Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 221
>Chapter Title: Bitan's Black Sword
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Bitan didn't know what the Alprina Strait Santos had mentioned was like.
He only recognized that the ship was heading there.
The voyage had already begun.
After the Man o' Sea cut through storms and gales for several days, the raging sky finally calmed, and the sea followed suit.
"Pupu! Stop for a bit!"
"Ppuu-!"
As Pupu halted in place, the Man o' Sea came to a stop too.
With the sails raised, the ship sat squarely in the middle of the ocean.
【Why? What's up?】
Bitan asked Santos his intent. It wasn't anything suspicious.
Almost all of Bitan's questions stemmed from incredibly simple curiosity.
This time was no different.
He was just genuinely curious.
Santos didn't answer and instead went into the cabin, not emerging for a while.
After some time, he reappeared carrying something.
"Umhahhaha! Let's fish, let's fish!"
【Fishing? What's that?】
"What do you mean? Sea urchins just watch the captain and learn!"
【Can sea urchins do that? Sea urchins are the best!】
Santos sat in the corner of the deck, engrossed in fishing.
Fortunately, he seemed to have small creatures prepared as bait beforehand.
Twitch...
"Achooooo!"
Thud...
He reeled in the rod, and a fish dropped onto the deck.
It flopped around, mouth gaping, radiating both vitality and eeriness.
【A-Amazing...】
"Bitan, grab the rod. I'll teach you fishing!"
【Is it necessary?】
"To become a true man o' the sea, it's essential! None of the crew knew nothing about fishing!"
【Ooh! Then it's a combat skill this Lord Bitan must learn!】
"Wahahaha!"
Splash...
Swoosh...
After casting the lines, the two stared blankly at the horizon. They watched the sunset in that state.
For some reason, they couldn't utter a word.
"Overwhelming, right?"
【...Feels weird.】
They hadn't caught much fish.
No, truthfully speaking—and this was sugarcoating it—Bitan hadn't caught a single one.
One might expect frustration from repeated failures, but that wasn't the case.
Strangely, he felt better instead.
The wind after dropping the line, the salty sea scent, Santos's tales whispered gently... it was all so good.
【This... is amazing!】
"Fishing?"
【Yeah!】
"Haha! Pliver was quite the expert at it too..."
【Pliver? Who's Pliver?】
"The carpenter. This very rod was made by him."
【Where's Pliver now?】
Santos reminisced with a distant look.
"In Alprina."
【Then we'll meet him this time?】
"...Yeah. You bet. Alright! Bitan, that's enough fish."
【I didn't catch any?】
"That's what's good about it. Here..."
Plop plop...
Santos released the smaller fish back into the sea.
"Come back next time with your parents."
【Captain! Why let them go!】
"We don't need weaklings like that!"
【I see! Only eat the strong ones! Captain's amazing!】
"We have to protect the weak ones! Umhahhahot!"
【Ooh... so we protect the weak ones.】
Pat.
Santos patted Bitan's head.
"Yeah, we protect the weak ones."
Several more days of sailing.
At night, Santos drank liquor.
"Ehehehe... This is one I saved."
【Urk... Uweeeck...】
Bitan, who drank the liquor Santos handed him, vomited it all up with seawater.
【Ughhh... Dizzy.】
"Not knowing the taste of booze is a shame."
【Ughhh... Bitter. You saved this?】
"Everything's precious at sea."
【Why drink something like this?】
Santos chuckled heartily, finding Bitan's whining cute.
"Sometimes I don't want to be myself."
【Does drinking make you not you?】
"Well... sometimes it does, sometimes it makes me even more me."
【No idea what that means.】
"You'll get it if you drink more."
【Really?】
A few days later.
Bitan learned the power of alcohol.
Santos played a bizarre instrument and sang. Bitan laughed harder than usual.
【Uhahaha! Totally hilarious!】
"Hilarious? Then listen to a serious song!"
The melody shifted, and a melancholic voice echoed.
【Captain.】
"Yeah?"
【That song... good.】
"Nah! It's my voice that's good!"
【Voice is meh, but the song's good!】
"You're pretty honest, huh?"
Santos continued the gentle tune.
Bitan gazed at Santos's face.
A skull, yet under the moonlight illuminating him, his living form seemed vividly etched.
【Captain! Feeling weird!】
"Sounds good, right? This song?"
【Yeah! Did you make it?】
"Nope."
Santos shook his head.
"Sonnyo made it."
【Who's Sonnyo?】
"The minstrel. Too good for this ship."
【What's wrong with this ship? Looks great to me!】
"Heehee! Right?"
Countless emotions emanated from Santos.
"Bitan, know how legends usually end?"
【Nah? Not into that stuff.】
Santos drew close to Bitan and told a story. His voice blended perfectly with the waves.
"Most legends end with 'and they lived happily ever after.'"
【That's normal? Why?】
"So it's not sad. So everyone gets excited about legends."
Santos stared at the sea ahead. The icy cold, deathly heavy Alprina Strait.
"It has to end that way. So the ones left behind can find hope."
