At this moment, whether they were pirate generals or ordinary pirate captains, everyone was scrambling toward the harbour to help put out the fire. Only a few ghost ship captains remained calm.
Most ghost ships were mystical vessels fused with Beyonder characteristics. They possessed varying degrees of awareness and supernatural abilities—such ordinary flames posed little threat to them.
Edward, however, kept his gaze fixed on Verdu. He didn't seem the least bit concerned about the fire at the harbour. Instead, he weaved through the crowd of pirates, clearly searching for the man who had just offered to sell information about the sunken Laurel.
This...shouldn't be Amon, right?
Edward secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Also seeking information about the Laurel, also on the Apprentice pathway…and last time, Verdu had even mentioned his family. Was he also from the Abraham family?
Wait a minute!
Suddenly, Edward remembered that the altar left behind by Medici's descendants back in Bansi had seemed to be…the bow of a ship!
And Verdu had shown a deep obsession with that bow.
Could that bow have belonged to the sunken Laurel?
But…wasn't it supposed to be resting at the bottom of the Berserk Sea or the Sonia Sea? How could it have ended up in Bansy—and even been turned into an altar during Medici's final days?
One question after another rose in Edward's mind. He felt as though he had plunged into a dense fog. "Maybe…I should go back and ask Christine?"
Elsewhere, The Hanged Man, Alger, stared at the flaming harbour with a completely bewildered expression. A thousand curses ran through his mind:
So this is what they meant by Gehrman Sparrow's unpredictable temperament?!
Is this guy really this crazy in the real world?
I thought you were just going to pick a fight with Tracy over at the Dead Black…and the next thing I know, you've set the entire harbor—and every damn ship in it—on fire!
Thank the Lord my Blue Avenger is a ghost ship…if it were an ordinary ship, holy crap—it might not have survived this inferno either!
Alger broke into a sprint toward the docks, panic written all over his face.
Meanwhile, Senor—who had yet to appear until now—finally showed himself. In his Wraith form, a wave of frost spread rapidly from beneath his feet toward the seven or eight pirate ships engulfed in flames. In just a few moments, the fire was extinguished.
But more than half of the ships had already been burnt through.
"Gehrman Sparrow!"
Senior's expression darkened. He spat out the name through clenched teeth, and his grey eyes swept swiftly across the scene, searching for his target.
——
On the other side, Tracy's flagship, the Dead Black, and its fleet had been docked farther from the origin of the fire, so the damage wasn't as severe. By the time she arrived, her subordinates had already put out the fire on several of the affected ships.
"What happened?" she asked coldly, her eyes narrowing at her third mate, the Silver-Tongued Misaul.
"The flames spread from Senor's fleet," Misaul reported. "There was a layer of black oil floating on the water. The moment it touched fire, it ignited instantly—and couldn't be extinguished with water."
Tracy's expression became contemplative. "Was it Gehrman Sparrow?"
"That Gehrman Sparrow? The unpredictable one? He's here on the island too?"
"Senor had some kind of conflict with him just now," Tracy said casually. "Everyone—get the fleet away from the harbour immediately. There may be more attacks."
"Huh? What about you, boss?"
A teasing smile crept onto Tracy's alluring face. "I've still got a few things to take care of."
"Understood."
With that, Tracy turned and left with a smile, quickly slipping away from the crowd to a deserted area. There, she began to undo the buttons of her shirt, revealing a stretch of fair and tempting skin. From her inner garments, she retrieved a leather pouch and held it out.
Suddenly, her pupils contracted sharply, as if stricken by intense pain. She snapped her hand back and staggered backwards.
"Who's there?!"
Tch. So close…
A magnified Imperius Curse, paired with an Invisibility Cloak's concealment, should have been enough to instantly control even a Sequence 5 Witch like Tracy.
Once under control, she would do whatever he commanded…in whatever posture he desired.
Ahem.
Unfortunately, Edward had underestimated how important that leather pouch—her lover Helene—was to her. She had managed to break free at the very last moment.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Suddenly, Edward felt a discomfort in his throat. He hurriedly downed a bottle of potion and cast Protego Diabolica to ward off any invading pathogens.
But the moment he moved, he gave away his position.
Tracy's lips parted ever so slightly, and she let out a silent scream.
In response, a ghostly blue halo burst from within her, freezing the air in her wake. Frost bloomed rapidly, layering over everything and forming thick ice blocks that sealed her off from Edward.
Then she pulled out a shard of a mirror. As she flung it away, she shot a strand of spider silk to shatter it midair. Using the mirror-substitution technique, she teleported several times in rapid succession, putting a great distance between herself and Edward.
Because most of the mystical abilities she currently possessed were countered by fire—and her opponent could even use fire to form a protective shield around himself—Tracy didn't hesitate to retreat.
