Chapter 11 – Red Ocean Arc Begins
Part 1: Into the Fog of Blue
The ocean stretched out endlessly before me, a vast mirror of endless possibilities—and imminent doom. My vessel, barely more than a reinforced sailing skiff carved from demonbone and voidwood, creaked beneath my boots as I stood at its helm. The wind was eerily calm, and the skies were painted with the colors of dusk—fiery oranges fading into a deep violet haze.
The Red Ocean…
It was finally within reach.
But to reach it, I had to cross the Blue Ocean first. Then survive the horrors of the Dark Ocean beyond. Only then would I stand before the gates of the Red.
Nyx, now in her shadow-wolf form, sat silently near the edge of the boat, eyes scanning the horizon. Her tail flicked once. She could feel it too. Something wasn't right.
[You are now entering the Blue Ocean area. Proceed with caution.]
The System's voice rang out in my mind like an ominous chime. A ripple of unease crawled up my spine.
"Great. Just what I needed—more suspense," I muttered.
The sea ahead shimmered strangely, too still, too quiet. As we moved forward, a creeping mist began to roll over the surface of the water, slithering over the deck like a living thing.
[Poisonous Fog Detected.]
[Advised: Equip Anti-Toxin Mask – Inventory Slot 3.]
"Of course." I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out the mask—crafted from demonhide, laced with Abyssweaver silk, and etched with runes that glowed faintly when exposed to toxins.
Snapping it over my face, I took a slow breath. The air tasted bitter even through the filters.
Nyx growled.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer with words. She didn't need to. A moment later, the System did it for her.
[Unknown Entity Detected.]
{Hostility: 90% | Danger Level: ???}
The mist thickened.
Something slithered beneath the boat, heavy and wide. The vessel rocked. I dropped low, one hand grabbing the mast, the other drawing my Soulbane Dagger. My eyes flicked to the water's edge.
Ripples. Something circled us.
A low, distorted cry echoed through the fog—neither beast nor human. It sounded... hungry.
Suddenly, a long, sinewy tentacle lashed from the mist, wrapping around the stern. The ship groaned under the pressure.
"Nyx—now!"
She leapt, claws gleaming with dark flame, and slashed into the tentacle. Black ichor sprayed across the deck.
[Unknown Entity: Blue Ocean Wraithspawn | Status: Enraged]
The fog pulsed. Then from the mist, a figure began to form—a vaguely humanoid shape, eight feet tall, formed entirely from brackish water and sludge. Its eyes burned blue, and its arms ended in jagged coral blades.
I didn't wait.
"System—Authority Burst: Tier 2!"
My aura exploded outward, the pressure flattening the fog for a brief moment. I surged forward, dagger slicing upward into the Wraithspawn's arm.
It screeched, retaliating with a wild swing. I ducked under it, rolled to the side, and triggered another skill—
[Skill Activated: Phantom Cross | Cooldown: 13 seconds]
A blur of afterimages trailed behind me as I slashed across its chest in an X-formation. It staggered.
But it wasn't enough.
The Wraithspawn shrieked again, and from beneath the waves, more movement. More shapes. It wasn't alone.
Nyx returned to my side, blood dripping from her fangs. "There's three more coming. They're not weak."
"Perfect." I hissed, then grinned beneath my mask.
This was just the beginning.
If I couldn't handle this, I'd never make it through the Blue Ocean—let alone the Red.
[Objective Updated: Survive Blue Ocean]
[Bonus Objective: Exterminate Wraithspawn Scouts | 0/4]
The sails rippled. The ocean boiled. My hands tightened on my weapon.
The voyage had begun—and it was going to be hell.
The ocean screamed.
Four Wraithspawn surged from the waters, their jagged limbs and glowing blue eyes cutting through the poison fog like grim beacons. Their movements were unnatural—disjointed, twitching with bone-snapping speed.
[Hostiles Engaged: Wraithspawn x4]
[Difficulty: High | Fog Conditions: Hazardous]
My mask filtered the toxic air, but the pressure from these monsters was heavy. Each one emitted a chilling aura that tried to crush my will. A lesser demon would've already turned to mist.
But I wasn't lesser.
I was Sylvia Plath—the Tenth Daughter of the Great Demon King. And I wasn't here to drown.
"System—run combat protocol: Blood Halo Execution Mode."
