"Keep sailing! Whatever you do, do not stop fucking sailing!"

Roseus roared as their ship fought against the incoming waves.

Salt water crashed into the deck as they rode up and down the treacherous waves.

If not for Blodwen, they would have long since sunk. The man stood at the helm of the ship with his arms outstretched and his palms facing downwards towards the sea.

Every time they were about to crash into a wave, the man clenched his fists tightly.

The ship was still affected by the waves, but with every wall of water it crashed into, it seemed to steady itself slightly.

Meanwhile, Roseus stood by the railing, staring out at the navy ships positioned on the other side of the woman’s giant body.

Two of the ships remained there, emptying cannonballs and rounds into the floating woman’s face. The sounds of battle rumbled through the air.

Meanwhile, one of the warships had turned and started sailing around the woman, towards her legs. It was the same direction that the Redflower Pirates were heading: north-east.

"They aren’t letting us escape, Captain!" Pip called from the crow’s nest as she spotted the navy ship.

But Roseus wasn’t too focused on the navy warship at the moment, as he suddenly noticed multiple figures swimming out from between the floating woman’s legs. They were too far away for their figures to be recognised, but it was clear that half their number headed towards the Redflower ship, whilst the other half headed towards the navy.

Roseus, who still wore his Greycloud Longsword on his back using a makeshift sheath and his father’s cutlass around his waist, took out his spyglass and stared out towards the creatures.

Behind the towering waves, he finally saw what they were.

The creatures resembled mermaids, except their bodies were black as ink, and their upper bodies were clearly male. As they used their large, singular tails to kick against the troubled waters, their muscular arms crawled forwards, swimming as a human would. Their heads were bald and their faces serious, as their eyes locked onto their prey.

Through the waves, Roseus watched as at least ten of these creatures approached.

Wasting no time, he drew his revolver and fired into the water. At the same time, he heard more bullets being fired around him.

These dark mermen tried their best to dodge the bullets, but it was to no use. One hit a creature in the head, causing it to spiral grotesquely, before another struck its muscular chest. The bullet penetrated its pectoral muscle, causing its heart to rupture and burst.

[You have defeated, Nammon’s Little Brother]

[Lesser Soul Absorbed]

[The Ocean Beckons You...]

The creature’s name caught Roseus’s attention, but there was no time for him to focus on it. He realised that he had soon run out of ammo, with only the Monochrome .38 Special left in the cylinder.

On top of that, the firepower around him wasn’t enough to defeat the rest of the creatures before they could reach the ship.

As they approached, they hastened their swimming to tremendous speeds.

Four mermen leapt from the water, higher than the ship. For a moment, they seemed to be flying above the deck with the intention of landing.

What they planned to do once they landed could not be discovered, as Blodwen suddenly leapt into the air.

The height of his jump was greater than anything humanly possible. In the air, he ended up suspended between the four mermen.

Before they could even notice that he was there, Blodwen beat his chest with his fist a single time. An invisible shockwave dispersed from his body with great power, completely destroying three of the mermen and turning them into messes that resembled ink.

One of the creatures managed to survive, missing one of its arms. However, Adriana used her Double Shot to take it down with two shots to the head and neck.

The creatures became ink that rained down into the sea and onto the deck.

Roseus wanted time to take in the events, but he was hardly able to reload his revolver with new standard bullets before they were already attacked by their next threat.

A cannonball from one of the warships suddenly flew over the woman’s legs and travelled towards their direction.

Silius steered the ship hard, and they were just about lucky enough to miss the strike. Instead, the ball struck a group of mermen who had already begun approaching from the sea again.

They weren’t all taken out, though, as those who survived leapt into the air and landed on the deck of the ship.

Having no legs, they shouldn’t have been able to move, but that wasn’t the case. Using their tails, they pushed themselves off the ground and charged at the Redflower Pirates.

Chaos followed.

Roseus drew his father’s cutlass from his waist, deciding to utilise the speed that the Greycloud Longsword lacked.

A merman charged for him, arms outstretched in an attempt to grab him. Instead, the creature found a blade thrust into its mouth, exiting out the back of its head.

[You have defeated Nammon’s Little Brother]

[Lesser Soul Absorbed +1]

[The Ocean Beckons You...]

Battle continued like this as the ship continued heading north-east, attempting to sail past the giant floating lady.

They made it past her legs at the same time the pursuing navy warship did. Meanwhile, the other two navy ships continued to pelt the woman’s body with various skills and ranged fire.

Just as Roseus was about to order his crew to prepare for battle with the approaching navy ship, another cry escaped from the woman’s lips.

This one was far greater than the others.

As he turned his head towards the woman, he saw that another colossal wave had formed between her legs and quickly rippled out into the sea. Her belly deflated profusely, and at the same time, a sentence could be heard by all those engaged in the battle.

It came from the woman.

"Be born again, my true son. Be born again, my Treasure-Eater."

At the same time, Roseus felt a great presence enter the ocean.