The cold sea wind whipped across the churning waves, snapping the fabric of a jet-black flag.
Upon it, a skull with scarlet, jagged claws grinned down at the dark waters.
The pirate vessel was a depressing, pitch-black monstrosity.
Though only half the size of Lambert’s merchant ship, the massive, glowing magic arrays bolted to its flanks provided terrifying propulsion.
It sliced through the surging swells like a massive, predatory fish, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
On the merchant vessel’s deck, Captain Lambert stared at the approaching nightmare, his face draining of color.
The champagne flute he had just popped slipped from his trembling, sweaty fingers.
It shattered against the wooden floorboards, the expensive vintage fizzing uselessly into the cracks.
“Quick!
Quick!” he shrieked, his voice cracking.
“Maximize the ship’s speed!
Shake them off!” The pirate ship ran purely on magic power, easily outclassing Lambert’s hybrid ‘Wind Demon’ single-masted sailboat.
But blind panic bred desperate instincts.
Even if running was entirely futile, a terrified mind would always choose flight.
“Yes, Captain!” The helmsman slammed the throttle lever forward, pushing the engine to its absolute limit.
Just as his hands grabbed the wheel to veer away, a heavy hand clamped down on his wrist.
It was the Mage from the Black Teals Foot guild.
“Hey!
Don’t be a coward who flees from battle!
Isn’t it precisely because you were worried about a situation like this that you entrusted us with this mission?” Dashaniu barked, his chest puffed out.
To the absolute horror of the surrounding crew, the brash Mage shouted, “What’s there to be afraid of with mere pirates?
Bring the ship closer to them!” Chase sat comfortably beneath a striped sun umbrella, popping a flaky, cream-filled pastry into his mouth.
He chewed thoughtfully.
Was this guy actually trying to boost morale with that garbage?
His impression of this loudmouth from Black Teals Foot had improved by a fraction of a margin.
A very small fraction.
Sometimes, arrogant and completely brainless bravado worked wonders in a chaotic pirate brawl.
But…
this was a merchant vessel.
The people cowering on the deck were ordinary workers, not battle-hardened guild members.
“Are you out of your mind?!” Lambert shrieked, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
He lunged forward, grabbing the Mage by his collar, his prominent beer belly jiggling with raw panic.
“Are you telling us to engage in a head-on conflict with those monsters?!” He just wanted to survive.
It was a cowardly look, sure, but compared to the deckhands currently sobbing in the corners, the captain was holding it together reasonably well.
“Mr.
Lambert, please calm down.
Leave the fighting to us.
You just need to hide in the cabin.” Ina, the female Mage with fiery red short hair, stepped between them.
She gently detached the captain’s hands from her guildmate and pointed a slender finger toward the churning wake behind them.
The scarlet-clawed flag was already visible to the naked eye.
In mere seconds, the pirate ship had closed the gap to just a few hundred meters.
“It’s over…
we’re dead…” Hearing the deranged, bloodthirsty howling of the pirates drifting across the wind, Lambert’s legs gave out.
He collapsed onto the deck, his plump face twisted in utter despair.
Ina didn’t waste a second.
She spun around, her voice cutting through the panic.
“Those who can still move, get everyone else below deck!
Don’t worry, we will protect you!” As she directed the scrambling crew, her peripheral vision snagged on Chase.
He was still sitting at his patio table, leisurely dusting pastry crumbs off his fingers.
Why is this guy so calm?
Ina thought, her brow furrowing.
Is he scared stiff?
Why isn’t he running for cover?
Or worse…
was he just completely oblivious?
There was no time to figure it out.
Ina snapped her attention back to her two guildmates, her expression hardening into absolute focus.
“Dashaniu, Bucolayven, prepare to engage!
We absolutely cannot let them set foot on this deck!” “Understood!” The three of them moved with the practiced rhythm of a veteran squad.
With a single exchange of glances, they fell into formation at the stern—one in the vanguard, two in the rear.
They were going to form a chokepoint right there, shielding the civilians and the cargo from the impending boarding party.
The moment they took their positions, the grinding screech of heavy machinery echoed from the pirate ship’s bow.
A dark purple magic array flared to life, illuminating the dim muzzle of a cannon.
It rapidly drew in the surrounding ether, whipping up a localized gale that tore at the ocean’s surface.
A magic cannon.
And its trajectory was aimed dead center at the merchant ship’s magic sail.
“Dashaniu, I’m buffing you!
Block that blast!” Ina yelled, instantly reading the pirates’ tactical play.
The magic sail was their only means of escape; if it fell, they were sitting ducks.
“Bucolayven, lay down covering fire!” She raised both arms, aiming her palms at the muscular vanguard.
“Attach: Armor Strength!” Two glowing magic arrays materialized, washing over Dashaniu’s body and coating his skin in a thick, luminous barrier.
Oh?
An auxiliary Mage?
Chase paused mid-bite, mildly surprised.
He lifted his gaze to watch Ina’s red hair whipping in the magical updraft.
Compared to the dime-a-dozen elemental casters, support magic was a rare discipline.
It was a shame her magic power was so shallow; the actual stat boost she provided was pitifully limited.
Chase let out a quiet sigh and shifted his attention to Dashaniu.
The man’s short-sleeved shirt and overalls were already tearing at the seams as his muscles violently expanded, revealing a hulking, superhuman physique.
A close-combat brute relying on monstrous strength magic.
If that’s his fighting style, why bother wearing restrictive overalls?
Chase mused, taking another bite of his pastry.
What a waste of good clothes.
Even idiots like Natsu and Gray know to strip before they start breaking things.
He glanced at the final member.
Bucolayven had already unlatched the heavy iron case from his back, producing a long-barreled magic sniper rifle.
Using the complex magic array hovering over the scope, the sniper held his breath, making micro-adjustments.
His crosshairs locked onto the pirate captain lounging at the rear of the enemy ship.
Cut off the head of the snake.
If they took out the man in the black top hat, the raid would fall apart.
Melee vanguard, ranged physical DPS, and a dedicated support.
Add in their split-second decision-making, and it made sense why this little squad was so confident they could repel an attack.
They had some skill.
But not nearly enough.
Chase shook his head slightly, withdrawing his gaze to focus on a particularly good strawberry tart.
The pirate captain in the top hat perfectly matched Marshall’s description.
This was the target of his current commission.
Even seasoned A-Class and S-Class Mages from major guilds had disappeared hunting this crew.
Three Mages from a no-name guild didn’t stand a chance in hell.
BUZZZ!
A deafening, beast-like roar shook the sky.
Before Bucolayven could even pull his trigger, the pirate ship’s cannon fired.
A concentrated beam of dark purple laser tore across the ocean, vaporizing the water beneath it.
“A mere magic cannon!
Watch me shatter it!” the newly buffed Dashaniu roared.
Without a second of hesitation, he leaped high into the air, throwing his body directly into the beam’s path.
He pulled his fist back, a dense magic array spinning rapidly over his knuckles, and threw a devastating punch straight into the incoming laser.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the merchant ship, sending a shockwave of smoke and splintered wood across the deck.
When the dust cleared, Dashaniu lay crumpled in the wreckage of the shattered mast.
He coughed up a violent spray of blood, his eyes rolling back as his body went entirely limp.
Above him, the ruined sail collapsed.
Stripped of its power source, the merchant ship rapidly lost momentum, drifting to a dead, silent halt on the open sea.
[Akarin’s Note: Enjoying the story?