"Are you certain we're actually tracking those cultists?"
After walking for a long time, Skadi, who wasn't particularly fond of questioning others' directions, finally turned to look at Jeanne leading the way.
It wasn't that she doubted Jeanne's abilities—the young woman's sharp instincts had proven themselves time and again throughout their journey. But something was clearly wrong. If Skadi's memory served her right, this was the fifth time they had passed the exact same unusually shaped stone building.
They were walking in circles around the same neighborhood. While neither of them felt physical fatigue, wandering aimlessly like this made little sense.
"I can't say for sure," Jeanne muttered, scratching her head in frustration as she slowed her pace. "My instincts tell me their hideout is somewhere right around here, but I can't pinpoint an entrance anywhere."
In her mind, the presence of the cultists was either constantly shifting positions or somehow fully sealed off, leaving no physical doorway into their stronghold.
"It sounds like our enemies built an underground fortress or a hidden bunker here," Skadi deduced, looking out over the quiet, run-down district with a heavy sigh.
This wasn't an abandoned strip like the back alleys from before. For the cult to construct such a massive, hidden complex right under the noses of the local authorities was something neither woman had anticipated.
Skadi surmised that the entrance was likely guarded by a specialized Arts seal or a rigged pathway—one that would collapse or self-destruct if anyone attempted to breach it without the proper passphrase or item.
A barrier of that caliber only proved one thing: whatever lay hidden beneath this sector was a vital, high-value stronghold for The Deep Sea Church.
"If that's the case... we'll just have to be patient," Jeanne said, her gaze sweeping over the silent stone walls. "Against a heavily fortified lair, all we can do is wait for them to make a mistake and reveal a crack in their defenses. Rushing in blindly won't accomplish anything."
"Agreed," Skadi nodded.
After passing their findings to the nearby Inquisitor patrols, the two decided to step away from the immediate search and clear their heads.
Since arriving in this coastal nation, Jeanne had harbored a quiet desire to catch a glimpse of the vast ocean. Having spent so much time inland and traveling through Ursus, she had never actually seen the sea with her own eyes.
Since the shoreline itself was swarming with monstrosities, they chose a safer route: mounting their wyvern, and taking to the skies to survey the coastline from above.
"You know, this is my very first time seeing the ocean," Jeanne said, leaning slightly over the edge of the wyvern's saddle as the howling wind rushed past them. "In a place like Ursus, wishing to see the sea is nothing more than a pipe dream."
She gazed down at the vast, endless expanse of rolling blue waves, her eyes filled with genuine wonder. Beside her, Fafnir tilted her head, curiously watching the churn of the water far below.
"If you lived anywhere near these shores, you'd quickly lose that sense of wonder," Skadi murmured, shaking her head with a bittersweet smile. "Most people around here pray for the sea to dry up entirely. They believe their lives would be infinitely better if the ocean simply ceased to exist."
To the people of Iberia, the ocean was a source of endless suffering, a dark abyss that bred relentless, terrifying monsters.
"I can understand why they feel that way," Jeanne replied with a slight shrug, her eyes still fixed on the horizon. "But as an outsider, those tragedies don't weigh on me in the same personal way."
Looking down at the calm surface of the water, it was hard to imagine that such tranquility gave birth to the horrific creatures known as the Seaborn.
If she didn't know how deadly the waters truly were, Jeanne might have been tempted to dive right in and feel the tide for herself.
"Though, it seems the sea really doesn't like me very much," Jeanne added, her lips twisting into a dry, awkward smile as she watched the surface below start to churn. "Just flying overhead is enough to trigger a reaction from them."
Far below, jagged forms began breaching the water's surface. Hundreds of Seaborn organisms were surging upward, their dark, mutated bodies thrashing against the waves. They possessed an instinctual, murderous impulse to tear Jeanne apart—or perhaps, to snatch away whatever she was carrying.
They had encountered this presence before. The collective consciousness of the ocean monsters remembered the distinct frequency of the artifact in her possession, and they were willing to throw away countless lives just to push toward the mainland and reclaim it.
