The Sin of Innocence 7

Axel and Captain Goldteeth argued over the leader's fate. Captain Goldteeth demanded the leader to be dead while Axel demanded the opposite because Axel believed and accepted that every deed for the sake of one's family was justified. Their arguments heated, but the crew watched and remained silent.

“He's a murderer!” the captain said aloud. “Nothing good will happen should we let him live! You're still fresh here, lad! Ye have yet to see even the quarter of this world!”

"If you were in his position, what would you do?!" Axel questioned as he stared at Captain Goldteeth's eyes. "Wouldn’t you do the same for your family?!"

For a person who lost his family, Captain Goldteeth sure knew the answer. He glared back as he clenched his teeth, trying to curb his anger.

"I would kill the bastard who killed my wife and son with my own hands!" he snapped aloud subconsciously. "Whatever it takes!" His heart and eyes were blazing crimsons as his blood boiled. His arms were ready to tear anything apart like a mother bear who lost her cub.

Fleton glanced with his eyes widened at Captain Goldteeth. Captain Goldteeth closed his eyes for a second to quell his anger a bit.

"But still…” he said with his tone softened. “I would never involve the innocents! It will be I and he! Only a short-minded bastard like him dares to involve the innocents for their coins by using his family to cover his acts!"

“He?” Axel muttered.

Captain Goldteeth and Fleton noticed subtle movements from the leader while they were arguing, while Axel didn’t because he stood back to back to the leader, but seeing that he reached something, presumably a weapon. Captain Goldteeth's and Fleton’s suspicions grew. The leader clenched onto something in his pocket and drew it.

"Fleton, now!" he ordered in a heartbeat.

With no pause, Fleton shot the leader.

"No—!" Axel shouted as he barely had time to react. The shot was fatal as Fleton shot the leader's chest. He knelt and held the leader's body in a panic. "Hang in there!"

The leader looked at the sky blankly with his eyes closing bit by bit. He tried to speak, but blood filled his throat. “I…” the leader muttered inaudibly. “Au… re… lle… I’m… s… orry… I’m… the… worst… fat... her…” The leader stopped breathing as life left his body. He fell on the ground and a dagger coated with clear liquid fell from the same pocket to the ground

.

Captain Goldteeth, furious as his face reddened, and his blood boiled, pulled Axel by his collar and screamed into his face.

“Bastard!” he scolded. “Did ye know that ye could be dead in seconds?! Look at that damned knife! It's no ordinary knife, It's a bloody venom knife! One cut is enough to send you to Davy Jones Locker!”

The fact silenced Axel as he looked at the blood tainted venom knife. Axel was about to accept the captain’s words, but the leader's last breath intrigued him. Did he try to kill Axel? Or was it something else? Captain Goldteeth released his grip and called his men.

"Search the damn house!" he ordered.

The crew searched inside the store just as the captain ordered and found the loot. Captain Goldteeth beheaded the leader while Axel just stood frozen. Captain Goldteeth sat under a tree, resting next to Fleton.

The crew, without Axel, dug a deep hole with shovels from the shop. They piled the bodies and burned the remains of Umbreal Mortem's crew while making sure the fire didn't spread to the surroundings.

Axel buried the leader's headless body himself. As he put the body inside the hole and began digging, he noticed something shining bright enough to catch one's attention despite the forest's dim lighting.

“What’s that?” he muttered. “Probably just coins…” At first, he thought it was something insignificant, but his curiosity bested him that he got down inside and searched the pocket. It was an open-able pendant covered with blood from the leader's hand earlier. Blood and bloody fingerprints soaked the pendant more than the knife.

Axel wiped the blood with soils and opened the pendant. There was a drawn portrait of a smiling girl (presumably 16 years old) and the leader of Umbreal Mortem inside it. The girl had long black hair with no bangs. She had black eyes, pale ivory skin, and a droopy nose.

“Could she be…?” Axel thought as he looked at the back of the pendant. There’s a sentence engraved, reading: My treasured daughter, Aurelle Lorenz.

“So… He wasn’t…!” Axel thought as he clenched the pendant tightly with his right hand. Axel realized the leader wasn't trying to take the venom knife, but this pendant instead. He got out from the hole with the pendant and confronted the captain.

“Captain!” Axel said aloud as he tossed the pendant, and Captain Goldteeth caught it.

"What's the meaning of this?" Captain Goldteeth asked as he examined the pendant briefly without even opening it. "Meh, I don't think this blood-covered pendant has any value in it. Just throw this away and search for a more valuable treasure—"

“Open it!”

