Chapter 108: Red Rose Pirates

Captain Bernardo was no ordinary threat. Known across the sea as an A3-ranked shadow assassin and a dual-element mage wielding water and lightning, his infamous Water Bullet—a deadly, condensed droplet fired from a fingertip with crackling lightning—had pierced through armored ships and skulls alike. Arthur, standing in the ruined building with his hands subtly raised, knew better than to challenge him without cause.

"Captain Barbanario, I'm Ar—"

"I know who you are, Captain Arthur Avonal," Bernardo interrupted, his voice low and venomous. Arthur had used his real name, but not his true family name. 

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "What happened here?"

Bernardo's glare sharpened. "Don't act stupid, Avonal. You're the one spreading that damn rumor. Because of you, I lost over half of my crew."

Arthur's jaw tightened. "Even if you believe that, I didn't force you to attack the beast."

"Shut up," Bernardo snarled, his voice rough and strained. "That wasn't just some overgrown sea creature—it's an S-rank monster. Maybe even higher."

"It's not an S-rank. A5 at most," a calm, feminine voice echoed from the broken doorway behind them.

Both men turned. A woman stood there casually, a massive black-handled scythe strapped across her back, its edge gleaming faintly in the dull light. Her outfit was simple but striking—a fitted pink shirt, a short black skirt swaying in the breeze, and high boots that clicked softly against the wooden floor. Long blond hair, almost silken, danced around her face, and her pink eyes shimmered with a calm, unreadable confidence. She had a soft, doll-like face—small nose, pouty pink lips touched with lipstick—but there was nothing soft about the aura she carried.

Arthur recognized her instantly. Captain Selina—the most dangerous pirate in the sea.

Bernardo scoffed. "Well, look who decided to crawl out of her hiding hole."

His words hadn't even settled in the air before his right arm was gone. It hit the ground with a wet slap, and he dropped to his knees with a pained grunt, blood pouring from the stump. Arthur's instincts screamed—his hand shot to his sword, but his mind was a step too slow. He hadn't seen her move. Not even a blur. 

Selina's expression hadn't changed. She walked calmly toward Bernardo. Just before she passed him, her hand brushed the scythe's hilt. A faint shimmer crossed the air—and then Bernardo's head toppled cleanly from his shoulders. The scythe was already back in place, like it had never moved.

Arthur was frozen, breath shallow. Selina's movements had been seamless. Precise. Beautiful. Terrifying.

"Relax," she said, glancing at him. "I'm not here for you."

Arthur didn't move his hand from his sword. "That's hard to believe, considering you just decapitated him."

"He was already lost," she said, her tone even. "Look at his skin."

Arthur's eyes shifted. For the first time, he noticed the strange growths spreading across Bernardo's neck and arm—pale fungal patches, like fleshy barnacles, pulsing faintly.

"What the hell is that?"

"Corruption," she answered simply. "The beast doesn't just kill—it infects. Twists the living. Those who survive its attacks… don't stay themselves for long."

Reaching into a worn leather pouch at her hip, she pulled something out and tossed it near Arthur's feet. It hit the floor with a wet thump. He looked down. It was the severed tip of a massive tentacle—rubbery, grey, with glistening suckers the size of plates. A chunk of meat from something ancient and vile.

"I managed to injure it," she said. "That thing came from the beast's body. But after I cut it, it disappeared beneath the sea."

Arthur stared at it, then slowly looked up. "And now?"

"Now," she said, meeting his gaze, "All the pirates who tried to kill it? They're his now. Under its control. I need your help to clean up the mess." 

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why would I help you?"

"Because it's your fault they went after it in the first place. Those rumors led them to it. So maybe take a little responsibility." Her tone was nonchalant, almost teasing, like they'd known each other for years. Arthur didn't know whether to be offended or amused.

"You're powerful enough to handle them yourself."