Their target was Jeanne—or more specifically, the ancient tool she carried, the one object capable of disrupting their endless, terrifying proliferation.
Can a single horn really hold that much power?
Jeanne wondered silently. Reaching beneath her mantle, she drew forth the golden horn suspended around her neck. Holding it up against the rushing wind, she examined the exquisite, intricate craftsmanship of the gleaming artifact.
The moment the golden horn was exposed to the open air, the sea below erupted into chaos.
Scores of flying, fish-like Seaborn leaped out of the water, spreading biological gliders as they launched themselves into the sky. They surged upward toward the flying wyvern, their twisted jaws snapping frantically in an attempt to tear the tiny golden artifact from Jeanne's grip.
Unfortunately for them, they lacked limbs to grasp it.
"They definitely recognize that item," Skadi said, her voice strained. She forced herself to avert her gaze from the horn in Jeanne's hand, fighting off a sudden, overwhelming urge that threatened to swallow her mind.
A strange, unnatural heat was boiling in her blood. A dark, primal instinct was screaming at her from deep within her consciousness, urging her to strike Jeanne down and seize the golden horn for herself. Every fiber of her being felt as though that artifact was something she desperately needed to possess.
Skadi knew these thoughts were wrong, but she couldn't suppress the maddening impulses clawing at her sanity. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head violently, trying to rattle the dark thoughts free.
When that failed, she raised her clenched fist and brought it down hard against the side of her own head. She didn't hold back at all—she struck herself with enough raw force to knock a normal person unconscious!
Thud! Thud!
Hearing what sounded like someone cracking heavy walnuts right behind her, Jeanne spun around in her saddle, only to see Skadi striking herself in a desperate display of self-inflicted pain.
"What are you doing?!" Jeanne gasped, startled by the sight. She had seen people hurt themselves before, but watching a warrior as strong as Skadi beat herself senseless was terrifying.
"Are you alright? Is something wrong?" Jeanne asked softly, lowering her voice out of concern, worried that shouting might destabilize the Abyssal Hunter even further.
"Don't worry... It's just a momentary lapse in my mental state," Skadi rasped, forcing a strained, pale smile onto her face.
"How am I supposed to not worry when you look like that?!" Jeanne countered, her brows furrowing. The weak, tormented expression on the hunter's face made it obvious that something was terribly wrong.
"I'm fine," Skadi insisted, her breathing heavy as she fought for control. "It's just... being this close to the ocean triggers a reaction. I can feel the call."
She clearly wanted to avoid dwelling on the subject, deeply unsettled by how easily her mind had been compromised.
Attempting to change the subject, Skadi reached out, caught one of the gliding sea monsters mid-air, and tore it in half with her bare hands.
"What actually is that horn?" Skadi asked, tossing the mangled carcass aside as she looked back at Jeanne. "Why do the Seaborn lose their minds the moment they see it?"
"This? You could say it's a gift from a god," Jeanne said, lightly tossing the golden horn in her hand. "Bottom line, it's extremely powerful!"
As she moved the horn, another swarm of flying beasts launched themselves out of the waves, soaring toward them with open maws.
Seeing the swarm close in, Jeanne commanded the wyvern to climb higher into the sky. The mutated beasts below could only glide on the wind currents; gaining true altitude was beyond their biological reach.
"Fafnir, no! You can't eat that!" Jeanne suddenly barked, catching the dragon mid-bite as Fafnir snapped her jaws around a falling Seaborn creature.
Fafnir let out a low, disappointed whine, her glowing eyes lingering on the sea below. There were so, so many of those squishy little things swimming down there! If they were edible, she would never have to worry about running out of food again!
"Honestly, it's not like I'm starving you!" Jeanne laughed affectionately.
Dejected, Fafnir opened her maw and let the sea monster drop back down into the ocean below.
Sitting atop the wyvern's back, high above the churning waves, Jeanne turned her attention back to the gleaming golden horn resting in her palm. As she stared at the intricate patterns etched into the metal, a sudden, bold thought flashed through her mind.
What if... I give it a little blow?