Alicia was so distraught at the relentless onslaught of the Kagatsean pirates that tears threatened to well up. However, Orb's zap and Stillmajik's vile sensation pulled her back from the edge in short order.

From the distance, the submarine’s hatch swung open, and a man emerged, sliding down the slippery surface of the colossal creature and jumping over the ship's railing. A mischievous smile played on his lips afterwards. He wore a long leather coat with green armour underneath, displaying what appeared to be a clan crest, now shapeless thanks to his knife blade scratches. His kabuto helmet bore an octopus-shaped bulge, complete with drooping and curling tentacles near his scraggly moustache. He might have a moustache, but the blush on his cheeks was so vivid the rain failed to make it fade, and the blue makeup on his eyelids intersected with thick eyebrows. His crotch was squished by his effeminate gait while waving a fan. He was waving a fan, despite the eternal downpour. A distinct cross-shaped scar marred the bridge of his nose; some speculated it was a starfish’s peck.

And unexpectedly, another figure followed the man—a female pirate. They thought she was some sort of the man’s soulmate, his partner in crime. That was until she turned around to reveal an infant backpack carrier, and a baby was enthroned in it. A wrinkled face and wide eyes baby. He was clad in armour and a helmet too, though oversized.

"By the gods, he really destroyed his mother to come out like that," Wisesa muttered to a crewman, who then shot him an incredulous look.

With a smug expression, the flamboyant male pirate spoke words in a friendly tone, to which the infant translated in his gruff, lecherous sneer. "Welcome to my sea, o fortunate travellers. Forgive us for the minor inconvenience of your journey. However, it seems you cross our domain without paying any Lagaan to the landlord."

A crew member complained, "Lagaan to the landlord?" He scoffed. "You despicable pirates think we'll just comply—"

The giant octopus ensnared the crewman's body and hurled him into the high sky, all by a mere gesture. The pirate leader’s laugh behind his fan was sheepish, while the midget man's jaws widened with guffaw.

"No! What are you doing?" the crew captain aimed his rifle at the pirate leader's head.

"If you listen to me first, there will be no need for further bloodshed," explained the midget. "Lower your weapons and listen to my superior."

The captain's rifle remained steadfast.

"We understand your vessel is modest, with nothing too expensive to offer to the king of the seas," the baby translated his master's words again. "However, my master has gathered wisdom after plundering numerous ships: at times, a small size is a distraction from the grandest, most valuable treasure on board. Seeing what happened earlier confirmed his suspicions."

The pirate chief's feminine voice was indeed artificial. "Ana ta. Ana ta toa na tano riki hasu be te no naka de saidai no shouhin desu, shi no josei. "

"You and your power are the greatest gift of the century," was the Midget's translation.

Of course, Alicia and Orb were the biggest catches. Having spent a month at sea, mostly bedridden in her quarters, made her oblivious to the fact that she was the holder of the Divine Arcane—a grace promising the most formidable magical power—and likely the sole individual capable of wielding it while being a directionless wanderer. Not all were like the citizens of Lojitengara, who at least harboured an aversion to Arcane wielders. Even amidst the plain blue expanse, rogues still craved her being.

The Midget reiterated, "Allow the young lady to come with us, and we shall not take a single peser from this ship."

The crews exchanged murmured thoughts. The captain scanned left and right, glancing at Alicia in her horses even though she knew a trace of dread was still painted on her ashen face. He lowered his rifle, his decision firm, whispering softly to the little kid in oversized armour. "You can tell your master: scram from my ship."

The Midget's face tightened, the audible gulp in his throat. Yet, before he could speak, Barong reemerged from Wisesa, and the pirates abruptly strengthened their stance by surprise. "No, child," Barong declared, "I'll tell him straight to his face." The spiritual beast puffed out its chest at the pirate leader, who looked up in confusion. "Fune kara oriro. "

Arcane grace coursed through tendrils of blue, reaching every inhabitant of the ship, from the entire crew to the holes in their gun barrels. The Midget ground his teeth. His first were clenched, and garden knives protruded from their slits, ready to be blindly swung in a tantrum. "Foolish crew! You'd better compose your sentences thoughtfully the next time you open your mouths!”

The hand of the pirate leader intercepted the baby’s face. "Ima wa omae ni kankei nai. Moto no basho ni modore. " With these words, the Midget's mouth locked, but his body was still tremulous with rage.

