The Scarlet Colossus Assault

~~~🦜~~~

The small fishing boat sailed at full speed, swaying like a blade of grass beneath the monstrous shadow of the galleon. The Scarlet Colossus roared before them, its black sails whipping against the sky, and its cannons vomiting fire toward the city once more. Each shot lit up the ocean with crimson flashes, shrinking Rei’s soul a little more.

“Faster, Nessus!” he pressed, standing on deck, pistol in hand.

“Can’t you see I’m flying? Let me fly!” the blond laughed, though his voice was steeped in nerves. The tiller groaned in his hands, eyes narrowed against the wind.

The coast fell behind. Luminas still resisted, barricades firm, but if they failed this boarding, nothing would stop the pirate monster.

If they died, everyone died.

For a moment, Rei held his breath. He noticed the shadows of the other smaller ships still locked in combat with the guard. Maedros’s plan had worked, clearing the way for their boarding.

Closer. Closer. Closer…

“Now!” Ettor roared, standing at the prow.

The small boat crashed against the galleon’s black wood. The impact was like ramming a mountain. The Colossus barely shuddered, but it held the smaller ship in place for a moment, and thanks to Nessus slowing it down, it didn’t suffer too much damage.

Rei raised his ratchet-grappler, fired the hook, and the rope screeched as it went taut. The boat was now locked for boarding.

“Go!” he shouted.

He climbed in a leap, gritting his teeth to avoid looking down. Behind him, the three Illumined followed swiftly. Nessus almost vaulted up in one bound, then Ettor with raw strength, and finally Leonoris aided by both.

When their boots hit the deck, hell broke loose—two pirates had been guarding the rear.

“Boarders!” one bellowed, drawing his saber like his comrade.

Dozens of them rushed at the intruders. Rei reacted first, pulling one of his stun grenades from his belt.

“Ettor!” he cried, tossing it.

“Yes!”

BOOM!

The white flash blinded them. The deafening thunder shook the deck, leaving several pirates staggering.

“Now!” Rei shouted.

Ettor charged headlong. His katana whistled, slicing blades and shafts as if they were paper. The first fell like flies.

Nessus, perched on a mast, loosed arrows that gleamed with bursts of light, piercing shoulders and pinning boots to wood.

“Let’s go!” the young archer cheered.

Leonoris, in the center, invoked a small wall of light that deflected a musket shot and sent it back as blinding radiance, toppling three.

“Yes!” she cheered softly.

The first clash was brutal, but brief. Bodies fell, cries mingled with salt and wind, and it seemed the four Kounarians had the advantage.

“Well, look at that!” thundered a familiar voice, tearing through the air.

From the rear quarterdeck appeared Drey Malbrine. His crimson coat torn, a curved saber in hand, and that twisted grin Rei would never forget. He descended the stairs as though parading at his own banquet.

“The false Hero and his three little angels. What an honor to have you on my ship.” His gaze locked onto Rei like blades. “I hope you’re ready to hit the dirt again, boy.”

“Ettor, cover me.”

The order was clear, whispered quick so the enemy pirate wouldn’t catch it. Ettor barely nodded.

“Someone’s still angry after being tamed by a ‘false Hero,’” Rei drew his pistol with a small smirk.

“We’ll see.”

The fight erupted again as Rei, resolute, fired at Malbrine. He trembled the instant the bullet flew, still fearful of taking lives, but Malbrine had been waiting, slipping into cover with ease.

“Close, you little—”

Malbrine bit off his words as Ettor was suddenly upon him, blade raised to cut him down. The clash of steel roared. Ettor managed a slash across the pirate’s shoulder, but Malbrine didn’t even flinch.

He spun, and with a strange, almost unnatural movement, he drove his knee backward without looking. The blow cracked into Ettor’s ribs, slamming him into the rail. A dry pain left him gasping.

“What was that…?” Ettor clutched himself, panting.

Malbrine grinned, eyes blazing.

“A little trick of dark dance. Poor things, you still have much to learn.”

“Brother!”

Nessus tried to cover him with arrows, but a club from behind knocked him down, pinning him under three men. Leonoris conjured light, but another pirate grabbed her arms. There were too many for them, no matter how many they’d slain.

“Nessus!” Ettor cried, trying to rise.

Leonoris struggled, her horns barely peeking beneath her hood as she tried to summon magic. But two men’s grip was too much, and the rope bit brutally into her wrists.

Nessus, face against the planks and a knee in his back, still found the strength to spit.

“Cowards! Not even twenty of you can take one man.”

“Damn…” Ettor muttered low enough for no one but himself. “This guy… he’s truly strong.”

“That was…” Malbrine narrowed his eyes. “Where’s the false Hero? Where is he?!”