“Tch! There’d better be somethin’ good here,” Captain Goldteeth said as he opened the pendant and saw the portrait of the family. “And? Do you think this is valuable? A pendant with a cheap drawing?” Captain Goldteeth threw the pendant in front of Axel; He threw the pendant like trash.

Axel took the pendant and clenched both of his fists while his right hand grasped the pendant. He couldn't accept the captain saying that the pendant was worthless. He confronted the captain face to face.

"Wrong!" Axel replied, "This is the only valuable treasure he will and ever have… It’s his daughter, his one and only family!"

"So? What difference does it make?"

“He wasn't trying to pull the dagger out! He was reaching for this pendant!” Axel showed the captain his fist, holding the pendant. “Because of you... Your insecurity and distrust killed him—!”

Captain Goldteeth stood and pulled Axel by his collar. "Did ye hit yerself hard enough?! You're speakin' nonsense, lad—!"

“You’re being ignorant!” Axel brushed the captain's arm away.

The crew who were also sitting nearby saw their quarrel and stood to watch, but they did nothing. Fleton stood up between them, trying to calm the scene, but they ignored Fleton.

“Goddamn it! Stay quiet, both of you!” Fleton said aloud, trying to calm them both. “There's nothing useful by arguing over a dead man!” The quarrel raged on despite the crew's best to calm both of them.

"He wanted to save his daughter—!" Axel argued.

"That's none of my business—!"

"You heartless bastard—!"

"Ye moron of a lad—!"

"Why can't you give a chance just to save his daughter—?!"

"So what?! So you could sleep with her—?!"

As soon as the captain said that, Axel clenched his teeth as his heart burned with rage. He punched the captain in his face with all the strength he had. The force was enough to push the captain back a single step.

“You are but a rotten waste...!” Axel muttered. “I will make you admit and apologize in front of his grave!”

"Then I will make ye regret doin' this by knockin’ more sense into yer thick skull!" Captain Goldteeth declared as he clenched and cracked both of his fists.

“Both of you stop it!” Fleton said aloud as he stood in between. “You’re both injured, damn it!”

Fleton’s words fell to deaf' ears. Captain Goldteeth brushed Fleton off and rushed forward to punch Axel with his right arm, but Axel moved to the right, dodging the punch. As Axel moved aside, thinking he had dodged the attack, the captain swung his arm to the right, hitting Axel's face with his forearm.

Axel felt like a wooden board hit his face, flinching him and giving the captain a chance to launch another punch to Axel’s face, but Axel regained his balance in a second and took a step back, dodging.

The moment he dodged, Captain Goldteeth dashed a step forward, pursuing Axel while swinging his arm to the right, catching Axel off guard. Axel had no time to react and got hit by the captain's backhand between his eyes and nasal bone. Axel was lucky as it wasn't painful like before, but Axel's eyes were blurry. He tried to see, but the captain grabbed him by the collar and pushed him to a tree.

Axel’s body collided with the tree, and Captain Goldteeth held Axel's collar with his left hand while his right hand punched Axel's face. Axel desperately tried to release Captain Goldteeth's left arm by hitting it with both of his arms and kicking his legs.

But Captain Goldteeth didn't even flinch from Axel’s weak struggle. The captain launched a powerful punch to Axel's left cheek. Axel had no other option; he used his backhand to block it to reduce the damage.

Even though Axel blocked it successfully, he felt Axel felt the pain throbbing as someone bashed him with an iron mallet. He felt it from his backhand to his left arm and from his cheekbone to his left skull because of the massive force.

Captain Goldteeth didn't punch him once; he punched Axel several times in the same spot. Axel tried his best to defy the sharp pain on his left hand and face.

"Give me strength..." Axel thought as he remembered the pendant. Axel clenched his right fist holding the pendant. He lifted and retracted his right arm, preparing to launch it to the captain's face.

The time the captain retracted his right arm, the moment Axel launched his fist to the captain's face, hitting him on his nose, powerful enough to make the captain flinch, breaking his nose and cracking the pendant he was holding.

Captain Goldteeth released Axel as he walked back, holding his now broken nose in pain. Axel stood while leaning on the tree with bruised and bleeding hands and left cheek. He was panting with his left eye closed. His left hand suffered the most as Axel couldn't even move his left fingers.

Axel clenched his right fist, preparing for another while Captain Goldteeth held his bloody nose on the nasal bone. The captain cracked his fists, preparing for another round. The moment the captain stepped forward, Fleton fired shots three times to the sky, catching everyone's attention.

“Stop it both of you!” Fleton shouted aloud, angry. “Cease this meaningless fight! Don’t you both realize that you’re hurting each other?!”

