286 - Infiltration and Rescue
The Silent Mermaid drifted through the night sea like an invisible, predatory phantom. Its spectral hull made no sound as it sliced through the waves.
Ahead, the Dragon Queen loomed. A jagged, ugly silhouette against the horizon. It was a frigate built for cruelty. Its lines were harsh and its karma was stained with blood.
Jack stood at the bow. Standing steady despite the roll of the sea. His eyes glinted with a faint, unnatural light as he scanned the pirate ship. Getting as much information as possible for their upcoming operation.
Beside him, Reina Night stood with her long black hair whipping in the wind. She was silent and calm. Her eyes were steadily fixed on the target.
Chloe Chase, on the other hand, was obviously tense. The teenage girl had great ability and potential. But she was still too young and lacked experience. Her body had already partially merged with the deepening shadows cast by the Silent Mermaid’s masts.
"It is time." Jack said. His voice was calm. "Chloe, relax! Reina, take us in!"
"Yes, Dear!" Reina replied. She stepped forward. Her hands moved in a practiced, fluid motion. She grabbed Jack's upper arm and Chloe's shoulder.
There was no loud sound. Only a sudden, soft displacement of air. One moment they were on the polished deck of their ghost ship. The next, they were standing on the salt-crusted wood of the Dragon Queen's main deck.
They immediately sensed the difference. The air in that pirate ship was much worse. It smelled of blood, rot, cheap tobacco, and unwashed bodies.
Reina didn't wait for an order. She tapped into her [Absolute Blink] once more, repositioning them behind a stack of weathered crates near the midship.
Immediately, Jack activated the illusion aspect of his [Mysterious Anomaly]. His form flickered and vanished from view. Blending perfectly with the dark, grime-streaked environment.
Reina followed suit. Her own illusion magic masked her presence until she was nothing more than a ripple in the air from others' view.
Chloe simply stepped into the shadow of a heavy cannon and disappeared entirely.
With his immunity to illusion and [Eyes of Judgement], Jack could see and detect both Reina and Chloe. But he knew that they couldn't see him. He immediately modified the reach of his [Mysterious Anomaly]. Excluding Reina and Chloe from the illusion.
"Rune, keep a lookout." He whispered.
The small fairy guide had reappeared near him and was currently invisible to all but him. She pulsed with a dull, steady violet light. It was a signal of readiness.
Jack moved first. He drifted across the deck. His footsteps made no more noise than a falling leaf. He passed in front of a pair of pirates leaning against the railing. They were laughing at some crude joke. Their breath was stinking of crude rum smell.
They had no idea that death was walking just a short distance from their faces. Jack ignored them. He wasn't here for the small fry yet. He wanted the cargo.
The invisible trio descended into the lower decks. The smell grew worse here. The unmistakable stench of human misery. Jack's [Eyes of Judgement] pierced through the gloom. Highlighting heat signatures and spiritual auras.
"There!" Jack signaled silently. Pointing toward the hold.
They reached the slave quarters. It wasn't a room. It was a cage. Twenty-three people were crammed into a space meant for half that number. Most were women and children. Their clothes were reduced to rags. Their skin was bruised and covered in filth.
The sight was a testament to Khezam Gillbuster's depravity. Some were weeping quietly. Others were simply staring at the floor with hollow, broken eyes.
Reina's eyes hardened. She glanced at Jack. Silently asking for the green light. Jack nodded once.
Reina extended her hand. A thick, translucent fog began to appear around her. Crawling across the floor like a living thing. It was odorless and silent.
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As the mist touched the captives, they slowly slumped into a deep, dreamless sleep. It was a mercy compared to their current reality.
Jack stepped forward and drew a small, plain hand mirror from his [Spatial Bag]. This was a normal, regular mirror. But, it was a practical conduit for his [Mythical Mirror Realm] power.
He placed the mirror on the ground. Then, he gently grabbed the sleeping captives. Activating the [Mythical Mirror Realm] power, he started to work. Transporting the slaves into his Mirror Mansion.
The surface of the mirror rippled like water. One by one, the prisoners were taken into the mirror. They vanished from the filthy hold. Transported instantly to the Mirror Mansion. A safe, clean, and isolated dimension within Jack's power. In the Mirror Mansion, they would be safe from the coming fire.
"Slaves secured." Jack whispered. He looked at the empty, shadowy corner. "Chloe, the artifacts?"
Chloe's voice drifted from a corner where no person stood. "The captain's cabin area. There is a reinforced storage room below his quarters. Two guards. Very likely transcendent warlocks."
