The ghost ship—or pirate ship—continued to draw closer.

Karnak muttered under his breath. "Well, isn’t that something. Of all the vast sea, we just so happen to cross paths with a pirate crew."

He had been told there were a lot of pirates about, so he’d accepted it without question. But now that it was happening, it felt oddly deliberate. It wasn’t like they were being tracked by a trace spell. How could the pirates have known where they were on this endless ocean?

Karnak wondered out aloud. "Maybe it’s just bad luck?"

The captain shook his head. "It’s because our departure was known."

"Known? Are you saying we have a spy on board?!" Leven narrowed his eyes, voice tense.

The captain gave a wry smile. "That’s not what I meant."

A carriage could leave a city in secret. But a ship? Ships didn’t just sneak out of harbors. They were too big and too visible. All you had to do was place a few lookouts at the docks to get a rough schedule of ship movements.

"That’s why we usually fake our destinations before departure. Helps avoid unwanted attention from pirates," said the captain.

But this time, the crew had made no such effort.

"Why not?" Karnak asked him.

The captain seemed puzzled. "Didn’t you say you’d take care of the pirates?"

Ah. So they had deliberately broadcast their route while hoping to attract pirates.

"No, I never said I’d take care of them..."

What Karnak had said was that encountering pirates wouldn’t be a problem—not that he was out to hunt them down. But clearly, these people intended to milk this chance for all it was worth.

Still people don’t usually throw themselves into life-threatening situations, he thought, clicking his tongue inwardly. The problem is we showed off too much.

They had four powerful aura users, one of whom was even a silver knight, plus a high-level mage and a second-class inquisitor. It was no wonder the crew was feeling invincible.

Meanwhile, the pirate ship continued to close the distance. Little by little, its features came more clearly into view. It had a rotting hull, tattered sails, and a weathered deck. Armed figures, including skeletons, ghosts, and ghouls, loomed on board, staring at them with malicious intent.

It was a truly horrifying sight, enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. Indeed, this was a ghost ship in every sense of the word. Though, there was something odd about it.

Mixed in among the undead were a number of living pirates. They were men in stereotypical pirate garb, with shadows of dark energy rising from behind their shoulders. They looked absurd, but by all appearances, they were necromancers.

Varos let out a dry chuckle. "So much for necromancers wearing black robes."

Still, no one in the group so much as flinched. They felt no fear. After all, they’d seen worse. Much worse. Their calm seemed to embolden the sailors, who started puffing out their chests.

"We could run, but we won’t!"

"This is our chance to give those bastards a real thrashing!"

Serati, curious, turned to the captain. "Could we really escape if we wanted to?"

The captain shook his head. "No chance. These bastards can sail against the wind."

The ghost ship wasn’t propelled by wind at all. With sails in tatters like that, it couldn’t possibly catch the breeze. The sails were just for show. Instead of wind, it moved with the power of darkness.

"They just say that to sound brave," the captain muttered as he drew his sword. Then, he boomed. "All hands to battle stations!"

The crew scrambled into action.

"Time to show those pirates what we’re made of!"

"Of course, we won’t be showing anything. They will!"

It was the very picture of clinging to a tiger’s tail.

Preparing for battle, Varos let out a laugh. "At this point, shouldn’t they be paying us?"

The captain shot back cheerfully, "If we die, there’ll be no one to sail the ship!"

"Well then, we’ll guard you with our lives," said Varos.

***

At last, the pirate ship caught up to the Osprey’s Roar. Something was launched from the pirate ship. It was naval ballistae. Huge bolts with thick ropes attached embedded themselves in the hull of the Osprey, causing the ship to list heavily to one side. Its speed dropped noticeably. The deck shook violently, and the sailors cried out.

"They’ve latched on!"

"We have to board them before they board us!"

And then they all turned to stare expectantly at Karnak’s group.

Serati blinked. "Oh, us? You want us to board them?"

The faces of the crew made it clear they had no intention of crossing.

"Just walk across the ropes and start fighting!"

"If the battle happens here, our ship’s finished!"

Wow. Unbelievable, these people are completely shameless, Serati thought.

Still, they weren’t entirely wrong. If a battle broke out on their own deck, and the ship took too much damage, Karnak’s party would be the ones being delayed for it.

"Let’s split up," Karnak said, gesturing. "Varos, Leven, you two board the enemy ship. Serati, Lapicel, you guard this one. Milia, you’re with me. We’ll support both sides."

"Yes, sir!"

With the orders given, the group moved quickly and in perfect sync.

Milia took her place beside Karnak, gathering divine power in her hands. "O Latiel, let your light shine upon this place!"

Serati and Lapicel each took position at the bow and stern, ready to intercept any enemies trying to board.

"I'm in position!"

"Me too!"

Meanwhile, Varos and Leven launched themselves toward the ghost ship. With a shout, they leaped onto the ropes connecting the two ships. The pirates were already halfway across, climbing the ropes to invade.

Of course, they weren’t aura users, so they couldn’t exactly run across the thin lines like solid ground. Instead, they dangled beneath like monkeys, swinging their way over. And Varos and Leven? They stepped gracefully atop the ropes and trampled right over them!

With each step, the pirates hanging from the ropes dropped into the sea below. Just like that, the vanguard of the pirate force was completely washed away before Varos and Leven even landed on the enemy deck. The remaining pirates quickly surrounded them with furious expressions.

"Y-You bastards!"

"You've got some nerve!"

Varos casually raised his sword and taunted them. "And you lot have none. What, can’t even cross a rope without aping around like monkeys?"

