"Stop!" Rin's desperate cry split through the sea breeze.
"Nysera, hold her down!" Kaito ordered, not turning from the crates stacked at the stern of the ship.
"Nm." Nysera wrap shimmering tendrils of mana around Rin's limbs and binding her even tighter to the ship's mast. The wooden post groaned beneath the struggle of the as she thrashed.
"Rin, please!" Ysoria called, her voice caught between concern and exasperation. "It's just leaves—"
"That's a lifetime supply!" Rin wailed, eyes wide with genuine heartbreak. "Hero, please, there has to be another way! We could fish them out—we could use nets, hooks, spells—anything but this!"
Kaito's grip tightened on the last crate, and without a word, he hurled it into the ocean. The splash was massive. The other crates had already sunk beneath the waves, gifted to them by Port City's merchants with enthusiastic support once they'd learned that Ysoria would clear Vash's name.
Rin screamed as if a part of her soul had been cast overboard with it. With a burst of raw strength, she snapped Nysera's bindings and made a desperate lunge for the railing.
"Rin, no!" Kaito spun, catching her mid-leap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back just as she was about to throw herself overboard. The ship rocked under their weight.
"Let me go!" she sobbed, squirming violently in his grip. "The crates—they're sealed! They'll float! We can still save them!"
Kaito winced. "Ysoria, are you absolutely sure those leaves aren't addictive?"
"They shouldn't be…" the Saint replied, glancing between Rin's tearful face and the calm, open sea with clear doubt in her eyes.
But then, the water stirred.
First, it was just a ripple. Then a swell. And then—a looming shadow below.
"...Here it comes," Kaito muttered, gently releasing Rin and stepping back.
From the depths, massive tentacles burst forth, sleek and slimy, writhing with hunger. With shocking speed and precision, they snatched the crates from the ocean surface, tearing them open and devouring the contents with rows of circular, serrated teeth. The monstrous octopus rose higher from the sea, its bulk nearly four times the size of their ship. It let out a deep, reverberating roar that rattled the masts.
Kaito spread his wings of light, Durandal in hand. "Get ready!"
He launched himself into the sky.
Behind him, Rin clenched her fists, twin katanas glinting. She looked toward the monster, her voice soft but heavy: "...I'm sorry. Maybe in another life, we could have been good friends."
With a blur of motion, she ran forward, her feet touching the surface of the ocean like lily pads, gracefully skimming the waves.
She reached the monster and slashed through two tentacles, sending them tumbling into the sea with a spray of black-red blood.
"It looks gross," Nysera commented flatly from the ship as she raised both hands. Arcs of lightning spiraled into the sky before slamming down on the monster's head, paralyzing it with a shriek of pain.
"By the Goddess' will—begone!" Ysoria raised her staff and holy sword in tandem. A flurry of light arrows rained down, blinding the creature eyes as it thrashed in pain.
From above, Kaito dove like a hawk. He drove the sword deep into the creature's rubbery mass.
But the monster didn't die. Shaking off paralysis and pain, it began to descend back into the ocean, dragging Kaito with it.
The cold of the sea slammed into him instantly. Kaito held his breath, clinging to Durandal embedded in the creature's flesh. With a grunt of effort, he created small platforms of light beneath his feet underwater and began to run along the monster's body, dragging the sword in a deep, continuous gouge.
A tentacle lashed toward him from the left. He dodged it, then another from the right. One came too close, but before it could grab him— Shikabanehime flashed to life in his other hand.
He spun and slashed, severing the tentacle mid-surge.
Then Rin appeared from the depths, launched by a jet of Nysera's magic from above. Her blades delivered a cross slash into the creature's midsection.
Together, the two of them carved their way up the monster like a spiral of death.
Then a divine beam of light split the sky. A celestial spear of energy, summoned by Ysoria, struck the monster directly atop its head, ripping a hole clean through it.
Its titanic body began to sink, blood darkening the waters around them into a crimson bloom.
Rin, still underwater, looked down—then began to swim toward the corpse.
Kaito grabbed her wrist tightly. He shook his head.
But Rin only gave him a pleading look, then pointed toward the bloated corpse.
A moment later, an intact crate slowly floated up from the abyss.
Rin's eyes lit up with hope and joy. She kicked toward them with all the eagerness of a child reunited with a lost pet.
She hugged one of the crates tightly, her expression softened by relief
Kaito surfaced beside her, coughing up a lungful of seawater.
