Nasir was a mechanic aboard the ship.
He was long accustomed to the sensation of his body swaying with the waves and the experience of not setting foot on land for days or even months.
Repairing ships was simple, routine work for him. The best part was that as long as he had the skills, he didn't have to deal with people much. No one could force him out of his position.
But this voyage had been unusually tough for Nasir—there were far too many tourists on board. They kept wandering into areas that were normally deserted.
Nasir couldn't understand why anyone would find the buzzing machines and monotonous pipes more interesting than the theater on the upper decks.
The parking area did have some luxury cars, but what baffled him even more was how the tourists kept gravitating toward the cargo vehicles instead.
As an ordinary mechanic, Nasir didn't have the authority to chase away these paying guests. He could only scowl, lug his ropes and toolbox, and quickly pass by the strange visitors.
He felt their probing gazes on him, sharp and scrutinizing, like searchlights. It made him extremely uncomfortable and brought to mind certain movies he'd watched—
Films like "Dead Calm (1989)," "Death Ship (1980)," or "The Last Voyage of Noah's Ark (1980)"
The thought instantly made Nasir wary. Feigning an inspection of the water pipes, he tapped here and there with his small hammer while secretly observing the suspicious tourists.
That's when he noticed something that sent a chill down his spine.
Just seconds earlier, an old man with a cold, piercing gaze who had been standing near the stairs had vanished!
He had been one of the people Nasir was planning to keep an eye on, but now there was no trace of him. Nasir's heart pounded heavily twice before he managed to calm himself with an explanation:
He must have left! Yes, that's it!
There's nothing down here worth sticking around for anyway.
Nasir shifted his gaze to the others:
A woman in a green floral dress, a middle-aged man in a sharp business suit who looked like he sold insurance, a white-haired old man with a cheerful smile, a man with neatly parted hair and slightly dark skin, a burly man with arms so thick they seemed capable of punching a cow to death, and a short-haired woman with a forced smile.
In total, there were about a dozen people scattered around the parking area. They weren't grouped together—some were inspecting their vehicles, some were leaning against the narrow windows, admiring the ocean view, and others seemed to be aimlessly wandering.
Individually, they appeared normal, but having such people all in the same place at the same time felt peculiar.
Moreover, while these people didn't seem to know each other, they were clearly keeping a wary eye on one another.
Nasir continued to tap lightly on the water pipes, straining to read the lips of two individuals engaged in conversation.
"You... also want a piece of the pie..."
"These... are extremely valuable resources. There's no way we can let you... We need to... The ship will arrive soon..."
"We might as well kill... so no one can get them..."
"You can't possibly... These wizards represent immense... Perhaps we could collaborate on magic and alchemy development... But we must also drive out..."
One of the men had his back to Nasir, so he could only occasionally glimpse his moving lips. The other man's words were baffling to him.
Magic? Did I misunderstand? Are these people discussing a film project?
Magic doesn't exist, Nasir told himself. So these people couldn't possibly be up to anything nefarious, right?
His simple mind couldn't make sense of the situation, so he decided to keep observing.
Moments later, a chill ran down his spine.
The woman in the floral dress standing in the corner had vanished too!
Am I seeing things?
His vision felt oddly blurred, as though a mist was settling in. Nasir rubbed his eyes, then looked up again—only to feel certain that even more people were gone.
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Some of the individuals began shouting at each other. One leapt forward to attack, another pulled out a gun, while someone else tried to make a phone call, and others attempted to flee.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out. A bullet flew through the air, striking an old man in the leg—the very one who had been in negotiations moments ago.
But instead of screaming in pain, the old man collapsed silently to the ground with his eyes shut. Nasir thought he glimpsed a faint red light striking the man just before he fell.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
The sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed repeatedly. From a distance, Nasir stepped back in a panic. But then his knees buckled, and a sudden, overwhelming drowsiness overtook him, making it impossible to remain standing.
"Thud!"
The last person still struggling to stay conscious also fell.
"What's going on?!"
Inside the truck-cab, Dahl had noticed the commotion outside. The bearded man Donovan in the passenger seat appeared equally shocked, feigning surprise while secretly thinking:
"Which group is responsible for this?"
Unease crept into his heart as he remembered the large sum of money he had swindled. The thought of escaping crossed his mind.
Suddenly, a thin, mist-like white vapor began seeping through the truck's air conditioning vents.
"Someone's attacking! Be careful!"
Dahl swiftly covered the bearded man's mouth and nose with one hand, held his own breath, and with a powerful kick, flung open the car door. Dragging the bearded man, he leaped out of the truck!
Dahl's gut told him this was bad.
—To make so many people pass out like that... A wizard!
It must be a wizard tracking them down!
He thought of the leader's fear of this land, and the legendary elder who had twice prevented the world's most evil dark wizard from initiating mass slaughter. Dahl's unease reached its peak.
Yet, after all the meticulous planning and effort they'd put into this mission, he couldn't bring himself to abandon it so easily.
—Even if we can't take everyone back! As long as I can take one… If I can bring back Wade Grey, the leader will still be satisfied!
In Dahl's pocket was a Portkey—one that would activate with a firm squeeze.
It was an emergency escape tool given to him by the leader, to be used only as a last resort.
—If I can just grab one person's arm and bring them to the leader, there's hope for changing the centuries of slaughter, oppression, and exclusion that werewolves have suffered at the hands of wizards!
Dragging the bearded man Donovan, Dahl leaped out of the truck and rolled twice on the ground to avoid any anticipated attacks. Using the bearded man as a shield, he ducked low and made a dash toward the back of the truck.
The drawback of most spells... they could only target one person at a time!
The bearded man Donovan hadn't realized he was being used as a human shield. In fact, during the jump, he'd been cushioned beneath Dahl and had twisted his ankle.
As Dahl dragged him across the ground, the bearded man hit his head. He instinctively took a few breaths of the surrounding air, and soon his head became foggy.
He felt drowsy but knew the situation was dangerous and that he needed to escape!
The bearded man clung to his last shred of clarity and forced his eyes open, only to see Dahl's face twisted in a crazed expression. Quickly, Dahl unlocked the iron door at the back of the truck.
"Screeeech—"
For some reason, the sound of metal scraping was excruciatingly sharp.
A hairy, black figure leapt out of the truck and enthusiastically pounced on Dahl, snapping its jaws around his head with a crisp "Click!"
"Pop!"
Dahl, now topped with what looked like a massive black fur ball, vanished on the spot.
The bearded man Donovan stared blankly ahead…
A swarm of spiders, each the size of a calf, came pouring out.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!"
Blood-curdling screams echoed through the entire deck of the ship.
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