The two of us glared at each other as the ship came to a halt. I cracked my neck, right before trying to kick his head off. His eyes widened in surprise as I closed the gap on him; it felt good having my full strength. The man ducked around my kick, so I launched a knee for his dropped head. He stepped back. You are getting zero room to breathe. I stayed on him, chasing him down. We were on a ship, so he didn’t have room to dodge. As I pursued him, he used his numerous weapons to counterattack. I caught a few, using them against him again. When one nearly connected, the man simply detonated it. What an irritating tactic, knowing it’s a . Who cared if the body got damaged if it hurt me too? Luckily my scales were already all over my hands and arms, so it did nothing. The man summoned a halberd. Of course you’d use one with .

Not that I intended to give him the space to try and recover his form. Guess I should use as well. I cast ; I felt them conjure around me as I continued my assault. Let’s see you dodge these. I punched him with one of my real arms, while using the others to attack where he could dodge to. I added to my active . I could hear the distinct beat begin to shake the boat from the drumbeat. My body began feeling much lighter. The man slid, pivoting his body hard to try and counterattack. I slipped the attack, using one of the arms to grab the halberd. I stepped in, launching two palms into him. The hymn was getting louder as my was releasing more and more. More. Time for . My entire ship was creaking from me at this point. I can reassemble it later; he needed to die now. I ripped the halberd towards me, trying to pull him in. The man in a flash launched a weapon into each spectral hand, forcing me to reform them. He moved in a blink, suddenly being behind me with his halberd. So that’s how fast he actually is. instantly covered me.

He tried beheading me from behind. Unfortunately for him, my could punch the halberd to the side as I rotated to face him. The instant I pivoted, he vanished again. This forler is fast. The was on my left, so I kicked towards his feet, trying to sweep out his leg. The man danced around, switching the halberd hand into a blindingly swift thrust. His halberd slammed into my armor, bouncing off. Ow. He wasn’t even remotely off balance as he switched to a downward cleave. I used two spectral hands to catch the halberd as I stepped in, slamming my fist into another weapon of his. I’ll give him credit, he’s persistent. My other arms were also blocked; the fact they were able to repeatedly block my attacks was concerning. I needed to use more power. Let’s see how long you can keep this up. The drumbeats sounded like thunderclaps at this point. I’ll stack another buff. . I felt my body hum with the buffs as my ship and the sea vibrated from how much I was exerting.

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The man didn’t even flinch; he just calmly tried attacking me again with that absurd speed of his. I can’t tell if his composure comes from using a to fight or if he’s that confident he can win. We exchanged a flurry of blows, with neither of us landing a clean hit. His constant alternating, speed, and using weapons as shields was proving obnoxious. At least the weapons were breaking after being used as shields now. Neither of us were gaining any ground while my form was gradually becoming less and less humanoid. My human appearance is too limiting, at least on land while trying not to destroy my ship again. I lunged at the man. He went to dodge, but I pivoted towards him. Oh no you don’t. I manifested more spectral arms to attack him with. No escaping me. I finally got a grip on him as I tackled him into the sea.

“The sea? Really think that will help?” the man taunted. Let’s see how much he knows.

I was loathe to use this tactic, but my ship was not going to survive more. As we fell, I wrapped him with several spectral arms as I manifested more of my actual form. It felt so good to let loose as his expression told me he didn’t know why I suddenly got stronger. The surge of from being in the sea was exhilarating. My buffs were shaking the ocean at this point, generating massive swells that were lifting my ship twenty feet before making it ride down. The man might have been caught off guard, but it didn’t stop him from trying to attack. Not in here. His attack was instantly dispelled. Good luck being in the ocean with me. I had enough spectral arms to fully stop him now, as I manifested my claws to rake the throat of the . The oily taste of was revolting as it bled into the sea. Forling . And it was at that point when he abandoned victory, to my great ire. In a split second, he decided to detonate the . I instantly tried to contain the explosion, generating a maelstrom to drag it deep into the water as I conjured a barrier between the body and ship. Even in the ocean, I could feel the shockwave and heat from the explosion. I was propelled a bit up as waves rocked my ship. I shifted fully back into my human form before leaping back onto my ship. I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me as the crew, the grublins, and the elves looked on in a mix of horror and awe. I’ll give that dilwaul credit, he was an incredibly capable fighter. Just how strong was the original? No matter how good the , it could never match the strength of the original. Someone was dedicated to causing Nil harm and killing Luna if they were so willing to sacrifice a . It was the decision if they didn’t want it to be used to track them too. The dedication was a bit frightening.

