Vincent opened his eyes to find himself aboard a boat with a group of people he didn't know…
Water surrounded him from all sides, with light snow falling, and in the far distance he spotted a massive kingdom and giants on a remote island—right beneath the moon.
He clutched his chest but found no trace of the stab wound the officer had given him…
'Is this the method of entering the Nightmares of the Abyss? It feels like an execution,' he muttered to himself, gripping his chest tightly.
His train of thought was cut off by a man with an infuriating expression who said to him:
"Look who's awake—a frail, short hunter… Hey kid, can you even kill a pig?"
There were four people aboard the boat, including Vincent. His expression hardened, and he said:
"Yes, I can kill the pig—and it's right in front of me."
Vincent said it without hesitation or even a moment of thought… The girl sitting to the right laughed, while the other man showed no reaction.
The irritating man stood up, grabbed Vincent by the collar, and said:
"Who are you to speak to me, you filthy rat… I could throw you into the sea right now and let the sharks tear every piece of your cursed body apart."
Vincent laughed mockingly and said:
"Do it, if you dare… pig."
The man—Thomas—was enraged, pulling out his sword and trying to stab Vincent, but the other man grabbed his arm and said coldly:
"A hunter kills monsters. Is the one you're holding a monster, Thomas?"
Thomas looked at him with contempt and said:
"And who are you to decide that, huh? This bastard started it."
The man with green eyes—Godwyn—tightened his grip on Thomas's arm and said:
"We need every member to complete the first Abyss mission."
Thomas laughed mockingly, pointing his sword at Vincent:
"Godwyn, tell me you're joking? This rat is supposed to help us? Look at his body—he can't even lift a kitchen knife, let alone a sword."
Vincent wanted to hit him, but Godwyn's look made it clear he shouldn't…
"Don't judge someone by their body. He might be able to kill you."
Thomas released Vincent's collar, turning to Godwyn arrogantly:
"Trust me, he won't last an hour… In the end, it'll just be the three of us without him."
The word kill echoed in Vincent's mind. He glanced at the red-haired girl, who looked at him with disdain…
He sat at the edge of the boat adjusting his clothes, speaking to himself:
'The captain was right—it seems humans are the real monsters, not the other way around.'
Vincent stared into the dark sea, where nothing could be seen. The only light came from the front of the boat—a candle in a glass lantern.
The atmosphere was eerie, foreboding something ominous, and the only visible sight was the kingdom illuminated by the moonlight.
While lost in thought, Godwyn sat next to him and handed him a piece of the sandwich he was eating.
Vincent looked at Godwyn's face, then at the sandwich, and took it without hesitation.
He ate, feeling tears threaten to fall—he hadn't tasted food like this in a very long time. Then he looked at Godwyn and said:
"Thank you for what you did earlier, but I could have handled it."
Godwyn finished his sandwich and smiled:
"I could tell from your eyes—you wanted to pounce on him and tear him apart… But killing isn't the best option right now."
He continued:
"My name is Godwyn the Guilty. And you, boy?"
Vincent looked into his eyes and thought:
'This man seems very kind, but inside him lurks a terrifying beast.'
He answered softly:
"My name is Vin—"
But he didn't finish. Thomas, the girl, and even Godwyn noticed the pause.
When he saw their curious faces, he tapped his neck and said:
"Sorry, seems a piece of meat got stuck in my throat… Right, my name is V Justice."
The three of them seemed puzzled. The red-haired girl threw in a mocking comment:
"Looks like not only is his body short, but his name too, haha."
"Oh, Sarah, you don't have to be that rude."
Both of them laughed at Vincent, their hatred obvious in their eyes.
'Your deaths are near, I swear on my life.'
While seething inside, Vincent felt Godwyn pat his shoulder with a smile:
"Nice name, boy… Seems whoever gave it to you has a poetic soul."
Vincent gave a forced laugh, thinking:
'Poetic soul, huh? Godwyn might be a good guy, but these two are the definition of filth and malice. If I had a weapon, I'd kill them now without a shred of mercy.'
Five minutes later, Thomas and Sarah fell asleep. Vincent fought to stay awake, afraid they might kill him, but he looked at Godwyn, who showed no signs of sleep or boredom—just staring at the kingdom with his green eyes.
'Seems I can sleep peacefully next to someone who'll protect me.'
Vincent closed his eyes in complete comfort, but the cursed never get rest in the Abyss or outside it… Two minutes after closing his eyes, a loud sound erupted from beneath the sea.
Vincent woke from his brief rest, looking around in confusion…
Thomas asked in shock, clutching his sword:
"What's that sound? What's happening?"
Godwyn stood, scanning their surroundings.
