Author's note: This chapter will be very rewritten/edited soon, I'm not satisfied with it.
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“Is he okay?”
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Lizy's eyes darting toward a pile of paper with a mix of fear and concern, her hands trembling slightly.
LoggerHead had been in dematerialization mode for almost seven hours now.
Log possessed the unique ability to become invisible and pass through most objects—except wood. To give him privacy, I had scattered some prototype paper scraps on the boat, since he likes the smooth texture of it, but I never imagined he would need this long. His normally vibrant presence was now a haunting void.
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“I... I don’t think so,
But I don’t know how to help him either.”
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The words tasted bitter, like failure.
Lizy and I huddled at the far side of the boat, our breaths mingling in the cool evening air. If we were too loud, Log might hear us.
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“He might as well be having an entire character arc in there!”
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I attempted to mimic Log’s trademark snark. The joke fell flat in the heavy silence, the weight of our worry smothering any humor.
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“Is he really okay?”
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“I don’t know... It’s not like him to stay hidden for this long. What if he’s—”
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“Stop! You’re going to make it worse. He’ll come back when he’s ready.”
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My fingers twitched slightly, the need to fidget barely restrained. Log had a way of slipping into his own world, but this felt different. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, unable to shake the growing unease. His silence was a weight pressing down on us, a stark contrast to his usual playful banter.
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“Why did you bring your halo over?”
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Lizy tried to shift the topic, her voice wavering slightly as she tried to steer us away from our spiraling thoughts.
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“I can gather positive union energy around us with this,”
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As a lesser angel, I had always relied on Kartheina for support. Now that I was alone, I had to actively gain positive union from surrounding human thoughts, rather than relying on the passive ones from my core thoughts.
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“Oh, it's just like horns, right? Since you angels are made of positive union, you have to use the halos to gain it?”
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I nodded in response.
I scanned the nearby ships, their silhouettes stark against the deepening evening sky. Taking a deep breath, I adjusted the halo above my head, feeling a tingle spread through me as its energy aligned. The halo’s gentle hum resonated with my heartbeat, a very familiar sensation.
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“That a pity,” a familiar voice echoed in my mind.
“Erene just wanted to be loved.”
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The pity people felt for a criminal like Erene Field lingered in my core, but it wasn’t enough to sustain me. I needed to focus, to draw in other positive thoughts surrounding us. I closed my eyes and concentrated harder, letting the fishermen’s voices guide me.
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“I’ve caught more fish this month than last!”
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“My wife is going to fish with me!”
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“My son... he loved the sea…”
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I brushed aside the darker thoughts, honing in on the brighter ones. With each tug and pull, I felt the energy shift, weaving into my halo, filling me with warmth and light. The sensation was like standing in a sunbeam on a cold day, a gentle, enveloping warmth.
As I gathered positive thoughts, the world faded into a soft hum. The fishermen’s chatter became a comforting backdrop.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWtWHzi14G
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**THUD**
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A harpoon from a nearby pirate ship pierced our boat, the impact reverberating through the wood, causing me to stumble backward, with my hands instinctively reaching for the nearest support to steady myself. The sound of splintering wood echoed in my ears, and I could feel the boat shudder beneath my feet.
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Recovering from the shock, Log materialized beside me, his usual playful demeanor replaced by an uncharacteristic seriousness. His eyes were swollen and bloodshot, a clear sign of whatever he had been grappling with. The vibrant light that usually danced in his eyes was now a haunting void. He glanced toward the source of the harpoon, and his expression hardened.
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“It’s the pirates,"
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He stated with a low, simmering annoyance, clearly infuriated that someone disrupted his private time.
I quickly scanned the horizon, spotting a small, rugged vessel approaching at breakneck speed, its sails billowing ominously in the wind. The sky had darkened, casting eerie shadows across the deck. A crew of rough-looking figures lined the enemy deck, their faces set with grim determination, each brandishing weapons with menacing intent.
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“Prepare yourself,
We’re a target—a fragile one at that.”
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I could see Lizy's hands trembling slightly as she nodded, her eyes wide with fear.
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“I’ll board their ship; they won’t see what’s coming.”
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With that, Log vanished into thin air, his form flickering out of existence.
