Nora calmly walked toward Goldsteel Shelter.
The towering fortress stood like an ancient guardian between the mountains, its walls forged from golden steel that reflected the afternoon sun. Countless scars covered its surface, proof that the shelter had survived more monster invasions than anyone cared to remember.
Standing before the entrance...
Klaus.
The moment he saw Nora approaching, his confident smile froze.
"...Impossible."
His eyes narrowed.
"I watched you get swallowed by the orb."
Nora stopped a few meters away.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I have my ways."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Now..."
"Bring them out."
"Or you'll regret it."
The surrounding gang immediately burst into laughter.
Klaus himself chuckled.
"An Initiate..."
"...threatening an Awakened?"
Without another word, he raised his hand.
Several sharp spears of water condensed around him before shooting toward Nora at terrifying speed.
Nora didn't move.
The spears flew halfway—
Then suddenly lost their shape.
The compressed water became unstable before collapsing into harmless streams that splashed onto the ground.
Klaus frowned.
"What..."
He looked at his own hand in disbelief.
"My attack..."
"...why is it so weak?"
Nora's smile widened slightly.
"Look beneath your feet."
Only then did Klaus lower his head.
His pupils contracted.
A pale blue rune stretched beneath him.
It covered the entire battlefield without anyone noticing.
Its lines weren't identical to Ocean God's ancient design.
Instead...
They carried Nora's own style.
Elegant.
Simple.
Fluid.
Steel Water.
The first Runic Sorcery Nora had created herself.
It quietly spread beneath Klaus and every member of his group.
The moment they stepped inside it...
The seal activated.
Their essence immediately became sluggish.
Their cores slowed.
Even circulating essence suddenly felt several times heavier.
They hadn't become weak.
Their real strength had simply been sealed away.
...
Far below...
Inside the endless Dark Abyss...
Rose and Nora's clone continued falling.
The gigantic mouth beneath them opened wider.
Rows upon rows of enormous teeth waited patiently for their prey.
Just before they reached it—
Their bodies suddenly stopped.
They remained suspended in midair.
The orb surrounding them trembled.
The blue seal Nora had secretly attached to it earlier finally activated.
She hadn't known whether it would work.
She had simply gambled.
Fortunately...
She won.
Back outside...
The seal continued suppressing Klaus.
Nora calmly extended another rune.
This one quietly landed on the black orb hanging at Klaus' waist.
The seal didn't destroy it.
Instead...
It temporarily interrupted the flow of essence sustaining the artifact.
Five long minutes passed.
Klaus' group became increasingly exhausted.
Their techniques weakened.
Their movements slowed.
Meanwhile Nora remained completely calm.
Finally...
Klaus gritted his teeth.
"Damn it..."
He could no longer maintain the artifact.
With an irritated wave of his hand, the black orb trembled before releasing a pillar of dark light.
A moment later—
Rose and Nora's clone were expelled from inside.
Both landed heavily on the ground.
Rose immediately rolled several times before standing.
The false Nora quietly looked toward the real Nora.
Then...
She dissolved into countless threads of destiny before disappearing completely.
Only now did Rose understand the entire plan.
From the very beginning...
The real Nora had never entered the orb.
She had remained outside.
Meditating.
Learning Runic Sorcery.
Everything that happened afterward had been part of Nora's counterattack.
Rose looked at Nora before smiling helplessly.
"You really planned all of that..."
Nora simply shrugged.
"I wasn't sure it would work."
Rose laughed softly.
"I hate how calm you say that."
Without wasting another second, Rose turned toward Klaus' group.
"If we're taking revenge..."
"...we might as well do it properly."
Several vines erupted from the earth.
Weapons.
Storage pouches.
Relics.
Everything valuable the group possessed was stripped away one item after another.
The gang wanted to resist.
Unfortunately...
The seal still suppressed them.
They could only watch helplessly as Rose robbed them clean.
Klaus clenched his fists so tightly that blood dripped from his palms.
"You'll regret this."
Rose smiled sweetly.
"Maybe."
"But today..."
"...you're the one leaving empty-handed."
...
One month later...
The expedition finally reached its destination.
The Great River.
Nora had changed considerably during the journey.
The constant battles against Awakened creatures had greatly increased her Tyrant Fragments.
Her Ocean Sealing Sorcery had also improved tremendously.
She could now place her seals on ropes...
Weapons...
Even ordinary pieces of cloth.
Anything capable of carrying water could become the medium of her sealing technique.
She still wasn't perfect.
The seal became less effective against opponents possessing exceptionally powerful wills.
Yet...
Each time Nora sealed a creature...
Her own will quietly became stronger.
Almost as though the technique itself tempered its user.
The Thread of Seven Hands had also revealed something fascinating.
Ocean God's Runic Sorcery wasn't unique.
Other gods possessed their own Runic Sorceries as well.
Each followed different principles.
Some manipulated fire.
Others space.
Others even memories.
Although the foundation remained similar...
Every god walked an entirely different path.
Nora resisted the temptation to learn another one.
Trying to master two Runic Sorceries simultaneously would only slow her progress.
For now...
Ocean Sealing remained enough.
Rose suddenly slowed down.
"We're here."
Ahead of them stretched a gigantic lake.
Its surface remained perfectly still.
Too still.
Even the wind seemed unwilling to disturb it.
Rose's expression became serious.
"The River Spawn should be somewhere beneath that water."
Not far away...
Another group rested beside the shore.
Cynthia.
Philip.
And the remaining members of their cohort.
The past five days had been miserable.
The River Spawn had proven far stronger than expected.
Every night they challenged it.
Every morning they retreated to recover.
Despite possessing Elite-grade equipment...
They hadn't even reached its nest.
When Cynthia noticed Rose approaching...
Her expression remained as cold as ever.
Only her eyes changed slightly.
Rose stopped several meters away.
Her gaze locked onto Cynthia.
"I never thought..."
"...you'd try killing me like that."
Silence.
Philip instinctively became nervous.
The other cohort members exchanged uncertain glances.
Cynthia simply looked at Rose.
Her expression remained unreadable.
No guilt.
No anger.
No sadness.
Only the same calm face she always wore.
For several long seconds...
She said nothing.
Then...
To everyone's surprise...
She slightly lowered her head.
"We're done fighting."
Rose's eyes narrowed.
She didn't lower her guard.
Not even slightly.
Cynthia continued calmly,
"We've been here for five days."
"The River Spawn has defeated us every single night."
She slowly raised her head again.
Her expression remained completely cold.
"We need your strength."
Not because she suddenly cared.
Not because she wanted forgiveness.
Simply because it was the logical decision.
Philip slowly stepped forward.
His voice carried obvious embarrassment.
"Rose..."
"I'm sorry."
"We underestimated both of you."
Rose remained silent.
She knew Cynthia too well.
Someone like her didn't apologize because of emotions.
She apologized because she had already calculated every possible outcome.
To Cynthia...
This was simply the most efficient path.
Nora quietly observed both women.
She couldn't determine whether Cynthia had truly changed.
Or whether this was simply another calculation.
Either way...
Only time would reveal the truth.
As the final rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon...
The surface of the Great River began to ripple.
Rose slowly gripped her sword.
Cynthia tightened her spear.
Nora quietly summoned Thread Breaker.
Everyone fell silent.
Because they all knew...
The River Spawn was coming.