As Esau took a staggering step backwards, Micheal's body lit up with a faint green glow. He dropped the sack and stood in a defensive position, inwardly calculating how to effectively protect the boy from harm. The green glow spread across his arms, sizzling with heat.

  Their previous decision to not use magic was dependent on the belief that their attacker wouldn't use it either. After all, neither side would want to get pursued and arrested by local authorities.

  However, seeing that the strange entity before them harbored even more sinister plans than just seizing what they had, Micheal could only abandon all caution.

  Still, it wasn't like he could achieve much with his powers. Being a Radiant Seeker only allowed him to move faster and throw stronger punches. The attacker, however, seemed to be an abominable creature that could do way more.

  Micheal knew he would last a few heartbeats at best.

  Still, he stood with determination and carefully outstretched both hands.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Esau rooted to his spot.

  “What are you doing?! Run!”

  The young prince wore a rare grimace. “I— I can't leave you here.”

  What? Micheal didn't have the time to feel touched, because the adversary had lunged forward with damning speed. The snake-like arm squirmed and transformed into a large, gleaming blade.

  Vessel!

  Micheal recognized the magical properties and reacted with a sideways push, shoving Esau aside and throwing himself away all at once. The blade whistled across the spot where both boys had just been.

  Micheal didn't waste time rolling to the side, barely evading another strike that aimed to sever him in half. He pushed himself off a wall and poured Essence into his fist, before swinging with all his might.

  His fist struck true, causing a depression in the man's chest.

  However, the enemy was indifferent to the attack. The abomination merely grinned and grabbed Micheal's arm, twisting with relative ease.

  Micheal's expression contorted as he cried out in pain.

  In that moment, Esau collected himself and lunged at their attacker’s feet. He widened his mouth and bit down on the man's ankle, tearing at skin and flesh like a barbarian and drawing blood.

  The man glanced down, amused. He raised the blade and brought it down towards Esau’s head.

  Clang!

  The blade was knocked in another direction— Micheal had used the attacker’s squirming body as support, raising both legs and sending it scraping the floor just close to Esau’s head.

  A deep cackle resounded throughout the cold night.

  “How interesting! Why do you desperately resist death?!”

  The man of ash and serpent opened his mouth. His lips tore at the edges as a large snake slithered out. The snake’s ruby eyes shimmered as it bared its fangs at Micheal.

  The boy's head tilted with unnatural speed, dodging the strike. He extended his hand, grabbed the snake by the neck, and pulled with desperation.

  Blood spilled like a colorful painting.

  Stronger than a Vestige, but not at the level of a Luminary… Micheal made an accurate judgement as he followed with a direct shoulder barge into the enemy.

  As Esau was still gnawing on the attacker's ankle, the man toppled over and crashed against the stone floor.

  Ignoring the throbbing pain in his broken arm, Micheal tossed the dead serpent aside, grabbed the prince and retreated to a corner.

  “Haha! This is good! This is very good!” The Vessel, Baraka, rose with a grin. He regarded the boys with a nod of approval. “When I'm about to reap the life of an unlucky fellow, they're usually frozen with fear and unable to retaliate. It's vexing, really. But you… a mere Seeker and, even more impressive, a mundane child! Haha, how marvelous! I'm going to enjoy ripping the two of you limb from limb.”

  He took a step forward… then froze.

  “Perhaps in another lifetime.” A figure had appeared behind Baraka at some point in time.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Without warning, and before Baraka could turn around, his body rapidly burgeoned and erupted in a bath of crimson and pungent ash. Blood stained the cobblestone streets, splattering all over the two boys huddled in a corner.

  “Wha—” Micheal's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

  “It's the first-mate…” Esau gasped.

  Odin took a step forward and let out a heavy sigh. Surprisingly, despite having been directly behind Baraka, he wasn't at all stained with blood or fleshly residuals. He crouched and observed the cracked skulls for a moment, then clicked his tongue and walked over to Esau and Micheal.