Captain Goldteeth sighed as he looked away. "Lock this ungrateful moron of a lad!” he ordered as he pointed at Axel. “Make sure this bastard of a son never sees the color of the land!

The crew approached Axel; he stood motionless, leaning on the tree with his eyes blank. Upon closer inspection, the crew noticed that he was unconscious after punching the captain right on the nose. His willpower kept him from falling down.

“Defiant till the end,” the captain thought.

The crew carried the unconscious Axel, dropping the pendant he was holding, and brought him to the ship to put him inside the cell, leaving both Fleton and Captain Goldteeth alone. Both of them stood in front of the leader's incomplete burial. Captain Goldteeth took the fallen, cracked pendant drenched in now Axel's blood.

He opened the pendant and looked at the drawn portrait of the family while Fleton just stared at the grave. Captain Goldteeth got down and put the pendant in the leader’s hand.

“Sigh… Sorry,” Captain Goldteeth apologized as he closed his eyes. He got out of the hole and finished his burial. They left the scene and walked to the exit.

While they’re walking, Fleton noticed the troubled look on the captain’s face.

"Are ye okay?" he asked.

Captain Goldteeth took a deep breath as he wiped the blood from his nose.

"I am. That little brat punched me hard enough to break my nose. It looks like being a sailor for a day made him a wanton."

"That boy is too kind and naïve to live with us. Our principles are far too different from Axel’s."

"I know it too damn well."

"Then why? Why did ya accept him from the first place, Cap? You know that he, Axel, is too kind for this way of living—"

"Because he insisted. End of the story."

Captain Goldteeth looked away, not wanting to talk further. Fleton stood in front of the captain, blocking his path, still demanding the answer. They both stopped.

“Don't lie to me, Cap.” Fleton insisted.

"Sigh, I know that you can guess." He avoided eye contact. Fleton guessed for less than a minute.

"Because... he reminded ye about Lil Davey, didn't he?"

“Tch!” The answer was a jackpot. Captain Goldteeth scratched the back of his hair as he tilted his neck side to side to relax his muscles. “Well, ye see…” He shook his head. “Sigh! Yes!” he confirmed. “He does remind me of him. A stubborn and kind boy. Just like his father once was.”

"Once? What do you mean?"

"He, Lil Davey’s father, was a kind, selfless, and stubborn man. But now, he is but a cold, heartless, and vengeful bastard. There, ye have yer answer. Now, let’s go." Captain Goldteeth moved aside and walked past Fleton.

"Captain..." Fleton muttered as he followed from the back.

Meanwhile, inside the lower deck, the crew placed unconscious Axel in a cell right across from Durxante's. Durxante was sleeping, sitting on his plank with the book next to him, not noticing the crew. The crew treated Axel's injuries from the fight earlier by covering his arms with bandages and patched his left cheek.

Ironically, the fight between Axel and Captain Goldteeth injured Axel more than the one against Umbreal Mortem. They laid Axel on the plank bed and left to do their chores.

Hours later, the sun sank, and the moon rose. Axel was the first to be awake. In shock, he tried moving only to be greeted by the sharp pain from his wounds. His left arm and left side of his face felt numb and stiff.

“Agh! Ouch! Gah!” he muttered as he tried to hold the pain. After a minute, he calmed down and sat on the plank, sinking into his thoughts.

A moment later, Durxante woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked forward and saw Axel across from his cell.

“Hmph… My eyes are playing tricks on me again,” he thought as he rubbed his eyes once more, but Axel was still there. “Eh? I’m not hallucinating?”

With his usual annoying demeanor, Durxante sat on the ground and looked at Axel.

“Oh! Look who gets arrested too!” he said sarcastically. “I sincerely welcome you, my fellow prisoners—!”

"I'm in no mood for jokes," Axel replied, unmotivated.

"Care to tell me what happened, then? Wait... Did you also tried to do an unauthorized change of ownership of this ship too—?"

Axel just stared at Durxante blankly, saying nothing, But Durxante knew Axel was serious. He took a deep breath and smirked.

“Something happened, I assume,” he asked, comforting and assuring. “Care to explain to me what happened? I’ll listen.”

Axel sat on the ground and told him everything happened on the island, from the murder to the leader’s death.

“I see…” Durxante said. “Then—”

The sound of the lower deck door being opened interrupted their conversations. Someone descended the stairs. Durxante sat on the plank, pretending to read the book. It was Fleton. He brought leftovers food on one plate. He left the plate for Durxante and opened Axel's jail cell.

"You're free,” he said to Axel. “Come out."

"Huh? I didn't have to stay here forever?"

"We imprison none of our men. Remember that. The captain merely wants you to rethink and reflect your risky action today.”

