051. Zaratann 2
As Zaratann drew near and gaped its jaws wide, the world plunged into darkness.
It was far too close for the ship’s rudder to turn them away in time. The beast’s maw defied the scale of any ordinary creature.
Codic, dangling from Bin’s belt, blinked in shock. His jaw dropped at the absurd size of the thing.
This can’t be happening…! Am I going to get trapped inside again?!
Codic shuddered, recalling his imprisonment within the yeti’s body. Yet even as he panicked, he gazed up at Bin and muttered,
“At least this time, I’m with my lord. That’s enough to satisfy this body of mine. Click! Click!”
Before Codic could clack his teeth again, the bewildered children stared in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
“It’s suddenly night?”
“Ugh… the smell…”
One pinched his nose, scowling. Zaratann’s breath reeked.
As the beast lumbered toward the Gold Force, the darkness deepened. In the dire moment, Bin drew the greatsword from his back.
Ching.
“We’re not just sitting here taking it.”
Shwaaak! A crescent of black sword wind erupted from Luminare, slicing toward Zaratann’s gaping throat.
Boom!
Black smoke billowed from the beast’s maw. Against such a colossal foe, it wasn’t enough to inflict serious damage. But Bin’s strike made a difference—the creature’s advance halted, if only briefly.
That pause didn’t last. Zaratann bellowed again, lunging toward the ship.
“Roooaaar!”
Bin shouted to Ront without hesitation.
“Use Opening right now!”
“O-Opening? Why? It won’t even scratch the thing!”
“No time to explain.”
Bin’s usual calm cracked, his words tumbling out faster. The urgency left no room for more. He conveyed his certainty with a fierce glance alone.
Ront swiftly activated Opening, transforming his Y-shaped staff into a cannon in an instant. Bin pointed at the sea beneath the floating ship.
“Fire it here, quick!”
Understanding dawned on Ront. He aimed the cannon at the water in a frenzy.
“Here goes…”
The cannonball plunged into the sea, detonating with a thunderous roar.
Boom!!
Seawater erupted around the impact, massive jets surging outward in all directions.
Whoosh—
Towering waves propelled the golden ship away at breakneck speed. As the Gold Force surged forward, the children aboard screamed.
“Aaaah!”
“S-scary…”
Despite their cries, the relentless waves shoved the vessel free. In a heart-stopping instant, the ship escaped Zaratann’s jaws.
By a margin of just one or two seconds, Bin’s group had slipped the crisis.
A short while later, they fired Ront’s cannon once more.
Boom!!
The golden ship rocketed into the air. Fierce winds battered its hull mid-flight.
Shhhwhoosh.
Bin’s group clung desperately to whatever they could inside, hair whipping wildly.
Soon, the ship thudded down atop Zaratann.
Crunch, crackle, splinter.
The hull scraped against the surface, wood tearing as it settled. After their ordeal, Bin’s party had finally boarded the beast.
Bin leaped down and surveyed their surroundings.
Shiiiieek. The refreshing babble of a stream filled the air. Herds of turtle birds had their heads buried in the riverbank nearby. Towering trees lined the scene, a breathtaking vista of verdant blue.
In that stunning landscape, Bin nearly overlooked one crucial fact.
This is Zaratann’s back.
It looked every bit the island. He’d expected some telltale oddity to set it apart from a true isle, but nothing felt amiss.
Just then, amid the trees—
Thud thud! A naked woman burst from the foliage.
A nude figure emerging from the woods sparked questions. She panted heavily, glancing anxiously around unobstructed paths before dashing forward.
Thud thud thud.
Up close, her body came into stark view. Bin’s brow furrowed. A cord encircled her neck, and her back bore fresh whip lashes, blood still oozing.
Spotting Bin, her pupils trembled.
“O-out… outsider?!”
Her face twisted in panic. She scanned the area wildly, then bowed desperately to Bin.
“Please… pretend you never saw me…”
Her eyes pleaded like a deer fleeing hunters.
Codic at Bin’s belt erupted at her frantic behavior.
“How dare you tell him what to do!”
To Codic, her plight meant nothing. He only worried she’d offend Bin.
Bin lightly extended a hand, silencing Codic. He nodded gravely to the woman.
“…”
His serious expression acknowledged her plea—he knew what this place was.
