They landed on the sail only a few seconds apart. Their combined weight violently shook the mizzen mast, one of its broken tips resting on the deck, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present.

"What was that?" one of the pirates exclaimed, looking towards the aft of the ship.

"I think the mizzen has finally given up the ghost this time." another pirate explained, disinterestedly.

"Maybe a seagull hit the sail." another pirate yelled, laughing.

"Hey, Franc, go check it out, we wouldn't want to bother the cap’ain for nothin’!" the first pirate ordered.

Franc, a small pirate with a tattered marine hat, grumbled as he headed towards the stairs partially hidden by the broken sail.

Cursing his companions, he climbed the steps four at a time and lifted the edge before slipping underneath to see if something was wrong. The sun wasn't high enough to penetrate the fabric with its light, so the pirate cautiously felt his way towards the sail's halyard.

Then suddenly, he felt something brush past him, and he stepped back. Suddenly, a hand emerged out of nowhere beside his shoulder and violently covered his mouth.

Then a cold sensation pierced his throat, and he felt warm liquid spreading across his bare chest.

He fell to his knees, his vision becoming increasingly blurry, but a presence to his right made him lift his head.

The last thing he saw was the face of a young woman looking down at him with disdain, a shadow of a smile on her face.

Most of the pirates had already returned their attention to the Ermythians, urging them to resume the fight. One of them even kicked the teenager hard in the back to refocus her on her "opponent." But the one who had ordered Franc to go check behind them began to frown.

"That idiot’s taking a nap or what?" he muttered to himself, staring intently at the back of the ship.

Seeing that no one else seemed to care, the pirate walked towards the stairs, a suspicious look on his face, and cautiously approached the edge of the sail. He lifted it slowly, hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Franc?"

Barely had he lifted the fabric when Tolas's sword pierced his throat. The attack was so sudden that he didn't even have time to understand what had happened. He fell backward, crashing heavily a few meters below. As his body hit the ground, Raphaëlle and Tolas jumped directly onto the deck, landing right next to the pirate's body.

The other members of Scornwallis's crew didn't react immediately and this gave Raphaëlle just enough time to rush towards the first buccaneer she saw, a man missing an ear, and manage to plunge her dagger into his right side. He let out a cry of pain and surprise, collapsing heavily on the ground, quickly draining of his blood. His cry was like a wake-up call, and suddenly his companions drew their weapons and launched themselves at the two sailors. The two Ermythians, feeling confused, painfully backed away as far as possible.

Two pirates, a short bald man with bandages on his chest and a very tanned man with an eyepatch, attacked the she-wolf at the same time with two slashes. Raphaëlle dodged them by throwing herself backward, rolling on the ground to get back up in one fluid motion. The bald man tried a slash towards Raphaëlle's chest, but she parried the attack with a downward thrust of her dagger, deflecting the pirate's blade. She tried to take advantage of the fact that the bald man's upper body was completely exposed and raised her dagger, aiming for his throat. But the one-eyed man, who was just behind his companion, shoved him forward, and the bald man collided with Raphaëlle with a violent shoulder charge that sent the young woman flying backward.

The she-wolf landed heavily on her back, her breath knocked out of her by the sheer force of the impact. The one-eyed man seized the opportunity to try to strike his sword down towards her. But she managed to roll to the side, feeling the air split next to her ears, and heard the sound of the sword plunging deep into the deck’s planks.

Raphaëlle got back on her feet just as the bald man, who had collapsed after ramming into her, also stood up. The one-eyed man was still struggling to dislodge his weapon from the deck. Without hesitation, the bald guy screamed as he charged towards Raphaëlle, his arm raised high, the weapon in hand.

A memory of one of her fencing lessons with Spirit and Tolas came to her mind. On that day, the lesson was about the right reactions to have when being attacked. Tolas had thrown himself at Spirit in the same way the pirate was now doing to her, leaving his body completely exposed. But just when she expected him to parry the attack, Spirit only took two steps forward, placing himself just in front of Tolas, who completed his gesture into the void.

"Stay close to the body and away from the weapon." he sternly explained.

She remembered thinking he was only stating the obvious, but at that moment, she understood what he really meant.

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Once again, she felt as if the world had slowed down, and she had all the time in the world to observe her attacker. Suddenly, she could notice a heap of details and weaknesses in his posture.

The blade of his sword was too far back, which would slow down the speed at which he could attack. The bandages around his chest also indicated that he was injured and therefore would have less strength in the upper part of his body. And despite the impression he gave of running as fast as possible, the bald man wasn't at full speed since, over the distance separating him from her, the deck was partially cracked.

Raphaëlle saw several ways she could get rid of her opponent. A carnivorous smile distorted her face when she finally found the most satisfying one.

Time resumed its course. Quick as lightning, Raphaëlle threw her dagger at one of the pirate's legs while starting to run towards him. The weapon penetrated the pirate's flesh, and he screamed in pain, falling forward and dropping his sword. As soon as he hit the deck, Raphaëlle rolled forward, grabbing her opponent's weapon on the way. The young woman finished her movement by decapitating the bald man in one fluid motion. Her opponent's head rolled overboard, leaving a bloody trail behind it. The she-wolf hurried to retrieve her dagger, still embedded in the dead man's leg.

