Haunted?
Felice Monk shook his head, throwing away the ridiculous thought, and then grasped the imperial emblem on the parapet. Putting his hand on the access mechanism, he waited for the door to recognize him.
The door opened in time, and Felice Monk stood at the entrance of the cabin. In front of him was the main passage that ran through the upper deck, but for some reason the lights went out.
He desperately tried to see through the layers of darkness, but there was nothing and all he heard was silence.
The normal background noise on the ship, including the noisy hiss of leaking pipes, was completely gone, as was the crunching sound of the servitors in action.
The world is silent.
Captain Felice Monk turned slowly, all his senses heightened.
He was sure there was something in that void.
If this was an attack, it was unlike anything he'd ever known.
But what will attack him?
For a moment, the captain stood at the entrance to the cabin, feeling uncertain.
He sent the fortune tellers out as bait, but if his intuition was correct, those lurking in the darkness might not be as simple as pirates.
Finally, he chose to return to the cabin.
"Now I need a team to go see it with me."
A minute later, Felice Monk and his escort team were slowly crossing the hard road towards the passage connecting the command bridge and the cargo ship. He had to know whether the enemy was coming for the cargo.
The captain is in the center of the queue and everyone is in visual contact with those on either side, meaning they are actually within touching distance.
The darkness moved around them, swirling, receding, then swallowing them up again.
All he could hear was the crunch of boots on the hard metal floor, and the nervous breathing of people anticipating something to come out of the darkness.
But when they reached the entrance to the cargo bay, there was no bigger surprise than a startled gunshot.
"There is no one here, my lord."
The news was relayed over the wire by the man in charge to Captain Felice Monk, who walked to the front of the line to see for himself.
The cargo hold is the most important part of the ship and is usually the most direct target for the enemy, so manually operated turrets are placed at either end of the entrance.
But now both batteries were empty.
The captain looked at the laser cannon. The barrel was hanging low and there were spots of fog condensation on it.
He put his hand on it. The barrel was cold. It did not fire, there was no sign of disorder to suggest a struggle, there was no blood, and there were no bullet marks.
It was as if the gunners simply stood up and disappeared into the fog.
The same is true for another gun position, a cold gun and some of the few personal belongings of the guards, but the guards themselves are missing.
While Captain Felice Monk was inspecting it, one of his guards came over.
"Captain, we are missing one person."
"Impossible! Count!"
There was neither sound nor sign of attack on his team. These were experienced soldiers who had retired and were highly disciplined.
If someone was killed, they would all hear about it.
But as the roll call came to an end, Felice Monk realized that the squad was actually missing two people, not one.
It seemed as if the two figures at the rear had disappeared, disappearing into the darkness like frost melting under the rising sun.
In short, no matter what happened, they had no chance to issue a warning.
"Everyone be on alert! All lighting equipment is on."
while issuing orders. He glanced back at the path they had taken.
Why not just call it a day and return to the command module?
Felice Monk hated being hunted by something he couldn't see.
"Look back."
Felice Monk stood at the center of the tight formation, pushing the team forward.
But after walking a few steps, he realized something was wrong.
"Roll roll."
Sure enough, there were only six people left, and two more disappeared in silence, apparently right in front of him.
The captain looked around.
"Did anyone see anything? Hear anything?"
The men in his dwindled squad shook their heads, all eyes looking outward, into the drifting darkness that obscured whatever was hunting them.
"Ahhh! Get out!"
In the terrifying atmosphere, someone finally couldn't hold it any longer. A guard suddenly roared and fired with his low-power laser gun. The bullets whizzed past in the charged fog. Others followed suit, almost in the same direction. Blind shooting.
However, Felice Monk heard the hissing sound of the flesh burned by the bullet in the foggy blankness, which only meant one thing——
They hit something.
Then, a figure appeared in the mist, staggering towards them.
The laser rifle locked onto it.
but…
"etc!"
The figure staggered closer, growing smaller and more familiar, until it appeared in the faint field of vision left to them.
It was one of their men, one of the four missing, and even though he had several burn marks from the laser hits, he stepped closer, hands raised, promising not to hurt anyone.
Finally, he fell forward violently to the ground.
"Turn him over."
The remaining two men bent over him and began to turn him over, but backed away.
His face disappeared, and he spoke through his slightly open jaw, but what he wanted to say was nothing more than blood bubbles.
Felice Monk stared at the person on the ground, his expression representing his mood at the moment.
"What the fuck is this?"
One of them asked in horror, but as his question hung in the air, the man disappeared backwards, as if the fog itself had grabbed hold of him and dragged him away.
The team members ignored their comrades and fired in the direction where the man disappeared. Several laser bullets and physical ammunition were suddenly fired.
Felice Monk tried to order them to stop, but his order was lost in the sound of gunfire and he could only grab the man next to him.
"Stop shooting."
He turned to the man across from him and raised his arms.
"Stop shooting."
The silence fell again, and Felice Monk turned his head, listening, trying to figure out where they were.
But when he turned to listen, he saw an empty space next to him—
There was another person there just now.
He quickly looked to the other side, and the man disappeared.
Silence gripped his heart like sharp claws, and sweat flowed from his hair to his face, condensing on his weapon and dripping on the ground.
Suddenly, a vague black figure emerged from the fog, and the ground in front of his feet thumped wetly.
"this--"
Felice Monk took a step back suddenly. It was a human head, a human head that he was very familiar with——
His diviner!
