Chapter 09: The first ever monster

The darkness of the night and the light of the dawn contrasted as it plunged the room into an unbroken and peculiar silence.

The sunbeams that managed to squeeze in through the window caressed the face of the young man warmly as if a mother soothing her child. The peaceful expression on the young man and the deep breathes he took indicated that he was asleep.

Ruwel Hart, who was leaning against the headboard of the bed, quietly watched the slumbering youth. The discarded armor that hindered treating his wounds was lying on the floor, neatly arranged near his bed.

Light gleamed and reflected off the armor's steely surface, revealing scratches that marked his journey as a swordmaster. The white undershirt he wore beneath the armor was carefully folded and placed at the end of the bed after 'Keith' finished his treatments.

The skin that looked pale and white, reeking of sweat and smeared with dirt, now looked clean and fair. He was taken aback when 'Keith' revealed himself as a mage. He had soaked a piece of cloth he tore out of the blanket and thoroughly wiped his upper body.

He had no visible reaction at all to the age-old scars adorning his torso. Nor did he show a reaction to the bloody wounds that sprawled over his upper body.

There was no twitch, no furrow between the brows. Not even a flinch. He was unfazed but he didn't seem indifferent or cold. He appeared as someone who has seen many such things.

He calmly accessed the wounds, cleaned them and bandaged them meticulously under a firm yet gentle hand. The piercing gaze that Ruwel examined the youth with, didn't deter him at all.

A knock at the door disturbed the tranquility the room was basked in and in the next second, the door to the so-called room opened. Ruwel was sure the sole reason why the pirates even bothered to knock on the door was because of the sleeping youth.

He would have been more cautious and alert against the special treatment towards the youth if the he himself had not noticed the way the mage's breathing change when the knock resounded.

Marcel, one of the closest sub-ordinates of the pirate captain from what Ruwel observed in the time he spent in the ship and a bald man who looked like he was in early thirties entered the room carrying a tray with two plates of bread.

"Rise and shine !"

Marcel exclaimed loudly as he placed the tray on the table between the two beds, while the bald man reached out a hand to awaken the youth.

Unyieldingly, Ruwel glared at the bald man as if to pierce a hole through him just with his deathly glare.

Kai squinted his eyes when he felt a hand patiently shaking him. He saw a brilliant light as if a god had descended on the world to impart enlightment on the poor mortals. He extended his slender hand and softly touched the bright light that looked like it would scorch anyone who approached it.

But instead of burning him and scorching him to leave a painful burn, what he touched emitted warmth as if beckoning him to explore the light more.

"God, did you take pity on me and reach out to me with your light ?"

Kai mumbled sleepily and squeezed the ball of light that felt slippery and warm to his skin.

Ruwel and Marcel watched as the bald pirate, Zeno tried to awaken the youth, one with apprehension and one with delight. What they didn't expect was for Kai to blearily open his eyes and grope Zeno's bald head and mutter words like god, pity, your light.

Anyone who heard such words would understand that the young boy mistook Zeno's bald head as a god's light. The corners of his mouth twitched as Ruwel held back his laughter.

Marcel had no such reservations. He laughed boisterously while Zeno's face fell into a deadpan expression.

"Ouch."

Zeno winced in pain and was about to remove the hand on his head when Kai opened his lips again.

"Don't bother me in my sleep. I don't care whether you are the emperor or a god. Now get lost."

As Kai sleepily muttered, he delivered a blow to the bald head and turned his back to them to go back to sleep.

There was a momentary pause in the room as they stared at Kai with slack-jaws with their eyes glimmering with mirth.

After getting up and quenching their hunger, they were brought out of the room. They ascended a set of stairs when they reached the end of a corridor that stretched long.

Sea wind tousled Kai's hair, the sunbeams kissed his skin and the loud noises the pirates let out reached his ears creating a serene atmosphere. The rocking of the ship as it cut through the sea water soothed the frayed nerves.

He could have probably enjoyed them if his attention wasn't focused on a point at the depths of the ocean.

