Chapter 95: Intrusion from the Azure Sea

  Creak... creak...

  The sound was rhythmic and weary, the groan of seasoned timber protesting under the weight of intruders. Above, the moon hung high and pale, casting long, skeletal shadows across the deck of the wooden cargo ship Bob had hired for the journey. The usual gentle lap of the waves against the hull was drowned out by the rough, chaotic thumping of heavy boots—dozens of them—rummaging through the cargo hold, overturning crates, and shouting orders in guttural, undisciplined voices.

  Another ship, dark-hulled and bristling with jagged iron reinforcements, was docked violently against theirs, grappling hooks biting deep into the railing like the claws of a sea beast.

  In the center of this maritime burglary, suspended precariously from the central mast, two figures swayed gently in the night breeze.

  "So," Raito whispered, his face flushed red as the blood rushed to his head. He was hanging upside down, his ankles bound tightly by rough hemp rope, his arms trussed securely behind his back. "What is the plan here?"

  Beside him, dangling in the exact same undignified predicament, was Yukari. Her midnight-blue hair cascaded down towards the deck like a dark waterfall, swaying with the ship's movement. Unlike Raito, whose expression was one of mild annoyance and physical discomfort, Yukari looked… amused.

  "Shuush," she hissed, a playful glint in her upside-down silver eyes. "This is interesting. Much better than fishing."

  "My head feels like a balloon," Raito complained, ignoring her excitement.

  "ARSE!"

  A thunderous shout cut through their whispered conversation. Heavy footsteps stomped across the deck, stopping right in front of them.

  "Stop whisperin', mateys!"

  The owner of the voice loomed over them—or rather, under them, from their inverted perspective. He was a walking caricature of maritime villainy. He had a massive, beer-swollen belly that strained the buttons of his greasy vest, a wooden peg leg that clumped on the planks, and a single, menacing eyepatch. But the most striking feature was his beard—a thick, bushy, and inexplicably vibrant shade of blue.

  "And you are?" Raito asked, his tone polite despite the circumstances.

  The man snarled, drawing a rusted cutlass from his belt with a harsh rasp of metal. He pointed the tip directly at Raito’s nose, hovering just inches away.

  "Cap'n Blue Beard!" he roared, puffing out his chest. "A pirate! You should memorize the name while yer still breathin'!"

  Yukari giggled. The sound was light and bubbly, completely out of place with the sharp steel near her face. "Blue Beard? Isn't that a bit on the nose? Can't you give yourself a better name? Like… The Azure Terror? Or the Cobalt Corsair?"

  The captain’s face turned a shade of purple that clashed violently with his facial hair. "SILENCE!" he bellowed, swinging his sword wildy to point it at Yukari’s nose instead. "This is a hijacking! A robbery! Why arrr you two not scared?!"

  The question hung in the salty air, genuine confusion mixing with his rage. Most victims screamed. Most victims begged. These two just looked… inconvenienced.

  "Because we are bored," Raito and Yukari said in perfect unison.

  "Bored?!" Blue Beard spluttered, his sword hand shaking with indignation.

  "Look," Raito said, his voice taking on the narrative tone of a storyteller recounting a tedious Tuesday. "It’s been a long day. We were hot, we failed at fishing, and then…"

  His mind drifted back, narrating the short, chaotic sequence of events that had led them here.

  The boom sound from earlier hadn't been thunder. It was the roar of a cannonball, a warning shot that had smashed into the starboard railing, sending splinters flying and nearly knocking Bob off his feet. In a stroke of luck—or perhaps unluck, given how chaos seemed to cling to them like barnacles—the massive pirate vessel had surged out of the evening mist, hooking onto the hired ship before Bob’s crew could even rally.

  Normally, these pirates would be nothing more than a warmup exercise. Raito could have melted their cannons; Yukari could have frozen their ship to the ocean floor. But as they had drawn their weapons, Raito saw something. The terrified faces of the hired crew and bystanders. The fragile cargo.

