Gunmage-Chapter 15: Castaway

Lugh awoke on a jagged, sandy terrain, his right eye burned with an unnerving sensation that made him nauseous, but against all odds, it was still there.

His body was stiff everywhere, aching with pain, and yet somehow... still functional. His wounds seemingly healed.

Make no mistake, everywhere—everything—still hurt like hell, but he at least, was able to accomplish things that should have been impossible given his body's previous state. For instance, he could stand, and he could walk.

Lugh knew more than anyone that he shouldn't be moving, not after what happened. But here he was.

His clothes were torn ragged, hanging off his frame in tatters while his boots were practically falling apart.

They brought him great discomfort and were more hindrance than help now, so he removed and flung them off with an annoyed grunt —the boots, not the clothes. He still needed those, no matter how uncomfortable they might get.

His barefeet landed on the cool grainy sand.

"Where the hell even am I?"

Lugh mumbled. His voice still hoarse.

Fragments of memory flickered. He barely remembered falling into the Devil Sea, only flashes of pain, screams, and a voice that wasn't his whispering in his mind.

Lugh scanned his surroundings. Not so far ahead stood a forest chock full of strange bioluminescent plants that pulsed with a ghostly glow. Plants which he had never even heard of, talk less of seen.

They cast their radiance across the landscape and were perhaps the only source of light in this deserted place.

To his left, the shoreline met with the ocean, but the water was anything but normal. It was a thick, green, viscous expanse that occasionally had bubbles pop out to its surface.

A bad feeling settled in his gut.

Lugh walked closer to it, then, picking up a small pebble, he tossed it to the waves. The pebble hadn't even touched the water when it dissolved midair, vanishing into nothingness.

Lugh frowned. He grabbed a larger rock this time and threw it in.

This one landed with a large splash, but in a few short seconds, the liquid had eaten into it, breaking it down and dissolving it before it ever got a chance to sink.

'Acid'

The realization hit just as his lungs burned, and he was forced into a violent coughing fit. The fumes were affecting him, even from all the way here.

Lugh stumbled back, retreating to safer ground. He slumped onto the sand, rubbing his temples.

With his preliminary investigations, Lugh uncertainly concluded that he was on an island? An eternally dark island surrounded by a sea of acid. This was the stuff of legends, legends he never wanted to personally witness.

Lugh contemplated for a bit then cast his gaze skywards. he could no longer feel the crushing weight that came from above.

The feeling of something watching him was still there, but this feeling didn't come from only the sky. It came from everywhere at once, albeit a lot more subdued and less terrifying.

However, he still felt like he had landed at the heart of an unknown entity's domain. An unsettling fact, but nothing of which he could change.

As for the sky above, it resembled—

Nothing.

No stars, no moon, just the swirling darkness. Odd, but not unexpected. This was the Devil Sea, after all.

First things first, he was going to need food and water if he wanted to survive this place. Lugh glanced at the glowing forest, then shook his head, dismissing the thought entirely.

Something about that place gave him the creeps. He wasn't going to head in that direction unless absolutely necessary.

Instead, he began a leisurely walk across the beach, sticking to the shoreline while keeping a safe distance from the corrosive sea in an attempt to explore more of the island.

He hadn't walked for long, maybe around 10 minutes, when he spotted it.

A vague humanoid figure looming in the distance.

It had seen him too.

They both stopped. Lugh took a slow, cautious step back. The humanoid didn't seem to share his sentiment and advanced towards him instead.

Lugh pulse quickened. His breath hitched. He turned and ran.

The creature chased after him.

"Damn...it"

Lugh cursed while panting heavily. It seemed his strange attribute for attracting monsters was fully functional.

Only a minute had passed, and he was already out of breath.

Barefoot, exhausted, and running across alien terrain, Lugh knew he wouldn't last long. He had always been small, underfed, and frail—his endurance was nothing to boast about.

It was already a miracle, one of his greatest feats, that he could last for a whole minute while sprinting at full force.

And yet the thing that was chasing him hadn't slowed down at all. Worse still it was gaining on him, closing the distance with every step.

Knowing his stamina was running out, Lugh decided to take the risky action of running into the forest.

If he wanted a chance to shake it, he needed cover.

He veered sharply, sprinting towards the treeline when a voice called out behind him

"Wait! Stop!"

'It speaks' Lugh felt a chill run up his spine. His breath was caught and his pace faltered. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

In the next moment something slammed into him and he crashed into to the ground.

He trashed around, fighting blindly as they both tumbled down the sand. Mid-tumble, Lugh's elbows lashed out, delivering a flurry of desperate strikes to the head of his assailant.

The humanoid creature growled in frustration and retaliated, bringing its fist down on his temple.

Pain exploded through his skull.

Lugh saw stars.

"Would you calm down, you fool!"

'Ah?'

Lugh gasped when he finally saw the face of the thing that had attacked him. It was not a monster, and its eyes were neither dull nor lifeless.

It was a human he was familiar with, one who he had presumed to be dead.

It was Sergeant Sparky.

She was alive.