Ken felt the vibration in the air and shifted his stance, using the hilt of his sword to deflect the incoming strike. His broken arm moved, flinging blood toward the source of the attack, but it splashed into empty air.
'Strange… I don't believe they moved that fast.'
He scanned the deck for any trace of the enemy.
Above, Nyx silently circled, its dark gaze locked on him.
There was something almost human in that look, guilt, pity… regret.
But Nyx, seemingly oblivious to all of it, let out a sharp laugh.
"Of course! How could I be so stupid?" he shouted. "You're invisible, but that doesn't mean you're up close!" He grinned wide. "Come on then! Try me again, you damned pirate!"
As if on cue, the air shifted. Ken spun and slashed,
CLANG!
The blade struck just right, the enemy's dagger deflecting backward, flying toward its source.
Even without the system, he'd practiced this move. The only difference was his reduced precision, but this time, "good enough" would do.
'Two uses left. That should be enough… Shadow Step!'
From the shadow cast by the sail, just below where the dagger had come, Ken emerged. His blade was already raised, a faint layer of dark ki clinging to its edge.
BAM!
He brought it down hard onto the wooden deck. Splinters exploded in every direction, but no silhouette, no shape. Nothing.
Still crouched, he hesitated, studying the dust cloud.
'Nothing again… There's no way they're that fast. What am I missing?'
Suddenly, A loud footsteps disturbed his tought.
Ken smirked.
'Oh well. Better to let you go than, for me to farm more points.'
He turned slightly, eyes narrowing as the incoming group came into view, Aika leading the charge, followed by Takeshi, Tsubame, Shiran, and the rest of the freed prisoners.
Ken didn't waste a second. The moment the group reached him, he pointed toward the rigging with his sword.
"You, Takeshi, cut the anchors lines. Tsubame, get those sails down. Aika, you're on navigation. I need eyes forward. ... We're not dying here today."
He keep giving order making sure everyone have something to do.
They blinked, caught off guard by how fast he give the command. What shock them the most were how the order is very accurate, no one is told on doing thing they cannot do.
Aika raised an eyebrow.
"Giving orders now?"
Ken didn't even look back.
"Someone has to. You want to float dead in the sea, or get out of here alive?"
No one argued. Ken stepped past them and walked toward the helm, slowly, blood still dripping from his body.
The deck beneath his boots groaned under the shifting weight of the wind, the Shadow Fog crawling closer on the horizon.
Ken grabbed the wheel with his good hand, eyes narrowing as he adjusted its angle. The raven landed on the railing beside him, wings folding neatly, eyes glowing red.
"Kak."
Aika appeared beside him a moment later. She reached into her belt and pulled out a Aether scope, silver-cased lens, a compact nautical tool engraved with glowing runes. She twisted the dial on its side, extending the glass slightly, then held it up to her eye.
"I cannot believe They're still fighting," she muttered, her expression grim. "The captain doesn't even realize his boat is hijacked."
Ken glanced sideways at her, smirking.
"What did you expect? They're pirates, thinking isn't exactly part of the job description. Otherwise you think they will dare to attack ship from Sakura chamber of Commerce?"
Then his tone shifted, just slightly.
"Still… works in our favor. We've got a window."
Aika lowered the Aether scope.
"It won't stay open for long. The moment we move, they'll notice."
The wind caught the sails, Takeshi sliced through the last anchor rope. Tsubame leapt to the rigging, pulling and tying down the canvas as the ship began to move.
The freed prisoners scattered across the deck, grabbing rope, checking barrels, doing anything to make the ship move.
Ken's voice rang out above the wind.
"Two degrees starboard, steady the rudder!"
The ship groaned beneath them as it turned, slowly at first, then faster as the sails filled with wind.
On the merchant vessel, chaos still raged.
The pirate captain, standing atop the deck surrounded by bloodied loot, turned just in time to see his own ship drifting away.
His eyes widened.
""Those filthy slaves…! They stole my ship?!"
He moved to leap across to his stolen ship, but a burning crate collapsed in front of him, blocking his path. Sparks flew. The plank beneath him cracked.
Across the deck, some of the other pirates just laughed. "Oi, look at that! Ol' Cap'n Jack just got jacked!"
"Bwahaha! How the hell d'ya lose your ship to a bunch of greenhorns?!"
"Shut your damn mouths, all of you!" he roared.
"You think this is funny?! You spineless rats were too busy stuffing your pockets to see the enemy right under your nose!"
He pointed his blade at one of the louder pirates.
"Say one more word, and I'll carve it into your skull. I don't care how long you've sailed with me."
But than the sky changed. The wind dropped. The temperature plummeted. A rolling wave of pressure swept over the sea.
The sky turned dark, a pitch black cloud spread overhead veined with faint purple lightning.
The Shadow Fog had arrived.
It stretched across the horizon like a crawling wall of smoke, swallowing light as it moved.
The pirate captain's laughter died in his throat.
His face drained of color.
"No… no, not now. Not here…"
He turned, shouting.
"Get the boats! Move! Drop the lifeboats, NOW!"
Panic surged through the remaining pirate.
Even the surviving commerce guards, rushed to the sides of the ship, deploying escape boat enchanted with one-time propulsion array. Ropes were cut, Lifeboats splashed into the sea. No more time for looting or fighting, the disaster is coming.
Back on the stolen ship, Ken tightened his grip on the wheel as the wind howled through the sails. Nyx perched on the mast, silent, staring into the fog as it chased them.
"Guess they finally noticed," Ken muttered.
Aika glanced at him, surprised.
"You knew this would happen?"
"Not the time," he replied sharply. "Activate the acceleration array. Now."
The sea roared. A towering wave surged from the depths and crashed against the hull, slamming the ship with a thunderous force.
Several of the lifeboats flipped into the air like toys, pirates and guards alike thrown screaming into the black waters.
Ken's ship shuddered violently. The deck tilted, two of the weaker prisoners lost their footing and were tossed overboard, vanishing into the sea with barely a cry.
Ken didn't move. His knuckles whitened around the wheel, eyes locked forward. The fog pressed closer, devouring the world behind them.
Beside him, Aika stood at the control array etched into the ship's surface. She pressed her palm against the array, infusing her ki, trying to awaken the ship's dormant acceleration rune.
The array flickered, as it begin progressing.
[1%…2%…3%…]
Then it started, a sound, like someone singing far away. At first, it was soft, almost beautiful. The kind of song that might make someone stop and listen.
But there was something strange beneath it.
The longer it went on, the more it made the heart feel heavy, Sad.
And behind that sadness, there was something worse, an unnatural feeling that made your skin crawl.
The tone that make you feel terror and madness.
Aika's expression was tense, her hands glowing faintly as she focused her ki to charge the array faster. Takeshi and the others gritted their teeth, trying to resist the weird song.
"So the rumors were true," Ken said, a grin spreading across his face. "Careful of the shadow fog, the Sonata of Hell will drag your mind into madness… and when it plays, the Necron rise from the depths to pull your soul into the abbys."
The sea churned. The deck trembled.
From the depth something is raising.
Then, Nyx let out a sharp, warning cry. "KAK!"