The voyage went smoothly.
The weather was good, and the atmosphere on board had noticeably brightened.
It had never been gloomy before, but now both passengers and crew openly showed an optimistic confidence, as if nothing that happened could faze them.
This was because they had a proven record of overcoming the legendary ocean monsters’ attacks.
Zion himself, however, who had thought he might hold out for only a few days, soon succumbed again to seasickness and lay down.
Just as if waiting for this moment, the ocean monsters appeared once more.
It was the 23rd day of the voyage.
Among the crew who went out to intercept the monsters, not a single one showed any anxiety, and Zion, who had been groaning and weak, suddenly sprang to life and struck down the monsters as if nothing had happened.
“This weapon is getting really familiar now.”
Naia’s sword, Spectrum, fused with the Pendant, was a weapon that could change its form in response to the user’s MP control.
It had the powerful advantage of being able to adapt to any situation, but it also had its significant drawbacks.
Even the initial act of precisely shaping it into the desired form through MP control alone was difficult.
Moreover, even if the transformation succeeded, maintaining the form drained MP ruthlessly.
Since it was originally made solely for Naia, energy efficiency was thrown out the window, making it essentially a flawed product.
Still, it was a powerful weapon.
With an ordinary weapon, they would never have been able to take down those massive ocean monsters so easily.
[Hey, Frey? Sometimes I’m honestly scared of Zion’s talent. It took Naia a whole two days just to get used to Spectrum…]
[From what I see, both of them are just monsters. The first one Naia used was a half-done prototype anyway. Come to think of it, didn’t it explode mid-battle? Didn’t it, developer girl?]
[Uh… uh, I don’t really remember such old stuff~]
There was also a lingering question.
Ocean monsters had appeared twice in less than a month.
Frey’s answer to this was simple.
[I think the monsters like you.]
||
Zion had never felt more frustrated that a dimensional wall lay between himself and Frey.
[I’m not joking.]
[I’ve thought it over a bit too, and I’m pretty sure there’s something about Zion that attracts monsters.]
With Arcs’ added remark, Zion couldn’t just brush it off.
Come to think of it, since they started the journey, even though they traveled mainly to sparsely populated areas, they had encountered monsters far too often.
“Could it be that my nature as an Awakened attracts monsters?”
[That’s possible. Or… maybe the very fact that you’re an Awakened is the problem.]
[Monsters normally attack humans first, right? Statistically, they tend to prioritize Awakened over ordinary people. And Zion, you’re the only Awakened in that world, right?]
“Not the only one anymore. Yuria’s an Awakened too.”
[Oh, right. Our Yuria as well.]
Either way, it meant battles with monsters were unavoidable in the future.
Since the journey itself was to become stronger and to learn about the existence of demons, that fact was no problem.
But the worry was that those around him might get caught up in it.
The solution was simple.
Get stronger.
Become strong enough to protect even those who got caught up innocently, and there would be no issues.
Looking down at his clenched fist, Zion stepped out of the cabin with a determined expression.
Heading to Yuria’s room right beside his, he politely knocked.
When he heard her answer, he opened the door with energy.
“Yuria, let’s train.”
.o||?”
Thus began Yuria’s hell.
On the 25th day of the voyage, from dawn, the sky grew cloudy.
According to the navigator’s report, there was no sign of a storm brewing, but the atmosphere inside the ship sank like a wet rag.
Zion and Yuria, returning from their dawn training on deck, keenly sensed this mood.
“Please, let today pass safely.”
Despite Zion’s wish, the weather worsened as time passed.
By noon, crew members wearing tense expressions busily ran here and there.
“Ding ding ding ding ding!”
Suddenly, a sharp alarm blared loudly throughout the ship.
Misfortune had finally fallen upon them.
But what arrived was not a storm.
“Pirates! Pirates have appeared!”
A desperate shout echoed over the loudspeakers inside the ship.
***
Standing in the middle of the deck, Captain Robillio peered through his binoculars at the sea beyond and clicked his tongue loudly.
Zion and Yuria, having rushed out from their cabins, approached him.
“Pirates?”
“Exactly as you heard. Three ships in front, two in the rear, and one on each side—seven unidentified vessels are approaching like a surround. Damn it, how can they just let pirates run rampant in their own waters? Even the proud Empire’s order has fallen to hell.”
The captain couldn’t help but curse aloud.
It was clearly a meticulously prepared ambush.
The Little Hope was a massive galleon packed with the Republic’s technology, but it was still just a merchant ship armed with a few cannons at best.
Escaping the encirclement of seven ships was nearly impossible.
[We have no choice. Zion, preemptive strike. When the enemy gets close, sink any one ship to throw them into confusion, then break through the siege and escape.] Frey suggested the plan.
Simple but effective.
However, there was one problem.
“But… there are people on those ships too.”
The enemies were humans, not monsters.
[So you’re saying you won’t do it? They’re chasing you with weapons drawn to kill, and because they’re not monsters, you’ll just stand there and take it?]
Frey’s voice grew sharp.
Zion was aware that he sounded foolish, but since the enemy was human, he didn’t want to hastily choose an irreversible action.
