The Black Tulip—also known as the Fairy Tale—was the future flagship of the Admiral of Hell. As one of the strongest among the seven pirate admirals, its firepower naturally far surpassed that of ordinary pirate ships.
Under Bernadette's chaotic yet enthusiastic commands—and with the coordinated efforts of the storybook characters on board—the Fairy Tale soon turned the approaching pirate ship into a floating sieve. Edward, meanwhile, effortlessly intercepted every cannonball fired their way.
By this point, the pirates had realised they'd picked a fight with the wrong people. Without waiting for their captain's order, they hastily hoisted white flags and raised their hands in surrender. The few survivors tossed aside their weapons and huddled together, trembling.
"Yay! We won!"
Bernadette jumped up and down in excitement, holding her brass telescope like a trophy. Peering at the trembling pirates waving white flags, she grinned proudly.
"Hmph! I'm the invincible Captain Bernadette!"
She turned to Edward with sparkling eyes. "So, what do we do next, Mr. Sparrow? Should we board their ship to accept their surrender?"
Edward arched an eyebrow. "You even know what accepting surrender means?"
She nodded repeatedly. "After Daddy set out to sea, I read lots of books about it! Of course, I know. And I also know that many pirates can be turned in for bounty money!"
"Forget the bounty," Edward said lazily. "I'll just go over there, take everything valuable off their ship, and then we'll split the loot."
"Split the loot? You make it sound like we're the bad guys!"
"It's not that different, really."
After muttering that, Edward cast several defensive charms and Space Concealment on Bernadette, then leapt across the sea in a blink, landing on the enemy ship. He used the Imperius Curse to control several pirates, ordered them to carry two large wooden chests, and teleported back to the Fairy Tale.
"Wow! Look at all this treasure!"
Bernadette's eyes sparkled as she dove toward the crates like a little dragoness guarding her hoard. She scooped up the jewels with both hands, laughing in delight.
She didn't really understand how much they were worth—but the feeling of "earning money with her own hands" thrilled her.
No wonder so many people became pirates!
Why bother earning money when stealing was this fast?
"The left chest is yours, and the right one's mine. Any objections?"
"None!"
Bernadette tossed the jewels in her hands back into the box and clapped her palms together. "But I don't really have any use for this money anyway. I'll give it all to Mr. Sparrow."
"You said it—no take-backs."
Edward grinned and promptly tossed both chests into his spatial pocket. A quick estimation told him the loot was worth at least three to Five Thousand Felkins.
"Alright then—let's set sail again!"
With a wave of his hand, the Fairy Tale surged forward once more.
Bernadette leaned over the railing, watching the battered pirate ship shrinking in the distance. "Eh? Aren't we going to do anything about them?"
"No need," Edward replied lightly. "I'm a generous man. Whoever provokes me…doesn't live to tell the tale."
"???"
As the Fairy Tale drifted farther off, the surviving pirates sighed in relief, some even laughing shakily at their narrow escape. But just as they began preparing to sail away, a vast, pitch-black fissure suddenly opened in the middle of their ship.
In an instant, the space around the crack fractured like shattered glass—splintering outward in jagged lines.
A soft tearing sound followed.
And then—space itself collapsed.
Within a heartbeat, both the pirate ship and every soul aboard were ripped apart and scattered into nothingness, leaving only fragments that rained down into the sea.
On the Fairy Tale, Edward nodded thoughtfully. The [Space Tearing] ability had performed well—its destructive power was impressive, though the activation delay was a bit long. To make it truly effective, he'd need to immobilise his targets first.
A few minutes later, all that remained on the surface was a faint red stain spreading and dissolving into the waves.
On a nearby island ruin, a figure suddenly appeared.
She wore a simple, patched linen robe bound at the waist with what looked like a strip of twisted bark. Her long, black hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders, and her bare feet—dusty and scarred—touched the mossy stone.
It was Arianna, Servant of Concealment of the Evernight Church.
She frowned slightly as she gazed at the spot where the rift had just been. Then, tracing the Holy Symbol of Evernight over her chest, she pressed her palms together and murmured with reverence:
"My Lord, I have found him."
———
After once again passing through layers of night and dream, the Fairy Tale had barely resumed its course when a faint, ethereal song drifted across the water.
The melody was soft and mesmerising, as though someone were whispering tenderly right beside one's ear—inviting, coaxing, drawing the listener toward the sound.
"Mr. Sparrow," Bernadette whispered, eyes wide, "did you hear that singing?"
"Yeah." Edward nodded slightly. "It's the mermaids."
"Really? Where are they?"
"Not far now."
He manipulated the seawater beneath the hull, speeding up the Fairy Tale as it glided swiftly toward the source of the mermaids' song.
After rounding a small island that jutted sharply out of the sea, the singing suddenly grew louder—so vivid and near that it seemed to whisper right beside their ears. Every note struck the spirit, every melody carried a dreamlike allure that made one's heart ache with longing.
Bernadette's eyes went glassy. Her feet moved unconsciously toward the rail, as though she might at any moment leap straight into the sea.
Edward reached over and gave her a light knock on the head. The jolt snapped her out of the trance, and as realisation dawned, she clung tightly to his arm.
