The others finally snapped back to their senses and instinctively raised their guns.
But with a soft clap of Lilith's hands, all their weapons instantly turned into ropes that coiled around and firmly bound them. A few of the Beyonders reacted swiftly and flung away their firearms—only for their very clothes to transform into ropes as well.
Alfred quickly retreated to a corner, skillfully using the Flog ability to snap the ropes off the few subordinates closest to him.
Then his eyes darted about like lightning, scanning for Gehrman's location.
Just then, his black trench coat began to warp and shift. He instantly thrust a hand forward.
"No transformations allowed here."
The coat's changes immediately ceased. His face darkened as he made another gesture.
"Imprison."
Layer after layer of transparent walls and a thick, viscous liquid flowed toward Lilith, sealing her in.
But the moment they touched her—
She dissolved into a beam of moonlight and vanished.
She reappeared a moment later, flickering through space in rapid succession as black bullets of flame burst from her fingertips.
Alfred dodged while unleashing multiple Flog bursts, extinguishing the fiery bullets midair. But Lilith was already summoning a frost spear in her hand.
Just as she prepared to hurl it, a sharp pain suddenly pierced her skull.
"Ah—!" she cried, collapsing onto the ground.
The frost spear, only half-formed, shattered into a shimmering spray of ice across the deck.
Yet Alfred didn't advance or press the attack. Instead, he stared intensely at the figure that had just appeared beside her—who was now gently helping her up.
"Gehrman Sparrow!!!"
Edward raised his eyebrows, genuinely a little surprised.
"…Well, fancy running into you again so soon. Aren't you with the Navy? What are you doing marooned on some deserted island and stealing my ship on top of that?"
Alfred's face was taut.
"I have no desire to make enemies with you. I only hijacked your ship to reach Bayam as soon as possible. I need to stop a catastrophe in the Rorsted Archipelago."
Edward pulled out the feathered serpent pendant.
"This…related to the Numinous Episcopate?"
"Yes," Alfred answered immediately.
"The Numinous Episcopate plans to conduct a terrifying sacrificial ritual on an island near Bayam."
Edward tilted his head.
"So what? You want me to just drop you off at a nearby island?"
"If you do, I'll request Admiral Amyrius to revoke your bounty."
Edward's brows lifted slightly.
"And what makes you think a Navy admiral would take orders from you?"
Alfred's reply was solemn, "It's not about me. If the ritual is stopped, Admiral Amyrius will have to reconsider."
He added coldly, "I won't waste breath on talk of mass casualties. Just know that if this goes through, the Loen military's influence in the Rorsted Archipelago will take a devastating blow."
Edward was genuinely surprised.
"…Just what the hell is the Numinous Episcopate trying to do?"
Alfred hesitated briefly, then asked, "Have you heard of the Sea God Cult in the Rorsted Archipelago?"
"Of course."
"Recently, they've made a pact with the Numinous Episcopate. The Sea God Cult supplies the congregation, while the Numinous Episcopate performs the ritual. The Sea God Cult thinks this is a way to wipe out the Navy and Church's presence in the archipelago…"
"But in reality, the Numinous Episcopate has its eyes on the very god the Sea God Cult worships."
Edward frowned.
"What do you mean 'has its eyes on'? You mean they're trying to…replace him?"
"Precisely."
Alfred's tone was grim.
"The majority of the archipelago's native population—nearly ninety percent—worship the Sea God. The Numinous Episcopate plans to usurp this divine mantle, seize the faith of the people, and replace the god they revere."
Ah.
Now Edward understood.
After the original God of Death perished, the royal family of the Balam Empire and the upper echelons of the Numinous Episcopate were inspired by the bizarre phenomenon of the "Hidden Sage" suddenly reviving with a full personality. They sought to do the same—to artificially resurrect Death.
Such a being, however, would require not only divine power…but faith. And in the original timeline, the Numinous Episcopate had in fact succeeded in this plot—only to have the fruits of their labour snatched away by the Evernight Goddess.
So now…it seemed they were accelerating their plan to manufacture a god, using the faith of the Rorsted natives as fuel.
But why now?
What had triggered them to take such a reckless gamble?
Could it be…had his butterfly wings stirred winds that reached even the Southern Continent?
Edward narrowed his eyes.
"And how do you even know all this? This has to be incredibly top-secret information."
Alfred replied, "I wasn't even supposed to be involved. I was just hitching a ride on a returning Loen airship from the Southern Continent. I only stopped near Cecil Island briefly to visit a few old comrades."
"…And that's when the botched operation happened."
He bit the last few words harder than necessary.
"After that, I resumed my return trip to Loen—just as planned."
"But yesterday, our airship was attacked midair and crashed. Right after that, a demigod from the Numinous Episcopate showed up and tried to eliminate us."
