CHAPTER 28 - THE BRAWL
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The morning had just arrived. The sun was rising, caressing the ocean with its rays. The waves danced in the light, and a gentle breeze brushed against the green mountains. It was the beginning of a beautiful day, the start of a new era.
The wind carried the sound of the waves and the cries of seagulls. The birds flew in the clear sky, enjoying the morning just like everyone else.
The scent of the salty sea and the fresh air was rejuvenating. The sound of the birds was like the song of an ancient choir performing a millennia-old melody.
The sound of the wind and the waves was the perfect lullaby. It was like a song a mother sang to her child, soothing the soul and comforting the heart.
A beautiful and tranquil morning, but it wouldn’t remain peaceful forever. It was time to act.
«“Prisoners! It’s time for work!”» shouted one of the pirates from the crew, who, having just woken up along with the rest of the gang, walked towards the cells. Upon reaching the first one, however, he made a terrible realization. «“W… Where the hell have the prisoners gone?”»
At that moment, from the darkness of one of the cells, which appeared empty from the outside, a powerful jet of water shot out with the force of a thousand brutes, hitting the pirate squarely in the head. Like a thorn piercing bread, the water pierced the pirate’s head, killing him instantly. As he fell to the ground, the other pirates were frozen for a second, but one of them began to speak.
«“It’s an ambush! They’re trying to escape! Don’t let them get away, or the captain will kill us!”» With those words, drawing their swords, Natirra and Gaid appeared. Gaid smiled, ready to flee, while Natirra was less so; she covered her eyes at the sight of the body. She knew she would have to escape violently, but witnessing such a scene left her with a terrible impression; she was not yet morally prepared: she hadn’t yet gone through the most important part of a soldier’s training, the loss of morale.
«“Prisoners! We’ll cut off your hands and throw you into the sea!”» one of them shouted. Natirra, who was more nervous than Gaid, hid behind him to avoid being noticed. Gaid, with complete confidence, stood firm, ready for battle.
«“We’ll take this ship, and all you pirates will pay for the insult you’ve caused me!”» With a bit of reserve water still in his horn, and before any of them could react, Gaid fired a straight and even shot at the five, now four, pirates in front of them.
Three of them dodged the shot while one, positioned behind the others and unable to see the shot coming, was knocked down right in the chest, falling to the ground. The remaining three pirates approached, swords drawn, but Gaid was ready. He wasn’t particularly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but the fear that had intimidated the pirates with that initial attack was clearly visible. Gaid charged at them while Natirra remained still behind, observing without any reaction; she was clearly scared, after all.
After a bloody fight, he managed to get rid of them, remaining almost completely unscathed, save for a few superficial wounds sustained by Gaid, which didn’t bother him much. Natirra didn’t move, so she really had nothing to worry about—or at least she did, but didn’t want to act because it would risk her life. Something in her prevented her from acting. They quickly moved onto the deck of the ship, knowing this wasn’t the end; both Natirra and Gaid understood that this small band of pirates was nothing, merely the beginning.
There had to be many more pirates out there.
«“This isn’t a small crew.”» Gaid said as they walked through the corridors of the ship to get out. «“I know these pirates, and they’re not a trivial bunch, so don’t get that idea,”»
“Even if they were few, I wouldn’t exactly have gotten that idea, eh…”
The thought that many more pirates were waiting for them filled Natirra with anxiety, pure anxiety, and fear, adding to the fear that was already present. But the plan was going smoothly for now, and she couldn’t allow it to be ruined in any way.
Finally, they made it outside the pirate ship, out of the hold, to the deck, near the main mast. For the first time, as soon as she stepped outside, Natirra could not help but (for some strange reason) enjoy the sweet smell of the sea, which emphasized in her mind just how dirty and foul-smelling those prisons had actually been. It must have been that strange metal Gaid mentioned; it had to be. For a second, before realizing the situation they were in, she gave a moment's attention to the ocean surrounding them; just one day without seeing it, and yet she missed it so much.
She looked at the waves of the sea, and the sea itself, that light blue reflecting the sun of the day, and thought that in the end, she had arrived at the sea, one way or another.
The sweet water seemed bitter to her; she would drown if she lost that fight, and that was something she could not afford. But being finally in the midst of the sea, even in the situation she was in, infused her with a strange sense of courage.
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Suddenly, still gazing at the sea, she felt a violent slap on her shoulder, and turning around, Gaid looked at her furiously. «“What are you doing!? Does it seem like a good time to look at the sea?! Get ready! We’re surrounded!”»
«“W-we’re surrounded?”» Natirra immediately realized the circumstances they were in; as soon as they exited those corridors, they were surrounded by armed pirates.
Immediately, the pirates encircling them drew their weapons, charging towards the duo, who had now mentally prepared for this battle—or at least had accepted that they had to fight. Gaid was ready for the situation and ready to fight. Natirra, who was totally detached from the situation, had no idea what to do and simply remained frozen like a statue.