At the same time, the one-eyed man had finally managed to retrieve his sword from the deck, and he turned triumphantly, ready to kill the young woman. He couldn’t hide the surprise on his face when he saw the dead body of his fellow pirate before him.

“Th-Thomaz?” he stammered before staring daggers at Raphaëlle.”I’m gonna kill you, you little bitch!”

Raphaelle reacted immediately by throwing the blood-stained saber mercilessly towards her opponent’s face. He instinctively raised his arm to protect himself, providing an opportunity for the she-wolf to slip into his blind spot. She attempted to stab him, but the pirate, more responsive than expected, managed to deliver a backhand blow to her face.

The blow caught the she-wolf completely off guard. Raphaelle staggered back, her concentration broken and her cheek throbbing with pain. She blinked, feeling a bit dazed, and barely had time to see her opponent launching a horizontal strike with all his might. She managed to parry it at the last moment, but the attack was so heavy that she was propelled sideways, crashing heavily onto the deck.

“I’ll fucking gut you!” the one-eyed man shouted as he approached her.

Raphaëlle's heart was pounding in her ears and she struggled to catch her breath. She managed to lift her head, spotting Tolas in the distance bravely battling two pirates at once, the third lying a few meters away, surely a victim of his surprise attack.

For a second, she couldn't help but think she'd have to call out for his help. But something inside her reminded her to stay focused and she clenched her fist before striking it against the deck. She raised her head with determination, turning it towards the one-eyed man who continued to approach her. The lecherous smile on his face turned her stomach. How could he dare to think he had beaten her? With a simple punch to the face?

She began to laugh, softly at first, then louder and louder, until she was almost overcome with laughter. The pirate stopped in his tracks, confused by her reaction. Raphaëlle ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes as she breathed in the air of the port, taking deep breaths. She opened them slowly, a satisfied smile on her face. The taste of blood in her mouth was so familiar she’d almost missed it. Her gaze sought out the one-eyed man's until it met his, sending a shiver down the buccaneer's spine. He didn't understand why, but his instinct screamed at him that he was in danger.

Raphaëlle took her time getting up, never taking her eyes off the one-eyed man, who no longer dared to move. As she approached him, dagger in hand, Dande's voice echoed behind her:

"Raphaëlle! Wait!"

She froze. Dande, who had remained in the background under the sail, observing the situation, had finally stepped forward to try to calm the general fervor. The one-eyed man looked up as he saw his companion approaching.

"Lawrence? What are you doing with them?"

Raphaëlle remained on guard, knowing full well that she would risk her life if she turned around to see Dande coming towards them.

"Cristobal, you’ve got to listen to me. We’re here to take on Scornwallis but I’m going to need you to lower your weapon first!"

The pirate frowned, visibly disturbed.

"What do you mean, take on Scornwallis? Wait, don’t tell me you’ve allied yourself with those kids! You’re betraying us?”

"Listen to me, you dolt!" Dande snapped suddenly. "In case you hadn’t noticed, these “kids” are kicking your asses! Don’t you think we actually have a shot now?"

The statement seemed to make Cristobal think, and he lowered his weapon slightly, his face uncertain. He was so focused on Dande that he didn't notice Raphaëlle slowly disappearing behind him.

"You... no... we don't stand a chance," Cristobal lamented, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. "Even injured, you know damn well they can massacre us! I'd rather-"

"No, WAIT!!" Dande suddenly yelled.

Cristobal raised an inquisitive eyebrow. But Dande's cry wasn't for him. The she-wolf didn't wait another second and plunged her dagger into Cristobal’s neck. The pirate fell to his knees, blood almost spurting down his neck, and he cast one last hateful glance at Dande before falling face-first to the ground.

Dande slowly approached the lifeless body of his former companion and stared at Raphaëlle, who was wiping her blade on her sleeve while observing Tolas's situation, ready to jump back into the battle.

"He was…I was convincing him! Why did you do that?" Dande exclaimed.

"Didn’t you see him earlier?" the young woman asked him. " He kicked the old man down. "

"So what?!" Dande retorted. "He could have helped us!"

Raphaëlle scrutinized Dande for half a second. The pirate felt that if the young woman had developed even an ounce of sympathy for him during the night, he had just lost it.

"You can't trust a pirate." she coldly replied.

Leaving Dande behind, Raphaëlle ran to join Tolas, who had managed to deliver a powerful knee strike to one of his opponents, who doubled over in pain.

The she-wolf plunged her dagger into the exposed back of the pirate who screamed in surprise and collapsed abruptly. The other pirate was caught off guard by Raphaëlle's intervention. Tolas took advantage of his distraction to impale him in the stomach with his sword while Raphaëlle twisted her still-embedded dagger in the back of her victim, finishing him off mercilessly.