【Hope...】
"In that sense, Sir Santos's legend hasn't ended yet!"
A dreamlike atmosphere.
This was probably when Bitan first felt something off.
* * *
As the Man o' Sea approached the Alprina Strait, the weather worsened steadily.
【Cold...】
Whether in the cabin or on deck, the chill was the same.
Even in this, Kang Seol didn't wake. Strangely, despite not eating for so long and only sleeping, his vital signs showed no anomalies.
Still, Bitan worried.
【Uh... he's fine, right?】
"Your friend?"
【Not friends!】
"Fuhihi... yeah, close ones."
【Yeah, just sleeping, right?】
"Probably."
Santos seemed somewhat gloomy.
Whoooosh...
A few more days later.
Clack clack clack!
Even bony Santos shivered, teeth chattering hard.
Drifting ice floes increased on the sea.
【...What is this?】
"Drift ice... Seeing it means we're nearing Vitona's domain."
【Why?】
"Vitona's... a cold being."
【Got it!】
"...Bitan."
【Yeah?】
"Do you dream?"
【Dreams again?】
"Different dream this time. What you see when sleeping."
【When sleeping... see stuff?】
Bitan pondered deeply for a moment.
He usually forgot dreams upon waking, but there was one type he remembered.
【Dreams of going back to before?】
"Before?"
- Kreeeeaaak-!
- P-Please...
- Kill! Drink blood!
- You'll get stronger... Ehehihi!
- Bitan will help!
Bitan shuddered in horror.
【Those dreams?】
"...How do you feel after those dreams?"
【Refreshed!】
"Refreshed?"
【...Not anymore.】
Bitan pointed at the lying Kang Seol unnecessarily.
【Hard to say... since meeting that guy, everything's messed up. Bitan doesn't feel like Bitan anymore.】
"No way. You're a fine sea urchin, not bad or anything?"
【Huh? Then what is Bitan?】
"Bitan is Bitan."
【Another 'fine sea urchin' line?】
"Really, you can't define yourself as anything. None of us can. Especially the crew of this Man o' Sea—they're extra special!"
【Ehehe... Captain! What dreams do you have?】
Santos lifted his head weakly.
He seemed a bit off.
"...Wanna know?"
【Yeah!】
"Dream of the day I lost my crew."
- Damn it! Santos! Wrong, even now...
- Crew got hit—we can't run! You idiots!
- Who's the idiot, you idiot!
That day, as Vitona's song resounded, the Man o' Sea's crew had their souls stolen one by one.
Kiaaaaa-!
- Gahk...
- Santos!
One, two.
Crew losing souls.
Now it was Santos's turn.
Thud-!
- Cough... Cough...
Someone shoved Santos's shoulder, barely saving him from Vitona's grasp.
- Pupu! Take Santos!
- Uh... Uwaaa...
- Santos! Snap out! Look at me!
- My body... my body...
His flesh and organs vanished, leaving only bones.
The one who saved him from Vitona was first mate Shirva.
Santos met Shirva's eyes.
- You'll come save us, right?
Santos just nodded.
- I believe you. I'll wait.
Her final words of trust.
That became Santos's curse.
"Bitan."
【Captain...】
"I'm... I'm... a coward."
With this conversation, Santos broke down.
"I'm... a coward!"
【...Why?】
"This isn't the first time I've come back here."
【Then...】
"Dozens, no, hundreds of times probably. I remember it vividly."
Santos banged his head on the floor, sobbing.
"But... I couldn't go further... Scared... Always turned back from here."
【Scared of dying?】
"No, not death."
【Then?】
Flames flickered fiercely in Santos's eyes. If human, he'd be crying.
"Forgetting... that's scary..."
Now Santos's words made sense.
Legends must end well.
"If I die too... no one remembers us, no one comes to save us!"
【Captain...】
"Sorry... can't go further."
Santos said to Pupu.
"Pupu... let's go back. Not ready... not yet."
Bitan asked.
【Then when?】
"......"
【When will you be ready?】
Then.
An eerie song began. Santos's face filled with despair.
"S-Sirens! Pupu... hurry!"
"Ppuuuu-!"
As Pupu turned the ship to flee, the song grew closer.
"This sound..."
Ahahaha...
Sirens resembling mermaids gathered on the ice floes, one by one.
They mocked the terrified Santos, amplifying their song.
Luckily, Santos—whose soul was half-taken by Vitona before—was unaffected.
Likewise, spirit Bitan and unconscious Kang Seol resisted the song.
Ahaha...
Sensing the oddity, the sirens wove even more enchanting melodies.
Fwoooong-!
Boom!
Kiaaaaaa!
A spear flew from somewhere, piercing a siren's chest. Santos's doing.
"Evil wenches! I'll behead you all!"
【Captain!】
"Bitan."
Bitan pointed at the demon swimming to the front.
【What's that?】
"...Vitona."
Kiaaaaaaaaaa-!
A massive sea serpent burst through the ice floes.
Bitan expected Santos to cower, head to the floor like before.
But.
"Bitan... thanks for coming this far."