[Confirmed. Boosting Agility +65%, Critical Rate +20%, Evasion +30%. Duration: 90 seconds.]
The moment the buffs surged into my veins, time seemed to slow. My vision sharpened, my muscles coiled like steel springs. The first Wraithspawn lunged—spiked limb raised to impale.
I met it head-on.
"Skill: Abyss Step!"
I vanished and reappeared mid-air behind the creature, dagger flipping in reverse grip.
"Piercing Fang!"
The blade plunged into the back of its neck, sending arcs of black energy through its watery form. The Wraithspawn shrieked, twisting violently—but I'd already flipped away.
The second Wraithspawn swiped at me from the side.
Too slow.
"Authority – Shadow Echo!"
A clone of myself erupted from my shadow, intercepting the strike while I dove low beneath the third attacker, slashing its leg clean off with my Darksteel Katana—summoned from my subspace just in time.
[Wraithspawn x1 – Crippled]
[Wraithspawn x1 – Critical Damage]
"Nyx—don't hold back!"
She howled, darkness pulsing around her body as she exploded into motion. Fangs coated in deathflame, she tackled the fourth Wraithspawn, dragging it into the sea with a thunderous splash.
The first one recovered—barely. It slashed toward my face.
"Too predictable," I whispered, dodging beneath the swing and activating—
[Skill: Demonic Chain Rend]
Chains made of screaming souls erupted from the ground, binding the creature mid-motion. It thrashed, snarling in a language I didn't recognize.
Didn't matter.
I slammed both palms into the air and roared, "Overkill Protocol – Black Vortex Lance!"
[Caution: MP consumption – 78%]
[Activating Overkill Tier. Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
A spear of pure void energy formed in my hand—whirling like a galaxy condensed into a weapon. I hurled it with everything I had.
The spear pierced the first Wraithspawn and detonated, obliterating it in a sphere of black light. Shockwaves rocked the boat. The fog around us evaporated into the void for a moment, revealing the chaos in full.
[Wraithspawn x1 – Eliminated]
The third one rushed me in a blind frenzy. I ducked, countered with a slash across its core, and finished it with a point-blank Shadow Implosion.
[Wraithspawn x2 – Eliminated]
A shriek from the water—Nyx returned, fur soaked in blood and ichor, dragging the decapitated corpse of the fourth Wraithspawn onto the deck.
"Nice," I said, breathing hard, HP bar flashing dangerously low. "That's four."
[Wraithspawn x4 – Eliminated. Bonus Objective Complete.]
[System Reward: +3 Skill Points | 1x Weapon Core (Abyss-Tier)]
[Health Warning: HP at 22%. Auto-regeneration suspended in Blue Ocean.]
I fell to one knee, panting behind the mask. The fog began to recede, only slightly, letting in a trace of moonlight from above.
The sea was quiet again. But not peaceful.
Never peaceful.
[Warning: Blue Ocean threat level escalating. Proceed forward to reach Dark Ocean.]
[Estimated Time to Red Ocean Border: 72 hours.]
Three days of hell.
I stood, blade in hand, eyes on the horizon. "Then let's keep moving. This is just the appetizer, isn't it?"
Nyx huffed beside me. I could tell—we were only scratching the surface.
The poisonous mist thickened until even the moonlight above was strangled. My vision narrowed to just a few meters ahead. The sails creaked against stagnant wind, and the waves lapped eerily slow against the hull, like a beast breathing just beneath the surface.
Nyx stood beside me, fur bristling, shadow tendrils flickering off her form like embers in a storm. She was tense—more than before.
[Environmental Threat Increasing.]
[Poisonous Fog: Level 2]
[Visibility: Severely Limited. Auto-map function disabled.]
We were blind. And something was watching.
The deck beneath us trembled.
"System," I whispered, gripping my katana, "status check?"
[HP: 22% | MP: 46% | Soul Power: 58%]
[Authority Available: Tier 2 Only]
Too low for another Overkill tier. I needed to conserve—unless I wanted this to be my grave.
Nyx let out a low growl, and her voice echoed directly in my mind.
> "Something massive is circling. Not a Wraithspawn. Bigger. Older."
Then came the alert.
[Danger Threat Detected.]
[Entity Identified: Demon Whale – Leviathan Class]
[Tier Rank: 8 | Title: Abyss Roarer]
[Danger Level: High]
The entire boat rocked violently.
