Chapter 114
The leader of the White Shark Pirate Crew and the Sixth Hero serving under the Pirate Queen, Bessic, sat in his captain's quarters, scowling as he nursed a drink. His mood was foul.
Our crew could have handled this on our own. Did we really need to bring that Edward bastard into this? Bessic thought.
The task at hand was a simple raid on a small elven village along the coast. It was an easy opportunity to score a personal victory. Additionally, it was a chance to monopolize the lucrative spoils of capturing elves.
If he had managed to claim the elves for himself, growing his pirate crew into an even greater force would have been within reach. But his sweet dreams had been shattered by the Pirate Queen's decree.
"You're just my dog. You bark when I tell you to bark, and you lie down when I tell you to lie down. Don't even bother thinking in the first place; your brain is just filled with useless muscle. Got it?"
"...Damn it!" Bessic snarled.
Crash!
He slammed his fist onto the table, splintering it into pieces. The violent outburst did little to calm his simmering rage, though.
It wasn't just that the Pirate Queen didn't trust him enough to complete the mission alone. What stung most was that she had sent Edward of all people to tag along. Edward, the very man who openly competed with him under her command!
I don't care about hatchlings or any of that nonsense! Bessic thought.
The Pirate Queen had ordered him to search for something called a "Hatchling," handing him a palm-sized scale as the key to his mission. He now idly toyed with the scale, his brow furrowed in frustration.
Why can't she just let pirates be pirates? What in the world is she thinking? Bessic thought. But the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
When he first joined her ranks, he'd held high expectations. But those feelings had long since eroded, replaced by nothing but exasperation at her constant mistreatment—treating him like some errand boy.
He took another swig of his drink, drowning his anger in liquor, when the door suddenly flew open.
Bessic glared at the aide who had barged into his quarters.
"Boss! The pursuit crew that went after the elf has returned, but..." one of the aides called out, but couldn't continue.
"But what?" Bessic growled.
"Only one of them made it back, and... Something's wrong with him. He keeps rambling nonsense and insists he has to report to you directly," the aide answered.
"Ha! These useless worm-like bastards just keep finding new ways to disappoint me," Bessic sneered.
He had sent a crew of ten after one lone elf. Not just any elf, but an elf who had been struck by Bessic's own paralysis dart. There was no way it could've gotten far. It should've been the simplest task: Bring back its head and be done with it.
"Bring that bastard who came alone to me. Now," Bessic ordered, his voice cold and low.
The mere thought of someone botching such an easy mission sent a thick wave of displeasure crawling up his throat.
"I already had him wait outside the captain's quarters, just in case," the aide replied before stepping out and dragging a trembling man into the room.
Bessic picked up the enormous battle-ax resting at his side and turned his piercing gaze toward the man. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked, his voice laced with menace.
The man's face had turned an ominous, sallow gray. His body twitched uncontrollably, and drool dripped ceaselessly from his mouth. The stench of urine filled the air—he'd clearly wet himself.
"B-Boss..." Wigo stuttered, his voice trembling. "P-Please... Spare my life... I feel like I'm going to die..."
Bessic's expression darkened. "What happened to the rest of the crew?" he asked coldly.
"They... They're all dead..." Wigo answered.
"By whose hand?" Bessic growled.
Slice!
Without hesitation, his massive ax swung down, severing the man's right arm. Blood spurted from the gaping wound, pooling on the floor.
"You worthless piece of filth! You couldn't even handle a simple task—" Bessic paused mid-sentence, staring at his subordinate.
The man didn't scream. Despite the agony he had to be in from getting his arm cut off, no sound escaped his lips.
"...Hah!" Bessic narrowed his eyes, the gears in his mind turning. Something about this felt off. He had been suspicious from the moment this lone survivor returned. Now, with the man standing before him, his doubts solidified.
"You idiot. You should've died back there," Bessic said.
Whoosh!
The ax cleaved the air once more, this time cutting clean through the man's neck.
Thud.
Wigo's headless body slumped to the ground, and for a moment, silence reigned. But then—
Squelch.
A dark, shadowy substance oozed out of the corpse, writhing and coiling like a living thing. The black mass quickly condensed, forming into a perfectly spherical ball. Dense and oppressive mana emanated from it.
Bessic didn't hesitate. He reached out and grabbed the ball with a rough, unflinching grip. A sinister grin spread across his face as he examined it.
"So, that's how it is," Bessic muttered as he realized something.
The ball radiated mana that belonged to someone. He couldn't tell if it was regular mana or dark mana, but one thing was clear.
"My crew didn't die at the hands of some elves," Bessic said.
Whoever had done this had planted something in his subordinate and sent him back alive on purpose. Elves didn't operate like this. They killed swiftly and cleanly. But this method was far crueler, far more calculating. It was the sort of thing pirates would do.
"...Looks like someone interesting has joined the game," Bessic chuckled as he turned the ball over in his hands.
He could feel someone's gaze beyond the sphere, observing him. This wasn't just paranoia. It was his instinct, honed through years of survival, that screamed that he was being watched.
"There's no way this person would go to all this trouble just for some cheap voyeurism," Bessic mused over the ball.
Then, the door burst open.
"Boss!" the aide shouted, rushing into the room. His eyes flicked to the corpse on the floor, and he recoiled in shock before quickly regaining his composure. "Boss, the men who came into contact with that corpse—they're all acting strange! They're hunched over, trembling with fear like something's possessed them!"
"So, are you saying it's contagious?" Bessic asked, his tone calm but edged with menace.
"It... seems that way," the aide confirmed uneasily.
Bessic glanced back at the ball and smirked, then said, "As I thought... You're just like us."
