Lara remembered her childhood while trying to hold Narohime's hand; both of them were truly on the brink of death. The fact that she was still alive even after receiving another blow from the monster was truly a miracle.
____Lara____
Na… Naro… (cough)… I… (coughs blood)… I've always… I've always been there… with you… since the beginning… why… is this happening (coughs)… just… when I finally found you… (coughs blood)
Lara let out both her final breaths and her final words, before hearing the sound of footsteps… no, the sound of someone running! The door burst open violently and a person wearing a poison-protection mask rushed in. Lara looked at him; he seemed familiar… yes… it's Silva! Lara's eyes widened in shock—what is he doing here!?
Silva was holding a grappling hook and confidently headed straight toward the monster.
___Silva___
Time to hunt the octopus! Hahaha
Lara stared at him in disbelief, thinking he was truly stupid! Hunt? An octopus!? Can't he see the monster in front of him!?
___Lara___
That idiot!
Silva ran toward the monster… and of course the monster attacked him with its tentacles, which Silva dodged with precision and ease, as if he were used to it.
___Silva___
Your moves are really predictable, you huge idiot, hahaha! We've met several times before, haven't we! Do you remember? It seems we're truly bound to each other—fate insists on bringing us together every time, even though I planned not to meet you this year!
The monster's attacks intensified, making it impossible for Silva to keep up with all of them, but he simply used his grappling hook to grab the tentacles as if he were fishing them away, or to pull himself quickly to another place, dodging every strike.
___Silva___
(laughs)… Can't you be nice for once! You keep doing the same things every time!(while lifting and slicking his rain-soaked hair back)
The situation continued like this for a while—the octopus attacking and Silva dodging. The octopus was thoroughly provoked and screamed once more with a spine-chilling sound… but Silva did not move from his spot at all and was not affected in the slightest. Fortunately, the small amount of Lara's energy keeping both her and Narohime alive seemed to protect them from being harmed.
Silva sighed and removed the mask from his face, revealing an angry smile.
___Silva___
Aaah! How many times have I told you that your voice is awful and unfit for singing! You're really annoying—I hate those who don't listen to what I say. Didn't I say that last time? (walks toward the monster)… Fine… you've annoyed me… don't blame me later!
Silva ran toward the monster, using his grappling hook to dodge its blows and climb onto its head. The monster's attacks intensified and the path became more difficult the closer he got; he dodged with difficulty, and it seemed his energy was running out… and finally, after some time… he reached the top! He aimed his grappling hook one last time at the monster's head and threw the line—only to be struck suddenly on the head, sending him back to the deck, barely conscious. The blow was so strong that he vomited blood…
His vision was blurred; all his senses were distorted… but he gathered his remaining strength, stood up with difficulty, wiped the blood from his mouth, and glared at the monster with hateful eyes and an angry smile. He moved forward slowly, looked at his grappling hook lying on the ground, picked it up with difficulty, and headed toward the monster once more, pointing at it with the hook as if issuing a challenge—two rivals fighting over who would be king of this ocean and impose his dominance.
___Silva___
(panting)… I… I am Silva… I will never surrender to a bastard like you… (laughs weakly from exhaustion)
Silva gathered his strength and charged the monster again, barely dodging its attacks, but he succeeded, using his grappling hook to climb once more. "This time I'll kill you!" That's what Silva thought before throwing the line toward its head, narrowly avoiding the powerful strike coming at him… Yes… he dodged it and reached its head, quickly pulling out two daggers and striking a visible mark on its head. The monster screamed violently as Silva continued stabbing it again and again, until a blinding light burst from the mark where he was stabbing relentlessly. That light was followed by a powerful energy wave that blasted Silva away from the monster's head with great force. Fortunately, he quickly used his grappling hook to avoid falling, clinging to the monster… but the energy was so strong that the hook couldn't withstand it and broke, causing him to fall back onto the deck—this time not as violently as before, so it could be said he was still alive.
Silva stood up, staring at the monster, watching what was happening to it. Suddenly, the monster stopped screaming, froze for a while, and then sank into the ocean...
Some time passed—there was no trace of the monster… it seems it was finally defeated… at last…
Silva, who had been waiting for it to return to fight again, sighed. He then turned to head inside to help Grin control the ship's wheel—only to see Narohime and Lara on the verge of death, leaning against the wall near the door.
He rushed toward them, but suddenly—something happened before he could reach them! Something was coming at incredible speed… no, a swift attack targeting Lara! It seems the monster is still alive… but where is it!? The monster was nowhere to be seen; it had exhausted all its energy and was now searching for the fastest source of energy—and that source… yes… Lara, who was using her magic just to stay alive!
In a lightning-fast attack, it tried to kill her and drain her energy. Silva ran to stop it, but he no longer had his grappling hook!
Lara regained consciousness as a gentle breeze blew. She slowly opened her eyes and saw blood dripping onto the floor. Her eyes widened in terror as she raised her head to see what was happening…
____Silva____
…Good morning (a smile dripping with blood)
It was Silva… he had been stabbed by the monster, whose tentacle was still trying to advance and stab Lara if not for Silva, who was pushing it back—but he had already been stabbed.