A massive shape passed beneath us—impossibly long and wide. It was like a shadow had swallowed the ocean.
"Shit," I hissed. "It's under us."
[Nyx Combat Ability Unlocked: Shadow Tide Howl]
[Effect: Stuns aquatic enemies for 3 seconds | Cooldown: 90s | Debuff: Fear for 6s]
"Nyx—use the Howl. Now!"
She leapt to the bow, raised her head, and unleashed a roar of pure abyssal sound. It tore through the fog like a blade, vibrating the sea itself. The fog shuddered as if alive.
A monstrous screech answered.
The surface of the water exploded as a massive, jet-black whale breached—its mouth wide enough to swallow the boat whole, its eyes glowing like twin void stars.
Its body was covered in ancient scars and broken chains—runes of binding etched into its flesh.
[Abyss Roarer Stunned: 3s]
[Fear Effect: Active | Resistance Detected: Partial]
"Three seconds. I'll make it count."
"Skill: Phantom Step!"
I blinked across the boat and launched upward—sailing through the mist. I landed directly on the beast's back, my dagger plunged in for grip.
[Sylvia – Aerial Combat Engaged]
I ran up its spine like a shadow dancer and stabbed my katana into a glowing rune between its fins.
"Skill: Curse Reversal Slash!"
Dark energy surged backward through the rune, disrupting the magical chains—it roared in agony, twisting violently. I was thrown into the air—
—only to be caught mid-air by a whip of Nyx's shadow tendrils.
I landed back on deck, knees bending with the force. Blood dripped down my arms. My HP dropped to 16%.
The whale dove under again—but it was disoriented, lashing in confusion.
I wasn't done.
"System—activate temporary summon: Shadow Anchor Spear!"
A long, gleaming spear of void energy formed in my hands. I hurled it straight into the sea.
A deep BOOM echoed as the spear struck true, locking the beast's fin in place.
[Abyss Roarer Bound: 8s]
"Nyx! Finish it—use Moonfang Execution!"
She vanished from sight—then reappeared above the whale's open maw, her jaws shimmering with radiant darkness.
The next moment, she dropped like a meteor and bit through the creature's skull.
The ocean exploded.
Waves crashed. The fog screamed. The deck nearly split in two.
Then—silence.
[Demon Whale – Eliminated]
[XP Gained: +24,000]
[Item Drop: Leviathan Core x1 | Abyssal Hide x4 | Deep Echo Tooth x1]
[HP: +3% Regeneration (Passive boost for 10m)]
I dropped to my knees, exhausted, drenched, but grinning.
"One sea beast down… six more nightmares to go."
Nyx padded over, licking the ichor from her paws. "You're bleeding everywhere."
"I'll live."
I looked toward the horizon. Still fog. Still silence. But we were alive.
For now..
The ocean calmed. Too calm.
The waters no longer heaved or groaned beneath my vessel. The wind had vanished, and the sails hung limp like torn flags. A ghostly stillness set in.
Suddenly—
[Host entering the Forbidden Coastal Area of Blue Ocean.]
[Warning: High-Risk Zone. Suggest Full Combat Readiness.]
[Environmental Anomaly Detected: Wind Whisper Illusions.]
[Hostility: 01% | Danger Level: ???]
"…01% hostility?" I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "That's a trap if I've ever heard one."
Nyx didn't speak. She stood frozen, eyes glowing violet, her tail low. Something in the air was wrong—too sweet, like overripe fruit.
The shore emerged slowly from the mist: a stretch of jagged coral blackened like burnt bone, curling in unnatural spirals along the coastline. What looked like ruins poked from the sand—collapsed towers, warped statues, and shattered monoliths whose runes flickered faintly.
We dropped anchor.
I stepped onto the brittle sand and instantly felt a chill crawl up my spine.
[Debuff Applied: Illusion Field - Mind Clarity -50%]
I clenched my jaw. "System, counter."
[Skill Activated: Demon Lord's Will]
[Mental Corruption: Reduced by 35%]
> "Don't trust anything you hear," Nyx warned. "They get inside your memories. Make you see things. Want things."
The wind stirred.
No—not the wind. Voices.
Soft, melodic. Like lullabies sung by someone long dead.
And then I saw her.
A girl in white.
