Raging Phoenix: Part Five

”I’m boooooooored!” Agent Van Kasteel whined. The four had been at sea for barely two hours, but he had already exhausted every possible distraction. ”Ludwig, come on! Let me pilot the ship.”

“You’re the one who suggested six-hour straight shifts, remember?” Agent Diflas dryly replied. “And I seriously doubt you’d be able to restrain yourself once you got behind the helm.” The speedboat was circumnavigating a tropical island at a moderate pace, providing Jacques and Jude enough time to scout for any signs of pirate activity through their binoculars. But to Jericho, it all felt like a monumental waste of time.

“C’mon, Ludwig, this place is more desolate than Gillet’s bedroom. Just let’s stop on one of these islands and relax—no one will ever find out.” The ’Defender’ responded with silence. His colleague’s words had violated so many codes of conduct that he couldn’t even decide where to begin his scolding. “Ludwig, my man, you may very well be the most obnoxious person I’ve ever met. Still, you should know there’s a massive difference between being dutiful and being a stick-in-the-ass.” Jericho seasoned his point by repeatedly jabbing Ludwig’s shoulder. “Even if the entire Imperial Army joined the search, we’d never manage to check all these islands in time—there are hundreds of thousands of them!”

”An emergency state has been declared. This isn’t a prank, this isn’t a drill, and this isn’t even your average crisis.” Agent Diflas’s words were like a smooth mirror, offering no handholds to steer the conversation elsewhere—Jericho’s art. ”I’ve never seen Captain Larsan or Bernie so terrified. Something’s happened—something bigger than both of us—and if I were you, I’d act carefully from now on. The martial court might treat our smallest misstep as criminal negligence.” His words darkened the mood, succeeding in smithing the ’Raging Phoenix’s’ usual confidence.

“Then what about just two hours? Do it for our friendship! Aren’t you my best friend or not?” Jericho’s fawn eyes tried to crack the iron heart of the ‘Defender,’ but he unbreakably faced them. “Tsk. What happened to you, bro? You’d never ignore me like this back when we were at the Academy.” Ludwig and Jericho had known each other since they were fourteen, assigned to the same [Party] on their very first day at the Miraval Academy, and despite Jericho’s evolution to Class B, their friendship had never wavered. In fact, it had only grown stronger due to their joint decision to enroll in police school, and—perhaps by fate—was sealed forever when both were assigned to Miraval City in the post-graduation lottery.

”I grew up. You ought to do the same—you can’t stay a child forever.” Adulthood had brought new responsibilities, and Ludwig could no longer afford to ignore them, no matter how much his flaming friend complained.

”Why do you hate having fun so much? Or maybe…someone else is making your decisions now—Jahira, isn’t she?” Jericho snickered, pleased to see Ludwig tightening his grip on the wheel. ”You were my sidekick, my bro, my right arm. Together, we conquered every nightclub in Miraval City—we were kings! And then you met that demon.” Flames began to flare across half of Jericho’s body. ”She stole you from me, turning you into a shadow of your former self. And the worst part? You accepted your life sentence without even putting up a fight first.” He dramatically raised his blazing fists. ”Be free, Ludwig. Revolt against that monster. Don’t overthink it, and don’t fear the consequences—I’ll always be here for you.” He finished with a soft and sincere beam.

”…She’s pregnant.”

”A reason more to run—NOW!”

As their argument escalated, Jacques and Jude remained focused on their scouting duties, their binoculars pointed at the tropical forest ahead. It was an odd combination of oversized corals and towering palms that blanketed the islands before them, providing shelter to its small inhabitants from the oversized beasts lurking beneath the glowing-red water and behind the shining-yellow clouds, lusting for their flesh.

“Do you see anything?” Throughout the travel, Jacques had asked this question a thousand times already.

”Yes, I saw many things—you should try to remove the cover from the lens.” A sarcastic laugh was Jacques’s reply. The ’Javelinist’ lowered his binoculars, taking a breath as he admired the paradisiac panorama of the Pacific Sea.

