C498
---
“Wh, whale…”
An islander belonging to Island 89, a captain qualified to lead a ship, felt goosebumps all over his body the instant his eyes met the whale's.
It was an existence of the sea that he, someone who only lingered around the continent's coastal ports, should never have seen.
And then, it happened.
**Nyaaaaooong—**
The meow of a cat was heard.
A sound hard to hear in the middle of the sea.
As soon as that sound was heard, the captain finally noticed the cat sitting atop the red-haired man.
“…Eh—”
But something was wrong.
He was shaking.
It wasn't the ship that was trembling; it was his own body.
*Plop.*
His body collapsed. His legs lost all sensation.
‘The fog…’
The fog was red.
At some point, the fog had turned red and completely covered the ship.
“Kuugh!”
“Keoek!”
The sounds of his subordinates falling and groaning were heard.
But in seconds, it fell completely silent, as if someone had killed every last mouse.
‘Ah.’
Had everyone lost consciousness?
Or perhaps…?
‘D-dea—’
As he felt his body stiffen and his mind fade, absolute terror flooded through him.
**Chwaaaaaa—**
The last thing he saw before closing his eyes, utterly dominated by fear, was the giant whale raising its body and cutting through the ocean's surface with its gaze fixed on him.
The moon and stars were already covered by the fog.
And the whale's shadow fell over the ship, enveloping it in an even deeper darkness.
‘Damn it. I never thought I'd die like this…’
The captain, who avoided getting involved in wars and preferred to linger near ports to plunder ships, never imagined he would die in such an absurd way. Resigned, he closed his eyes.
Nothing could be seen; only darkness greeted him.
**Chaaak!**
However…
**Chaak!**
“Huuak!”
He opened his eyes abruptly.
“Hehe.”
And the first thing he saw was a guy who looked like a gangster, smiling with such glee as he looked down at him.
“I told you this is better than waking him up normally.”
The handsome ruffian moved his hand again while holding the captain's collar.
**Chaak!**
“Keohek!”
He hadn't felt it while unconscious, but that grip strength was immense. He felt his cheek swollen and his mouth filled with blood.
**Chaak!**
And the bastard hit him again.
“Keuk, kuk… I…”
The captain tried to say something.
**Chaak!**
But the man gave him another slap.
The captain couldn't react. That bastard wasn't even alternating cheeks; he just kept hitting the same one over and over without stopping.
Then…
“Archie. He's awake now, move aside.”
A voice rang out.
“Yes.”
The gangster replied in a nonchalant tone.
**Chaak! Chaak!**
He gave him two more slaps in a row, clearly enjoying it, and finally moved away.
*Thud.*
He released his grip and the captain fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
“The sound was very satisfying.”
“Hehe. It's nothing.”
While the Heavenly Demon and Archie conversed, Cale ignored them and approached the captain.
Behind him, the others continued talking.
“The fog and poison are stronger now.”
“My paralyzing poison and sleeping poison are excellent!”
“You did well.”
“You're great too!”
A group of children, around ten years old on average, huddled in a corner of the ship, praising each other.
On and Raon praised Hong, and Hong, happy, wriggled excitedly.
Ignoring all that, Cale crouched in front of the captain.
“Huff… Hah…”
The captain, still dazed, wiped the blood from his mouth with a trembling hand.
He had regained consciousness, but the paralysis still wouldn't let him move properly.
Cale opened his mouth.
“Young Master.”
Ron appeared without making a sound.
‘Gasp!’
Cale was startled internally by his silent approach.
“Shall I handle the interrogation?”
Ron discreetly pulled out a dagger while looking at the captain's fingers.
“!”
Faced with the terrifying appearance of the old assassin, the captain began to tremble uncontrollably.
“No, it's fine.”
The red-haired man replied calmly.
The captain immediately remembered he was the first one he saw before fainting, and understood—this was the leader.
He opened his mouth hastily.
Years as a pirate had taught him one fundamental thing.
“P-please, me… mer—”
He couldn't vocalize properly, but he tried hard to speak.
“I-I… I can… s-say it… all—”
I can tell you everything!
“I… I can offer—”
I can give you whatever you want!
“No, it's fine.”
The red-haired man refused with a soft smile.
Nothing like his initial cold expression. That kindness gave the captain a sliver of hope, so he spoke faster.
“P-please, s-spare—”
“No, it's fine.”
“J-just let me—!”
“No, it's fine.”
Huh?
The captain noticed something strange.
He was begging for his life… and he was saying “it's fine”?
“Huh?”
It was then that…
“Was this for signaling?”
The captain saw that Cale was holding the broken sphere he had hidden in his clothes.
“Y-yes, yes. That's right!”
But it wasn't him who answered.
Nor his subordinates.
“!”
He saw a thin, shabby-looking old man, accompanied by some children and women.
They were the same "useless cargo" they had tied up in the ship's hold, people they planned to sell as slaves.
