looked ahead and saw a familiar figure pressing something dark and slithering into the metal bulkhead. 

Master Naeve had lost his midnight blue coat somewhere and was now wearing only his black wetsuit. There was a strange bone knife in his hand. Impaled on that knife was a…

Before Sunny could make sense of what the creature looked like, it suddenly lost its shape and turned into a formless mass of black water, which then fell to the floor and formed a puddle.

Naeve's indigo eyes shone with dark light as he turned his head.

"Master Sunless! Are you alright?"

Sunny cautiously nodded. 

"What... what the hell was that thing?"

The scion of the great clan Night opened his mouth, but before he could answer, the battleship around them shuddered, and a muffled thunder sounded somewhere in the distance. 

The main railgun was firing. 

Naeve shook his head. 

"No time right now. Check on your cohort!"

With that, the handsome man seemed to disappear.

A moment later, the lamps illuminating the passageway blinked and changed their color to ominous red. 

'Condition Red… all-out battle!'

Sunny looked at Raphael.

Raphael understood and nodded his head.

Taking his communication device he quickly send a message to the cohort to gather near the Rhino.

"Go I'll be there in a moment."

Raphael nodded his head and went toward the Rhino.

Occasionally, a loud and startling bang would roll through the massive compartment, indicating that something had collided against the hull of the vessel from the outside.

Reaching the Rhino , Raphael saw four Awakened standing near it with reserved expressions on their faces. Dorn, Quentin, Kim, Luster…

He frowned.

"Where are Belle and Samara?"

Quentin straightened a little when he saw his superior approaching. 

"They are in the Dream Realm, Vise-Captain. We have already secured their bodies in the sleeping pods inside the Rhino."

Raphael nodded his head.

"Everyone be prepared for any situation."

Kim playing with her fingers looked at Raphael and asked:

"Uh… Vise-Captain, Do you know what is happening?"

"No, let's wait until the Captain comes."

After few minutes, Raphael saw Sunny walking towards them.

"Where are Belle and Samara?"

"They are in the Dream Realm, their body is inside."

Sunny sighed.

He looked at everyone and said:

"Get comfortable. This will probably take a while."

His soldiers obeyed, sitting down on crates or leaning against the side of the Rhino. However, none of the four looked particularly at ease. 

Luster lingered for a moment, and then asked in a cautious tone:

"Uh… Captain… sorry, but what exactly is going on?"

Sunny shrugged. 

"Something big and scary is trying to take a bite out of the convoy, what else? Don't worry too much… House of Night probably has things under control. I personally saw their Saint joining the battle."

Raphael who was sitting above Rhino whispered to him self.

"Mohg, what rank is the abomination outside?"

"It's a Corrupted Tyrant my lord."

Raphael nodded his head and looked at the hull of the ship.

Suddenly, something collided against the hull of the ship again.

Despite the fact that these loud bangs had been occasionally resounding across the vehicle stable for some time now, each was still extremely jarring. People trapped in the vast compartment could not treat them with indifference, no matter how much they might have wished to. Still, slowly but surely, they were growing accustomed to the startling noise of the collisions. 

This last one, though…

Raphael frowned.

The last one was different. 

He slowly turned around and stared at a certain spot on the opposite wall of the stable. 

The bulkhead looked a little deformed.

Suddenly, something collided against the ship once again, and the alloy wall visibly bent inward.

As hundreds of petrified people watched in fear, one of the sections of the giant compartment's outer wall bent slightly. An ugly deformity appeared on it, and as the echo of the loud and jarring bang died down, they heard the sound of water rushing into the narrow gaps between the different layers of the battleship's armored hull. 

A dark expression appeared on Sunny's face. His fingers twitched, and then he turned his head slightly. 

"On your feet, soldiers."

Dorn, Quentin, Kim and Luster rose, ready for battle. However, there was a subtle sense of hesitation hiding behind their masks of professionalism and composure. 

Raphael who on top of Rhino, got down and summoned his memories.

A moment later, something crashed into the side of the ship with a thunderous bang once again, making the indentation in the bulkhead of the vehicle stable grow more pronounced. People that were closest to it shuddered and backed away. Some turned around and ran.

Soon, the space around the damaged section of the wall became completely empty. Everyone in the large compartment had moved as far away from it as they could, pressing against the opposite wall and staring at the massive deformity. A second passed in utter silence, then another. Then, one more. 

