Round Eight: On the Island (Part 2)

The sporadic violence caused by Sonna made the nights on the island somewhat quieter. Most inns, taverns, and other establishments closed down. The streets were almost deserted, aside from occasional squads of armed soldiers passing by. No one wanted to wander around at such times and risk being taken as a suspect and locked in a dungeon for the night. As for any quieter forms of entertainment that might take place in secret, no one cared.

The prison was located in the central part of the island, at a high elevation. This wasn’t because the islanders had any special reverence for prisons, but because building a house near the sea would be destroyed by prisoners overnight, allowing them to swim away and vanish without a trace. So, they simply dug a hole. Sailors were far more skilled at digging tunnels than swimming.

“Are the guards dealt with? Done?” A voice suddenly came from the shadows behind a house facing the prison.

If anyone had passed by, they would have been startled by this sudden, eerie question. Even upon closer inspection, the house remained a house, and the shadows stayed shadows—nothing but some rotten, moldy wooden planks and scattered trash.

“Done! Easily.” Still no one was visible. It sounded like two ghosts talking—ghosts with identical tones.

Then there was silence again. After a long pause, four or five dark figures almost blending into the night appeared around the street corner.

The person in the shadows grunted heavily. “I thought those priests wouldn’t show up until dawn.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Kauf the Black Hand had gone from a ruthless bandit to a full-time priest of Xeric nearly thirty years ago. Over fifty now, he was still full of energy. Though he was much thinner than he had been in his youth, every muscle in his body was like iron. Often, he preferred to use a sledgehammer to smash people’s skulls—his favorite method from his days surviving in the harsh wastelands. Such brutally bloody tactics usually produced unexpected results. Absolute cruelty meant absolute power, and that was his creed.

So when he learned that the female mage and her steel companions had been taken away by the island’s soldiers without resistance, his first reaction was that simply killing the pirate leader to create chaos wasn’t enough—something more drastic was needed. Since the mage refused to cause trouble or leave the island as they wanted and instead chose to wait obediently, it seemed she hadn’t been hurt badly enough. What about an earthquake powerful enough to bury them all alive? Unable to go to Gyojin Island to complete Darkday’s most important mission, Kauf was seething with anger. Competition among Xeric’s followers was also fierce.

Thus, he ignored the Darkday assassins left by the other faction as well.

“Lord Kaof… I suggest you think it over.” The shadow writhed and eventually took the form of a translucent human figure who stood beside Kaof, his face indistinct: “That former Red Robe mage named Morriel is a dangerous person… She was once a high-ranking commander in Agus’s mage forces, and reports specifically state that following her is extremely risky—we must be cautious.”
Kaof rolled his eyes. “Cautious? We’re already cautious enough—right now, other pirate leaders are desperately trying to figure out who killed Derek, and I believe they might suspect us soon. Those damned sea-dwellers have always despised the glory of the Eternal Dark Days. Another one we managed to win over has been easily abandoned because of your boss’s whimsical plan. Damn it, our goal isn’t just to lock people up. If that Red Robe mage and her followers are truly as dangerous as they claim, then within a day or two she’ll walk out of prison unharmed and might even ally with other pirates. How can we stop her from continuing to disrupt our plans? Well? What do you say, Shadow Wolf?”
“What do I say? How should I say it?” Shadow Wolf seemed displeased, but then he suddenly changed his tone: “Yes, Lord Kaof. That’s why I’ve already taken care of the guards at the prison entrance. We need to create a major conflict between the mages and the pirates to ensure we can complete the mission successfully!”
“Hmm, good work, Shadow Wolf!” Kaof wasn’t expecting Shadow Wolf to be so efficient and couldn’t help but nod. It seemed this madman who stayed to assist him was quite useful. If all his subordinates were as skilled as the assassins in the assassin group, Kaof’s position in the Church of Xirek wouldn’t be declining as it is now. “From now on, you’re under my command. Perform well on the island. Any problems?”
“Any problems? Any problems?” The shadowy figure hunched over, hands clasped in front of his chest, shaking his head nervously as he repeated the question. It seemed his self-questioning wasn’t just a habit—he was indeed a bit unhinged. But the next moment, the assassin Shadow Wolf immediately returned to normal: “Of course not, Lord Kaof!”
It was the darkest part of the pre-dawn night, and the prison was filled with the sound of prisoners snoring—low and high, like a large concert. Morriel sat in a relatively dry corner, lost in meditation, while 47 stood bored behind the iron bars, imagining for the umpteenth time smashing the obstacle in front of him with a punch.
Earthquake magic!
The words exploded in 47’s mind, as loud as if Morriel were shouting them in his ear. At the same time, the ground, along with the prison cells, began to shake. The vibrations coming from deep within the earth grew stronger, like the pulse of the earth itself. 47 turned around and saw that Morriel had stood up.
“Someone is using earthquake magic around the prison—they want to crush everyone inside!” Morriel said outright. More prisoners were also awakened by the earthquake, and increasingly loud noises filled the prison.
“Everyone? At least not us two…”