The silence that followed was searing. The pirates who remained, all gathered for battle, glanced about uneasily, blaming one another. Even the Illumined didn’t know where he was.

“Enough!” Malbrine roared. “Or I’ll kill them here and now!”

The silence thickened, broken only by sea, wind, and the distant screams and explosions of Luminas’s battle. Malbrine’s fury began to rise again.

“Fine. I surrender!”

Rei emerged swiftly from the hatch leading to the galleon’s supply hold, hands raised, face stricken with terror.

“Rei… no.”

“Bring him,” Malbrine’s hoarse voice cut Leonoris’s lament short.

They dragged him back on deck. A pirate shoved him to the floor, and Malbrine, satisfied, approached slowly as three pistols aimed at Rei at once. The sub-captain loomed over him, his shadow stretching long, and began stripping away his belongings.

“Down on the floor, false Hero.” The pirate’s boot pressed into Rei’s shoulder as he took his grappling pistol. “Now that I think of it… I don’t even know your name. Rude, since you know mine.”

Rei glared up, voice hoarse with hatred.

“You don’t deserve to know it, pig.”

A fresh kick knocked him sideways, spitting saliva.

“No!” the Princess cried out.

“Silence!” A pirate gripped her shoulder, forcing her quiet.

“Oh, Hero. So much effort, so much blood for nothing.” Malbrine prowled like a wolf in its den. “In the end, all we want are your crystals, and you know it. Perhaps now that I have the three Illumined Heirs, the King and Queen will see reason.”

“Never!” Nessus spat, struggling.

“You may kill us, but you’ll never have Kounaria!” Ettor snarled, still wounded.

Leonoris, despite the ropes, raised her voice.

“You’re a monster, Malbrine! Solaria will never allow it!”

The captain laughed calmly, mouth twisted.

“Huh, I figured. Typical religious fanatics. Well, if you won’t cooperate… then we’ll just blow daddy and mommy’s pretty castle sky-high.” He raised his saber, pointing toward Luminas on the coast.

Rei discreetly glanced at the hold’s hatch.

“Not yet. Just a little longer.”

“What do you want them for? Speak, coward!”

Malbrine’s eyes flicked back to the Hero, though he didn’t strike this time.

“I don’t think a nuisance like you deserves to know. Even as you fall, along with your kingdom.”

“Is that it?” Rei pushed, forcing a grin through the tension. “Or… maybe you’re afraid I’ll ruin your plans?”

This time, his irreverent remark earned him a hard kick to the ribs, knocking the air from him.

“Yes, yes. Just like when we first met. I thought you’d changed, but no. You’re the same brat playing Hero. A pity for you.”

And then, amid the silence, a metallic sound that no one had noticed began repeating faster.

Tick… tick… tick… Almost rhythmic, but growing quicker.

Some pirates glanced at each other, confused.

“You hear that?” one asked, the other shaking his head.

Rei, still on the ground, barely smiled. No one noticed.

Malbrine leaned close, beast-like eyes glinting, gesturing his men to their posts.

“You know, false Hero? My men were furious at you for last week. But I don’t care. You lost on your own, you learned your lesson. I’m angry at those Luminas rats. All that useless resistance, civilians thinking they’re more than they are. I’m an impatient man. So let’s play a game.”

He turned to his crew, and the Colossus’s cannons tensed, ready to fire.

“Shall we kill you quickly, and let the people suffer?” The crew laughed.

“Or torture you until you break, and maybe we’ll be gentler with them?”

The laughter swelled, hyenas in feast. Nessus spat blood. Ettor shut his eyes, powerless. Leonoris trembled, tears glinting beneath her hood.

But all three quickly turned to Rei. While the sub-commander and crew focused on the city, the inventor made a small signal with his hands—calm, wait.

The ticking grew louder. That was why they followed.

“Kashiwa Rei.”

Malbrine turned, startled, and the crew fell silent fast.

“What did you say?”

Rei smiled.

“My name is Kashiwa Rei, from Kyoto… and I am the Hero of Solaria.”

A pirate swallowed hard, uneasy.

“Hey… what’s that weird noise?”

The ticking quickened, furious, like a heart about to burst.

Rei met Malbrine’s glare, sweat dripping down his face, but firm.

“It’s the sound of sleepless nights, of errors, trials, and scars.”

Malbrine glared death at him, but Rei didn’t let the smile fade. It was then he realized something was wrong.

“The hold…”

That same hold Rei had been in before surrendering.

“Remember my name, Kashiwa Rei. Because it is the Hero of Solaria’s—the one who will end all of you… and set the world alight.”

The sound roared deafening now, and the ship jolted violently. Rei’s smile was the last image before the explosion ripped through the stern.