In truth, regardless of their numbers, the tide of battle favored the Mostro Family.Milena and the others weren’t tired at all, and once the distant ships were dealt with, Noce would be back soon.Victory was assured this time as well. Yet, strangely, a sticky unease clung to her. Even as their necks were cut and their flesh ripped by the whip, the enemies showed no fear.‘As if they’re being controlled…’While Milena had that thought, the tallest mast on the nearest grappling enemy ship shattered to ruin. As if their rudder had failed, that hull listed and drifted with the current—and a massive shadow swung over on a rope.Thoom…!Siobhan, who had just wrecked a ship by himself and returned, hit the deck and asked Milena at once,“The wounded?”“None. But…”She hesitated, unsure how to voice this shapeless anxiety. The officers who had followed Siobhan back—each from sinking a different ship—approached, wrinkling their noses.“What is that stench? My nose feels numb.”“There’s smoke, too. Did someone set a fire?”“Those lunatics keep popping half-baked smoke shells. That’s what it is.”“Smoke shells?”A sailor who’d just finished the last man left on deck answered with a shudder.“Yeah! If you’re going to die, die clean—why keep throwing this vile stuff…?”Siobhan picked up the spent casing of a smoke shell rolling on the planks. Even long after bursting, it still bled faint smoke and a harsh stink. He stared at it—then snapped his head up.“Where’s Milio?”“Eh? We sent them to the captain’s cabin like always—”“Another wave!”KWAANG!No sooner had they shaken one ship loose than another closed from behind. Grapnels flew to bridge the gap; armed pirates slid over the lines.Siobhan blocked Milena as she moved to ready for the next clash.“Leave this to us—get to the captain’s cabin!”“What?”“They’re scattering our senses with smoke—and they may be after something else!”“…!”A chill ran Milena’s spine. Siobhan had put her unease into words.‘Right. Smoke is what you use to buy time when you’re running. But these scum have been using it from the start…!’Fwhip!At the same time, the boarders now swarming in lobbed more smoke shells.Siobhan and the officers knocked half aside with their weapons, but the rest thumped to the deck and burst. Smoke billowed thick. Pinching his nose in the haze, Siobhan shouted again,“Milena!”There was no time to waste.Milena plunged through the smoke and sprinted into the passage toward the cabins.***“Huff… huff…”Aquila dragged ragged breaths.The gunshot might have closed, but a fresh, ugly wound meant her right arm wouldn’t lift properly. Noce’s robe was torn and stained red, and drops of blood pattered from her slack fingers.“Don’t come out. No matter what.”At her low mutter, a trembling breath answered from inside the wall closet behind her.Milio, shoved in there by her order, had been making the latch creak by lifting their hips and ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) fidgeting for some time.But a child who couldn’t help in a fight would only get in the way.Aquila wiped the sweat running down her jaw with the back of her left hand. Red smeared the pocketknife she’d taken from the enemy.‘Damn it—if only I had my own weapons.’With her usual dagger and the throwing blades hidden in her ornaments, this wouldn’t have been nearly so troublesome.She clicked her tongue. Before her, a hulking, black shape crouched low and growled.“Grrrr…”Yes—baring its teeth and growling, to the letter.Black fur jutted through the seams of a skin-tight leather suit. The bulk of its frame dwarfed any human. Talons honed to brutal edges.And the head of a wolf.Blood welled dark and thick from one eye she’d pierced, and still the other eye gleamed, unfocused, lit only by killing intent.‘Does it not feel pain?’The wounds weren’t only the eye. Blood streamed from its left forearm and right flank as well.Even so, the wolf beastfolk was poised to charge without a care—while Aquila, by contrast, had bled too much.If it were a simple cut, she could have slapped a tourniquet on it somehow—but a bite was not so easily treated.Aquila fixed on the blood-dripping muzzle and pulled up one corner of her mouth.“I know wolf beastfolk are strong. But this isn’t about strong versus weak.”“Grrrr…”“How did you go mad?”In truth, she had been speaking to it steadily for a while now. It was because she had spotted on this intruder something that wasn’t new at all.“What happened to you?”On the wolf’s body, black with fur, only one place bore another color: the left side of its neck.Fur charred away, skin beneath burned and crushed.The scar was unambiguously shaped like a serpent.‘Ouroboros.’A snake biting its tail. The ominous mark that meant ceaseless regeneration and undying. There was something Aquila had to hear from this beastfolk bearing that brand.“Where is the one who burned that mark into you, right now?”“Gkrk… ma… p…”But the wolf did not answer her even now. The one bright eye, empty of focus, flicked to the closet Aquila guarded.Grind…Teeth beaded with blood rasped. He lunged again.“Give… the map…!”“…!”Aquila shifted her grip on the pocketknife.‘If I stall any longer, the kid’s in danger. Straight for the heart, in one go.’She waited until he was right on top of her and dropped under his guard, driving for his heart—“Kh—!”Before her blade even touched him, the wolf’s body lurched as he coughed blood.Thud…!Aquila slipped aside from the collapsing mass and stared, startled.‘What…?’With no warning, he crumpled. He scrabbled on the planks a few times and never got up. Blood kept spilling from his gaping jaws.“Ma… grk… ma… p…”Even then, he fumbled a hand toward the closet—but before those claws could reach, Aquila kicked.Crack! His forearm broke clean. Foam bubbled over his lips, and he went limp.“Haah…”She had no idea what had happened—but they were alive.When the wolf didn’t move for several seconds, Aquila let out her breath. As the tension bled off, she finally felt the true severity of her own wound.‘This is… bad.’Her shoulder burned too hot; her vision wavered. She’d lost too much blood.Then—footfalls, fast, rushing their way.“Milio! …Huh?!”The one who vaulted the splintered door left by the wolf beastfolk was the elf she’d crossed paths with before.She scanned the wrecked cabin, face gone white—and froze when she saw Aquila dripping blood.“You…!”Aquila knew the elf felt nothing good toward her, but she felt relief. The wolf beastfolk didn’t look likely to wake at once; even so, having someone who could protect Milio if the worst happened was a blessing.Now she could…‘I can afford to pass out.’Slick…Her hand, braced on the wall, slid down.The instant her knees hit the floor, strength drained out of her. With her eyes fluttering and her breath thready, Aquila moved her lips as if the thought had just struck her.“…Tell Noce… Mostro.”To the elf still standing there, not yet grasping the situation, she ground out,“Tell… him… to give my… weapons… back… now…”If the madman confiscated someone’s weapons, he ought to make sure they’d never need them.Grinding her teeth over the stupid fact that the body she’d barely mended through that “relationship” was torn open again, Aquila blacked out.She didn’t see the elf’s incredulous face, nor Milio popping the closet door and lunging out, panic plain on theirs.【 How the Pirate Courts 】In a sea wracked by savage typhoon, not far from the raging naval melee, a pirate ship bucking the heavy swell rang with shouted voices.“How much longer are we supposed to wait!”“You said this time we could finally get it! The map to Paradise!”Captains of pirate crews with names known in the Merk Sea had all gathered there.At the center of them, a one-eyed captain slammed the table.“Say something! What is your hunting dog even doing!”“Hmm…”From the small crystal sphere on the table, a bleak voice leaked with a dim glow.“Hard to believe, but it seems the hunt failed.”“W-what?!”“And you say that now? Do you know how many of my men died?!”“How will you compensate us for this!”The enraged captains roared. But the man beyond the crystal answered colder still.“Compensate? That’s what we—Ouroboros—should be saying. We lay the board, and you fools still can’t take the feed.”

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