Who in the Hell Is Zenos?

As the massive pillar of lightning finally disappeared along with the squall, the Kraken’s enormous body slowly sank toward the sea without showing any signs of life.

For several moments, it simply floated beneath the moonlight, completely motionless.

With the Kraken finally dead, the Flying Crimson’s Mana Core gradually returned to normal. One by one, the ship’s systems came back online as mana once again flowed throughout the vessel.

Once enough power had been restored, the Flying Crimson slowly began moving again.

Under the moonlight, the ship carefully sailed toward the Kraken’s massive body floating in the distance.

“This is revolting,” Barbarossa commented, wrinkling his nose at the overwhelming stench of death.

The sea was littered with the bodies of monsters that had been caught in the lightning strike.

Barbarossa glanced toward Lina and Skayla.

“Remind me again... your original plan was to unleash that powerful lightning spell while we were much closer to the Kraken, right?”

The two exchanged an awkward look, with Lina quietly elbowing Skayla.

“Well, that was pretty much the initial plan,” Skayla admitted, scratching her cheek with an embarrassed laugh. “It was the only way we could land a decisive blow against that behemoth!”

Barbarossa slowly turned toward Lina.

“And there was truly no other option, right?” he asked.

“Umm... right,” Lina replied, avoiding his gaze.

Barbarossa narrowed his eyes.

Before he could lecture them any further, Lina quickly pointed toward the crew.

“Hey! Why are they collecting all those dead sea monsters?” Lina asked, desperately trying to change the subject. “After being exposed to a lightning strike that powerful, none of them should be edible anymore.”

“We’re not collecting them for food,” Barbarossa explained. “When you take a life at sea, it’s your responsibility to clean it up. Leave these corpses floating around, and they’ll attract even bigger predators.”

He walked toward one of the nets and pulled out an A-Rank Ruby Eye Snapper, holding it up beneath the moonlight.

“Besides, the monster materials are still in good condition and worth plenty of coin!” he cackled.

Lina chuckled as she watched him, noticing how much calmer the old pirate seemed now.

The worries that had weighed on Barbarossa for so many years had finally disappeared.

“You really are a pirate at heart,” Lina said with a smile.

“Former pirate,” Barbarossa corrected with a proud cackle.

The Flying Crimson finally reached the Kraken’s enormous body, which floated beneath the moonlight.

Lina rested her left hand on the hilt of her sword, waiting for the familiar vibration from the Fairy Metal whenever it sensed hostility.

After a few seconds, she released a small breath of relief when the sword didn’t detect anything hostile nearby.

“I think it’s finally dead,” Lina announced to the crew, many of whom were standing nearby with their weapons ready.

“Don’t jinx it!” Skayla shouted, rushing over to cover Lina’s mouth.

As if on cue, the Kraken’s enormous body suddenly began rising from the sea.

Skayla’s face went pale.

“WHAT DID I JUST WARN YOU ABOUT?!” she shouted. “IT’S STILL ALIVE!”

Lina immediately assessed the situation.

“I don’t have enough strength left in my arms to use Gáe Bolg, and Skayla hasn’t recovered enough of her mana to subdue it,” she thought, trying to figure out their remaining options. “The most I can do is grab Skayla and use wind magic to get us away from here... but that would mean abandoning everyone else.”

Lina clenched her fists.

“Even then, there’s another problem,” she realized. “Do I even have enough mana left to get the two of us far enough away?”

Suddenly, a glowing blue streak shot across the sea and struck the Kraken’s massive body, knocking it back toward the water.

The compressed air still trapped inside the creature immediately escaped, blasting harmlessly into the distance.

“What was that?!” Lina shouted, searching the area for another possible attacker.

“You can all calm down now. I assure you that sea monster is quite dead.”

Everyone looked around for the source of the unfamiliar voice.

A figure suddenly leaped over the side of the Flying Crimson and landed on the deck.

“Anything struck directly by Keraunos is certainly dead. The lightning-infused mana destroys its target at the molecular level.”

The stranger calmly approached Barbarossa.

“But shouldn’t you know that better than anyone... Zenos?” he asked with a smile.

Barbarossa blinked.

“Who in the hell is Zenos?” he asked, casually picking his nose. “And more importantly... who the hell are you?”

He flicked the booger toward the strange man who had suddenly appeared aboard his ship.

The stranger quickly stepped aside, narrowly avoiding it.

The middle-aged man had short, greyish hair and wore a formal dark-blue uniform unlike anything belonging to Barbarossa’s crew.

“Ahem!” The man cleared his throat and straightened his uniform.

