"This shadow is so annoying!" Catrine gritted her teeth in frustration.

She had attacked it countless times, but the shadow still hadn't been defeated. It felt as though none of her attacks were doing any damage at all.

Catrine took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.

She drew her sword back and bent her knees slightly.

Her eyes locked onto the shadow, which moved as swiftly as a leech.

As the shadow lunged toward her, she twisted her body and stabbed it with the tip of her sword.

The shadow trembled violently, as if it felt pain. But the next moment, it began to split apart.

Of course, Catrine wasn't going to let it get away with that. She opened her mouth and whispered, "Eternal Ice!"

Fwoosh!

The sword in her hand emitted a frosty mist that spread across the shadow on the floor.

The shadow looked panicked. It tried to escape but failed.

In the end, it froze completely before shattering into pieces.

"Finally…" Catrine let out a long sigh.

Since physical attacks couldn't kill the shadow, she knew elemental power would be effective.

And her hunch was right—her ice element successfully froze and shattered it.

"Are you okay?" Monica's worried voice came from behind her.

Catrine swung her sword to the side. Then she opened her left palm, and a sheath appeared out of thin air.

She sheathed her sword and turned to face Monica.

"I'm fine. How about you? No one attacked you from behind, did they?"

Monica shook her head. "I'm fine too."

Catrine gave a small nod and shifted her gaze forward.

"This place is far more dangerous than I expected. Be careful," she warned.

Monica didn't argue. The shadow from earlier was a clear reminder of just how mysterious and terrifying this place was.

"Let's go," Catrine said.

Monica nodded, and together they continued their investigation.

***

"Be careful, Nysera. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about the path ahead," Luna warned.

Nysera agreed. She could also sense that danger was waiting for them.

Luna looked around cautiously. The corridor was quite large. The right side was made of wooden planks riddled with holes—some sections were even broken.

From where they stood, both of them could see the dark sea and feel the strong sea breeze.

Meanwhile, on the left side was a row of doors, likely the former rooms where the ship's crew once lived.

The doors looked weathered, as if time had taken its toll.

As they remained on high alert, a knocking sound came from their left.

Knock!

The sound was faint, but both of them could hear it clearly.

They exchanged glances, then turned simultaneously toward the source of the sound.

"It's coming from door number 112," Nysera said, squinting.

Since she was on the left, she could hear the sound more clearly than Luna.

"Do you want to check it out?" she asked, glancing at Luna.

Luna frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"No need. It's probably just an animal."

She believed in ghosts but had never actually seen one. And this ship had been here for an unknown amount of time, so the sound was likely just caused by an animal they didn't recognize.

Nysera said nothing. Just as the two were about to move forward, the knocking sound was heard again—this time three times.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Both of them fell silent in the deep stillness.

Luna took a deep breath and said, "Let's check it out."

They walked to door number 112 and stopped in front of it.

Luna opened her palm, and a spear appeared in her hand.

It was the Blazion Spear—her weapon of destiny, obtained from a secluded weapon shop in the past.

"Step back," she ordered.

Nysera nodded and took five steps back.

Without hesitation, Luna split the door in two.

The interior was immediately revealed. It was a room about five meters by five meters—not very spacious, but large enough for a single crew member.

Surprisingly, there was nothing inside except emptiness and a pungent, nose-stinging odor.

"Nothing?" Luna raised her eyebrows slightly.

However, she didn't let her guard down. She was about to step inside when suddenly a danger alarm rang in her mind.

Her eyes widened, and without a moment's hesitation, she pulled her body back.

The next second, the rotten wooden wall shattered, and a two-meter-tall monster burst out.

Roar!

Its roar was so powerful that it scattered wood and dust in all directions.

Luna and Nysera had already retreated ten meters. They stared at the monster coldly.

The creature had a humanoid build, but it had four arms and two heads.

Its skin was dark green, covered in wounds, with blood seeping from them.