The ship’s occupants were already aglow with a bluish hue. The pirate leader laughed and reached into his coat pocket for something. His crew followed suit, startling their foes, save for Alicia and Orb, who had been leery from the outset.

“Cursed thing! That cursed thing again! I'll rip you all to pieces!" Barong roared. The outlaws inhaled the sublimation of Protos particles, and light flashed from their bodies, clashing with the sparkle of pure Arcane.

One crewman pounced on one pirate, and the inevitable battle ensued.

The Arcane-filled crewmen charged the magic pirates before their gestures could complete. Those who were not interrupted released the seal as swiftly as the Thunderkeeper's Lightning, spraying a black liquid on the crew and blinding them. The rifles thundered indiscriminately. When infused with Arcane, the ship's crews proved to be formidable opponents not to be underestimated. However, nearly all the pirates were Ninshu artists with Protos particles, whose magic blend with martial arts incapacitated the crew members one by one with ease.

Among the friends, only Wisesa and Alicia possessed magical prowess, and even they were not immune to the pirates' vexing jutsu. The pirates surrounding Wisesa chanted "Kujira no Abura no Jutsu", which turned their mana into fat deposits under a layer of skin, bloating their bodies in an instant. The blows from Barong Heads and other blunt attacks were dampened in the folds of fatty skin. Wisesa aimed to slash them with his kris, but even in their bloated state, the pirates had not lost their agility.

Alicia, on the other hand, was once more engaged with the pirates' dagger throws and their effeminate leader's katana slashes. Taking cover behind her portable Arcane dome, Alicia produced several medium-sized paper spheres, then dismantled her force field before conjuring it again, this time trapping the pirates before her. The paper spheres were enveloped in the Divine Grace to render them waterproof, then thrown into the confinement dome. The spheres erupted yellow smoke. When the dome dissipated, the trapped pirates collapsed in a heap.

With her remaining xixin flower mixture, Alicia wanted to spend it against the other groups of pirates. However, out of nowhere, a horned blue and red starfish hurtled towards her like a shuriken. Alicia managed to dodge and swat away the other starfish with Orb.

"Oni starfish!" Alicia mumbled. Her eyes were immediately fixed on the assailant responsible for the starfish throw, the pirate leader.

"Sasuga Aru kein tsukai!" the pirate leader praised. "Demo, sore o katsuyou de ki ru ho do no sukiru hana sa soudesune!"

The Preening Pirate Chief had learnt not to do weapons with the lass’ Arcane sphere, evident from his broken katana from the previous skirmish, and the futile use of starfish. A fresh kidnapping endeavour unfolded. His stout yet lithe build flaunted agility as each fold of his fan exposed a hidden blade, gracefully moving while attempting to cut through the lass's nerves. He was too fast. Each time Alicia was about to form Arcane's dome, the pirate chief had already entered and begun slashing raindrops. She could not help but shoot Arcane while dashing, moving past the crew members equally engrossed in battle. She was anything but a dancer, but her impulsive movements bolstered by the slippery deck floor made her slip multiple times, and miraculously, it saved her from slashes that threatened the viability of her motor nerves.

How the Divine had cursed Alicia, her convulsing stomach froze her in place, and the Dandy Pirate Chief drew nearer and nearer. Alicia quickly fired a barrage of Arcane until one hit the dandy, but his body dispersed into smoke, and what was before her now was nothing but a floundering red snapper.

Alicia! Behind you! Orb screeched.

Alicia turned around and her voice caught! The razor blade from the Dandy Pirate Chief's fan almost grazed her chest, and she crumpled once again. The pirate's hands were already clutching the fabric of Alicia's dress, but it was not long before some crew members charged at him, knocking him down as well. Alicia was left alone again, a spectator to the renewed battle.

As Alicia rose to her feet, she heard the same loud jeers as before.

"Your power is tantalising! You are tantalising! I can't wait to let my little fingers play with Arcane and you!"

Alicia's feverish body shuddered even more at that lewd statement. The voice was so crisp amidst the chaos of battle, that it could not have been intended by anyone other than her. The lass’ head swivelled to the voice's origin, yet she found nought but a female pirate with a sling on her back.

And the sling was empty.

Then her ears caught another grating scream from the deck’s centre. The Midget was already gliding towards Alicia from a pirate's back, both hands reaching out to seize the lass’ face.

"Gotcha!" cried The Midget. Alicia screeched, wriggling around and shooing the midget off her body as she saw his absurdly large head and wide grin dripping with saliva up close. The Old Baby just chortled, and even in his chortle, there was still a tinge of lewdness.

