In a sense, Skadi and Goki were remarkably similar.
They possessed specialized knowledge and techniques for combating a certain enemy, and they continuously strove to fight that enemy.
Ultimately, at the cost of numerous sacrifices from their compatriots, both achieved victory.
Skadi forced the Seaborn into slumber, while Goki ensured the Moon Presence was utterly dead.
However, to the continent of Terra, both were undoubtedly outsiders, true strangers.
And as the massive coastal mobile city drew closer, the two strangers were about to truly encounter a foreign land.
"This box is really nice. I've always thought about making a sheath for my sword, but others said it would make drawing it difficult, so I never did."
Skadi, in her red dress, walked along the gravel path, examining the silver long box in her hand and the patterns on it.
Skadi's greatsword was inside the box, and combined with her adorable attire, it immediately made her seem… less threatening.
"I don't quite understand these patterns, but they must have special significance. Thank you for giving it to me."
Her high heels crunched on the stones, yet Skadi seemed to walk on level ground, steady and without any fear of twisting an ankle.
Although she could punch a wild boar ten meters away, Skadi's weight was quite light, and her control over her strength was effortless.
"It's fine; I don't have a second friend on Terra to give gifts to."
Walking beside Skadi, Goki also took off his face mask, straightened his black Hunter's outfit, and tried to appear less deliberate.
Similarly, he also held a silver box containing his Saw Cleaver and Hunter Pistol.
This box was also something he had retrieved from the Hunter's Dream using blood echoes.
Although subsequent weapons had not yet been made available for exchange, weapon boxes were not rare; both Church Hunters and Beast Hunters were equipped with them, and Goki had kept several in the Hunter's Dream.
"Once we get there, I'll look for some musical instruments. Although the people of Yharnam prefer blood ministration and Hunters are more adept at hunting, I should have collected instruments…"
Goki was still slowly but steadily advancing his understanding of the Hunter's Dream in his mind.
"Yharnam, I've always heard you talk about this place. Aside from a few coastal cities, I've never understood what lies on the land—what kind of place is it?"
Hugging the greatsword box to her chest, Skadi asked the question she had long wanted to ask before heading to Saltwind City.
Although they had traveled together for these past few days, they rarely spoke of their pasts, and Skadi was actually quite curious about the "Yharnam" that Goki often mentioned.
Moreover, the Little Orca now understood Goki's optimism and open-mindedness; in her view, he was at least not like her, merely a solitary outcast.
"Yharnam, ah, that's a very, very distant place, called the Land of Blood Ministration by outsiders. People drink more blood than wine, and even more inject blood—actually, I wasn't originally from Yharnam either and was also called an outsider by the locals. But later, it became as familiar as home."
Recalling that dream filled with gore and slaughter, destruction and madness, Goki sighed.
Goki didn't have many fond memories of that place.
"How should I put it… it's a good place with simple folk customs. Every time I went out, many warm and hospitable Yharnamites would gather around."
There were enthusiastic Brick Trolls, Crow Trolls hidden in boxes, and distant Riflemen… just thinking about it was unpleasant.
It was better to let the curious Little Orca maintain a beautiful fantasy about this foreign land she would never visit.
"Injecting blood, and drinking blood, ugh… no wonder you always like to inject other creatures' blood into your body."
Skadi's lips twitched uncontrollably. In the past few days of traveling with Goki, she had often seen him collect the fresh blood of beasts, preserve it, and carry it in small bottles.
Every time he accidentally got injured, Goki would directly inject a needle into his leg, and reddish-black blood would be injected directly into his veins. Even the usually calm Skadi frowned at the sight.
Before becoming an Abyssal Hunter, Skadi had attended school in Aegir for a few days, where she took biology classes. Not to mention that blood transfusions require matching blood types, at the very least, humans and wild boars shouldn't share the same blood!
Even the proudest Aegirians at least admitted that they shared the same evolutionary process as land-dwellers, just a more advanced and superior one… Although it felt a bit strange, as the last Abyssal Hunter, Skadi still discarded the meaningless arrogance of Aegir.
Regarding the customs of Yharnam and Goki's "blood ministration" methods, Skadi decided to show respect—and the same applied to other countries on the land.
As for why Goki could casually pull out so many things… Skadi didn't find that strange at all.
Land-dwellers, after all, surely had different technological paths from those underwater.
And Goki had also said that the customs and technology of Yharnam were different from other continental countries, some more advanced, some more backward.
For instance, these past few days, he often held those "quicksilver bullets," muttering about "dum-dum bullets," "hollow-point bullets," and "armor-piercing incendiary rounds," saying he aimed to take down a Sarkaz with one shot. Skadi, in any case, had never heard of those terms.
