As the emergency bells of four teams rang out simultaneously, the deck was instantly filled with the beeping of warning alarms. The sound, sharp enough to pierce the brain, spread through the cochlea, heating up Kang Sihyun's head and driving sleep away. He immediately opened his eyes to assess the situation.
It was Bandal from the Muam Guild who had pressed the emergency bell.
"Mr. Yeonju, report first!"
Taeju, with his coat thrown over his shoulder and heading north, shouted at Yeonju, the grimacing leader of the Muam Guild members. Inhyeok and Jinyeok stood by Yeonju's side, looking out at the distant sea.
Their eyes were blurred.
It was at that moment, as Kang Sihyun followed Taeju with the children and sensed something odd.
A song began to spread.
A voice, ill-fitting for the situation and reminiscent of a terrible nightmare, turned into an instrument, creating a marvelous melody that resonated over the sea.
Bang!
The ship rocked as if it had hit a reef. Waves slapped against it. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, seemingly about to sweep the people on the deck away.
"Ah..."
Staggered by the raging wind, Kang Sihyun inadvertently let out a sigh. A distant memory naturally came to mind. The scene, which made him recall a school trip he thought he had overcome and buried, heralded the arrival of a being.
Titan.
The entire sea was warning that this catastrophe-class Irregular was coming.
"It's a Siren! Cover your ears and focus on my words, not the song!"
Hahyuk, having grasped the situation, warned. Taeju approached Yeonju, who was not reporting. That's when Inhyeok and Jinyeok suddenly screamed and rushed towards Taeju.
This too was a familiar sight to Kang Sihyun.
They were enchanted by the Siren.
The difference this time was that those enchanted were not falling into the sea but attacking their own team with perfect precision.
As if every single nerve cell was being manipulated, they unleashed their full abilities with skillful finesse.
"This is madness!"
Bang!
As the two brothers, crazed, finally drew their swords, Taeju, who had been merely dodging, had no choice but to strike them. His kicking sent the two men sliding across the deck to its end. Kang Sihyun widened his eyes as he watched the two groaning men hit the wall.
"No!"
"What?"
"Cha Inhyeok!"
Despite possibly having a broken rib, Inhyeok got up as if he felt no pain, looked over Taeju and Hahyuk, then leaned on the railing, intending to jump into the sea.
It was at that moment that Kang Sihyun was about to swing his staff.
"Tsk."
Taeju, with a click of his tongue, was engulfed in black energy. It had to be described as being swallowed because the entire eyeball was shimmering with a dark shape.
Swish!
From the ground where Inhyeok stood, a shadow leaped up. The wriggling black shape took the form of a palm, grabbing the brother who was about to jump into the sea from the railing.
"Kuk!"
Inhyeok, trying to escape despite being held firmly, showed that the restraint was properly in place.
"I didn't want to resort to skills from the start, but all sorts of small fry keep showing up. Is it because Titan considers them its leaders?"
Taeju, covering his eyes with his hand as if hiding the energy emanating from them, took a deep breath and swept back his hair. Suddenly, the chaos on the deck quieted down. The only noise was the increasingly violent waves and wind.
Having settled the situation, Taeju walked over to Yeonju, who was trembling at the fingertips, and looked back at Kang Sihyun with a furrowed brow.
"Can you lift the abnormal state?"
"If they're not fully enchanted, it might be possible. It would be easier with the help of a Buffer, but..."
Before Kang Sihyun could finish, he checked on the man still struggling in the shadows with Inhyeok. Both, regardless of which one, had pupils that lost focus, appearing dazed, so he gave up on any further attempts.
"It looks like I'll have to do it alone now."
Fortunately, compared to the Cha brothers, Performer Yeonju had a higher mental strength, or perhaps his ego had not yet been eroded.
Kang Sihyun, deducing this because Yeonju had not attacked Taeju like the others, held his staff and used a skill.
A white light formed small dots around Yeonju, each dot filled with Kang Sihyun's clear mana.
The light energy caused Yeonju's pupils to gradually regain focus. Upon receiving the skill, Yeonju's trembling fingertips soon calmed down.
"Mr. Yeonju, can you hear me?"
"Ah, …ah."
Yeonju mumbled, trying to articulate words. Still not fully recovered, Kang Sihyun grabbed Yeonju's arm, distancing him from Taeju.
"Stimulating now will only make it worse. He should come around in at least 5 minutes."
"Ha…"
It seemed that being enchanted was mostly affecting Muam's side, prompting Taeju to sigh lightly, a gesture of resignation. Since they were the first to spot the Siren, it was an unavoidable situation. Kang Sihyun then checked the emergency bell in his hand.
Recognizing the Siren before its song spread and pressing the emergency bell was already a significant effort by Performer Yeonju and the Muam Guild members.
Hahyuk, tapping his ear, approached Taeju with a scowl and looked over the children.
"This is a total mess. Since sound blocking doesn't work, it must be a Lord-level Siren. Even blocking senses, it breaks through, so everyone needs to keep their minds sharp. This can only be resisted with mental strength."
As Hahyuk spoke, the Siren's song echoed again. This time, the melody was more passionate than simply beautiful. Caught off guard by the song, Kang Sihyun snapped back to reality and slapped his cheeks with both hands.
The sound of his palms striking his cheeks was louder than the song, snapping him back to consciousness. The others, regaining their focus from the sound, tensed up. As the song changed, Yeonju, recovering from the mental abnormal state, gasped and grabbed Taeju's arm tightly.
"Guild leader, the Siren...!"
"I know. Stay focused and don't let your guard down. If you get enchanted again, I'll have to lock you up too."
Taeju glanced at the railing while speaking, and Yeonju, following his gaze to Inhyeok and Jinyeok, hardened his expression.