She stood in the ruins, barefoot, long black hair flowing, her eyes closed like in prayer.
"Sylvia," she said, and my blood ran cold. "Why did you leave me…?"
"…Mother?" I whispered without thinking.
No. No—my mother's voice was harsher, not soft. My mother never called me by my name, only 'creature' or 'spawn.'
My sword was halfway drawn before I realized I'd taken a step forward.
[Warning: Wind Whisper Illusion intensifying.]
The figure split into two. Then five. Then a dozen. All of them familiar. Some faces I remembered from Earth. Some from the Demon Castle.
They all wept. Reached out.
"Stay with us…"
"Don't go into the Red Ocean…"
"You'll die alone."
My breath caught—my pulse stuttered. The voices curled around my skull.
"Nyx—help me snap out of this."
A searing slash of shadow cut the illusions. Nyx emerged beside me, her claws glowing black.
> "You're stronger than this. Fight it."
"Yeah…" I gritted my teeth. "Let's burn the whispers down."
I raised my hand. "Skill: Hellflare Pulse."
The sigil beneath me flared crimson. Fire surged outward, igniting the sand and shattering the spectral illusions in one thunderous blast.
[Illusion Field Disrupted.]
[Area Hostility Rising: 01% → 78%]
From the ruins, the sand shifted.
Something woke up.
A creature made of coral and bone, towering above the shattered structures. It had no eyes—only dozens of mouths whispering nonsense.
[New Entity Detected: Whisper Titan | Tier Rank: 7 | Mind-Affliction Based]
[Danger Level: Severe.]
Nyx's eyes narrowed. "No more illusions. Just kill it."
I raised my katana, the blade humming with darkness.
"For once," I muttered, "I agree."
And we charged.
The air cracked like thunder.
The Whisper Titan loomed above, its hundred mouths shrieking half-formed truths and mind-breaking chants. Each word clawed into my skull like barbed wire, trying to unravel my sanity thread by thread.
I gritted my teeth, aura flaring.
[Skill Activated: Demon King's Aura - Suppression Field Unleashed]
The sand around me scorched to glass. My katana pulsed black-red, reacting to my fury.
> "Don't let it speak," Nyx growled beside me. "If it finishes a full chant, your mind will splinter."
"Then I'll tear those mouths off one by one."
The titan moved.
It lunged, its skeletal coral limbs dragging half the ruins with it. The very ground shattered as it struck, but I was already airborne, diving over its strike with a midair twist.
[Skill: Shadow Mirage Step – Success]
I reappeared above its back. My blade arced in a deadly slash.
"Void Reaver Cut!"
Black fire carved into its shoulder, exploding coral and sinew. The titan roared in a cacophony of unholy voices—like a choir of the damned.
[Damage inflicted: 18,920 HP]
[Target resisting – Mind Regeneration Passive Detected]
"Tch—regenerating this fast?"
It turned, its mouth-limbs gnashing, and spat a wave of invisible psychic energy—
[Alert: Mind Burn - Incoming!]
My vision blurred. My memories flashed—my death from Earth, the Demon King's throne, my first breath in this cruel world—
And then it paused.
I stood unmoving.
> "S-Sylvia?" Nyx's voice cracked through the haze.
The titan's voices cooed.
"Stay with us… don't fight… rest…"
Suddenly—
I stabbed my own thigh.
Blood erupted. Pain snapped my senses into brutal clarity.
[Skill: Pain Sacrifice – Mental Status Cleared by 30%]
"Nice try," I hissed, eyes blazing.
I charged, sliding under the titan's sweeping arm, then slashed upward with vicious precision.
"Skill Chain: Phantom Fang > Reaver's Wrath > Dreadflame Cyclone!"
A spiraling explosion of black flame erupted from the impact. Coral limbs detonated in shards. The titan's upper body twisted, shrieking in dozens of shattered voices.
But it still stood.
[Health Remaining: 47%]
"You just don't die, huh?"
The Titan's limbs writhed, then merged together into a grotesque arm cannon-like appendage. It aimed.
[Warning: Titan Preparing Forbidden Chant: "Singularity Whispers"]
[Time Remaining: 20 Seconds]
"Oh hell no."
Nyx blurred forward, slamming into its core with a shadow burst.
> "NOW, SYLVIA!"
I rushed the limb.
