Chapter 117: Cruise Ship (End)
“…Before they set out, I cast a divination. In the crystal ball, I saw a thick, ominous gloom. A crow landed in the northwest, and black feathers scattered across the ground. This was destined to be a journey from which there would be no return… I tried to stop it, but I failed. So I did everything I could—using the disguises my teacher taught me—to sneak aboard the Golden Anchor…”
Erica wrote this in her diary.
But neither the investigator couple nor Erica had anticipated that the heretics on the ship numbered far more than just Joroni.
Nearly half of the passengers on board were followers of the Dagon Covenant.
This cult proclaimed that by worshipping their father god Dagon and mother goddess Hydra, one could obtain endless wealth and an extraordinarily long life—things that the powerful elite, who controlled everything yet could not achieve immortality, desired above all else.
Under Captain Joroni’s secret coordination, numerous wealthy and influential figures boarded the Golden Anchor. They planned to hold a grand ritual on the night of departure, offering all innocent non-believing passengers as sacrifices to the father god Dagon in exchange for his blessing.
The investigator couple had discovered this plot in advance. They tried to contact headquarters for help, but before they could act, the heretics scattered throughout the ship had already uncovered their disguises.
Erica was unable to stop the bloody and brutal massacre.
After the death of the couple who had raised her, Erica’s heart also died.