Compared to most landmasses, the myriad islands of the Pacific Archipelago were, geologically speaking, young. Stretching from Cisarpine Chaptia to Gupta, the mid-ocean ridge known as the Mediterranean Rise was dotted with thousands of active volcanoes, whose eruptions released massive amounts of Crude Mana into the ocean. Some of this raw energy nourished marine life, while other portions were carried by sea currents and crystallized into the Mana Crystals people often found washed up on beaches. Instead, the purest Mana rose to the surface, where it bonded with its kind already present and with that rising from beneath, gradually forming vast and flat expanses of shimmering sand—the Mana Cays.

Over time, the corals living in the reefs below began to release their larvae, some of which attached themselves to the underside of the Mana Cays. There, nourished by the limitless supply of Crude Mana, they thrived, slowly forming foundations solid enough to turn the cays into true islands. Moreover, the corals’ Mana-based diet produced three major effects. First, the corals that formed the islands began to gleam, causing the surrounding waters to shimmer with ethereal light. Second, in some cases, the corals overgrew, breaching the surface and intertwining with native palm trees and creating a strange yet gorgeous hybrid of tropical forest and coral reef. Third, the intense heat scorched the “trunks” of these coral trees, generating dust that rose into the air, forming a mist that dyed the clouds and sky with unusual and shimmering hues.

Altogether, they created the iconic and idiosyncratic panorama of the Pacific Archipelago, but the colors of the sea and sky varied from region to region. For example, in the eastern part, the hues shifted between deep yellows and vibrant reds, painting both the sea and sky with these radiant colors.

“Thank Adam this armor is thermal-insulating, or I’d be dead from the heat,” Jacques muttered, collapsing onto the couch while glaring at the man wearing the same outfit. Their Carbon-Woven Armor was dark gray—almost black—but the sunlight had bleached the parts it kissed, leaving pale gray streaks on the surface. Overall, the armor resembled a leather bodysuit in shape, though its artificial texture and the plated segments protecting vital organs gave it a distinctly modern appearance.

“What are you looking at? Do I look beautiful today?” Jude asked as he sat down, stretching his arms.

“Well, that mask definitely improved your ass-looking face.” Jude chuckled. “By the way, would you mind clearing up a little doubt I have? Why the fuck are you here?! This is my new life, not yours. I had the idea first—it’s copyrighted! So fuck off back to the shithole you’ve come from!”

“Calm down, you paranoid schizoid,” Jude coolly replied. “I saw the announcement and decided to volunteer. Wasn’t it the same for you?”

“Shut up. You know what I meant. Why did you join Miraval Academy?!

“Oh, that? They both caught a glimpse of their own reflections in the other’s dark eyeshield. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was tired of being a pawn on someone else’s chessboard,” Jacques revealed. “Sure, I’m a lot poorer than I used to be, but at least now I’m the one moving my piece. You got a problem with that?”

“Nah,” Jude said calmly, patting his fellow Marian countryman on the shoulder. “I actually agree.” Then, without another word, the ’Mafioso’ returned to scouting.

“Your answer, motherfucker!”

“I’m here to get revenge on the man who ruined my life,” Jude answered without taking his eyes off the binoculars.

“Oh? May I help?”

“Yeah.” Jude sneered beneath his Carbon-Woven Helmet. “You might help with that.”

“Fine, I’ll do it myself.” Agent Van Kasteel, exhausted by his countless failed attempts to crack the ’Defender’s’ composure, grabbed a rope and tied one end to the ship and the other around his waist. “Watch me fly!” He declared before leaping off the boat. But instead of spreading his flaming wings, his feet ignited the instant they touched the sea’s surface—enveloping the ’Raging Phoenix’ in a column of steam.

”You idi—” Before Ludwig could rush to save his friend, the boat’s acceleration snapped the rope taut, yanking a flaming figure out of the white cloud. ”Hooray!” Trailing a path of steam, Jericho skimmed across the sea’s surface, untying his hair so that his golden mane flowed wildly in the wind. “C’mon, Ludwig—raise the damn speed!” Exasperated, the ’Defender’ gave in, reluctantly agreeing to the compromise and cutting the fifteen-minute-per-island inspection time in half.

