CHAPTER 75: DELAYED PLAN

[Shaan... Shaan... Shaan....]

"What’s going on?"

Shaan slowly opened his eyes and looked straight at Robin Hood’s worried face. Realizing this, he felt relieved that he was still alive. He had thought he was going to die, especially after their ship had crashed violently into the trees lining the swamp and broken apart.

"Ro-Robin Hood?"

[Thank goodness, you’re awake.] Robin Hood sighed deeply. [I thought you were dead because you didn’t respond to me for so long.]

"B-but where are we? What about the others?"

[I have no idea where we are exactly, but it seems like we’re still in this swamp area,] Robin Hood said, sharing his thoughts. [As for the others, I haven’t been able to find them yet. However, I can still sense the presence of Carmen and Satan’s power, which means they’re all still alive.]

’Thank goodness, they’re okay.’

"Then we have to find the others." Shaan slowly stood up. "They must need our help."

[I agree.]

They decided to walk around the area, hoping they might find the others. But after several minutes of searching, they still couldn’t spot Mr. Courier, Chelsie, or Nalira anywhere. Only broken pieces of the ship lay scattered and submerged all along the dark Tansel swamp.

’Where could they all be? Is it possible that Robin Hood is wrong? Maybe they’ve already...’ Shaan shook his head immediately. ’No, no. Don’t think like that. Robin Hood himself clearly said they’re fine.’

"Robin Hood, have you found them?"

[Not yet. Maybe we should look for ....] Robin Hood paused for a moment, then rubbed his eyes repeatedly. [Wait, is... is that real?]

Hearing Robin Hood’s words, Shaan wrinkled his brow. "Robin Hood, what are you saying?"

[Over there] Robin Hood pointed his hand forward. [I just see something moving under that pile of wood.]

"Oh no, it may be Nalira or Chelsie," Shaan said excitedly. "Come on, we have to check that pile of wood."

[All right, let’s take a look, Shaan.]

Shaan quickly picked up his pace until he reached the pile of wood. Along with Robin Hood, they worked together to move the wood one piece at a time until they finally saw the figure of a woman with purple hair lying there.

"Chel-Chelsie?"

"Sh-Shaan?" Chelsie said weakly.

"Just hold on, I’ll get you out of there right away."

Shaan then pulled Chelsie out of the pile of wood and carried her to one of the large trees nearby. He then leaned Chelsie against the tree and tried to wake her up.

"Chelsie, hang in there. I’ll get you out soon—"

"Shaan?"

Hearing his name, Shaan immediately turned around. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Mr. Courier and Nalira walking toward him.

"Mr. Courier? Nalira?" Shaan sighed deeply. "Thank goodness, you’re both okay."

"I’m glad you’re okay too, Shaan."

"... Elsie, what’s wrong with her?"

"She looks like she just fainted," Shaan explained. "She should come in a moment."

"...That’s a relief."

"Mr. Courier, so what do we do now?" Shaan sighed desperately. "The only path that could’ve taken us out of this swamp is gone... and now...we can’t possibly reach the Twilight Sanctum."

"No. That’s not entirely true," Mr. Courier shook his head. "The ship may be destroyed, but we still have a chance to get out of the Tansel Swamp."

Shaan paused for a moment after hearing Mr. Courier’s words. "B-but how is that possible?"

"If you pay close attention to the swamp, you’ll notice the trees stretch along the entire area," Mr. Courier said, "We just need to follow it, and eventually it’ll lead us out of this place."

"...Alright. We get it."

"Now is our chance. The faster we move from here, the faster we’ll escape and the sooner we’ll reach the Twilight Sanctum," said the courier, walking with enthusiasm. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"Mr. Courier, what you’re saying is true." Shaan nodded enthusiastically. "But, but our bodies are completely exhausted from today. I think we should rest here for a while."

"Rest?" Mr. Courier frowned. "No. We don’t have time for that. It’s going to get dark soon, and we need to keep moving before the creatures of the dark come after us."

"...We need to rest," Nalira nodded. "It’ll be very difficult for us to move now. Chelsie still hasn’t fully recovered, and we’ve used up a lot of energy today. We must rest to restore our energy."

Mr. Courier was silent for a moment after hearing Nalira’s explanation. "All right then, I will follow your advice. But where are we going to rest now? There are only trees around us and no safe shelter anywhere nearby," he said. "We also can’t set up a tent around here either because the ground is rocky and damp."

".... Don’t worry, I have found shelter around here. Follow me."

"Okay, I’ll carry Chelsie instead." Shaan picked Chelsie up and carried her on his back. "Alright, Nalira, show us the way."

Without saying another word, Nalira stepped forward and began walking. Before long, Shaan spotted a wooden cabin not far from where they stood. Its design looked somewhat similar to the first cabin they had seen when they arrived in the Tansel Swamp, but this one was much smaller and lacked any sort of wooden dock.

"Nalira, how are you able to find this wooden house in the middle of all these trees?"

"I just noticed it while trying to find you all," Nalira explained. "Come on, at least we can rest for a moment in that wooden cabin.

They quickly moved toward the cabin and carefully checked the area before approaching the door. Safe. The surroundings felt calm, nothing unusual, no signs of any lurking threats that could endanger them inside. For now, the place looked secure.

As Shaan opened the door to the cabin, his face instantly went pale. His eyes widened in shock the moment he saw what was inside—several strange objects scattered on the floor, resembling cigarette stubs. Oh no, is there... is there someone inside this place?