"Hoho, even after several decades, it seems like I've still got it. Now then, as I've been entrusted with protecting this ship by my Captain, I'll have to kill you all." Said Sebas with light laughter and a friendly expression while eyeing the several scared marines below, keeping the older man afloat.
"Tch, he may have had a bounty of 50,000,000 Beri's, but so what!? He's nothing but an injured old man; how can we be frightened!? I refuse to believe the seven of us can't defeat this crippled Old man; besides, did he not just declare himself a member of the Frenzy pirates!? Aren't we Marines? Our duty is to capture and kill lawless pirates that bring nothing but death and destruction everywhere they go! Now, who's with me!?" Exclaimed one of the marines passionately with anger while he eyed his scared colleagues, causing them to slowly regain their courage.
"Y-Yeah, you're right! What am I scared for? We can easily take down such a defenseless old man!" Said the marine holding Sebas's bounty with renewed vigor as he ripped it into pieces before throwing it overboard.
"Well then, what are we waiting for, men!?" Yelled a different marine as he unsheathed his sword and raised it into the air, igniting the morale of everyone present.
"Haa, youth, what a wonderful thing to have; unfortunately, though, what you don't learn until you've grown into an old man like me who has experienced many things is that being hotblooded isn't always a good thing; being calm and collected is just as good if not better in most situations." Said Sebas with a sigh while shaking his head before focusing back on the marines as his gaze took on a more dignified expression.
I may still be injured from yesterday's fight, but I could still easily deal with a couple of hot-blooded youths.
'Psionic Array'
Launching something akin to invisible ethereal arrows filled with the power of my mind, they entered the six young marines, and they weren't even given a chance to react before they lifelessly collapsed on the ground as they started frothing at the mouth. Despite what it may seem, those six were still very much alive, at least physically; however, mentally, they were dead, as not a single thought appeared in their minds. My attack had effortlessly entered their mind before exploding, destroying every tidbit of their consciousness in the process, turning them into nothing but a vegetable; although while I had destroyed their mind, their brain was still perfectly intact, meaning that their body would still continue to live, though I wasn't such a monster that I'd leave them in such a pathetic state.
Raising my hand, I willed their bodies off the ground and floated them over the boat before dropping them in the ocean. With the gear they were wearing, they quickly began sinking into the sea; drowning wasn't a good way to die, but I believed it to be more honorable than turning into a lifeless husk.
"Ouch, haa, don't push yourself, Sebas; you still haven't recovered yet; just take it easy." Muttered Sebas with a frown as he rubbed his head, which throbbed in pain.
While lightly massaging my head, I floated the frightened older marine overboard before dropping him back into his boat, which surprised him; however, he didn't waste any time and quickly began rowing away.
'I believe Freyja mentioned Captain always leaves someone alive so they may retell their feats; if I'm mistaken, I just won't bring the topic up.' Mused Sebas with a slight smile while watching the older marine row the boat into the distance as he approached the helm, returning to his original duty of steering the ship toward the dock.
Without interruption after the little marine incident, the rest of the way to the dock was relatively quiet; only the sound of waves and raging fire were discernible. Nearing the dock rather slowly, I attempted to be extra careful as this was my first time ever sailing a boat, and I didn't want to mess up on my first day among the Frenzy pirates; however, thankfully, the whole docking proceeded pretty smoothly, it may not have been the best, but I'm just content that I hadn't damaged the ship.
I intended just to sit here and wait until Captain and Freyja finished with their raid, but not too far away, I heard the sound of battle, and looking in that direction, I noticed the occasional fire shooting into the sky along with numerous iron bars; but what really stood out was when I saw a seemingly demonic figure flying about in the sky, one that looked somewhat familiar to boot.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"If I'm not mistaken, that should be Freyja, and it looks like she is engaging in a pretty intense battle. Hmm, I know I should guard the ship, but I'm very interested in learning more about my crew members; besides, it's not too far away." Muttered Sebas with a look of intrigue as he rubbed his beard with a thoughtful expression before eventually deciding to near the intense battle.
Gently landing on the dock, I headed towards the battle, and since it was pretty close, I got there relatively quickly; in fact, I could still view the ship from over here. Once I arrived, I noticed many marines with fanatical expressions of pure lust, just standing there as they gazed upon the battle between Freyja and what looked to be a marine who was able to create iron bars from her body.