“And besides stealing, you kidnap people too? Tsk tsk.”
The captain heard the words of the gangster who had hit him, and swallowed his saliva as he saw his subordinates also tied up.
Cale spoke in a gentle tone.
“Did you say this signal would make your allies come?”
“Yes. The affiliated ships within this radius will come.”
The ships of Island 89.
The old man continued, hurriedly.
“The ones from Island 89 have gathered near this coast to try and regain influence. Surely at least five ships will come!”
Island 89 was relatively close to the coast, and they were on a plundering spree, so they wouldn't abandon this territory.
Island 89.
They were, literally, the power rank number 89, which still made them relatively strong.
“The main base is closer to the island or the central sea, but even those roaming this area are dangerous.”
This damn old man!
The captain glared at the old man.
“…….”
And immediately stopped.
The red-haired man was still smiling while staring at him.
“Lower your gaze, damn pirate!”
Archie shouted something, but the captain didn't hear it.
He only cared about the red-haired man, whose smiling face was far more terrifying.
Then…
**Puuuuuuu—**
The sound of a horn resounded.
His allies had arrived.
But the captain couldn't react.
Cale looked at him indifferently and said:
“You've caused me trouble.”
*Crack.*
Cale dropped the broken sphere, which disintegrated upon falling.
“Yes. We are very busy.”
Alberu observed the surroundings calmly.
“Hmm.”
The Heavenly Demon pointed to one of the five approaching ships.
“That one is the fastest and the best.”
He stood up while slightly rotating his neck, eager to move.
But upon seeing someone, he sat back down without hesitation.
“Cale.”
Witira, who was sitting near the bow, stood up.
“May I handle it?”
Cale could perfectly sense that she was very upset.
‘After the Great General fell, everything has been like this! Everyone is trying to take advantage, crossing lines they shouldn't. The sea has become filthy! The Dragon King will be angry! The Hain shouldn't act like this either—!’
The words of the old man, trembling and almost crying.
Witira listened and her expression hardened more and more.
‘Hain?’
‘Yes. The Hain are the cruelest now. I don't know how the sea ended up stained with so much blood…’
The words were filled with despair.
“Witira.”
Cale responded to the woman, who waited silently.
“Do as you please.”
As soon as those words were spoken…
“Archie. You handle that ship.”
Witira gave the order to Archie and then leaped into the sky.
“!”
The captain's eyes widened.
**Chwaaaaa—**
**Chwaa—**
The woman with hair and eyes the color of the sea.
Water spouted from both her hands.
And she charged towards the ships that were loading magic and arrows to attack.
**Chwaaaaa—**
She whipped the water as if it were a lash.
**Kuaaaang!**
“Kuaaargh!”
“The bow, the bow is—!”
The ship broke apart helplessly.
But that wasn't what surprised the captain the most.
It was what happened next.
**Chwaaaa—**
The woman turned into a whale.
The same giant whale he saw before fainting.
A huge humpback whale.
The whale surged across the sea.
No… it simply moved.
Swiftly.
Precisely.
And no ship could stand against it.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“P-please, no—!”
The pirates' screams disappeared, swallowed by the waves created by the whale.
**Kwaang! Kwaaang!**
The ships broke one after another.
And whenever the whale surfaced, its eyes were cold.
The captain was petrified, unable to utter a word.
“…….”
“…….”
The subordinates who had regained consciousness also trembled, unable to say anything.
‘This is on another level…’
Island 30.
No… Island 17.
People of that rank.
That was the level they belonged to.
He had never heard of such a thing before.
A whale Beast Person.
Among the sea people, among the Hain, no such creature existed.
‘Who are these people, then?’
They resembled other outsider factions that had recently gotten involved in conflicts, but they were something different. The captain's head was filled with confusion. However, he couldn't show any reaction. He couldn't even breathe properly.
The whale approached again, leaving only one single ship intact among the remaining ones. And on the deck of that single intact ship—
“Ha ha ha. Arrows are so weak!”
“Keohek!”
Archie was destroying the pirates.
“Ugh, you damn demon!”
“What? I'm not a demon! Who are these scum to call me a demon?!”
*Pum! Pam!*
Archie hit the pirates relentlessly. Although he could easily knock them out and finish it, he seemed to enjoy hitting them hard.
“It's not human trafficking, right? Cowards!”
*Keohek!*
“You're pointing a knife at me now? I'll slice you up!”
“Ah, no!”
“You're the one who shot magic at me earlier? Hehe. You want to die?”
*Demon—!*
Cale watched as both whales wrecked ships and addressed his group.
“Free the hostages and bring them to this ship. We're moving to the other ship.”
“We can use magic to inflate the sails, make it go faster.”
“Yes, that's right.”
While his people moved the freed captives, Cale approached the old man.
“You're a sailor too, right? Take these people to the port or to a safe place.”