All that could be heard was the sound of rushing water. 

Someone cursed in a stifled...

BANG!

As several people yelped, the wall bent inward even more, its misshapen portion growing in size and reaching slightly deeper into the vehicle stable. A loud, deep groan of contorting metal rolled through the air, reverberating in their very bones.

Raphael looked at the outer hull and sighed.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three consecutive strikes crashed into the outer hull, exacerbating the damage and making the wall bend even more. People screamed and tried to get even further away from it, but there was simply nowhere for them to go. Some eyed the exit from the vehicle stable, while some stared at the contorted bulkhead, frozen still. 

Somehow, it still held. The metal groaned once more, but endured. 

Nothing happened for a dozen seconds.

Then, another blow crashed into the damaged section of the hull, and the wall bent a little more. 

A single drop of black water seeped through the crack and rolled down. 

Hundreds of people watched the drop with horror written on their faces. 

…Before the next strike tore the hull open, however, a tide of shadows suddenly rose and rushed toward the deformed wall as a wave. Converging on the damaged section, the wave splattered across its surface and then somehow solidified, turning into an improvised brace.

'This won't do...'

Raphael unbuttoned his vest and shirt, slipping them off with practiced ease. He glanced at Luster and tossed the clothes to him.

"Make sure there's not a single cut on them," he said flatly.

Luster stared at him, wide-eyed and bewildered, clutching the garments as if they might combust.

Sunny, his teeth clenched as he strained to hold the monstrous mass of shadows in place, glared at Raphael and asked, "Where are you going, Gehrman?"

"Going to kill that beast," Raphael replied without breaking stride.

"You're more needed here!" Sunny snapped, frustration bleeding into his tone.

Raphael turned his head slightly, his expression calm yet resolute.

"Captain, please do your best to hold the wall for at least an hour."

Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted toward the stairs, vanishing onto the upper deck.

The upper deck was a chaotic mess, the dark water below churning violently as if the sea itself were alive.

Raphael surveyed the scene, his expression hardening. Without hesitation, he dragged his hand across his chest, slicing deeply. Blood gushed from the wound, and he immediately activated his Self-Sovereignty ability to prevent it from healing.

The crimson liquid spilled onto the deck in a steady stream, pooling and expanding with every passing second.

Sunny, still below and maintaining his grip on the shadow barrier, glanced at Raphael through his shadow. His jaw tightened as he witnessed the pool of blood grow larger and larger, staining a third of the upper deck.

After an hour, the crimson tide began to rise unnaturally, defying gravity. The blood lifted into the air, coalescing into a massive, shimmering spear. At its tip, a faint golden hue gleamed ominously.

From Raphael's back, black wings erupted, spreading wide as he ascended alongside the blood spear.

He cast his gaze down toward the sea and bellowed, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.

"Get away from the monster if you don't want to die!"

Blood Wave, using his transformation ability, glanced up and froze, his expression pale as he spotted the massive spear of blood hovering above. Snapping out of his stupor, he barked at the others to retreat immediately.

As the crew scrambled to safety, Raphael smirked. With a flick of his finger, the spear descended like a crimson comet.

The beast in the water sensed its doom too late. The blood spear pierced its massive body with devastating precision.

The monster roared in pain, thrashing wildly as its form began to deform.

When Raphael consumed Nether blood, even his immortal body couldn't withstand its destructive power.

Now, with the Nether bloodline coursing through him, his body had become a weapon of unparalleled devastation.

From the very beginning, the monster stood no chance.

The beast screamed in agony as its massive form began to break down, its body being destroyed from within.

Finally, with a thunderous boom, the creature's body exploded into countless pieces, scattering debris and blood across the sea.

As the echoes of the explosion faded, the black wings on Raphael's back folded inward, retreating into his body.

His strength spent, he began to plummet from the sky.

Suddenly, shadows surged upward, catching him mid-fall and gently lowering him.

Raphael, breathing heavily, glanced to the side and saw Sunny standing nearby, his hands still outstretched, controlling the shadows.

"I might be out for a week, Captain," Raphael said, his voice low but steady.

Sunny allowed a rare smile to touch his lips.

"You've done well, soldier. Take some rest."

With everything done Raphael forced his body to go to sleep.

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3000 chapter holy shit.. anyway with this we finished the sea arc and nest chapter the Cohort will reach Antarctica.

See you tomorrow👋