"I don't know—a scream came from the depths of the sea, but I can't tell from where."
As Vincent looked around, he noticed the water behind Thomas starting to rise, glowing white mixed with blue.
"I think what you're looking for… is behind you."
They all turned to see a giant many times larger than a mountain. Its hair covered its face, and its eyes glowed with rage.
The three of them drew their swords, and Godwyn spoke:
"Damn… Looks like it's one of the Hidden Doctrines…"
Thomas's eyes filled with fear:
"A Hidden Doctrine? How?"
Vincent stood frozen, not understanding what was happening, or even what a Hidden Doctrine was…
"Hey, Godwyn, what's a Hidden Doctrine?"
Godwyn looked at him with great surprise, but still answered:
"There are seven classifications of monsters in the Abyss. They start from Beast to Hidden Doctrine, and those are the strongest entities in the Abyss."
Vincent slowly turned his head toward the giant and thought to himself:
'Cursed by the Tarot—wherever I go, I bring misfortune.'
Thomas released a blue spark from his sword, like a bomb, and it shot powerfully toward the Hidden Creed… it hit with force, causing a deafening explosion.
But it was useless, as if it were just a tickle rather than a deafening blast… the Hidden Creed moved toward them, walking steadily in the depths of the sea.
"This bastard, even my special bomb didn't affect him." Thomas was starting to feel uneasy…
Sarah fired a volley of poisoned arrows, but they shattered before they could reach him…
"Tsk."
Vincent could do nothing but watch them try, while he simply sat and waited for something to happen…
'I don't even know exactly what to do, I don't have a sword or any knowledge of my abilities, but I'm waiting for a miracle to happen… but do miracles happen inside the Abyss?'
The Hidden Creed was about to reach the boat, making a sound like a ship's horn…
Godwyn opened his palm, which glowed gold, and launched a golden orb directly at it. The orb exploded, releasing three small spears that struck the Hidden Creed's head.
But, as usual, nothing happened… Vincent spoke with a mocking tone:
"Looks like we're going to die on our very first trip inside the nightmares."
The Creed reached out and grabbed the boat. They all unleashed their techniques at it, but to no avail… until the Creed threw the boat away, sending all four of them plunging into the sea.
—————
"V… wake up, V."
"He's probably dead, why even bother with him."
Vincent could hear muffled voices around him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Godwyn beside him… Vincent woke up partially, rubbing the back of his head and checking if his body was intact.
"But what exactly happened, where are we?"
Godwyn extended his hand to help him up and replied in a calm voice:
"I don't know what happened, but it seems the Hidden Creed brought us straight to the Nameless Kingdom."
Vincent was puzzled by the situation, until he looked to the side and saw it—an enormous, terrifying kingdom with a dark and ominous gothic style.
The sound of church bells echoed throughout.
Vincent spoke in a sarcastic tone:
"Looks like we got a free ride."
Thomas stepped toward him angrily and said:
"You're being sarcastic when you didn't even do anything—guess you're just a coward who doesn't know how to use his own power."
"As if you did anything, you muscle-bound pig. Your strikes were nothing but a tickle to him."
Vincent's mocking, disdainful tone only enraged Thomas, who punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Vincent entered a fury unlike anything before. He stood, leapt high, and struck Thomas's head with a blaze of darkness, making his nose bleed and sending him crashing down near Sarah.
"You filthy weakling."
Vincent looked at his own hand, which was now glowing with a flame of darkness, stunned…
'I don't know exactly what just happened, but it seems this bastard just made me realize what my power is.' he muttered to himself.
Thomas drew his sword, which glowed blue. Sarah tried to calm him down, but he shoved her aside and charged at Vincent in anger.
Vincent, on the other side, was ready—but Godwyn threw a golden spear between them and shouted loudly:
"What's wrong with you two? Instead of hunting monsters, you're hunting each other?"
He continued, standing between them:
"The gate to the Nameless Kingdom is right in front of us, we should be entering it, not playing these childish games."
Thomas glared at Vincent furiously but sheathed his sword and walked toward the gate without saying another word.
Godwyn stood next to Vincent and said:
"Well, at least it's a good thing you found out what your power is. Hey, we need to head into the kingdom."
The four of them walked across the island's sandy surface, climbing a massive staircase until they reached the enormous gates of the kingdom. Beside it stood a guard, his entire body hidden beneath a black cloak.
They paid him no attention and kept walking, but when Thomas tried to open the gate, a blue wall appeared, blocking their entry.
"What is this?" Thomas scratched the back of his head in confusion.
A rough voice answered from the cloaked figure…
The black-cloaked man stood up—tall and imposing—and said to them:
"The maximum allowed to enter the kingdom is three… you must sacrifice one of your own."