  Fighting back meant a scuffle. A scuffle meant stray shots, fire, ice shards flying in confined spaces. Someone innocent would get hurt.

  "We surrender!" Raito had shouted, dropping his sword before the first pirate had even boarded. Yukari, catching his eye, had sighed and dropped her daggers a second later.

  And that, Raito thought as he swayed gently in the moonlight, is how we ended up here.

  "We let you catch us," Raito finished, looking the pirate captain dead in the eye (upside down). "Because we didn't want to break the ship. Or hurt anyone. Or you, frankly."

  "How... HOW DARE YE?!"

  Blue Beard, who had been listening to this casual dismissal with growing incredulity, finally exploded. His rage was a palpable wave of heat.

  "Ye call us not a threat?! Look at yerselves!" He gestured wildly at their inverted forms. "We are not the ones tied up like hogs for the slaughter! YE ARE!"

  He thrust his cutlass forward again, the tip mere centimeters from Raito's throat. "Arrr! You two frustrate me to no end! I should gut ye just for the insolence!"

  He pulled back, sheathing his sword with a violent shove, his chest heaving. "No matter," he spat, a cruel gleam entering his single eye. "We have the greatest prize of them all. MEN! Bring him here!"

  "Aye, Cap'n!"

  Two burly pirates dragged a third figure from the shadows near the stern. The man was massive, dwarfing his captors, but he stumbled along obediently, his hands bound in front of him with heavy chains.

  It was Bob.

  "Bob?" Raito blinked, genuinely confused. The giant merchant, usually the picture of booming confidence, was shaking like a leaf in a gale.

  "Hello, kids," Bob said, his voice a high, terrified wobble as he was shoved to his knees in front of them.

  "Yes! Mr. Boban Said himself!" Blue Beard crowed, pacing back and forth before his prize. He began to monologue, his voice thick with greedy triumph. "The Great Merchant of Zarateph! The man who knows everyone! But more importantly..."

  He leaned down, grinning into Bob's terrified face.

  "...The Crown Prince of the Zaratephian Throne! The owner of the Wondrous Seven Riches!"

  "Crown Prince?!"

  Yukari’s shout was so loud it made the pirate flinch. She stared at Bob, her silver eyes wide with shock. "You never told us about that, Bob!"

  "Yeah," Raito added, his head tilting as he tried to process this new title. "We know you're rich, Bob. And we know you know everyone. Apparently, even these 'blue brown' pirates know you. But... Crown Prince?"

  "Whoops... silly me," Bob laughed, a nervous, high-pitched giggle that sounded nothing like his usual 'hohoho'. Sweat was pouring down his face. "Perhaps I forgot to mention that little detail."

  He looked up at Raito and Yukari, his eyes pleading. "I'll tell you two more later! I promise! So... can you two please do something about Mr. Blue Pants here?" Bob begged.

  "HEY! I heard that!" the pirate captain roared, stomping his peg leg. "And it's BLUE BEARD!"

  Yukari ignored him, her gaze fixed on Bob. "How about the other guests of the ship, Bob?" she asked, her voice sharp. "Where are they?"

  "They... they are all in the lower deck," Bob whispered, glancing fearfully at the pirates. "Only us... are up here."

  "Perfect," Yukari said.

  A slow, chilling smile spread across her face—upside down, it looked even more menacing.

  "But Bob," she continued, her voice sweet and dangerous. "Now you owe us two feasts."

  "Yes! Yes! Anything!" Bob cried, nodding frantically. "Just please hurry! Or Mila... Mila will be very angry her prayer got interrupted!"

  At the mention of Mila, a collective shudder ran through Raito, Yukari, and Bob. The image of the stoic mercenary being disturbed from her sacred ritual was far more terrifying than any pirate.

  "No time to waste then," Raito said, his expression hardening.

  "We are not bored anymore," Yukari agreed.

