– POV General –
All thirty officers had died on the deck, and the Cerberus pirates who had been nearly defeated had managed to turn the tide in their favor. With the sudden awakening of each of their gifts, their own abilities had developed after resonating with the natural energy around them. Because all of them had shown tremendous courage and a willingness to protect their crew despite the fear some felt.
The Lieutenant still on the poop deck had watched everything with horror and now the eight nobles behind him that he had to protect were just an excuse. He, who had been so confident, so mocking and cruel, was shaking like a leaf, unable to look away from the main deck. Blood tempted the scarlet wooden planks mingling with the bits of brain, viscera and bodies that littered the floor.
"D-Don't come any closer, p-p-p-pirates !"
The only remaining Navy man had spoken these words in a weak, hesitant voice to Lucas, Edward and Joe who had joined Mysie and Kali right after their fight. All seemed fine and despite the Quartermaster's injury and the scare from the gunshot, her life was not in danger. It was even ironic to think that what had animated the anger of all her friends was in fact only a superficial wound.
At the end of his sentence, the five of them looked up at the Lieutenant, making him jump with fear even though they had not moved a finger. While Kali grabbed the arms of Lucas and Joe to get up, the others did not move. The sky was beginning to tint of a burning color, their hair had always the root of different colors showing that they could quickly finish everything but they did not move.
*slash*
"Hmmpf."
*cling*
Suddenly, while the eerie silence had remained on the ship until now, the sound of bruised flesh followed by a slight grunt and iron falling to the deck had echoed. In an instant, all heads turned to the sounds and thus to the bow where Hestia was. She had removed the arrow still stuck in her left arm in one go before throwing it further without even showing the slightest sign of pain.
As the point was no longer embedded in her skin, blood began to flow from the wound in a rather profuse manner. Yet the Captain didn't seem to mind as she began to move forward. The golden-haired blonde was covered in blood and her left eye was closed because of the red liquid that flowed from her temple. In her shoulder the bullet fired by the Lieutenant was still there as well as the many gashes from her fight.
Hestia was undoubtedly the most injured of all, but the adrenaline that still coursed through her body prevented her from fully realizing it. She wasn't as wild as she had been when her gift was fully activated, but inside she still hadn't calmed down. Moving forward silently, clicking her heels on the ground leaving traces of blood behind her, the young woman slowly made her way towards Loki and Azeil still passed out.
"H-Hestia."
As she watched, Kali softly whispered the name of the one she had been willing to give her life for and who had been willing to give hers to protect her. Seeing Hestia in this state was anything but reassuring but she understood at first glance that she was still...absent. Arriving at the height of her two white tigers, the young Captain crouched before approaching her hand successively to their chest and their belly.
The two beasts, although equally covered with blood were still breathing and were not wounded, only fainted after having received a blow. More than in bad shape the two seemed even asleep, which reassured their mistress even if she did not show it. Once she was sure that they were safe, the blonde with white roots got up before heading to the stern where everyone was gathered.
The five companions of Hestia still had their gifts of activity and this natural energy, which crossed them acted a little like a filter. Despite the massacre that had occurred and the weight of their actions, all were still far too overwhelmed by this sudden new force to realize. Only Mysie had been struck by reality during her fight before being absorbed again by what was happening.
Once things calmed down, the realization was going to be violent and even painful, but for the moment, all thoughts and eyes were on the injured Captain. She still hadn't said a word but continued to walk straight towards them with her grey-green, piercing gaze towards the poop deck. Only the sound of her footsteps echoed through the soft cool wind of the late day as the sun set.
When she reached her crew, however, Hestia stopped and slowly turned her head towards Kali who was now standing. Kali nodded her head quickly to indicate that she was okay before her captain looked up to see the others in turn. One by one, Edward, Joe, Lucas, and Mysie followed Kali with nods before Hestia's eyes turned back to the Lieutenant.
"Don't...don't come any closer !"
Resuming her walk in the direction of the nine remaining men, she was shortly joined by her friends who followed in silence. The beautiful young blonde woman was no longer wild and yet she still gave off that natural, ferocious and terrifying strength and aura. The only remaining Navy officer could not help but warn her despite his trembling voice as he pointed his sword straight at her.
The eight wealthy merchants behind him were paralyzed after witnessing such a display of violence and bloodshed, now nothing but empty shells. They were pale, some had vomited, peed themselves, or even both, caught in an intense and uncontrollable fear. Although there was little hope, two still managed to stammer out a few words in the naive hope that this would change something.
"D-Do something Lieutenant ! You...you have to protect us !"
"Y-Yes ! D-Do your d-duty !"
Their words sounded more like pleas reflecting ever more of the despair they were slowly sinking into, the waking nightmare they were living as the crew approached. The auras of calm but ravenous anger they emanated were anything but reassuring and every second that passed seemed like a long time. Trying as he might to be brave, the Lieutenant then opened his mouth.
