A Foretold Nightmare...

Shortly after the whistle, Deepy came out of the water singing his master's brave deeds: 'Hehehe… The sea has been dyed with the bone dust of those skeletal bastards... Master, you are the best!!'

The fat seal was euphoric and scared the young man with his fiendish words: 'What a crazy duo...'

There was no way to placate Drunkum's urgent desire, and in a couple of breaths, the three sailed towards the direction indicated by the Soul Compass in a hurry.

Compared to before, the progress of the minute sailing ship was much more frenetic.

They raced through those waters like madmen, and although protected by the old man's mystical barrier, the breezes whipped so hard against their bodies that the young man found himself hiding under the wooden planks like a rat once again.

"Old man… Shouldn't we slow down? They will discover our tracks if we proceed with at this speed..."

Atlas was worried about attracting too much attention, but the old fellow had something else in mind: "Don't worry, the path ahead is pretty clear..."

"Dammit..." Atlas could do nothing to stop him, so he calmed down and silently accompanied that madman on his mad rush.

But unbeknownst to them, their actions unintentionally saved many people's lives, particularly the adventurous vessels that had departed from the city of the Inflamed Chalice few on the same day, which, through divine goodness, found themself facing only evil spirits with a low cultivation realm.

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It was expected that the journey would not go smoothly when racing at that speed.

In fact, despite being hidden by the unique artifact, the cleanly mown water they left behind attracted unwanted attention.

Obscurium went into turmoil, and the enemy's lookouts began to soar from the depths of the East Regions.

Two hours had passed when Drunkum's wrinkled hand suddenly grabbed the young man by the shoulder.

"Come with me... it's time to have some fun..."

Atlas didn't have time to answer, and a moment later, he found himself in a completely different place...

Skrii!!!

"Bold Humans!!!"

It was shrouded in darkness, from which only strange noises and a hoarse voice could be heard...

Skrii!!!

SKRIII!!

"Drunkum... where the hell are we?"

Atlas couldn't see anything around him, but he was sure from the tenacious grip on his shoulder that the old man was at his side.

"Shhhh... get ready..."

'Oh… shit… How the hell did I end up with this crazy old man!!!'

The young man grabbed his faithful companion, ready for any eventuality, and followed Drunkum's light pull until a mighty cry chased away the darkness that enveloped them...

"Blessing Celestial Sun!!"

Drunkum's body glowed with a scarlet, white light. It was so powerful that the monsters hiding in the darkness showed their likeness, accompanied by their screams of pain.

Skrii!!!

SKRIII!!!

"SHIT!!!" Atlas instinctively shrank when he saw that his surroundings were packed with horrid creatures with no flesh, "Crazy old man... Where the hell are we?"

A new bottle of wine had appeared in Drunkum's hands for the first time in a long time, and he answered only after quietly sipping twice from it.

"Hehehe… we're inside one of those giant floating skulls."

"And why the fuck are we in here?"

Gulp... Gulp...

"Of course... to eradicate these evil creatures from this world, what else?... Come on... don't waste any more time and take advantage of the little time left to raise your power... HAHAHAHA ... Let's kill these bastards!"

As soon as his insane speech finished, Drunkum disappeared, leaving him alone, surrounded by four evil spirits.

"Damn you!!!"

Although enraged by the dangerous situation, Atlas did not allow himself to be overwhelmed by the circumstances and unleashed his most lethal weapons against the group of creatures.

Fortunately, the skeletons left alive by that idiot were only slightly more potent than those encountered on the tiny islet, showing that there was still an ounce of clarity in the old man's mind.

"Impenetrable Void Shield! ... Stony spirit!... Earthly Submission!"

Atlas did not wait any longer and mowed the bones burned by the celestial fire.

Astra, with its Chaos Rune, Celestial Darksweeper, struck the skull of the closest enemy...

The first blow was devastating and swift, and the second followed, leaving an indelible mark on the enemy's skull.

SLASH!!!

Atlas did not spare even an iota of energy and acted promptly.

Unfortunately, even if engulfed in the flames of judgment, the skeletons immediately responded to the enemy's assault.

Skrii!!! Skrii!!!

Swords, axes, and daggers struck simultaneously against the poor adventurer. Still, the black shield was tenacious as the diamond and devoured the terrifying blows, dispersing their fatal damage in the depths of the cosmos.

The shield's usefulness was impressive, but Chaos Energy consumption was extremely worrying, especially in such disadvantageous battles.

Fortunately, his companion had finally come out from the portal, and after a mighty cry, he hurled his robust body at those nefarious creatures fulfilling his solemn task.

GRUUU!!!!

BOOM!

Both the Stony Spirit's arms hit the ground one step away from the enemies, and the impact sent them flying away.

Atlas acted swiftly and ran as fast as he could against the first skeleton, lashing his bones like a savage beast, leaving holy marks all over his body.

GRUUU!!!!

BOOM!

The skeletons were not intelligent creatures, and the Stony Spirit's ordinary blows kept them at bay, leaving his master free for a long time.

GRUUU!!!!

BOOM!

GRUUU!!!!

BOOM!

Atlas persisted in fighting with the primary target. But lacking an intellect comparable to an average human, the skeleton armed with a heavy sword cut through the air heedless of danger.

SLASH!

SWISH!!!

Each blow was terrifying, and despite possessing the black shield, the young man tried to avoid it as much as possible because his frail body trembled whenever the great sword hit him.

"Damn… what an abomination… An evil spirit with a level close to the Peak Stage of Descendant Chaos Realm is scary, indeed. Yet, I managed to stay on my feet by a miracle... What did that old drunkard have in mind, bringing me into this place?"

Between the blows of the Stony Spirit and the terrifying explosions coming from the distance, the place had turned into a living hell. But the young man was not afraid. Instead, his heart burned with fighting spirit and determination.

After many years spent in a relatively dull way, being here at the limit of the possible, he felt his poor heart rebirth from the ashes of a dark past.

AH!!!

With a wide grin, Atlas dodged the enemy's devastating thrust and then launched Astra, hitting the skull with absurd precision.

CRACK!

The flames in the skeleton's eyes were finally extinguished.

The first battle was over, but there were still plenty of enemies to take down, so he gulped down one of Uncle Beard's potions and slammed his loyal companion against the weakest enemy.

He leaped into the air and hit the second skeleton from above, shattering his skull in one blow.

Incredibly, the skeleton perished in one fell swoop, probably thanks to Drunkum's cleansing flames or the constant blows of his protector.

There were still two enemies left, so rather than getting lost in thought, Atlas attacked the third skeleton as fast as he could.

Slash!

The blade of Astra tore the space between the two at an excessive speed, but suddenly, there was a strange high-pitched sound ...

FIIII!!

... time stops for a moment...

A thunderous cry reached his ears from afar: "Look out!"

Unfortunately, it was late...