"...Rin," he said, utterly bewildered, "do you really have to go that far?"
Rin pouted, cradling the crate in her arms like a sacred relic. "You wouldn't understand, Hero..."
_____
Back in the Port City, the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
The colossal, severed tentacles of the slain sea monster had been hauled ashore, their slimy, suckered surfaces glistening under the mid-afternoon sun. A team of chefs and fishmongers had already set up impromptu grilling stations along the docks. The scent of sizzling monster meat wafted through the streets—savory and smoky, oddly inviting despite its grotesque source.
Crowds had gathered, children perched on crates, merchants tossing flower petals, and sailors banging pots and drums in rhythm. A chorus of voices erupted from the crowd:
"All hail the Hero!"
"Glory to the Saint!"
"The monster has fallen!"
Laughter and joy echoed through the alleys and market squares. Music played from stringed instruments, and colorful banners danced in the salt-laced breeze.
Amid the celebration, a rotund man in a richly embroidered coat approached the party, flanked by guards and local officials. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a silk handkerchief and smiled broadly.
"Hero! Saint Ysoria! On behalf of the Port City, I thank you!" said the Governor, placing a hand to his chest. "Without your intervention, that sea beast would have continued its reign of havoc on our maritime trade. I wish I could offer you a grand reward, but the economy's been strained from months of disruption. Still…" he gestured expansively, "However, feel free to stay and enjoy all the entertainment the Port City has to offer, for however long you wish!"
Kaito felt an immediate sense of déjà vu.
He pushed the thought aside. "The sea monster was just a giant octopus. I don't see why it would cause madness to the sailors who witnessed it."
The Governor's expression stiffened into confusion. "Madness? I beg your pardon, Hero, but I'm not sure I understand. Sign of madness was never part of any reports."
Rin blinked, tilting her head. "Wait… Wasn't that why your Navy couldn't handle it?"
The Governor shook his head with growing puzzlement. "The Navy's been pursuing it for months. Its regeneration and slippery movements made it hard to pin down. But madness? No… We had casualties, yes, but nothing like that. We were simply outmatched by its resilience."
"Strange..." Kaito muttered, his suspicion growing. "Well, at least we can clear Vash's name now."
"Who is this Vash?" the Governor asked, his brow furrowed. "And why does his name need to be cleared? I'd be glad to aid you in your endeavor, Hero."
Ysoria stepped forward, her voice laced with growing alarm. "He's a warlock who had been healing citizens freely. The local clergy accused him of being one of the Demon King's Commanders, calling him the Shaper of Flesh. Surely you've heard something?"
The Governor glanced around, baffled. "I… I'm sorry, Saint, but I've never heard that name. Our records list only three Demon King Commanders, and they've remained unchanged. Are you saying there's a fourth? That would be a serious development."
Before Ysoria could answer, a nearby priest, dressed in the golden-trimmed robes of the Church of Holy Light, stepped forward with a furrowed brow.
"Pardon, Saint Ysoria, but we are equally confused," he said with a courteous bow. "There's been no official declaration of anyone as a Commander of the Demon King here. That is a matter not to be taken lightly and certainly not one for the local clergy to decide alone."
Ysoria's voice grew tight. "But the merchants gave us those crates of leaves for free with the understanding that I would clear Vash's name."
At that, a wiry, sun-weathered merchant chimed in. "Huh? Didn't we give it upon the request of the Hero's party? As evidence, you managed to accomplish your task of slaying the monster and restoring the trade route, recouping our future revenue that we would have lost in those leaves."
A strange, uncomfortable silence settled over the group.
"What's going on?" Ysoria asked, her voice a fragile whisper.
Kaito whispered, "Let's go to Vash's Apothecary."
They rushed through the cobbled streets of the Port City, winding past celebration and streamers. Vendors shouted offers, dancers performed in the square, but the party pushed past it all.
When they arrived, they stopped cold.
Where Vash's quaint apothecary should have stood, tucked between an old well and a pottery shop, there was nothing but an empty, weed-choked plot of land.
"...What?" Rin murmured, stepping forward and brushing her hand along the tall grass.
Nysera said nothing, her face unreadable, eyes scanning the air for traces of lingering magic.
Ysoria turned a slow circle. "This can't be. We were just here. We spoke with him. I saw his shop, his patients, his treatments. How can it be gone?"
A chill ran down Kaito's spine
They immediately decided to leave the Port City.