The ship's bow tilted sharply, piercing the sky like a spear before descending like a guillotine, shattering the crest of a wave. The impact was deafening, the force immense. Even Cyrus struggled to maintain his balance, stumbling several times.
Suddenly, they spotted a large brigantine a few hundred meters away, its black sails unfurled and rapidly approaching. Cyrus snatched the spyglass from Julian and cast an unfamiliar spell upon it.
Boom!
An explosion erupted on the brigantine's deck, followed by the panicked cries of pirates.
"They found us through this spyglass! Prepare for battle! Hoist the sails to the top! We're heading into deep waters!"
[What?! So that woman... she just freed one sailor and all along... they were tracking us through my telescope?!]
[So, I killed that woman because of my mistake?]
[No! She tried to attack me; I... I was just defending myself. It's her fault! She shouldn't have come at me with a knife.]
[I didn't even kill her son! Why should I pay the price???]
Boom!
The rain of cannonballs tore through the sails, drastically slowing the ship's speed. Cyrus quickly grabbed Julian's shoulder and shouted, "Gather a few men and head to the hold! We need to change the sails!"
Julian, lost in thought, jolted awake, his eyes wide with fear and sadness as he looked at Cyrus.
[Right, she was a killer!!!]
But did anyone care about such things in that moment? With everyone's lives at stake, would anyone take the death of an old woman seriously? After all, she had lived many years; losing one day didn't mean much. And worse, she was Theodore's mother.
How could she burden Julian's conscience with that guilt? The fact that a large brigantine was chasing them, with dozens of crew members, wasn't entirely Theodore's fault? Julian hadn't abandoned the knightly code; he simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With these thoughts, he attempted to quiet his guilt and was somewhat successful. No one could deceive themselves quite like a person could. Playing judge alone was always the easiest way to escape reality.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the ship turned at a sharp angle, unleashing a torrential downpour of fiery black cannonballs upon the brigantine. The pirate king, witnessing the cannonballs soar, spread his arms and shouted, "Traitorous scoundrels, you'll never discourage me!!!" He held a magical scroll above his head and tore it apart.
Boom! Boom!
"Captain!!! Our men are..."
The pirate king, exuding a paralyzing aura, declared, "No one boards my ship to survive!"
"Listen up, sea dogs! Today, we'll show them hell!!"
"Aye, Captain!!!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
The repeated roars from that ship echoed through the air, deafening all around. Cyrus watched them, astonished, feeling a noticeable shift in the atmosphere as he awaited the cannons to reload. He raised his hand slightly to better sense the airflow.
"The wind has shifted. No, it's more than just a simple change. The water is boiling, and dark clouds are swirling from all sides. The ship's movements are erratic; the waves are rising..."
"Did that scoundrel use a spell to summon a storm?!"
While everyone trembled in fear, Cyrus grinned wickedly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. If anyone had seen him, they might think he had lost his mind in the face of death, but that wasn't true. Cyrus understood from the beginning that no one would survive this battle.
[The pirates summoned the storm because they're at a disadvantage in the fight.]
[Their ships are destroyed, and their fleet is scattered.]
[So now they want us all to drown together?]
[How bold!]
He turned to his crew, who were confused and wandering along the deck. They cheered when cannonballs struck the brigantine and screamed in fear when it returned fire. Cyrus realized the only weapon in this battle was to fight to the last breath. Although he was powerful enough to destroy the ship alone—especially with the magic of creation at his disposal—he wanted to test his luck and see if he could change the situation without revealing his powers.
But why endure all this hardship? Couldn't a powerful spell finish it all?
The answer was clear. If he saved them with a powerful spell, perhaps they would all be rescued, but rumors of a suddenly appearing, immensely powerful being would undoubtedly spread—a being with no past.
But what was the problem with that? In the realm of memories, there were those who sold information to other gods, and remnants of the gods who once invaded this land still existed. The story of those forces entering the realm of memories is another tale for later, but these two reasons were enough to keep Cyrus from revealing himself for now. But what if they all became trapped in a devastating battle?