____Lara____
…You… why!?
____Silva____
(panting) It tried to stab you… so… I tried to stop it… (vomits blood)… it would be a shame for a beautiful girl like you to die at such a young age… I… I've already lived my life (a tired smile)
The stabbed Silva continued struggling to stop the tentacle that pierced him from advancing and stabbing Lara as well, but it was useless—his strength wasn't enough. The tentacle kept moving toward Lara, who herself was on the brink of death. Silva's attempt was failing, and he was about to die… he had failed to protect Lara and Narohime.
____Silva_____
…It seems… I lost…
Silva looked up at the sea's sky with his final gaze for a moment… the light of life faded from his eyes, the smile still on his face as he stood tall protecting others before his death… Silva stopped moving… the hand holding the tentacle fell… he could no longer stand… it seems he had truly passed away…
With Silva's resistance gone, nothing stopped the tentacle from stabbing Lara. It sped up, now… directly in front of her face. Lara closed her eyes, holding Narohime's hand one last time… it seems this is the end for everyone…
But wait… nothing happened!.... Lara opened her eyes to see what was going on… the tentacle was right in front of her face… but… why wasn't it moving forward!? As if something were blocking it… Lara looked up to see something strange shimmering, like a magical wall.
It seems the monster couldn't advance any further. The fog had already begun to completely disappear, and the ocean had grown much calmer. The ship continued moving away while the tentacle remained in place. It seems Captain Grin had taken control of the ship.
Lara sighed in relief and looked at Silva lying on the ground and Narohime lying to her left… but wait!…
____Lara____
Is this land!?… That means… we…!
Hope returned to Lara's eyes as tears formed, and she looked at Narohime lying beside her.
____Lara____
…We survived!… Sister Naro! (smile)
Not long passed before the door burst open and someone rushed in—it was Captain Grin! The first thing he saw was Silva's body lying on the floor. He ran to him in shock, lifting him into his arms.
___Grin___
You!… Silva!… Wake up already!… We survived! We escaped the Dark Circle! Open your eyes already!… (tears fell from the old man Grin's eyes) …Silva…
thank you… you saved us!… You saved everyone… you're a hero!
The old man placed Silva's body on the ground and closed his eyes as a final act of gratitude for saving them. Then he stood up, turned around, and saw Lara and Narohime—both on the brink of death. He rushed toward them in panic. Lara was barely conscious… both were in critical condition…
____Grin____
You two!… What happened!? Lara! Are you okay!? Don't worry!… I'll go get help—I'll check if there's still any doctor left!
Captain Grin ran inside the ship searching for a doctor, checking all the cabins… but it was useless. There was no one who could help— all the doctors had already been killed while they were inside the Dark Circle!
There was nothing else he could do, at least he had to bring them into one of the cabins instead of letting them die outside. With the help of three other passengers, they managed to carry them into one of the rooms.
____Grin____
Hold on just a little longer!… We're almost at our destination!
Captain Grin rushed to the cockpit and pushed the ship's speed to the maximum.
Time passed… the ship reached the harbor. Grin rushed out, explaining the situation to the port security and asking for help. They hurried inside under his guidance to save Lara and Narohime.
_____MEANWHILE____
____Boss____
You lost the ship's signal, huh!? (angry) It's been a long time too! Couldn't you recover it until now!? What an incompetent team! Why didn't you tell me from the beginning!?
The boss was shouting at the surveillance and security team for their negligence, while they knelt before him begging for forgiveness.
____Boss____
Damn all of you! You're… you're fired!
____Man1____
Please sir… we're truly sorry… we didn't mean anything!
____Man2____
Yes sir! We apologize! I swear we were just scared!
____Woman____
We're really sorry!… We were afraid that if you found out… you'd get rid of us!
____Man2____
Yes, we thought it was just a malfunction in the monitoring equipment… we're truly sorry!
_____Boss_____
…Sorry, huh!?… What if something happened to them!?… Would you take responsibility!? Lara and Narohime are our best members! Losing them means losing the entire organization! Do you understand the magnitude of the damage I'm talking about!?
Silence filled the room. The three faces were dripping with sweat from fear. No one dared to speak—it was already mercy from the boss to let them live until now… so anything else could cost them their lives.
____/Knock knock/____
____Woman 1____
Sir, it's me, the secretary!
____Boss____
…(sigh)… come in
The secretary rushed in as the boss moved toward his chair to sit.
____Secretary_____
Sir! Sir! We've recovered the signal!
The boss didn't even sit down; he remained standing as life finally returned to his face and his mood calmed.
____Boss_____
Then where are they now!?
____Secretary_____
The signal shows they've already arrived; they're at the port of the Kingdom of Yakano!
The boss sighed and sat down, turning his back to them.
____Boss_____
Good… keep me informed of what's happening. Understood?… No mistakes this time!
The three exchanged nervous glances.
____Woman_____
Does this mean…
____Man1_____
We're not fired!?…..
____Boss____
Get back to work already! You've wasted enough time!
Life returned to their faces as they stood up, saluted and thanked the boss, then hurried back to work, leaving the room with the secretary—leaving the boss alone in his office, thinking about what might have happened to Lara and Narohime.