Ark Undead

Skadi could only hear the voice clearly now.

The figure of the mysterious man was perfectly outlined in the firelight from the torch held by the night watchman outside the window.

Skadi's grip gradually weakened, and her beautiful eyes widened little by little.

"team leader?!"

430.Ishar-mla

In the dead of night, with a light drizzle falling, Skadi awoke from her dream and the first person she saw was her former boss from her time in Agor.

Her relationship with Goredia is that they are both members of Agor's Deep Sea Hunters, but even Deep Sea Hunters have teams.

Laurentina belongs to the Deep Sea Hunters Second Squadron led by Grandia.

Skadi belongs to the Deepsea Hunters Squad 3, which is led by the man in front of her.

That's why Skadi subconsciously calls the other person "captain".

After all, this was the man who took care of her during her training.

More than colleagues, the deep-sea hunters are like family, a family bound by blood.

The connection between their blood is proof of this.

However, when Skadi faced her old captain, the slight surprise that had finally appeared on her face quickly turned into solemnity and suspicion.

Why would this captain appear in his room late at night?

Why can't I sense his presence through blood?

For deep-sea hunters, during the period following the Great Calm, many will encounter their fellow hunters in strange places.

But by this time, these former colleagues had become the lackeys of the deep sea, transformed by the thick abyss into something of the same kind as the sea creatures.

Although everyone has some speculation about their physical condition, as long as they don't exceed the critical point, they can still be called deep-sea hunters.

Those deep-sea hunters who were transformed into sea offspring share a common characteristic: they have lost the ability to sense the bloodline among deep-sea hunters.

Instead, it turned into a monster that only exuded a dangerous aura.

Skadi, however, could not sense any aura emanating from the third captain in front of her.

"Ulpian".

Skadi, who had intended to lower her greatsword, held the anchor firmly against Ulpian's hand.

She is now resisting the arrival of her old captain.

"You are dangerous."

“I know why you’re so panicked, Skadi. But before you make a move, I suggest you think about whether you have the strength to stand against me.”

Ulbian looked at Skadi in front of him and said.

"I'm glad you still have a rebellious spirit, that's good. But don't let this emotion cloud your judgment."

"Remember, deep-sea hunters need to stay calm and clear-headed at all times."

Ulpian took a step back, setting down his weapons in a show of force and expressing his friendly attitude.

After a moment of contemplation, Skadi also put away her weapon.

As Ulpian said, Skadi couldn't beat her boss, let alone the current Skadi.

Since Ulpian doesn't seem to have any ill intentions, it's best to continue communicating with him as is.

Skadi then glanced discreetly at Gretia and Laurentina beside her.

They showed no signs of waking up.

"Don't worry, I haven't been transformed into part of the larger group. I still retain my own thinking and ability to act."

"I simply used some special methods to completely sever my connection with other deep-sea hunters."

"That's why I lost the ability to enter dreams."

Ulpian was implying something.

“You must have seen or heard something about it. There was a traveler named Patch... no, a Lappish traveler, who taught me the method.”

"As for now, the fact that I didn't kill you after you entered the dream state should tell you that I have no ill intentions towards you."

"As for Gretia and the others... I'm not here to see her, I'm here to see you."

After all, he was her captain. Seeing that he looked much the same as she remembered, and his tone of voice was almost identical, Skadi slowly put away her weapon.

However, the aura emanating from Ulbian was too strange for Skadi to lower her guard.

"you..."

Skadi wanted to take control of the situation through her words.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, she realized she had far too many questions to ask.

Why did you choose to leave the group of deep-sea hunters? Why have you been missing for so long? Why did you come looking for me?

These questions, like a pretzel, completely shut Skadi up.

For a moment, Skadi was still confused about what to ask first.

"Why did you come to me first?"

After a brief silence, Skadi continued to ask Ulpian's question.

Ulbian pulled his hat down slightly.

This made him look as if he were hiding in the shadows.

Do you still remember the battle that day?

When Ulpian brought this up, Skadi clearly thought about it for a while first.

Then it dawned on me that what Ulpian was referring to was the time before the Great Tranquility, when they were hunting that god in the ocean.

"You mean that false god?"

"It was the Lord of the Locus, the Lord of the Locus back then, and you killed it, you killed it all by yourself. It was as simple as dissecting a person's body with a sword."

Ulpian said.

Do you remember what happened after that?

Skadi looked at Ulbian with some confusion.

Those deep-sea hunters who participated in the raid on the large group of sea creatures must remember what happened that day; no one will forget what happened that day.

Not to mention that the Third Battalion was responsible for penetrating deep into enemy territory alone at the time.

"Of course, after that, almost all of us lost consciousness."

Skadi said it as a matter of course.

"The death of the false god caused a riot among the surrounding sea creatures. In that battle, we lost a large number of our own kind, an irreparable loss."

As Skadi spoke, Ulpian's expression remained unchanged.

He nodded slightly in agreement with Skadi's words. Then, when Skadi finished speaking, he slightly raised his chin.

“Very good, Skadi, very good.”

"But before I answer your question, I need to clarify one thing."

As he spoke, Ulpian took a section of his dried-up body from his waist.

This body part looks like part of some kind of mollusc.

The suction cups on the surface and the smooth skin have become wrinkled and unrecognizable.

When Skadi saw it, her pupils contracted irregularly.

A strange desire rose from the depths of her heart, trying to drive her body to seize the tentacle.

Skadi instinctively raised her arm, but quickly realized her strange behavior and forcibly pressed her hand to her chest to stop the urge.

Ulpian took it all in. Then he put the dried-out tentacle back into his coat.

After Ulpian retracted the tentacle, Skadi's surging impulse gradually subsided.

"What...what is that?"

Skadi looked at Ulbian with a puzzled and somewhat panicked expression.

"The fragments of the false god are the god you killed."

Ulpian spoke in a low voice, glancing at Skadi.

"You should now have a pretty good idea of ​​what I'm going to say."

Skadi was silent for a moment, then sat back down on her bed.

Although there had been speculation before, Skadi always believed she was normal. Besides, even the Undead had said she had no problems.

However, it seems that this transformation is no longer limited to the surface of Skadi, but is happening at a deeper level.

Skadi had already noticed changes in her body when she began traveling throughout Terra.

Skadi seemed to display even greater resistance to the chaotic whispers around her.

Skadi could almost completely ignore the calls of her homeland; to her, they were like noise.

The real attraction, however, comes from something inside her body.

"I was..."

Skadi looked at her hands, and in her vision, she still maintained the posture of a normal person.

Am I still me?

"Now it seems, you are still you."

Ulpian took two steps to the side, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms.

"But you have indeed forgotten what happened after that battle."

"You immediately fell unconscious after that battle, and the blood surrounding you enveloped you like a womb."