「The second day.」
The hull of the Skybound emitted a low hum as all its Protective Runes activated.
A faint blue membrane of light appeared on the ship’s surface, like a layer of flowing Crystal.
Ahead, the entrance to the Chaotic Sky Rift Valley grew ever closer.
The Earth below vanished, replaced by a shattered Void filled with churning, grayish-black chaotic mist.
The light warped and vision distorted.
Ian stood before a porthole, his right hand resting on his Token.
The Anchor Crystal Stone at the center of the Token grew slightly warm, projecting a line of text.
[All Level Two Wizards, gather on the upper deck.]
[Repeat: All Level Two Wizards, gather on the upper deck.]
Ian opened his cabin door. Several figures were already hurrying down the corridor, their faces grim.
He threw on a dark gray Long Robe and pulled up the hood, concealing half his face.
Gaga shrank into the shadows on his shoulder, his heterochromatic eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
「Upper deck.」
More than twenty Level Two Wizards had already gathered there.
In the center stood a Level Three Great Witch.
The old man wore a plain gray robe, and his aura was as deep as an abyss. His name was Herbert.
He stared expressionlessly into the Void ahead while the other Level Two Wizards stood scattered about, each with a different look on their face.
Collins Hawke Wood stood on the right, accompanied by Elder Grey Vulture.
He shot Ian a cold glance but said nothing.
Aidele and Delia stood at the left edge, their expressions calm.
Derek stood beside Herbert, his voice booming across the deck thanks to an Amplification Technique.
"Everyone, the journey through the Rift Valley will take approximately three hours."
"Our scans have detected a swarm of Phase Floating Spirits about a hundred kilometers ahead, approximately forty in number."
"There is also a King of Floating Spirits lurking behind them, roughly at Level Three. Please be prepared."
As his voice faded, a dead silence fell over the deck.
There was only the howling of the hull as it cut through the Void and the sizzling sound of the protective shield grinding against the chaotic mist.
「Three minutes later.」
Points of ethereal blue light began to appear in the gray mist ahead.
The lights flickered, resembling deep-sea jellyfish or perhaps drifting will-o’-the-wisps.
They grew closer and closer.
Ian could see them clearly now. They weren’t will-o’-the-wisps at all.
They were translucent, amorphous beings of pure Energy.
Their outlines were blurry, and streams of pale blue light flowed within their bodies. They had no facial features, no limbs—only a single, writhing Energy Core.
They floated in the Void, their speed slow but their trajectories bizarre.
They would vanish and then reappear, as if jumping between different phases.
In total... there were more than forty of them.
Several thousand meters behind them, a massive orb of ethereal blue light was suspended in the air.
The orb was over ten meters in diameter, and the Energy density within it was so terrifyingly high that the space around it warped slightly.
The King of Floating Spirits.
It didn’t approach, merely "watched" the ship in silence.
Like a Hunter observing its prey.
On the deck, everyone held their breath.
The Level One Wizards and Apprentices had already retreated into the cabins, watching nervously through the portholes.
The Level Two Wizards all gripped their Magic Staffs or Witchcraft Tools, the tips of their fingers glowing with various colors of light.
Ian’s right hand hung at his side, the Floating Crystal Guard rotating silently within his sleeve.
His Spiritual Power already covered a ten-meter radius around him.
"Ready—"
Derek had just begun to speak.
When everything changed in an instant!
The three Floating Spirits at the very front accelerated without any warning!
They ignored the ship’s pale blue Energy shield, passing through it as easily as if it were a curtain of water.
Their translucent bodies landed on the deck with a faint "PHUT."
There was no physical impact, like a Shadow falling upon a wall.
The attacks from every Wizard on the deck erupted almost simultaneously!
Fireballs, Ice Cones, lightning chains, Wind Blades...
A multicolored torrent of Witchcraft instantly submerged the three Floating Spirits.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Energy exploded and shockwaves rolled out.
But in the next second...
All the Witchcraft passed right through the Floating Spirits’ bodies and struck the Metal deck, sending sparks flying.
The Floating Spirits were completely unharmed.
They didn’t even seem to "look" at the attacks.
The ethereal blue masses writhed, drifting toward a Level One Wizard who hadn’t made it back inside the cabin.
The Wizard’s face changed dramatically. He retreated rapidly, simultaneously casting three successive ice walls.
The Floating Spirit passed through the ice walls as if they were air.
It "stuck" to the Wizard.
Streams of pale blue light seeped into his Wizard Robe, then into his skin.
The Wizard let out a bloodcurdling scream!
The Energy Force Field around him shuddered violently, but it couldn’t stop the invading Energy.
Visibly, his body began to "fade."
Like a pencil drawing being erased.
Three seconds.
Just three seconds!
In his place, only an empty robe fluttered to the ground. Inside, there weren’t even any Ashes.
An Official Wizard had just died, silently and without a trace.
The Floating Spirit’s orb of light brightened slightly and seemed to tremble with "satisfaction."
A deathly silence fell over the deck.
Everyone’s faces had turned pale.
"Phase displacement!"
Herbert’s voice rang out, cold and steady.
"They are currently in a ’void phase.’ Conventional attacks are useless."
"Someone needs to drag them back to reality from their displaced phase."
He looked at all the Level Two Wizards on the deck.
"I have a way to forcibly anchor them, but it takes five seconds to charge."
"Within those five seconds, someone must temporarily interfere with or anchor them to stop them from continuing to devour."
"Whoever has this type of Witchcraft, assist me. The Giant Sail Alliance Association will pay a handsome reward."
The deck was silent.
Of the more than twenty Level Two Wizards, not one responded.
Some averted their eyes, while others lowered their heads in silence.
’Are you kidding me? Not only are forced-anchoring abilities extremely rare and consume a massive amount of energy...’
’...but you expect us to step up while threatened by a swarm of Floating Spirits?’
’That’s suicide.’
A cold sneer touched Collins’s lips as he took a half-step back, clearly having no intention of making a move.
Aidele’s brow furrowed tightly. She looked at Ian, a flicker of worry in her eyes.