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“What?”
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I gasped, confusion momentarily distracting me.
He had decided to fly over to the pirate ship.
My eyes widened in shock, and my hands clenched tightly at my sides as I tried to process his sudden disappearance. I shook my head, attempting to refocus on the immediate threat bearing down on us. The sound of the approaching vessel grew louder, and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the imminent confrontation.
As the pirates drew closer, their shouts became clearer, taunting and mocking.
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“Oh! We’ve struck gold! A halo!”
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One of them brandished a cutlass, his grin wicked, eyes gleaming with malicious intent.
I felt a chill run down my spine, and removed the halo from my head.
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“I shouldn’t have used it,”
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I sighed, locking eyes with Lizy. My shoulders slumped slightly as I quickly store away my halo in a compression storage box.
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“Well, there’s no way out of here except with violence.”
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“How do we board their ship?”
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Lizy adjusted her grip on her greatsword, her knuckles whitening with the pressure.
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“A better question is, how do we stop our ship from leaking?”
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I glanced at the hole the harpoon had made and cautiously walked towards it.
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“Be careful!”
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I examined the hole; it wasn’t too bad, but it threatened our safety. Grabbing a piece of my ponytail, I watched as it melted into a slimy substance. I began molding it to the shape of the hole, the cool slime adhering to the wood.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54fMZtKXbu
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“This is only temporary. We’ll need metal scraps later.”
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As I worked, I heard the chaos of pirates from their boat, their laughter turning to screams as Log reappeared behind them on the boat, having ambushed a few of them and thrown them into the sea.
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“That’s what you get for pissing off Max... He can be merciless.”
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A slight smirk played on my lips. My composed facade remained intact, even in the chaos. I took a moment to catch my breath before heading back to the deck, the sounds of battle growing louder.
Suddenly, a pirate on the opposing ship hurled a heavy grappling hook toward us, aiming to secure their vessel alongside ours.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaS4yNwl7K
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**CLANG**
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I quickened my pace, reaching the deck just in time to see the hook clamped onto the railing, it's chain rattling ominously.
With Log's decision to fight solo, even my attempts to keep my confidence are futile. The noise, the noise didn't help with it at all, having the world feel like it was aganist me...
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**CLASH**
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"Miss RoseBud, are you okay??"
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My eyes shot open, bracing for the worst. Instead, I saw Lizy, her blade intercepting an oncoming pirate's strike just inches from me. Relief mingled with urgency; there was no time to dwell on dread. I swept my gaze across the battlefield, heart pounding, mind racing to devise a plan—like I always do.
...
When I came back to my senses, the ship was a grim tableau of chaos. Bloody corpses of what once were living pirates lay scattered across the deck, their lifeless eyes staring into the void.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNJzjaNwHO
In a surprisingly anticlimactic turn of events, the battle came to an abrupt end when Log tossed the captain into the water with a triumphant laugh. The remaining pirates hesitated, their morale shattered without their leader. They exchanged uneasy glances before retreating in disarray, their earlier bravado nowhere to be seen. The air, once thick with the sounds of battle, gradually calmed as the pirates fled, leaving behind a silence that was both eerie and relieving.
Log descended back onto our boat with a grace that belied the chaos around us, his wings folding neatly behind him before quickly concealing them. As he landed, his movements were fluid and controlled, showing no sign of the fierce battle he'd just fought.
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“Maybe that was enough private time, don’t you think?”
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He quipped, his grin infectious. His presence seemed to lighten the atmosphere, easing the tension that had gripped us moments before.
I nodded, feeling fear mixed with the relief. I could see the hidden turmoil behind his eyes, a reminder of the burdens he carried. The brief flashes of his vulnerability were jarring against his otherwise unshakeable demeanor.
Perhaps that act of decisive violence had helped ease the turmoil in his mind, if only for a moment. I took a deep breath and scanned the gorey ship around us.
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"Not next time."
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"Fine fine, as you say so, my lady," he replied with a mock bow.
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"Ew." I muttered, unable to suppress a shiver.
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The sense of powerlessness I felt during the battle weighed heavily on my chest, a gnawing guilt that refused to let go. Maybe, I am useless.
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