"D-Devil don't...don't come any closer !!!"
This time it was not to the crew that the man was addressing but to the Captain of the pirate ship, to the young woman he had underestimated and openly mocked. The roles were now reversed and the one who was mocking and insulting was now a man who had lost all honor. As Hestia arrived in front of him, the Lieutenant froze, his saber still trembling as if caught in a convulsion despite his inability to move.
"I-It's over, you...you killed absolutely everyone....all....all my men. W-We're letting you go so go back...to...to your ship !"
Big clouds appeared in the sky darkening the world a little more, predicting a day that would end in rain but no one cared. Without speaking, the young blonde woman slowly raised her right arm causing everyone to jump, fearing what she was about to do. She had stopped in front of him, right in front of the tip of his sword that was almost sinking to where her heart was.
"What..."
Still without a word, Hestia grabbed the blade of his sword with two fingers before pressing down on it ever so gently without effort. Under the shocked eyes of the nine men, she twisted the officer's sword with frightening ease. Of course it was child's play for the beautiful blonde used to holding incredible pure strength but the full activation of her gift made the scene even more shocking.
"Don't...I..."
The spectacle was having its effect as seeing the blade of his weapon twist in this way when no normal man would have been able to, terrified the man. He couldn't even speak anymore and was only moving backwards, inch by inch, ready to collapse at any moment, his legs not being able to support him for very long. This vision however tore off a light smile to Hestia which did not delay to disappear at once.
*BAM*
Suddenly, the Captain who did not smile any more had rushed on the Lieutenant covering the few meters which separated them very quickly. Her speed had indeed increased because hardly her foot moved that she had already arrived on her prey which had fallen to the reverse of surprise. He had also been propelled by Hestia, who had grabbed his jaw with the same hand that had just twisted his sword.
The Lieutenant found himself almost lying on the wooded floor, his trembling arms having dropped his weapon, unable to carry him any longer. Yet his upper body was still inches from the deck as Hestia lifted him to her level by the jaw. The young blonde woman was crouched over him and had her face very close to his, her gray-green eyes animated with a wild gleam that seemed to read his soul.
"Mmmmh mmmh !"
The man reacting instinctively struggled while trying to speak in vain, the Captain's hand completely covering his mouth allowing only a muffled voice to pass through. He was totally at her mercy and from a simple look it was easy to guess that she was enjoying every second of it. Hestia had been careful to catch him without breaking him, but as she finally denied speaking, the Lieutenant could feel her grip tightening gently.
"Mmmh ? What's the matter ? You're not saying a word, have you lost your tongue to a pirate so funny you couldn't breathe earlier ? What a humiliation for a Lieutenant like you. You would have been better off staying home, finding a woman and making her children and keeping your mouth shut."
Hestia had used the same phrases the officer had intended for her a moment ago when she had found herself trapped by her own decision. She took a malicious pleasure to return every word proving to him once again how much the situation had been reversed. The young woman's voice was hoarse, cold, sinister and the feeling of danger only increased as the Lieutenant's eyes were plunged into hers, empty.
As she finished her sentence, her eyes, which until now had been scrutinizing every little emotion, fear, despair, pain, lowered to the floor. There, on the ground, the Lieutenant's trembling left hand was paralyzed, still unable to move in front of the Captain. But what caught Hestia's attention all of a sudden was not his pathetic side, but a gold ring that shone on his ring finger...an engagement ring.
"Oh my~ so you've already found your sweetheart~ maybe you have children already then ?"
"M..."
"Oooh~ you actually do HAHAHAHAHA~ sigh...what a shame~ How about after I get rid of you I go find them ? Aaaaaah yeeees~ how I would love to have the pleasure of tasting your wife's body and making her regret marrying you before sending her to join you and your precious children HAHAHAHA~"
"Mmmh mmmh mmh !!"
Of course Hestia wasn't serious at all but seeing how much panic the Lieutenant felt at the mention of his family made her whole being tingle. She wanted more, she wanted to break him mentally, break him physically before killing him and satisfying her desire for revenge. The man, him, still could not speak gagged by her hand letting out only panicked and muffled sounds for her greatest pleasure.
"Mmmmh mmmh mmmh, you still can't speak ? Yet it seems to me that you are desperately trying to say something, tell me everything. Go ahead and talk and maybe I'll change my mind...talk or I'll make you scream."
The beautiful sadistic blonde was enjoying herself like crazy, totally aware that what she was asking him was impossible since she was preventing him from speaking. All the pretexts were good to torture him psychologically in front of the eyes of her crew without voice attending this spectacle. Her smile was dangerous and while the Lieutenant tried as he could to formulate a sentence, Hestia, impatient, tightened her grip suddenly.
