The night raged with a tempestuous fury, waves roaring like beasts unleashed.
Fate had sculpted his eyes into mirrors of relentless hatred, a venomous loathing so potent it radiated outward, chilling all who drew near to the marrow-deep cold of his presence.
Thus, he was forced into perpetual concealment, revealing his true self only under the cloak of darkness.
Kiram perched atop the mast, letting the storm-lashed winds batter him without flinching, his indifference suggesting a heart already more violent and frigid than the tempest itself.
Compared to Green, the orphan of the remote Bisser City, Kiram's destiny was far more twisted and extraordinary.
Fifteen years prior, in a quiet village on the Wizard Continent, a night of serenity was shattered by the arrival of a terrifying dark wizard, who slaughtered all who dared resist his will.
The true purpose of this malevolent sorcerer was chillingly pragmatic: he sought living humans as experimental subjects.
No one could fathom the mind of a dark wizard. Straying from the path of true wizardry, they pursued power by any means, seeing even their weaker kin merely as stepping stones to greater strength.
Yet the primal purpose of wizardry had always been to safeguard humanity from predatory forces of otherworldly might.
Within the confines of darkness, Kiram endured more than a decade of ceaseless torment. From witnessing, as a child, his loved ones seized by the dark wizard's irresistible power and subjected to cruel experiments, to watching successive batches of new "materials" imprisoned in cages, he bore witness to horrors of unimaginable cruelty and perversity.
Until one day, fate intervened.
No one, not even the dark wizard himself, understood why Kiram survived trial after trial, each offering but a one-in-a-million chance of survival, yet he emerged unscathed. Confronted repeatedly with death, his eyes had calmed, crystallized into an icy abyss, like the legendary frozen voids where shadows weep.
Years later, when the demon-hunting wizards of the Heksota Academy slew the dark sorcerer and freed the imprisoned innocents, Kiram finally reclaimed his freedom after over a decade of darkness.
Henceforth, he regarded Heksota Academy as home.
Through the concerted efforts of Heksota's wizards, the mystery of Kiram's improbable survivals was unraveled. Amid astonishment, the academy realized they had in their midst a prodigy, a rare talent destined for glory in the hallowed Santa Trials.
Soon, intelligence reached Heksota: two extraordinary prodigies had appeared on the distant Eastern Coral Island, a domain of another academy,Lilith's Cottage.
Driven by ambition, Heksota, adhering to the creed of competition, survival of the fittest, and natural selection, launched a meticulously planned operation.
"Coo… coo…"
In the darkness, an owl alighted upon Kiram's shoulder. He showed no surprise, his obsidian eyes meeting the bird's gaze.
"At this pace, you should reach the target waters by around seven tomorrow morning. When you release the substance into the cabins, consider the mission complete," the owl whispered in human tongue.
"I understand," Kiram replied solemnly.
The gale swept past, sending the owl flapping into the distance. Kiram remained unmoved, his cold eyes fixed upon the infinite black horizon.
"Kiram? Solam?"
…
In these days, Green's life seemed consumed by two pursuits: studying spellbooks and consuming fresh fish mushroom soup.
Inside the cabin, day and night were indistinguishable; only the lingering glow of burnt-down candles defied the seeming eternity of darkness.
Rubbing his weary, bloodshot eyes, Green closed the Nose-Hunting Alterations and Olfactory Codex, which he had been poring over for hours.
Stretching, he murmured, "Binhansen hasn't come by for ages… perhaps I should take a walk."
Stiff from prolonged stillness, his joints protesting with a series of creaks, Green secured his spellbooks and Magic Stone and departed the cabin.
"Is it morning already?" he muttered in surprise, convinced it was still deep night.
A sudden thunderous roar shook the ship. Green, ascending the fifth-level cabin toward the deck, was thrown off balance, the vessel pitching violently.
His first thought: the ship had struck a reef.
Before he could recover, chaos erupted.
"What's happening? Did we hit a reef?"
"Help! Sea monster!"
Apprentices poured onto the deck in panic, only to be confronted by a colossal creature at the threshold—a two-and-a-half-meter giant, upper body humanoid, lower body serpentine, draped in azure scales, wielding a gleaming metal trident, eyes ravenous as they surveyed the stupefied apprentices.
A collective intake of breath confirmed their worst fear: none could contend with this monster.
From a nearby doorway, a bewildered apprentice peeked out, witnessing the horror, muttering a curse, only for the trident to pierce him in a gruesome instant, the crude weapon dragging forth intestines, blood flooding the cabin.
"Run! A sea demon! The sea demon is killing!"
Panic spread like wildfire. Apprentices scrambled, shoved, and fled, while the fourth-level cabins, in confusion, only compounded the chaos.
"Green! This way!" Yorkris shouted, with Yorkliana close behind. Relief washed over Green as he hurried toward them.
"Wait for me!"
Raffie, inexplicably uneasy alone, joined them, adding strength in numbers. Two panicked apprentices had taken refuge in Yorkris's room, the group barricading the door with beds and tables.
Outside, the corridor echoed with screams—heart-wrenching wails that hinted at carnage beyond comprehension. Dozens, if not more than twenty apprentices, had surely fallen.
Amidst the carnage, the distant clash of humans and the rasping roar of the monster signaled the arrival of the sailors. For the first time, the rough, crude seamen seemed a blessing.
Yet even as they fought, screams persisted. A sudden crash from the adjoining room heralded fresh despair—another monster had broken in, and the room fell silent save for ragged breathing and pounding hearts.
A male apprentice whispered, "It's alright. Wizard Dira will save us. She can slay these sea beasts."
Hope flickered in their eyes.
Thunder rumbled as the vessel shuddered again. The room shook violently, and the sound of splintering wood was followed by a deluge of wooden debris, a storm of destruction.
Green and the others huddled, closing their eyes. When they dared to look, sunlight spilled into the room, revealing a nightmare made flesh.
A gaping hole, seven to eight meters wide, split the ship's hull, Yorkris's cabin at its center. A monstrous "sea serpent," black as midnight, two meters thick, crawled upward through the breach.
A female apprentice screamed, impaled by a wooden beam, blood pooling around her. Despair etched every face; Green noticed his own leg soaked in blood from a splintered plank.
Yorkris, frantic, shielded Yorkliana's eyes. A branch had torn across half her face, even penetrating an eye—a grievous, though nonfatal, wound.
Raffie, pale, clutched her left shoulder, mangled and bloodied. In an instant, only Yorkris and a male apprentice remained relatively unscathed.
The sea serpent's crimson eyes gleamed through the partially impaled door as it thrust its metal trident once more. All faces bore the same wordless despair…