  "Why arr you three talking amongst yerselves?!" Blue Beard roared, his patience snapping like a dry twig. He waved his cutlass wildly. "We are your captors! You arrr our hostages! FEAR ME!"

  He stomped closer to Bob, grabbing the merchant by his bound wrists. "Or do we have to bring that defenseless woman in the lower deck all alone? Crying? Praying for a savior that won't come? Hahaha!" Blue Beard laughed, a wet, gurgling sound.

  Woman... alone... in the lower deck?

  The thought hit Bob, Raito, and Yukari simultaneously, like a physical blow.

  Oh no.

  They gulped in perfect unison. Too late.

  Before Blue Beard could finish his villainous laugh, the heavy wooden door leading to the cabin deck exploded outward.

  "Wha—?!"

  A figure came flying out of the doorway as if shot from a cannon. It was one of Blue Beard's men. He sailed through the air in a graceful, terrified arc, screaming in a pitch that shattered glass. He landed with a comical, bone-jarring thud right in front of Blue Beard, Bob, Raito, and Yukari.

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  He was unconscious before he hit the ground. A dark stain was spreading rapidly across the front of his trousers, and three perfectly round, cartoonish bumps were already rising on his head.

  "We are absolutely too late," Bob whispered, his voice filled with dread.

  "Alright."

  A voice, cold as the grave and sharp as a razor, called out from the dark cabin doorway.

  "Who interrupted my alone session?"

  Mila stepped out into the moonlight. She wasn't wearing armor, just her simple travel clothes, but she looked like a god of war. Her massive greatsword was resting casually on her shoulder, swinging slightly as if it weighed nothing more than a feather. Her eyes were shadowed, but the killing intent radiating from her was enough to make the temperature on the deck drop ten degrees.

  "Who wants to be mincemeat?" she asked, her voice a low, dangerous rumble. She scanned the deck, her gaze passing over the terrified pirates like a scythe.

  "Someone responsible better step out and beg for mercy right now!" she declared, hefting the sword with one hand.

  "HE'S THE ONE!"

  Bob, Yukari, and Raito shouted in perfect, desperate unison. Without hesitation, Bob (with his bound hands) and the two inverted runaways (with their chins) pointed directly at Blue Beard.

  "OH!"

  Mila’s gaze snapped to the pirate captain. Her bloodlust was so thick it was almost a physical weight, pressing down on the deck like a lead blanket. Everyone felt it—a cold shiver that ran up the spine and settled in the gut.

  Blue Beard gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly.

  "You are so screwed," Yukari said, her voice almost pitying.

  "She's right," Raito commented, wincing slightly as he looked at the captain. "It's better to deal with us than whatever state Mila is in right now."

  "Please repent," Bob pleaded, looking at Blue Beard with genuine empathy.

  "SILENCE!" Blue Beard shouted, trying to reclaim his shattered authority. "She is alone! I have more than a dozen men and a secret weapon with me! How could she take me down?!" He turned his fury on the three hostages. "You arr crazy!"

  "You! kneel and beg now!," Mila said. She leveled her greatsword at Blue Beard, the massive blade steady as a rock. "I give you five more seconds. I am in a very bad mood." She glared, and the moonlight seemed to dim around her.

  "What arrr you doing?!" Blue Beard screamed at his frozen crew. "MEN! ATTACK!"

  "Yes, Cap'n!" they shouted collectively, more out of habit than bravery.

  Before long, more than a dozen of Blue Beard's pirates encircled Mila, their weapons drawn, their faces grim. With a yell, they attacked.

  One pirate tackled Mila from behind, aiming to bring her down with sheer weight. Mila didn't even turn. She simply shifted her weight and delivered a powerful back kick. The impact sounded like a cannonball—a sickening crunch of ribs shattering. The pirate flew backward, crashing into the railing and sliding down, groaning.

