[Aiden’s POV]
This was something I didn’t expect, just when we trimmed down their numbers. New pirates would appear. My whole body was aching from the constant use of sigils.
The only good thing was that after opening the 2nd node, my strength increased a little and my mana regeneration capacity was amplified due to the cultivation technique.
Still, every movement I made proved difficult, so I used this condition as an opportunity and started killing the pirates with Nullification-coated punch.
Felicia was my biggest support whenever somebody got too close. She would either freeze them solid and build an ice wall to block their advance.
As the third time more pirates appeared, I noted the glow of another ship, and then suddenly everything clicked.
Immediately, I shouted my finding to Seraphine; we had to leave this boat as soon as possible before we got completely boxed in.
Seraphine asked us to buy some time; I agreed immediately; there was no time to talk much.
Felicia froze and I punched, but suddenly my danger sense started ringing like never before. Instinctively, I raised my hand as a defensive ice wall appeared in front of me.
A blur, my eyes only caught a fist colliding with my crossed arm as I was launched into the cabin wall.
’So that’s how Zale would have felt’—an amusing thought crossed my mind, trying to divert my attention from bone-shattering pain all over my body.
Bones is my hand were probably shattered because I was feeling them getting back together even if I didn’t felt it as they broke.
"Mister, are you okay? Sorry, Felicia tried to stop, but she isn’t strong enough." Felicia reached me feeling sorry.
A blinding light assaulted my eyes; next, I found Seraphine standing next to me. I tried to stand up to leave this pirate trap quickly.
"I am alright, Seraphine, Felicia," I tried consoling them, suppressing my pain.
"Hahaha...know this is truly interesting. An puny Awakened-rank serving the punch from a Saint-Rank. I changed my mind; you guys deserve to be captured alive. So that I can find the reason for that power," the boisterous voice of the leader reached my ears.
I decided to tune him out and focus only on our survival for now.
"Do you have some powerful spell, Felicia?" I asked, trying my hardest to stand, as my body healed itself through the pain.
"Felicia can, but it takes a lot of mana and some time to prepare the spell," she answered.
"Okay, get ready. Seraphine and I will provide cover," I stated trying to appear brave, as their summoner, I can’t become a weak link. Just a few more minutes, and we would leave this ship. I hope Thane had it better.
However, just as I was about address Seraphine, a sudden notification from system caught my attention.
[Your summon is trying to force through her rank; this could prove fatal to her.]
Immediately, my eyes darted towards her; she had started floating a bit above us, and a thin film of golden light covered her body.
"NO! Seraphine," I shouted but she didn’t listen or maybe she did.
The system screen was still there; its color changed from golden-rimmed to red. ’System, don’t let harm herself. I don’t know how you do it but do it.’ I shouted mentally.
[–1000 Origin Points]
[Forcefully breaking connection between Seraphine and her mana core.]
A golden blade materializes, huge in shape. Even at a glance, I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive this.
"Felicia, make way to our ship and let’s catch Seraphine on the way," I said to Felicia; she complied immediately.
Just as we left the ship, the golden blade hovering in the air shot towards the pirate ship. I saw Seraphine falling; I caught her immediately, and we hurried towards our ship.
The last attack that Seraphine used was powerful, gave us plenty of time to cross safely. As I landed on the ship, a few corpses came into view.
Thane quickly reached me, "Boss, we didn’t have many attackers after you left. How did it go...." He stopped midway after seeing the current situation.
As I laid down Seraphine from my arm, she was unconscious due to the use of power and forceful disconnection of the mana core.
"Bring me A.B.," I ordered. "What’s the condition of the ship and your team?" I asked further.
"Very few pirates came after you guys left. I thought you handled them, but I guess something else happened for Angel to be like that. Nobody’s injured, and the ship didn’t suffer any huge damage," he answered.
"What are your commands, Master?" A.B. asked as he reached us.
"Is there any way to increase our speed and is there any structural damage?" I asked as stood up to look at the pirate ship in our back.
The ship had a big cut down in the middle, threatening to divide the ship in two. Its speed visibly slowed, and it didn’t look like it was in a shape to chase us more.
However, I had already made a mistake by not taking the unique ability of the leader into account. I didn’t wanted to repeat my mistake.
"Speed increment possible, higher quality and quantity of mana stones required. No notifiable damage to the ship," A.B. answered.
Immediately, I produced two S-rank mana stones from inventory as I looked around to decide the best possible direction.
The leader’s ship maybe damaged, but I didn’t know the situation of the leader himself. If he is active, he could turn even a small ship into a launching pad to attack our ship relentlessly.
As I looked ahead with sigil-enhanced eyes, I noticed a storm forming on the slightly left side of us.
"What are you thinking, boss?" Thane asked.
"Can this ship really survive the storm?" I questioned again before making any decisions.
"At current energy supply, the ship’s survivability in the storm is around 48 hours,"A.B. answered.
"Then take us into that storm, A.B.," I decided. He quickly returned to follow the task.
"We have to escape their vision and do something that we won’t usually do," I answered Thane’s earlier question; he nodded in understanding.
After deciding the destination, I sat down beside unconscious Seraphine. My body was still throbbing from pain, even after deactivating sigils.
A sudden soothing energy enveloped my body as I felt the soreness in body subside at a rapid rate. I looked at the side to see dryad Britany responsible for this relief.
"Thanks," I muttered.
"Mister, is big sis gonna be okay?" Felicia asked, still resting on my shoulder.
"Yes, it would take some time, but she will be okay," I answered as I looked at the system panel providing the details.
[Time until gaining consciousness—36 hours]
[Time until complete recovery of Mana Core—3 weeks]
[Note – It is advised that the subject don’t use her mana core entirely until complete recovery.]
’Thanks system,’ I spoke mentally.
[Always here for you, host.]
"Felicia, can you do one last spell, something that stops any ship from following us for some time?" I asked; she was most productive in our fight.
"Britany, could you take Seraphine to her room and, if possible, keep an eye on her?" I added.
"Okay, I will stay with her," she left with Seraphine on a bed made of branches and twig.
"Hmm...Felicia can make a huge wall, but it requires a lot of mana, so it takes much longer to cast," she answered.
"Okay, what if I supplied the mana required? Is that possible and doable?" I asked further.
"Yay, if you can give mana to Felicia, she can make that wall in no time," she answered cheerfully.
She was one of the best things that happened to me during this attack.
I immediately sat in the Primordial Anchor Seat and spoke, "Take as much mana as you need."