With a hand on his chin, Alexander muttered pensively. “I guess I maybe expected a skull etched out into the mountains, possibly flames blowing out of the eye sockets. Wait no- they’re lightning Elementalists- a surge of lightning pouring out!”
Clapping his hands together, Thomas exclaimed. “Oh, you know what? It could’ve been a crown formed out of storm clouds, and troves of gold falling out of the open skeleton mouth. The entirety of the Green Mamba pirates lives inside of the skull, constantly plotting more nefarious deeds.”
“Snakes, too. We can’t forget about the snakes. There should be a veritable army of actual green mambas living in peace with the pirates, but at the slightest hint of danger, the snakes strike out with their deadly fangs.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed into slits as his patience withered away while listening to Alexander and Thomas’ back and forth quipping about what the Green Mamba’s mountain base should look like. He had shown them an image of it provided by the Reindeer clan and all hell had broken loose- their idealized vision of the pirates’ lair breaking down. Luca cracked his knuckles as he prepared to deliver the boys the beating of a lifetime, but Kai intervened.
A crackle was heard within the room as he smacked both of the guy’s heads with lightning induced acceleration. The crisp sound of the smack eased a bit of the irritation evident on Luca’s face. “I am so sorry about these two children.” His eyes were seething as he mouthed the words behave at them. “Their imaginations certainly run wild sometimes, but we are all ready to continue talking shop.” Furling up the problematic image, Kai played the mediator as he motioned for Luca to continue showing them the files in the satchel he had brought.
Cracking his knuckles one more time, Luca stared at Alexander and Thomas as if deciding whether he should clench his fists and beat the stupid out of them or peacefully continue the explanation. Eventually, it was Gertrude who decided for him. Her soothing voice traveled through the house and into the room. “Children deserve patience, Luca.”
He clenched and unclenched his fist, causing wisps of wind to circle around the two boys. I hate when she’s right. With a sigh, he released the wind and started sifting through the remaining documents in the satchel. “I will wipe the smiles out of you clowns.” Luca threatened. “But right now, I’m going to finish Nidra’s mission.” Spreading out 6 pages on the tabletop, Luca took a deep breath. “Based on the info the reindeers gathered, I have here a profile on Celia along with 4 of her little Executives.”
Pointing towards a middle-aged man with blue hair and a prominent scar running down his left eye, Luca continued. “There’s Isaac, a Hunter with the parrot bloodline. He’s Lord-tier level with a wind affinity along with all the physical boosts the bloodline provides him with. It’s a silly tropical bird, can’t imagine you three having trouble with that if you’re expecting to beat the rest of the execs.”
Jumping in, Kai filled in Alexander and Thomas. “Once Isaac summons his bloodline at full power, his legs are like the sharp claws of a parrot. Wind mana further augments their sharpness.” Holding his hand over his chest, Kai angrily remembered his recent encounter with the pirate. “He also has a scream that acts similar to certain green color techniques: blinds you and stuns your mind.”
Pinching his cheek, Luca stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. “Take it easy, ugly boy. No one likes a brooder. If an enemy is using mental attacks, then just beat them down so fast they can’t do anything about it. Easy peasy.” Smiling proudly as if he had just solved the group’s problems, Luca moved on to the next image.
“The leader of the Storm Flamingos appears to have joined the pirates as an Executive. I imagine this was more a treaty to ensure their clan remained safe, but I suppose the flamingo deciding to abandon its tribe to become a criminal is not completely out of the question. It would be on the ridiculous side of things, though. Regardless, the data here claims the Storm Flamingo is only at the Grandmaster tier, but I would prepare myself with them having Lord-tier strength just in case- beasts are gifted at hiding their level.”
Thomas swiped the page detailing the Storm Flamingo and asked. “How is the Storm Flamingo deciding to be a pirate ridiculous? You own a goldfish that is potentially Emperor-tier! Not even my father could do something like that. Who even are you, Luca?”
Completely ignoring Thomas, Luca continued. “Then there’s the…” He rubbed his eyes before reading the notes under the image of an android. Confirming what he had seen, he burst out into a boisterous laughter. “Hahahaha, what in tarnation are you even fighting?!” Luca spoke between laughs. “It says here the android goes by the name of The Bucko. I can’t even make sense of these notes. Wanna jump in, ugly boy?”