”He looks so peaceful, like a child with a new toy,” Jacques commented as he and Jude approached the helm. All three admired the coral stacks—ancient and lone formations in the middle of the sea that had taken millions of years to form—be shattered by Jericho’s acrobatic stunts.

”Speaking of peaceful, do any of you know why these islands are called the Pacific Archipelago?” Agent Diflas asked, his eyes mesmerized by the spray of reddish water surging behind his dazzling colleague.

”No idea.” Jude’s words prompted Jacques to grimace.

”Are you kidding me? What the hell did you learn in school?”

”I never went to school,” Jude said flatly, with not a hint of regret in his voice. Ludwig and Jacques exchanged an awkward glance, suddenly unsure how to continue the conversation.

”Well…let me explain. After Hero Roland and his companions defeated the ’Twilight Queen,’ Chaotia was divided among them, and S-Class ’Infinitesimal Etymologist’ Hero Alfredo De Miraval claimed this archipelago for himself. However, unlike the rest of the continent, when the first Auxerine colonists arrived, they discovered unexpected squatters already living in what was supposed to be their new home. We Chaotians called them the Corauxerines due to their excessive use of coral in everything they had ever produced—from clothing and weapons to the Shellters they called homes. That being said, they were split into thousands of tribes, often completely alien to one another. So, placing all those distinct cultures under a single name is, frankly, an insult.”

Jacques grimaced. “Culture ain’t about the words you use to talk or the clothes to cover your naked body—it’s all about the economy. You’ve got all the time in the world to waste in worthless stuff once your stomach’s full. So yeah, naming them after the basis of their economy makes sense, no matter how huge their petty differences might seem.” Jude nudged his fellow Marian countryman, signaling him to shut up before he risked compromising his new identity.

”Anyway, tensions soon escalated between us and the Natives, leading to a series of tragedies on both sides, each bloodier than the last. To prevent an endless spiral of violence, Hero Alfredo did the unthinkable—he renounced his claim over the archipelago in the name of peace. This act of incredible courage led to a peace agreement that secured the northernmost part of the archipelago—the already-colonized region—for the Chaotians, while the remaining islands were declared untouchable territories of the Corauxerines. Then, both sides swore never to make contact again. To commemorate the accord, the Miraval Archipelago and the Miraval Sea were renamed the Pacific Archipelago and the Pacific Sea—‘pacific’ meaning ‘peaceful’ in Auxerine,” he finished with a bittersweet smile.

”Now comes the best part. C’mon, tell him!” Jacques clamored, buzzing with excitement.

”Let me guess—we violated the treaty and slaughtered them all?” Jude proposed a classic cliché.

”Nothing could be further from the truth,” the policeman replied after a heavy sigh. ”About a thousand years later, pirates from the Coraline side of the archipelago crossed the sacred boundary set by the Coral Accords and began raiding Rolandish ships. At first, everyone assumed the Corauxerines had broken the treaty. But soon, the grim truth came to light.” He paused, filling his lungs with the filtered-air provided by the bioengineered fungus living inside his Carbon-Woven Armor.

”Unbeknownst to either side, the Pacific Archipelago stretched all the way from Chaotia to Naturia—the most populous continent in the world. There, the Naturian nations follow a peculiar tradition. When a faction loses a war, its leaders and loyalists are allowed to flee into exile. And where do they go? To the lawless northern islands. Once there, those exiles—raised in brutal and militaristic societies where strength is everything—encountered the Corauxerines, a people who had long forgotten the very concept of war, and one by one, every Coraline tribe was exterminated, enslaved, or absorbed by the Naturian warlords. Their culture, their language, and their stories—all faded into oblivion.

