“Kyuuu!”

“Kyuu-hung! Kyu, kyu, kyuuu!”

The Pocas hurried to their friends and family after being released from their bindings.

“There’s so many… Ugh! It smells.” Selena held her breath with a frown. There were hundreds of Pocas living in miserable conditions inside the wooden fence.

“They are originally a very clean race. Although they are primarily active in the sea, most of them live in places with fresh water. So they live peacefully among themselves on islands located down the river or near the coast，” Lanslo explained.

“I apologize, Sir Drak. I had no idea,” Selena said. She then turned to look at Galfredik and asked cautiously. “But Master, why did Sir Eugene order us to rescue them? How should I say this…? I didn’t think that he was such a humanitarian.”

“Well...” Galfredik stroked his chin and was about to answer when Luke responded with anger, “What? What did you just say?” 

Selena was startled and quickly hid behind Galfredik before murmuring, “Well, it’s the truth, right? Although they are kind of cute, the Pocas won’t be of any use to Sir Eugene.”

“You punk!” Luke shouted.

“Haha. Selena is right this time around. Your master didn’t save the Pocas out of pity,” Lanslo interjected.

“See? Even Sir Drak agrees,” Selena said proudly when even Lanslo took her side.

Luke asked politely after hesitating, “Then what is the reason, Sir Drak?”

“You know that Sir Eugene is trying to turn this island, or rather, the Rodricks Archipelago into a bridgehead, right? In the future, merchant ships and supply ships from Moffern will pass through here, so where do you think we could find laborers and workers? Should we recruit those despicable pirates?” Lanslo asked.

“Ah…”

“And that’s why Sir Eugene is trying to save the descendants of the orc lord as well, right? He’s doing that so he could obtain proper control of this region. Am I right, Sir Drak?” Selena said with a clap of her hands.

Lanslo responded with a grin, “Well, I don’t think Sir Eugene is such a kind and caring person.”

“Haha! That’s right. That would be akin to saying that Master Romari loves the sea.”

Everyone turned their heads.

“Ahhhh~ Ugh! Save me~” The wizard was groaning after collapsing on the floor, even though they were no longer on the water she still looked as shabby and pitiful as the trapped Pocas.

***

Clop. Clop.

“Whoa.” Silion stopped at Eugene’s command. It had been a long time since the steed stepped on real ground. Eugene was armed in plate armor and all kinds of weapons as he stared at the castle that stood erect across the bridge that swayed over the sea.

The old castle was built on a cliff, and it was… rather simple looking without much décor. To put it in bad terms, it was quite crude. The castle door was firmly closed, and the pirates, who had escaped earlier, were on the wall looking in Eugene’s direction. The bewilderment was visible on their faces.

“Sir, what are you going to do? You can’t enter houses or castles unless the owner invites you in, right?” Mirian asked.

“Well, that’s true,” Eugene answered. It was one of the biggest disadvantages of being a vampire—they could not enter a compound without permission from its owner or residents. It was just that he had not encountered any problems until now because he had received invitations from the lords and the nobles of the castles.

“Well, I just need their permission, right?” Eugene muttered.

“Kieh?”

“Phew…” While Mirian expressed her puzzlement, Eugene took a long breath before shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Open the gates!!! If you surrender, I will kill you painlessly!!!”

Painlessly… lessly… lessly… lessly…!

The thunderous shout echoed around the castle walls and the cliff.

“Hiek!”

“Argh!”

They were already scared when they heard Eugene’s roar, but they were even mortified after hearing his actual words. Instead of offering to let them live if they surrendered, the knight had declared that he would kill them painslessly. Was that even a negotiation?

“Bull! Stop with your bullshit! We have water and food that will last us for months! Just go on your way, you landlubber!” A bald pirate shouted. His entire figure was covered with hideous tattoos.

“I will cut off all your limbs and decorate the castle with them! I will drink the blood that spews from your filthy bodies and bathe myself in it! However! If you open the gates and surrender peacefully! I will kill you painlessly!” Eugene roared once again.

“Suck my dick! Or eat this instead!” The bald man took off his pants before shaking his bulky hips towards Eugene. It appeared that he was the leader of the pirates.

Hahahahahaha!

The pirates burst into an exaggerated laugh as if they were desperately trying to forget their fears. Mirian’s wings suddenly quivered when she saw the sight and she murmured in a grim voice.

