The sea boiled with chaos.
Cannon fire roared through the air, followed by the sharp crack of splintering wood. Sailcloth burned in the distance, and the screams of men tangled with the crash of waves.
On the deck above, the pirate captain barked orders.
"Port side! Bring us around! Ready grapples, now!"
His coat snapped in the wind as he pointed toward the enemy vessels.
Steel clashed, not with another stell, but with blades wrapped in flickering ki.
Two pirates leapt across ships, exchanging slashes mid-air as their aura trails cracked the boards below.
This wasn't a common skirmish.
This was a battle between Pathwalker.
Three pirate ships, including the one Ken had escaped from, now surrounded a fourth vessel: a large merchant ship marked by damage and burning sails. Wreckage from what had once been escort ships floated nearby.
Ken stepped onto the edge of a lower deck, eyes narrowing. The pirates were fully engaged in the battle.
A few had already fallen, their bodies tossed into the sea.
'They're distracted. This might be my chance.'
But Ken's gaze didn't stay on the battle for long. It locked onto a different ship, a sleek, emerald-trimmed vessel under heavy attack.
At the bow, fluttering even through the fire and wind… was a familiar emblem: a blooming sakura.
"Sakura Chamber of Commerce…" Ken muttered. "That's not a simple merchant ship."
"Kak." The black raven pecked his head sharply.
"Ow, what now, Nyx?" Ken winced, rubbing the spot.
"Kak."
Nyx jabbed his beak toward the waters just behind the Sakura Chamber of Commerce ship.
Ken focused his gaze.His vision sharpened as the system overlay activated.
[Target Scan Complete]
Subject Detected
Trajectory: Eastward, 6 knots
Estimated Escape Pattern: Submerged trail identified.
"Someone's escaping... underwater?"
The system chimed again.
[Analysis]: Based on water displacement and formation turbulence, one individual is attempting escape from behind the merchant vessel.
Combat signatures on the Sakura Chamber of Commerce ship indicate the presence of high-ranking guards.
Probability: Escaping VIP – 87%.
Ken's expression darkened. 'A VIP, huh? What's someone like that doing here… System calculate the fate.?'
[Estimated Probability: 89%]
[Target will assist Host in fulfilling main objectives.]
Ken narrowed his eyes. "Looks like I need to adjust my priorities…How many points to unlock more information?"
[Query received. Analyzing…]
[Access cost: 1,000,000 system points.]
Ken's lips curled into a slow grin. Nyx let out a sharp cry on his shoulder, wings fluttering. "Jackpot."
The higher the point cost, the stronger the target's fate were. Someone with this value would no doubt be a key piece in his hunt for vengeance.
[Would you like to activate Combat Mode, Host?]
"Yeah. I've still got 1,890 points left. One was spent on the maid, but this should be more than enough."
[Combat Mode: Activated.]
A soft chime rang in Ken's head. His vision shifted instantly. A shimmering number appeared in the corner of his view, his remaining points.
A pulse of dark light surged through his arm, and in the blink of an eye, a sword materialized in his hand.
Black hilt, simple straight blade, and the mark of a raven engraved at the guard.
Time seemed to slow. Ken's vision changed, overlays appearing across the battlefield.
Movement paths lit up in glowing lines, each color-coded for risk and advantage.
Vital points on enemies shimmered in red, yellow, or green. His body move forward, choosing the best path.
The first pirate barely had time to react. As Ken closed the gap, a yellow circle blinked into view, marked cleanly on the man's left knee.
'Old injury?'
Above his head floated a glowing number, [Power Level: 101]
"Strong. But not strong enough."
Ken dropped low, spinning into a kick aimed directly at the weak point. His heel smashed into the pirate's knee.
"G-Gahh, damn it! My old wound!"
The man staggered, his guard dropping for a split second, And that split second was all Ken needed.
SLASH!
A clean arc of steel flashed through the air. A pirate's head soared skyward, eyes still wide in shock, before Ken leapt after it.
With a sharp twist mid-air, he spun and kicked the head like a ball, sending it flying straight toward the chaos on the deck of the trade ship.
CRACK!
"ARGH! Damn it, that hurt!"
The severed head collided with another pirate's elbow. The man flinched in pain and swung wildly, his blade meant for the Pavilion guard instead slammed into his own knee.
"Gah, !"
The guard didn't waste the chance. With a shout, he drove his blade into the pirate's chest.
SPLURT!
The pirate dropped without another sound. The guard exhaled sharply, trembling.
SPLASH!
Ken dove into the sea below, disappearing into the dark water just as a new notification lit up in his vision.
[Assist Bonus: +50 Points]
[Target successfully saved from death.]
Underwater, the world was quiet but not calm.
Shapes moved through the murky depths, Ken's eyes locked onto a silhouette ahead.
A slender figure swam fast, zigzagging through the currents.
Behind her, two pursuers closing in. They swam like sharks, cutting through the water with minimal resistance. One raised a weapon, a compact gun, shaped like a coral horn, and fired.
BANG! BANG!
Streaks of condensed water shot through the sea like spears, but the girl twisted mid-stroke and fired back with a glimmering arcane pistol.
Still, her attackers were faster.
[Scan Complete]
Target A: Power Level 154 – Water Affinity
Target B: Power Level 165 – Water Affinity
Tactical Assessment: Buffed combat capabilities in aquatic environment (+30%)
Estimated baseline strength: 120–125
***
Ken's eyes flicked toward a drifting shadow beneath a floating crate.
'There.'
"Shadow Step," he whispered.
His body melded into the darkness, vanished, and reappeared directly behind the first pursuer.
The water around him trembled as his raven-marked blade extended forward. The pirate dodge, he twisted his body and thrust a palm forward.
Swosh!
A high-pressure water bullet tore through the sea toward Ken's chest.
It's a claen hit, it pierced right through his body. But, the attack dissolved like smoke.
Ken's form turned into swirling darkness, slipping past the attack and reappearing behind the pirate.
A fake projection, A special technique inherited from his royal bloodline.
It consumed a heavy chunk of his ki. His breathing tightened, his face pale from the drain.
Ken focused everything, all remaining ki surged into his right hand. The rest of his body was left vulnerable. A single attack here could kill him.
Most seasoned pathwalkers would feel fear in that moment. They should.
That fear keeps people alive. It teaches hesitation. It teaches caution.
But Ken, Ken grinned. "This is it. This feeling."
His heart pounded like war drums.
Adrenaline flooded his veins.
The pirate swung around, blade slashing sideways, aimed to cleave Ken in half. But Ken moved his head just an inch, barely clearing the edge of death.
His grin widened. "DIE."
His blade drove forward, stabbing directly through the pirate's eye. The tip burst out the back of the man's skull, followed by a trail of bubbles.
Before the corpse even finished sinking, another movement rippled in the water to his left.
A second pirate, still swimming fast, fired a water bullet directly at Ken's side. Ken's left hand moved reflexively blocking the bullet.
BOOM!
A water bullet exploded across his arm. Pain surged through him. He could feel it, his bones had cracked. His wrist felt Swollen, Heavy.
"It should be about time…"
He raised a single finger. A pitch-black orb of ki gathered at the tip, then shot forward like a bullet.
BAM!
The shadow bullet hit, but the resistance of the water slowed it, dragging its momentum and draining its force.
The pirate took the hit, unscathed. If they were on land, the pirate would've laughed.
"That's it? That all you've got, weakling?"
But even on this situation Ken's grin didn't fade.
"3… 2… 1, now."