The Author Reincarnated As An Extra-Chapter 49: • River of Death

The girl’s body jerked forward before she slammed against the wooden floor of the boat. The hand was very relentless, it dragged her closer to the boat’s edge, her silver armor scraping against the soaked planks.

Another terrified scream ripped from her throat. "Ahhh—!"

While Elora was already moving, Deremiah’s head looked up to the statue. But it still remained motionless.

He sighed, remembering the reason was because her boat had already been destroyed, so she had basically escaped the Trial’s simulation.

Elora meanwhile, had sprang to her feet, arcing her greatsword downward in a flash and slicing through the monstrous limb with brute force and precision.

Black ichor splattered across the deck as the severed hand convulsed, its fingers twitching grotesquely before it slithered off into the river. The girl scrambled backward, panting wildly as she pulled her soaked form to the farthest corner of the boat.

But Deremiah knew what happened next. They weren’t safe yet. Not with that girl in the boat.

His fingers clenched around the hilt of his blade in preparation for a fight.

It began with a sudden explosion of water erupting around them as more creatures launched themselves into the air.

Ding!

[Your adversaries are: Sea Ghosts]

[Beast Mode: Man-Morphed]

[Echelon: Shrouded]

They were slimy, humanoid monsters with webbed fingers, sharp fins protruding from their backs, and gaping, eel-like maws lined with multiple saw teeth.

Their skin was slick and grayish-blue, and they could swim and move at incredibly fast speed though they had no special powers.

The monsters shrieked as they descended, aiming for the three of them.

Elora adjusted herself immediately for the battle. She swung her blade forward and it cut through the air, slicing one of the creatures mid-leap. Its body split in half before it crashed onto the deck.

Another lunged from her left — she pivoted swiftly, her blade thrusting into its chest before she kicked it off the boat angrily.

Deremiah was beside her, keeping up to her pace as best as he could. One of the creatures reached for him with webbed claws, but he twisted his body, dodging perfectly before driving his blade upward into the monster’s chin, splitting its head in two.

Another leapt at him — he spun sharply, his sword carving through its throat as its body collapsed into the river.

More came.

One dove toward Elora, but Deremiah intercepted it. He grabbed the beast mid-air, twisting its body sharply before plunging his blade straight through its back. Another lunged at him, and before he could react, Elora sent a sharp vine that slashed its head clean off.

They might still have had some present tension and a lot to talk about, but their movements synchronized and they made a very good team.

Throughout the fight, the boat rocked violently beneath them as the river trembled with Sea Ghosts jumping out and falling back in.

Ever since awakening with the [Writhe of Command] Technique, Deremiah senses had almost tripled, and this helped to reverse, avert and block.

But then... the same senses warned him of another more dangerous situation. He turned sharply and saw the colossal statue behind them moving.

"No... no, no, no!" he breathed.

The sound of stone grinding against stone rumbled through the air as the giant figure raised its sword, water falling off it like a fountain of doom.

Then, he heard a bloodcurdling scream erupt from behind them.

Deremiah turned fully in time to see the massive blade descending — not toward them, but onto another boat further back.

The river split apart as the blade came down with terrifying force, cleaving the vessel in two. Wood shattered, screams filled the air, and the two unfortunate participants on board were flung into the water.

The impact of the statue’s strike sent ripples of destruction surging outward. Water exploded in violent waves, crashing into Deremiah’s boat. The force nearly sent them overboard, causing their vessel to lurch dangerously forward.

For the two participants, their fate was much worse. The one who had yelled died instantly upon impact, as the blade cleaved him into two. The other barely had time to struggle before the river began to swallow him whole.

Then, from beneath the surface, the ugly hands of Sea Ghosts reached up, grabbing the drowning participants, and pulling them deeper into the river.

Deremiah’s heart pounded as he watched it, hearing the boy’s cries muffled and vanish beneath the waves.

Although there wasn’t a lack of screams. More of them filled the air. And soon, the River of Tears became a slaughterhouse.

Other statues began to move.

More blades rose from the depths.

More boats shattered.

More blood was spilled.

Participants fell into the river, crying in fear, trying to enter other’s boats before they, too, were dragged beneath the surface by the Sea Ghosts.

It was a massacre.

Deremiah looked around, seeing that the River was now suddenly filled with many more boats, carrying other desperate participants locked in their own struggles.

Some fought off the slimy sea beasts that continued to emerge from the river. Others fended off fellow competitors, some of whom had clearly decided that survival meant eliminating the competition themselves.

But their boat — their boat — was the worst.

The monsters kept coming. And after killing multiple and multiple of those Shrouded Ranked Paragons, Deremiah decided it was time to do something about it.

Because of that girl, they were being hunted. He could either throw her off the boat, or... he looked at her, seeing how lost and terrified she was.

"Fuck," he muttered. That was supposed to be his last act of benevolence.

’I have to get the scent off her.’

Concentrating, he extended his hand, putting all his focus in his Soul Core. The Void pulsed in response. He focused deeper, channeling his power and then summoning the [Writhe of Command].

The purple entity slithered forth, and Deremiah showed it his imagination, and it reshaped itself according to his command.

A fan.

A massive electric fan.

It would have been comedic if the situation wasn’t so dire. Using his will, Deremiah turned it on.

The instant it spun, a powerful gust blasted against the girl, stripping away every last trace of river water clinging to her form. Her silver armor gleamed once again, dry. Her blue hair, previously damp and disheveled, now stuck out in odd angles, the forced wind having restyled it into a chaotic mess.

The girl was shocked.

And so was Elora, who stared at the scene. It was her first time seeing Deremiah use his actual powers, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. But it certainly made her trust him less.

But Deremiah didn’t even notice their curiosity. His head was in the battle, and he painfully realized that even with the scent erased, the creatures still kept coming.

He continued to cut them down, but his mind was already racing ahead, thinking of the real problem. Then he remembered.

Their boat was marked. Those fish beasts had been attacking this boat for so long that it had to be marked at this point.

If they remained in this boat, they wouldn’t last much longer.

Desperation fueling him, his eyes darted toward another vessel passing by. A participant stood at its edge, watching them with a smug, knowing grin.

They knew they would die soon, and they were laughing at it. Probably because Elora of Dawn, a noble, was in the boat.

Deremiah’s eyes narrowed.

Elora remained in the background, fighting off beasts, but it wouldn’t last.

"We need to change boats," he said firmly.

Elora shot him a glance, still hacking away at a monster’s arm. "What?"

"They’ve marked this one. We need to switch."

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what he was thinking. "And how do we do that?"

Deremiah didn’t answer. He looked back at that boat and then, suddenly, he vanished.

Elora froze.

A burst of dark, liquid-like energy had swallowed him, and in the next instant, he reappeared — inside the other boat.

The smug participant was just as shocked, seeing Deremiah standing before him.

Deremiah moved fast. He cleaved his sword left, slicing through the boy’s chest, splattering his blood against the deck.

The other competitor — eyes wide in shock — lifted a hand to summon his Technique, but Deremiah’s blade was faster. He drove it straight through the outstretched palm and right into the man’s eye.

Splurt!

The lifeless body slumped forward.

Deremiah placed his leg on their chests and pushed both corpses overboard.

The two girls stared in disbelief. Though Elora’s expression was more hardened, the blue-haired girl looked like she was horrified, her trembling eyes locked onto Deremiah as though seeing a monster.

Deremiah turned toward them. "Come on."

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