The One-Eyed Sorceress Appears
With the one-eyed Esai woman's arrival, the battle on the deck ground to a complete halt. Pirates and Antela warriors quickly divided into opposing sides, facing off, while she and her mechanical beast stood motionless as if waiting patiently. Her single eye glared at the Antela warriors like the barrel of a rifle.
The Antela warriors, who had fallen back, tried to support their fallen comrade Amuta. But he brushed off their hands as if his injuries weren't that severe and rose swiftly to his feet. Clear triple scratches marred the chest plate of his armor as he moved.
"Who are you? And what gives you the right to command such a vicious beast?"
He glowered at the one-eyed woman with a hardened face. She met his gaze with a sly chuckle, while only her mechanical beast let out a low grrr.
Amuta's eyebrows furrowed in anger.
"...No intention of answering? Fine. Let's see if you're still so arrogant after I pluck out that last eyeball of yours."
Amuta shook off the dirt from his sword, which he hadn't dropped even in his fall, and assumed a fighting stance. The other Antela warriors behind him gripped their blades tightly, ready to charge.
Just as their chest plates glowed once more, acceleration activating—
The one-eyed Esai raised her left hand and swiftly traced a hand seal in the air. At the same moment, the slender circlet on her forehead sparkled. In stark contrast, the Antela warriors' armor lost its glow. Confusion spread across their faces, even Amuta's.
"A sorceress?"
"You should've guessed that after seeing me handle this steel beast, you brainless swordsman."
The one-eyed woman snapped back, then swung her remaining right hand through the air. Her mechanical beast, which had been growling lowly beside her, began to stir. Like its master, its single eye burned red. At the same time, the pirates who had fallen back behind her leveled their guns, freshly reloaded.
"...Everyone, draw your swords. We are Antela warriors."
But Amuta raised his sword anyway. The brief flicker of shock on his face hardened back into resolute calm. As if it were nothing, he gripped his blade, poised to charge forward at any second. Inspired by his demeanor, the other Antela warriors shook off their hesitation and prepared to rush in once more.
The one-eyed sorceress cackled at the sight—or more precisely, at their resolve—as if it were utterly ridiculous.
"I can forgive the filthy pirates, but you think you can face my Tsukku without artifacts? This cute thing's claws can slice your bodies like tofu!"
"We'll see about that. An Antela blade can cut through you like paper too."
"...Cut the bullshit and call out that bitch hiding inside!"
The sorceress's laughter faded. As her face hardened, the atmosphere on the deck grew vicious. One twitch from either side, and the fight would erupt.
And at that moment, Jin-cheol, watching from a distance, whispered to Parm.
"The 'tofu' she's talking about—is that the tofu I know?"
"...I don't know what 'tofu' means to you, Jin-cheol, so I can't answer."
"You know, the soft, white, squishy stuff made from ground soybeans. Tastes great."
"That description's a bit too simplified, but I get the gist. Yes, that 'tofu' is tofu."
Whoa, fuck. Tofu. Not some half-assed Baika sushi version of tofu, right?
Jin-cheol smacked his lips absentmindedly. If there was tofu, it'd have to be in doenjang jjigae—no, kimchi jjigae? Nah, neither. Jjigae needs too many ingredients we'd have to hunt down. Just heat a pan, slather on some oil, sear the outside crisp, and dip in soy sauce. Hell yeah, wash it down with a cup of makgeolli...
While Jin-cheol lost himself in random thoughts, tension on the deck thickened. Amuta and the mechanical beast looked ready to spring any second, and the pirates aiming from behind kept glancing at the sorceress, unsure if they should fire.
Then, a new figure emerged from the cabin.
"How long do you intend to stall, Amuta?"
"Lady Ishanka!"
All eyes on deck turned to her. An Esai woman in ornate, flowing garb—strikingly different from the others—strode out with rigid poise. Four Antela warriors followed behind her.
"Lady Ishanka, the deck is dangerous. Please, stay inside..."
"Don't be foolish, Amuta. A sorceress must face another sorceress."
Amuta's resolute face flickered with shock again. The pirate sorceress, on the other hand, cackled as if delighted by her arrival.
"Finally, you show yourself, blood of the Antela!"
"Every warrior here carries Antela blood. Who are you to speak of the main family's lineage?"