*CRACK*
"AAAARRGGG !!!"
"Aaaaa~ well here goes when you want~ I knew you could do it ! What a melodious voice, I'm proud of you, cutie~"
The Captain's right hand had suddenly closed on the unfortunate man's jaw, shattering it cleanly on the spot, tearing out a loud scream. She had not needed to force too much because thanks to her strength, with a simple pressure, the bone had dislocated but without tearing. The Lieutenant's mouth was now hanging open, blood was coming out of it very quickly as the bones had punctured the skin of his left cheek.
"Aaaarrggvjiybik mmmhvlknjqb !!!"
"Pfffhahahahahahaha~"
The officer was now choking on his own red liquid even as he had to deal with the pain that was intolerable under Hestia's laughter. It was making his whole body spasm and when he had the human reflex to cry out, it became even more intense. It was so unbearable that the man was a shadow of his former self, tears streaming down his face, desperate and wanting only one thing : for it to stop.
"I...itch hurts !!"
"Ara ara~ of course it hurts, but don't cry, come on~ you know why ?"
The Lieutenant was backing away with difficulty, almost crawling to escape his tormentor who was slowly advancing, accentuating each word. However, very soon his back met the rail preventing him from going further, trapped by a wild beast that wanted to play. Arrived in front of him, the young woman crouched again with a big smile before giving a punch in the railing of the ship exploding it in a thousand pieces.
*CRASH*
While pieces of wood sank into her hand, Hestia leaned close to the face of her prey before licking his tears gently. Then, after having stepped back, she made slide two of her fingers under the broken and hanging chin of the Lieutenant, tearing him new cries of pain. She would slide them from his neck to the tip of his chin, taking care to soak them with blood before bringing her fingers to her mouth to lick them in response.
"Aarggjhsvij."
"Mmmh, because this is just the beginning~"
The young Captain at that moment absolutely terrified all the merchants, she may have been calm, but she exuded a singular violence and madness. The spectacle was peculiar, on the poop deck of a merchant ship, a young woman, wounded and covered in blood, was torturing a man. As the sun continued its descent towards the horizon, Hestia suddenly stood up, dropping her pistol that she had used at the time of the boarding.
*BAM*
Seeing this as an opportunity, the cornered Lieutenant used his last bit of strength to pick up the weapon and point it at his tormentor while shaking. The pain made his vision blurred but he didn't want to miss such a chance for revenge. Hestia, on the other hand, hadn't moved and was looking at him as if he was cute for hoping, before suddenly raising both arms and saying a few words that he didn't expect.
"P-Please~ don't hurt me~"
The injured young woman, instead of being afraid of the gun pointed at her, played the frightened victim fanning the officer's anger even more. Yet, seeing how unafraid she was made him doubt his move and hesitate as he tried to ignore the pain. Seeing this, Hestia stepped forward on her own to press her forehead against the barrel of the gun before challenging him with her eyes, the same wild, crazy smile on her lips.
"Come on~ Do it !! Do it, do it, do it, do it ! DO IT !!!"
"Mmmmh !"
"SHOOT COWARD !"
*click*
"HAHAHAHAHAHA~"
Having finally pulled the trigger, the Lieutenant had finally realized that there was no bullet in the laughing young woman's gun. The small moment of hope he had had finished breaking him mentally as the pain began to make him lose consciousness...she was insane. Yet the Captain had other plans for a controlled slap, she was making sure to keep him awake almost missing to unhinge his jaw for good.
*SLAP*
"AAAAAMMMMHHHH !!!"
"Come on my friend, don't go just yet I need you, the party has just started. You still need to see what I'm going to show you fufu~"
Once she was sure that he was well aware of what was coming next that she didn't want him to miss, Hestia grabbed his hair to drag him with her. The man couldn't resist her strength, the only sudden movement on his part pulling his hair out causing a new pain. Dragging him to where the merchants and her crew were standing, she violently lifted the Lieutenant's head to show them her face.
"You can stay awake long enough to see those you were supposed to protect get killed before your eyes proving your incompetence, can't you ? Can you do that for me ?"
Not waiting for an answer, the young blonde woman let go of him before removing her coat and tricorn all stained red. The shirt she had on underneath was literally soaked in blood, her skin too hiding her tattoos but she didn't care. Taking a deep breath, Hestia, eyes closed, ran her hands through her hair turning it red before opening her eyes again and her arms wide staring at the eight men.
"SO GENTLEMEN ! Who volunteers to play~?"
Hestia smiled wildly despite the wounds on her body, her eyes were both empty but animated with a glow of frightening excitement. At that moment, no one dared to speak, but the Cerberus crew found themselves enjoying the show, sharing their Captain's feelings. As for the merchants, despair had taken hold of them as two words the Lieutenant said earlier were on everyone's mind : Insane Devil.