“Idiot! If an earthquake caused by magic levels this place, it’s impossible for us to stay unharmed and not become the target of all the pirates!” Only then did Moriel remember that the magic wand used to smash those forty-seven heads had been seized by the jailer. “It seems there are really important clues on the island, and they’re doing everything possible to stop us from getting them.”
“So you want us to completely fall out with the pirates so we can’t get any clues about Little Red Riding Hood, right?” Forty-Seven shrugged. “You already said that. So what now? Don’t even mention asking me to go out and stop those guys who don’t know where they’re hiding—it’s you who wants me to stay in prison.”
“Not only will we fail to get clues about Kayro, but it will also be extremely difficult for us to set sail…” Moriel suddenly paused. “Maybe their real goal is to stop us from leaving! Could it be…”
“Then let’s fly back.” Forty-Seven still seemed unfazed.
Dust rained down from the roof, and time no longer allowed Moriel to hesitate. “There are four of them, each forming an earthquake magic circle in one of the four corners of the prison. If we go now…”
Before Moriel could finish, Forty-Seven twisted aside several iron bars as if parting branches. “Actually, you know I’d never object to getting out of this hellhole.”
It took just the blink of an eye for Forty-Seven to spot the first priest in black robes and kill him. The priest died instantly from the sudden appearance of Forty-Seven—his iron fist, emerging abruptly from the wall in front of him, blew the priest’s head off before he could even show a surprised expression.
“Sorry, I just wanted to open a door.” With that, Forty-Seven rushed along the prison wall toward another corner. Only then did the headless priest’s body fall to the ground and roll down a slope.
Forty-Seven saw another priest standing in a corner. When the priest noticed him as well, the armor on Forty-Seven’s back suddenly unfolded like folded pages, revealing two rows of nozzles. Just as a person takes a deep breath before exerting force, scorching gray-white flames burst forth, making him look like he was wearing a blazing cloak. Forty-Seven’s speed increased so rapidly that the priest couldn’t do anything. He turned and dashed around the corner, while the upper half of the poor priest, split in two, had already flown somewhere unknown.
Kaof pulled out the hammer with spiked heads hidden under the hem of his long robe when the first priest died. By the time the second priest died, he raised the hammer. When Forty-Seven rushed up to Kaof in an instant, the hammer’s tip struck Forty-Seven’s head like lightning, sparking violently with a sound as loud as a bell.

The hammer that had shattered countless heads for Kaofu was bent back by the recoil and flew out of his grasp. Kaofu, who had already summoned sacred power and enhanced his strength to the point where he could compete with giants in a arm-wrestling match, felt as if his hands had been severed—numb and insensitive. If not for the other protective measures still in effect, his arm bones might have been shattered. When 47 reached out to grab his neck and lift him, the explosive vibration traveled from his arms to his head, causing his nose to bleed.

47 gently pressed his thumb against Kaofu’s Adam’s apple, causing tiny cracks to appear in the bone immediately, yet Kaofu couldn’t cough a single word. The cold hand tightly wrapped around his neck cut off all contact with air, forcing him to convulse silently. At the same time, Kaofu despairedly realized that not even a single piece of metal had been knocked off the head of the person hit by the hammer.

Moriel took a slightly longer time dealing with the first priest, as it was obvious that the priest had already detected someone’s death on their side through changes in the earthquake magic array. So when Moriel’s magic missiles struck the priest, the protective divine spells already in place activated, causing the missiles to explode into sparks and vanish. Seeing that Moriel didn’t stop but instead rushed toward him, the priest immediately raised his warhammer infused with Xeric’s black fire to fight back—only to be torn to pieces by more missiles that followed as the magic effects were lifted.

Without even glancing at the priest who had been defeated by a barrage of spells, Moriel ran to the other side. The outer walls of the prison began to collapse. If the casting priests weren’t eliminated entirely, the earthquake magic array could still level most of the prison. They had to kill those scheming tricksters first!

Suddenly, the shadow of the prison’s outer wall, which seemed slightly longer under the moonlight, curled inward, as if a huge carpet were suddenly lifting itself. Moriel jumped to the side just as he was about to be engulfed, only to immediately face a thin sword that suddenly emerged from the shadow—more of a needle than a sword.

Shadow Wolf felt his silver needle touch Moriel’s sharp nose tip but couldn’t, as he had planned, pierce through that beautiful head. It felt as though he were stabbing into soft mud—unable to penetrate further downward or pull it out. So Shadow Wolf simply pounced. When he transformed back into human form and turned around, he found Moriel still standing safely outside his effective attack range.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?” Shadow Wolf curled up, talking to himself again. “What’s going on? What’s going on?” But obviously, he found no answer this time.

