Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

Three days later...

The huge ship finally arrived at the edge of the Dead Sea Line.

Jake stood near the railing of the deck, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

The moment they crossed into this stretch of water, the atmosphere changed so abruptly that even the air felt heavier.

The first thing he noticed was the sky.

Even though it was still daytime, the sunlight seemed dimmer here, as if something unseen was filtering it.

The clouds hung low and thick, painted in muted shades of gray and dark blue.

There was no storm, yet the light felt unnatural... pale and cold.

The sea itself was even stranger.

The water, which had been a deep blue only hours ago, now carried a dark, almost blackish hue.

Occasional ripples moved across the surface without any wind to explain them.

In the distance, faint mist clung to the water like a thin veil, making it hard to tell where the sea ended and the sky began.

Jake narrowed his eyes.

Through his Aura Perception, the difference was even more unsettling.

The natural flow of energy that usually drifted freely across the open sea felt... distorted here.

Thin, irregular currents of aura twisted beneath the surface, as if something deep below was constantly shifting.

It wasn’t hostile... not yet.

But it was far from normal.

"...So this is the Dead Sea Line," he muttered.

Grace stood beside him, her golden eyes scanning the horizon with quiet caution.

One hand rested near the grip of her long rifle, while the other held lightly onto the railing.

"It feels worse than the stories," she said softly.

Jake nodded slowly.

Then Garrick’s voice suddenly rang out from the upper deck.

"All hands, stay sharp! No one leaves their post without reason. We cross carefully and steadily. Keep your eyes open!"

Jake’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

The peaceful days of recovery were truly over.

Beyond this dark stretch of sea waited unknown dangers... and whatever secrets the deeper waters were hiding.

As if his thoughts had jinxed it—

BOOOOOOM!!!

The sea in front of the ship suddenly exploded upward.

A massive pillar of black water erupted into the air, sending violent waves crashing against the ships.

From within the spray, a grotesque shape burst forth.

A sea monster.

Its body was long and serpentine, covered in slick, dark scales that reflected the dim light like wet stone.

Multiple glowing yellow eyes lined the sides of its elongated head, and a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged teeth snapped open with a bone-chilling roar.

Thick tentacle-like fins thrashed at its sides as it rose higher, easily dwarfing the front ships of the caravan.

"SEA BEAST—!!"

"All hands, battle positions!!"

Chaos erupted across the decks in an instant.

Sailors scrambled to their posts.

Crossbows were loaded.

Spears and harpoons were dragged forward.

Several class holders among the caravan began channeling their skills, faint glows of different skills flickering across the ships.

ROARRR!!!

The sea beast let out another deafening roar, its multiple yellow eyes locking onto the vessel as it reared higher above the water.

The sheer pressure of its presence made the weaker members freeze for a second.

Grace steadied her long rifle, golden eyes sharp as she tracked the monster’s movement.

"Jake, it’s too big... one or two shots won’t be enough—"

Before she could finish, Jake stepped forward.

The air around him shifted as a clean, sharp aura flared along his body... denser and more refined than before.

WHOOSH!

Then he simply vanished from his position in a burst of speed.

Several nearby members turned their heads, sensing someone charge toward the huge monster.

There, in mid-air, was a small figure compared to the massive beast.

Jake reappeared above the thrashing sea beast, calmly staring down at the creature with his hand still resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

In his eyes... it was so slow.

Every movement of its massive body, every twitch of its tentacle-like fins, every shift of its glowing yellow eyes... all of it felt sluggish, as if the world itself had been dragged through thick water.

And Jake could also see those strange lines flowing through the sea beast’s body.

’I see... No wonder Garrick said Aura is a unique life energy.’

He thought inwardly.

And seeing those lines had made it... much easier for him to strike.

CRACKLE...

A deep red, thunderous aura slowly began to rise around him.

Sparks of red lightning crawled along the edge of the hilt as he slowly unsheathed the weapon, the air around him distorting from the sudden surge of energy.

The sea beast finally reacted, its multiple eyes locking onto the small figure above it.

With a furious roar, it opened its massive jaws and lunged upward, aiming to swallow him whole.

Jake’s eyes remained cold.

"Too slow."

In the next instant, his body twisted as he swung his sword.

Then the red-thunderous aura exploded outward.

"AURA SLASH!!!"

A brilliant crescent of red light tore through the air.

ZING—!

The blade of pure aura cut cleanly across the monster’s thick neck, slicing through scales, muscle, and bone in one decisive stroke.

For a brief moment, the massive creature froze... its roar cut short.

Then its enormous head slid off its body and crashed into the sea with a thunderous splash.

BOOM!

The headless body thrashed once... twice... before collapsing lifelessly into the dark water, sending waves rolling outward.

Thud.

Jake landed lightly back on the deck, the red light around his sword fading as he calmly slid the blade back into its sheath, with his back turned toward the dead sea beast.

He didn’t even look particularly out of breath as the powerful aura dissipated around him.

But then he looked down at his feet as he felt something—

And noticed a strange, sticky mucus clinging to his boots and the lower part of his pants.

The translucent, slimy substance was slowly dripping from the monster’s severed neck, some of it having splashed onto the deck during the impact.

Jake’s calm expression instantly twisted in pure disgust.

"Eww! What the heck is that!?"

He quickly stepped back, shaking one leg as if trying to fling the sticky goo off.

The mucus stretched unpleasantly before finally snapping and plopping onto the wooden deck with a wet sound.

At the same time, the entire area fell silent.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Dozens of caravan members just stared at him in awe and shock... completely dumbfounded.

Their eyes shifted between the headless corpse of the massive sea beast floating in the water... and the young man who had just cut it down in a single strike, only to immediately start panicking over some slime on his shoes.