  Another swung his cutlass in a vicious arc aimed at her neck. Mila didn't block. She swung her own greatsword upward in a casual, one-handed motion. Her blade met his, and with a sharp ping, the cutlass sheared in half as if it were made of butter, the top half spinning away into the night.

  With her free hand, she punched the now-weaponless pirate square in the nose. He crumpled instantly, knocked out cold before he hit the planks.

  "Who's next?" Mila declared, her voice bored.

  The rest of the pirates gulped. With just two strikes, she had turned their confidence into terror. They stopped dead in their tracks, looking at their fallen comrades, then at the monster with the greatsword, seriously rethinking their life choices.

  "Should we help her?" Raito asked, watching the spectacle with wide eyes (still upside down).

  "I think she got this," Yukari answered calmly.

  As she spoke, another of Blue Beard's crew made the mistake of charging. Mila didn't even cut him. She pivoted, slamming the blunt flat of her greatsword into his chest like a bat hitting a ball. He flew backward, slamming into the wooden deck with a groan before going still.

  "But we better get ourselves free," Yukari said, her tone practical.

  "Alright," Raito nodded.

  He focused. The crimson necklace around his neck flared with a soft, inner light. The core hidden within the silver locket pulsed, responding to his will. A wave of dry, intense heat radiated from his wrists. The rough hemp rope sizzled, smoked, and then disintegrated into ash, severed by the precise application of thermal energy.

  Raito dropped.

  Yukari, anticipating the fall, twisted in mid-air. She landed on her feet with a graceful, cat-like flip, her boots making a soft thud on the deck.

  Raito landed on his head.

  THUD.

  "Ow!" Raito groaned, rubbing the growing lump on his scalp as he sat up.

  "Remember to do a flip, please," Yukari commented, shaking her head at her husband's ungraceful landing. "Presentation matters."

  "Noted," Raito mumbled, still rubbing his head.

  WHOOSH!

  Another pirate flew past Raito's left ear, screaming as he was hurled overboard by Mila’s rage.

  "Kids!" Bob hissed, gesturing frantically with his bound wrists.

  "Right," Raito and Yukari said together.

  They moved quickly to Bob's side, ignoring the chaos of the melee. Raito burned through Bob's ropes with another controlled pulse of heat, freeing the giant merchant.

  "HEY!"

  Blue Beard spun around, his single eye widening as he realized his hostages were loose. "Who told yarr to free yerselves?!" he roared, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple.

  "ACK!"

  Another shout cut him off as one of his lieutenants went flying past him, landing in a heap near the railing. Blue Beard looked around wildly. His crew was being dismantled, piece by piece, by a single woman with a sword bigger than she was.

  "Where did things go wrong?!" Blue Beard shouted at the heavens, his voice cracking with despair.

  He looked back at Raito, Yukari, and the now-free Bob. His face hardened. "Fine! It's time for the secret weapon!"

  He reached inside his greasy jacket and pulled out a glowing yellow crystal. It pulsed with crackling energy, sparks jumping from its facets.

  A Spark Core.

  "He's a core user? Him?" Raito blinked, staring at the pirate captain. "Blue Jacket?"

  "The qualifications to get a core are extremely vague, I guess," Yukari commented dryly, unimpressed.

  "BLUE BEARD!" the captain screamed back, offended.

  "Raito," Yukari said, her voice sharpening into command. She stepped in front of Bob, her stance shifting. "I'll keep Bob safe. You deal with Blue Underpants over there."

  "Me?" Raito sighed, his shoulders slumping lethargically. "Fine."

  He looked at the pirate captain, then raised his right hand to the side, palm open, as if calling for a pet.

  "Come here."

  Once more, the core at his neck flared bright red.

  From the cabin doorway, a streak of crimson light shot out. It zipped across the deck, bypassing the brawl entirely, and slapped firmly into Raito's waiting palm.

  It was Koenka. The crimson blade hummed with power, the Elenium metal warm against his skin.

