*Saffron*
“Captain!” Gael yelled.
I gasped as the sound of bullets came from behind me.
“Gael!” I said, turning around to see him getting stabbed in my place.
Blood dripped from his left pectoral.
He’d shot the raider reading with bullets of ice, freezing him partially.
The pirate snickered as he teleported a few feet away.
“That’s what ya get for interfering, brat!”
Gael gripped his wound.
I rushed over to him.
“Are you okay?” I asked, holding him by the shoulders.
He nodded.
“Don’t worry about me.
This is nothing.” He grinned.
“Go after that guy.”
The pirate raider gritted his teeth as he tried to defrost his abdomen.
Spikes of earth flew at the pirate from the direction of the ship.
It was nice seeing the Major was still fighting.
A lot more useful than her Lieutenant.
Although, Uneri likely remained on the boat as a precaution.
If the raider boss were to launch another attack like the last one on them, the others could all be killed.
The raider gasped and zipped out of the way.
He sure moved fast despite being half frozen.
I gripped Bahar and aimed it at him.
A monocle appeared over my right eye, displaying the crosshairs.
One of Bahar’s special abilities was lock on, but against this guy, it wasn’t very useful.
Gael formed an ice barrier around us.
“Captain, ya should stay here.”
I shook my head.
“You’re the one who should.
Go get some medical aid.”
“But-”
I glared at him.
“Do as I said, I’m your superior.”
He furrowed his brow.
“Alright.”
I sighed as he flew back to the deck of the ship.
He left his barrier behind for me.
That guy sure could be reckless.
Guess he was Rose’s cousin after all.
Major Kisara unleashed spikes of earth at the pirate again.
He zipped out of the way again and snapped his fingers, causing the ship to shake once more.
What technique was he using to do that?
One of his rings glowed bring red, transforming into a spear.
He hurled it at Major Kisara.
She gasped as Lt Uneri created a wall in front of her to block it.
Two angel tools?
And at the same time?
Milo sent wind bullets at the pirate raider, but the man swatted them away with his spear.
Lt Uneri created electrical needles and fired at him.
The pirate zipped out of the way again but was blindsided by Koyuki’s mist which clumped into his skin.
Milo grinned.
“Nice!”
The pirate smirked as he used the electricity to cause the water to evaporate away.
Koyuki clapped her hands.
“Ice Bullet!” She shot several bullets of ice at him.
The pirate raider yelped as Lt Uneri shocked him from behind.
Major Kisara wrapped her whip around him.
“Got ya!”
Milo cheered.
“Alright!
Captured him at last!”
The pirate raider laughed as he broke free of the whip with little struggle.
“Ya fools underestimate me!” Electricity formed around him and created an electrical cyclone again.
Milo gulped.
“Captain help!”
I aimed Bahar at the pirate raider.
It was done charging.
“Shadow Volley!
Fire!” I yelled, unleashing several shadow spheres.
The pirate laughed as he avoided them, but the spheres didn’t disappear into the air or ocean like last time.
They moved around in the air, locked into their target.
The pirate gasped as they homed into him and exploded upon impact.
Major Kisara smirked.
“Take him down, Captain!”
I smiled slightly, but it was short lived as a golden bolt shot up from the dark smoke and faded into the sky.
“Is he running away?” Milo asked, blinking.
Uneri closed his eyes.
“Falcon Eyes!” His eyes glowed yellow again like last time.
He scanned the skies.
“He’s heading back to the city.”
“So he did flee,” Koyuki said, sighing as I descended.
Major Kisara growled.
“After him!”
Uneri clenched his fists.
“We can’t.
Not within Taahid.”
Milo sighed while Koyuki lowered her head.
Major Kisara stomped her foot.
“But-”
Uneri crossed his arms.
“Major, we must return back to base camp.
We have the raiders we captured to transport.”
She nodded.
He grabbed Kisara and lifted her into the air.
“Get back, everyone!”
We all jumped as electricity surged out of the deck of the ship, slicing it in half.
Major Kisara created a platform of stone beneath us as the ship sunk.
Milo gulped.
“W-what was that?”
Uneri gritted his teeth.
“He must’ve planted several mana bombs on the hull of the ship.”
“That’s how he caused the shaking,” I said, sighing.