"Lead the way." Jack ordered.
They moved through the narrow corridors of the frigate. The ship groaned due to the sea waves outside. The wood shrieking like a tortured animal.
They reached the reinforced door. Two hulking pirates stood guard. Their eyes were surprisingly alert despite the late hour. They were different from the rabble on deck. More disciplined.
Reina didn't care about their disciplines though. She didn't give them a chance to see her either. Her hand snapped forward. A concentrated burst of her fog appeared suddenly and hit them square in the face.
Their eyes bugged out. Their hands clawed at their throats for a heartbeat before they collapsed into a heap.
Jack walked past the fallen guards and pushed the door. It was locked with a heavy iron bolt and a rudimentary mystical seal.
Jack didn't bother with a key. He focused his power into his palm. The telekinesis aspect of his [Mysterious Anomaly] bypassed the lock and the basic seal's logic. Solving the mechanism instantly.
Inside, the room was much colder. Three items sat on velvet-lined pedestals. Each was shackled with heavy, rune-etched chains.
Jack activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. Information flooded his mind. Scrolling across his vision in sharp, glowing text.
The first item was a twisted, obsidian statuette of a woman with too many limbs. It also had eyes that seemed to weep oil. His appraisal told him that it was...
[Name: Idol of the Insane Goddess]
[Grade: Epic]
[Status: Sealed]
[Durability: Extremely Tough (47%)]
[Special Ability: Aura of Insanity, Madness Curse]
[Description: An idol of a false goddess. When unsealed, it slowly leaches the sanity of those nearby, inducing homicidal mania.]
Jack observed the second object. It was a huge, beating, bio-metallic heart, encased in a glass jar filled with golden ichor. It was...
[Name: Artificial Dragon Heart]
[Grade: Epic]
[Status: Sealed]
[Durability: Extremely Tough (73%)]
[Special Ability: Random Elemental Infusion, Unstable Charge]
[Description: An unstable power source existing due to an accident occurred during a questionable scientific experiment done by a mad alchemist. When unsealed, it produced a great but random, unstable elemental power.]
The third was a clawed gauntlet. It was bluish in color and had twisted runic inscriptions on its bladed claw. Jack checked its details...
[Name: Azure Devil Claw]
[Grade: Epic]
[Status: Sealed]
[Durability: Extremely Tough (62%)]
[Special Ability: Shieldbreaker Slash, Life Sacrifice]
[Description: A bladed gauntlet created by fusing devil's claw with infernal metal and the sacrifice of a hundred infants. When unsealed, it grants the wielder the ability to rend through any magical barriers, but slowly consumes the wielder’s life force.]
"Dangerous toys..." Jack remarked seeing these artifacts.
In a single motion, he swept his hand across the pedestals. He placed the three artifacts into his [Spatial Bag], chains and all. He didn't have any intention to unseal those artifacts. Especially, not now.
The room felt lighter the moment they were gone. The oppressive magical weight was lifted from the air.
"We’re done here." Jack said. "Reina, get us back."
Reina waited until Chloe appeared and moved closer. And then, she grabbed them both. The world blurred. A second later, they reappeared on the Dragon Queen's deck.
She used another [Absolute Blink]. And suddenly, they were standing on the deck of the Silent Mermaid. They were back on their own ship's deck.
The transition was seamless. Baroness Artheim and the others were already waiting for them. Their faces were grim and expectant.
"The captives and the artifacts are secured." Jack announced. He didn't waste time with details. "Now, we finish this."
He looked at the crew members seriously. "The Dragon Queen is a plague ship. It carries nothing but filth and those who profit from it. Let's just erase it from the sea."
The Baroness nodded. Her expression was cold and aristocratic. "We are ready, Captain. Should we use the rifles again? Or do we need boarding their ship?"
Jack gave a grim instruction. "To the armory! Take the rifles and grenade launchers. We're not boarding. Or executing them one by one. We're destroying the ship."
The crew moved with practiced efficiency. From the Silent Mermaid's armory, they brought out the heavy hardware. These were hot weapons. The custom-built steamrune weapons Jack had refined in Lonestone.
The women of the crew, Chloe, Serene, Autumn, Mirella, and the Baroness took the long-range rifles. These weapons were sleek. With glowing blue runes etched along their bodes. They had used them before and had known their destructive power.
The men... Leon, Barnaby, Don Donson, and the Baroness’s guards, heaved the heavy grenade launchers...
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