CHAPTER 32 - CAPTAIN GAID!

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«"'I suppose I’ll have to take you with me. Everything is a resource, even people, right? You’re such a nuisance, you’re truly pathetic.'"»

With a sharp, violent strike, she stomped on his head, stopping him for a moment as he tried to recover from the blow.

«"'I…"» he muttered, the floor around him now soaked with tears, «”I…"»

"I’m going to kill you!" Gaid shouted aloud, his voice shaking with emotion as tears streamed down his face. Fueled by rage, he unleashed a fast and powerful jet of water, more intense and violent than the previous ones, rushing rapidly toward its target. The Siren, caught off guard by the situation, lifted her tail in a desperate attempt to block or at least deflect the devastating blow. However, Natirra didn’t miss the opportunity, and with the little strength she had left, she lunged at the Siren, further confusing her. The Siren turned towards Natirra, distractedly raising her tail. But due to this sudden action, fate had a cruel surprise in store for her: Gaid’s water blast pierced through her, sending a small spray of blood from where it hit, rendering her tail useless as it was severed clean off.

The Siren let out a scream of agony as red liquid splattered across the wooden deck of the ship.

Gaid stood firm in his resolve, showing no sign of remorse. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the most extreme. But Gaid did not respond, his face dark, almost surrounded by a strange and aggressive aura. After realizing that the blow had severed the tail, he immediately swung his head horizontally, slicing off her arms as well.

The pirates watched in shock, utterly stunned to see their captain defeated in such a manner. Natirra didn't know how to react and let go of the Siren she had been holding onto. She crawled back a few steps to distance herself, positioning herself to get a clear view of the situation. For a moment, she could see the life fading from the Siren's eyes, perhaps caused by the immense amount of pain she had suffered in such a short time. But soon, the Siren gathered herself—though “gathering” was an exaggeration for what she had just gone through—and began writhing on the floor.

In that moment, when Natirra realized that Gaid had practically won the entire battle with that extraordinary move, she let her body fall, lying on the floor and taking a deep breath.

It was a mix of contrasting emotions that washed over her. She had successfully distracted the Siren, but the sense of victory clashed with a deep humiliation. She had endured a series of blows for at least ten long, agonizing minutes.

Her wounds were visible, and the exhaustion weighed heavily on her, worsening her injuries. If not for that final attempt, she struggled to imagine the fate she would have met.

She breathed deeply, trying to summon the strength to stand again, aware that the battle might not be over yet. She had to gather all her remaining energy and determination, for both her pride and the sake of their cause.

Meanwhile, as she recovered, the situation continued to unfold. Gaid approached the Siren, who was now in a miserable state, lying on the floor, groaning in pain, with every possible limb missing. She was nothing but pitiful.

«"H-how could you... You…!"» the Siren cried out, her voice laden with emotion, as she lay on the ground, watching in horror as Gaid’s shadow loomed over her. Gaid clenched his fist, his eyes sharp with determination as he began to speak. Despite her outburst of defiance, almost an insult directed at Gaid, after some time, as the pain became unbearable, part of her began to plead for mercy. Yet, on her face remained a clear look of realization.

«"P-please, Agnates... Don’t... don’t kill me."» It might have sounded ironic at that moment, but the tone in which she spoke was a true plea.

Gaid looked at her, but without a trace of emotion on his face.

Instead, a vision of his father flashed before his eyes.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

«"Rather than giving up every time things don’t go your way, why don’t you start enduring your losses? If you come to me every time something bad happens, you’ll never become the warrior you so desperately aim to be."»

«"You took the thing I cared about most, my family. And I have rewarded you by taking away what you cared about most."» Before continuing the next part of his speech, Gaid threateningly aimed his horn at the Siren, who, now immobile and unable to move, had no chance of avoiding the impending strike.