"Distortion."
Edward muttered, twisting Tracy's escape route. Then, with a wave of his wand, the surrounding plants and branches grew madly, transforming into chains that lashed toward Tracy.
"Steal!"
"Stupefy!"
He first stole her intent to use the Mirror Substitute technique, then immediately followed it with a stunning spell that left her stunned and motionless. By the time she regained her senses, she was already tightly bound.
But Tracy hadn't given up. Her entire body ignited in a quiet black flame that quickly melted the chains binding her. At that moment, Edward pointed his wand at her head and said coldly, "Go ahead if you want to die."
"..."
She stared at Edward—his face unremarkable, just like a common pirate lackey—and extinguished the black flames on her body.
"Gehrman Sparrow?"
Edward said nothing. "I only want a bit of Helene's blood."
"…You're not going to kill me?"
"Killing you isn't as useful as keeping you alive."
A cold smile tugged at Tracy's lips. "You think I'll let you use me?"
Edward replied blandly, "You will, unless you truly want to spend the rest of your life as a woman."
The smile on Tracy's face froze. Her eyes widened with a mix of shock and excitement.
"You know how to turn back into a man?!"
Don't be fooled by how easily that knowledge seems to be shared in the original works—it was extremely rare and profound mystical information in reality. Not many people knew that transitioning between neighbouring pathways was even possible.
Of course, Tracy's mother was the ageless witch who had lived for over a thousand years. She definitely knew that a Witch could transition to the Hunter pathway at Sequence 4—but would she ever tell Tracy that?
"Yes," Edward smiled. "That knowledge, in exchange for your cooperation—is that a fair deal?"
"You were the one I ran into at the docks?"
The excitement in Tracy's eyes gradually faded. "What do you want me to do?"
"Hmm, let me think…Keep me informed of the Demoness Sect's movements—especially anything involving the Lady Despair Panatiya and the Demoness of White Katarina. Every useful piece of information will unlock 10% of the process. After ten pieces of intel, I'll tell you how to revert."
"..."
Tracy fell silent.
Edward stepped forward and took the leather pouch from her hand. She instinctively tried to resist—but managed to hold back.
When he opened the pouch, he saw a red-haired girl sitting absentmindedly in the cramped space. The moment she sensed the pouch open, she looked up immediately.
"The Pirate Conference ended already? Who are you?"
"Come out."
Helene hesitated for a few seconds before getting up and climbing out of the pouch. Then, her eyes landed on Tracy, who was still kneeling on the ground, bound in chains.
Her first reaction wasn't joy—nor was it the satisfaction of vengeance.
But under her gaze, Tracy felt a deep wave of shame and anger. She turned her face away.
"You're a direct descendant of the Sauron family?"
Helene withdrew her gaze from Tracy and nodded. "My father was a member of Intis's former royal family—the Saurons."
Edward handed her a dagger and a test tube. "I need your blood. Just enough to fill this tube."
In the world of the occult, giving someone your blood was a very dangerous thing. But Helene didn't hesitate—she sliced her palm open and carefully filled the test tube with her blood.
"Here."
Edward corked the tube and tossed it into the pouch. Then, he turned to Tracy.
"Think over what I said. You can give me your answer the next time we meet."
"When? Where?"
Edward shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm sure it won't be long, because…"
He turned to Helene. "Let's go."
"W-what?"
"Haven't you always wanted to get away from Tracy?"
Helene was at a loss for words. But I don't even know who you are. At least with Tracy, I knew I wouldn't really get hurt…but you? What if you're worse?
Still, she understood she didn't have a choice. Head lowered, she followed him.
Black flames rose again on Tracy's body. She broke free of the melted chains and stood up, her voice slow and forceful.
"Gehrman Sparrow…"
In that moment, she didn't know whether to hate Germann for taking Helene away—or to be grateful that he had given her hope.
After a long silence, she muttered, "First, become a man again…then repay every bit of today's humiliation!"
———
As Edward walked away with red-haired Helene, she too, changed her appearance into that of an ordinary pirate.
By now, the fire at the docks had been completely extinguished. But more than half the ships had been reduced to wreckage.
A new problem emerged—too many people, not enough ships. How were they supposed to leave?
This volcanic island only saw such a large gathering once a year during the Pirate Conference. Supplies on the island were extremely limited. If stranded, they would soon face shortages of food and water.
Soon, the look in the pirates' eyes began to change.
Most of those whose ships had burned started to have a simple thought: My ship's gone. But yours isn't.
And so, the fighting began.
Using the Dowsing Rod, Edward located Danitz on the other side of the volcano island, sitting dazedly on the ground.
"Contemplating life, are you?"
Danitz turned around and was momentarily stunned at the sight of the two strangers. Then he said indifferently, "My life's already over. No need to contemplate."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.