She eyed him warily even as she bowed, trembling hands betraying her fear. Pity stirred in Bin at her distress.
By then, Ront—freshly changed into clean clothes—approached her.
Thud thud.
He doffed his green cloak and draped it over her.
Swish.
“Th-thank you.”
“No big deal…”
Ront played it casual, but his lips twitched with a grin. He sidled closer, his tone unusually gentle.
“Milady, what in the world’s going on? Care to tell us why?”
Bin shot him an exasperated look.
Here we go again.
The woman glanced between them, tears welling, then spoke.
“I’m being hunted. I don’t want to live like cattle anymore… Sob sob… Please, just pretend you didn’t see me. I beg you.”
Tears streamed down her face as she wailed. Her desperation revealed a life of grueling torment.
Ront pressed gently.
“Hunted, you say?”
“Y-yes…”
She started to reply—when footsteps drummed from the direction she’d fled.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her ears perked. Her face darkened. She scanned nervously and dove into the underbrush.
Moments later.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The steps grew louder from the woods. A group emerged from the thicket: a man in white uniform astride a massive mammal, a Behemoth. He was plump, with thick inverse eyebrows. Flanking him were knights on horseback, their armor gleaming expensively in the sun.
The white-uniformed man snarled, cracking his whip.
Crack!
“You dare run from me!”
Blood stained the whip—Bin’s eyes narrowed, recalling the woman’s wounds.
That’s what did it…
The mere sight twisted his gut, imagining her agony as flesh tore.
Bin eyed the white uniform.
White uniform…
On Gana Continent, only the highest elites wore it. Gold embroidery swirled across it, a bold ‘9’ shimmering.
Bin pieced it together. The man was a Gana noble.
Gana nobles—descendants of the empire’s founding aristocracy. Blood of the purest nobility.
The noble approached Bin and Ront, brow furrowed.
“Hey, didn’t you see something run this way? Even put a leash on it.”
Bin’s temples throbbed. The man’s words grated—he’d called the woman an it, like property.
Bin kept his face neutral. No need to get involved; it wasn’t his fight. Pretend ignorance and move on—no sense risking it.
He relaxed his expression, feigning obliviousness.
“What’re you talking about?”
The Gana noble eyed him suspiciously—lips, eyes, brow. Finding nothing amiss, he sighed.
“Hoo… Fine. Next time I catch it, I’ll snap its tendons so it can’t run.”
No idle threat—pure intent laced his voice.
As Bin frowned, the noble’s gaze sharpened again.
Black uniform? Bascon?
Black with silver crest. Unmistakably Bascon family.
He tilted his head.
Bascons here? Impossible.
Mulling it over, he addressed Bin.
“You… sneaked in without permission?”
Bin hesitated—then the Gana noble’s Behemoth sniffed, charging suddenly.
Thump! Thump!
The beast bulldozed through the brush despite its bulk. A strike sounded from the foliage.
Crack! Crack!
Whip on bare skin. The woman’s groans followed.
“Aaagh!! S-stop…! Please!!”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears; the lashes continued.
Crack! Crack!
Agony doubled on her inflamed wounds. Bin masked his disgust, staying silent.
“…”
No reason to intervene. Luminare’s backlash and curing the kids already strained his time. Achieving their goal here against a Super Nova like Hobas was challenge enough.
But the relentless sounds gnawed at him.
“Learn some shame! Running around naked like a bitch in heat! A mother should act proper. Time to beat some sense into you!”
Crack! Crack!
“Ugh…! Urgh!!”
More whips, more groans. Bin ground his teeth at the noble’s crude taunts and cruelty.
“Hah… hah…”
The Gana noble panted, winded from the exertion. But he wouldn’t stop. He turned to his guards.
“All of you, over here.”
“Yes, milord!”
They closed in, encircling her.
“This worthless slut’s yours. Have your fun, then end her.”
“Understood!!”
Terror flashed across her face at their approach. She clutched his leg, begging.
“P-please, I beg you. I have a child waiting for me… For their sake, at least…”
A commoner like her was no human to a Gana noble.
“Talking beast begging? Know your place. Ptoo!”
He spat in her face and stomped her head.
Thud. Thud.
Bin’s patience snapped. Memories of his motherless past surged. His gaze chilled toward Codic.
“Skull. Release all your friends.”
Codic bellowed proudly at the command.
“Yes, my lord!!”