Headed by a Snake

Tycondrius smashed his scabbard into the back of one pirate's neck, kicked the body into a second pirate, and stared directly into the eyes of the third.

⟬ ⌈Vexing Gaze⌋ conditions met. Activate? Y/N? ⟭

« Go ahead. »

⟬ Activating. ⟭

The pirate fell to her knees, having fallen prey to his illusory poison. As she was choking on the blood pooling in her throat, Tycon snapped his fingers.

⟬ ⌈Commander's Strike⌋ activated. ⟭

With a desperate scream, the ship Captain lunged towards the final pirate, whereupon he ran his sword through their abdomen.

The pirate stared down... and allowed their weapon to drop out of their hands to clatter upon the deck.

...It was a waste, really. Even if they were to go into shock and die of an abdominal wound, that fellow still had several seconds of consciousness to counterattack.

The Captain wiped his brow underneath his forehead, "Thanks fer that, adventurer. Thought I was a goner."

"Report," Tycon didn't care to mince words... especially not with a gentleman of that person's caliber.

If he could not regain control of the situation, the multitudinous amount of pirates would slaughter the crew of the Marlin Monroe.

...and he did not know how to pilot a ship.

"Pirates, sir!" The Captain shouted, nursing his injured arm.

"Obviously."

"And someone's set traps all over the deck! Walking around in this fog is a death sentence!"

"...Traps, you say?"

The enemy had a Trapmaster? That was foreboding...

Tycon needed to get into contact with Sol Invictus member Sorina Capulet. As a Calculator, she was more than a match for any trap-user, and would be able to disable any traps with cunning and... math-e-magical prowess.

"Sea god's socks... this wasn't part of the deal," The Captain mumbled under his breath.

"The deal?" Tycon furrowed his brows. "Very well."

There were certain risks with entrusting Sorina Capulet with gaining passage via ship at the lowest possible price. Thus, he was neither angry nor surprised that the ship Captain had dealings with pirates... and that they had turned on him.

...He was, however, quite disappointed.

"S-sir?"

"We'll converse later," Tycon grabbed the Captain by the collar and dragged him off, "For now, crawl down to safety, belowdecks."

"SIR! WHAT ARE YOU DOI--"

Tycon slammed the human's face into a ship mast, freeing a number of teeth he did not deserve to have.

After he judged that the traitorous creature was still well-enough to crawl, he vaulted over the railway, from where the ship's steering wheel was, down to the main body of the deck.

He felt several dozen footsteps in the thick fog around him... and one pair, fast approaching.

"No landlubber's gonna get the BEST'A ME!!!" The one-eyed pirate shouted, brandishing a two-handed falchion, "YAR HARR HARRRRRR!!!"

The fellow probably thought he was being intimidating. Tycon thought the display farcical.

Tycon opened his arms, inviting attack. If the pirate dared look into his eyes, they would die a painful death.

The pirate's steps triggered a trap-- a floorboard sprung up, and his chest and head were covered in a reddish powder, "SEA GOD'S SUSPENDERS!!!"

...Tycon had to refocus some of his protective mana to his eyes and face. The one-eyed fellow was blinded by... pepper powder. His condition was possibly worse than being killed outright.

Was it just a matter of luck? Had the pirate not memorized where his crew set their traps? That seemed like a horrible oversight.

As the pirate stumbled backward, he bumped into the ship's side railing and... triggered another trap.

The wooden plank Tycon stood upon launched him forward and to the side.

Sighing, he reached his arm out, battering into the blinded pirate's top half and sending him careening overboard.

Holding onto the guardrail, he looked into the distance and saw the silhouette of the enemy pirate ship... one much larger than their own.

...A larger ship had caught up to their smaller, passenger ship. Their ship was either better engineered or had their speed improved by magic.

"⌈Really Brutal Blade!⌋"

Tycon turned as he heard Korr activate one of her Skills. He immediately dropped prone on the deck as a pirate tumbled over him, breaking the railing and plummeting down into the drink.

Korr's naming sense had always been... peculiar, but he appreciated the help. He couldn't see her through the cloudy white, but he could sense her steps.

"Thank you for arriving so quickly, Korr," Tycon spoke aloud, ignoring a series of loud clanks and clunks from the rope and pulley rigging above. "I need someone to take care of the enemy ship, and Lone--"

He was interrupted by a swinging bucket... a literal bucket on a rope had struck him in the back, sending him tumbling forward.

It didn't hurt... but he found himself face-to-face with Korr, who caught him in her arms.

"H-hello, Leader," She blushed.

"...Hello," Tycon tried to pry himself away... but she pulled him into a full embrace.

Even though he and Korr were both Gold-Rank adventurers, Tycon was a Warlord... a branch of the Tactician Class. He had no chance of winning a battle of strength against a Flaming Rage Knight.

"Korr..."

"Yes, Leader?"

"...What are you doing?"

"Oh..." The young lady half-dragged, half-carried him a few steps away.

Tycon stared at the deck... at some very familiar writing in black paint.

It read... 'Stand here.'

It looked... very... very familiar... to Sorina Capulet's writing... but he could not be certain.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

Cannonfire resounded in his ears... sending Korr and Tycon smashing hard onto the deck... with Tycon on the bottom.

Had... Korr been struck by a cannonball?

"KORR! Answer me!" He brushed the red hair on her face to the side in order to look into her eye, "Are you alright?"

"Y... yeah," She smiled... a thin trail of blood dripping down her mouth... which she licked. "I... protected you."

She seemed fine... with no outward signs of shock or a concussion. She might have been a bit delirious... but, as he did not understand the woman, she could have very well been acting normal.

It would have brought him great frustration if she were to be severely injured or killed.

Seldin Korr had a special place in his heart... as one of his physically strongest allies.