"Luckily, the Church of Storms arrived just in time and forced the demigod to back down. They left us stranded on that godforsaken island."
Edward blinked.
"The Church of Storms…didn't see you guys?"
"No," Alfred replied grimly. "That Saint didn't give a damn whether we lived or died."
"…Alright then."
Alfred continued, "After we crash-landed on the island, we finally figured out why the Numinous Episcopate's demigod attacked us. Somehow, there was an extra person aboard our airship."
"He was dressed like a member of the Numinous Episcopate but claimed to be a Loen military spy. He had been transmitting intelligence to the outside world when he was discovered, and they immediately sent people after him. To escape, he used a sealed artifact and smuggled himself onto our ship."
"But that only brought the demigod's wrath down on us too."
At this point, Alfred's face twisted with frustration.
Edward let out a thoughtful oh.
"So all the information you just gave me came from that undercover agent?"
"Yes."
Alfred's tone was serious. "Gehrman Sparrow, you only need to drop me off at the nearest island with a telegraph station, and your bounty will be lifted. You don't need to do anything else or take any risk. It's a guaranteed win for you."
Edward rubbed his chin in thought.
Of course, what he was mulling over had nothing to do with the bounty—he couldn't care less about that.
What intrigued him was the Numinous Episcopate's plan, which had sparked a new idea.
He didn't know exactly how the Numinous Episcopate intended to replace the Sea God…But in the original storyline, Klein had done exactly that—he replaced the Sea God simply by taking the Sea God's Trident after the sea serpent died.
And with that trident, one could transmit messages to the Sea God's followers.
So what if—just what if—instead of sending divine edicts…
He sent out educational content?
Hey, wouldn't that basically be long-distance remote learning?
With the huge native population of the Rorsted Archipelago, it might be more than enough to help him digest the remaining third of his potion.
But still…
In the original timeline, the Sea God Kalvetua died only because the Moses Ascetic Order located an elven ruin and removed the Book of Calamity. That caused Kalvetua's form to collapse, and after being seriously wounded by the Sea King of the Church of Storms, the god went mad and died—leaving behind the Sea God's Trident.
However…right now, no one from the Moses Ascetic Order had made a move, and Edward had no idea where that elven ruin even was…
With those thoughts in mind, Edward turned toward Alfred with a warm smile.
"I agree."
Alfred froze in place.
"But I'm not taking you there myself," Edward continued. "Instead, you can have this ship—and all the pirates on board. Most of them were the targets you were trying to hunt down last time anyway. Think of it as returning stolen goods to their rightful owner."
"???"
Edward smiled.
"In exchange, I want you to tell me where the Numinous Episcopate and the Sea God cult plan to carry out the sacrificial ritual. You were in such a rush to get to Bayam—surely you know the location, right?"
"…"
Alfred's brows furrowed.
"What are you trying to do?"
"That's not your concern."
A long silence followed. Then Alfred answered, "Tiana Island."
Tiana Island?
Edward raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't Danitz stationed there?
Oh—so the evil god aura that Phoenix mentioned must've been the Numinous Episcopate's doing.
They were really going all out with this man-made god business…
A sudden realisation dawned on Edward.
So this is why the Goddess—or perhaps that Russian priest—was so eager for me to retrieve the Death Ring from Admiral Hell.
"Alright then. From this moment on, the ship is yours."
As he spoke, Edward waved his wand, erasing the memories of the past few days from the pirates.
Then he flicked his wrist again, summoning the Traveler's Door, and gave Alfred a friendly wave.
"See you around."
Alfred blinked, stunned.
"You're…a Traveler?"
He suddenly realised something.
"Wait, you could've just taken me directly—"
But before he could finish, Edward and Lilith had vanished through the portal.
Alfred exploded in rage.
He grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it across the deck.
"Gehrman Sparrow, you damned bastard!!! You son of a—!"
Just then, the pirates—who'd just had their memories wiped—emerged from their confusion and, as if by some unspoken cue, erupted into chaos.
Alfred's face darkened. He immediately rushed forward and ruthlessly knocked out several of the leading troublemakers.
Working in tandem with his subordinates, they swiftly subdued the remaining pirates.
Half of them were dumped into the sea, while the rest—just over a dozen—were kept behind as labourers.
"Colonel, what's the plan now?"
Alfred coldly replied, "What's the nearest island?"
"Bansy."
"Bansy…That's the one with a telegraph station, right?"
"Correct."
Alfred didn't hesitate.
"Then we head for Bansy!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
He turned and gazed out at the sea, dyed crimson under the glow of the Crimson Moon.
His eyes gleamed with fury.
"Gehrman Sparrow, this isn't over between us!!"
———
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