Kai picked up the paper with the android and opened his mouth to speak, but no words emerged. Turning around, he circled the room as he paced around. He tried speaking multiple times, but each time, the words would get caught in his throat. Finally, he stopped with his back to the group. Holding the page up, his grip was so tight the entire thing had already crumpled. “You know, despite everything, this is still one of the greatest embarrassments of my life. I was never an Exec of the Green Mamba. My allegiance wasn’t there, and I most certainly had no intention to aid those goons. But in my own little way, being stronger than them brought me some joy.” Facing the group, he let the page float down to the ground. “Knowing I was weaker to an android that calls itself The Bucko is nothing but a disgrace to my years of combat training.”
Alexander responded seriously. “Alright, so it’s an Overlord tier android. We can deal with that together. No shame in that, Kai. If we are taking down the whole crew, there will be plenty of time for you to redeem yourself. “
“I appreciate the kind words, Alexander, but androids don’t really work like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, androids are weird. They run on a completely different system from Elementalists, beasts, and even Hunters.” Attempting to properly convey how androids worked, Thomas spoke slowly. “They don’t exactly have any magic of their own. I mean I’ve heard they can be built to handle magic, but those are special models.”
Noticing Thomas was getting sidetracked, Kai tried to give an explanation. “At their core, they are the soldiers of the Sabian people. The androids were designed to protect the scientists by the scientists, so their exact capabilities vary between the model. Some of them might be powerhouses with general immunity to all elements but extremely brittle, and others can be martial artists with no magical defenses.”
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Coming to an understanding, Alexander nodded his head. “Okay. So what type is this android then?”
Flaring his nostrils, Kai exhaled annoyed. “They’re a high-class one: full lightning immunity and great close combat skills. I’m hoping they have a terrifying weakness to fire or water, but worst-case scenario, our crusade against the pirates ends with them.”
Clicking his tongue, Luca shook his head with a ridiculing face. “Look at you boys all doom and gloom already. First go out there and at least try to clobber the robot.” He spat out into a can lying in the corner of the room. “I guarantee if you just add some more oomph to your hits, no enemies will stand in your path.”
Chuckling, Thomas began. “Heh, that is- ” But he paused as he looked at Luca and remembered he could be an Emperor tier master. “That’s a great plan, Mr. Luca. I assure you I will bring back the android’s head as a trophy.”
“Geez, suck up much? I don’t want you to bring me any kind of trophy. In fact, once I’m done giving you the profiles on the execs, I would appreciate if you never showed your faces in my premises again. It’s been fun having you to gut my fish, ugly boy, but if it means I don’t have to see these two mugs anymore, I am happy to let you go.”
Kai remained silent as he was unsure of how to take that exactly.
With growing excitement about saving the people of Kedra, Alexander urged Luca to finish reading the reports. “C’mon, Luca! The Pirate Empress has 6 executives. Tell us about the last two so we can get on with the mission.”
“Slow your horses, you little imp. I’m getting to that.” Bringing up two more pages to the top of the pile, Luca worked on deciphering the scribbles on the pages. These two had no images and were mostly bare of words, too. “Those reindeers are damn impressive, but even they were unable to retrieve images of the last two executives. It seems they don’t really show themselves publicly. Ugly boy, can you add any more info to the document, or should I just tell you that?”
Kai scanned the words quickly and gave it some thought. “Bison. I overheard some pirates talking about him one time. That’s the name of the Earth Elementalist executive. There were always several rumors swimming through the crew about him: he was a mercenary, a runaway hitman, ex-soldier of the Geb clan, or underground fighter. Either way, he’s definitely a fighter. The paper says he was born with a special mutation that made his red color gift him with power over metal. I’ve heard a rumor saying something similar, so I would say it’s true.”
Snatching the pages back, Luca snorted. “I didn’t ask for you to check whether the words on the document were correct, ugly boy. They’re FACTS. That already means they’re right. The Reindeer clan wouldn’t commit a blunder like adding in unconfirmed information.” Rolling his eyes, he shifted to the last page with an eye roll. “You heard the kid, though. Metal user that likes to fight - totally didn’t’ see that coming in a pirate. Hmph. The last executive, well they’re a mystery, so we’re kind of done here.”
Reaching over, Alexander tried to grab the last file, but Luca moved just slightly out of reach. “What do you mean a mystery? We don’t have anything on them?”