"Get out of my body, you accursed being!" Alicia yelled, but the Midget heeded not. He clawed at her face, yanking her hair forward like a horse's bridle. Alicia noticed a bulge under the Midget's nappy near her neck, and at that moment, her cheeks swelled with nausea. The mare galloped with untamed frenzy. Arcane erupted inside her, and the Midget was propelled across the slippery floor!

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But the Midget stood unyielding, it appeared. He might be angry, but in his twisted mind, he was already lustful. Even more lustful due to Alicia’s palpable panic. Alicia, having just unleashed Arcane, turned around once more and retched. A dilemma arose as she had to force down another vial of Stillmajik, yet her supply was running low.

Observing the distressed lass with laboured breaths, another bastard notion crept into mind. The Midget scuttled so quickly that Alicia did not even realise he was moving, and sure enough, he was once again writhing upon her body! His hands began to creep downwards, aiming for her breast and even tearing at Alicia's sleeves. With the remnants of her strength, Alicia marshalled her Arcane might to swat the Midget’s back, but the old baby leapt, redirecting the Arcane blast into its very conjurer's chest!! Alicia was propelled away. Orb slipped out of her grasp.

The Midget ambled towards the felled Alicia, giggling. The rope loop wound around his shoulder.

"Good girl," sneered the Midget. "Stay still like that and you won't get hurt—"

Suddenly, a yellowish energy in the shape of Barong's head pounced upon the Midget's skull and drowned him in the sea! Wisesa once again appeared as the bookworm's saviour, lunging at the Midget's throne bearer and consigning her to the same watery fate with a push from Siliwangi's gilded bangles.

"I don't want to hear you ranting about killing midget harassers after what I did to you." Wisesa helped Alicia to her feet.

Alicia quickly retrieved Orb before it rolled further into the fray. "He's an exception," she remarked. "Thank you."

There are no exceptions, Orb spoke up. You did well, but no more drowning people next time! Limit your power and your intentions!

Alicia frowned upon Orb’s statement, "Orb, really? Ye didnae see how he treated me?"

"Oh come on, don't assume the guardian of morals here!" Barong chimed in. "You can't do anything when Alicia can't do anything. You should be grateful that Wisesa was willing to help your wielder!"

I am indeed the guardian of morals. No one has the right to judge him dead.

"What, what did that weird ball say?" asked Wisesa.

"Nagging," Barong replied.

"Unbelievable," Wisesa scoffed, then turned his attention to the remaining pirates. "You can preach about the sanctity of human conduct when your lackeys in the Eternal Empire have been taken care of! Oddball..."

The disappearance of the Baby Lord in the waves did not escape the pirate chief’s notice, who shouted, "Aniki!" until his voice grew hoarse.

His glance towards the spectacled lass was one of lethal wrath. His posture suddenly straightened and stiffened. His masculine side took the steer. He threw the parasitic starfish back at the face of the unsuspecting crew members, then raised the mountain weave in his hand. "Tou no Hoshi no Jutsu!"

The hapless crewmen trembled in place until their movements became disjointed, then froze altogether.

Obedient automatons had been forged.

He pointed his finger at Alicia, and the crew immediately rushed towards her location. Alicia interrupted their brief discussion by unleashing hundreds of Arcane threads that instantly wrapped around the ‘automatons’, yanking them and slamming them against the ship's railing. It was the largest number of threads she had ever summoned. Her breathing began to labour again.

"Talk some sense to those starfish, let me finish the rest!" Alicia asked Wisesa.

"What?" Wisesa loathed the idea of being bossed around by her.

But Alicia knew he would be diplomatic with the animals anyway, hence she ran to the rest of the pirates. Assuming the lass was foolish enough to run towards them, the women leapt and lunged at her, but Alicia suddenly pushed herself back with Arcane and then streaked into the air.

"That's enough! I want you to stop!" Alicia raised Orb, and Arcane shower bombarded the deck battlefield!

Annoyed, the pirate leader issued another hand seal, urging the giant octopus to fling its tentacles at Alicia, only to be sliced down by Divine Grace in the form of a lamellar wheel!

The tentacles bounced towards the pirate chief, who opened his folding fan and split them in half, and the next thing he knew, the cerulean Arcane force field had already split him with the outside world.

Alicia pulled out the remaining xixin bullets and repeated her tactics once applied against her lackeys. Now there was no way he could fool Alicia with a red snapper floundering behind yellow smoke.

