Goals and decisions

“Those who possess the Ability of Imitation and reject the Empire are killed. It is a specific rule for users of this Ability. But this is because of an ancient legend of a prophecy that said that a Magus, having the Ability of Imitation, would one day emerge and cause the beginning of Mora’s ruin,” Wini said.

“Wait…” said the governess. “Then your mother..."
…

This isn't a good time to keep bringing up that subject. The situation is already quite tense. It’s better to change the conversation.

Megan heard the conversation but remained nervous, looking both ways, afraid.

“Megan, are you okay? You don’t have to be so worried,” I said. “As I said when we left, the chances of another one like that Empire guy appearing are extremely low. Besides, you need to prepare for the plan.”

“And how could I trust you with certainty? You’ve been to the Empire too, haven’t you?”

“Well, it’s true…” I scratched my face with a clumsy smile. “But I helped save you before, right?”

“Wini did most of the work. If it were up to you, everyone would be dead, which would be quite convenient for you, right?” She replied and then kept talking, “I don’t trust you. What if you change your mind? You can only be on our side to carry out the contract with the late master!”

“Megan, please don’t talk like that!” said Wini. “Mr. Kesil is no longer on Mora’s side.”

“Please call me Kesil. We are the same age,” I said, and Megan spoke at the same time:

“What? He may not be with the Empire now, but he can try to come back.”

“…Wait, what’s that?” I said.

We could already see something, even if blurred by the Tornado. You could see the sea better next to the mountains, but there was a giant Mora Empire ship docked. And that made us all surprised, me even more.

“I knew it, you brought us here to lock us up!” Megan said. “It was always part of your plan, wasn’t it!”

“What does that mean?” Brigid asked.

“Calm down, let’s not rush,” said Wini.

We all stopped moving.

I was silent. There had to be an explanation. It was only a few hours after the incident. The giant ship from Mora parked there near the beach should be just a coincidence, and a bad coincidence.

“Do you have any explanation for this, Kesil?” Wini asked.

“It’s a coincidence… We had bad luck.”

“Don’t come with that.” Megan pointed her finger at me. “You might even have a death contract to protect Wini, but it doesn’t stop you from capturing all of us, does it?”

“At the moment, our goals indeed align to a certain point, but I’m not interested in contacting the Mora Empire. If you or anyone else doesn’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Let’s assume it’s true, what you said…” Megan replied. “What are we going to do now? Won’t you try to convince us that we should go to that ship instead?”

“No, that would be crazy…” I replied.

“So where do we go?” asked Klaus.

“The sea is still our best solution,” I said.

“You talk about it so much, but why do you think this technique doesn’t work at sea?” Brigid asked.

I looked at her, then crouched down and, holding the sand of the destroyed soil, said:

“Judging by the characteristics of this Ability, I wondered what kind of combinations would generate such abilities. After thinking for a moment, it became clear that the element Earth for sure, but what about the other two, Creation + Restriction? This seems to be the case, but Transmutation + Restriction is possible. In any case, this must have been performed by focusing on terrestrial beings, the type of flower created and used, as well as the way it spreads.”

“You were able to guess which combination of abilities when you observed the functioning of the Ability and put that information together. So if I am sure of the abilities, would any person or group have an advantage in a fight against this user?” Wini questioned.

“No, the rule of not revealing your abilities for as long as possible in a fight does not apply to someone who can create a technique of this magnitude. Magus are beings of relentless Ability. They are in another dimension. The last decades without any new Magus have softened the terror they can be, since the old ones that remain have no Ability aimed at battle or are from the Mora Empire and never go to war because they are not needed. Of course, depending on the combinations of abilities that each one has, one can have more or less advantage, in addition to the environment and the functions, capabilities, and desires of the fighters. But the estimates are brutal. For example, if I fought this user using only my Air Ability, my chances of winning are 1 in 10,000 to 500,000. If you use your three abilities at the same time without any more double combinations (dualism) between your three abilities, you would have 1 in 1,000 to 10,000 chances. Even someone who is one level below awakening to the level of a Magus, which are rare and strong individuals, even they would have 1 chance in 30 to 50 to beat a Magus. If it is not another Magus, only a complete main division of the Mora could face a Magus with a real equal chance to win.”

They were surprised.

“Even if I have the abilities to defend against this technique of hitting us, I can’t do anything more than expend maximum energy to create an air barrier. In a direct confrontation, I will be defeated in the blink of an eye if I don’t have a good strategy or preparation.”

“Now, knowing that, do you understand that we have to get out of here as fast as possible, right?” I said.

“Okay, I think we’re totally convinced that running away is the best solution, but now, with this ship ahead of us, what are we going to do?” Brigid questioned.

“We could go left or right looking for a boat, but also find out if it’s possible to get out even here with that ship next door. It's not a totally unfeasible idea,” I said.

“Excuse me?” said Klaus, raising his hand. “I think I know why this ship is here.”

“You know how?” I asked.

“I think it’s a ship of the prisoners who will participate in simulated naval battles,” he said. “I heard some of the farm workers saying that there would be an event this year, that the ship would fetch slaves and prisoners of war from Nniatibri coming from Nawa, then they would go to Letu by the ocean to the west, and finally go to Mora.”

“I see! That explains everything, even the huge size of this ship,” I said. “These boats are full of trapped slaves, some soldiers, and merchants. Now we can go without fear and check the situation up close. If we can leave soon, we will. Otherwise, we can go in another direction by the beach.”

We walked slowly, and as we approached, we saw a camp of soldiers, all dead and dried out, with the surrounding area full of black flowers.

“These were probably waiting for some slave trader from here in the country. They were in the wrong place but at the wrong time,” I said.

“Well, I think they deserved it for that,” said Wini.

We could already see well from that distance. The ship was a few hundred meters from the mainland. There were lights in some parts. The ship was safe.

“The effect of the technique did not reach the ship. I was right.”
“What now?” questioned Brigid.
“We can use the boat of the dead soldiers and escape,” I said.
“What is the capacity of this Mora ship? Is it at maximum capacity?” asked Wini.
“Well, taking into account that there should only be Nawa prisoners, 1/3 of the total capacity, about 6,000 prisoners. Why the question?” I said.
“These men, the dead soldiers, they have in their possession the seal of the prisoners' handcuffs,” Wini asked again.
“Yes, probably, wait… You…”
“Why don’t we take advantage of the situation, get into the ship of the Mora Empire and stay there? Wouldn’t it be better? If possible, we can even try to free the prisoners.”

Huh???

Is this girl crazy?