Even as Gabriel moved closer to the boat, the Spector didn't react. He just sat there as if he was a dead being who didn't care about anything.
Gabriel stopped right beside the boat. He didn't say anything either and just got inside the boat. Since the Spector didn't have a face, he didn't expect the being to speak or answer his question either.
As soon as Gabriel sat on the boat, the boat started moving ahead.
For some strange reason, the spirits at the bottom of the river were awfully silent now. Gabriel had thought that those Spirits were going to start calling him out for not getting inside the river, but they didn't dare let out even a single noise.
Gabriel wondered if it was because he had scolded the Spirits? That shouldn't have been the case though. Ultimately, he only concluded that it probably had something to do with the Spector before him. The Spirits were probably scared of him.
The boat kept floating ahead and soon disappeared into the distance. As the boat left, finally the Spirits started talking again.
"Did you all see what I saw?"
"He took away that human..."
"Why would he do that? And for a measly human at that?"
The Spirits didn't understand anything. Since the Book of Necromancy was in the form of the ring, there was no aura of the Book here. Without the aura, the Spirits considered Gabriel to be an ordinary human at best, which was what confused them.
The Spirits kept discussing something even long after Gabriel left.
*****
In another place, the dark boat advanced in the river of damnation.
Even as Gabriel sat in the boat, he hadn't dropped the flaming torch. However, not long after, the flames stopped. All the surroundings turned dark, making Gabriel unable to see anything.
It was as if he was completely blind at the moment, unable to see his surroundings.
In frustration, he tossed the torch into the water. It was of no use without fire.
In the darkness, he only heard the sound of water and nothing else. Everything was so silent.
"Are you taking me to kill me?" Gabriel finally asked.
As expected, the Spector didn't respond. No matter what Gabriel asked, he was only greeted by a terrifying silence as if the Spector wasn't even there.
Gabriel had wholly prepared for his death. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to get out of this strange place alive; still he wasn't going to go out fighting.
He kept rubbing the black ring on his finger with his thumb, prepared to call out the Forbidden Book at a moment's notice in case he was attacked. Fortunately, there were no attacks that came to him.
After a long time of sitting in isolation, finally Gabriel heard some voices. The voices were different. They didn't belong to the spirits from earlier. Instead, they were the voices he recognized.
"Gabriel! Gabriel, help me!"
The call for help came from everywhere.
Gabriel subconsciously reacted by standing up, but he soon remembered his past. He took a deep breath, sitting down. He wasn't going to jump into the river to help someone who tried to kill him. Moreover, he was also sure that there was no way Maya was going to be here. It was probably only an illusion to get him down the boat.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes since he couldn't see anything even with open eyes. At least he could keep his mind calm with closed eyes.
"I don't know what this river is, but it is making me hear the voices of people I know. This won't work. I won't fall for such an easy trick."
The boat covered more distance. The screams of Maya only intensified. This time, the voices were followed by her mother's pleas for help.
"Gabriel! We helped raise you! How can you abandon us now! Save my daughter! Save her!"
"You ungrateful bastard! Help my daughter, or she will die! Please help her!"
The voices became even more intense as they followed Gabriel.
Gabriel still didn't react.
"I already tried saving your life once. Moreover, I also received a really nice reward for it. I believe that reward is enough for me to spend a lifetime. I can't afford more rewards like those, my apologies."
"As for me being ungrateful," Gabriel opened his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "I believe I've returned all your favors in full by saving you from the death at the hands of your own daughter. You gave me this life when my mother had died by taking me in."
"I returned your life in exchange for the life that you gave me. Moreover, you also settled the score by taking my life in exchange for the life that you gave me. I believe I owe you nothing anymore."
Hearing the calm yet the steady response of Gabriel, the Spector who was sitting before him finally made a movement, raising his head a bit.
"You! You!" The voices screeched in pain as they disappeared.
Not long after, a laughter started echoing in the surrounding.
This laughter... Gabriel could never forget this laugh. It was the same laughter he had heard right before he was killed at the cliff.
"You dog, you are still alive? Come bow before your master just like your mother did! Accept your death like a man, you coward! Come to me!" Hawrin's voice echoed in the surrounding.
Gabriel once again responded calmly. "Don't worry, young friend. I have not forgotten you. I promise there will come a day, and I'll stand before you. And that day, I will see how much you speak. I hope you speak a lot that day because that will be the last day anyone will be able to hear your voice."
"I will keep that promise to you. Even death won't be able to stop me." Gabriel made a declaration right before that Spector.
"You bastard! You are just a coward, aren't you? You just talk big, yet you can't come to face me? Even after I did so much, you're still scared to stand up to me! Hahahaha!"
"You stood up before a man who didn't have any fighting skills or spells. You used your brother to restrict his movement before killing him. You think that was bravery? In my eyes, you were the real coward."
"The day I meet you, I won't restrict you like you did. I won't hide my act from others as you did either. I also won't take anyone's help." A smile finally appeared on the dry lips of Gabriel after a long time. "I will kill you wherever you are, no matter how many Mages you surround yourself with. Look forward to that day because I surely do."
"You!"