  “Well, you two look like shit.”

  Micheal blinked. His brain finally seemed to process what just happened. He clenched his jaw and yelled, “Like this isn't your fault!”

  Odin threw his arms up in surrender.

  “I mean, I did appear in time. Why so hostile?”

  Esau, meanwhile, had his eyes stuck on whatever remained of what had just attacked them. He couldn't help but steal a glance at the indolent Paragon.

  How powerful…

  Odin stopped laughing at Micheal and said seriously, “Although, we probably should get both of you to an Apothecary. Your arm is broken. Ah, I should be spending quality time with Adeline…”

  Micheal shot the man a furious glare and hurried to grab the cloth sack he'd dropped earlier with his functioning hand. Then, he watched as the young prince wobbled over to the spot where the Orbulus lay, still halved. Although, it had reverted to its normal size.

  After a moment, the boy said with a frown, “It's… asleep.”

  Ah… After going through so much tonight, Micheal couldn't spare the effort to even wonder how that was possible.

  Odin glanced over and said with a wave of his hand, “It's an Orbulus. They won't die unless completely erased. Mash both halves together and throw it in a sack or something.”

  Esau stared in silence for a while. Eventually, he did as the first-mate told and carried the now-shrunken creature in his hands.

  As they walked into the night, the boy asked, “How did you know that we were in danger?”

  “...A Paragon’s Intuition.” Odin resisted the urge to mock the kids that they looked like peppered potatoes. In truth, he had been around for longer. He had been surprised at how desperately they fought back, so he ended up spectating out of amusement.

  Shaking his head, Odin frowned and muttered, “After all that commotion, the local guards didn't appear… What's going on with the Council? Is Valkara becoming a lawless city?”

  …

  On the Knuckleback,

  Esau and Micheal returned to the ship looking like they had gone through Abyss and back. The sailors on the deck couldn't help but stare in amusement at their current appearances. They looked, in fact, like peppered potatoes.

  The bronze-skinned Maddy approached them and relieved Micheal of the heavy sack.

  “Let me guess, Odin was off doin’ something stupid? Dragged yer lot into a mess?”

  Both kids nodded simultaneously.

  “Aye, don't worry about it. I'll give ‘im an earful when he returns. Ya both go take a good ol’ bath and com’up to the galley for dinner.”

  “Yes ma'am.” Esau and Micheal nodded once more and walked off. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Maddy was the only lady on the ship, but she appeared as something of an older sister to them.

  Of course, both kids had their own reasons for viewing her as such. For Esau, Maddy reminded him of a grown Imogen, in a way. Both were boisterous, yet gentle at heart.

  As for Micheal, he felt like her presence pulled him towards a truth he was not prepared for.

  After cleaning themselves up, both boys fell into bed immediately. It had been a long night after all. Micheal especially had it rough, considering that the Apothecary had to fix his broken arm. Thankfully, the first-mate had paid for a few pain relieving herbs.

  …

  When morning came, Esau was awoken by a stir. He mumbled something under his breath and rolled out of bed. Wearing a light tunic and leather pants, he trudged towards the door.

  The Orbulus sat on the wooden desk, alive and bubbly, and gnawing on the edges of Esau’s book.

  The boy smiled softly. He patted the lovable creature on the head, before stepping out.

  He moved around the living quarters and arrived on the lower deck. The morning breeze swept through his hair, making him pause for a moment. Then, he turned his gaze towards the pier.

  There, the sailors of the Knuckleback were gathered in a circle, causing quite a ruckus.

  Esau moved towards Micheal and asked, “What's going on?”

  Micheal, who too had woken up not long ago, glanced at the boy with a hint of uneasiness.

  “The local guards appeared this morning. They demanded that the first-mate be handed over.”

  Esau frowned. “Because of what happened last night?”

  “It would seem so.” Micheal clenched his teeth. “Those swines! They didn't show up when we were being attacked. But they would demand an arrest for the person who saved us? How does that make any sense?!”