"I am," she admitted. "But they're spread out. Islands, coves, sea routes… it would take me years to track and kill them all alone." She paused, then added more quietly, "And I'm not sure how powerful that thing will be when I finally force it to come out of the water completely. I've only seen fragments of its true form."

There was a subtle shift in her tone—just enough to reveal hesitation. Even embarrassment. A blush bloomed faintly on her cheeks.

Arthur blinked. "Are you blushing?"

"Shut up," she muttered, clenching her fists, eyes averted. "So. Are you going to help? Or am I going to have to kill you too?"

Arthur exhaled, weighing the options. "You're not leaving much room for negotiation."

"I don't believe in negotiations."

He chuckled bitterly, stepping away from the dead body at his feet. "Fine. Let's hunt the beast."

Selina gave a small smile, the kind that didn't reach her eyes. "Good answer. Now let's go."

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the inn, her scythe shifting slightly across her back.

Arthur stood there for a moment longer, staring down at what remained of Captain Bernardo de Barbanario—once one of the most feared pirates in the sea, now reduced to a headless husk infected with something no one truly understood. He sighed and stepped out into the sunlight, following her lead, wondering just what kind of storm they were walking into.

Arthur stepped out to see his crew surrounded by the Red Rose pirates, the air was thick with tension, their weapons drawn and expressions wary.

"Captain…" Laid called out, his voice tight with worry as he glanced between Arthur and the armed pirates.

Before Arthur could respond, Selina raised her voice, clear and unwavering. "Let them go," she ordered. "As of today, we're working with the Avonal pirates to hunt the beast."

A stunned silence followed. Both pirate crews froze in place, exchanging confused looks. Laid stared at Arthur, silently asking if it was true. Arthur gave a small nod. Red Rose pirates slowly lowered their weapons and began dispersing, though some still cast uneasy glances toward their new allies.

"You can continue what you were doing," Selina said, her crew hesitantly returning to their tasks.

"You too," Arthur shouted to his men. They scattered, though a heavy silence hung in the air. He turned to Selina. "What's your plan now?"

"Nothing for the moment. Search and destroy," she replied casually.

Arthur arched an eyebrow. "When was the last time you were on this island?"

Selina shrugged lazily. "Two years ago? Maybe more."

"I was here just a few months back. This village didn't exist then."

She frowned slightly. "You're saying someone built all this in such a short time? Why?"

"That's what I'd like to find out. So far, the only lead I had was the body in the house—but it's not exactly chatty."

Selina shot him a mildly annoyed glance.

Arthur grinned. "Don't be so sensitive."

He stepped toward the center of the village, eyes scanning the ground, then raised his hand and whispered an incantation. A subtle hum of magic filled the air. "Lost Memory," he muttered.

Selina followed, her eyes narrowing as faint images shimmered around them, as if reality itself wavered like disturbed water. Ghostly echoes of the past flickered into existence, forming transparent scenes frozen in time.

"I didn't know you were a Diviner," she said quietly.

Arthur didn't respond. He was focused entirely on the scene before them. The island was different in the memories. Something surrounded it—massive, dark, and fluid. Then, as the illusion played out, the island rose from the depths of the sea.

Selina's eyes widened. "Wait… the island was underwater?"

Arthur's jaw clenched. "Everyone—get out of here, now!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the heavy air. "This isn't an island—it's part of the beast!"

The earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Gas hissed from cracks in the ground, thick and noxious. One of the Red Rose pirates, who had wandered a little too far from the others, let out a scream as his body began to melt, flesh sliding from bone like wax.

Arthur's eyes went cold. He had seen this before—on the scouting boat he'd sent. The same deadly gas, the same silent attack.

Without hesitation, he drew his glowing sword and stabbed it into the ground, making the island to tremble even more than before. A surge of energy rippled outward in a shockwave, dispersing the gas in all directions. The air cleared briefly, buying them precious seconds.

Then he pulled the blade free and slashed toward the coastline. A brilliant arc of light carved a path through trees and debris, scorching a clean escape route all the way to the sea.

