The Voiceless region descended into chaos. People fought, slaughtered, and murdered—foes and allies alike—all desperate to claim the title of strongest Knight after Kysa vanished, she who had held it for decades.

An unknown man with staggering wealth organized a more civilized solution to the chaos: a tournament. Messages went out across all three regions, calling any Knight confident in their strength to come prove themselves and claim the title.

Hundreds of thousands roared and chanted, packing one of the largest arenas in Voiceless: Dark Stadium.

Among the participants stood a striking woman with short white hair, faded blue eyes, and beauty that others could only dream of.

Seraphim D'Angelo.

Previously an Assassin, this woman had deliberately lowered her rank just to meet the tournament's requirements. She had nothing but a promise to fulfill.

Unknown to her, another favorite lurked in the crowd: a red-haired woman who never parted with her axe. She was the former tenth member of the Vile of Hawks, someone our white-haired fighter had faced before.

She had dropped a rank as well, just like the many others desperate to make their mark. She ought to regain her reputation, one she lost just for losing an arm.

The woman was no longer that one-armed maniac. Her arm had somehow regenerated. But Seraphim herself was no longer the weakling she'd once been.

Nevertheless, both had reasons not to lose.

***

Halo had a tiring day, speaking with his clones and catching up with them. He intended to catch up with the rest of the crew later, but now, he just wanted to feel the sensation of freedom from the main deck of the ship.

Before he reached the deck, the ship lurched violently, as if something enormous had scraped against the hull.

No shock there. It had been like this since waking hours ago.

But something nagged at him. Kysa had said the Camouflage Spirits, those creatures from Imitation Sea where he'd been trapped, couldn't read minds. They only mimicked what they'd seen.

Oddly, they kept mimicking Seraphim, but the version of her from before: less curvaceous, with longer hair.

Had she been here before? And why were they so obsessed with mimicking her?

He shrugged it off. Overthinking made his head ache, and he had bigger problems. Like the fact that the ship was sailing far too peacefully.

The moment he got to the deck, he frowned.

Both the sea and sky stretched dark and endless. Only the crystals holding the ship afloat and the deck lights pierced the blackness.

White stood at the rail, gazing down at the dark sea. Her brown hair whipped in the heavy air, her black crop top nearly lost to shadow from where Halo watched.

Halo's expression softened. This woman had saved his life and patched him up, and yet they'd hardly spoken.

'It wouldn't hurt to be grateful.'

Shadow of Death joined her at the rail, matching her silence for a few moments before speaking up.

"Thanks for saving my ass back then."

White had been lost in thought, staring into the darkness, but she snapped out of it and smiled at Halo.

"Don't be like that… we are friends, aren't we?"

'Oh, I nearly forgot. She's dense enough to sand wood with her thoughts.'

Her flaw compelled her to befriend everyone, enemies included. It was the very reason they'd ended up sailing the seven seas.

White's expression darkened.

"I'm sorry. This is on me. Your sister was taken because of me, and I'm the one who got saved. I should've been the one captured."

Halo's frown deepened. A sobbing child was the last thing he wanted to deal with. He'd been lost for days, he wanted laughter, drinks, and food. Never mind that he couldn't taste anything.

Even so, he wasn't sure what White had actually done. Everyone just blamed her. He'd been too caught up dealing with Holly to find out what really happened.

"So… what really happened? Your opponent was just some gothic girl?"

Her expression darkened.

She exhaled.

"I'm not sure. I was careless and didn't check. The girl was the first to set her teleportation barrier, which automatically triggered Delilah's opponent's. They trusted my Flaw to buy them time to work on the portal, and it worked."

The words left White like a sad child, but Halo met her with an enthusiastic nod.

You had to admit, the Northern Mist's plan was brilliant. Armed with Nava's intelligence, they'd probably spent months figuring out how to weaponize each person's flaw.

Of course, being the new guy with untested strength, they'd paired him against a Hybrid. Holly, of all people.

At that moment, the ship shook again, harder this time, followed by softer aftershocks.

Halo and White both steadied themselves, gripping the rail. Then Halo spotted something in the water. Actually, multiple things.

A serpent with dark, thick scales, blue light seeping through the cracks, plunged into the water. Behind it came something darker—an elongated head, gills lining its spine.

Halo gulped bile.

It was hard to see in the faint glow of the crystals, but he knew what he was looking at. That elongated, trumpet-like head… he'd killed something just like it.

His skin crawled.

"Isn't it strange? They haven't attacked once… yet not a single one is on our ship."

White said, staring at the dark sea.

Halo blinked repeatedly in confusion. What?!

"Huh? Hmph. Humph. Hmm. What are they really?"

White stared back at him, confused for a second.

"Those are Abyssal Fishes. They come in many shapes, but they're all the same kind. Like the White Scavengers of the Ice Sea, they attack one at a time. Once one swallows you, or you fall into the Black Sea, it's over. Nothing brings you back. Not even a god."

Halo couldn't help but hum as though singing his confusion out loud.

He killed a deity.

A Deity.

Not just that, he ate it too. Ate it. Into his stomach.

He swallowed hard.

Then it clicked. The Abyssal Fish had been easy to kill because deities lost their invincibility outside their domains. He remembered its labored breathing, how it struggled just to exist. Anywhere but total darkness was poison to these Sinners.

He killed a deity.

He didn't know whether to feel relieved or terrified. Would he transform into an Abyssal Fish? Or was he already one of them?

I mean, he ate the fish.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.