Isabella had done everything she could to heal Mizik as they drifted through that horrible place...
For some reason, her powers didn't work at all out there.
But they had just exited the Firmament and entered a new world.
As soon as they did, she placed a barrier over her and her beloved Mizik since they were falling from orbit.
She made sure to heal him as well while they were falling.
The whole time, he said nothing. Isabella could tell something was wrong, though...
Something not right in his head...
As the two fell, they reached an extremely high speed and finally slammed into the ocean.
Unlike their first entry into Ignitus, Mizik had taught Isabella how to swim. Now, she was a great swimmer and easily held an unconscious Mizik on her back as she stayed afloat.
Actually...she had an idea...
Isabella's barriers were very useful. Mizik had taken the liberty of combining Aegis Barrier with her own barrier magic related to The Centurion Aspect and increased their potency.
Her new power from 'The Blessing of the Creator' also made them even stronger.
Isabella used her barriers to walk while partially underwater. This way, she wouldn't attract attention if any ships came by.
This world was full of magic power.
Isabella couldn't remember the last time she felt so strong! Like a terrible burden had been lifted.
The lack of magic particles on Ignitus had been suffocating for both of them.
But now, Isabella felt great.
Aside, of course, from the soul crushing despair at losing her home that she currently didn't want to think about.
However, Bravery was quite the piece of shit, sometimes.
She wouldn't let Isabella cry and let out her frustrations.
As such, Isabella would simply have to wait until Mizik woke up so that Vengeance could say a few things.
Either that, or Mizik was definitely getting some action...
Not that Isabella was some kind of closeted pervert, or anything. Everyone had their own way of coping with disaster and Isabella was most comfortable running to her loving husband. Aside from that, Bravery would only tolerate so much crying and cowardice before it stopped talking to its wielder.
Isabella had been crying a lot lately due to the destruction of Ignitus, the deaths of her treasured friends, and beloved comrades.
Since this was the case, she had received another internal warning from Bravery.
By Iris, she was really starting to hate that sword... Isabella longed to have Vengeance tell her off... She knew that she couldn't just keep bottling up her emotions and throwing herself at Mizik for stress relief. Not that either of them minded the intimacy, of course...
Regardless, Isabella carried Mizik on her back as she walked through the water on her barriers.
"Don't worry, Mizik, I've got you. Everything's going to be okay!" She said to herself.
In the distance, she could see a ship approaching.
It looked like a wooden ship with a large black sail. There was a skull and crossbones on it. The skull looked to be that of a sea serpent. Upon closer inspection, the sea serpent was wearing a witch hat and the bones crossed behind it were shaped like staves used for casting magic.
"Oh, good. The people of this world have come to greet us. I need a place to set Mizik down, anyway..." Isabella thought to herself.
Isabella walked for a while and allowed herself to be lowered further into the water to give the appearance that she was swimming.
When she ship came close, she raised a hand and shouted to the filthy men leaning over the side.
"HEY!!! CAN WE BOARD YOUR SHIP?" Isabella shouted.
The men grinned to themselves as they looked at Isabella.
Despite how much she knew they would try to have their way with her, Isabella could already tell...
These were little more than normal humans.
Mortals without special powers.
To Isabella, they were like ants. They posed absolutely no threat to her.
"SURE THING, MISSY! WE'LL GET THE LADDER FOR YA!" One of them said just before wiping drool from his mouth.
"Good. I have permission now."
"NO NEED!" Isabella shouted.
She rose herself up with the barrier beneath her feet and jumped straight into the air.
She went up above the side of the massive wooden ship and landed on the deck with a thud.
Isabella was careful not to break the deck of the ship as she landed.
All the men in the deck backed away in surprise as Isabella gently laid Mizik down on the deck.
She checked his body for injuries and found him to be in good health. It seemed like he had lost some weight, however.
Both of them were very hungry and Isabella made a mental note to get some food as soon as possible.
Although, she couldn't shake the feeling that something seemed off about Mizik. Isabella was worried about his mental health, but would have to deal with that later.
Mizik's clothes were pretty well torn up, too. Isabella silently decided that she would personally dress him in nice, dry, clean clothes when she had a moment.
After she fought off the men who were about to try and have their way with her.
"Hey, lady...you're pretty good lookin'... Whaddaya say you keep us all company?" One of the men said.
"Hmm...no. See this man, here? He's my husband. I love him and would rather spend time with him instead. Make yourselves useful and get us something to eat, okay?" Isabella said.
The men laughed.
"Hey! I was being serious! Oh well...I know these types..."
Isabella stood up straight after the men unsheathed their swords and pointed them at her.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I've had a really terrible trip here and we've just gotten away from a nightmarish situation. I'm in a rather horrible mood right now," Isabella said.
"Why don't you start by takin' yer clothes off, missy?" One of the men said as he aimed his sword at her.
"I don't think so. My husband is the only one allowed to see me like that. You all should learn some manners."
"If ya wanna do this the hard way, we can oblige!" One man said as he swung his sword at Isabella's chest.
He likely had the goal of tearing her clothes off with such a method, but...
He was so slow.
And aside from this, a weapon like that wouldn't work against Isabella.
She caught the blade with her index finger and thumb, then looked disappointedly at the pirate.
"Like I said, I'm in a really bad mood right now. If you don't leave me alone, I might have to get violent. And who knows what my husband will do when he wakes up... He had it much worse than I did back there," Isabella said calmly.
The man immediately retracted his sword and everyone stepped back.
"Wh-what!? How did...what are you!?" One of the men said.