"Shut up! I don't mean those swordsmen—I mean the house head's blood! That old monster's spawn!"
"A wasteland beggar dares mention the house head?"
Killing intent flashed in the pirate sorceress's single eye.
"I'll mention her all I want! Today, with the Mother of Vengeance watching from behind the moon! I'll seize that monster's blood here, skin her alive, hack off her limbs, shred her flesh, and give that bastard the same grief I suffered! Thus avenging my father and little brother—"
"I don't care about your sob story, beggar."
"Wh-what?"
Ishanka's curt retort came with a sudden hand seal from her left hand. Her forehead circlet sparkled in response.
"Grrr...?"
The mechanical beast, poised to lunge, froze in bewildered confusion, as if unable to comprehend its situation. The pirate sorceress's face twisted in rage at the sight.
"You fucking bitch!"
Both her hands moved in a unique pattern, culminating in clasped palms with her left index finger extended. Ishanka countered instantly, tracing an arcane pattern with her right hand before joining it to her left in a seal. Both women's circlets blazed like fire.
Ishanka shouted.
"Amuta! Couldn't save 'Wind'! But 'Iron Wall' is restored—finish it!"
Amuta reacted without hesitation.
"Antela—charge!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Fire! Keep them back!"
"Uwaaaargh!"
Gunfire rat-tat-tat-ed amid shouts. Glowing armor deflected bullets, green blades shimmered, muzzles flared, blood spilled, lives ended. The deck turned into chaos in an instant.
The Antela warriors' prime target was the pirate sorceress. But her mechanical beast still snarled before her. Ishanka called out again.
"Ignore those two! They won't move if you don't touch them!"
The warriors' blades naturally shifted to the other pirates, as if that had been their aim all along. While the two women glared at each other in their strange poses, pirates and Antela warriors clashed fiercely.
And then, from afar, Jin-cheol tilted his head at Ishanka's face.
"Where do I know her from..."
"Jin-cheol! Get down! Bullets are flying—quit talking!"
At Parm's urgent cry, Jin-cheol casually flattened himself on the deck. That pointy-eared bitch—I definitely saw her somewhere. Why's she so familiar? It was odd. The only Esai he'd met were the woman from the restaurant, four thug-like guys he'd briefly chatted with amiably, and that Amuta. And they were all drenched in pirate blood, fighting hard.
That's when Jin-cheol spotted a black-furred Kampoeni leaping up. The one who'd taken a punch to the jaw from a pirate Olrog moments ago. He charged straight at the pirate Olrog who'd been watching the workers—though lately more focused on supporting his side with gunfire.
If the other workers had risen together, it would've been a solid ambush. But in the frantic chaos of blind bullets whizzing overhead, a solo rebellion without signal got no backup. The Kampoeni was shoved aside and sent tumbling with a gut kick.
"You skin-flaying fuck!"
The pirate Olrog's gun swung toward him, a very practical curse. But before the trigger pulled, a fist slammed into his jaw.
Udim.
The Olrog who'd sworn not to eat comrades even if he ate prey. He was the one who'd thrown the punch.
"You bastard!"
There were two pirates guarding the workers. One Olrog down, and an Esai aiming at Udim. His sights locked on Udim's head.
But a hand shot out, grabbing the long barrel and bending it upward with a creeeak. The Esai's eyes widened, following the hand to Jin-cheol's grinning face.
"Hey."
The follow-up fist smashed the pirate's face. He flew back with a crack, rolling across the deck.
Right in the thick of the deck brawl. The pirate sorceress, locked in a stare-down with Ishanka, spotted it and glared at Jin-cheol with murderous intent from her single eye.
Jin-cheol, meanwhile, turned to meet Udim's gaze. Udim blinked his round eyes in a dazed expression. A face so comically ridiculous it drew an involuntary chuckle. Looked just like a reckless gorilla no matter the angle.
"Shoot! Kill those worthless shits too!"
The sorceress's shout. Amid the frenzy with Antela warriors, two pirates' eyes flicked their way. Spotting them move, Jin-cheol bolted to the downed pirate Olrog. Mid-stride, he kicked the rising Olrog's jaw and snatched his rifle.
Crude compared to his own, but Jin-cheol shouldered it expertly and aimed. His eyes locked on the two pirates turning their guns. He exhaled naturally.
Bang!
Worked the bolt, ejected the casing, aimed again. Bang!
