"I wonder…if what I just did contradicts the Sea God's original image or practices. I really hope I didn't mess it up…"
Klein withdrew his spirituality and left the world above the grey fog.
He glanced at the ship's kitchen storeroom, where a huge portion of the bread was now missing. When Aldrich and the others returned and discovered that half the ship's bread had vanished, Klein wasn't sure what kind of conclusion they'd draw.
Sigh…If only phones existed here. I could've just sent them a message to bring more on their way back.
He pulled out his silver ritual dagger, dismantled the spiritual wall around the storeroom, and stepped out. He had chosen to perform the sacrifice here because carrying a huge pile of bread all the way back to his room would have looked far more suspicious.
"They're still not back?"
Checking his pocket watch, Klein walked toward the stern of the Unnamed, eyes trained on Bansy Island, now shrouded in a faint mist.
"Huh? Isn't that fog a lot thicker than before? And it looks like it's still getting denser…"
Before arriving at Bansy, Aldrich had warned him that the island was known for its unpredictable weather, to the point that it had earned the nickname "Weather Museum." Legend had it this oddity was tied to a local weather god once worshipped on the island. Klein had suspected that the "evil god" Edward mentioned might very well be that same entity.
"Bansy Harbour might be dangerous…"
Klein held up a pendulum crystal and softly chanted a divination statement.
After repeating it several times, he opened his eyes and watched the citrine pendant rotate in a clockwise direction—albeit slowly and with a small amplitude.
There's danger…but it's within acceptable limits.
So it shouldn't be too bad?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a scream pierced the silence of the night, sharp and panicked, followed closely by the unmistakable crack of gunfire. The sound came from the direction of Bansy Island.
Something had gone wrong!
Klein's heart sank. His fingers, resting against the railing, clenched slightly.
The mist on the island was growing thicker and thicker. In moments, the once well-lit harbour had gone completely dark, swallowed in shadow like a land of the dead.
So it really was the right decision not to go ashore…
But then—
A terrifying realisation struck him:
They haven't paid me yet!
That was a full 1,500 pounds!
Damn it. I should've made Aldrich pay at least part of the fee up front!
Klein stared at Bansy Harbour, now thoroughly engulfed in fog. He watched as that same fog crept along the sea surface, slowly inching toward the Unnamed. His fingers began tapping rhythmically against the railing.
Should he abandon the 1,500 pounds and tell the crew to set sail immediately?
Or risk going ashore to investigate?
As he wrestled with the decision, a new idea struck him.
Without hesitation, he ran back to his room under the puzzled gazes of the remaining crew. Once inside, he performed the now-familiar ritual: prayed to himself, responded to himself, and summoned himself—then once again transformed into the black-armored, black-caped Black Emperor, Sea God's Sceptre in hand, and appeared over the ocean.
Klein accelerated instantly, dashing out over the water to a spot one kilometre away from the Unnamed. There, he raised the sceptre.
"Storm!"
The moment the tiny blue-green gemstones embedded in the sceptre lit up, the once relatively calm sea roared to life. One wave surged after another, each one taller than the last.
Then, as if conjured from nowhere, a violent gale began to howl, stirring the pitch-black seawater and sweeping it in the direction of Bansy Harbour.
WoooOOooo—
The piercing sound of the storm winds cut through the air. The fog that had been creeping over the sea was blown back along its path, forced to retreat. The gale pressed onward, pushing even the dense mist cloaking Bansy Harbour toward the island's interior.
In less than thirty seconds, the fog had cleared from the port. It was once again visible beneath the moonlight—though the buildings on the island remained eerily dark.
Klein seized the moment before the sceptre's negative effects could manifest. Channelling his spirituality, he flew toward the harbour. He quickly spotted a group of people on the island being chased by over a dozen headless figures.
But Aldrich and the women were not among them.
Where did they go?
Klein raised the Sea God's Sceptre again. In the next second, lightning rained down from the sky, slamming into the headless figures. Amid the deafening thunderclaps, they were reduced to charred husks.
Only then did the people being chased finally notice him. They looked up in disbelief at the figure hovering above the sea—a man clad in black armour and cloak, wielding a sceptre.
He loomed there like a god gazing down upon the mortal world—then vanished in a blink.
A woman gasped, "...The Hero Bandit Black Emperor?"
"You know him?"
"No…I just saw his information in the newspaper. I never imagined I'd encounter him here in Bansy Harbour."
She murmured, "He appears when people are in danger, saves them from fire and water, asks for nothing in return, and disappears without a word…No wonder so many people admire him."
———
Back above the grey fog, Klein massaged his aching temples. Even with a spirit body far stronger than most, the repeated use of the Sea God's Sceptre had taken a toll.
"Maybe I really do need to reach Sequence 5 to use this thing in extended combat."
Muttering under his breath, he tossed the sceptre into a nearby pile of miscellaneous items. Then he conjured a piece of parchment and wrote down a divination statement:
Aldrich's current location.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and entered a hazy, dreamlike state. What he saw was Aldrich lying in a haystack, clutching his chest and throat, gasping violently for breath.
That symptom…It was the witches' disease again!
Klein attempted another divination for Olivia. He found her and the other women being shoved toward the shoreline by a group dressed like pirates.