“Kieh? Butt… Asshole… Something that I’ve forgotten is trying to return. Ah, the nightmare… what was it? No, I must forget it. I never did anything of the sort. Kiee…”

It appeared that her ‘exploration’ of the sea monster’s body had left behind a large scar on the spirit’s mind.

“Sir, don’t even think about forgiving that bald bastard. Something… something inside is telling me so,” Mirian muttered.

“I have no intention of forgiving him,” Eugene responded. He once again turned toward the castle before shouting with a jeer, “You! Seeing as your dick is even smaller than a goblin’s dick, it seems that you’re not even a boy!”

“W-what did you say?!” The bald pirate was shocked.

“I can safely assume that the size of your dick is proportional to your courage, right? Do you know how good I am with the sword?! I could easily cut your dick into ten microscopic pieces if I climb that wall!” Eugene continued.

“You bastard!” The bald pirate roared furiously.

“Try it if you can, you motherfucker! Climb up if you can! I’ll smash your head with this!” The pirate continued before throwing a large rock. Eugene had simply said whatever had come to mind, but the provocation had poked a sore spot. The bald pirate was indeed slightly concerned about the size of his junior, which was why he went berserk.

“Is that right? Are you saying it’s fine for me to climb up the wall!? You’re saying that I have your permission to climb up to cut your little weenie into even tinier pieces, right? You invited me?” Eugene asked.

“Try it if you can! Come in if you can, motherfucker!” The pirate roared.

“Good. Thank you!” A cold smile appeared around Eugene’s mouth.

“Wow~ No one can possibly rival your skills in angering people,” Mirian muttered.

“Stop the nonsense and let’s return. Hey! Cute little weenie! I’ll see you later, so wait for me!” Eugene provoked.

“You fuckerrrr!” Eugene turned his steed without hesitation as the bald pirate roared. The sun started to disappear into the west sea about an hour later.

***

“Why aren’t the landlubbers coming? Oi, have you heard from the watchtower?”

“Yes. Earlier…”

“Boss, you brat.”

“Ah, yes, boss. He said that he saw them boarding their ships earlier. He hasn’t seen anything since.” The subordinate said after hastily correcting himself. Their real boss had died in the battle earlier in the day, so the bald pirate had forcibly taken the position as his own.

There was nothing anyone could do about it even if they didn’t like it since he was the strongest one around here.

“Fuck! I got it. Anyway, where did those fuckers even come from?” the bald pirate asked.

“They looked like knights from the continent. Given that they only had a few sailors and soldiers, perhaps they coincidentally stopped by on their way to Brantia,” answered one of the subordinates.

“Then they should’ve quietly taken the way around. Those assholes… Anyway, the ones who went to the demon god haven’t returned yet, have they?” the bald pirate asked.

“No, they haven’t returned yet. I think that they were eaten alongside the Pocas,” the subordinate responded.

“Motherfucker. Nothing’s going according to the plan,” the bald pirate said after spitting on the ground. He stared intently over the cliff, but it was impossible to make things out clearly in the dark, especially when the clouds were covering the moon as well.

“Tell the brats to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Make sure they pay close attention to any rocking on the bridge,” the bald pirate ordered.

“Boss, wouldn’t it be better to just cut it off?” The subordinate asked.

“You fucking idiot. Then how will we get out after the landlubbers leave? Are you going to crawl down the cliff on all fours?” The bald pirate asked him in return.

“N-no, I wouldn’t. I understand. I will have them keep an eye out,” the subordinate answered.

“Good. I’m heading inside to get some rest,” the bald man said before waddling down the wall.

Once the bald pirate left, the remaining pirates started conversing with each other. “Bitch. He’s going to soak in rum and lay around with the slaves again, isn’t he?”

“What a piece of shit.”

“Fuck it. Should we just turn it upside down?”

“What?”

“Think about it. Boss Beiron and the Baba Horton brothers are all dead, right? We only need to kill the bald asshole and a few others.”

“That’s right. Let’s get his head and take it to the knights.”

“That’s not a bad idea. If we do that, surely, they’ll let us live, right?”

Several pirates voiced their agreement while revealing their killing intent. Pirates killed and robbed at random without discretion. In the first place, they never abided by things such as loyalty. Instead, they followed the law of the jungle. The strongest was the best, and the strongest monopolized everything. That was the law of the pirate world.

