The Leviathan came close to us and several streams of magic shot out of it from the sides.
I was a tad stunned, actually. Now that I got a closer look at the ship, it was completely different than the one we met Rastair on.
Regardless, the streams wrapped around the Lucky Coin and rooted us in place as the pirate ship drew near.
Then the gang planks came down and several...extremely menacing pirates came onboard.
They didn't look anything like the ones we had seen before.
The men we saw in the past were pathetic excuses for pirates that were all normal humans.
These guys were terrifying...or they would be to normal people. Every single one of them wore light armor that looked heavily enchanted. Their swords, staves, and crossbows also looked filled with magic and highly dangerous.
Every single one of them had enough magic power to be an S-rank adventurer...at least if the charts I saw at the Dark Knights guild was to be believed.
Lastly, a very tall woman wearing a mask like a serpent skull and holding a bladed staff like a spear or a glaive approached.
I could tell she had long blonde hair and dark green eyes from behind the mask.
She approached us and laughed.
"HAHAHAHA!!! I AM CAPTAIN RASTAIR, THE SEA WITCH OF THE LEVIATHAN AND I AM TAKING THIS..."
She stopped for a moment as Isabella and I stepped forward.
I saw her shaking slightly.
"W-wait...hold on a second... YOU TWO!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Rastair shouted.
"I could ask you the same question," I said as I readied my blades. I also motioned for Leiso and she snapped her fingers.
Gigantic swirling torrents of water filled with razor sharp spikes and tipped with rotating drills rose up all around our ship and The Leviathan.
The rest of the Enforcers followed suit in getting ready for a fight. Even Rune had drawn an assault rifle from her inventory and was preparing to shoot.
Rastair simply nodded.
"Alright. All of you get back on the ship. Go below deck and tell everyone to stay down there," Rastair said calmly.
"Uhh...Captain? Will you be okay? These people seem kinda...dangerous..." one of the men said.
"I GAVE YOU A DAMN ORDER AND YOU'RE DOUBTING ME!?" Rastair shouted angrily. She slammed her staff on the deck and all of the pirates cringed.
"Y-YES MA'AM!!! SORRY!!!" The man said. They all ran back and within a few minutes all of the pirates had disappeared below deck.
After Rastair nodded at their obedience, she turned back to me and walked close.
She took her mask off and placed her hands on my shoulders then started shaking me while quietly begging for her life.
"Please don't kill me! I didn't know, I swear! I thought this was a merchant ship! Please don't kill my crew and sink my ship!!! I'm so sorry!!!! Uwaaaaaa!!!!!"
"CALM DOWN, YOU DAMN GIANT WOMAN! AND GET OFF OF ME!" I said angrily as I pushed her away.
She held her hands together as she tearfully bowed her head.
"Umm...is this real? She's not really that scary anymore...but wow, she's pretty tall for a lady..." Jallah said.
"I'm sensitive about my height! Stop pointing it out! I'm not that tall!" Rastair said.
"You're still pretty damn tall..." I said.
She looked like she wanted to shout back at me, but ultimately thought better of it...
Though honestly...she was taller than even Sheila in Lorelei.
And Sheila was a giant.
"So...what are you doing on a merchant ship? And who are these people? They give me the same menacing vibes as you two do..." Rastair said.
"They're allies with similar powers to us. Each one of them could cause untold destruction on a wide scale just like we can. Leiso here can sink any ship she wants with a wave of her hand and we hijacked this ship to find Walskold trench. Do you know where it is?" I said.
"You kidding? I know the seas like the back of my hands! There's rumors of a great treasure down there if you can kill the monster guarding it!" Rastair said.
I almost laughed to myself.
I knew exactly where we were going because of my map and compass, but I had no intention of using this ship forever.
"Good. You can take us to it then," I said.
"Wh-what!? No way! Not on my good ship! I-"
I looked at Leiso and the geysers of metal and water drew closer.
"Ehhhhhhh...w-welcome aboard!" Rastair said fearfully.
"Great...so we can just ditch this ship?" Jallah said.
"Well, if you're just going to leave it, I'd like to raid the supplies first. And...maybe seal the deal with this handsome man here..." Rastair said as she eyed Jallah.
"He's taken, giant lady! That's my husband!" Rune said angrily.
"Yeah...no dice. I don't do women taller than me. Especially not when I'm taken," Jallah said.
"Damn my height..." Rastair mumbled.
Then she looked at me.
"No," I said.
She hesitantly looked over at Carlos.
"Hmm...not bad. Eh, what the hell... Wanna get laid?"
Carlos wasn't sure how to respond.
"That's...a new one..." He said.
"Come ooooon~! I won't hurt ya, I promise!" Rastair said as she placed an arm around his shoulder. "You aren't married, are ya?"
"I'm not married...no..." Carlos mumbled.
"Please don't sexually harass my Enforcers...Rastair?" Leiso said.
"Ah...got your claim on this one, do you? You look a bit young for someone like him..."
"I'm actually well over a thousand years older than he is. And he's my subordinate, not my lover," Leiso said.
"Oh...yeah... I should have figured you weren't normal... Can I at least have permission?" Rastair asked.
Now Leiso wasn't sure how to respond.
"Look...I'm flattered, but I don't think I feel up to the challenge of scaling such a...fine lady..." Carlos said.
"SCALING!? ARE YOU SAYING I'M AS TALL AS A DAMN MOUNTAIN!?" Rastair said indignantly.
