"W-Well then, take care, Daru."

"You guys, too."

Politely bowing at each other, Daru watched the escort party leave, walking along the fences of the cemetery while glancing at him with reluctance in their eyes from time to time.

There was a ferry closer to Egress than the one near the southern gates of the Cemetery of the Damned, which Rocante was using to cross.

Yet, Daru insisted that he wanted to take this one.

The assigned escort party of seven C-rankers naturally felt uncomfortable leaving the only person who could lead them to the Surface on his lonesome at such a dangerous location.

After all, the Accursed Soulcatchers weren't bound to the borders of the cemetery and could very well be roaming somewhere close in search of Damnedlings.

Daru wasn't too wary of the Accursed Soulcatchers now, though, as not only had he leveled up quite a number of times during the past few weeks, but he had gained quite a number of extra attributes, too, thanks to his sword passive.

He could now take on four or five of them at the same time.

==

Bladeborn: Daru Finnley

Level 58 (115,325 to level up)

Titles: Bob's Sworn Brother [Active(Display)], Strongest Novice [Active (Effect)]

Secondary Titles: [Soul Eater] [Novice Tanner]

Blessings: [???????'s Minor Blessing (???? ????'s ???)]

Curses: [Yama's Discontent (Soulbound Sword)] [Goddess Fortuna's Frown] [Tainted Soul (Pride)]

Strength: 89 (+34)

Dexterity: 93 (+25)

Agility: 96 (+25)

Stamina: 69(+35)

Vitality: 64 (+65)

Perception: 121 (+18)

Luck: 3 (+55)

Will: ? (+10)

==

It was the higher-level elites, the level sixty Deputy Soulwardens, that posed a challenge to him, but they were stationed in the heart of the cemetery, near the five towering graves.

It wasn't too hard to deduce that those five graves were probably related to The Five.

Of course, he could be mistaken.

Their knowledge, and even Nando's, was still lacking. But at least they had an idea of what they should do next.

Daru didn't invest too much in the Strength Attribute, as he still believed that Perception, Dexterity, Stamina, and Agility were the ones that would benefit his flowing combat style the most.

Furthermore, the weight of his sword covered the lack of raw strength.

He didn't need to swing as hard, since inertia and gravity would be on his side, though of course, the more strength, the better.

It was just that he needed to choose which attributes to prioritize.

==

Sword Status:

Name: Onimaru Kunitsuna

Type: Tachi

Tier: S

Status: Dormant - 47 / 500 Oni or Demon Essence (First Awakening)

Sword Skills: Somersault Slash (F), Tornado Slash (D), Crescent Dicer (C), Havoc Rush (B), Swallow Step (A), Azure Swordfall (SS)

Passives: [Divine Comprehension (Soulbound Sword)], [Tainted Enforcer (Soulbound Sword)]

==

Nodding in satisfaction, Daru's attention was snatched by the familiar, mystical parting of the water that somehow easily broke through the loud veil of the river's howl.

The ferryman and his boat were arriving.

Daru would be a hypocrite if he said he wasn't nervous one bit. After all, this was his first time attempting to board the vessel.

If the mysterious ferryman with no nameplate suddenly attacked him in the middle of the river, he would not appreciate it, as not only would the duel not be fun, given that they would be clashing in the middle of a soul-corrosive river, but there wouldn't be much room to move, too.

Soon, the bow of the boat touched the riverbank.

Daru stood a few meters away from it, staring warily at the ferryman as he walked closer…and closer.

He lingered for a moment before stepping inside, vigilance on high as he observed all of the ferryman's movements, even the subtle shifts.

Thankfully, he truly wasn't attacked by the ferryman.

Daru slowly sat, and the moment he settled, a prompt appeared:

[Would you like to pay (50) Purge Tickets to cross the Underworld River? Y/N]

His brows rose.

Over the weeks, he had accumulated a total of 803 Purge Tickets, so fifty was quite a small price to pay for him.

It was just that this was the first time he had to use them.

Almost immediately, Daru tapped on [Y], and the moment he did, the ferryman began rowing to the other side of the Underworld River.

Their speed was neither too fast nor too slow.

Daru estimated that it would take at least an hour before they reached the other side.

Observing the ferryman for a while, he concluded that the bony horror wasn't too interested in attacking him, so he shifted his attention to the howling waters.

He began hearing things he wasn't able to hear in the banks.

There were whispers, too, snarls, screams, and other kinds of unholy noises.

The river was spine-chilling…but bewitching at the same time.

Daru didn't notice when it started, but he could now see reflections in the water, all seemingly a frozen moment in the lives of random souls.

There was the image of a young boy flying towards the arms of a female, likely the mother and the owner of the moment.

There was a half-bird taking flight for the first time.

A scaled arm reached forward, seemingly in despair as he watched the city of stones, moss, and vines burn in the ruthless, incandescent, deep-purple flames.

And many more.

At first, images, then, slowly, they began to move, deepening Daru's trance.

He hadn't noticed that he was reaching out to the water.

The moment his fingers made contact with it, he felt a jolt run through his entire body, as though he'd been grounded and struck by electricity.

Only, what flooded him were haunting memories, sinful ones that bound a soul to the underworld.

It rampaged within his soul, threatening to take over.

Daru felt as though he was truly going mad.

Had he not instinctively pulled his arm back in less than a second…

Daru breathed heavily, sobered up by the harrowing experience. He observed his shaking hands for a few moments before glancing at the waters again…and shuddering.

He would indeed be a part of the river for eternity if he attempted to swim across it.

In fact, the process would probably only take five seconds or less…

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