"W-What did you just say?!"

"Kill them!"

"Take them down!"

Varos and Leven charged in response. They didn’t even bother to activate their aura.

No telling what tricks these guys might be hiding...

We won’t need to go all out from the start.

Even without their aura flaring, their swords carried more than enough power. Soon, a storm of steel whipped across the pirate deck.

***

While Varos and Leven wreaked havoc on the ghost ship, things weren’t exactly calm around the Osprey's Roar either. The waters stirred and half-rotted heads began to surface from beneath the waves, one by one. They were ghouls. Undead didn’t need to breathe, so they’d clearly swum underwater to approach unseen. The claws of the ghouls scraped along the hull as they began climbing aboard.

Karnak glanced down and shrugged. "Yeah, figures."

This was an age-old tactic as ancient as warfare itself—distract from the front, sneak in from behind. Serati and Lapicel immediately sprang into action.

They held the bow and stern, sweeping the enemy along the edges of the ship. With a single stroke, each ghoul was sliced to pieces and sent splashing back into the sea. The sound of splashing echoed from all sides. The necromancer pirates who had summoned them looked visibly shaken.

"They’re going down that easily?!"

"What’s with those women?!"

At the center of the deck, a girl in priest robes was raising a prayer. "O Latiel, bestow your blessing upon this ship!"

Milia’s holy light enveloped the ship in a soft glow, and the undead clambering aboard was frozen, halted for a moment by the divine power.

Karnak didn’t miss the opportunity. "Burning arrow of fire! Firebolt!"

Flaming arrows of magic rained down, striking the stunned ghouls. Explosions rocked the deck as the undead ignited and fell to pieces.

The spectacle left the captain awestruck. "Stop using fire magic! The ship’ll burn!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Even out at sea, fire magic on a wooden ship was... ill-advised.

"Alright, fine. Let’s do it this way." Karnak switched spells without hesitation. "Lightning Bolt!"

A bolt of thick lightning arced out and swept through the remaining ghouls. The fierce electrical surge incinerated even the toughest of them.

Again, the captain yelled. "It’s still gonna burn the ship!"

Indeed. Just because it was lightning didn’t mean it couldn’t start a fire.

Karnak grimaced. "What do you want me to do then?"

Some damage was inevitable in any real battle. But judging from the crew’s faces, they were clearly expecting zero harm to come to their ship—or themselves.

They’ve got a silver knight! A high-ranking mage! Even an inquisitor!

Of course they’ll win without a problem!

They didn’t say it aloud, but their expressions spoke more than enough volume.

Serati exchanged a quiet message with Karnak.

—It’s a little annoying, but...

—Still, it’d be a problem if the ship gets damaged or the crew gets hurt, right?

—I’d rather not be stuck steering the ship myself.

Karnak hesitated for a moment with wand in hand. How could he defeat the pirates while causing the least possible damage to the ship?

Close combat is probably the safest route...

For instance, he could summon a host of water spirits to fight in his stead. Surrounded by ocean as they were, it’d be easy enough to summon them.

But if I’m going to go that far anyway...

The pirates were using necromancy, raising undead with reckless abandon. And Karnak? He had a particularly effective method for turning the enemy’s dark arts against them.

"Well, they’ve laid out the perfect stage. It would be rude not to use it!" Spreading his arms wide, Karnak summoned his chaos mana. "I shall be the redeemer of dark sins. Redeemer of Necromancy!"

****

The sky above the sea swirled before releasing a brilliant light. Waves of radiance swept over both the pirate ship and the Osprey's Roar. The crew instinctively ducked, startled by the sudden glow.

But the light passed harmlessly over them. It didn’t harm the ship either. It simply swept through it like a passing breeze. The sailors muttered in confusion.

"Huh?"

"What just happened?"

Then they witnessed something extraordinary. Dozens of spectral chains erupted from thin air, binding the ghouls and undead pirates where they stood. Their eyes began to glow with a strange light, and their bodies turned—toward their own allies.

Above them, Karnak’s commanding voice rang out. "Go forth! My servants!"

The undead pirates turned on their comrades and launched an attack. The crew were witnessing Karnak controlling the enemy’s undead. Their fear was understandable.

"No way..."

"Is he a necromancer?"

Lapicel cried out indignantly. "It's Redeemer of Necromancy! It’s magic, okay?!"

Serati quickly added, "It’s a spell that dominates necromancy! You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?"

The sailors blinked and slowly nodded.

"Now that you mention it..."

"I think I have heard of something like that..."

Karnak smiled to himself as he listened in. Glad I let that spell leak into academic circles.

It had spread far and wide—far enough for even the people of this remote harbor to know about it. Karnak continued driving the pirates back with Redeemer of Necromancy. He controlled the undead with such ruthless efficiency that there was hardly anything left for the others to do.

Leven, now relaxed, remarked via telepathy.

—Every time I see him do this, I remember, yeah, this guy really was the Monarch of Death.

When Karnak cast normal spells, he always seemed focused and deliberate. But with necromancy? It was like watching someone breathe. It was natural and effortless.

"It’s over," Serati said, sheathing her sword.

Just then, a surge of intense energy erupted from the pirate ship’s cabin. Varos and Leven immediately turned their heads.

"Huh?"

"That’s...?"

A deafening roar followed. From the explosion, dozens of silver chain-blades burst forth and tore across the pirate deck without mercy. The undead under Karnak’s control were instantly shredded, letting out ghastly screams.