Chapter 49 – A Ship!

Ten days passed quickly, it had now been almost two months since Kieran had entered this spatial rift, and after he left the secret realm through the transmission formation array, he hadn't seen a single human.

Lying on Luna's back, he stares blankly at the clear sky.

"I've been here for two months... When am I going to find other humans? Is everyone ok at home? Am... Am I going to stay blocked in this archipelago forever?"

"Get a hold of yourself, Kieran. Even if you don't find humans, you will reach the end of the archipelago in a few years."

"A few years... Hell no!"

Kieran stood up quickly, staring at Runihoril.

"I don't want to stay several years here! I'm tired of seeing all this water!"

A soft wail came from Luna under him.

"I'm not sick of you, Luna. I'll take you back with me, don't worry." he said, gently caressing her.

"Is there really no way of knowing where we are?" Kieran asked.

"No, I'm sorry. You can only be patient."

Kieran sighed, "At least I have the master and Luna with me. I'm not alone wandering the archipelago."

He looked around but could only see waves and islands wherever his eyes lay.

Only an endless sea. No matter how much time passes, nothing changes.

***

An hour later, he was training with Shard of a Broken World in his hands when he heard a faint noise in the distance. Turning back towards the noise, he saw a shadow on the horizon.

It wasn't that far from them, maybe half an hour with Luna's speed.

"Luna!"

Understanding Kieran's call, Luna turned her body toward the shadow on the horizon before swimming quickly in its direction.

The shadow quickly became clearer in his sight until he could finally see what it was.

"Master, look!"

His body trembled with excitement, and a smile appeared on his face.

"A ship!"

Runihoril looked at Kieran but said nothing. He knew that wandering around the archipelago all this time had taken a toll on his mind. Even if he trained tirelessly every day that anyone would think he felt nothing about his situation, his eyes were always empty when he faced the sea around him again.

At this distance, it was easy for the crew on the ship to spot them approaching.

The crew at first thought a crystal beast was attacking them, but one of the men saw Kieran's figure standing on Luna. His eyes changed, and his pupils became as thin as a needle while everything seemed to enlarge in his sight.

He could see Kieran as if he was standing right in front of him, acknowledging who approached them. A look of astonishment crossed his face.

He quickly entered a cabin without even knocking on the door. A man with black hair with purple undertones and a deep scar that crossed half his face was seated behind a desk. He lifted his eyes slightly when he saw someone enter his cabin without knocking.

The man who had entered the cabin froze under that gaze, his body shaking as he bowed to the man behind the desk.

"Ch.. Chief! We spotted Kieran approaching our ship."

"What did you say?!"

Kade, who was seated, suddenly stood up as his crystal essence emanated from his body.

"Ki... Kieran is approaching our ship on the back of a crystal beast."

A malicious smile appeared on Kade's face.

"Tell everyone to get ready. When he gets close to the ship, we'll kill the crystal beast before we capture him."

"Yes, Chief!"

Kieran slowly approached the ship, not knowing that it belonged to the Thundershields guild.

"We finally found other people in this archipelago. I hope they can show me the direction of an alliance refuge." said Kieran.

He could see the crew on the ship moving quickly when he finally arrived about twenty meters from the ship and saw a familiar face on board.

Kade stood on the railing of the ship staring at Kieran and Luna.

He slowly raised his hand, forming an orb of lightning above it which he threw toward them.

Runihoril's agitated voice echoed in Kieran's head at that moment.

"Run away!"

Light from the lightning orb reflected in Kieran's eyes as it quickly closed him.

Shard of Broken World appeared in his hands, and crystal essence shot through his body as he swung the double-bladed sword in a horizontal slash to slice the lightning orb.

Surprise crossed Kade's face when he saw his attack being easily stopped by him.

"Luna!" shouted Kieran.

Luna quickly turned her body, swimming away from the ship, but Kade's voice rang out before they could get far enough.

"Shoot! Don't let him escape under any circumstances!"

"Yes, Chief!"

Following Kade's orders, the whole crew of the ship started to attack Kieran and Luna. Those with ranged abilities didn't hesitate for a second before throwing them toward the two, while the others used the ship's cannons to attack them.

Kieran felt like the sky was covered with attacks as he fled with Luna.

A wail was heard beneath him as the water all around them became agitated, and a curtain of water raised, forming a wall that blocked all the attacks that were directed at them.

"Good Luna!"

Seeing Kieran begin to flee away, Kade's face darkened.

"Give chase now! All those with elemental wind abilities use them to propel the ship forward. Those with elemental water abilities, do your best to support them. Everyone else takes advantage of every opportunity to slaughter this beast, without it, he will not be able to flee away!"

With Luna's speed, no normal ship could ever hope to catch up to her, but the crew of the ship was not made of normal people. Each of them was a cultivator from the Thundershields guild.

The ship slowly catches up, relentlessly pursuing the two.

Kade stood on the ship's bow, extending his right arm in front of him, pointing in the direction of Kieran and Luna, a dozen orbs of lightning assembled around him.

"Lightning Orb Discharge!"

The lightning orbs swiftly streaked toward them. Kieran, refusing to divert his gaze from the ship, witnessed the rapid approach of those electrifying spheres.

He tightened his grip on Shard of a Broken World before leaning on Luna. His body swiveled quickly, swinging the double-bladed sword in his hands. The first orb was destroyed in an instant before the next came into Kieran's view. He spun his body rapidly, dragging the double-bladed sword with him, which struck the second orb of lightning.

One after another, lightning orbs come into contact with Shard of a Broken World without being able to reach him.

Kieran held onto Luna, his face calm as Shard of a Broken World seemed to dance in his hands, not letting any lightning orbs reach him or Luna.

During the whole process, Kade watched the whole scene in shock.

"How does he do that? He was only in the middle stage of Iron Rank in the secret realm. How can he fend off my attacks so easily?!"

Kade's gaze was ashen as he lowered his arm. He waved his hand with a mad expression, and a huge black cannon appeared on the ship.

"Try to stop that!"

Kade's hand moved on the canon before an incandescent light escaped from it.

A terrifying pressure fell on Kieran as his body began to shake, the incandescent light approaching him as Luna's body twisted before she let out a wail, and a thick curtain of water formed in front of the beam.

The curtain of water didn't even last a second before it evaporated under the intense heat of the beam of light. The next moment the beam hit Luna's body.

A massive chunk of her body had disappeared under the power of the beam. Luna's right side now had a hole with melted flesh around the edges.

A moan that seemed to tear Kieran's heart came from her. He could hear her scream in pain with each wave of energy escaping from her horn.

"Luna!" screamed Kieran as his eyes became blood red when he saw the deep wound on her body.

"Luna, leave me here and run away!"

He started to rush towards the water to get as far away from Luna as possible, he knew that Luna could escape if she was alone, but before he could even try to jump, a column of water appeared, pushing him back onto Luna's back.

"What are you doing?! You have to run away from here!"

Luna let out a small wail filled with pain as she continued to swim quickly away from the ship.

Kieran clenched his teeth so hard that it looked like they were going to break at any moment. When he turned to look back towards the ship, his face went pale.

The same incandescent light reappeared again in the distance.