A ring of black stones as pitch black as the night sky stood imposingly surrounding the isles of Blanche. The pirate ship was steadily heading towards the rock bedding of that ring, which was a few hundred meters away. 

It was subtle, so hard to find that it felt like searching a stack of hay for a needle. A presence emitting a power so different to the ones that he had encountered in this world was lying in wait at the bottom of the largest rock bedding of the ring.

He felt more than heard how Ruwel inhaled sharply next to him. He snuck a glance at him to see the tightly clenching fists and gritted teeth. He seemed to be frozen stiff as he stared at a far away location.

Within a second, things took a turn for worse.

Being so focused on the presence that was so strong to the point that even two swordmasters could tell it was there when it was actually so far away, they both missed the knights and mages that was lying in wait for the pirates in a ship.

Suddenly the first imperial prince, Michael and the mage tower master, Enzo Hale barged into the main deck behind them with their swords. It was as if they had anticipated the arrival of the other ship.

Enzo released a flurry of attacks with his ice attribute the moment Kaiser stepped foot outside his cabin. Taken by surprise, Kaiser collapsed even before he could wield his awakened power.

Enzo had frozen Kaiser's entire body except for his head. Michael grew their attention with a shout as he threw their sheathed swords towards Ruwel and Kai.

"Here."

Out of reflex, he grasped his luminant black sword around its handle. He watched as Michael moved behind a pirate in black clothing stealthily and struck him on his head with the handle of his sword.

'He must have found the teleporter when they were taken to the dungeon.'

Knights swamped the pirate ship while the mages launched heavy blows from a long distance. There seems to be more knights and mages here than during the first attack.

'Michael and Enzo must have planned this beforehand.'

 That was what came to his mind as he watched the spectacle. After anticipating an attack, Michael and Enzo seemed to have ordered more than half of their entourage to not get involved in the surprise attack the pirates launched.

For whatever reason, no pirate moved to attack him. So Kai wasted no time moving to a corner in the ship that was close to the rock bedding.

Sea water crashed against the side of the ship but it didn't hold the sinister twist of the ocean that could drown a person to utter darkness. Instead surface appeared tranquil as ever.

The more calmer the ocean looked, more unsettled he became. No one would ever imagine there was a malicious creature hidden deep within the bottom of the sea.

His face was devoid of any expression as he peered into the water. He saw his reflection staring at him with a cold and blank expression. He wondered whether the monster was peering right back at him.

The uneasiness that dominated his mind wasn't just because of the subtle but sinister aura lying in wait for them. There were three swordmasters along with seventh class magician. But of four of them, only two happened to notice them.

Ruwel and Kai.

Kai might be fundamentally stronger than all of them because he had more mana than them. But Ruwel, Michael and Enzo had achieved their level of mastery even before Kim Su-bin transmigrated as Kai.

Despite that there was no any indication that Michael and Enzo were aware of the predator preying on them. So what differed when it came to Kai and Ruwel.

It wasn't unexpected that Ruwel could pinpoint out. He was the most experienced person here even if he had retired.

Compared to the others, he was stronger too. Even now he was flickering his eyes towards the bottom of the rock bedding while seamlessly fighting the pirates.

Ruwel Hart was someone who had accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience and grew his pool of mana through age and hard work. But...

What was the reason Kai could sense the predator upon them ? Was it because he came here expecting some kind of abnormality ? 

So how come he could sense the monster ? This wasn't the only question he had at the moment.

The dungeon shouldn't have appeared yet. Nor should the monsters that stayed in the dungeon left them and roamed this world. There were many doubts he couldn't figure out the answers for.

How did the grand duke of Hart House, who died in the original novel make an appearance right now ? Did an entourage from palace and mage tower survey the abnormal emergence of the energy in the novel ? If so, how did they miss out on the monster ?

Kai can only think of one thing that could have changed the course of these incidents. The only variable...

Kai Morgan, himself.

But how ? He knew he would get answers for these unanswered questions soon enough.

*****

After battling and defeating all the pirates, Michael ordered his knights and mages to line them up and guard them. They were tightly bound and were kneeling on the floor of the deck, faces pale with fear but determined to appear brave.