“Who are you?” Moriel too was drenched in sweat. This kind of sudden attack was something she had never encountered before. If not for the protective blade spell triggered by accident, things could have turned out very badly.

“Who am I? Who am I?” Shadow Wolf shook his head, looking around. “I am an assassin who eliminates enemies in the name of the great god Xirek—Shadow Wolf!”
After answering the question, Shadow Wolf immediately became much calmer and more composed. He moved his legs, which seemed almost fused together, approaching Moriel in a circuitous path that appeared slow but was actually constantly changing direction. Meanwhile, the female mage quickly prepared counter-spells. Against such a swift and dangerous assassin, the shortcomings of her enchantment-based spells, which couldn’t effectively disrupt or control enemies, became apparent.
The magical glow emitted by Moriel failed to hit her opponent. Shadow Wolf dodged the deadly magical energy as if it had no substance, then charged forward silently once again. This time, he thrust two needle-like swords from both hands. Due to their extreme speed, the swords transformed into streaks of light that shot toward Moriel. As an assassin, Shadow Wolf had always aimed for a one-shot kill; second attacks were extremely rare. But this time, the female mage could definitely not avoid his swords!
Yet instead of dying at Shadow Wolf’s sword, he never even got close to her. Just as his target was right in front of him, about to be pierced by his sword, his swords suddenly snapped in two with a clatter. Before he could wonder what was happening, he collided with an invisible wall. The streaks of light turned into stars surrounding his head—he was stunned.
Shadow Wolf kicked at Moriel, not to attack, but to use the invisible barrier for momentum. He drifted away like a piece of black paper, quickly disappearing into the darkness—he had never attacked his target three times in a row, as his past opponents had fallen before his second strike, leaving him without a third move!
Faced with such an unprecedented situation, the only option was to flee first.
Moriel breathed a sigh of relief. If this guy hadn’t retreated and continued attacking, she would have had to consider retreating as well. Kiskain’s enhanced protective blade had flickered several times due to the excessive recoil from the enemy’s attacks before dissipating. It was then she realized that the shaking of the ground had completely stopped. When she reached another corner of the prison, she saw Forty-Seven gripping the neck of a black-robed priest, slowly embedding his body into the stone wall. Although Forty-Seven was very strong, the priest’s body was also quite sturdy.
“This is the third one!” Forty-Seven said, continuing to apply pressure slowly, as if he weren’t killing someone but creating a relief sculpture. Kaof, held in Forty-Seven’s palm, was filled with terror and despair. Not only had he been defeated at first sight, but the enemy’s bizarre method of killing was even too cruel for the usually fierce and brutal Kaof the Black Hand, especially when it came to killing someone like himself.
Don’t kill him yet.
“Break his neck!” Moriel silently communicated with Forty-Seven mentally while deliberately intimidating Kaof.

The strength in Forty-Seven’s hands increased significantly instantly. Kaof’s eyeballs bulged outward as he pleaded with Moriel.
“Any last words? Say them while I’m still in a good mood!”
Forty-Seven loosened his grip but still pressed Kaof tightly against the already dented wall. Kaof spat blood and made gurgling sounds from his throat, finally able to catch his breath.
“Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you anything—don’t kill me!” First, stabilize these two.
“What do you want to tell me, follower of Xeric? That you killed that pirate captain and created all this chaos so the pirates could execute me, or to trap me?”
Kaof was momentarily speechless. It was unclear whether this girl, as a mage, was as powerful as the reports said, but her insight was indeed hard to deal with. All the prepared words he had were now useless.
“I am indeed from Xeric’s Church, but I have no ill intentions! The pirates treated Xeric’s guests like this, so of course we had to show them some consequences…”
“Typical of Dark Xeric, who defeated the Lady of Mist and seized her power—when did his followers become so good at lying?” Moriel shook her head dismissively, showing her disdain for such a poor lie. “Where is Kayro? What’s your plan? Better tell me clearly. I know the consequences of defying Xeric are terrible, but not cooperating with me won’t end up any better!”
Moriel’s words seemed to remind Kaof, causing him to show a resolute expression. “Don’t compare yourself to the great God Xeric! You wouldn’t understand what happens when you defy the god—it’s a thousand times worse than death!”
No good!
Moriel was shocked but too late to stop Kaof from crushing the poison pellets in his teeth. A large amount of blood slowly flowed from his mouth and nose. Forty-Seven released his grip, and Kaof died with his head tilted against the wall.
“I should have killed him myself earlier…” Forty-Seven seemed regretful.
“I shouldn’t have provoked him so much. I really didn’t expect Xeric’s followers to be so fanatical, willing to sacrifice their lives for their god at any moment…” Moriel was also regretful, but she understood that even if this cloaked priest survived, it would be hard to get any valuable information from him.
“Hey, we meet again!” Chloe, the female swordsman they had met at the Broken Skull Inn, suddenly appeared at the foot of the slightly lower slope. She seemed to be holding her weapon casually, like a complete novice who didn’t know how to use a sword. Her fiery red hair resembled a flame dancing in the darkness. Her tall stature made her appear neither small even when looking down from the slope. But what concerned Moriel the most was that at Chloe’s feet lay the Dark Day Assassin Shadow Wolf, crouched there like Chloe’s shadow, gently swaying in the dim, flickering light coming from somewhere.
Could this one also be from Xeric?