  "Whoa," Yukari said, her eyes widening slightly. "Since when can that thing do that?" She pointed at the sword.

  "Cool isn't it?" Raito grinned, giving the sword a practice swing. The blade left a trail of red light in the air. "I also discovered it recently. I guess the more I use this in conjunction with my core, the more in sync they are. And now I am able to call both my core and Koenka to me whenever I want."

  He smiled, genuinely pleased. "No more having to fetch Koenka whenever I leave it behind."

  "Is that Elenium's true ability?" Yukari mused, her analytical mind taking over even in the heat of the moment. "I guess it would make sense that a metal that reacts to elemental energy would seek out the elemental energy it's most compatible with. But still... flying to you is weird."

  "Weird or not, or whatever the science behind it," Raito said, hefting the sword, "it is convenient."

  "I should really get myself one of those," Yukari commented, eyeing the sword with a hint of jealousy.

  "STOP IGNORING ME!"

  Blue Beard screamed, his face contorted with rage, the yellow core in his hand sparking violently. He infused his cutlass with the electric elemental energy. The metal shrieked as it was coated in jagged arcs of yellow lightning. He swung the sword around in a wide circle, and with each rotation, the electric energy extended outward, creating a crackling, whiplike extension of the blade—an electric fishing rod of pure voltage.

  "Take this!"

  With a grunt, he cast the electric line forward. It crackled through the air, seeking Raito like a snake.

  Raito reacted instantly. He tightened his grip on Koenka, channeling the power from the core at his neck down his arm. The Elenium blade roared to life, engulfed in a sheath of intense crimson fire. He swung to parry.

  HISS-CRACK!

  The electric whip didn't bounce off; it wrapped around Koenka’s blade, coiling tight like a boa constrictor.

  The two stood locked in a bizarre tug-of-war, the space between them vibrating with the clash of fire and lightning. Blue Beard pulled back with all his might, trying to wrench the sword from Raito's grasp. Raito dug his heels into the deck, refusing to let go.

  "Hey, let go!" Raito grunted, his muscles straining.

  "Who arr you to make demands of Blue Beard?!" the captain sneered, his single eye gleaming with malice. "It is you who have to let go... unless..."

  His grin turned sinister.

  "NOW!"

  Suddenly, the electric whip surged. Blue Beard wasn't just pulling; he was conducting. A massive jolt of electricity shot down the line, bypassing the blade and arcing directly into Raito’s hands.

  "OW! OW! OW!"

  Raito shrieked, his body convulsing as the voltage hit him. His survival instinct overrode his grip. He jolted back, his hands flying open, and Koenka was ripped from his grasp.

  "Hah!"

  Blue Beard reeled in his prize. The electric line retracted, bringing the crimson sword flying into his waiting hand. He caught Koenka by the hilt, holding it up to the moonlight.

  "This is a fine sword," he marveled, examining the craftsmanship, the way the red metal seemed to glow even without Raito's touch. "It shall be a nice haul for me!"

  Raito rubbed his stinging hands, his expression darkening. He looked at the pirate captain holding his master’s legacy.

  "Let it go," Raito whispered.

  "Huh?" Blue Beard looked up, confused. "What was that, boy?"

  "I said, let it go," Raito repeated, his voice gaining a hard edge. "That sword is not made for you."

  "Under whose authority?" Blue Beard laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "I am a pirate, boy! I like, I take!"

  Raito stared at him. For a fraction of a second, his eyes shifted. The warm brown vanished, replaced by a deep, deep, dark crimson.

  Heat.

  Suddenly, Koenka reacted. It didn't just glow; it burned. The Elenium sword, attuned only to Raito's specific energy signature, rejected the foreign touch. It heated up instantly to searing temperatures.

  "AAAARGH!"

  Blue Beard screamed, smoke rising from his palm. He had no choice. He dropped the sword, clutching his scorched hand to his chest.

  Clatter.

  The sword hit the deck.