«“We’ll kill you for what you did to our companions!”»
Immediately, Gaid aimed at the pirates. «“Let’s see who dies first, sea bandits!”» The group of bandits charged at him, and he himself rushed forward.
Natirra remained still, not understanding exactly what to do, watching everyone else fight. She watched him clash, bleeding, dodging lethal blows that could have killed him, she watched in terror but also surprise as Gaid, despite everything, managed to hold his own, while everyone was focused on bringing him down. Compared to that brawl, when he was focused, he seemed able to fight very easily.
Suddenly, a voice warned Natirra; Gaid looked at her, frozen, even amid the battle.
«“Natirra! Help me!”» She didn’t know what she could do; she was stuck, frozen, but at that moment, she thought back to what she had considered a few seconds ago.
She had no weapon for herself, but that didn’t matter; she should find a way to be useful, right?
«“Ugh!”» Suddenly she heard Gaid, who was knocked down to the ground by a blow to the stomach. One of the pirates, specifically the one who had knocked him down, drew his sword. «“I’ll skewer you like meat!”» Suddenly, Natirra felt a rush of pure adrenaline; that phrase seemed to release something within her, making her body move without her control. She had to help Gaid, not just for him, but for herself; she would surely die.
She suddenly ran toward the pirate in question, presenting him with her horn and charging, lowering her head in a desperate attempt to avoid being hit, she stabbed him straight in the leg with speed.
The pirate fell in pain, and Natirra, with her horn stuck in his leg, fell with him. They were stuck; the pirate groaned in pain, but she felt a hand gripping her head, and suddenly, she was yanked away from the pirate’s leg and directed towards Gaid’s face. He looked at her, grateful.
«“Thanks for the help, but I didn’t really need it that much. You just risked getting hurt.”»
“What?! After my incredible sacrifice, you won’t even thank me?” From a certain point of view, he had remained the same, just like back at the camp.
“But look at him; should I have let him have his flesh pierced by a blade?”
Natirra touched her horn to ensure nothing was broken; it was covered in blood, but that made sense; she had pierced someone. Thinking about it, it felt strange to her; she never imagined doing something similar—
A direct punch to her face surprised her; another pirate had grabbed her, throwing her to the ground.
«“Augh!!”» Natirra suddenly felt that pirate grab her by the leg and, with superhuman strength, hurled her across the ship.
Natirra got up, slowly but inevitably, struggling greatly as she observed the scene. Gaid had risen and returned to the fight, managing most of the pirates, who often backed away in fear. Natirra had to deal with some of them; she realized that fleeing from the confrontation was no longer an option as she saw the same pirate who had thrown her approach.
She stood up, and when he got close enough, he threw a punch that Natirra managed to dodge.
Natirra realized that the pirate wasn't that fast, and so she could easily avoid him, but she couldn't run forever. He followed her, and turning around, Natirra noticed more pirates gathering in the distance. Thinking back to what she had done, an idea struck her.
Natirra rushed toward the burly pirate who was inevitably chasing her, ready to knock her down like an ant under his shoe. As he approached, he went to throw a punch, which she dodged by positioning herself beneath him. Instinctively, he went to stomp on her, but Natirra got to his foot first, piercing it yet again with her horn, causing him to fall in pain like the last pirate. He was heavy, so she was momentarily stuck too, but managed to detach the horn, though with some difficulty. She had finally found a technique she could use. She noticed, as she got back up, that she was surrounded by two more pirates, ready to kick her, which they did.
Immediately, Natirra was hit continuously. She leaned weakly against the floor, covered in bruises from the constant blows she was receiving. But, fortunately, that relentless torture was interrupted as she saw, for the umpteenth time, that familiar beam of water that had already saved her once, piercing the chest of one of the pirates and frightening the other. Gaid rushed at him, and the two began to exchange blows. Natirra seized her moment to get up and, in her own way, tried to contribute to the fight, pushing and annoying.
In the end, using one of the swords left by the pirates, she managed to gain the upper hand, delivering a fatal cut to his chest. Once again, Gaid looked at her.
Natirra gave a weak smile and, to lighten the mood, repeated Gaid's words.
«“T-thank you for the help… But it’s not like I needed it that much. You just risked getting… hurt.”» Imitating his voice, just to annoy him.
He ignored her. «“There are still many, but we can hold on, hurry up and get up, with a little effort we can make it, I can make it!”»
She saw his eyes light up with passion, with hope. That passion reminded her of her brother, and with all the reflections she had had about the sea, she too ended up motivating herself.
«"Yes, we can make it.”»
Suddenly, something happened on the blood-stained surface of the sea; an entity was appearing. A specific area of the sea turned black, as if a silhouette were approaching, and from the ship, quick as lightning, something emerged, someone emerged… someone.