Chapter 19 Approaching the vessel

Staring suspiciously at Alden Kreed studied the runes one more time.

This was the fifth relic he had received. And so.

Many questions formed within his mind. Why did Alden just freely give him a relic?

No he could more or less guess the reason for that. It was rather obvious actually. They were about to face an unknown enemy after all and Kreed didn't have a weapon.

So instead Kreed focused on the more surprising question that troubled him.

Why was he continuously getting powerful relics for free? Did his luck really take a 180? Was he being rewarded for surviving ten long years on apostle island? If so then it was totally worth it.

Perhaps this was Kreed's current biasness speaking, but he felt satisfied with the continuous barrage of luck and gifts.

Suddenly bringing Kreed back to reality Alden's voice sounded.

"Hey!! Don't get any bright ideas. I only gave that for extra security. I think you'll be able to weild it. But I do expect to get it back. So keep that in mind."

'shit ' well what else did Kreed expect? For the self proclaimed 8th strongest man and ruler of Alicia to give him a silver ranked relic for free?

Of course not.

"Ohh ok. Don't worry I don't want to keep anything that once belonged to a beggar anyway." Replied Kreed

Alden's smile became a bit confused before he continued.

"Well k. I guess it's about time we pay our fellow sailors a visit."

And so Alden began to move. Summoning two more relics. Kreed watched as sparks of light bonded together forming into a simple grey bracelet, that comfortably rested on Alden's left wrist. It seemed to be cautiously and delicately crafted out of stone. The other spark of light manifested into a small glass potion. The liquid contained within it looked silky and clear. It looked a bit like honey but with more of a red hue. Taking a sip Alden's face contoured into a beastly grimace. Was it bitter ?

Soon the potion disappeared into a whirlwind of sparks.

After suppressing his involuntary grimace Alden looked at Kreed.

"Get ready k. And remember to stick behind me."

After hearing this Kreed summoned the beggars rake to his side. It took him some time to fully grasp the feeling of having a new relic attached to his soul but in the end he was able to manifest it without so much as a hitch.

Alden who had been intently watching the ship ahead with an alarmingly smile turned to look at Kreed once more before saying.

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"Thank you, k. You may not know how but because of my meeting with you I believe I was brought several steps closer to my goal. "

What was that supposed to mean? How dumb.

Kreed who was listening for any wise words of encouragement or tips from Alden was completely taken aback by that statement.

'If you don't tell me how I've helped you then why would I accept you words?'

Turning around abruptly Alden stretched his left hand over the water ahead of the grape and smiled.

"Well k. Let's get moving shall we."

Suddenly the water beneath the grape surged and rippled.

And from it rose a pillar of pristine stone.

'Wow' for a moment Kreed stared speechlessly at it.

The pillar flattened out, and began extending towards the creepy vessel. It grew wide enough to hold at least three persons at the same time.

And as if instinctual Alden jumped on to it, in a Swift but smooth motion.

Several tiny cracks spread from Alden's point of contact. But they were soon refilled with, the constantly moving stone surface.

From what Kreed could tell the stone pillar could either be a unique ability brought about by a powerful relic, or the more likely option Alden's power.

But what left Kreed puzzled was the fact that the stone seemed to be moving on its own. It was constantly moving to adapt to the barrage of waves that plagued its sides. It continued to grow up and out of the oceans bed, like a neverending thread. A thread that then bend ninety degrees along the oceans surface. And continued to grow at the same size and proportions constantly.

How was it not tipping over, Kreed didn't know. The pillar that held the platform up didn't look grand enough to support its weight yet it still did.

How strange.

Alden turned to face Kreed for a while before gesturing for him to join him.

And so Kreed did.

Slowly climbing out of the grape. Kreed struggled to keep his mind from growing nauseous. If he slipped up, then Kreed would without a doubt fall into the ocean.

Well he kinda hoped for that outcome as well, he hadn't taken a satisfactory bath in over a year. Not to mention that the water he used to bathe in was grimy and poisoned.

So he definitely wouldn't mind taking a quick dip in the ocean.

The problem however was the fact that Kreed's mind was still trying to process the trauma he felt while facing off against the dark lyre.

And now the deport before him presented a similar if not more terrifying threat.

There was absolutely no chance of him entering the ocean. Well not by his own will anyway.

Kreed took a couple Shakey steps before reaching Alden's side. And Soo began to move towards the vessel.

After a while of cautiously walking behind Alden Kreed felt something. No he wasn't attacked in any way by some hidden creature. But rather his mind became subtly less worried.

This strange sense of security came out of nowhere. But Kreed was able to notice a few new details because of it.

The first thing that struck him, was the water and surrounding area. It was as if he had entered a completely different space.

He was close enough to the vessel, in which the surrounding water remained completely still. If he had to guess he was roughly 20 meters away from the vessel but the surrounding area was completely unbothered. There was not a single wave across the strip of water. The once refreshing air was nowhere to be found and the sound of the ocean was completely gone. Now all the Kreed could hear was the steady footsteps of both himself and Alden.

The stone path conjured by Alden beneath their feet continued to grow slowly towards the vessel, with each step they made.

Some other details Kreed noticed about the vessel was something odd. The vessel wasn't in fact on water. Instead from what Kreed could now see the boat rested slightly on a little stone reef. Or a simple moat that protruded about a foot out of the water. The section of the ship that rested on the stone moat looked torn and dented, as if the vessel rammed into it at full speed.

'well that raises a few questions.'

The stone looked different from the stone conjured by Alden. In fact it looked quite beautiful actually. It was a silky black stone with what looked to be a polished surface. Its smooth surface made by the countless waves that harassed it.

It was quite comical. Why would such a big boat be wrecked by such a small rock.

Well Kreed didn't really need to know nor did he care.

The story looked quite plain actually. The vessel was speeding, crashed into the moat, and rendered immobile. Then the deport opened and whatever creature it released, completely devastated the vessel's inhabitants staining it with their blood.

'Just wonderful.'

Kreed still didn't agree with Alden. Why did they have to check it out? Or rather why couldn't he do the checking by himself? Was he that interested in the creature?

Most of these answers were obvious to Kreed but he was still frustrated.

Alden was indeed crazy enough to want to fight the unknown creature without a plan. But more than that he seemed a bit more, obligated. Perhaps it had something to do with Alden's organization. He was wearing a uniform after all. Maybe he was strangely forced to kill all of the creatures that could cause harm to humanity. Or maybe he was one of those persons that held a strange grudge against the demons and their creatures for whatever reason. Either way Kreed wanted nothing to do with it.

But that didn't seem to be an option either.

Alden could have left Kreed behind, but the threat level of the deport, as well as the creature it released was unknown. There was a chance that the deport had brought in more than one creature as well. Perhaps there were hundreds of them at this point. So Kreed

was definitely safer staying by Alden's side. Staying in the grape cluelessly could be tantamount to suicide even.