Durxante stood as he grasped on the iron bars. His eyes were glimmering with hopes.

"Hey, Mr. Fleton! How about me? Please set me free too—!"

"Shut up. You will rot here forever, captain's order,"

Durxante stared at Fleton with puppy eyes.

"Please..."

Fleton grabbed Axel's arm and brought him upstairs, leaving Durxante alone. Durxante felt disappointed as he sat back down on the floor.

"Sigh… Now I'm once again alone here. But, well!” he thought as he looked at the food. “Look's like they are all mine!"

Meanwhile, Axel and Fleton arrived at the empty mess hall. On the table, there’s was a plate of food left there.

“Where’s everyone?” Axel asked.

“They’re resting, for now, you sit down and eat,” Fleton replied, and Axel sat and ate with his right hand. Fleton sat next to Axel and told him a story. “Ye know, once, we have the youngest member before you, Lil Davey... He was really like you. He’s our valuable family member.”

"What happened to him?"

"He… He passed away. Murdered by a rogue that he spared...”

“Agh… Sorry…”

“The rogue stabbed and shot his head two times with a flintlock. Since then, we show no mercy upon our targets. Lil Davey is—”

“My son,” Captain Goldteeth said out of the blue, startling them both. He was in the hallway, leaning on the wall, eavesdropping on their conversations. He joined the conversation and sat across them.

"He... He's your son?!" Axel asked.

“Correct. We usually kill our bounty and severe their heads. But Lil Dave’s different. He dislikes bloodshed and prefers capturing our target alive. At first, we saw nothing wrong with that. But after that night…”

Captain’s Goldteeth was shaking in regret and rage.

“That fatal mistake, I… I should be there… Damn it…” he said, sad as he clenched his fists. “It’s my fault—”

“Captain… It’s not your fault,” Fleton said.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry for what I did there," Axel apologized about before.

"That man had it comin' too,” Captain Goldteeth said. “If he dared to do such a thing, he would have to be ready to accept the consequences. And for that… I seek revenge upon my late son... I know who made my son like this... The rogue that killed him, I know who sent him! My arch-nemesis, Ricardo Duwain Laspreyes!" Captain Goldteeth slammed the table.

“That name…” Axel thought. “The Leader of Umbreal Mortem mentioned him too…”

"He, Ricardo Laspreyes, has a powerful army compromised from lesser crooks to dangerous criminals. He has a connection with hundreds of groups. Rangin' from corrupt higher-ups to low bandits. He sells what can't be sold, trades what can't be traded, and buys what can’t be bought. Only a few met him in person and anyone who met him don’t stay alive long."

“That bastard was after the captain,” Fleton said to Axel. “He mistook Lil Davey for him since the captain was away…”

“I see…” Axel said.

“Wait!” Fleton said as he looked at the captain. “Don't tell me the main reason we're headin' there—”

"To kill that bastard! Did I tell ya all that I smelled bounties at the Western Land? I was referring to that bastard of a biscuit eater, Ricardo Laspreyes!"

"But how captain? He has an army! We only have 21 men here!"

"Who said that we are goin' to fight an army? We are goin' to fight some—"

"How much are some?!"

"Probably around fifty If we are lucky."

"Are ye seriously goin' to do this? This is a suicide mission! Think about this thoroughly—!"

"Chill out. I know how to capture and lure him anyway,"

"How?"

The Captain took a bottle of wine under his cloak and drunk it.

“Ye will see it yerself,” he said as he drank the bottle.

"Fine. I'll trust ye, captain, even if it kills me."

Fleton left the room and went to crew quarters. Axel stood and walked the same way but, the captain spoke.

“That headband ye are wearing... it belonged to Lil Davey. I gave that headband for you because of yer damned look. Ah, damn it!” he said as he slammed the table. “Ye made me remember about my late son that day, bastard! And also, starting tomorrow, you will cease from cleanin' that damned cell. Ye're goin' to have some combat training because ye are useless in combat, understood?”

"A-Aye!"

"Don't forget to get enough sleep! If ye can't sleep, ye can always drink one bottle to help ye sleep—"

"I-I'll pass."

Axel descended to the lower deck, leaving the captain sitting and drinking his wine alone.

“Dave and Axel… They even hate alcohol… He reminds me of Dave, Carnelissa… If only you’re here...”

Captain Goldteeth returned to his quarters and looked at his family portrait. He threw his now empty bottle of wine to the ground and searched for a fresh one. He found nothing as Durxante emptied one bottle earlier.

“What in the world? Who drunk my still-fresh wine?!” he thought. “Ah, forget it. Maybe I drank it and forgot.” He closed his eyes and called it a day.