He pointed toward it. "Go! Move!"

Both crews needed no further prompting. Feet pounded against the ground as they ran, pushing each other to stay within the glowing path of safety.

Arthur turned, his gaze finding Selina. She stood still, watching the chaos unfold with a strange smile. Once her crew were safe, she gave Arthur a nod, then jumped into the air with a burst of speed, vanishing in a flash.

Arthur remained behind for a moment longer, sword in hand, as the trembling ground beneath him pulsed with life. Not soil and not stone but flesh. They'd been walking on a sleeping titan all along.

Arthur flew after his crew, scanning the chaos below. "Laid!" he shouted over the rising wind. "Activate the ship's protection spell the moment you get there. Keep it safe!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Laid called back, not slowing as he sprinted toward the anchored ship.

Arthur soared higher, cutting through the air until he reached Selina, who was hovering mid-air, her long hair flowing like a golden banner.

She pointed her scythe toward the distant ocean, where ten spectral ships were gliding across the waves, their hulls translucent and dripping with seaweed. "Can you handle them?" she asked without looking at him.

Arthur followed her gaze, his eyes narrowing. The ghost ships creaked with unnatural life, their decks crawling with twisted figures. Pirates—once human—now distorted by the sea beast's corruption. Their skin was pale, stretched tight beneath a layer of moss, barnacles, and sea plants. Their eyes glowed with a faint blue light, like flickering will-o'-the-wisps. 

"I'll take care of them," he said grimly. "What about you?"

Selina's grip tightened around her scythe. "I'm going for the main body." Then, without another word, shadows of red and black surged around her, cloaking her like a living storm. With a burst of force, she launched downward, a black meteor streaking toward the island.

Arthur turned without watching her land. There was no time to hesitate. He descended onto one of the ghost ships, his boots slamming into the deck with a metallic thud. The corrupted pirates turned, faces hollow and twitching.

Arthur exhaled. "If we let this thing live any longer, it'll become a world-ending threat—just like that beast from the Shadow Lands." He drew his sword. The blade glowed with a steady golden light, humming in his grip.

Without waiting, he surged forward, slicing into the first creature with a single, clean strike. The corrupted pirate let out a gurgling screech as seaweed and slime exploded from the wound. More lunged at him. Arthur moved like a storm, weaving between them with deadly grace, every strike cutting down another of the abominations.

…

Above the ocean, Selina closed in on the island. From her vantage point, it looked like the entire landmass was trembling. She raised her scythe, shadows rippling off the blade like heat waves.

"Let's see how you like this," she whispered.

With a swing, a massive arc of shadow and red mana tore through the air, slamming into the island with devastating force. The land quaked, and then something monstrous stirred beneath it.

A tentacle—thick as a tower and lined with jagged suckers—rose from the sea, displacing water in every direction. The island began to shift, tilting, then rising.

Selina floated back, eyes wide with awe. In mere moments, the entire "island" lifted from the ocean, revealing what it was— the upper surface of one of the beast's tetacles.

Gasps echoed across the pirate crews still fleeing along Arthur's path of light, now stretching across the water. The glowing trail let them walk on the sea's surface. The sea beast's full form remained hidden beneath the waves, but one thing was now clear: the island was only a part of it. 

"You're telling me that massive thing was just one of its legs?" Selina muttered, astonished.

The tentacle began to shrink, its mass slithering down and reabsorbing into the body beneath the surface. At the same time, another tentacle to the west began to rise, swelling in size and power.

Selina stared for a moment, then smirked. "So that's your trick. You're not infinitely large… You just shift your mass around to make it look like you are."

The air around her changed as her magic surged. Shadows spiraled outward, curling like smoke in a hurricane. Her scythe lit with power as the pressure of her mana cracked the very sky.

"Fine then," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Let's cut some of that mass off."

With a flick of her wrist, the wind howled and her shadow aura expanded, a living vortex of power swirling around her as she charged once more.