Splash—splash—
Clear seawater, propelled by the waves, surged onto the beach, wetting the dry, coarse sand.
Peaceful, serene; aside from the daily ebb and flow of tides, the Aegir coastline was exceptionally quiet.
"It's so quiet. There's not even a dead fish on the beach. Beachcombing YouTubers would absolutely die of frustration."
Sniffing the salty air, Goki, with his Saw Cleaver on his back, walked along the Aegir beach. His hunter's boots scraped against shattered seashells, producing a crunching sound.
This was not a beach for tourists; there was no fine sand, only rough shells and stones, a far cry from the memories of a child like Goki, who grew up in a coastal city.
The sea here was dead.
For some reason, Goki had this thought.
He had once visited a small fishing village where the sea was also dead.
Although the seawater at his feet was incredibly clear, the entire sea surface was exceptionally deep, tinged with a heavy black, giving a feeling of intense oppression.
However, for Goki… this place was picturesque!
Thinking of Yharnam's high-hanging Blood Moon, the twisted creations of the Nightmare Frontier, and those bizarre sights that drained Insight just by looking… in comparison, Aegir could almost be considered a 5A-rated scenic area! This sky, this land, this water, this light!
"It's probably because all the normal fish were eaten by Terrorfish years ago—no! Don't treat this like a tour! I'm not your tour guide!"
In front of Goki, the white-haired girl with floor-length hair, who had been walking quickly ahead, suddenly stopped, turned around, and fixed her slightly annoyed red eyes on him.
From the very beginning, Skadi's delicate hand had already grabbed Goki's wrist, pulling him forward. Her strength was so immense that Goki couldn't break free at all.
This Strength attribute must be at least 50.
Just now, the precious blood vials Goki had collected were crushed one by one by Skadi with a single hand, as easily as deflating a balloon.
Those were blood vials worth 180 blood echoes, and the more bosses you defeated, the more expensive they became, with prices doubling when the Blood Moon descended!
"Incomprehensible, irrational. Do land dwellers never understand the dangers of the Seaborn? I even thought you were an Iberia special forces unit meant to fight the Seaborn—too foolish!"
As she walked, Skadi didn't forget to scold Goki.
Although Terra is a continent, the fact remains that Iberia is the only coastal country on the Terra continent.
Skadi didn't expect these land dwellers to understand the Seaborn, the lifelong enemy of the Aegir people, as well as the Abyssal Hunters did, but she had seen rusted, abandoned Iberia warships at the bottom of the ocean.
Clearly, Iberia had once tried to conquer the sea, and the only possible existence that could destroy their invincible fleet was one—Seaborn, many and very powerful Seaborn.
After suffering such a great loss, surely land dwellers would at least understand what a dangerous enemy the Seaborn were, right?
The truth was—not at all!
Right in front of her, this man casually drew the Seaborn's corrosive bodily fluids with a syringe and directly injected it into his veins—and she had even specifically warned him.
"You dare to inject Seaborn blood? Don't you know how dangerous that is?"
In response, Goki could only offer an awkward smile and tried to explain.
"Thank you for your concern, Nona Skadi. Please rest assured, we Yharnam Hunters always recover ourselves this way; there's no danger."
Compared to the taciturn, quiet bounty hunter in his memories, the Little Orca in front of Goki was clearly a bit more talkative.
To be precise, she was somewhat young.
She had not yet begun her journey of solitude; her aloof personality was developed after a long period of self-exile.
The current Skadi was a warrior who had just lost her comrades and was exceptionally grief-stricken.
"Although quite a few people go mad, and there are Crow Hunters specifically to deal with them, I don't need to worry about that."
Injecting the blood of other species certainly carries risks. Goki's Seniors, from the first hunter Gehrman to the present, countless hunters have transformed into beasts and gone mad—Lady Eileen is Goki's good friend!
However, Goki was an exception; he would not be affected by the beastly scourge.
At least for now, looking at the same attribute panel in his mind as in the game, Goki could see "Insight," another currency resource besides blood echoes, which currently read a big 0.
Without Insight, Goki didn't worry about his sanity being affected or seeing anything strange.
When he was in Yharnam, Goki didn't have this game panel; his strength was entirely estimated by himself.
"However, these attributes..."
Incidentally, Goki checked his character attributes—so low.