"This song…something's not right about it!"
"Of course not." Edward chuckled. "From appearance alone, mermaids fit perfectly into human standards of beauty—but calling them human isn't quite accurate. They're more like beasts…creatures that lure people with graceful movements and mesmerising songs—"
"Like the Little Mermaid and the prince?!" Bernadette interrupted, her eyes sparkling.
"…and then devour those humans alive," he finished flatly.
"Ah!"
She yelped, hurriedly covering her mouth.
At that moment, a field of jagged reefs came into view ahead. Along the rocks sat a group of mermaids, singing in melodious harmony.
Their upper bodies were unmistakably human—delicate faces with bright eyes and lips, youthful and seductive all at once. Scales the colour of dark crimson covered their chests and torsos, and below the waist, their enormous tails gleamed with silver-blue light, slapping rhythmically against the reef.
Bernadette darted to the rail and leaned so far over that Edward instinctively reached to steady her. Her cheeks were flushed, her voice trembling with excitement. "Mermaids! They're real mermaids! Wow!!! They really exist!"
From her first nervous voyage a month ago, through the several interrupted attempts that followed, and then after Sparrow's mysterious three-week disappearance—finally, finally she had seen them with her own eyes.
It felt like a long-held dream had come true.
But even amidst her joy, a faint worry rose in her heart: After this…what reason will I have to ask Mr. Sparrow to take me out to sea again?
"They're beautiful," Edward murmured.
"Not just beautiful—there's a strange, inhuman allure to them. I can't imagine what Roselle would do if he saw this."
"What did you say?" Bernadette turned at once.
"Ahem, just talking to myself. Forget you heard that."
The Fairy Tale's approach startled the mermaids, and several slipped into the water in alarm. But when Edward released the aura of a Sea King, the scene changed as the ocean seemed to embrace them, while the mermaids stopped fleeing—their fear eased.
Most of the mermaids hovered cautiously at the edge of the reefs, gazing curiously at the ship. A few bold ones continued singing, their voices echoing across the water.
Edward grasped Bernadette's wrist and teleported. In a blink, they appeared on the reef, barely three or four meters from the nearest mermaids.
"Whoa!"
Bernadette jumped in fright—she hadn't forgotten that these were man-eating creatures.
The mermaids shrieked and nearly dove back into the sea, but Edward extended his hand again. The aura of the Sea King expanded, and with the aid of False Reality, an illusion washed over the scene, calming the creatures.
"Want to touch them?" Edward asked.
"Yes!" she blurted without hesitation. "But…didn't you just say they eat—"
"It's fine. Go on."
"Okay!"
Encouraged, Bernadette took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly. One of the mermaids tilted her head, watching her approach with wide, curious eyes.
When Bernadette was close enough, she extended her small hand carefully.
"Don't be scared, okay? I'll just touch you gently," she whispered—perhaps to herself, perhaps to the mermaid.
The mermaid looked from her hand to her own, then hesitantly reached out.
Their fingers brushed.
Both flinched back instantly, as if struck by lightning.
"Ah, her hand's so cold!" Bernadette exclaimed. "Is she sick?"
The mermaid, in her own lilting tongue, chirped to her companions, "Her hand is so warm! Is she sick?"
Hearing that, the surrounding mermaids swam closer, propping themselves on the rocks, circling Bernadette with bright, inquisitive eyes and melodious chatter.
Bernadette turned to Edward, beaming. "Wow! Are they saying hello to me?"
"Yes," Edward replied, his expression complicated.
Thanks to the Sea King's abilities, he could roughly interpret their meaning:
"She smells so nice! Her meat must be tender—can we eat her?"
"Doesn't seem like we can…what a pity. I really wanted to taste her."
…Better not translate that part.
Just then, a low murmur of prayer reached Edward's ears—faint, but urgent. A man's voice.
A male?
He frowned. Then he can wait a bit longer.
———
Twenty minutes passed.
By then, Bernadette had shaken hands with nearly every mermaid in the area, made "friends" with all of them, and even insisted Edward take a big group photo for her. Only after that did she return to the ship, grinning from ear to ear.
"Mr. Sparrow, you were totally lying to me earlier!" she said, holding up the fresh polaroid like a prize. "The mermaids are so beautiful and kind and adorable—how could they possibly be as scary as you said?"
"Look, they're all watching me! They must already miss me!"
"Yes, yes, you're right," Edward said flatly.
Indeed, the mermaids were reluctant to see her go—but not for the reason she imagined.
"She's leaving…she smelled so good. We should've taken a bite."
"Yeah, I was this close to tasting her! Why didn't we?"
"I'm starving. I want meat."
One particularly agitated mermaid flailed her tail and shouted, "Don't go! Come back! Let me take a bite!"
Bernadette stood at the rail, waving cheerfully.
"Goodbye! See you next time! Don't miss me too much!"
"Don't go! Don't go!" the mermaids cried—
"Bye-bye!"
"Meat!"
Edward just stood there in silence.
A perfect example of two sides speaking entirely past each other—each convinced they were having a heartwarming farewell.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.