The shouts up there sounds like there is trouble. I lock my door and wait.

I am staying at my cabin not because I'm scared or anything.

"Sir! Four hostiles jumped the ship," begun my subordinate through the transceiver. "It was the crew members and female servant earlier. They turned into monsters!"

Yup. The people up there deserve to be attacked by whatever is attacking them right now. But for now, we have to pretend to do our job. "All right. Four of you engage the adversaries, with Pink as the leader. The last one will observe the battle and record any crucial information."

All five of them confirm, leaving me in the cabin monitoring the sound of roars of something inhuman clashing with swords and magic. Despite the chaos above, I heard another troubling sound, a squeal. It came from my cabin's deck. Adrenaline pumping, I quickly swing my door open and look around, well, just left and right. But when I turn to my left, I chance upon a very ominous figure.

The figure does not look human. It looks humanoid, at least, but its skin is just dark, like a night sky devoid of stars. I swiftly hide my head back inside the room. However, realizing that I have to check whether the intruder was charging towards me or not, I peek again, my sword at the ready.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It is already gone.

Phew. I guess it had its back turned towards me?

But when I think about it, I shouldn't be hiding.

I search for the enigmatic trespasser, intending to halt its advances and intent to harm this ship's occupants. Standing on the very spot where I last saw the figure, I am now between the ladders going above and below. Since above is the deck where the battle is, I assume that the dark figure went further down below.

I walk and sniff every corner carefully, afraid of an ambush.

I'm already starting to think that the dark figure has slipped past me.

"Stay back!" A shout suddenly comes from the cabin ahead to my left, its door ajar.

I place my back on the bulkhead, peering slowly inside. There, I see the dark figure standing before Ms. Black, the maid I met at the storage area. The latter is holding a bread knife.

Pft, really? What can that little puny thing do?

I stand still, looking for an opening to strike. But first, let's see what it does to Black.

Come on, kill the maid!

The figure puts up a hand, which grows claws. And kill the maid, it does. :D

The maid's body falls on the floor as she grasps her neck that is spurting blood.

But what it does next surprises me. The dark figure started morphing, its body shrinking slightly, clothes appear, and shiny black hair sprouts out.

The figure spins on its heels, making eye contact with me. I am now looking at a perfect copy of Black!