Rank: 4
Vitality (affects HP): 10
Endurance (affects Stamina and Resistance): 9
Strength (affects some weapon attack power): 10
Skill (affects some weapon attack power and visceral attack damage): 9
Bloodtinge (affects some weapon attack power and firearm potency): 7
Arcane (affects magic tool potency and enchanted weapon attack power): 9
Seeing this, Goki immediately complained loudly in his mind.
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't this a nobody starting point? Six points lower in attributes than other origins, that's too much, Nona Doll! Isn't this a starting point only masochistic veterans play?"
"That's right, kind Hunter. You are a nobody now."
And the Nona Doll in his mind generously admitted this fact.
"Hey!"
Now, Goki was basically certain that his original powerful strength, enough to become the next Great One, had completely disappeared.
Although this Physique was still enough to surpass normal humans, among Hunters, this Physique was completely that of a weakling, let alone compared to Skadi in front of him.
The races on the Terra continent, on average, completely outclassed Earthlings.
However, Goki didn't regret it.
"But it's fine. Losing everything in exchange for you, Nona Doll, accompanying me, isn't that also very good?"
"..."
The gentle voice in his mind fell silent. Goki felt that Nona Doll must be shy.
Meanwhile, Skadi, in front of Goki, having heard his explanation, became even more agitated.
"Someone has already gone mad, damn it! You still don't realize the gravity of the situation—no, you said only you are left, which means the problem has already occurred!"
In her opinion, Goki's "beast transformation" was exactly the same as the Abyssal Hunters' transformation.
"The power of the Seaborn is not just as simple as it appears on the surface! It will gradually change your life form, making you… no longer yourself."
As she spoke, Skadi suddenly remembered something from the past but didn't elaborate.
"In any case, I won't allow you to do that again. I will first take you to the nearest city where there are facilities to restore mental damage. During this time, if you mutate, I will personally end you."
Skadi looked at Goki with a complex expression, scrutinizing him up and down, as if evaluating something.
"If… I mutate, I will try to end myself before that, or weaken myself enough to be killed by you—promise me."
In Skadi's crimson eyes, Goki saw resolute determination to die. If some transformation truly occurred within her body, she would indeed commit suicide on the spot without hesitation.
"The truth… it's better not to tell her for now."
"Alright, I promise you, Nona Skadi, I will no longer use Seaborn blood, but I will continue to use the blood of other beasts."
Sighing, Goki chose to conceal some of the truth.
The Abyssal Hunters' Bloodline has always flowed with Seaborn blood—at least for now, Skadi would absolutely not be able to accept this fact.
But as a former Doctor, Goki knew that Red Skadi was much more useful than the current Titi.
Her Sanity was gone, but she also became stronger.
That Skadi was just a possibility, but Goki didn't want the girl in front of him to become like that.
"At least you still have some sanity—once we find a nearby town, we'll part ways."
Nodding, Skadi felt a little relieved.
"Okay, okay, Nona Skadi, but do you know which town we're going to?"
Running a few steps, Goki tried to keep pace with Skadi but could only barely match her speed.
"Who knows? Iberia built many mobile cities near the coast, but they are all abandoned and dead, just like the shallow sea—no, I think I know this city. Second Captain once told me about it at a ball."
Thinking of her former comrade, Skadi showed a fleeting moment of sadness, but she suppressed it in front of Goki.
"According to the Aegir language… yes, it's called Saltwind City?"
Hearing the familiar place name from Skadi's mouth, Goki's eyes widened slightly.
"It sounds… not like a good place."
"The land is never a good place… Goki, dodge!"
Suddenly, the strength at Goki's wrist intensified, and he was flung backward by Skadi's immense force.
Bang—
Accompanied by a heavy impact, a massive harpoon pierced the spot where Goki had been.
"Enemy attack?"
With low Physique, Goki belatedly realized the enemy's attack. He adjusted his posture in mid-air and barely managed to stand on the beach.
He saw a tall and elegant… humanoid creature standing before him.
Her attire was similar to Skadi's.
"Abyssal Hunter?"
But then, the prompt that popped up in Goki's mind denied this idea.
"You witnessed the extension of the Deep Sea's Touch, Insight + 1"
At this moment, Goki and Skadi both seemed to hear… singing.
"No, she once was, but she is no longer. She is no longer herself."
Looking at the familiar yet strange figure, Skadi silently took down the greatsword from her back.
She hadn't had time to escape her homeland, and her homeland had come for her.
"Hide well, I'm going to execute her."