Pirates? Again?
His expression shifted several times in rapid succession before he made a decision: If it was just pirates, then there was no need to be so hesitant.
He immediately returned to the real world, ran out of the cabin, and shouted, "Set sail! Head for Bansy Harbour!"
A sailor looked at him, startled. "But the boss said—"
"He still owes me money," Klein said coldly. "I'm going to collect."
"…"
Before long, the Unnamed moved toward Bansy Harbour. When they were still a hundred or two hundred meters from shore, Klein snapped his fingers several times, conjuring flames that leapt across the water until he landed at the harbour.
Then he pulled out his cane and used the dowsing method to quickly move in Aldrich's direction.
He strode through the pitch-dark port, passed by the only building still lit—the telegraph office—and followed a winding side alley that twisted and turned until the path abruptly opened up.
It led to a hillside behind the harbour. Far in the distance was a stretch of beach, and anchored just offshore was a black sailing ship flying a massive flag adorned with a white skull and crossbones.
Through the haze of moonlight, Klein spotted ant-sized figures being marched toward the pirate ship.
Advancing another hundred or two hundred meters, he found Aldrich lying in the grass. Compared to the state he'd seen in the divination, the man now looked somewhat better.
As expected of someone on the Warrior pathway—physically resilient.
The moment Klein appeared, Aldrich instinctively drew his revolver and pointed it, snarling, "Who's there?"
"It's me."
"Mr. Sparrow?"
Aldrich was briefly stunned. Then, eyes brightening with hope, he struggled to sit up. "Please! Miss Olivia and the others have been taken by pirates. I beg you, please help rescue them!"
Klein looked down at him from above and said mildly, "Where's my 1,500 pounds?"
Aldrich froze, then gave a bitter laugh. "That much money? Of course I left it on the ship. I couldn't carry it on me." As he spoke, something occurred to him. He quickly added, "Mr. Sparrow, if you can rescue the ladies, the entire 2,500 pounds is yours!"
"…"
Klein's heart involuntarily skipped a beat—but he quickly frowned. "I don't get it. You went through all this trouble, risking your life, not even caring about the money. What's this really about?"
"…"
Aldrich's expression froze for a second before he grew anxious. "That…that I'll explain to you later. Please, just help them first!"
Klein studied him quietly for a few seconds and asked, "What do you know about the pirates who took them?"
"Nothing."
Aldrich shook his head. "We had just arrived at Miss Sophia's residence when we were attacked. It felt like the pirates were already lying in wait for us."
"…"
Klein's frown deepened. "Again with this kind of setup? Then how did you get injured?"
"I wasn't hurt," Aldrich said. "I suddenly felt weak all over, my throat was dry and burning, and I couldn't breathe—like I'd come down with a terrible illness. I think the pirate captain used some kind of Beyonder power on me."
"The pirate captain?"
That surprised Klein. He had thought it was the witch hidden among the women who had acted.
So…the pirate ship's captain is also a witch?
Then what was the relationship between her and the one in the "Ladies' Group"? Were they enemies or allies?
If they're allies, even if both are only Sequence 5, I won't be able to handle them with just Creeping Hunger. The Sea God's Sceptre could help—but the women are on that ship too. If I use it, they might all get drained to death…
Better go take a look first.
Klein started toward the pirate ship. "Wait here. I'll give it a shot. But whether I succeed or not, the 2,500 pounds is mine!"
Before Aldrich could respond, Klein leapt away in a flash of fire.
Under the cover of night, Klein quickly reached the beach and silently approached the black pirate ship. The women had already been herded aboard. He could hear their sobs from afar.
Carefully, he slipped into the shadows cast by the hull of the ship.
"Lock them all in the hold," a woman's voice commanded.
The speaker had black hair and wore a white linen shirt with beige trousers. Her figure was both commanding and alluring.
Though her face wasn't clearly visible, Klein instantly sensed a subtle, dangerous allure emanating from her—she was undoubtedly the witch-pathway pirate captain.
The women were shoved along by the pirates and disappeared from view.
So the witches in the "Ladies' Group" aren't working with this pirate captain?
Interesting. That means there's still room to manoeuvre.
As the women's sobs faded into the distance, the witch captain returned to her cabin. The black pirate ship raised its sails and slowly drifted away from the shore.
Klein seized the moment and teleported aboard using Flaming Jump, landing in a shadowed, empty corner. He waited patiently until a lone pirate passed by—then stepped out in a flash, drew a paper knife from his pocket, and slit the man's throat in an instant.
He caught the pirate's collapsing body, covering his mouth to silence him, and gently laid him down.
"Deep breath. That's it."
Half a minute later, the pirate lay dead, eyes wide open in disbelief.
Klein stripped off his clothes, stuffed the corpse into a nearby barrel, then rubbed his own face to shift his features—quickly morphing into the dead pirate's appearance.
He walked out of the shadows as if nothing had happened.
"Barro, you've been taking a piss for ages! Trying to slack off or what?"
A pirate carrying a bucket glanced over irritably.
Klein wiped his hands on his pants and grunted, "Damn ship rocked mid-stream—I pissed on my own hand."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.