"It was my mistake."
"This isn't the time to argue about that."
"……"
"Still, reporting it was the right thing to do. Now focus on the fight."
Taeju's tone, cold and direct, shifted back to formal speech as he threw his coat to the ground.
The Siren's song continued to echo. Hahyuk, ensuring that Kang Sihyun and the children wouldn't be enchanted, repeatedly warned them and discussed countermeasures, drawing their attention.
Bandal followed Taeju's instructions and went to knock out the people inside the ship. With Titan on their way, they had gathered awakeners as crew members, but prepared for any situation given their lower ranks.
The moment the anchored ship rocked violently once more was then.
Kang Sihyun and the children's eyes shook left and right due to the aggressive shaking of the ship. Hahyuk drew his sword first to check what was happening.
"It's not just about not being enchanted."
"What do you mean?"
"It means other Irregulars residing in the sea have been enchanted by the Siren."
"……"
"Get ready."
It seemed there would be more than one or two.
Simultaneously, with a splash, something leaped from the sea onto the ship. The writhing entity then grew in size and opened its jaws wide.
It was a slime.
Though only of nuisance-level, they were not alone.
Splash, splash, splash.
Dozens, no, hundreds followed, filling the ship. Seeing the small creatures combine into larger forms, Hahyuk swung his sword.
The sword energy, manifested in his skill, split the slime in two. The severed parts turned purple and disintegrated, causing the slimes to scream and charge at Kang Sihyun and the group.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Not just slimes, but a variety of Irregulars boarded, and sea creatures below rammed into the ship. Whether a whale was among them or not, each heavy thud made Kang Sihyun stagger. Hamin protected Kang Sihyun as they fought.
Screams of Irregulars filled the air, and mucus was shot from all directions. The enemies pressed in with a mass attack, plunging the scene into chaos. When the battle had been raging for over 10 minutes, Taeju, who had been combating the Irregulars with shadows and swords, called out to Kang Sihyun.
"Mr. Kang Sihyun! How are Inhyeok and Jinyeok?"
Cutting down enemies was one thing, but as more climbed aboard, they were overwhelmed. Realizing they were outnumbered, Taeju's question made Kang Sihyun scrutinize the two held by shadows, his expression grim.
"We need at least 5 more minutes!"
It seemed at least 5 minutes were necessary for the abnormal state skill to take effect. With a loud shout in response, Taeju turned his head back to continue confronting the Irregulars.
The battle seemed endless.
As they cut down and pushed back, just as many new enemies emerged from the sea, causing Kang Sihyun's mind to race.
Is it necessary to stay on this ship?
If Titan were to appear, it wouldn't just attack with its hands like the last time. Considering the massive creature's direct involvement, the ship's destruction seemed inevitable.
Why cling to a ship destined to break?
Reaching this conclusion, Kang Sihyun checked the perimeter of the ship for approaching warning-level Irregulars and tensed up.
"I'll try to teleport the other hunters on the ship to the harbor. Let's abandon the ship!"
"What?"
"Do you have a teleport skill?"
"I have a copied one!"
"Is it possible to move everyone except us with Copy?"
No.
He didn't know how many people were inside.
But saying it couldn't be done wasn't an option, and leaving them would certainly mean death. Though he wished for a skill like flight or acceleration that could be used continuously, unfortunately, high-ranking skills, even if copied, couldn't be used multiple times within 10 minutes.
Teleportation could only be done three times, so Kang Sihyun had to finish within those limits. He clenched his staff tightly.
It has to be done, regardless.
"I'll give it a try!"
Mixing determination with confidence in his response, Taeju and Hahyuk consented. Kang Sihyun quickly went below to teleport the people.
Moving about 30 people with one teleportation was impossible. The skill didn't activate initially, so Kang Sihyun divided them into groups of 10.
He forced the skill to work, regardless of resistance, managing to send 10 people at a time. He also cast a barrier over everyone for any unforeseen dangers.
Using the teleportation in this state, despite being a copy, Kang Sihyun felt his core surge.
It was a signal of overexertion.
Ignoring the warning and forcibly using the skill, the teleportation was successfully activated.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
His core trembled. Suppressing the nausea, Kang Sihyun managed to teleport the remaining 20 people. After finishing, he vomited blood, leaning against the wall. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he checked his mana flow.
Focusing inward and sending out energy, Kang Sihyun felt his mana squirm and circulate. The flow was anything but stable, but he leaned on his staff, took a deep breath, and returned to the deck.
There were two S-Class Rankers.
They should manage without him. With no choice but to proceed, Kang Sihyun, upon reaching the deck and seeing it overrun with Irregulars, summoned protective shields in the air.
He then cast a status abnormality removal skill on Jinyeok, who seemed dazed, and informed all Awakened on the ship to apply a flight buff.
Jinyeok, finally snapping out of the Siren's enchantment, used the skill with a puzzled look. Once Kang Sihyun saw the luminescence settle on everyone, he shouted.
"Everyone, get onto the platforms above!"
The ship was beyond saving, a mess too great to bother with a fight. Assertively commanding, starting with the A-grade children, one by one, they escaped the ship to the platforms. Last, Hahyuk created an opening by swinging his sword, cutting through the approaching horde, then stepped onto the platform.
They had just evacuated when...
Kwoooah!
A colossal hand swiped near the high platform, preventing the slimes from leaping up.
The massive black hand cleaved through the air, striking the ship and splitting the sturdy vessel in two.
Watching the ship turn into wreckage in an instant and the hand slowly sinking, Kang Sihyun twitched.
Waves rose like a tsunami, swallowing the ship's fragments. The sight of black skin through the receding water made his eyes quiver.
"He's quick to show up."
Taeju's murmur was heard.
It was the arrival of Titan.
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