  "Raito?" Yukari asked, concern etching her voice as she saw the shift in his demeanor.

  Raito didn't answer. He moved. He wasn't the clumsy boy who landed on his head anymore. He was a blur. He dove forward, grabbing Koenka’s hilt before it could fully settle on the wood.

  He rolled to his feet, his momentum carrying him into an upward swing.

  As he swung, Yukari saw it. It was brief, a mere flicker in the night, but it was there. The brilliant crimson flame that usually coated the blade darkened. For the barest fraction of a second, it turned a deep, consuming black—void-like and terrifying.

  Blue Beard, desperate and in pain, channeled every ounce of his remaining electric energy into his cutlass, trying to block the rising strike.

  It wasn't enough.

  SHING.

  There was no clang of metal on metal. Raito's blade passed through the cutlass, shattering the steel. It continued its arc, biting through meat and bone with zero resistance.

  Blue Beard’s right arm, the one that had held the sword, separated from his body. Blood spurted from the stump in a gruesome fountain.

  The pirate captain collapsed, wailing in agony.

  Raito stood over him, his chest heaving. He leveled the tip of Koenka at Blue Beard’s throat. The black flame was gone, replaced by the usual red glow, but Raito's eyes were cold.

  "This is the end," he said. His voice was flat, devoid of his usual warmth. Uncharacteristic.

  He pulled his arm back for the final thrust.

  "STOP!"

  A hand clamped around Raito's wrist, stopping the blade inches from the pirate's neck.

  It was Mila. She had finished her own fight and crossed the deck in an instant.

  "What are you doing?" Mila asked, her voice low but firm. She looked at Raito, her eyes searching his face. "The battle is over."

  Raito blinked. The crimson in his eyes faded back to brown. He looked at Mila, then at the whimpering, one-armed pirate on the deck, then at his own sword. The coldness vanished, replaced by sudden confusion.

  "Huh? Wha...?" Raito looked around, as if waking from a trance. He saw the carnage, the defeated pirates, and his friends staring at him.

  He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, a nervous, sheepish smile breaking onto his face.

  "Oh... right. Sorry," he said, letting out an awkward laugh. "Got carried away there."

  Get carried away? Mila thought, her eyes narrowing. It was a very odd thought, something she never expected to hear from Raito. Raito wasn't someone who willingly brutalized others, nor was he someone who took lives without hesitation.

  Someone else had noticed it too.

  Yukari stood a few feet away, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide. But she quickly composed herself, rushing to Raito's side.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Yukari asked, her voice full of concern.

  "Yeah, why?" Raito asked, genuinely puzzled.

  "What do you mean why? You just did... that," Yukari gestured vaguely to the wailing, bleeding Blue Beard on the deck.

  "Oh, yeah," Raito said, looking down at the pirate as if seeing him for the first time. "I guess I did." He sounded detached, like someone who hadn't fully processed his own actions.

  "Yukari," Mila said, her voice quiet. "Please take Raito back to your room. I'll clean up here."

  Yukari nodded, quickly grabbing Raito by the wrist. "Let's go."

  "Hey, I said I'm alright," Raito protested, though he let himself be pulled.

  "No, I think you are tired. Just come," Yukari said firmly.

  Raito, seeing the look in her eyes, realized he had no choice but to follow.

  Bob and Mila watched the two leave, their faces etched with concern. The celebration of victory felt hollow.

  "I hope nothing bad will happen while we are in Zarateph," Mila said softly, sheathing her greatsword.

  Bob nodded, his usual jovialty absent. "Hopefully."

  High above, with the sun just beginning to rise on the horizon, a figure watched the events unfold from the crow's nest. The wind whipped at her red qipao.

  It was Zhu Lihua. Her arms were crossed, and her gaze was fixed on the retreating form of Raito.

  "What was that?" she murmured to herself, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the flicker of darkness she had seen from her vantage point. "That black flame..."