At first glance, the battle between the two looked seemingly equal; however, if you took the time to observe the fight, just like I was doing, it wasn't hard to notice that Freyja had the upper hand. Freyja was simply physically superior to the woman in every attribute, whether it was speed, agility, strength, or especially endurance, seeing how Freyja practically shrugged off most of the woman's attacks that connected.
While I was watching the two, Freyja was suddenly struck with a powerful blow by the woman, causing her to get sent flying a few dozen meters back, and she only managed to stop herself a few meters before hitting me.
"Hoho, are you okay, Freyja? You were just struck with a rather nasty blow." Asked Sebas with a smile as he extended his hand to assist Freyja from the ground.
"Thank you, Sebas, and yes, I'm fine; the hit wasn't as bad as it looked." Replied Freyja with a slight smile, grabbing Sebas's hand as she stood up before brushing off the dust and dirt that had accumulated on her bruised and battered body, though other than that, she looked rather fine.
"If you say so, Freyja. While It doesn't seem like you need my assistance, would you like my help in defeating her?" Asked Sebas while glancing at the bloody and injured Hina in the distance, who seemed to be nearing her limit.
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't need it; I intend to finish this battle soon." Remarked Freyja while shaking her head and focusing on Hina.
"Alright then, I shall await your triumphant victory, Freyja." Said Sebas with a slight bow as he quickly backed away when he noticed Hina approach them.
___
___
Nodding at Sebas, I flew toward the exhausted Hina while dodging her numerous iron bars; nearing her, I kicked at her injured chest, yet she managed to block it with her arms, though I caused her to skid back a few meters, and I used that chance to blitz her. Swiftly appearing before her, I powerfully punched for her face, breaking right through her guard and landing a devasting punch on her jaw, causing her to be flung several into the distance while bouncing atop the destroyed pavement before crashing into a wall.
"You're one tough woman to crack, I'll give you that; however, because of that, this fight helped greatly alleviate some accumulated rage, and I thank you for that." Remarked Freyja with a light smile while lightly panting as she approached Hina, who had just emerged from the wall.
"H-Hina will not be d-defeated; H-Hina can't afford to lose this b-battle." Said Hina, between her ragged breathing and injured body, as she stood up with difficulty, eyeing Freyja with a hardened gaze while her hands slowly began to be encased in numerous iron bars.
Seeing her encompass her hands in hundreds of iron bars, creating a wrecking ball for hands, I smirked as I spread my wings, flying high into the sky, allowing me to view most of the island.
'Seems Diddy is enjoying himself.' Thought Freyja when she noticed Diddy fighting against thousands of Briss Kingdom soldiers in the city as he slowly carved a path toward the castle, leaving behind mangled corpses.
Focusing back on the battle at hand, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, recalling the times my captain's electricity had burned me as I attempted to do something I hadn't tried yet, covering myself in flames.
'C'mon, Freyja, you've got this; you managed to ignite your foot and wings on fire; it's the same concept, except on a larger area.' Thought Freyja calmly with her eyes closed as she slowly but surely began to be covered in red hot flames, yet she was perfectly fine.
Feeling intense heat surrounding me, I opened my eyes only to see that I had succeeded in enveloping myself in flames, and while I was pretty happy at my achievement, I was still in the midst of battle, looking down at Hina, only to see a massive ball of iron. Smirking, I flipped myself until I was upside down and powerfully flapped my wings as I speedily headed straight toward her at an even faster speed than previously possible.
'Hell's Descent'
As I neared Hina, she jumped into the air and spun around to gain momentum before finally attacking me with her massive wrecking ball; flipping again, I extended my leg as I partially transformed it, just before hitting her iron ball. The instant we collided, an explosion of sound was heard as I busted right through her massive iron ball before eventually appearing from the other side just before the astonished Hina. Kicking her face, we crashed into the ground, creating a dust cloud, but unlike me, who was hardly harmed from the exchange, Hina was lying unconscious on the ground in the small crater our impact had made.
"Haa, that was a rather refreshing fight; I feel much better." Muttered Freyja with a slight smile as she returned back to her human appearance while her flames died down.