Marya dissolved into the mist.
It was not a conscious choice but a surrender, a release of the tension that held her physical form together. One moment she stood on Shamrock's railing, her smirk still lingering in the air; the next, she was nothing, scattered across the white expanse, part of the fog that blanketed the sea. She could feel every droplet, every wisp, every cold breath of air that moved through her domain. She was the mist, and the mist was her.
Through that connection, she watched.
Shamrock stood at his prow, his red hair dark against the white, his eyesclosed. He wasn't looking with his physical sight. He didn't need to. His Kenbunshoku Haki reached out like invisible fingers, probing the fog, searching, finding.
Marya felt the moment his awareness touched the submarine.
It was deep in the soup, as she had ordered, moving steadily toward the base of Reverse Mountain. Galit was at the helm, guiding it through the blind white, trusting her to keep the predator occupied. The vessel's dark hull was invisible to normal eyes, but to Shamrock's Haki, it burned like a beacon.
His lips curved into that infuriating smirk.
He raised Cerberus.
The blade caught ringing with anticipation, its edge itching to be released. Shamrock held it high, angled back, and then—
He swung.
The arc of Haki that erupted from Cerberus was not a slash. It was a cataclysm. A wave of force and will that tore through the mist like a hurricane through smoke. The fog split apart, ripped open by the sheer power of the strike, revealing a corridor of clear air and churning water that stretched all the way to the submarine.
The water itself parted. A trench opened in the sea, walls of white foam rising on either side, and through that trench, the Haki wave raced toward the vessel with terrifying speed.
Marya solidified in a heartbeat.
She rematerialized on the outer hull of the submarine, boots slamming against the metal, Nisshoku already in her hand. The obsidian blade flared with crimson light as she brought it up, positioned herself directly in the path of the oncoming strike, and—
CRACK.
The impact shook the ship. Metal groaned. Water sprayed. Marya's arms screamed with the force of the block, her boots sliding across the hull, leaving grooves in the ancient alloy. But she held. Nisshoku vibrated in her hand, absorbed its power, and held firm.
She had barely recovered her stance when the second wave came.
Shamrock wasn't done. He swung again, and again, and again—a barrage of Haki slices that tore across the water in rapid succession, each one aimed at the submarine, each one powerful enough to split the vessel in two. The air itself fractured with the force of them, the mist boiling away wherever they passed.
Marya moved.
She became a blur along the hull, Nisshoku a dark crescent as she met each strike in turn. Clang. Clang. CLANG. The sounds rang out like a demonic blacksmith's hammer, each impact shuddering through her body, through the ship, through the water itself. The sea grew choppy, rocked by the displaced force, waves slapping against the hull and threatening to throw her from her feet.
But she held.
Her teeth ground together. Her muscles burned. Her golden eyes, fixed on the distant figure of Shamrock, burned with something that was almost respect and entirely annoyance. He was toying with her. Testing her. Seeing how long she could dance before she fell.
Behind her, the cliffs of Reverse Mountain grew closer.
She could see it now—the entrance, the point where the four seas converged and rushed upward in defiance of all reason. The current was strong here, pulling the submarine forward, carrying it toward the impossible waterfall. Another minute. Maybe less.
Shamrock lowered Cerberus.
He stood at his prow, watching her through the gap he had torn in her mist, and his smirk widened into a grin. He had seen enough. He knew what she was now—strong, skilled, stubborn. Worthy of his attention.
He raised his voice, and it carried across the water with the weight of command.
"After them! Full sail! Don't let them escape!"
On his deck, sailors scrambled. The panic that had gripped them moments ago was gone, replaced by the focused energy of men with a clear order. Lines were hauled, sails unfurled, the helm turned. The ship surged forward, riding the path Shamrock had carved through the mist.
Marya watched them come.
She stood on the hull of the submarine, Nisshoku still raised, her chest heaving with the effort of the last few seconds. The water churned around her. The wind whipped her hair across her face. And behind her, the roar of Reverse Mountain grew louder, closer, inevitable.
She glanced back. The entrance was there—fifty meters. Thirty. Twenty.
She looked forward again. Shamrock's ship was gaining, cutting through the choppy water with terrifying speed. He stood at its prow, Cerberus resting on his shoulder, watching her with those eyes that held all the confidence in the world.
Marya's lips pressed into a thin line. She sheathed Nisshoku with a sharp click, turned her back on him, and walked toward the submarine's deck hatch.
The vessel crossed into the current.
The water grabbed it, lifted it, and the world tilted as Reverse Mountain claimed them. The roar of the waterfall became deafening, the spray blinding, the rush of upward motion dizzying. Marya grabbed a handrail and held on, watching the cliffs flash past, watching the sky grow closer, watching—
Shamrock's ship hit the current behind them.
He hadn't given up. He had followed them in, his vessel rising on the same impossible flow, pursuing them up the face of the mountain. Through the spray and the chaos, Marya saw him—still at his prow, still watching, still smiling.
She cursed under her breath.
The words were lost to the roar of Reverse Mountain's waterfalls, swallowed by the spray that soaked her leather jacket and plastered her black hair to her face. Marya stood on the outer hull of the submarine, boots planted against the shuddering metal as the vessel climbed the impossible current. The world tilted at a sickening angle, the red cliffs towering on either side, the sky a narrow ribbon of grey far above.
Across the gap, on the deck of the pursuing ship, Shamrock stood with his arms crossed, his white cloak streaming in the wind, his red hair a beacon against the stone.
Their eyes met.
The distance between them was nothing—fifty meters of churning water and vertical fury. But through Kenbunshoku Haki, they touched across that space, two wills colliding in the space between heartbeats. Marya felt his confidence, his amusement, his utter certainty that this was a game he would win. He felt her resolve, her focus, the cold clarity of a warrior who had spent years preparing for moments exactly like this.
No words were exchanged. None were needed.
They moved at the same instant.
Marya pushed off the hull, her boots leaving the metal behind, Nisshoku already singing from its sheath. The obsidian blade ringing in the air, its crimson runes flaring. Across the gap, Shamrock launched himself from his deck, Cerberus appearing in his hand as if summoned.
They met in midair, between the two ships, above the roaring water that rushed up the mountain.
CLANG.
The sound rang off the cliffs like a bell. Sparks erupted from the impact, a brief cascade of orange and gold against the grey. For a frozen moment, they hung there—Shamrock's smirk inches from Marya's narrowed eyes, their blades locked, the force of their clash sending ripples through the air itself.
Then they separated, falling, twisting, finding purchase on nothing as they continued their dance.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving Dracule Marya Zaleska a Power Stone! It helps the novel climb the rankings and get more eyes on our story!
Thank you for sailing with us! 🏴☠️ Your support means so much!
Want to see the Dreadnought Thalassa blueprints? Or unlock the true power of Goddess Achlys?
Join the Dracule Marya Zaleska crew on Patreon to get exclusive concept art, deep-dive lore notes, and access to our private Discord community! You make the New World adventure possible.
Become a Crewmate and Unlock the Lore:
https://patreon.com/An1m3N3rd?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Thanks so much for your support and loving this story as much as I do!