He woke up in the middle of the night, his body’s call for him to empty his bladder pulling him out of the bed and to the restroom. His footsteps echoed softly against the wooden floor in the still air. It was almost completely quiet, the only sources of sound being some kind of moisture. The splashes of the waves crashing into the ship and themselves, the suction like sound of snot being sniffled, the subtle drips of the tears hitting the wooden table.

Who’s crying? He asked himself as he peeked into the slightly ajar door to his left. He wasn’t sure who he was expecting to see, but it definitely wasn’t the captain himself; bent over the table with a silver sphere in one hand and a half empty bottle in the other.

He was taken aback by what he saw. This man wasn’t the one that he had grown up watching, that much became painfully evident. It was surreal for him to see what looked almost exactly like his childhood hero, breaking down in sobs right in front of him. He was seeing this man in an intimate moment, one of his lowest, and it pained him just to witness it.

He wished he hadn’t stumbled upon this, but he couldn’t just let it go either. He swallowed his inhibition and opened the door, exposing his presence to Kuffy so he could just get right into it. “Hey, I–”

He was interrupted by a sudden impact, which sent the ship rocking violently in the night. Explosions started going off all around as cannonballs landed in the water and sent geysers rising into the air.

Amon was stunned, but Kuffy didn’t waste a second. He pocketed the sphere and ran past the Player without a word. When he was finally able to turn around and make his way to the deck, he found that everyone else, even Seru, was already on the deck and fighting back.

The pirates banded together to fend off the attack. Projectiles from both sides lit up the night sky, working alongside the moon to illuminate the seas and those within. The captain was skyborne, using his elastic body to block and deflect cannonballs.

“Give me the stone!” cried out a familiar voice as the captain of the enemy ship made his presence known. He dismounted from his own boat and soared through the air until he landed on the ship Amon and the others were on, damaging the deck with the impact.

Odysseus was a soldier, this much was evident. He had a shield and sword both sheathed on his back, and he even had a spear that he stabbed into the thick wood of the floor so that it stood up.

It was bold of him to come and attack on his own, but he didn’t seem scared in the slightest. If anything, he might’ve looked a little excited as he held his left hand out into the air between him and the crew members momentarily stunned by his entrance. He put his right hand against the left and clutched it before bringing it back as if he were drawing a bow.

Amon knew this world was magical, so he expected some kind of magical bow to appear, but when he saw not only the golden bow blazing in the moonlight but the visage of Athena’s giant avatar materializing behind Odysseus and helping to guide the gigantic bow as well? He realized that he may have bitten off a bit more than he could chew!

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The arrow ripped through the air once it was released, creating powerful gusts of wind that disturbed the ocean and caused the people on the deck to brace themselves. The captain, who was finally able to focus on the matters at hand since they ceased the cannon fire, was the target of this attack. Instead of dodging the attack, though, he hardened his arm until it was pitch black and met it directly.

The collision sent forth a shockwave that forced him to grab onto the railing and squint his eyes just to continue watching. The other crew members didn’t even step in to intervene as their captain traded blows with the soldier. Arrows were fired one after another, consistently shaking the entire ship.

Odysseus took to the air, aided by golden wings, and fired an arrow that, once it was airborne, split into what looked like a thousand smaller arrows that curved out and homed in on Kuffy. The captain blew into his arm, forcing it to grow to sizes beyond the realm of human possibility, and jumped up to meet the arrows once again.

He admired the way the crew let him fight on his own to a certain extent. They were in a battle, but they were at ease. They had complete confidence in their captain, but he would be lying if he said it didn’t rub him the wrong way just a little. In the anime, it was cool, they needed to have their own fights anyways. But in reality?

If I’m ever in a fight, even if it’s one I can win, jump in unless I tell you not to. He told Seru. All of their problems would be solved way faster if they took it upon themselves to jump people.

The fight carried on fiercely. More ships came to surround the pirates, which forced them to retreat. Kuffy was knocked out of the air and onto the ship, but before he could resume the battle a burst of energy shot forth from the back of the boat and sent them soaring into the air and away from the others, leaving the entire situation in the dust.

“We’re going straight for the island, we have to hurry up if we want to save her!” said one of the crew members, who was surprisingly easy to hear despite the strong winds flooding his ears.

Not too long after, he received a notification. It was as soon as the ship landed in the waves once again, so he could only assume that they had arrived at the Thunder King’s Castle.

‘Objective updated: Decide the fate of Charybdis.’

Charybdis? A new piece had been added to the puzzle.

He silently reprimanded himself while the crew prepared to embark on the next leg of their journey. There were Greek themes to this world, so why hadn’t he thought that the castle might be Zeus’s until he saw the white statues of his likeness erected on the dock? Sure, he’d never met Zeus, but who else would have such a thick beard and a chiton?

Are we going to have to navigate the strait of Charybdis? He asked himself.

Once they all stepped foot on the island, Amon looked at the path ahead of him. It was a paved road that cut through the trees that bordered the sand of the beach and surrounded the mountain that the road spiraled around until it reached the top, which was adorned by a castle. The island definitely lived up to its name, at least.

A few people were staying behind to watch the ship, specifically the robot guy, the fish man, and the long nosed kid, so the main crew had nothing to do but focus on the task ahead of them. Stationed towards the back, he and Seru followed the others into the forest.