On the HMS Redwind Warship, Lieutenant Gragg stood at the helm of the ship, staring out at the island ahead of him.

He held a long-barrelled rifle in hand, which was currently resting over his shoulder. Black smoke constantly floated from its barrel.

A sick smile spread across his face as he spotted two men standing at the helm of a small pirate ship docked by the island.

"That’s our target."

...

On the HMS Lukewarm Warship, Lieutenant Ulysses sat in his cabin with his booted feet resting atop a table. In his hands was a fictional book.

One of his maids was feeding him grapes, whilst his Executive Officer was begging him to take the fight seriously.

"Stop the whining. This isn’t some great fleet we’re up against. It’s a bunch of pirates whose bounties don’t exceed 10,000 Halos when put together. Just let the sailors mince them up and be done with it."

...

On the patrol ship, Lieutenant Bushwight stood next to Aeros. Both men stared out at the island.

Aeros wore a cold look on his face, whilst Bushwight looked at him sideways.

"Now that the others are involved, you understand that I can’t give you what you want? They might not be willing to capture them alive. Especially that Lieutenant Gragg... His gun doesn’t know how to spare lives."

Aeros didn’t look at his Lieutenant, and instead continued staring out into the sea.

His face remained straight.

"It’s fine. My little brother knew the dangers of sailing before he chose to become a pirate. If he must die, then—"

Aeros’s words were suddenly cut off as a great rumbling sound came from the depths of the ocean.

The rumbling started off as something that might be able to be ignored, but then, in the space between the navy ships and the approaching island, waves started to form.

Calls came from Lieutenants and Officers on each ship, giving orders to adjust and prepare for troubled waters.

It was nothing they hadn’t dealt with before. Skills that could cause troubled seas were common, and those waves were far from enough to wreck those ships.

Aeros wanted to sigh.

Is this your last stand, little brother?

As movement happened all around him, Aeros continued staring out at the source of the waves. This was when he noticed something strange.

A hill was emerging from beneath the water.

It was purple, veined with glowing blue lines that pulsed faintly beneath its surface. At first the shape seemed small, but it kept rising higher and higher.

Soon, it resembled a tiny island emerging from the sea.

Shouts came from the crow’s nests above as sailors finally realised what they were witnessing.

Men rushed to the helms and rails, staring out in horror as more of the shape surfaced.

Strange curves emerged from beneath the water. Then, Aeros felt his stomach drop.

That... isn’t a hill.

It was a woman. Or something that resembled one.

An enormous feminine figure floated just beneath the surface of the ocean, her body so massive that parts of her breached the sea like islands. Her stomach bulged grotesquely with pregnancy, stretched to an unnatural size as though something enormous lived within her womb.

Her skin was deathly purple. Veins of glowing blue pulsed beneath it, bright with light.

And then, the mouth of the woman opened.

A cry tore through everyone within a five-kilometre radius.

"Feed me treasure!"

The cry itself rippled the water further, creating greater waves in the sea that were harder to manage. The sky became darker as the cry rippled through the air, forcing all sailors to cover their ears.

Aeros felt such a strong sense of greed and desire taking over him. He thought that the voice itself might snatch the treasures from his body, so his hand naturally gravitated towards his Rare Sword, clutching it tightly.

However, he would soon realise that it wasn’t the voice that would steal his treasure, but rather the horror that crawled from the womb of the giant floating lady.

...

Back on the island...

Roseus and Blodwen stared out at the floating woman, equally disturbed to the point that they felt they couldn’t move.

Only when Blodwen snapped out of his daze did he grab his captain’s shoulder and shake him aggressively.

Roseus blinked a few times, staring at Blodwen.

"Don’t let this opportunity pass us!" the man spat. "This thing has positioned itself between us and our enemy. Call your men to the ship and we can sail around it, heading straight to the Maze Sea."

Hearing this, Roseus could only blink a few more times.

From the woman’s cry of horror, he had strong doubts that she would simply let them sail away. However, if what she said carried any weight, and she desired treasure, the navy ships were likely to be a much better target for her.

That meant they might just be able to escape.

Roseus gulped before turning back towards the forest and crying out, "Redflowers, let’s move!"

Figures began to emerge from the shrubbery. First were those who were braver, such as Dawn, Kruger, Petyr, and Silius. Soon afterwards, the others followed.

They met their Captain on the ship, and immediately he could sense their fears.

Dawn positioned herself beside him at the helm.

"R-rose... What is that?" Her voice trembled.

Roseus stayed silent. He couldn’t even make any guesses at the answer.

"A sign of how fucking sick these oceans are, that’s what it is!" Kruger spat, clenching his revolver tightly in his grip.

He had a feeling that even if he were to use his new skills, he would have no chance of doing that woman any damage.

...

By the time the ship was ready to sail into the sea, the navy ships still hadn’t decided how to react to the new threat.

Roseus felt their ship catching the wind as the necessary adjustments were made to pull away from the pier.

The entire time, he kept his eye on the strangely silent floating lady, who lay there in the sea. Her eyes and mouth were closed.

Then, her belly started moving slightly. It was barely noticeable at first, and seemed to simply be ripples happening beneath her purple flesh.

Then the enormous stomach bulged outward in different places as though something gigantic was crawling within her womb, pressing against the flesh from the inside in an attempt to escape.

...

Moments later, a cry burst from the woman’s lips. The sound was unlike anything human.

It sounded deep and infantile at the same time, like the scream of a newborn carried through the throat of a dying woman.

The sea violently exploded around her.

Her stomach rapidly shrivelled inward, deflating halfway as though something had just forced its way out from within her body, yet something else still remained within.

A colossal wave erupted from between her legs and surged across the ocean.

Their ship rocked violently. Even the navy ships were affected.

And in that moment, everyone aboard understood the same horrifying truth.

Whatever had been inside the woman had just begun to be born.

~~~

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