My SSS-Rank Class Is Blood Monarch!

"What?" Arthur looked up, snapping out of his daze.

"Someone ahead is saying they have found the trace to the island. We're basically a few minutes away from our destination."

Hearing that, Arthur blinked before nodding faintly. "Tell them not to move any further than this point. I'm coming there in a moment."

"Roger!"

After that, Germa disappeared quickly to deliver the orders. That was the first piece of good news the boy had had in a long while, so he was very relieved and yet also very nervous. They finally reached their destination with minimal losses, but that didn't mean that they were somehow in a better position. In fact,

The Void had become even darker, and the feeling of danger filled Arthur's senses in every direction. Wherever he looked, the fear of the unknown hit him like a train. There was simply something about this darkness that gave him a feeling of true fear that he had rarely experienced before.

Yet, with sheer composure and will, Arthur remained fairly calm and level-headed as he knew that all of this darkness was simply a veil of mystery trying to trap him and suck the life out of him. It was akin to a hungry monster waiting for any moment where he would falter or lose focus, and it would consume him.

The environment around him was pushing him toward that kind of mistake, beckoning him to just rest his mind for a moment. It was dark, and it was very hard to see. His eyes were getting exhausted, and his mind had been working constantly for the past 20 hours or so. He was feeling very tired, mentally and physically.

'My stamina recovery has been crucial for me to keep fit for so long. I have been fighting for almost an entire day without any rest.' He mused as he walked to the front of the group. 'I'm glad I worked on my stamina too, so it's very high right now. I don't know what could've happened if it wasn't this high.'

The battles themselves weren't difficult or deadly, but the fact they occurred so often for hours and hours was what worried Arthur. As strong as he was, he was still a human, and he could get tired, which would never change.

Reaching the front of the group, he looked at the darkness ahead. There was no indication of the island being near visually but… The indications felt by his other senses were more than enough.

Just a mere glance into the darkness had gotten Arthur even more tense than before. His skin shuddered, and he felt a cold sensation run through his limbs. It was a completely different feeling from what he had experienced so far. There was no mystery around it, this was pure, unfiltered sense of danger he was experiencing.

The mere look in this direction was akin to staring at a hungry monster, and the more he looked, the more that monster threatened to swallow him.

"... What the hell is this feeling? So evil… It's like a wave of darkness washing over my face." He muttered under his breath. It truly felt like the most malicious place he had ever been in. Everything about it was just… demonic.

'Demonic?' Arthur raised an eyebrow. 'Why was that the first thought I had? It surely isn't… demonic, right?'

That mere idea made Arthur gulp a mouthful of saliva before he looked to the side. "Tell everyone to get prepared. We may end up fighting more Human Chimeras or other… things."

"..." Germa nodded faintly before he turned around to the group.

Meanwhile, Arthur slowly pulled his sword out and stepped forward. His steps were careful and slow, almost as if he was approaching a sleeping demon. His hand gripped the sword tightly, and his mana was passively moving through his body.

"Make sure to stay behind me at a close distance. Nobody should move away from the group." He said. His eyes didn't look back for a moment, fearing what could just jump out of the darkness to attack him.

Each step was unnerving, and each step made the fear stronger. It was quiet. Arthur could hear his breathing in his ears, and he could feel everything almost better than usual.

It made him conscious of everything around him, and that only further heightened his fear. But his composure remained steadfast, and his will kept his focus on the path.

Behind him, the group walked in silence, their hearts racing. Almost everyone there had never reached this point before as it was extremely dangerous and prohibited by Yonathan.

The tales they heard about it were numerous and it only further worried them. This was the place where almost all their loved ones died, after all. They were almost certain that whatever happened, their numbers wouldn't stay the same.

That idea was terrifying, but it was also something that drove them to do their best so that the most number of people could leave this world.

Their steps paved their way through the darkness, and the anticipation of a new sight plagued their mind. They were fearful of what might be lying behind the darkness.

"Hm?" Ahead of the group, Arthur was the first to notice a weird change. For some reason, the atmosphere around him shifted again out of nowhere, making him stop. He couldn't put his finger on what felt wrong, but he was certain something had changed.

'I can't see anything.' He mused with squinted eyes. Then, he slowly took a few steps forward after signaling for Germa to stop everyone in their track.

Under everyone's attention, he took cautious steps forward, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Something felt extremely wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it yet. The scenery didn't change, and neither did the darkness.

'Then what am I feeling?!' Arthur clenched his teeth as he looked left and right. "If there is something, it better come ou-"

At that moment, Arthur's heart stopped beating for a second as his entire body froze in its place.

*Drop*

His eyes widened as it slowly moved down, hearing a noise he wished to not hear at all. But, he heard it very quickly… The sound of the sand shifting almost as if it was falling down.

'Falling down?' Just that thought alone made Arthur gulp and look down. Beneath him, the darkness slowly unraveled under his sharp eyes, and he finally saw it.

An empty, endless void, going down into the complete unknown. His feet, hanging in the air, hovered over this abyss, barely not leaning into it. The boy had just stopped himself from taking that last step into the abyss of this massive, gaping hole.

"..." The boy breathed in and out before he slowly pulled his leg away as his heart started beating faster. For some reason, just seeing himself so close to falling into this hole was the most terrifying experience he had.

He took several steps back, his eyes staring at the darkness he witnessed.

"No… You have got to be joking?" He muttered. "What the hell did I just see?"

A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let's keep it up!