”And the worst part? Even when they knew they were facing total extinction, the Corauxerines never once tried to contact the Miraval Family. Why? Because they had sworn never to do so in the peace agreement, and they honored that vow to the bitter end.” Jude’s silence said everything, finally understanding what Jacques and Ludwig had implied, and that left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

“Hero Alfredo was stupid,” Jacques interjected, sporting a smug and know-it-all expression. "If only he’d pacified the Natives the way Heroine Maëlys did in the Great Dune, they’d all still be alive. And more importantly, we’d have a pirate-free sea.” He leaned back, arms crossed and chin high “This story teaches one of the most crucial lessons for any monarch. Every compromise you make—even for the noblest of reasons—will be paid in blood, with full interest.” His severe words stung both the ’Defender’ and the ’Mafioso,’ wounding their hearts. Conversely, their minds accepted the logic behind them.

“Meh, are you sure about that?” A sudden burst of flame drew everyone’s eyes to the man who had just returned to the ship, evaporating the last droplets of water left on a body where each muscle had been sculpted to perfection by the God of War himself. “There was no way Hero Alfredo could have known that beforehand,” stated the ’Raging Phoenix’ as he casually slipped on his flower-patterned shirt.

Jacques scoffed. “Such a genius failed to foresee such an obvious outcome? The greatest mind this world’s ever known should’ve realized a problem doesn’t just disappear because you ship it somewhe—” His words were cut short as Jericho yanked him by the shoulder, spinning him around until their faces were just inches apart. Despite the Carbon-Woven Armor being thermally insulated, the ’Javelinist’ could feel all the heat radiating from the ’Raging Phoenix.’

“Who the fuck cares? You get one life—a priceless gift from Adam—and you want to waste it on others? If they won’t help themselves, there’s nothing we can do. Hero Alfredo handed them a golden opportunity, and now he’s the one getting blamed? Just because the Corauxerines throwing it away like a bunch of fucking retards?” He leaned in closer, his tone now lower and colder. “Let me teach you a wise life lesson. When you see headlines about war, plagues, disasters—try don’t give a shit. You’d be amazed how smoothly your day goes—just like any other.” He ended with a friendly wink, a radiant smile, and a thumb-up.

”Ahem…sure dude, but have you consid—”

*VRROOOAAARRRRR-CRACK-CRACK-VVVRRRMMMM!* Suddenly, the roar of multiple engines shattered the moment.

“Have they already found the girl?” Jude asked, perplexed, as several speedboats came into view, racing toward them.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Agent Diflas bellowed. “The Central would’ve notified us through the Hydro.” He turned toward his partner. “Jericho, you idiot! The smoke you produced during that childish game must’ve alerted another squad.”

A cold shiver raced down the ’Raging Phoenix’s’ spine. “Ludwig, you must to save me, I’m too young to lose my job! A third of the girls in Miraval City depend on my paycheck—think of the economy!” He cried, throwing himself at the ’Defender,’ who remained impassive as his panicked colleague shook him.

However, after the initial shock faded, a new emotion quickly settled over the four—confusion. As the vessels drew closer, it became clear that something was off. The approaching ships were too small and outdated to belong to the ’MCPD,’ and the guests proudly bore elaborate tattoos across their bronze skin, depicting exotic beasts and demonic figures—clearly not your average policemen.

Five boats in total now surrounded the police vessel—two on each flank and the larger one directly ahead.

”Maybe they’re just voluntee—” Jacques began, but before he could finish, a man draped in a lion’s skin, wearing it like a cloak, shouted a war cry from the rear ship in a language none of them understood. ”Godmorgen, mit navn er Jac—ACK!” Jacques’s introduction was cut short as the strangers all reached beneath their feet with their dirty-stained hands, pulling out their Gaussbows—square, oblong, polished metal weapons that ill-fitted with their soft, voluminous, and vividly colored robes. Then, without hesitation in their eyes, they all pulled the trigger.

“Get down!” Agent Diflas leaped from the pilot seat, arms outstretched. The four bolts veered mid-air, redirected by his [Magnetism], and slammed into the policeman’s chest with brutal force. “These bastards…” he muttered as he inspected the tips, dotted by black spots. “They’re poisoned.”