The smell of pus and charred flesh was distinctly coming from its body.

The faces on both of its heads looked scorched, as if they had been burned by fire for a long time.

"Just as I thought—it's a monster," Luna muttered.

It was impossible for there to be a person on this ship. Their assumption that the earlier knocking had come from an animal now seemed absurd.

So there were only two possibilities left: a ghost… or a monster.

Roar!

The monster roared again, staring at Luna and Nysera with a hungry gaze.

It crouched down, then charged toward them.

Both of them quickly jumped aside and managed to dodge it.

Luna planted her feet on the ground, then leapt again, spinning her body vertically.

Buzz!

The Blazion Spear glowed brightly as it sliced through the creature.

Blood spurted out, and its internal organs were clearly visible.

Bluzh!

Bright red flames erupted from the slash wound, consuming everything down to the cellular level.

Just as Luna thought the attack had killed the monster, something shocking happened. The flames died down, and the charred internal organs returned to their original state.

Like a video played in reverse, its body reassembled itself.

"W-What!?" Luna's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

But she had no time to think. The monster had already counterattacked.

It opened its mouth, and black liquid emerged, forming a dark sphere between its jaws.

Splash!

It hurled the black sphere toward Luna.

Luna was startled and quickly dodged. The sphere struck the floor and melted it, leaving a gaping hole.

Seeing that, Luna swallowed hard in horror. If she had been even a split second slower, her body might have melted along with it.

"Luna, snap out of it!"

Nysera's loud voice pulled Luna back to her senses.

She looked up and saw the monster had reformed the same black spheres and was hurling them at her.

She hurriedly evaded them, but the monster didn't give up and kept firing them.

Nysera was also targeted and leaped backward.

Enraged that its attacks were being easily dodged, the monster roared and charged at them.

Luna and Nysera didn't flinch. Nysera clenched her right fist, and a one-meter-long claw suddenly appeared.

Without hesitation, the two of them darted toward the monster.

Luna spun her body and slashed at its head, while Nysera plunged her claw into its chest.

Not stopping there, they launched fatal strikes at several of the monster's vital points.

"Argh!"

The monster howled in pain. It tried to counterattack, but all its movements were easily anticipated.

Luna and Nysera severed all of its arms, then its legs, and finally its body.

The monster collapsed backward in a pitiful state.

"Don't let your guard down! This monster will recover soon!" Luna shouted.

Nysera nodded. She stabbed her claw into the monster's neck and muttered, "Freeze!"

ZZZT!

A surge of ice flowed from her claw, then spread throughout the monster's body.

Luna didn't stand idly by. Her spear blazed with bright-red fire. In one swift motion, she thrust it into the monster's heart, instantly incinerating it.

Faced with the combined power of fire and ice, the monster could only rage helplessly.

In the end, its body cracked and crumbled into ash that scattered through the air.

Luna pulled out her spear and let out a long sigh.

"What a stubborn monster," she muttered.

It had to be admitted—the monster was quite strong. If she had fought alone, there was no way she could have defeated it so quickly.

Fortunately, Nysera was there, so the grueling task could be finished swiftly.

"Good job," Luna said, extending her hand.

Nysera took it, and Luna helped her up.

"Good job to you too," she replied flatly.

This was the first time she had teamed up with someone in a fight. Though brief, she had enjoyed it quite a bit.

"We can't let our guard down," Luna said seriously, her gaze fixed on the dark corridor ahead. "There might be more of those monsters waiting for us further in."

Nysera gave a slight nod. "Let's go."

***

"Hmmm…"

A faint humming echoed through the dark, silent room.

Suddenly, the humming stopped, replaced by a soft yet piercing chuckle.

"After thousands of years, there are finally many people entering this place. I'm quite curious…"

The voice paused before continuing. "Will they be able to reach this place… or not?"

In the depths of that silent darkness, two red eyes opened.

Those eyes were cold and indifferent, enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.