A short time later, Noah arrived at the closest point to the wafting boat. The few survivors who had reached it before him looked towards the widening gap in despair.

"If we want to get out of here, we're going to have to swim. Our best chance is if we all go together," Noah told the amassed survivors.

"Easy for you to say, witch. You will have no problem leaving us behind while you use us to distract that monster while you get on board that boat by yourself," A haggard-looking man bitterly retorted while he and the other survivors glared at Noah's spirit arms ability.

He hadn't interacted with anyone in weeks, so he was utterly taken aback by the survivors' jealous attitude towards ability users when they didn't need to depend on them for survival.

"I won't leave you behind. That monster could pluck any of us out of the water at any time. What makes you think it won't target me? Did you not see that I probably pissed it off by attacking it earlier. If it makes you feel better, I can wait behind to attack the monster if it shows itself while you swim?" Noah suggested as he released his ability.

"What, so you can use us as your guinea pigs? You witches are all the same. I bet when that monster shows up, you'll be nowhere to be found. Witches only look out for themselves."

A few of the gathered survivors nodded in agreement to the angry man's words. Noah looked towards the gap that was steadily widening while the ferry drifted further away. He then gazed upward at the sky that seemed to be growing dim, but it was hard to tell.

"Look, we don't have much time. The longer we talk, the further away the boat gets. Make your minds up among yourselves what you want to do quickly, or it will be dark soon. That monster can pick us all off easily in the dark while we don't even know if we're swimming in the right direction."

While Noah debated with the survivors on the wreckage of the docks. The biker ability-user he had seen turn soulless into stone earlier with his bare hands joined the group. The man was accompanied by an attractive mature woman with straight red hair showing brunette regrowth and a voluptuous hourglass figure. The woman was dressed in a bloodied, yet intact, revealing top and tight form-fitting leather pants.

The woman was following closely behind the biker. She appeared to be the only one remaining from his initial group. The gathered survivors looked at the biker with barely disguised apprehension after recognizing him.

"You listen to the man, you ungrateful bastard. You didn't hesitate to cling to his leg to save your miserable life when running from those demonic pricks. If you don't shut the fuck up right now, I'm going to use you as bait while the rest of us swim to that fucking ferry," the biker cursed at the confrontational man before turning to Noah, his gaze lingered on his System-crafted chest plate and sword.

"Hey mate, I saw what you did back there earlier. I'm impressed. If it was before this shit-storm, I'd even buy you a beer. A word of advice for when dealing with these blanks is to put them back in their place."

The surrounding survivors were visibly offended when the biker said the word 'blank'. Only the woman following him seemed unaffected. It must be an insult used against people without abilities.

"The name's Ronan, and that's Sophie. If we can get her to the boat, she can take over and do the rest from there. Her ability's special." The biker introduced himself and his companion.

Hearing that the woman Sophie was also an ability-user, the looks of lust on some of the men's faces nearby changed to contempt. Sophie gave Noah an appraising look up and down, biting her lip before slowly smiling at him with a glint in her eye.

"I'm Noah, I'll keep your advice in mind Ronan," Noah replied neutrally as he glanced curiously towards the woman.

"What kind of ability do you have?" Noah asked Sophie.

"You'll have to find out for yourself, darling. I'll be happy to show you," Sophie replied mischievously as she winked at him.

"As I said, she's special." Ronan looked towards the woman with a smirk.

"We'd better get moving. Send those blanks out first to test the waters a bit. You can do your thing if that monster shows up. We're ready to go," Ronan said to Noah before shoving the man who had been causing trouble earlier into the water.

"Swim! Before I give you a nice new pair of concrete flippers to help you."

The man looked terrified by being in the water but seemed equally afraid of the intimidating biker in front of him. The biker looked menacingly at the rest of the survivors who quickly slid into the water without making a splash before he threw them in as well, which could draw the monster's attention. Apparently, the man had a reputation.

After watching everyone climb into the water, Ronan looked at Sophie before nodding towards the water before turning towards Noah to speak.

"It looks clear to me, your turn Noah."

He watched the pair as he apprehensively climbed into the dark, ice-cold water. Noah prayed that the creature lurking beneath wasn't still watching him. He began to swim towards the ferry. The gap had widened to about ten meters by this point. Ronan and Sophie spoke in whispers briefly before following silently into the water.

As he reached the side of the ferry, there was a rope lowered. He hurriedly started to climb, emerging from the water as he ascended the rope on board. All of the survivors gathered on the deck watched him with trepidation. The crowd pushed together as they hurriedly retreated from Noah, causing him to frown in thought.

The crowd parted as an elderly Asian man with a kind face moved to grab Noah's hand to help him up. The group of survivors also looked at the man warily.

"Don't mind them, young man. They're just afraid of what we can do. My name is Mister Kim. I heard the others who just got here say that you were called Noah. Be careful of those two behind you, I don't know about the woman. But the man is associated with some bad people by his leather vest with the snake on it," Mister Kim introduced himself and offered a warning while patting Noah on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

"What does the snake on the leather vest mean?" Noah asked.

"It means he's a fully-fledged member of the fallen. A group of ability-users who believe that they've been chosen. They hate non-ability users and view them as a lesser species. They have to kill what they refer to as a 'Blank' as initiation."

"I'll keep my guard up."

A short time later, as the burning sky was becoming noticeably darker. The woman Sophie climbed on board with Mister Kim's help. As Ronan hauled himself on board, he waved away Mister Kim's offer of help. The gathered survivors watched the newly arrived ability-users suspiciously as they murmured tensely among themselves.

A splash was heard from the direction of the wharf. Noah turned to see the tentacles of the unknown monster extending from the water. They appeared to drag struggling soulless into its mouth that wandered too close to the water in hunt of the fleeing survivors.

Some survivors were still stranded on the docks. They had been heading towards the ferry in the hopes of rescue. Most quickly changed their minds after witnessing the creature lurking in the shallows. One aspiring survivor who considered himself a strong swimmer dived into the water to escape pursuit. The man never resurfaced.

Under the resigned gazes of the dock-bound survivors, the ferry continued to drift further away with the current.