“Don’t get it wrong—I caught that guy who tried to escape over there.” Chloe sheathed her sword at her waist, spread her arms, and walked up the slope, with Shadow Wolf following closely behind. It was hard to tell whether he resembled a captive or more like a little black dog trailing its master around. “Whether you’re an enemy or a friend, if you don’t want to get in our way, please leave…” Moriel gestured for Chloe to keep distance. The distant flames and voices grew louder, and the cries and curses from inside the prison never ceased. “But I’d be very grateful if you could hand over the man who just attacked me.” “I was originally hired by the pirate leader here, Derek. After hearing about his death at the inn, I started wandering around, trying to find some clues. It seems my employer’s death is closely related to these guys.” Chloe smiled, her resolute face radiating determination. “To get the commission that belongs to me, I must follow this dog, find their leader, and settle this account properly.” Although Moriel was puzzled by the method Chloe used to subdue such a tricky guy, she couldn’t find any flaws in her words for the time being. Then Chloe kicked Shadow Wolf, who barked twice. “I didn’t say to bark, idiot! Talk! Repeat what you just said!” “What did I say? What did I say?” Shadow Wolf crouched on the ground, shook his head, asked himself, and then replied, “Yes, Derek was killed after meeting with a captain, and we framed that captain who took us out to sea, aiming to create chaos and prevent the female mage and her construct from tracking us after we set sail. They went to Gyojin Island to find that Mist Girl, Kairo…” Gyojin Island? Kairo? Though Moriel was still skeptical, this clue was unmistakable. Aside from the somewhat strange relationship between Chloe and Shadow Wolf, there was no reason not to believe it. The sky was beginning to brighten as pirates flocked in groups. Chloe clearly knew the leading pirate; after explaining a few words to him, the pirates immediately stopped surrounding Moriel and released everyone imprisoned in the prison due to Derek’s death. It seemed there was no reason to doubt this strangely behaving female swordsman anymore. “Since you’re not one of Hiryek’s men, I don’t mind traveling with you. But try not to cause too much trouble. The danger of this journey is likely to exceed your expectations!” By afternoon, Moriel and the forty-seven others had arrived at the dock. Derek’s men prepared a ship, and most of the sailors from the former Red Wine Queen also volunteered to join this mission to retrieve their captain—although loyalty and gratitude to Simon and Moriel were the common reason given by the sailors, the main reason was that Simon owed them a large sum of commission.

Chloe was waiting at the dock early on, with Shadow Wolf crouched beside her, never straying far. In daylight, Shadow Wolf turned out to be just a young man wearing a tightly fitting black suit that covered his entire body, including his head. The only part of his face visible was extremely thin, with a pale complexion that was somewhat frightening. He sat there listlessly, looking displeased at everything around him.

“It’s my own problem. I’ll take care of myself. Please don’t worry, Miss Mage!” Chloe smiled again, her smile neither sweet nor bland. Even that awkward title made Moriel feel uneasy.

“That’s your business. Actually, I’m more interested in how you tamed this Dark Sun believer…” Moriel deliberately changed the subject. In truth, his curiosity about Shadow Wolf paled in comparison to that of Forty-Seven. As soon as he arrived at the dock, he bent down to look down at Shadow Wolf, who disdainfully refused to even glance at him. Forty-Seven tapped Shadow Wolf’s head, causing him to shake his head and look away blankly. Forty-Seven tapped him again; Shadow Wolf was almost in tears from the pain, yet he remained proudly unyielding. It wasn’t until Forty-Seven raised his hand for the third time that Shadow Wolf meekly barked once.

“Good boy!” Forty-Seven struck him with a third slap.

“Captain Moriel! Everything is ready. Shall we set sail?” Rol appeared at the bow, calling him Captain Moriel with complete naturalness.

“It’s a secret, but I’ll tell you later!” Moriel didn’t have time to think about what secret Chloe meant when she suddenly gave him a lightning-fast kiss on the cheek. By the time Moriel angrily regained his senses, everyone had already boarded the ship.

“Damn it, set sail!”