Considering that Carlos was only just shorter than Isabella... To him, she might as well have been a mountain.
"Look, you're not going to...devour any of the men here. You have plenty of men on your ship, why not them?" Leiso said.
"They're all...kinda gross...and weird. I also make it a point not to have relations with any official crew members," Rastair said.
"You're a pervert," I said.
She crossed her arms and smiled slyly at me.
"You can call me whatever you want, sweetie~!" Rastair said.
Damn giant woman...
"Look, just raid the ship and sink it. We'll be on The Leviathan if you need us," I said.
"Understood. Then I'll accept this ship as payment for my services...and continued friendship forever," Rastair said.
"Sure...whatever..." I said.
We boarded The Leviathan and Rastair called her crew back. They raided the ship and once they had finished, put some distance between us and it.
Rastair placed her staff in a small contraption next to the wheel and several more streams of magic shot out.
This time, they impaled and crushed the ship while dragging it down.
The Lucky Coin sank to the bottom of the sea and soon after, The Leviathan was on its way.
* * *
"So...it's Walskold Trench, then? What are we looking for?" Rastair said while taking a sip of wine.
"The Heart of the Deep," I said simply.
She spit out her wine as her eyes went wide.
"A LEGENDARY HEART STONE!? THAT'S WHAT'S DOWN THERE!?" Rastair shouted.
I nodded.
"And if you try to steal it, I might have to kill you. We had quite a bit of trouble with a thief being in our group before..." I said.
"Pffft...I'm not stupid enough to actually try to cross you people. Although...who would be?" Rastair asked.
"Ever heard of a fox named Akari?" I asked.
"Oh...her... Yeah, I can definitely see that. They don't call her 'The Deceiver' for nothing. Even The Mad Admiral would probably kill her on sight if she tried to go see him," Rastair said.
Excuse me...WHAT!?
Suddenly I felt like an idiot.
"The Mad Admiral hates Akari...?" I asked.
"I mean, who doesn't? Aside from the people she charms, that is. She's a rotten liar, a man-eater, and a thief. Infamous among the higher circles of the world. He wouldn't chase her down, but if she ever showed her face to him, the Admiral would probably just kill her and be done with it."
"Ugh...she threatened to turn us in if we didn't let her join our group..." Isabella said.
"Wait, REALLY!? THAT IDIOT COULDNT GET WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF HIM WITHOUT GETTING HERSELF KILLED!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Rastair laughed.
I glared at her and she got quiet.
"S-sorry...heh..."
"Say...why were you on that other ship, before? Didn't you say that was The Leviathan?" I asked.
"It is. It's one of five Leviathans. That was a scouting ship with a minimal crew for going through Elysium waters. This is my actual ship with my real crew. Part of an agreement I had with the Admiral," Rastair said.
"You know him?" I asked.
"Know him? I had a pretty steamy night with him! Let's just say he's really good in-"
I held up a hand.
"Too much information! But I need to know, does he really hunt otherworlders?" I said.
"I dunno. I only wanted permission to pass through their waters. I didn't ask about what he does in his spare time. I also wouldn't recommend meeting him if you think you'll have to fight. He's seriously strong."
"Yeah, we know... We're hoping to avoid him, but at some point, we'll have to meet," Isabella said.
"Suit yourself. I'll take you if you want, but we have to stop by Ripper Isle first," Rastair said.
"Is that where you live?" Isabella asked.
"Yes. It's where me and my pirates live. No one goes near it because they're all terrified of us. I have to get a minimal crew and a smaller ship just to pass through Elysium waters, but I can take you straight to him when you're ready. Also...how about granting me immortality?"
"I can't actually do that!" Isabella said.
"Every single one of you is immortal, right? Why not me!? Come oooooon!!"
"We'll ask Iris if she can make you an Attendant if you want," Jallah said.
"An Attendant? And who's Iris?" Rastair asked.
"Iris is the goddess of balance. She's the one who gave us our powers. She's also a good friend of ours," Isabella said.
"And if you're curious, an Attendant is someone who only has one Aspect. Like me. But when you get old, your hair will still turn white. Is that okay?" Rune said.
"Pffft...if all I lose is the color in my hair, that sounds like a good deal! Hey, I might look pretty sexy with white hair and a young body! So you people really are friends with an actual goddess? Wow!"
"If you help us out, I promise to figure out a way to get you what you want, Rastair. Is that acceptable?" I asked.
She reached her hand out and I shook it.
"Sounds good to me! Now then, how about we go to my quarters and seal the deal...?"
"Not happening."
"Ugh...you're no fun..."
After that talk, we were properly introduced to the crew and they welcomed us aboard.
* * *
Over the next two weeks, we sailed quite a distance to our destination. Walskold was located in a very distant part of the sea and it took quite some time to reach.
Luckily, The Leviathan was a magical ship that moved at around three times the normal speed of basic ship.
It would have been well over a month on The Lucky Coin, but The Leviathan cut the trip down significantly.
Once we were over the trench, it was time to start planning our descent.
"So...what are you planning to do with this thing, anyway?" Rastair asked.
"Hopefully, kill an abyssal god," I said bluntly.
"Umm...what?" Rastair said.
"We'll tell you later, Rastair. For now, just do what we ask, okay?" Isabella said kindly.
"Fine...as long as you keep your end of the bargain," Rastair said.
After our conversation, we began to prepare for a long day of work...