Headed by a Snake

"Not to be rude... Byul," Tycondrius cleared his throat, "but do you know why you are still beholden to this Realm?"

"I've no idea," Byul's body shrugged its shoulders, "At first, I believed... it was a sense of honor... of loyalty to my Jade Arrow sect... or to ze Kingdom.

"But... for all of my crew to remain?" She half-turned her body, and she stared out of a nearby porthole, "It is impossi-bel~ I am no fool, Tycon... not all of my sisters are of a single heart."

Tycon pursed his lips and gestured towards her... "How did you die?"

Byul turned her head back to face him, a helpless look in her eyes, "I was defeated in honorable combat... by your previous Sect Master... Liang Qiang."

Tycon nodded gravely. The news did not surprise him.

As Byul was killed only twenty years prior, she was one of the High-Captains under Fleet Admiral Guillaume De la Croix. Thus, she was one of the many casualties incurred when the other High-Captains, lusting for vengeance, mistakenly went after the strongest Sea Wolf.

"I know of him," Tycon grimaced... "You do not seem to be upset over the fact?"

"We were fools... we were all fools," Byul sighed. "Ze Sea Wolf sect has never gotten along with my Jade Arrow sect... and it was likely my insistence that resulted in my companions slaughtered like sheep.

"Qiang... he is a murderer.... and he did not like Guillaume," She sucked in air through her teeth... "but he is not responsible for his death. I learned as much when we fought."

Tycon nodded in thought, "Martial combat is the purest form of truth."

"So you are a poet, as well, Monsieur," Byul chuckled to herself... "I... have never been good wis words."

She stood up and walked over to her favorite staring porthole... "Fighting... zat is all zis foolish woman can do... So ze Jade Rabbit will continue to sail... and I will fight until I no longer rise again."

Byul turned about, her sea-green eyes suddenly serious... "Lieutenant Tycon... I have... anozher selfish request of you."

Tycon stood up, crossing his arms. He did not like Byul's sudden change in tone, "I shall consider it, Mademoiselle-Capitaine."

The woman placed her head back on her shoulders... and drew the swords on her waist... short, straight blades with green crystals embedded into their hilts.

They were enchanted spirit weapons, befitting the leader of a sect.

"Fight me," She said in a hoarse voice. "Kill me. End my suffering."

Tycon snorted in incredulity, "No."

She lunged forward towards him, swinging at the right side of his neck.

Raising an eyebrow, Tycon shot his hand out at her wrist, halting the attack.

Byul swiped her other sword, faster... but like the other, without much force.

Tycon lifted his arm to meet the strike, then pulled back with the momentum to prevent it from cutting through the fabric of his coat.

"You're insulting both me and yourself, Byul," Tycon scolded.

He spun his arms upward, outward, and under hers, then applied pressure to her elbows until she dropped her weapons.

Then, he swiftly kneed her in the abdomen... and caught her head before it fell to the deck. With Byul's body unbalanced, he pulled its arm to the left while blocking her foot, dropping her to the floor.

"Pathetic," Tycon held Byul's head in front of him as he spoke to her. "There's no killing intent, whatsoever, in your so-called 'attacks.'"

"This curse..." Byul winced in pain... as her body writhed in pain, holding her stomach, "I just want it to end. Twenty years... non, even a single sun is too long to suffer LIKE THIS!!"

The pinned woman's body rolled forward... then sprung towards him, legs first. She wrapped her thighs around the sides of Tycon's head, then whipped her body weight around.

A normal person would have been slammed to the ground, their advantage ceded.

However, Tycon did not feel like losing. He focused mana on his legs and back to keep steady.

He calmly placed Byul's head at the edge of her desk... then grabbing hold of her back, he ungently slammed her body down at the center of it.

The sudden impact caused her legs to tense up and further pull Tycon's nose and mouth deeper into an... intimate location. It elicited a clearly erotic moan out of the woman's mouth.

Byul's face was a furious red as she grit her teeth and tightened her leg lock further.

It made Tycon question as to whether Byul was trying to suffocate him... or seduce him?

He forcibly shoved one of Byul's legs aside and reached forward to wrap his hands around what remained of her neck.

...He wasn't certain if that was going to work... but by the sound of Byul's pained choking, and her feeble attempts to push him away, it was effective.

Tycon turned to stare into Byul's eyes... "True death is not the answer... else you would not have held back..."

...If Byul had been serious, Tycon would have still elected not to kill her. It wasn't impossible for the Jade Rabbit to dissipate without its Captain.

He lowered his voice into a soft whisper as he gently loosened his stranglehold... "What is it you truly wish for, Byul?"

"(I... don't know,)" Byul bit her lip... and ethereal, greenish-blue 'blood' dripped down her mouth.

"Then," Tycon took a deep breath... "you must live on until you find that..."

"I... live no longer," Tears began to form at the corners of the Captain's eyes... "I am a dead woman, both in body and in spirit."

Tycon rolled his eyes as he stood straight. Byul was no longer struggling... and she clearly was no threat.

"You know what I mean, Byul. Even in undeath, you can search for a purpose... so you can pass on without regrets."

Byul's head stared in disbelief at him...

"Are... you flirting with me?"

Tycon had the same question. Though the woman's legs were no longer on his shoulders, they were instead wrapped around his waist.