【...Captain? Didn't you say run?】
Santos didn't flee.
He lifted his head to face Vitona.
"From here, it's Man o' the Sea Santos's business. Bitan, go back. Pupu! Please!"
Shing-!
Drawing his curved sword from his waist, Santos shouted.
"Tada! Santos enters the stage!"
[Santos uses Water Surface Walk.]
[Can walk on water briefly.]
[Duration increases with activity.]
Dash-!
Santos charged at Vitona.
"Uhahaha! Waited long? Your Santos is here! Clap if you want!"
A reckless charge.
No chance of victory.
"Everyone... sorry I'm late! Hang on a bit!"
"Ppuuuu-!"
Pupu stopped the ship and dove to aid Santos.
Thud-!
A new emotion struck Bitan's heart.
【Huh?】
Santos grew distant.
Bitan knew.
If this continued, he'd die soon.
"Uhahaha!"
[The Enchanting Vitona uses Blizzarding Gale.]
[Intense cold blasts forward.]
Shwaaaa-!
Vitona spewed frost from its maw.
The surface froze solid, forming a glacier.
Swish...
Thud-!
Santos climbed the ice, then slipped and fell.
"Ehehe... don't laugh, you bastards!"
[Santos uses Full Sail Ahead!]
[Abnormal status resistance +20% for a short time.]
[Attacks deal bonus physical damage.]
Pathetic sight, but watching pained Bitan.
【Weird...】
Boom-!
Santos flew from Vitona's tail.
Landing was stable, at least.
Bitan couldn't watch anymore.
It hurt too much.
Dash dash-!
【I'll hel....】
Thud-!
Like a leashed dog, Bitan was yanked back mid-charge to Santos.
【Wait, Captain! I'll hel....】
Dash...
Thud-!
Same thing again.
Bitan turned.
The lantern tied to Kang Seol's waist called to Bitan, preventing escape.
Bitan changed course, rushing to Kang Seol.
Dash...
【You'll wake up, right? Yeah? You will?】
"......"
Kang Seol couldn't wake.
The Eternal Life Pill and Uru's mana shock exceeded expectations; he was still out.
Bitan grabbed Kang Seol's jaw, shaking it like he was talking.
【Waited long?】
"......"
【Hurry! Wake up! You're good at saving! Bitan can't! Doesn't know how! If you wake now, I'll listen....】
Boom-!
Santos flew again, the sound ringing in his ears. One glance away, and he'd shatter.
【Ughhh... Captain's dying... dying...】
Death meant little to a spirit.
Even the Black Knight's death—longest companion—brought no regret or sorrow.
Yet now, this feeling.
Worst ever.
【Hey... if you're just sleeping, let me go! I'll go myself!】
Like yelling at a wall.
No reply hurt.
【Don't die, Santos... can't die...】
Boom-!
Santos soared far.
This time, no ice landing—he plunged into the sea.
"Ppuuuu-!"
Luckily, Pupu coiled around Vitona.
Kiaaa!
As Vitona thrashed, Santos climbed onto the glacier.
He seemed to have lost will momentarily. Body trembling—he was terrified.
"Huff... huff... Santos is invincible... Man o' the sea is invincible!"
Santos wasn't invincible.
Man o' the sea wasn't.
He'd die soon.
For the first time since birth, Bitan didn't want someone's death. It twisted everything.
【I'll save Santos.】
How?
Chains bound him.
Clink... clank...
Bitan tugged the lantern chain. No give.
Despair.
Killing dozens, hundreds was effortless yawn.
Saving one? Impossibly hard.
Thousands, tens of thousands times harder.
Clank...
Bitan gripped the chain, resolute.
【Bitan will be a great sea urchin.】
Crunch...
He began devouring from the end.
【Bitan is Bitan!】
Mouth wide, eating the chain.
【Urp...】
Clamping shut, enduring agony. Rolled on floor in pain, but didn't spit.
【Urp... ughurp...】
Neither Kang Seol deciding to wield the spirit as weapon, nor Frannan twisting Bitan's mind intended this.
From now, complete unknown.
How far a spirit could change.
"Uwaaaaa!"
[The pearl accepts change.]
[The pearl transforms into the form most suitable for the inheritor.]
......
"Huff... huff..."
Meanwhile, Santos reeled dizzily.
Crack-!
Curved sword snapped like glass on Vitona's scales.
"Too tough..."
Boom-!
Squeeee-!
Santos soared high. Vitona moved to snatch.
"Ppuuu!"
Pupu squeezed Vitona tight, blocking it, but battle would end in minutes.
Santos lost a second time.
Had to accept it.
"Sorry... everyone..."
Lost again.
Then, a scream tore nonexistent eardrums.
【Grab me, Santooos!】
Santos instinctively reached out.
Clank-!
Plump Bitan coiled like chain, transforming instantly.
"This... what? Ehehe... corrupting me?"
Santos laughed at Bitan's form.
Bitan remembered somehow.
His strongest past form.
As pitch-black sword in Santos's hand, Bitan declared firmly.
【To save you.】