“Ya grublins didn’ pay me enough.” I yawned as I stretched.

“We can compensate you more if you’re willing to travel a bit once we reach Speranza.” Luna informed me. They likely don’t have the proper amount of gold on them. To be fair, I was surprised they could afford what I originally asked. Lil Nil had quite the emergency fund. My crew was kind of glaring at them.

“Fine. It bette' be worth th' trouble.” I conceded to my crew’s surprise.

“Really Cap’n?” Egoff checked for the rest of them.

“Ya think the grublins are carryin’ that much gold? Elves maybe.” I retorted. What was her name? Ailla? She was looking really sheepish.

“Cap’n, are ya sure we should risk not gettin’ paid?” Egoff pressed. I glared at my crew. They’re forling lil grublins ya greedy shizas.

I used just to double check before I replied. What? I rubbed my eyes. No. I’m seeing it right. How? That result should not have been possible with kids. I then noticed something. Oh. I assumed she was the more valuable one, that was a mistake. She’s definitely being used to hurt him. The rest of the result was perplexing. What could have caused either of them to have a result like that? I was intrigued to say the least.

“What’s that stare?” Nil asked, looking on edge. The elves were looking uncomfortable as well. I wasn’t containing myself well. Oh well. How’s that result possible? It might be the result of multiple attempts on their lives or other external factors, but would it yield a result that extreme?

“Don’ worry. I’m confiden' the grublins will compensate us.” I declared. Especially given one is royal, and the other is a noble.

“I’d like to formally apologize.” Ailla informed me. I wonder what could have possibly sparked that?

“I’m surp’ised.” I taunted her. She did a formal bow regardless. So fancy.

“I was rude to you and shouldn’t have questioned Luna wanting to hire you. I’m sorry for what I said.” Ailla apologized. Fair, most never bother.

“I’ll take it. Now imma nap. Crew, sail the ship. B’fore, grublins, a word.” I ordered as I dragged the two to my office. The two were shifting awkwardly in the seats as I stared at them.

“I’m wonderin’, do the elves know ya are a prince?” I asked Nil. Nil and Luna looked at each other, clearly trying to hide the shock. The two had a fast mental conversation.

“Yes.” Nil confirmed, keeping his eyes on Luna.

“Interestin’. So, the protests were from knowin’ ya were royal.” I chimed, looking at the two of them.

“Correct. We do appreciate you defeating that man.” Luna told me as she and Nil bowed respectfully.

“I didn’; that was a .” I informed the two of them. Both visibly deflated. Better than giving them false hope.

“What’s a ?” Nil inquired, looking a bit crushed.

“Do ya know what a is?” I checked. Nil turned a bit red.

“Yes.” Nil squeaked. What’s embarrassing about a ?

“He’s familiar with them.” Luna stated, glaring at Nil who refused to make eye contact with her.

“I’d like th' tale.” I requested. They’re kids. If they were older, I’d have a theory of what Nil could've done wit' a golem.

“Someone steals fish for his and has defeated numerous . He’s caused several security upgrades to the kitchen.” Luna explained as Nil acted innocent. I chuckled a little. Prince troublemaker.

“A is like a but are copies o’ bein’s. They’re neve’ as stron’ as the original.” I explained. The two looked quite concerned. It’s hard to blame them knowing that man’s after them, and what they've seen is weake'.

“How long do you think until he can try again?” Nil checked, sounding depressed.

“Prolly not for a bit.” I guessed, which brought a little comfort to the grublins.

I don’t think anyone’s rich enough to sink multiple into several attempts. Also, has severe restrictions for interfering when using like . Someone spent a large amount of their restriction with their attempts at killing Luna. I still couldn’t fathom why someone was trying to kill her. What did either of them do to deserve this?

“Don’ worry ya two, I’ll at leas’ keep ya alive until we can reach the castle.” I assured them, which seemed to make them relax a bit. After that , probably a bit longer. I’m quite curious to see what caused that result.