"Judging from your clothes and faces, I'd say the person who wants to meet me must be the devil," Arthur looked at the black clothes of the people around him. Some wore cloaks, and others were black leather jeans and nothing else.
"It is unwise to insult our boss," one of the cloaks said to him threateningly, and Arthur glanced their way. He waved his hand, and the ground beneath them turned soft, dragging the one who spoke into it before it hardened.
"Next time you threaten me, you will die," despite saying that, he didn't mean he was going to kill him, but the short-tempered girl next to him would certainly do.
"I apologize for his misconduct," the young man who spoke earlier hurried to make amends. "These rookies know not of our ways, and our boss's recent rise simply blinded them."
"Recent rise?"
"I'm sure that you have heard of her," the young man nodded. "The rising star of the sea, Eleven."
"Your boss's name is a number?" Dia scowled. "These are nothing more than gangsters. Let's leave."
However, Arthur had no intentions of leaving because the young man's words caught his attention. Before he could ask for Dia's patience, one of the 'rookies' used his fire ability to block his path.
The flames spewed out in front of her, and Arthur could tell her patience reached its limit. Before he could grab into her, the princess's wrath exploded.
"You think these are flames?" Diana said with disdain. "Let me show you real fire," she waved her, and the blue flames of the ice phoenix rolled off her sleeve, washing away the alley.
Her flames ate away everything in her path, and the alley turned into a scene from hell. Arthur decided it was time to stop her when he sensed a presence descending in front of them, and the air grew humid.
A giant wall of water appeared in front of them, working to extinguish Dia's blue flames. Arthur never thought that a person would be able to extinguish the flames of a phoenix, but the presence was familiar and nauseating.
Then, it appeared above the wave of rushing water. A blue spirit surfaced from with the water, and Arthur could tell it was one he had met before. The blue flames retreated as the frost exploded from Dia's hands, turning the water into ice.
"Please wait, golden one!"
A voice called, and Arthur's suspicion was confirmed. He appeared beside Dia, and his hand rested on her shoulder. Then, like a defused bomb, the princess calmed down, and her mana returned to her body.
"Why?" she asked not with anger but puzzlement. Arthur simply shook his head and turned toward the rising water vapor as a person appeared from within it.
It was someone he never saw before, and she wore a white shirt beneath a leather jacket. In addition, a scarf surrounded her neck, and a hat covered her head, giving off a deceptive appearance.
"I apologize for these fool's behavior," the woman bowed down the moment she stood in front of them, and the men behind her were thrown into disarray. "They are new to my crew, and I never thought they would be foolish enough to go against you."
"Ah, if it isn't the Greatest Pirate?" Arthur grinned, and the woman startled as she jumped back. Her surprise confirmed that she was who he thought to be.
"Ah, I guess I don't need to confirm your identity anymore," the woman removed her hat and kneeled. "I've met you, at last, My Lord."
"Are you taking up my offer? What about your dream of being the greatest pirate?"
"Let's talk elsewhere," the woman stood up and spread her arm for Arthur to follow her. "I have a place we can sit in chat. May I have this honor?"
Before he agreed, Arthur turned toward Dia to get her approval. After all, he didn't want to force his opinion. The princess glared at the pirate silently before meeting Arthur's gaze.
"I'm fine with it," she took one step to be side by side with him. Arthur smiled and nodded toward the pirate, who led the way toward their hideout.
***
Her name was Eleven, and that was the first thing Arthur got to learn about her. When he asked about the oddity of her name, he got to know of her dark past.
"That was my name as a slave," Eleven said as she sat on the couch in front of them, taking off her hat and scarf. Arthur got to see the collar around her neck, which the scarf worked to hide.
"Can't you remove it?" Arthur asked, and Eleven shook her head. She turned around to show Arthur the gem on the side of her neck, and he recognized it as the same one Larza placed on him.
"It is a runic collar, embedded to my flesh," Eleven said as she turned to them, and the gem disappeared behind her black hair. "The owner… died a long time ago, but I can't remove it."
"And did you go into the Spirits Realm to remove it?"
"Not at all. It's the least of my worries," Eleven laughed as she shook her head. "I was in the Empty Sea when I decided to venture into the Spirits Realm."
"The Empty Sea?" Dia asked as she furrowed her brows. "There's no way any sailor can come back from there."
"Indeed," Eleven went on to explain. "My Lord might not know this because it's sailors' knowledge. There is an area where no wind blows and no wave rolls,"
"The Empty Sea," Arthur nodded. "And you wanted a powerful spirit to come back from there," his words made the woman bow her head again.
"My dream needs to wait, for I am forever unable to return this debt," Eleven said with a voice of sincerity. "Allow me to serve your city, My Lord."
Arthur could tell that Dia looked at him confused, not understanding how he got to know this woman. However, there was no doubt that Arthur helped this woman contract one of the Deity's generals despite their brief meeting.
"I met her in the Spirits Realm and helped her a bit to find a spirit," Arthur explained to the princess before he turned to Eleven. "Why do you want to be the greatest pirate?"
"When I was a slave, I lived on a merchant ship that transported slaves from one kingdom to the other. Those who saved me were pirates, looters of the sea, and men of freedom. I wish nothing but freedom, and that's why I wanted to be the greatest pirate and explore everywhere."
"If you serve me, you will lose that freedom."
"There's no freedom in death and no stronger prison than the Empty Sea," Eleven shook her head. "If you didn't save me from the whale and helped me contract a spirit, I would have never been able to come back. This is a small matter in return for my life and my men's lives."
"I understand," Arthur nodded. "I want to act cool and tell you to pursue your dreams, but I need your services. I want you to be the captain of my fleet and take care of my maritime trade."
"You can hire any normal captain, though," Dia seemed to disapprove of the trust he placed in this woman. However, Arthur could understand her point as to why would someone hire a pirate for trading?
However, Dia didn't know that this woman could enter the Skyey World by herself in the middle of the sea. Even with Arthur's help, there's no way someone without talent could contract a general of the Seas Deity.
"You did remind me," Arthur nodded and turned toward Eleven, his eyes glowing golden. The Art of Creator, Submission, worked through his mana of creation to make the woman in front of him answer his words truthfully.
To his amazement, he had difficulty commanding the woman, despite her being only a Vetus-Ranker. Of course, it might have to do with the fact her spiritual energy wasn't a lot below his, but he couldn't tell for sure before Lin Zhao's guidance.
"I want you to tell me the truth: are you trying to harm me or my city or anyone I care about?"
His words carried an authority that prevented the pirate from lying. Although his control over her might not be as strong as against weaker people, it was still enough to know if she was trying to go against his order.
"This is…" the pirate was confused as she looked around. Arthur squinted his eyes, and his chains almost martialized to wrap themselves around her. "No, none of those."
"You are hired!" Arthur slapped his right knee and stood up. "Are you satisfied?" he turned to the princess, who simply huffed and was about to leave.
"My Lady!" Eleven jumped to block her path. "If I'm not mistaken, you must be The Daughter of Ice and Fire. Can I offer my apologies, for my foolish crewmen, through a gift that would fit your beautiful eyes?"
'Holy shit,' Arthur was speechless. 'Is she flirting with Dia?'
