Chapter 1048: Dark Helper

Crackle.

The door of one of the four towers opened as a worried Risha ran inside. She returned to the Lower Ring as fast as she could.

Not all Red Bears members were free to enter the captain’s chamber, but Risha had some privileges because of who one of the captains was.

"Brother!" she exclaimed, looking at Orel, who sat across from Lorana and Hygon.

The large table was lit only by a few dim lamps, which didn’t stop them from thinking, because there was nothing to discuss now. At least not until Risha arrived.

"Hm?" Orel turned around slowly, raising an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Adam... He’s at the Dark Shore!"

Despite Risha’s panic and the flood of thoughts that she couldn’t stop, Orel, Lorana, and Hygon quickly realized the situation.

Naturally, Risha hoped her brother would help find and rescue Adam, but he was willing to risk himself only for her.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Risha exclaimed, angrily hitting the table. "You’re a K4-Phantom! You’re all on the edge of evolution! Just a little more and you’ll be a Second Rank Phantom! Is the Dark Shore really that dangerous!!!?"

Orel did not react to her shout in any way. Once he realized what happened, he expected a similar reaction.

"Calm down." His low voice boomed out. "You can’t help Adam with your screaming. None of us is capable of doing that, though."

Risha wanted to scream again, but behind her, Lorana appeared out of the shadows. She gently touched Risha’s shoulder and sat her down in a chair.

She smiled weakly. "Risha... You only recently learned of the existence of the Dark Shore, so... you don’t know much yet."

The three of them looked at each other.

Thanks to Hygon’s observation, they knew what happened at the Fallen Ring Castle. They were not surprised that Arnoth had told Adam and Risha about the Dark Shore.

They would have found out about it anyway when they became the K4-Phantoms. It was the path that everyone who approached the barrier of their abilities went through.

Risha clenched her fists. "But...! You guys are really strong!"

"That’s not the only problem," Hygon uttered.

It was a rare occasion when he had a serious expression on his face rather than a cheerful smile.

"First of all, at the Dark Shore, there are places where even a K4-Phantom isn’t a significant force. There aren’t very many such places, but they are there."

After a few moments, Risha gulped.

"Is it that bad? Could Adam be in a region where only the Second Rank Phantoms can help him?"

Hygon nodded weakly with a heavy sigh.

"However, even if we had a Second Rank Phantom who would be willing to go to Adam’s aid, we don’t know where he is."

"But!" Risha jumped up from her seat. "Silvana sees everything through shared vision! What’s more, his NEP should be working even now, shouldn’t it?"

"Yes, but the Dark Shore isn’t the Pacific or the Wild Lands. It’s not even considered part of the Dead Lands, it’s a completely different, poorly explored region and..."

Then, Hygon fell silent, afraid to say something Risha wasn’t supposed to know yet.

"Khm," he coughed. "Anyway, there’s a reason for that. Unlike the Pacific Lands, where every major region is explored and the Wild Lands, where we know almost all the major points and many small areas, the Dark Shore is not as well known."

Lorana stepped into the conversation to save Hygon from a difficult situation.

"The Dark Shore is a great and dangerous region. The K4-Phantoms and even more so the Second Rank Phantoms are not enough to constantly go there on missions and explore the areas. It’s very distinct from what the K0-K3 Phantoms do. It’s a different battlefield.

"And, even if we can determine where Adam is, there are two problems. One, even with the fastest fighter, it will take one to three hours to get to the Dark Shore. Two, we don’t have a Second Rank Phantom who would be willing to do that."

Risha bit her lip as she stared at Orel, who sat with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Our head! The leader of the Red Bears! He’s like all the other leaders of the four beasts a Second Rank Phantom!"

"And?" Orel raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do? What arguments do I have to convince a leader to go save a K3-Phantom?"

Then, Orel stood up and slowly approached Risha, gently taking her hand.

"If it were you, I’d be on my way to your rescue by now. But... Adam is a stranger. He’s an ally, but he’s not one of us. We know him too little to take such risks. Unfortunately, all we can do is hope Adam finds his way back."

Orel wasn’t lying, and that only made Risha feel worse.

"Damn it!"

...

The man with black hair and blue eyes nodded slightly. He got an update before Orel, Lorana, and Hygon knew about it.

"Hah, Adam ended up at the Dark Shore. That’s what happens when you progress too fast. In one run, he went from the middle of the K3-Level to making the Third Key."

Aiden’s amber eyes swept over to Gladius for a moment. Even he was surprised to hear such a thing.

"Hmm... The Dark Shore? However, it could happen. The Hollow Wave monsters were his opponents at the place where the black flash appeared. Everything happens to this guy to make him die."

In a heartbeat, an insidious grin covered Gladius’s face as his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Isn’t that a good thing? It was situations like this that made him so strong."

Then, he tilted his head.

"You’re not going to help him? After all, Adam Vinter is one of your best chances to accomplish your goal, even if you didn’t think he could achieve such things."

"No."

Aiden looked away.

"What’s more, an old friend of mine is there now... Given all the events, they’ll cross paths. Unless, of course, Adam dies in the first ten minutes."

In response, Gladius shrugged as his frame shuddered, tearing into chunks of darkness.

"Suit yourself. I’m going anyway. I’m sure something interesting will happen there! When was it different at the Dark Shore, though?"

Thus, Gladius disappeared, leaving behind only a wisp of darkness.