“There’s nothing on the guy, if he’s even a guy. All I know is they’re the first mate. Not really sure who spread that info around, but everybody just took it at face value. As for his powers, everyone had a guess, but they were only that, guesses.”
“Bah, there’s no need for speculation. I don’t honestly see you three getting that far anyway. What do people say nowadays? Oh, just go out there and try your best. My money is on you dying by the third executive.”
The boys looked disgruntled by Luca’s commentary, but none dared to voice their anger. There was no better deterrent to complaints than absolute power. The old man could slap them all in the face for fun, and they would be forced to take it. Luckily, there was someone on their corner making sure the other party remained civilized. Gertrude’s voice descended on the room again. “I know you’re joking, Luca. Give them the rest of the information as well as the plans now. It’s time for our chess match.”
Grumbling, Luca snapped into a more serious tone. “I’ve got the Pirate Empress’ information in this folder right here.” Turning around the satchel, he took out the final file in the bag. “It’s not like there’s really any info on her, but I encourage you to stay away from the file until you’ve defeated some of the pirates. No need to get ahead of yourselves. The executives alone will be a large mountain to overcome.”
Hanging on to the file, Alexander gave an earnest bow to the old man. “Umm, thank you. Thank you very much for providing us with all this information on the Green Mamba. Whether or not this was by Lord Nidra’s orders or not, I still appreciate your help.”
“Psh, don’t be so thankful. That’s the only help you’re gonna get on this mission. Now, grab your junk and get the hell out of my house.” Watching as they got up, Luca added. “And try heading to the North of Kedra island first. Just because you’re starting this fight alone does not mean you should stay without allies. Be smart, you little imps.”
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Luca, Susanne, and Gertrude watched through a window as the group headed down the pathway to the beach. Alexander had left the camouflaged jet near the shores, and Kai had already retrieved Pengu and Pola.
Floating beside Luca, Gertrude was currently questioning him. “You dodged all their questions regarding your identity. There’s no need for secrecy. We are simple fishermen now; I don’t care if they know what we used to be.”
“Jerry, I like being simple fishermen. It’s not about keeping it secret, but people attach expectations when they hear the word king. Then they would ask why I even allowed the Green Mamba to settle here in the first place and place blame. It’s a never-ending cycle I want no part of.”
“Giving people explanations is not a bad thing, Luca. They’re good kids, and we are good, too. Trying doesn’t always lead to success, and, boy, did we try to keep Kedra safe for so long. I don’t mind our hermit years, but it would have been nice to have the kids in the loop.” Gertrude looked kindly to the final glimpse of the group as they continued heading down the pathway.
Stepping away from the window, Luca walked over to his bar. “Trust me. It’s better for us and better for them this way.”
“If you say so.”
Susanne hopped over to the bar area, creating loud thumps in trail. She grunted and growled as she did her best to partake in the conversation.
“Mmhmm, Susanne’s got a point. With the Beast faction busy with defending the ocean from any approaching Hunters, Nidra tasked us with overseeing the children’s mission. Shouldn’t one of us go with them?”
Uncorking a bottle of heavy liquor, Luca poured himself some whiskey neat. “It was a suggestion more than an order.” Under Gertrude and Susanne’s heavy gaze, Luca relented. “Okay, fine. Yes, we are watching over those chumps, but I don’t intend to spend energy when they are merely going after executives. We can all take a field trip to spectate when they fight the Pirate Empress, but there won’t be any interference. I agree wholeheartedly with Nidra on that point. There’s no point to a mission if there isn’t any danger. Whether they live or die will depend entirely on their own power.”
Lowering her floating bubble of water, Gertrude began sipping on a strawed drink Luca had prepared for her. “How is the Beast faction’s patrol of the ocean going, by the way. Any updates? Susanne and I would be happy to go if they need backup.”
“Still nothing but open seas it seems. Dartuga continues having that vision of hundreds of the Hunters' fleets swarming towards Kedra, so I can only assume they’ll make contact with the first few boats in the coming days. But no. we must stay here and secure the mainland against any possible threats. If Nidra is leading the war over the ocean, we must be ready to defend Kedra in the land. Although the kids are alone in their fight against the Green Mamba, I need you two by my side in case any bigshots try to pull a fast one on us. Even a retired king has a duty to his land, and I feel this particular one is gonna get to see quite the show soon from those kids.” Leaning against the bar counter, Luca continued staring out the window, his eyes glimmering with interest as if he could still see their retreating figures.