Whoever this opponent was, they were just as underhanded, just as ruthless, willing to do whatever it took to win.
"Kill the ones who are acting strange. Cut off their heads and toss them into the sea," Bessic ordered without hesitation.
The aide nodded grimly and left to carry out the command.
Turning his attention back to the ball, Bessic infused it with his own mana.
Crack!
The sphere splintered apart under his power, its fragments dissolving into nothing.
"This might just liven things up," Bessic muttered with a cruel grin.
The White Shark Pirate Crew had suffered a loss, and he would make sure to pay it back in full.
Whoosh!
A surge of 7-Star mana rippled through him.
***
Flicker.
The vision Pluto had been sharing abruptly cut off.
Caron, noticing the strain on Pluto, dismissed the spirit. A faint smile played on his lips as he muttered, "That man who looks like a bear has sharp instincts."
The thing Caron had planted inside Wigo was none other than a clone of Pluto. While he had anticipated the various ways Pluto's abilities could be utilized, seeing it in action had far exceeded his expectations.
"I'll need to use this trick more often," he remarked, already considering the possibilities. Though Pluto's power was limited in areas without darkness, this successful application opened a world of new strategies. Caron could see how Pluto would compensate for many of his own shortcomings.
The information that pirate gave me seems to be true, Caron thought.
To his credit, the pirate had done his part. As soon as Wigo had escaped Caron, he had made a beeline back to his fleet. That allowed Caron to cross-check the information provided.
But above all else, learning about the abilities of Bessic, the Sixth Hero of the Pirate Queen, was the most valuable insight.
A 7-Star pirate, huh? Caron mused.
That was a level of power that made one capable of taking down even skilled knights with ease. It was a fitting presence for one of the pillars of South Sea dominance.
"Caron," Leon called, interrupting his thoughts. She was helping an elf walk toward him, supporting her by the arm. "The elf is awake."
Caron glanced at the elf, noting her improved complexion. She was still weak, but appeared far better than before.
"Why do I always meet elves under such dire circumstances?" Caron muttered to himself. From Foina to Neria, Orion, and now this one, every encounter had been anything but ordinary.
"Can you speak the human language?" he asked the elf directly.
The elf murmured something in her own language, causing Caron to grimace. No one in the group spoke Elvish fluently.
At that moment, Guillotine's familiar, disinterested voice echoed in his head.
"She's saying, 'Thank you for saving me, my benefactor.'"
Caron raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can you not manage two-way translation?"
"Do you think that will work? She can't even hear me, you dimwit," Guillotine said annoyingly.
"Then make it happen. Why are you so useless for a so-called demonic sword?" Caron snapped. He sighed, turning back to the elf, already wondering if he'd need to resort to gesturing like a fool.
"Leave it to me!" Utula suddenly cried out of nowhere, fishing something out of his waistband. It was a book with a brown leather cover.
"Could you please be normal and keep books in your backpack?" Leo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Utula puffed out his chest, looking immensely proud, and said, "A true warrior always keeps a book close at hand. I think there is a need for you to read more, Leo."
"I'm not stupid, you giant!" Leo shot back.
"No, but you lack knowledge. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Knowledge is power'?" Utula replied.
Leo glared, while Caron quietly observed the exchange, trying not to laugh at Utula's heavy-handed wisdom.
Leo stood frozen, mouth agape, stunned by the unexpected verbal jab. Meanwhile, Utula remained unfazed and turned to Caron with a confident air.
"This is an Elvish primer," Utula announced, holding up a book. "I purchased it during my last visit to Galad. While training in seclusion, I practiced it bit by bit. I've managed to learn a few simple phrases. Ah, but I can't understand spoken Elvish yet. I can only speak it."
"...Utula," Caron began.
"What is it, Caron?" Utula asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"You're smarter than you look," Caron said.
Utula's usual slow speech and his massive, house-sized frame gave him an air of clumsiness that was hard to overlook. Anyone meeting him for the first time would likely assume he was more brawn than brains.
"The giants must travel the continent to fulfill their tasks! For that, we must learn many languages," Utula explained proudly.
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A polyglot giant—it was an unusual image, one that didn't quite fit expectations. But Caron decided to set aside his doubts for now.
"Fine. I'll handle understanding her replies. Ask her how she ended up being chased by pirates," Caron instructed.
"Understood," Utula said, stepping toward the elf. Holding the primer in one hand, he gestured animatedly as he attempted to communicate.
The elf watched him for a moment before responding softly. Guillotine wasted no time translating her words into Caron's mind.
"She says she witnessed naga ships alongside human pirate ships. So she tried to return to her people immediately, but the pirates were on her heels in no time."
"...Nagas?" Caron echoed, his expression darkening.
Orion had warned him about them before. They were creatures that ruled the seas south of the Great Forest, and were mortal enemies of the elves. And nagas despised humans just as much. So Caron couldn't understand why they would align with human pirates.
This wasn't just a pirate issue anymore. It was a looming threat.
Why on earth is Kerra hiding in a place like this? Caron thought as he placed pieces of the puzzle in his mind.
There was the dragon's lair they had passed earlier, the pirates, and now the nagas. Even the location that the regent had provided for Kerra's hideout was conveniently close to the nearby village.
One coincidence could be excusable, but this many?
No, it's impossible, Caron thought with growing certainty.
This wasn't a coincidence.
"This was inevitable," he muttered to himself.
Whatever was happening, it centered on the region south of the Great Forest, and the signs were too clear to ignore.
Nodding slowly, Caron fixed his gaze on the elf and said decisively, "Take us to the village. Right now."
Time was running out.