Major Kisara bit her lip.
“That irksome guy is a better strategist than I gave him credit for.”
Milo pumped his fists.
“Well Captain, ya easily defeated him.”
Major Kisara frowned.
“Although, he did escape.”
I lowered my head.
True.
He definitely wasn’t a typical raider.
He was either extremely talented or a Taahidian noble.
Either way, capturing him would’ve been a huge achievement.
Koyuki gasped.
“The raiders we caught, they all died…
Or managed to escape.”
Milo facepalmed.
“That’s not fair!”
Major Kisara sighed.
“At least, Gael knows where their base is.”
I nodded.
True.
We could always apprehend them next time.
“You!
Descend from the sky or we’ll shoot!” A voice roared over a megaphone.
A Taahid naval ship was approaching.
Kisara grumbled.
“Just what we needed.”
Gael smirked.
“Leave it to me.
I’ll secure our escape.”
Major Kisara glanced at Uneri who nodded.
Gael flew toward the naval ship and waved.
“Hey guys!
How ya doing?”
I furrowed my brow.
What was that idiot planning?
Or was his plan to wing it like usual?
Several Taahid marines shot ice spears at him.
Gael yawned as he dodged them.
“Come on, guys, ya not being very friendly.
My uncle and your officials are buddies.”
Alright, so he was making stuff up after all.
If anything, his uncle was their enemy.
Major Kisara created several walls around us.
“Let’s retreat while he keeps their attention.”
Milo nodded.
“Right!”
Uneri continued to carry Kisara as we descended underwater.
Milo smiled.
“Cool.”
Major Kisara sighed.
“Let’s head back to base camp.”
I nodded.
Hopefully Gael would be alright.
He was injured.
Although, he was tough.
Plus, he could fly rather well.
I doubted the Taahidians could chase him for long.
Although, it was best to not underestimate them.
I already did that with that raider leader.
“Captain, are you okay?” Koyuki asked as we flew beside her.
I nodded.
“Yeah.
Just a little disappointed.”
“In yourself?” Major Kisara asked.
She sighed as she looked at the lake floor.
The remnants of the ship she’d gotten us fell to the lake bed.
“I feel the same way.
I could’ve done better.
If only I was faster.”
I shook my head.
“You were a big help, Major.”
She curled her hands into fists.
“Still.”
I sighed.
I wasn’t much better either.
If Gael hadn’t intervened when he did, then the pirate raider would’ve killed me, and the Taahid officials would’ve likely taken the others into custody.
We arrived at the base camp a few hours later.
Major Kisara and Lt.
Uneri left to inform the higher ups of what transpired.
“I’m going to take a bath,” Milo said.
I nodded.
“Go ahead,” I said as I stared at my coffee.
“Don’t look so solemn, Captain.
I’m sure Gael will be fine,” Koyuki said.
I smiled.
“I know, but it doesn’t change the fact that the mission ended in failure.”
She stood up and put her hands on her hips.
“We’ll get more chances!
Plus, it wasn’t a total failure.
While we wanted to take them alive, several raiders were taken down.”
“But not the boss.”
“We know where their base is.
We can surely lure them out in other ways.”
I smiled slightly.
“Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Koyuki.”
She grinned.
“That’s my job.
I am your Lieutenant after all.”
I snickered.
“I don’t see ‘cheering up’ on the job description.”
Koyuki giggled.
“I’m going to get clean up too.
See you later!”
I nodded and returned to my coffee and newspaper.
My eyes widened at the front page.
On it was the blond raider.
He had his arms crossed and was giving the camera a pearly white smile.
I sighed.
He really was a smug bastard.
I stood up as I read the headline.
“Second Prince of Taahid, Zephyros Al-Barak, to wed his fourth wife.”
I blinked.
The prince?
So, he wasn’t even a normal noble, but a member of the Taahid’s House of Barak.
We were in serious trouble.
That guy knew we weren’t simple merchants.
Taahid could easily make up a false narrative to make the prince out to be the victim.
And if that were to happen, then the marines could be implicated as conspiring against Taahid’s royal family.
I glanced out of the window of the lounge and noticed dark clouds in the distance.
A thunderstorm in the desert?
At this time of year?
Like I needed a bad omen right now…