The plan he laid had borne its fruits. He discovered that there was someone who had leaked the information even before he set his foot out of the palace.

It was like an intricately woven spider web. You could not escape once you have fallen to the trap. He had made sure to ensnare them with a bait so the traitor or the traitors among them would have no respite.

Now all the people that had journeyed on Jack's ship were on the main deck. They were scattered into groups. It was clear that there was a certain division among the people here.

When they were informed to come to the main deck many had not yet grasped the severity of the situation. But some of the sharp-witted ones seemed to have at least an inclination about what's going to unfold.

Uneasiness that seeped into atmosphere was like threads that captured a prey within their vines. Even if dim-witted people didn't understand why they were suddenly called out there, they weren't naive to not understand that something was wrong.

The tense set of shoulders of the knights and tight frown ladened in the faces of the mages were dead giveaways. Michael swept a glance across all of them, the sharpness alone in that violet pair of eyes arresting them into where they stood.

His gaze remained longer than necessary on Kai and Arad, who had zoomed into his arms the moment Kai had set his foot into this ship again. He was the only that paid no heed to what was happening on the ship.

Michael wasn't sure when the youth had placed the strange creature in the ship. He remembered how he had still held onto it when they were kidnapped. It was worth investigating. 

With his back to the rest of the people on the ship, Kai stood on the forecastle deck as he quietly watched the water below them separated from them. But Michael didn't dwell in it anymore and focused on solving this matter.

"Greetings everyone. You might have seen how people called me Mr. Owen. You, yourselves might have called that."

He started with a cheerful and warm voice that soothed the frazzled nerves of the passengers of the ship, that settles on them due to the palpable tension in the air.

But in the next second, he dropped a bomb on them with his words.

"I have to inform you that unfortunately that is not my name. I am Michael De Emmanuel, the first prince of the Emmanuel empire."

He said in a matter-of- fact voice that made no room for doubt. People who treated him casually, like Jack went white and their pallor so pale, they looked like corpses. Fear seeped into the crew of the ship along with the citizens of the Kaithakandu.

"I am filled with remorse about the deception I had to carry out due to a task."

He was the very picture of remorse and regret. He was an expert at putting up a façade that it didn't feel unnatural anymore.

"But don't worry. You don't have to be wary about me punishing you for your behavior. You can be as casual as you were before with me."

He said it so earnestly that no one would doubt he was just saying it.

He always found it amusing how people reacted to him and he wanted to see who had the audacity to treat royalty like they would a commoner. It wasn't that he thought less of commoners. He found it entertaining if a person surpassed the boundaries and expectations he made on them based on their first impressions. 

"Due to some of the unforeseen circumstances, we have come to find there's traitors among us. They are working with the pirates that attacked us, revealing sensitive information to them."

He looked grave at the dire situation and sorrowful at the supposed betrayal of the traitors.

Whispers started among the crowd, people started casting wary and distrustful glances at the other groups. But it was clear which group of people received most of the gazes.

The citizens of Kaithakandu were the group of people that was isolated from others. Some in that group appeared resigned while some seemed furious.

"Your highness, have you found who the traitors are ?"

Jude Pablo, one of the intern mages asked as his eyes strayed to Zach's group. His words might appear harmless while his eyes revealed the implication he made.

"What are you saying you bastard ? Are you trying to frame us ?"

Zach snarled furiously as he wasn't able to hold back his anger. Arlo hastily grabbed Zach to prevent him from lashing out at others.

But the damage was already done. Many people had already turned towards their group with their hands raised onto their weapons or towards them.

"See. Even now, you are trying to be violent. How can we know what kind of malicious intentions you guys hold towards us ?"

William Heude, the other intern mage sneered at them.

"That's right. You guys are the only outsiders in this ship. The people here have been with us since we left the capital."

Another knight pointed out.

"No. Please, we didn't do anything like that."

The only woman in the group of the Kaithakandu citizens pleaded pitifully while she tightly embraced the toddler in her arms.

