Realm Wars

Lucian drew his sword. "I suggest that you let us go if you don't want your life to end here."

The Owner laughed. "And what made you think that you could defeat me, boy?"

"There are seven of us and only three of you," Cecily said.

The Owner loosened his stance and tapped his fan on his chin. "True. But numbers don't decide anything. I have tons of items with me, and I'm very sure that I'll be able to escape while either one or two of you will disappear in the face of Septverden."

Rosa snorted. "He's bluffing." 

But the sweat on Rosa's face said otherwise.

If the Owner could pull out an item like the Scrolls of Chronus that was capable of freezing a Rank-S beast, then he certainly had more. He was a black-market dealer, and one thing that he didn't lack was resources.

Cecily looked at Lucian, waiting for his signal.

Fifi shifted her head left and right, didn't know where to focus.

Kai was biting his nails off.

Ryu was waiting for Cecily's command.

Ferris just wanted to sleep. Could they just get this done and over with? Rather, what was the Owner so mad about? 

Oh, right. They stole a piece of map that nobody understood its contents.

The Owner opened his palm. "Give me that map."

Cecily's lips crooked in a smile. "I thought that you didn't want it."

The Owner's face crumpled. "That piece of map belongs to me. It might contain the information of The Lost Jewel of Tethyt."

.. .

.. .

Lucian and the others thought of that as well. There was a chance that the map could lead to the true location of the Jewel. That was why they were planning to bargain it with Skull. 

They could forget about Skull since she abandoned them and bargain instead with the Owner. Lucian was sure that the Owner had his own ship. But their goals were not aligned. 

The Owner was after the Lost Jewel wherever it was, and they couldn't afford to dally any longer. And who knows what the Owner would do if they were aboard his ship.

At least Skull was transparent, and her desire to roam into the Nightmare Sea aligned somewhat with their main goal.

Lucian swung his sword. "Sorry, but we need this map." They'll just have to fly and search for Skull's ship. It might not have gone too far since it wasn't even a day that they explored Deadman's Rock.

"I own that map."

Rosa shrugged. "And now you lost it, and we found it. So it belongs to us now."

The Owner gnashed his teeth. "You stole it!" He then took in some air and laughed. "Have it your way!"

Athen and Athena rushed towards Ryu and the others, but at this moment, a loud bang rang not far from them.

Athen and Athena disappeared when a canon zoomed their way. It landed on the sand and created crevices on the ground.

Boom!

Boom!

A series of explosions and the Owner's group was forced to retreat as the sand and dust covered the air for seconds.

"Wha' are ye doin' standin' thar like hanged scallywags?! Hurry up 'n climbed aboard!"

Lucian's group looked over, and their faces brightened when they saw Skull's ship approaching from behind the mountain of rocks.

Lucian never knew he would say it, but he was relieved at the sight of Skull for once.

"Everyone! Get on the boat!"

As the cannons hit to distract the Owner and his bodyguards, Ryu and the rest hurried into the ocean and climbed the boat.

"You won't get away!" The Owner snatched a whistle hidden inside his shirt and blew it. The whistle didn't make any sound, but it summoned a dark boat with dark metal frames.

Upon seeing the Owner's ship approaching from the other side, Skull instructed, "Bring down the sails! Full speed ahead!"

"It's no use! That boat is too fast–Urp!" Kai covered his mouth as his eyes rolled on the back of his head.

Fifi was there to the rescue and cured Kai's seasickness for a time. "Are you okay?"

Kai was exhausted. With all the things that happened, he just wanted to drop dead on the wooden planks. Too tired to even move his mouth, he gave darling Fifi a thumbs up.

"It's gaining on us." Cecily was contemplating whether to unleash her skill to delay the boat.

Rosa pushed Cecily aside and raised her staff. She had a bit of mana left, and it was enough if they just wanted to delay the Owner's boat.

"Leave it to me." 

At Rosa's voice, a wild torrent of waters crept from Skull's ship and moved towards the Owner's ship. And when it reached the Owners boat, the floods grew stronger and stronger until the ship was stuck between the torrents.

Kai was like an old man with exhaustion littering his bones. He just gave another thumbs up at Rosa. Now that he was sure they were safe from the Owner's hands, he could finally rest.

Or so he thought. . .

At the island, the Owner was fuming in range, and he snapped his fan in two. Athen and Athena looked at each other and took a step back from the Owner when wild torrents of dark static enveloped him.

"No one crosses me and gets away with it!" Shadows from trees, rocks, and all creatures on the island were sucked in the Owner's body, and all of them withered and died, leaving only rot and decay in the path of the shadow.

"If I can't have that map, then so can't you!" In his rage, the Owner forgot that Cecily was the granddaughter of the Legendary Byron.

But none of that matters because he was consumed with anger. If no one were alive, then no one would tell the tale.

"All of you will die!" the Owner was reluctant to use the most destructive spell in his arsenal since its drawback was years of his life. Those who grazed by its shadow would have their soul shattered. If he acquired the Jewel, then he could quickly regain those years back.

[Death's Grasp]

A massive claw of a skeleton burst forth from the Owner's body. Everything that the giant claws passed rot and decay, and all creatures it grazed floated on the ocean. 

Lucian and the others didn't know what the massive Skelton-like claws do, but they had a bad feeling about it.

Rosa attempted to break its course with a water barrier, but the massive claws just went past it, never straying on its target, which was all the people in the boat. Like it couldn't wait to acquire so many souls.

The mercenaries on the boat were stunned in place at the approaching threat while Skull turned the wheel of her ship to evade.

Lucian ground his teeth. Rosa and Cecily were almost out of mana, while Fifi couldn't even hope to break that thing with her electricity. While Ryu was useless against it and Lucian didn't know anything about Ferris except that she was drowsing off most of the time.

"Not good!" pressed of time, Lucian summoned Raphael.