“My name is Seidon, Commander of the Royal Navy stationed at the Port of Piraeus,” he proudly introduced himself, spreading his arms dramatically. “It is an honor to meet you all.”

He finished with an elegant bow as thirteen bright lights slowly appeared across the distant horizon, revealing the approaching Royal Navy ships.

Skayla quietly leaned toward Barbarossa.

“Zenos is the Adventurer Guild Master back in Eldoria,” she whispered. “Keraunos is a famous lightning spell he created during his adventuring days. Seidon probably saw the spell and assumed you were him.”

Barbarossa looked Seidon up and down.

“He’s a bit strange, isn’t he?” he commented.

“I agree,” Lina said, stepping protectively in front of Skayla while resting one hand on the hilt of her sword. “I don’t sense any hostility from him... but that doesn’t mean much right now.”

Barbarossa’s eyes narrowed.

“Experienced warriors can suppress their hostility well enough to hide their true intentions,” he whispered, warning them to remain on guard.

One of the crew members quickly approached and whispered something into Barbarossa’s ear.

“There’s also the fact that nothing appeared on the Mana Doppler before you suddenly showed up,” Barbarossa said. “And for someone who supposedly just swam through the sea, your clothes are suspiciously clean and dry.”

Seidon’s face immediately twisted in offense.

“I DIDN’T SWIM HERE!” he protested. “I RAN ACROSS THE WATER!”

The three of them stared at him in disbelief.

“Did he just say he ran across the sea?” Lina whispered.

“I heard that too,” Skayla replied.

Barbarossa narrowed his eyes.

“Who does this fellow think he is? Some kind of god?” he whispered to them.

Seidon suddenly choked with a loud GEHEK!

The three stared at him.

“O-Of course not!” Seidon quickly replied. “My boots are enchanted. They allow me to walk lightly across the surface of the water.”

Lina, Skayla, and Barbarossa continued staring at him with distrust.

“What a nutjob,” Barbarossa whispered to the two. “I don’t trust him, and neither should you.”

Seidon sighed.

“Umm... perhaps this will help,” he said, raising his left hand into the air. “Return.”

A blue light suddenly shot out from the Kraken’s body and flew directly into his hand, revealing a three-pronged spear.

“There,” Seidon said proudly. “Do you trust me now?”

Lina and Skayla stared at the uniquely designed spear, following the faint shimmer running across its surface.

“That’s a Sacred Armament, isn’t it?” Skayla asked. “One of its abilities allows it to return to its user on command.”

“It is.” Seidon smiled.

Lina and Skayla looked at each other before releasing a sigh of relief.

“Well, someone better explain it to me,” Barbarossa demanded. “How does having that thing explain anything?”

“A Sacred Armament is an unrankable artifact once wielded by a member of the famous adventurer party Olympus,” Lina explained. “Master Atena has a golden spear, and Skayla’s Master has a healing staff. If that spear answers to Seidon, he was probably a member too.”

Barbarossa stared at her for a moment.

“...And how does any of that explain his weirdness?” Barbarossa asked, gesturing toward Seidon, who was dramatically posing with his spear.

“Pretty much everyone in Olympus was extremely weird and incredibly powerful,” Skayla explained. “Zenos, their leader, was probably the only normal one. He’s straightforward, kind of like Lina.”

Lina glanced at her.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” she asked, slowly cracking her knuckles.

Skayla’s eyes dropped toward Lina’s hands.

“...Yes?” she answered.

“Hmm...” Lina murmured suspiciously.

“Anyway...” Skayla quickly continued, “Zenos was also the only person who could keep everyone’s weirdness—and their tendency for unnecessary destruction—under control. To an extent.”

Barbarossa stroked his beard for a moment before shaking his head.

“Hmm... I still don’t trust him,” he said confidently.

Seidon’s confident expression immediately dropped.

“What?! Why not?!” he shouted.

“You claim you’re the Commander of the Royal Navy, yet you ran across the sea and boarded my ship without permission,” Barbarossa replied. “There’s a general rule at sea: you ask the captain for permission before boarding another vessel. Hell, even pirates follow that rule when boarding an ally’s ship.”

The mood on the deck quickly grew tense.

Several crew members exchanged suspicious glances as they looked toward Seidon. Even if his Sacred Armament proved he had once been a member of Olympus, it didn’t necessarily prove he was the current Commander of the Royal Navy.

Before anyone could question him further, a woman’s voice called out from one of the Royal Navy ships that had finally reached them.

“May I have permission to board your vessel, Captain?” a tall blonde woman asked gracefully from the railing.