"It seems I still have a lot to learn and adapt to."
As they walked, the light in front of Goki and Skadi suddenly dimmed, and their feet were covered by shadows.
Looking up, they saw that the mobile city, nearly a hundred meters above the ground, had already obscured the sun in the sky.
Although it had only been half-built before stopping, the mobile city was still exceptionally majestic, and the sense of oppression it brought gave Goki a faint feeling of suffocation.
"Ah, next we need to find a way up. I hope we can find a soft bed tonight—shall we go?"
Even in Yharnam, Goki rarely slept in the wilderness for a week straight.
After all, he could always return to the Hunter's Dream via the lamp, where he had his carefully arranged soft little bed, and the Doll Nona to help warm it.
Well, even if she were truly willing to lie in bed, she couldn't warm it.
"Yes, it's time for a proper rest."
Skadi nodded; she also wanted a proper night's sleep.
If possible, she also didn't want to sleep on a bed made of banana leaves every day, and constantly trouble Goki.
"I hope we can find an automatic toilet…"
Although she had specifically lectured Goki earlier, no matter what, Skadi was a person who lived in advanced Aegir. Dealing with bodily needs in the bushes every day… was still a bit awkward.
However, the next second, Skadi's eyes widened slightly, looking at the figures ambushing in the water, hidden by seaweed, within the scaffolding at the base of the mobile city not far away.
"…Goki, are those few people over there, and the ones in the surrounding bushes, also as warm and hospitable as the people of your Yharnam, specially here to welcome us?"
And Goki, at the same time as Skadi, saw those figures.
Goki's Hunter's intuition might not have been quick enough to deal with the Seaborn-transformed Abyssal Hunter earlier, but he could easily detect the disguises of ordinary people.
"Ha… it's not much different."
Shrugging his shoulders, Goki looked at the people in tattered clothes who, believing their prey had entered the encirclement, began to dart out from the seawater and bushes, surrounding him, and he gave a helpless smile.
"The Yharnamites are still more warm and hospitable; they just hack people down without a word."
Shouldering his weapon case, Goki looked at the sallow-faced, emaciated residents of the mobile city, armed with iron rods and wooden sticks.
If these were the first land-dwellers Skadi encountered after coming ashore, it was no wonder she became so indifferent afterward.
And on the continent of Terra, such things… were not uncommon.
"Outsiders, outsiders, where are you from? Hand over, yes, hand over your food, food on you! We won't kill anyone, just the food! Don't, don't force us! We don't want to hurt anyone!"
The leader of the bandits, who seemed unaccustomed to such deeds, shakily raised his weapon and bravely looked at the two people in front of him.
He gave the impression that he was the one being robbed, which was a bit strange.
Goki could only smile helplessly, looking at Skadi, who was frowning beside him.
"Did you hear that, Skadi? They don't intend to kill us, so we won't kill them. They don't want to hurt anyone, so we don't want to either—go easy on them, give them a lesson. We just happen to need guides."
Compared to Yharnam, Saltwind City could truly be called "simple folk customs" without quotation marks.
"Understood. Just a few bangs and it'll be done."
Slamming the weapon case she was holding to the ground, Skadi silently clenched her fists.
She could control her strength now—she hoped.
—
Saltwind City, on the side near the sea, in another secluded small house. Opening the door, one could see the dark sea.
Thump thump thump.
Wearing a dirty, torn dress, a little girl who looked less than ten years old, with black shoulder-length hair, knocked on the patched tin door to the rhythm she remembered.
"Researcher Miss, Researcher Miss, it's Anita!"
Soon, the door opened, and a tall figure in a white lab coat appeared before the little girl.
"Inquisitor, the Inquisitors have arrived! It's a small team, maybe one, two, three… quite a few people, it's lively."
Looking at the older sister in front of her, the little girl named Anita's bright black eyes widened, full of anticipation.
"Mm, thank you, Anita. This is as agreed—here's your reward."
Taking out a few white sugar cubes from her lab coat and putting them into Anita's hand, she raised a finger and wagged it in front of her.
"Remember, keep it a secret."
"I know, I understand!"
The little girl nodded vigorously, carefully tucked the sugar cubes into her pocket, checked them several times, and then turned around relieved, skipping away.
Meanwhile, Researcher Miss turned her head, looking out at the calm sea with her light green eyes.
"I need to find out what happened in Aegir as soon as possible."
Shaking her short white hair, revealing a pair of triangular ears with green interiors, Researcher Miss returned to the house.