He took some money from his chest and gave it to him. Part of the travel funds the small, adorable Darkbear had packed.
“U-uh…”
The old man hesitated and then asked.
“Who are you people?”
That group seemed special. The chief of the small island, who had survived until now by avoiding trouble, recognized something different in them, like the leaders now fighting in the central sea.
Cale smiled, but this time the smile had a dangerous nuance, nothing like the previous kindness.
Cale and Alberu spoke quietly among themselves.
‘If we locate Abamama and subdue the Marine Union, we can create many forces to oppose the Five-Colored Family in the New World.’
‘That's right. Your Highness and I always think alike.’
Without answering, Cale turned his back. The eyes of the old man and the freed islanders followed his gaze.
On the deck, a woman appeared again over the water, skimming the surface until she climbed back onto the ship. Witira saw Cale smiling and gave a slight smile. She answered the old man's question.
“We are not islanders.”
As he suspected, they weren't from there. Witira continued, calmly.
“We are people of the sea.”
The sea surrounding her seemed to belong to her, as if it were her territory. Despite her calm expression, in her eyes was the predatory gaze of one who once dominated that place.
“Then we'll be going, sir.”
Fierce with their enemies, courteous with their own. They left, and those who weren't sold as slaves pulled themselves together and headed for the port. From their mouths began to spread the story about the people of the sea.
---
And those people of the sea continued on their way.
“That ship doesn't even have a flag. Attack.”
“Let's go!”
It didn't take long before they ran into other pirates from another island. They were going to ignore them; they had no time for fights with scum. But the pirates charged without thinking.
“Ha ha ha. Newcomers? Kill them and take the ship!”
“Outsiders? We'll sell them as slaves. Attack!”
So they destroyed them again. Witira rammed one with her body and split it.
“Ha ha ha. New ones arriving without a flag. Attack!”
More appeared. Before entering the central sea, there were countless plunder-seeking scum looking for easy prey.
**Kwaaang!**
“How's the taste of my fist, finally?!”
They destroyed them again. If there were hostages, they only eliminated the pirates and left with the captives.
“Prey! Let's go!”
“Speed up! Latch onto the ship! Attack!”
More pirate ships appeared. They dealt with them quickly: crushed or subdued, and kept moving forward.
By dawn, Cale and his group fell silent. They were very powerful. Cale had held his ground even against the Three Emperators. His companions were also strong. In comparison, the pirates they encountered during the night were not; they barely rivaled them.
But there were too many. And they were stupid, attacking without thinking, as if Cale and his group were weak. Cale gazed blankly at the rising sun. Archie muttered.
“They're coming again.”
Choi Han let out a deep sigh and patted Archie's shoulder.
“Don't fall asleep.”
“Ah, yes!”
Archie had fallen asleep without realizing it. He was the one who most frequently fought and had no rest.
“Was it a dream?”
Looking at the horizon, they saw many ships approaching.
“It's not a dream.”
Ron replied in a gentle voice.
“Most have pirate flags. I also see ships from the pirate island we broke earlier. It seems they came looking for their ships.”
When night passes, more ships come out to sea.
“Ah.”
Archie, sitting down in shock, received a tap on the shoulder from Ron, who smiled benevolently.
“Cale.”
“Yes.”
“We need to go one more day to enter the central sea.”
“Understood.”
Just as Alberu said, they still needed one day to reach the central sea.
“But we might take longer.”
“That will happen if things continue like this.”
At Cale's response, Alberu asked.
“'If things continue like this'? Sounds like you think it will be different going forward.”
“It seems they see us as an easy target.”
“I guess so. Only one night has passed; information about us hasn't spread yet.”
Alberu looked at Cale and smiled faintly.
“Don't let them think we're easy prey.”
“Yes.”
Without a flag, with few people, and only one ship, they might look like an easy target. They shouldn't appear that way until information about them spread.
—Is it my turn to step in?
The Dominating Aura's voice sounded excited, vibrant, and expectant.
—It's time to show dignity, hoho.
The Dominating Aura's deep voice spoke solemnly.
—These pirates will feel it when they get close. Upon seeing us, they will bow their heads. Kehahaha!
Although they had faced the God of Chaos and still couldn't defeat him, the Dominating Aura had grown much stronger.
—Kehahaha! We are the rulers of the sea!
Hearing that boisterous pride, Cale began to radiate his own dominating aura.
“On. Fog.”
As the night passed and morning arrived over a clear sea:
“Just surround our ship.”
Fog began to concentrate around the single flagless ship, as if it were a ghost ship wandering an infernal sea. Within that fog enveloping their vessel, the dominating aura spread.
**Chwaaa—**
Raon propelled the fog by pulling the wind created by his magic, and the ghost ship advanced faster than any other. Towards the open sea. Towards countless ships.
And the sailors on the ships that touched that fog encountered Cale wrapped in his Dominating Aura.