"Hm...that is a question with a long answer. I am a lot of things. But for now, just think of me as a goddess. I am not really a goddess, but to you all, I might as well be," Isabella said.
She didn't think so highly of herself that she would just assume such a title... But at the same time...
As a level 150 Enforcer using a legendary magic sword and wielding two Ultra Aspects... Isabella was definitely something that could be considered a goddess by comparison to a regular mortal.
"A g-goddess!?!?" One of the pirates said fearfully.
"Want me to prove it? Here's some divine magic for you."
Isabella raised her hand into the air and brought down several massive pillars of light all around the ship.
She was a bit surprised, actually...
It seemed like the absurd amount of magic in this world amplified her powers. She would have to be careful.
The boat rocked back and forth, but Isabella stabilized it by deploying barriers around the hull.
The men on board all dropped to their knees.
"W-WE'RE SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE US, GODDESS!!!" One of them wailed.
"My name is Isabella, so just refer to me by that name."
"GODDESS ISABELLA! PLEASE HAVE MERCY!!!" Another man shouted.
"That's better. Now then, do you all have anything to eat?" Isabella asked.
"We...don't really have much... We could try to fish something up, though! Would that please you!?" One man said.
"Hm...that could work. And my husband likes fish, too... Very well, hop to it-"
Just as Isabella was speaking, a door flew open towards the back of the ship and a tall woman walked out.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING UP HERE!?" She screamed angrily.
The woman in question was dressed very nicely.
She had long, blonde hair and green eyes. Similarly to Amelia, actually.
She wore a highly decorated gothic tailcoat and had a hat on her head bearing the same emblem as the one on the ship's sails.
The woman was tall...really tall!
She had to be at least a foot taller than Mizik and he was 6'3.
"Is she some kind of giant...?" Isabella mumbled.
"C-CAP'N RASTAIR!!! THIS LADY HERE IS A GODDESS!!!" One of the men shouted fearfully.
'Captain Rastair' looked over at Isabella and placed her hand on her chin.
"A goddess? On my ship?" Rastair said.
"I'm not really a goddess. Are you in charge?" Isabella asked.
Rastair approached Isabella and looked down at her with a serious gaze.
"Yeah, I'm Captain Rastair of The Leviathan. Also known as 'The Sea Witch'. Who the hell're you?"
"Get me a place to lay my husband down to rest and I'll tell you what you want to know. Also...do you have anything to eat? I can't remember the last time we ate anything."
Rastair raised an eyebrow and waved some of her men over.
"Pick the man up and follow me. DEREK! VANN! THIS WAY!" Rastair said.
After she spoke, two very-large and muscular men approached and followed Rastair.
At the same time, two other men tried to pick Mizik up and Isabella stopped them.
"I can carry him. It's not a problem," Isabella said.
She picked Mizik up and placed him on her back. Once he was stable, she started walking after Rastair, Derek, and Vann.
As Isabella felt Mizik on her back, she began having trouble breathing.
"Ugh...keep it together... Not now..." She said quietly.
* * *
They walked for a few minutes and eventually, the group stopped at a room with a cell and a desk. There was a bed of poor quality in the cell and One of the muscular men opened it.
"Lay 'em on the bed, missy. We won't hurt 'im."
"As if I would let you if you tried? Don't you dare!!!"
Isabella gently laid Mizik down on the bed and left the cell.
One of the men walked into the cell and locked the door behind himself while the other stood by the desk.
"Here we go..."
Rastair sat down in a chair and the man standing next to her pulled up a second one for Isabella.
The room was dimly lit by a few candles.
"Now then...you're a goddess?" Rastair asked.
"I'm not really a goddess. I was only implying that by comparison-"
"Quiet. I want to know...can you grant immortality? That boy is pretty important to you, right? I'll have Derek spare him if you give me immortality," Rastair said.
Isabella sighed.
"Immortality isn't really as great as you think it is, Rastair."
Rastair slammed her first down in the desk.
"CAPTAIN! That's Captain Rastair to you. Listen, you might be a goddess, but on my ship, I might as well be one too," Rastair said angrily.
"Why is this woman obsessed with immortality? She can't be older than thirty...and didn't I just say I wasn't really a goddess?"
"Now start talkin' or I'll have Derek start removing his fingers. Derek, get the dagger ready."
"You can try as you like, but you won't be able to hurt him," Isabella said.
"We'll see if you change your tune after this then... DEREK! TAKE A PINKY!" Rastair said angrily.
Derek picked up Mizik's limp arm and grabbed his pinky. Then he began trying his hardest to saw through it.
The dagger looked to be a dull and rusty blade. It had no effect on Mizik at all.
This was because Isabella had placed a conforming barrier all over Mizik's body. On top of such a blade being nearly worthless against Mizik's own defense and health total.
And that was before the divine barriers from his Ultra Apects were taken into account.
"Do you really think I'm stupid?"
"Eh...Cap'n...the dagger ain't cuttin' 'im. What do I do?" Derek asked.
"STOP BEING A MORON! JUST CUT HIS DAMN PINKY OFF!"
Derek tried even harder to no avail. Eventually, he tried to stab Mizik in the arm and it clanged off of him.
Rastair tilted her head in confusion at this.
"Look...umm...what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't. Not to you, at least. But it's Isabella."
"If you don't tell me what the hell is going on, I'm gonna force my men to strip you naked and violate you until you die. GOT THAT!?" Rastair growled.
Isabella narrowed her eyes.
Just then...she felt something awaken behind her.
The presence was incredibly angry...
And if she didn't do something, it would kill everyone on the ship.
Mizik had just woken up.