The mist is hazy.
Two diving sea sirens land on the deck, translucent saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths, eager to feast indulgently.
Losa and Prajna have already closed in on them from front and back.
Facing the aggressive duo, the two sea sirens are startled; their bodies are fragile. Their lower halves, covered in scales and slime, can easily deflect swords and other sharp weapons.
But their upper halves are as vulnerable as human bodies; they survive in the deep sea, relying on magic power rather than tough skin, leaving them no chance to fight against Losa, who wields swords.
Selena, just a tad slower in taking off, sees her blood flowing under her feet, transformed into tough bands by Furinjira's blood magic.
The bands coil around her slippery tail, tightly anchoring her to the deck at the waist.
Losa would not miss such an opportune moment, gripping the half sword as he strides forward, unaffected by the slight sway of the ship from the waves.
His arm muscles bulge up as he raises the great sword high.
Siren Selena desperately vibrates her wings, her claws digging into the bands to escape the constraints, but all to no avail.
"I beg you."
"Spare me, and I'll bring you pearls and gemstones from the sea bottom, making you the richest person in the world, I beg you!"
She speaks hastily, in fluent Greek tinged with a slight Asia Minor accent.
Her voice is as crisp as a nightingale.
Her beauty is captivating, the epitome of elegance.
But the man before her, with a heart as unyielding as ironstone, shows no trace of mercy or goodness in his cold eyes, as the sharp blade mercilessly strikes down.
Thud—
The head of the beauty rolls far across the deck.
Blood sprays from the neck cavity of the headless corpse, scattering behind Losa.
Selena's actions prove that they are not as lowly intelligent as Furinjira had said; they simply cannot suppress their lust for human flesh.
This signifies that Losa has no inclination to cooperate with them whatsoever.
"Qina!"
In the sky, two sea sirens scream in terror.
Selena's name among the sirens is not actually Selena; it's the name given by a Jewish merchant, based on the transliteration of "Siren."
Tears glitter in their eyes as they open their mouths wide, revealing fangs sharp as jagged teeth.
The corners of their lips slowly tear apart, leaving only a small thread of skin connected, overflowing with saliva.
In a blink, their enticing red lips transform into a gaping maw nearly ripping to the ears.
Then.
Both sea sirens emit a piercing scream together.
Their voices are filled with anger and sadness.
The mist shrouding the sea erupts in turmoil.
The horrifying sound waves plunge Losa into a near-collision illusion akin to facing crash waves.
On the deck, marks appear out of nowhere, as if slashed by blades and axes.
Prajna does not hesitate for a moment, stepping forward to stand before Losa.
The ghost face shield is held out front.
Clang—
A string of metallic clashes rings out.
Losa, his waist bracing against Prajna's, feels the immense force coming from the front, causing them both to retreat several steps in succession.
"Are these sea sirens really this formidable?"
Losa is somewhat bewildered.
Although the sea sirens' close combat prowess is far inferior to the werewolves, their long-range sound wave assault resembles powerful bows and crossbows.
"Indeed."
Prajna nods, "Plus, they fly; it's hard for us to hit them."
"Big guy, distract them!"
Furinjira shouts loudly in Chinese, her linen robe billowing with rampaging magic power.
Her white hair rises suspended in the air.
"We must deal with them in the air; if they dive and breach the ship from the bottom, we'll all perish here!"
Prajna, uncharacteristically fast-paced, speaks a lengthy sentence.
Immediately, the ghostly face embossed on the black shield she holds comes alive.
The terrifying breath of Hell transforms her, almost instantly, into the center of the world.
The two sea sirens tremble uncontrollably, even halting their screeching.
"That's Cerberus's breath, the gateway to Hell!"
"But it's underwater... why is it here?"
On the deck, two ethereal figures slowly rise from the corpse and fly towards the open mouth of the ghost face embossed on the shield like swallows returning to their forest.
"No!"
"Qina's soul cannot be devoured!"
The sea sirens scream in horror, wanting to rush over to prevent it all.
At this juncture, Furinjira's agile body steps onto the ship's side and leaps into the air.
Mid-air, she gestures towards the blood flowing freely on the deck, and it gathers, forming a throwing spear exuding a thick, sweet scent.
"Get down here!"
The blood spear flies towards the two sea sirens, its speed unparalleled with the blessing of blood magic.
However, the sea sirens, though anxious, are well-prepared to suddenly halt at the critical moment.
The blood spear nearly grazes past their faces.
But in the next instant, a sharp black shield spins and flies out like a high-speed circular saw.
Following the black shield's throw is another new blood spear—quickly condensed by Furinjira, it appears in the hands of Losa hidden behind Prajna.
Thud—
The black shield slices through a siren, cutting her in half.
The other is struck in the wings by the blood spear thrown by Losa, her body tilting, falling like a broken kite.
"Die!"
Furinjira clenches her hand.
The siren struck in the wings is still in mid-air when the blood spear suddenly explodes, its blood transforming into sharp needles, piercing her into shreds.
"Excellent!"
Losa says with a note of excitement.
Their cooperation was flawless.
In truth, when Losa threw the spear, he wasn't sure if he could hit.
Previously, while practicing spear throwing on horseback, he typically only hit the target three out of ten times.
The deck is less bumpy than horseback, but the difficulty isn't much lesser.
Prajna lets out a sigh of relief, opening her hands, as the far-flung shield returns like a boomerang into her grip.
At this moment, Furinjira stumbles and falls to the ground.
"Furin!"
Losa hurries forward.
"Don't worry, it's just a bit of spiritual power overload, nothing serious."
Prajna says calmly.
Though Furinjira is also an epic-level retainer, she's still only at level one. Losa, fearing her recklessness and being short on funds, has not leveled her up.
This series of high-power spells exceeds her capability.
Losa holds Furinjira, feeling the lightness of the girl, almost paper-like, as if she might float away at any moment.
"Let's head back to the cabin."
Losa quickly says.
"Okay."
…
The ship, battered and bruised, docks at Crete Island the next morning.
After losing its original owner, the ship is logically commandeered by Losa.
Repair expenses fall to him, but fortunately, only the deck and mast suffer minor damage, which won't delay much.
At Crete Island, they resupply and replace fresh water.
This Greek-majority island hosts a network of intertwining forces, where the Eastern Empire, Venice, Genoa, and even Ayyubid project their influence here.
They rest at a local inn for a morning and set sail again in the afternoon, targeting the Holy Land's Jaffa City (also translated as Kafa).