The air seemed almost tangible, thick with tension. As Gaid prepared to deliver the final blow, the Siren, vulnerable and terrified, realized her fate was inevitable. Her voice was choked with fear and regret, while her heart raced in the face of her imminent end. The scene unfolded in eerie silence, broken only by the sound of the surrounding sea, which seemed to have calmed in anticipation of what was to come.

Gaid was poised to carry out the act he had sworn to perform, and the Siren’s fate hung by a thread.

«"But now I have only made you pay for what you did to me. The price for what you did to my village remains unpaid. So..."» The next part he shouted, his voice painted with fiery emotions, clenching both fists, as if on the verge of tears.

«"So die, disappear from the face of this planet, Roynel! And all the disgusting scum like you!"»

With that proclamation, and before the Siren could respond in any way, a jet of pressurized water shot from Gaid’s horn. Aimed directly at Roynel’s head, it pierced through with frightening ease, sending a small spurt of blood from her skull. In just a few seconds, she fell to the ground with a loud thud, motionless. That was the moment when Natirra realized the Siren was truly dead, lying in a pool of blood, and that Gaid, with a proud expression, had finally killed her.

There was a pause, and the ship fell into an eerie silence. Natirra and Gaid stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. They didn’t know what to do next, but something completely unexpected would soon direct them to their next course of action.

Suddenly, as if the ship had burst into an absurd explosion of joy, it transformed into a place of perpetual celebration.

Every single pirate on board began jumping and dancing with joy, their faces radiating happiness and smiles. Natirra and Gaid watched in amazement and confusion, unable to understand what on earth was happening. The two bewildered narwhals exchanged perplexed glances, trying to determine if this transformation was real or some kind of trick. It was a surreal sight, seeing their enemies suddenly turn into wild partygoers. The confusion grew as they tried to discern if there was a reason behind this sudden celebration or if it was the result of some incomprehensible spell or mystery.

The pirates sang together as they approached Gaid, who had remained frozen by the scene along with Natirra. «"Oh Gaid! That’s your name, right?"»

Gaid didn’t know how to respond, but he nodded. One of the pirates took it upon himself to explain the reason behind this strange festivity.

«"You’ve saved us, Gaid! You and your strange friend!"»

Natirra felt insulted; she was not strange.

Gaid looked at him, confused. «"Why are you celebrating? I defeated your captain."»

Then, the pirate turned to all the others who were celebrating. «"No, you’ve freed us."» He then began to explain. «"You see... we, too, like you, come from a village that was attacked by her original crew. We were kidnapped and forced to be her slaves. After all, you saw for yourself the terrifying strength she possessed..."» Everyone, who had stopped celebrating to listen to the story, nodded.

«"Haven't you ever rebelled?"» Natirra asked, confused.

«"No... We tried a few times, but every time the leaders of the rebellion were brutally defeated. They were killed right in front of us, and we understood that we would never be able to defeat her. Even when her original crew died, we knew that even alone, the Siren was unbeatable."»

Another pirate from the back of the crowd continued, «"We followed her orders because we knew that failure would mean our death! She would dispose of us without hesitation, but you saved us! Hail to you! Gaid and his strange friend! You are our true captains!"»

«"Hail to Gaid and his strange friend!"»

«"I’m not strange!"» Natirra exclaimed, jumping up and down, but feeling the weight of her injuries, she fell to the ground.

Gaid, seeing this, was also losing his strength. He watched the crew celebrating and decided to assert his position as captain.

«"We need to heal ourselves."»

All the pirates looked at each other, confused. After their silent exchange, they turned back to Gaid. «"We don’t have any! Usually, when one of us was mortally wounded, the Siren simply threw them into the sea."»

Gaid took a moment to reflect.

«"Where exactly are we?"» he asked, scanning the waters.

One of the pirates quickly replied, «"In the waters off Okinara Island, Captain."»

Holding his hand over the wound on his chest, he spoke in an authoritative tone.

«"Let’s head straight for that island; we need medical attention."» And so, all the pirates looked at each other, exclaiming, «"Follow the captain's orders!"»