“There’s still some time before they get here. I’ll think about ways to minimize casualties until then.”
[Ah, you stubborn idiot. Why can’t you just take the easy way once?]
“I don’t want the easy way.”
Frey was momentarily speechless at Zion’s unwavering answer.
At the same time, he sensed he had lost this argument.
[Damn it. Fine, let’s put our heads together for once. Arcs, stop fiddling with your gear, and you too, Yuria.]
An impromptu strategy meeting began.
Various opinions flew around for a few minutes.
[How about crossing over there to take a hostage? Like the pirate captain or something.]
Arcs suggested a good idea.
[What if they don’t care if the captain’s taken hostage? They might just rage harder.]
“In that case… there’s no choice.” Zion hesitated briefly but spoke firmly.
No matter who he was, he wouldn’t show mercy to an enemy charging at them.
[Alright. We need to identify their flagship.]
“That’s right, that’s right.”
‘Maybe the captain knows.’
Zion immediately took action.
Hearing the question, the captain narrowed his eyes.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Nothing certain. But we can’t just do nothing.”
Nodding, Zion briefly explained the plan to the captain.
“…Crazy. I’m against this plan!”
To Zion’s surprise, he opposed it strongly.
“Damn it. I’ve never worried about pirates’ lives at sea before… cough, but this is the first time I’ve seen an adult like you do it, Zion. Pirates, you see, are basically monsters looking like us, making sounds like people. They’re not the kind of folk worth risking your life for.”
“But I don’t have a better idea.”
“Run without looking back! If you can’t run, then fight! Not just you, Zion, but all of us will risk our lives. Then many crew will die or be injured. The passengers will be badly affected too, even if we win.”
The captain hesitated and fell silent.
He had prepared to die at sea along with the ship.
The crew felt the same.
Without that resolve, they wouldn’t be seamen at all.
But the passengers were innocent.
It was practically impossible for a bulky merchant ship to fight seven vessels and win.
And if they fell, the passengers would become pirate loot.
“It’s fine. No matter how scary pirates are, are they scarier than ocean monsters?”
Ignoring the stunned captain, Zion turned to Yuria.
“Wait here a moment. If this goes well, I’ll be back right away.”
“And if it doesn’t? You’re just going to leave us behind?”
“Uh… I’ll come back, even if it doesn’t go well. I promise.”
It was a teasing joke.
Seeing Yuria’s mischievous smile, Zion felt some of the tension that had gripped him loosen.
“It’s not that hard. Don’t be so tense.”
Little Hope could sail at an unbelievable speed of up to 20 knots despite its massive size.
The problem was that the pirates were closing the distance even faster.
Unless the enemy ship used the Republic’s latest technology, there was likely a mage assisting their speed.
Strange.
Mages were rare talents treated with respect everywhere—yet here they were, working with pirates.
‘Should we take out the mage first?’
That was a problem to consider when it came up.
When the distance to the enemy flagship finally narrowed to about a hundred meters, Zion clenched the Pendant and sprang into action.
‘The leap can cover about 30 to 40 meters. The rest…’
Transforming the Pendant into a chained spear, Zion grabbed the chain with one hand and threw the spear with all his might.
The spear thundered through the air and embedded itself in the mainmast of the flagship, causing violent waves to ripple across the sea surface.
Shouts filled with fear and shock rose from the enemy deck.
Hanging from the chain at the end of the spear, Zion planted his legs against the mast to slow his momentum.
The mast, unable to withstand the impact, creaked ominously and began to tilt like a felled ancient tree.
The enemy, orderly arranged in uniforms unlike typical pirates, looked up in stunned silence.
“You all look stunned. This is our chance to subdue the enemy without shedding a drop of blood.”
Hearing Frey’s advice, Zion moved swiftly.
Luckily, the person who appeared to be the captain was in a very conspicuous spot—apparently giving a speech to his pirates.
Zion leapt high over the enemy and landed right behind the captain, transforming the Pendant back into a long sword and pressing it against the back of his neck.
“Hello. I regret meeting you under such unfortunate circumstances. Are you indeed the captain of this pirate crew?”
What came back was a troubled glare and silence.
The two Awakened observing the situation fully understood the enemy’s feelings.
“Why not just put down your sword and offer a handshake?”
“What kind of bastard do you take me for?”
At that moment, a thick string of curses spat out from the captured captain’s mouth.
“You damn son of a bitch. What? ‘You’? Hello? Thanks to this damn XX steel cudgel pointed at my neck, I’m anything but ‘hello.’ What are you gonna do? Stab me?”
[Whoa…]
The two Awakened were dumbfounded by the unimaginably blunt curse.
The Pendant’s translation function malfunctioned from the excessive obscenities.
Zion himself was startled too.
But not because of the vulgarity—the captain’s voice sounded disturbingly familiar.
‘No way…’
Carefully studying the man’s face, Zion asked quietly.
“Prince Klavis?”
The captain who had just cursed fell silent as if lying.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Zion and asked in a low, heavy voice, “Do you know me?”