“Ludwig…” Agent Van Kasteel’s voice trembled as he pointed his flaming index finger at the new threat standing on the rear boat. Beside the lion-cloaked man, another pirate raised a massive cylindrical object to his shoulder.

“Isn’t that a Mazooka?” Jacques asked, just as a glowing sphere of Mana erupted from the barrel, rocketing straight toward them.

”HOLY S—[Adrenaline].” Jude, in less an instant, jumped on the helm, veering the ship away as the blue sphere trailed the sea’s surface where they once were, continuing straight its travel till it encountered an island in its path.

“Nice save, Jude,” Jericho congratulated. ”But a little Mazooka ain’t that much of a problem for the ’Defen–”

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!* A thunderous explosion cut him off as a massive gust of wind slammed against the boat, forcing everyone to grip the edge to not fall off. Into the sky, a new actor now led the show—a colossal bluish mushroom. An outstanding performance that lasted only a few seconds, and when the curtains closed, nothing remained of that coral theater.

“What the fuck was that thing?” The ‘Raging Phoenix’ mumbled, now unsure Ludwig could’ve survived that hit .

“Korinthian Mana Aggregator, informally called Essentia Smasher,” Jude answered while spinning the wheel hard to the right, slamming into one of the pirate vessels flanking them. The two pirates aboard tried to escape, but Jericho was quicker, grabbing both by the neck before they could jump into the sea—their screams lasted only a few seconds before their bodies were completely reduced to charcoal.

Next, a new volley of bolts came from the left, aimed at the two Class F in an attempt to avenge their fallen brothers. But Ludwig’s [Magnetism] activated just in time, changing the bolts’ direction from Jacques and Jude to himself.

“By Korinthian…you mean?” Agent Diflas asked as he popped open the black briefcase, revealing two [Inventory.Windows]. The lower window displayed a grid full of icons, while the upper pane showed detailed descriptions of the selected items. The ’Defender’ tapped two matching icons and then pressed a side button, materializing two Magnetized Gaussbows into the real world. He took one and tossed it to Jacques, both magnetically locking onto the right-arm plating of their Carbon-Woven Armor. “Jacques, aim at the other boat!” They fired in unison, four perfect hits in total—each pirate dropped into the sea with a bolt buried in their left eye.

At the same time, Jude rammed into the boat ahead, and the two pirates aboard, in a desperate attempt to survive, dove into the sea, hoping to escape beneath the surface. Unfortunately for them, Jericho plunged both hands into the water, releasing a torrent of scalding bubbles, and seconds later, two boiled corpses floated next to the ship.

Now, only the lion’s ship remained, but the Essentia Smasher was ready to fire again. Acting quickly, Jericho plunged both hands into the water once more, this time generating a wall of hot vapor that surged toward the enemy, scorching their skin and blinding their eyes.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM* ”Such a weapon is difficult to find in the black market. These weren’t pirates, but corsairs!” Jude explained as the light of another fungus reflected on his eyeshield, and the impact wave bathed them. ”We’ve just found the kidnappers.”

”Contact Captain Larsan—now!” Agent Diflas commanded.

The 'Mafioso' tried, but after a few failed attempts, he shook his head. ”No signal. Jamming,” he muttered, annoyed. ”Looks like the Eleutheria Republic has been very generous with their dogs.”

”Then we’ve got two choices. Go back and warn the Central, risking the pirates slipping from our hands, or stay and risk our lives to save that girl. If anyone here’s a coward—raise your hand.” The ’Raging Phoenix’ met each of their eyeshields, but no one backed down.

I know I’ll regret this, but a job is a job. The ’Javelinist’ thought as the ’Defender’ loaded an orange bolt into his Gaussbow. With a loud thunk, it shot into the sky, blasting into a wide orange cloud that stained the yellow sky.

”Let’s pray to the ’Romantic Dreamer’ that someone sees it.”

WORLD'S END BLOG:

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