Two shots rang out; the pirates targeting them crumpled. Jin-cheol racked the bolt again—empty chamber stared back, spent casing gone.
He immediately rummaged the unconscious Olrog's body after the jaw kick.
"What the fuck? This asshole's out of ammo?"
No bullets in the Olrog's belt or pockets. Scanning the deck, most pirates were swinging empty guns like clubs or drawing melee weapons against Antela warriors. That's all the ammo they had? That precious?
Being a step removed from the melee gave Jin-cheol the vantage to notice the airship above.
"What the—?"
The airships hovering over the Baika merchant ship had reversed their lead ship's prow. Jin-cheol's eyes caught the long iron harpoon mounted there. The other was already embedded in this ship's sail—fired cannon-style from the prow.
So where was that remaining harpoon aimed?
Jin-cheol tossed the useless rifle and sprinted. His eyes fixed on the Esai glaring at the pirate sorceress, hands in bizarre shapes. Her pupils dilated in shock at his approach. He scooped her waist and hurled them both forward.
Right after, the airship's harpoon slammed into the spot with a thunderous boom.
Jin-cheol and Ishanka hit the deck face-to-face. She looked stunned; he stared intently at her face.
Then Jin-cheol spoke.
"I remember! The pointy-eared bitch from my nightmare! You fucking cunt!"
"...Wh-what?"
As Ishanka blinked in confusion, unable to parse his words, her opponent wobbled unsteadily without a foe. But soon the pirate sorceress's single eye locked on the pair on the ground, her circlet glowing. The mechanical beast, inert till now, regained its ferocity.
"Mother of Vengeance!"
"Rooaaargh!"
The beast leaped with a roar. Jin-cheol shoved Ishanka aside with a kick and rolled clear.
"Agh!"
Sparks flew from the deck where Ishanka tumbled. Jin-cheol rolled back to his feet, facing it. His fishing sword hummed as the white blade extended with a shing.
"Now a mecha tiger? This genre even right, fuck?"
The mecha tiger gaped its maw and charged. Rusted and filthy, yet bearing the fangs and claws of a survivor. Jin-cheol met it head-on, his own fangs in hand. The white blade gleamed pale.
Like a true feline, the beast vaulted gracefully, poised to crush him from above—elegant and lethal. But Jin-cheol dropped low, sliding across the deck on momentum. The beast's paw whistled over his head.
Last time against Kaaltisara, he'd botched the slide into a body slam. This time, success. His upright white blade, gripped two-handed, met the beast's underbelly. Fierce resistance tore at his grip like it would shred his hands. It didn't.
Jin-cheol shoved with brute force. The white blade cleaved through the steel unhindered. He tumbled forward into a roll, then spun to check behind.
The beast thudded cleanly onto the deck, rigid. Dead? No. It stirred again. Sparks flew from its sliced gut—wires and gears exposed. A wound fatal to a real tiger, yet it moved on indifferently.
"Tough bastard..."
But to the watching pirate sorceress, it looked hopeless. She bellowed like a boiling cauldron and drew something from her belt, aiming at Ishanka rising nearby. A pistol.
Ishanka's eyes widened. The next instant, her dilated pupils reflected a white blade whipping through the sorceress's chest.
"Don't look away in front of me."
As Jin-cheol muttered, the mechanical beast launched again with a static-laced roar. He tossed the fishing sword and faced it bare-handed. Grabbing its straining neck and face, its clawed paws raked his forearms. Skin split wide.
Its gaping maw snapped open and shut with clack-clack sounds, hungry for his face.
"You little kitty fuck."
Jin-cheol gritted his teeth, shaking the metal bulk. His superhuman strength made it waver. Then his hands gripped upper and lower jaws separately. Power surging from beyond millennia exploded through him.
The pirate sorceress, blade in her chest, watched as grinding reeeetch sounds ripped the beast's lower jaw—chunk of chest included—clean off. Like a legendary superhuman tearing a monster's head.
"Grrrh... glurk..."
Noise-only garble leaked from the beast's ruined maw. Jin-cheol heaved ragged breaths and dropped the mechanical chunk. Shredded metal and bolts clattered across the deck.
"...Fuck, that was a workout."
The beast's single eye dimmed on the deck. The pirate sorceress's eyes clouded over too. Both the beast and sorceress died like that.