However, the original boss and his men had been wiped out earlier. The strongest, cruelest pirates were gone. As such, there was a chance it would be much easier to kill the bald pirate rather than to face the horrifying knights they had seen earlier.

“What should we do… fuck. Hmm?” One of the pirates started muttering in contemplation, then they were startled. Once the dark clouds cleared and the moon made its appearance, the terrible darkness was shunned to some extent, which allowed him to see the bridge connecting the cliff and the castle shaking up and down.

Squeak. Squeeeak.

The bridge continued to rock with an ominous sound, and the expressions of the pirates quickly grew dim.

“W-what is it? It’s not even windy,” one of the pirates muttered. Even if it was windy, the bridge should shake from side to side, rather than up and down. If it was moving up and down, then there was only one possible explanation—someone was crossing the bridge.

“Uah…”

“Fuck, is there a ghost crossing the bridge?”

“Ah! Don’t say something like that, you bastard.”

Although the pirates lived a life filled with murder and crimes, they were all quite susceptible to superstition. As if to prove their weaknesses, the pirates trembled while staring at the bridge with anxious expressions.

“Keke. Maybe the ghosts of the Pocas you killed are waddling over the bridge. Kyu, kyu, kkyu.”

“Ah, stop it. Shut up!”

“Ah, stop it~ Listen to yourself, coward.”

“You motherfucker!” One of the pirates growled with anger.

Kieeeeeeee!

A breeze from the sea swept over the walls with a sound similar to the wailing of a ghost. Suddenly, the bridge stopped fluctuating like it had never actually swayed. The pirates felt goosebumps rising on their arms after witnessing the mysterious phenomenon.

“Uaah…”

“D-did a ghost really cross over?”

“Ah, fuck! This is so fucking scary.”

Even the pirates who had been mocking their colleagues slowly retreated closer to the walls in fear.

***

Eugene used his camouflage ability to blend into the darkness before suspending himself at the bottom of the rocking bridge. After crossing, he quietly began climbing the wall using his long claws. To avoid detection, he had left behind his armor and any metal he had been carrying. He was naked with only Black Scales protecting him.

Shik. Shik.

Eugene slowly climbed the wall by inserting his claws into the cracks between the rocks. A few minutes later, Eugene’s head quietly appeared over the wall.

A group of about ten pirates was gathered around a fireplace, and there were pairs and trios standing guard and wandering about the walls and the watchtowers.

After successfully crawling up the wall without making a sound, Eugene pressed himself against the ground like a spider. It was bizarre to see Eugene crawling across the rampart on all fours.

The pirates were busy chatting among themselves or staring at the opposite cliff. No one noticed Eugene.

Shik. Shhh.

“Hiek?!” A pirate turned around in shock. He was obviously more sensitive than the others.

“W-what was that? You scared me, you punk,” his colleague said.

“I think something just grazed my leg,” the pirate responded.

“Stop trying to scare me, you bastard!” the colleague commented. The two of them hurriedly looked around with anxious eyes. However, they weren’t able to find anything out of place.

“…huh?” The keen pirate stared at his colleague with wide eyes.

“Ah, stop it, you shitface. Stop it.” the other pirate responded. He was already scared, and it annoyed him that his companion was looking at him as if there was something standing behind him.

“A-ah, that’s not it! Behind you… there’s… Hieeeek!”

“Hey, you fucker. Stop… Kuaggh!”

Slice.

The pirate collapsed while putting his hand against his neck. His throat was sliced open, and crimson blood poured out without stopping. A pair of red eyes appeared over his body, and a quiet voice reverberated.

“Cur…se…”

“Kiyaaaaaaahhhk!” The keen pirate began to run away with a fearful scream.

“It’s a ghost! Kiyaaaah! Kyaaaahh!” he shouted.

“What? What is it?”

“A ghost! It’s a ghost! Finel was killed by a ghost! We’ve been cursed! Uaaaagghhh!” the pirate shouted in fear. The dark passageway where Eugene stood was dimly illuminated by the swaying torches, and the moon was peeking out from the clouds. Only the upper half of Eugene’s body had been released from the camouflage, and it was all that was visible.

“…..?!”

It was natural for anyone to mistake him for a ghost.

“You have… been cursed. The strongest one must be sacrificed…” A quiet, evil voice resonated from the passage.

Uwaaaaaahh!

The frightened pirates fled like madmen.