It took a long mont before the crew finally reacted—panic erupting across the deck.
"What the hell?!"
Even the normally composed and confident young man in the black windbreaker was visibly stunned. His eyes quickly flicked to Edward—who now held a short wooden wand in his hand—and his heart sank.
"You did this?" he barked.
"Sorry," Edward said with genuine sincerity. "There were just so many XP babies…If I missed this chance, who knows when the next one would co?"
"…What?"
Before anyone could make sense of his words, all at once—except for Edward and Lilith—the clothes on everyone aboard the Cria suddenly transford into chains, lashing tightly around their wearers.
The black-cloaked youth reacted instantly, flinging off his coat and activating Psychic Piercing and Whip of Agony in a flash of psychic light.
The Mind Pierce sent a stabbing pain through Edward's skull, but the Flog was effortlessly blocked by a Protego.
Using that brief mont of distraction, the black-cloaked man leapt backwards to gain distance. With a wave of his hand, he cast—
"Exile!"
A wave of overwhelming power surged forth—but the next instant, it reversed direction and slamd back into him.
He didn't even have ti to react before he was blasted backwards, flung through the air, his spiritual body writhing in agony.
"Magnify—Steal."
Edward gave him no room to recover. He imdiately stole the man's current thoughts, followed by a chain of Theft spells, stripping away every last trace of his Beyonder abilities.
Then, with a flick of his wand, Edward transfigured the man's now-shirtless torso with another chain-binding spell—this ti reinforced with a Vitality-draining Curse.
It was only now that the black-cloaked youth's mind regained clarity—only to find himself shirtless, bound tightly in chains. His strength had vanished, his powers stripped, and even his body refused to obey.
As for the rest of his crew—they had been restrained from the very start. One by one, they stared at Edward, expressions ranging from stunned to horrified to seething with fury.
The black-cloaked man glared at Edward. "What the hell are you trying to do?"
His heart seethed with rage—but more than that, confusion.
Soone with this kind of power…why bother sneaking onto their ship and pretending to be harmless?
Edward gave a polite bow. "No offence intended."
What a ss.
I was supposed to be the mysterious saviour—dramatically rescuing everyone from certain death…how did I suddenly beco the villain everyone wants to strangle?
"I just need those pirates alive—for now. I've got sothing I need them to do. So I couldn't just stand by and let you all blow them to pieces. Sorry, sorry."
The black-cloaked youth blinked. "…And then what?"
"That's it, really," Edward replied honestly. "When I ca along, I was planning to wait until you got surrounded and were in real danger—then I'd swoop in and save the day, and whisk the pirates away afterwards."
"But…well, you know the rest."
Everyone on deck: "…"
Edward coughed. "Ahem, well—uh, the chains binding you will automatically release in a bit. I'll take my leave now."
With a wave of his hand, Lilith transford back into a sleek black cat and swiftly climbed up onto his shoulder.
"She…She turned into a cat?" Doris gasped in disbelief.
The black feline lifted her chin proudly.
"Miss Lilith is a cat, nya~"
"Walking around with a cat…casting nonsense spells…completely illogical…like a lunatic…" The black-cloaked youth—suddenly struck by a realisation—stared at Edward.
"You're…You're that madman—Gehrman Sparrow?!"
Even though he'd spent most of his ti in the Southern Continent, the na wasn't unfamiliar. After all, attacking a governor's mansion single-handedly was not sothing easily forgotten. Any officer in the Loen military who wasn't a complete idiot had heard of that lunatic.
The Governor of Bayam had even promised: anyone who took down Gehrman Sparrow would not only claim the bounty, but also receive a massive personal reward.
"Well then," Edward said with a smile. "I've got things to do. Until we et again."
With that, he launched himself into the air—his body propelled like a cannonball, augnted by Distortion and Exploit—and rocketed toward the pirate ships in the distance.
Back on the Cria, the black-cloaked youth clenched his jaw and struggled to his feet. He stared into the horizon.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the pirate ships fell mysteriously silent. Then, without warning, they began converging—pulling together like synchronised dancers. Pirates from two smaller vessels swiftly transferred onto the largest ship, and together they sped off in the direction of the Ironblood.
As for the Ironblood itself—it paused briefly in confusion before pivoting and sailing to rendezvous with the others.
"One man…No—one man and a child…subdued five pirate ships and over two hundred pirates…in under ten minutes…"
Shock flickered in the black-cloaked youth's eyes.
That level of strength…
A demigod?
But that guy didn't even look twenty!
Sure, age had no direct link to a Beyonder's advancent—but soone so young reaching that level? That was beyond rare. In all his years in the military, he'd never heard of such a case.
Just then, the chains binding everyone twisted and shimred—transforming back into clothing and falling limply to the deck.
Three of the man's companions rushed over. "You alright, boss?"
He shook his head silently.
Doris looked him up and down, then suddenly grinned.
"Wow, I didn't realise you were hiding such a great body, boss. Look at those muscles. Look at that definition."
"…"
A wave of exasperation crept over the young man's face. He quickly picked up his discarded shirt and pulled it on.
"Shut it."