  “It doesn't make any sense.” Esau said suddenly.

  Micheal blinked. “Yes, I know… I just said that…”

  “It doesn't make any sense.” Esau repeated, causing the Radiant to quietly rub his forehead. However, the young prince continued, “You would think that with such a terrifying killer on the loose, security would be tightened around the city. Yet, last night, we did not spot a single guard. Something doesn't feel right.”

  Micheal fell into thought. He couldn't help agreeing with the boy.

  Perhaps the authorities were afraid of the killer from the Body Ascent? But Micheal had heard that the Six of Swords—The Archipelago's ruling council—was made up of powerful Luminaries. It wouldn't take that much effort to capture a slightly enhanced Vestige.

  Besides that, there wouldn't be any lack of Vestiges among their subordinates.

  Micheal shook the thought and exhaled. Those weren't his problems to consider anyway. He glanced at Esau, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Last night… What you did was too risky. Not running away, I mean.”

  Esau raised a brow.

  “Your first instinct was to protect me, even though you were no match for that creature. Leaving you for dead would be a stain on my honor.”

  Upon hearing the boy's words, Micheal's mouth gaped in amusement. He couldn't decide what to ponder on— the boy's manner of speaking, or the fact that he had mentioned honor.

  What did a thirteen year old know about honor?

  Still, Micheal laughed and patted the boy's hair. “Heh! You saved my hair back there. Thank you.”

  Esau frowned when Micheal ruffled his hair, but remained still. “Thank you, too.”

  On the pier, the sailors of the Knuckleback booed as the local guards left begrudgingly. Their determination to apprehend Odin wavered under his immense pressure.

  The Six of Swords would have to personally descend to demand such from the Stormbringer.

  First-mate Odin tucked his hands into his pantaloons and spat, “And don't you ever return here. Else I'll have your heads sold for Moppets, mongrels!”

  He turned around and pulled Iago under his arm.

  “Now, what say we have a party?”

  “Mighty fine suggestion!” Iago adjusted his glasses and beamed.

  As the sailors erupted with cheers, everyone got to work instantly. Barrels of beer rolled out, Maddy rushed into the kitchen to whip up a delightful feast, and the bards grabbed their strings.

  When the sun stood high above the clouds, the Knuckleback was bustling with activity and excitement.

  Micheal received his portion of mestrel soup and went to sit with the first-mate and Esau on the upper deck.

  As he sat on an empty barrel, he pointed towards the bizarre behemoth in the distance and asked, “Whose ship is that?”

  Odin and Esau both turned their heads. The former chuckled, while the latter's interest was piqued.

  The man whose presence was like raging storms tossed a piece of fish into his mouth, chewed loudly and said, “That, boys, is the Pillager.”

  The Pillager… Esau’s heart throbbed. He momentarily forgot about his food and asked, “Is it an Adventurer’s ship?”

  Micheal nodded twice, indicating that he also wanted to know.

  Odin laughed. He shook his head and responded, “No, no. They journey beyond the safe sea routes in search of treasures just like we do, but unlike us, they plunder and rob travelers of their riches. Yes, the Pillager is a pirate ship. The strongest there is.”

  “A pirate ship…” Micheal couldn't help but blink. Although Valkara was a hub for pirates, their actions were regulated to a great degree. The sea surrounding the Archipelago was considered forbidden waters in regards to plundering.

  It was something of a tacit understanding between the various pirate groups. They had decided that Valkara and the surrounding islands would be something of a “safe zone.”

  Whatever happened beyond that was no man's problem, however.

  Back when Micheal was young, he had seen pirate ships from a distance, but they were usually of moderate sizes, even smaller than most merchant ships.

  How powerful would the captain of the Pillager be to own such a large ship, one that was even bigger than the Knuckleback?

  Micheal felt a pang of excitement, for some reason. His eyes shimmered as he asked, “The captain of the ship… Is he also a Paragon?”

  “He?” Odin scoffed. “Saturn is a woman.”