"System—override limiters. Activate Hell Mode."
[Warning: Hell Mode drains HP with every second active. Confirm?]
"DO IT!"
[Hell Mode: ACTIVATED.]
[Stat Boost: +300%]
[Drain Rate: -3% HP/sec]
[Current HP: 61%]
My body surged with demonic force. Veins ignited with power. My blade burned like it was forged from the sun.
I leapt.
Screaming through the air like a black comet, I plunged my katana into the Whisper Titan's chanting core.
"DIE—IN—SILENCE!"
[Skill: Oblivion Breaker – FINAL STRIKE UNLEASHED!]
The explosion lit the entire Forbidden Coast. The illusion field shattered. The sea roared in protest.
And silence fell.
[Whisper Titan – Eliminated]
[Experience Gained: Massive]
[Loot Acquired: Whisper Coral Shard x2 | Mindbreaker Rune | Echo of Silence Relic]
I collapsed to one knee, gasping.
[Hell Mode: Deactivated. Remaining HP: 12%]
Nyx caught me before I fell. "You look like a corpse."
"Feel like one too," I croaked.
But we survived.
One more nightmare put to rest… but I could feel it.
The deeper I went into the oceans—
The stronger the nightmares became.
The whispering winds faded.
The poison-laced fog, thick as nightmares and twice as cruel, finally began to scatter. Rays of pale light pierced through the haze. For the first time in what felt like ages, I saw it—
Clear, shimmering water.
Blue as forgotten dreams. Quiet. Almost… peaceful.
> [System Notice: You are exiting the Forbidden Coastal Zone of Blue Ocean]
[Toxin Levels: Stabilizing. Environmental Hostility: Low]
I leaned on the rail of the Demonic Ship, my armor cracked, blade dulled, body screaming from the clash with the Whisper Titan.
But I was still standing.
Still alive.
Nyx, curled nearby in her shadowy beast form, was purring softly—watching the waves with a rare look of serenity.
"I almost forgot what silence sounded like," I muttered.
We drifted through the tranquil waters, the ship moving of its own accord—enchanted by the Demon King's blessing, cutting through the sea with supernatural grace.
For the first time in days, I let myself rest.
{Day Three on the Ship}
I sat cross-legged in the cabin's war room. A glowing screen hovered before me, runes and numbers dancing around it.
> [System Access: STATUS PANEL OPENED]
Name: Sylvia Plath
Race: High Demonkin (Daughter of the Demon King)
Level: 62
Class: Abyss Reaver / System-Bound Heir
HP: 91%
MP: 100%
Authority Level: 3-Star (Minor Realm Influence)
Aura Class: Demon King's Bloodline (Awakened - 43%)
Bonded Beast: Nyx (Void-Class)
System Link: Stable
[Core Attributes]
Strength: 821
Agility: 705
Intelligence: 613
Endurance: 734
Perception: 420
Charisma: 305
> [Skill Analysis]
Active Skills:
Void Reaver Slash (Tier 3)
Dreadflame Cyclone
Phantom Fang
Oblivion Breaker (Limit Break)
Shadow Mirage Step
Authority Skill: Command of Dread (Passive boost to subordinates)
Nyx Bond: Shadow Warp
Passive Skills:
Demon King's Aura
Battle Meditation
Pain Sacrifice
Fogwalker Instincts
> [Inventory Check]
Weapons:
Demon Edge: Blood-Eater Katana (Tier 5)
Whisper Coral Dagger (NEW - Mindbreaker Debuff)
Yama Void Sword (Sealed)
Relics:
Veil Earrings
Echo of Silence
Void Gate Token (Used)
Items:
Health Elixir x6
Demon Essence Core (Small)
Yamak Fragments: 3/3
Yamak Fruit (Unconsumed, 3 Charges Remaining)
I closed the panel and leaned back, exhaling a long, tired breath.
The ocean was quiet—but the silence wasn't comfort. It was warning.
> "I've completed the Blue Ocean," I murmured, fingers brushing over the glowing map Nyx had carved from void essence.
Beyond this...
Dark Ocean.
And after that—
Red Ocean.
The Seven Commanders.
The true battle.
> "Rest while you can," Nyx said softly, tail curling near my boot. "The ocean breathes, but it also waits. And it's hungry."
I smiled faintly.
"Let it wait. We'll be ready."