"Don't we all know that you people from Kaithakandu are not to be trusted ?"

Another raised his voice further escalating the tense situation.

The high priest of the holy temple, Saber Reed stepped forward catching most of the attention.

"Do you people not know any shame ? Our saintess has bee going around healing and treating ill people without even stepping foot in to the main church in the Rubani city. She's so compassionate that the moment she was found she started treating the old and the young. But people like you..."

Saber sneered arrogantly.

"But people like you ruin the hard work and efforts of such people, it's disgusting."

The high priest shouted with disgust and fury tinging his eyes.

"The high priest is right. Let's catch these bastards."

A knight exclaimed and raised his sword as if he was ready to strike them down where they stood. Others started to follow his example and pointed their swords to them while mages readied their mana to attack.

A fight was about to break out and Michael was about to intervene when a cold laugh tinged with a hint of mockery cut through the people in the ship. 

Everyone snapped their heads towards the lone back of the person who laughed at them. They had forgotten about him in their haste to attack the so-called traitors.

His head turned towards them and many who met his eyes flinched back in fear, shrinking back into themselves. The cold fury ignited the galaxy blue eyes sent a cold shiver down the spines of them.

The contrast between the naïve teenager he appeared first and the indifferent young man who looked as if he could pierce them just with his gaze struck their hearts as if a string was pluck from a violin.

"I can't keep watching this spectacle anymore."

He scoffed in disdain.

"I watched as many of you point fingers at Zach and the others without an ounce of evidence."

He walked towards Zach and stood before them.

Just with this action, the side he stood on was obvious. He faced dozens of people who wanted to attack Zach's group with resolute eyes and many trembled as they faced the fierceness in Kai's eyes.

They were stronger in numbers and they believed they had the skills to back them. But they were rooted their places and their feet refused to move. They could only watch as they were stared by indifferent icy eyes.

Despite standing on the opposite side to them, he showed no fear and his eyes appeared fathomless. So they were inexplicably drawn towards the galaxy blue eyes and attracted towards the cold charm.

"I saw how some of you manipulated the crowd to make them look good while they implicated innocent people."

As he uttered such words, his eyes flickered and rested on both Saber Reed and Michael.

"Then you two."

He finally casted his eyes upon Jude and William. He glared at them with annoyance and anger.

"I let you two off even if I knew you two weren't simply mages. Because what you did was none of my business as long as you didn't hurt anyone."

His blank expression turns stony at the end of his words.

"But now, pointing fingers at others for things you two did is despicable. You shouldn't have implicated innocent people."

With those words, a stony silence descended on them. They held their breath when it became clear who the real culprits were. But no one was able to utter another word to justify themselves for their actions, because their attention shifted to the long and dark shadow that engulfed the entire ship.

It was as if their survival instincts rose to the forefront. Because they knew without sparing a single glance that the creature that approached them silently was a never-before-seen predator.

Everyone slowly turned towards the creature that the massive shadow belonged. They couldn't stop their jaws from dropping and their eyes widening with surprise and fear.

A huge serpent with a dragon head had entered their fields of vision. Blue streaked along his serpentine body with purple hues mixed into it. A set of ruby eyes shining with malice and viciousness stared down at them from the head of at least hundreds of meters long body.

Nature recoiled and rebelled as something unnatural appeared in this world. Water split as if to avoid the unnerving thing from gracing them.

The snarled lips of the creature peeled back into reveal long and pointy canines that looked at least three meters tall. If the appearance of the creature itself wasn't enough to unnerve and terrorize them, the teeth of creature's drooling mouth that looked like it could tear apart all of them in one bite was.

The creature opened its maw and let out a loud cry, that split the sky as if to emphasize its entrance into this world.

Roar...

It shook people into their cores and coiled them with horror. No one could hide how shaken they were. Amidst this, one person stood out as he appeared unfazed.

Kai observed the monster keenly, with no expression on his face. But he was cursing up a storm inside his mind.

'Why did this monster have to appear right now ? It sure has a nice timing.'

Kai lamented at the bad timing of the monster who made its entrance first into this world.