No, he was the floundering snapper.

The giant octopus was her final foe, but without the pirate leader's guidance, the Arcane barrage was more than enough to leave it half-submerged in the sea. Its body was now a harvest of scorched spots, and its tendrils wrapped around the ship hung limply. A pirate on its crown fell into the sea, and at that moment, the shachihoko assembly broke free from the shackles of magic and slid into the darkness. The overcast clouds were burned away by the brilliant noon sun. Only then did the crew truly let out a triumphant cheer.

Alicia crumpled and struggled to reach another Stillmajik potion, before stupor actually devoured her consciousness.

The pirates were gathered, and when Alicia regained her strength, she purified them one by one, letting Arcane devour all of Khaos' cores.

The Dandy Pirate Chief was the last. Only when Arcane began to slither through the thin air did the giant shadow obscure the sun again.

All on the ship gazed upward. What came into view was a structure resembling a colossal ocean liner from below. Was it a flying ship? A zeppelin? Alicia and the others surmised it was. However, to the wide-eyed pirates, it was not an airborne craft.

"They're coming!" A faint scream came from above the octopus's head—the Midget had already scurried into the submarine. "They're coming! Mujinos are coming!"

"Mujino!" A pirate suddenly rebelled and jumped off the ship with both hands still bound. Her companions chattered in panic.

"What is Mujino?" Wisesa asked Barong.

Barong was still gazing upward. "A made-up word perhaps? But it sounds similar to the term in their tongue, Michi No. 'The Unknown'."

The sun-block then dispersed a swarm of flying creatures, emitting cries akin to a blend of crows and gulls, with a faint screech at the edge of their note. They circled the colossal rock before descending, row by row, splitting their formation with seamless precision. The creatures now encircled the ship and the giant octopus.

The crews’ rifles aimed skyward. The pirates' mettle crumbled. They scattered in disarray, rubbing off on some overwhelmed crew members who let them escape. A solitary avian suddenly hovered close to the deck, obstructing a fleeing pirate and causing her to slip.

Alicia and the others were stunned by this daring bird. But in Alicia's reckoning, this creature was no bird. Its stature equalled that of a grown human. Feathers were absent, replaced by skin adorned with hard, dark blue plates, etched with segments and apertures. Its diminutive yellow eyes were bisected by formidable horns that loomed over its cranium. Eight wings unfurled with a regal flutter. It lacked a beak.

"Do you appear to know what kind of being is this?" Wisesa asked Barong again.

Barong lowered its gaze towards its host. "They... too are 'unknown' to me."

The creature's eyes were fixed on the fallen pirate when Alicia scrutinised it. The pirate froze for a moment, irises widening, and then rose to her feet. The creature pivoted, revealing a sloping back that gradually unfurled akin to a clam's maw.

"What the..." The utterance coming out of the fallen pirate was soft and... calm. "Hey, guys, I think I see something inside that."

Another pirate cared enough to make a horrified face at her fellow. "Hold!" she urged in Kagatse's tongue as she held out a tense palm.

Alas, that did not stop the pirate from enthusiastically stepping in. "You're crazy to tell me not to try resting in that cosy, soft place. I'll go in first."

The pirate leaned against the soft cushion, and the creature's dorsal orifice clumped shut! Blood and organ clots splattered!

"No!" Alicia shouted. Her hand abruptly blazed an Arcane aimed at the peculiar bird. As if cursed by the Divine, the bird crumbled into dust, swept away by the lapping waves. There was no trace. Not even the trace of the ill-fated human. A vile divine sleight of hand.

What the bloody Hades was that? Alicia mused, mouth agape. Why did he sneer so? Why did she deliberately enter the monster's mouth? Hypnosis? Suicidal thoughts? It doesn't feel like any of those!

The traceless demise by the Arcane touch caused the air frenzy with the cacophonous cawing of the bird’s comrades, a medley of crowing and the grating of forks against plates. The loud bellow of the solar barrier stones seemed to retort, to which the birds immediately hurled themselves onto the ship’s floor!

The crew eliminated several cryptids with their Arcane-fueled firearms. Yet, the bird’s agility proved formidable. Armed only with their piercing tangerine gaze, those lacking agility chose to venture into the avian backs’ maws.

"Those damn monster birds can hypnotize people!" screamed Wisesa, his eyes clenched shut as he threw out his inner strength toward the rowdiest direction. "Don't let your eyes meet theirs or you're finished!"