Doris shrugged. "So what now? Was this mission a success…or a failure?"
"Failure," the young man said coldly. "But this isn't over."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I'll find that bastard again—no matter what. And when I do, I'll make him pay for what happened today…even if he is a demigod."
"Demigod?"
The three companions froze in astonishnt.
Just then, a sailor ran up in a hurry. "Colonel Alfred! What are your orders?"
The young man—Alfred—replied calmly, "Set course back to Bayam."
———
On the other side, Edward had swiftly subdued all the pirates across the five pirate ships. After three coordinated trips, he transferred them all onto the largest of them—the Ironblood.
But even though the Ironblood was the biggest, cramming nearly two hundred pirates aboard made the ship suddenly feel cramped and top-heavy. Most notably, the waterline dropped dangerously low, making it difficult to navigate smoothly.
Of course, this posed no real challenge to Edward. With a single Engorgent Charm, he enlarged the ship by a full ring of hull. Then, powered by Exploit and Distortion, he steered the vessel away from the area at breakneck speed.
Once he was certain that none of the naval ships were pursuing, Edward deactivated his mystical abilities and turned to face the crowd of pirates now kneeling across the deck.
Having witnessed Edward's terrifying power firsthand, none of them dared to move a muscle—barely even breathing.
Especially after seeing that little girl—who kept switching between human and cat form, all while smiling with childlike innocence—deal with opponents without the slightest hint of rcy.
Edward's gaze swept across the gathered pirates, before locking onto a red-haired man near the centre.
"Fire Fist Ace?"
The pirate looked to be in his twenties, with features that sowhat resembled a native of the Rorsted Archipelago. A thin strip of black tattoo ink peeked out from under his collar.
The red-haired pirate forced himself to stay calm. "Y-yeah, that's ! I'm warning you—Gehrman Sparrow, the madman himself, is my boss! He's coming soon! If you don't want to die, you better run!"
Edward smiled. "What a coincidence. I am the so-called 'madman' Gehrman Sparrow. But I don't recall Fire Fist Ace looking anything like you."
The redhead froze, staring at Edward in stunned disbelief.
"Why are you impersonating him?" Edward asked as he stepped closer. "Never mind—Imperio."
"Why did you pretend to be Fire Fist Ace?"
Redhead: "Because my boss told to."
"And who's your boss?"
Redhead: "He says he is Fire Fist Ace."
Wonderful. Yet another Fire Fist Ace.
Was this so kind of cursed matryoshka doll gag?
There were plenty of infamous pirates across the seas. So why did these people keep impersonating Fire Fist Ace…and Gehrman Sparrow, of all people?
Was it just a coincidence…that he happened to run into all of them?
Or was there sothing more to it?
"Why would he want you to impersonate…himself?"
Redhead: "No idea."
"Where is he now?"
Redhead: "No clue."
A whole load of I-don't-know.
Edward released the Imperius Curse. The mont he did, the pirate's terrified expression returned in full. He vividly rembered how, just monts ago, he had been like a puppet—completely at the rcy of another's will, answering every question without resistance.
His body trembling, he stared at Edward with wide eyes. "Just…kill ."
"Oh?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "That gutsy, are we?"
The redhead's eyes reddened. "My boss will avenge !"
"Fire Fist Ace? Geleman Sparrow?" Edward chuckled. "Did you already forget what I told you a mont ago?"
The pirate blinked, and then—his mory kicked in.
Click.
A cold revolver barrel pressed against his forehead.
"Then I'll be generous and grant your wish."
The mont Edward finished speaking, the gun fired.
The deafening roar of the gunshot burst through the air, temporarily deafening the redhead. The burning scent of gunpowder stung his nostrils. He felt a sharp pain at the top of his skull.
But…I'm not dead?
A second later, he gasped desperately, as if surfacing from drowning.
Edward, still calm, slowly brought the revolver back to the man's forehead—only this ti, the steel barrel wasn't cold.
It was scalding hot.
"Still want to die?"
"…"
The redhead was completely overwheld by fear. He stared blankly at the barrel pressed against him, then lowered his head, trembling—silent.
"If you don't want to die, then help steer this ship."
Edward holstered the revolver.
He hadn't spared the redhead out of sentintality. He needed soone to act as a navigator—at least until he located the next batch of pirates.
And while he was at it, he intended to figure out what the hell was going on with this never-ending parade of fake Fire Fist Aces.
After a mont of silence, the redhead said quietly, "…Where to?"
"Anywhere," Edward replied. "Wherever pirates are plentiful. Take there."
"Uh…Well, ever since your little incident in Bayam, most of the pirates have scattered toward the surrounding waters of the Rorsted Archipelago. Should we head in that direction?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Understood."
At that mont, Edward summoned his ssenger: Phoenix.
A glowing symbol pulsed briefly in the air before the creature appeared.
"ssage recipient?" Phoenix asked.
"Danitz—the blond one. Do you know where he is?"
The first ti Edward ran into soone impersonating Fire Fist Ace, it might've been a coincidence. But multiple impersonators, one nested inside the other?
Even using your knees to think, you'd know sothing fishy was going on.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps motivated.
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