"Wisesa, I'm not affected by their visions!" Barong declared. "You must trust me to seize control for a while!”

Wisesa rebuffed without a second thought, "Your latest promotion technique? No thanks!"

"Wisesa—"

"I can do it!"

Closing one's eyes was never a sound idea anyway because somehow, the birds displayed an intellect surpassing that of humans. The rhythmic beat of wings grew distant. With wings spread stiff, the birds began a graceful glide, severing the necks of their sightless prey and imprisoning them within the depths of their narrow dorsal maws for eternity. Even those who dared to open their eyes after hearing the fatal roll would eventually scatter too. Their fate was not much different.

The unpretentious merchant ship had rent asunder, one fragment after another sinking into the sea. Alicia, having realised the horror was unstoppable, hastily conjured an Arcane circle, providing refugee for the remaining survivors atop the remnants of their sinking craft. However, just as she was about to ascend, her eyes glanced at the pirate chief marooned on another fragment, glancing at his newly awakened giant octopus being lifted by the clasps of the birds’ maws. A giant trophy of prey conquest. Tentacles and viscous ink thrashed as hard as the octopus could, only to find itself chopped from tentacle to head, plunging into the ocean alongside its submarine hat. The once orderly hunting formation degenerated into chaotic celestial combat as the birds started slitting each other’s throats. For some reason, the pirate leader seemed to slip away from the flock of death and flung himself into the sea.

A pair of orange orbs suddenly met Alicia's ruby gaze.

Other cryptid birds gathered and arranged themselves into a dome, ensnaring the souls within the colossal Arcane sphere with their eyes. Alicia was affected. So was Wisesa.

"Wisesa, did ye see that?" asked Alicia. "I must deactivate the Arcane dome and inspect the creature's maw up close. Care to join me?"

"Well... what if I recline on that soft mouth pad?" Wisesa's response was even stranger. "That one's mine, Westerner! You find your own bird."

"I saw it first, ye ken!"

"Like I care!"

"What? No!" Barong and Orb admonished in unison. "Damn it, Wisesa! I told you to let me take over! Ah well, screw it!" the beast infiltrated back into the man's form, and in an instant, his demeanour changed. Furs started to crawl out from his body, and golden armour materialised in thin air.

Orb was no less frantic, with its pallid eye darting everywhere. Alicia was true to her words, dismantling her withstanding bulwark.

Alicia! Rouse yourself! The orb screeched in a static tone. It was eager to electrify Alicia's mind, but alas, its levitating form was now plummeting. It would not land on Alicia's bosom. Both Orb and the others would crash into the ocean.

Granted an opportunity to manifest in the corporeal realm, Barong leapt and systematically dismantled each approaching bird. Though an immortal being, there was no denying that it longed for its jaws to rend flesh and slurp up whatever fluid came out of it.

However, Orb was actually a pleasure destroyer. If you really intend to help, Barong, then dispose of all those bird remains and take me to Alicia!

"Very well! Fine!" said Barong, somewhat annoyed. "I merely wish to sample this peculiar bird’s flesh for a moment."

Barong swooped through the air, vanquishing the cryptid birds with their gaping dorsal orifices and pulled the remaining survivors onto its shoulder. When near Alicia, Barong pushed her instead, and Orb instantly shocked her upon contact.

Just as Alicia’s hand was about to stroke the tunnel-like cushion of the monster's maw, a gasp escaped her lips, followed by a resounding scream. With the aid of Arcane, she pushed herself backwards just in time, narrowly evading the gargantuan snap, but then she screamed again as she beheld the expansive sea mere metres away. She struck the ocean's surface, shielded by Arcane.

Wisesa and the others were likewise drowned. Alas, the dread was compounded, for the cryptid birds were also immersed. The easy prey was not to be relinquished. And when they saw Alicia, the horde’s wings unfurled flexible as whale fins, pursuing Barong and the others. How the Divine had cursed Barong, it was the Patron of the Lands, not the Guardian of the Sea. Its assaults waned, while the azure creatures maintained their aerial speed. Barong's limbs were severed by their razor-sharp fins as it struggled and gasped. Another faction slipped through, snatching a handful of survivors.

Adrenaline rushed through Alicia’s veins. Witnessing the carnage amid the murky sea, her face twisted. Eyebrows knitted in anger, teeth gritted, and both hands clutching Orb tightly.

"Stay away from Wisesa! Away... from the others!"

Alicia's ruby eyes flashed with blue lightning. []