Phase 2 - Battle with a Protector

06:00 pm, 1st day

Port Royal

In the fashionable St. Paul's district, and far from the stench and squalor of Port Royal's docks and slums, towered the Grand Mansion of the Governor. [Image 1]

It was this mansion where Governor Weatherby Swann lived, along with his daughter Elizabeth Swann and many servants. Among those servants, the noticeable staff members were the Butler, the head of staff, and Estrella, the personal maid to the young miss.

At this time, the Butler and the staff should have been busy preparing for the supper. However, today an unexpected event happened that kept the Butler occupied, putting him in an inexplicable and troubling situation.

Estrella and Amy both were personal maids to the young miss of the Swann family, but it was Estrella who was closer to Elizabeth and had a higher rank than her colleague. She was in her late twenties, married, and pretty, to say the least. Her husband was a sailor in a renowned merchant vessel, and thus she lived in the servant quarters. [Image 2]

Like always, Estrella had gone to the port alone to collect the letters from her husband in the afternoon.

The afternoon had come and gone, but there was no sign of Estrella's return.

Just when Elizabeth was about to inform her father to search for Estrella out of concern, a young girl announced herself at the mansion.

This girl looked to be around 17-years-old, had soft green eyes, and silky gold hair. Her beauty was such that if it wasn't for the presence of Elizabeth Swann, all would have just proclaimed her to be the most charming young lady.

Yet, the most striking thing about this girl was the one earring in her left ear.

It was short, and at its end was a black marble, giving an impression of a fake pearl. Still, something was enchanting about the earring that unnerved all who looked at it.

This girl handed a letter to the Butler, proclaiming herself to be Estrella's acquaintance.

This girl… was Cersei Lannister.

"And…" the Butler's old eyes ran down the letter in the dining room, "… may I inquire about your experience, Ms. Lanny?" [Image 3]

Lanny gave the Butler a coquettish smile, pulling a lock of hair behind her right ear. "I have served under the Housekeeper of House Stain, the owner of Sugar and Salt Co. in London," she told him. "You can refer to the recommendation letter from Mr. Stain attached to Estrella's letter. I am to return to London in 3 days, to be honest. If Estrella hadn't been so kind to me, I wouldn't have accepted her request."

The Butler inwardly nodded.

If this Lanny had said anything else, then he probably wouldn't have believed her. Then there was the touch of arrogance in the young girl's tone, a familiar thing only someone of his age and status could catch on to. This arrogance could only be seen who had come in contact with people of high birth and status.

This Lanny wasn't lying, he decided.

Yet, it also made him crease his brows. The letter in his hands was from Estrella, and it said that she had to board a vessel immediately to go to London because of her husband. Till then, if the Butler and Miss Swann agreed, they could let Lanny take her place by the young miss' side.

"Very well," the Butler ultimately said, sighing to himself. "Come with me. Let me introduce you to Miss Swann. Remember to report to the Governor once he returns. He has a habit of visiting the Fort for his evening walks."

Lanny smiled. "Believe me," she said, standing up and putting a hand over the Butler's forearm. "Miss Swann will love my company."

*

*

"Ahn! Ahn! Slow… Oh!"

Estrella moaned heavily, her head buried in a fluffy pillow. [Image 4] [Image 5]

Just as Cersei was getting inquired by the Butler of the Governor's mansion, Kai was fucking the maid, taking her from behind; for the 4th time.

The prime issue with the Phase 1 they had planned was not implanting Cersei in the mansion, but her presence out of the 8 ft limit. Yet, these 8 ft weren't from Kai truly, but from the Book.

So, after arriving at the inn and sending Selene to monitor Estrella, Kai called out to Cersei. Then Kai had taken a few hours in transfiguring the Book into an earring, putting it on Cersei's left ear. With the little magic Kai could do, it had turned out to be an excruciating task for him. Not to mention, the magic would run out by tomorrow afternoon, he knew.

Letting Cersei carry his most powerful and promising Item wasn't because of trust, though. No, Kai would rather cut his throat than do something that foolish. If there were some things that he trusted, then those were objects; non-living and empty of intelligence. Then came beasts, full of animal instinct, easy to be manipulated, and questionable intelligence.

People… had been put aside by Kai long ago.

So, no. This wasn't Trust, but Confidence.

Kai just had too much confidence in himself to let Cersei run amok with the Book, and believe that she would do nothing against him. He had just invested too much in controlling her. Even the mention of him visiting the Game of Thrones world to upgrade her tale before coming here was nothing but a boost to this Confidence.

Then came the part of wooing Estrella, a thing Kai also had confidence in.

When Selene returned with the news that Estrella had come to the docks, Kai had gone out of the inn, and charmed Estrella with his looks and remarks, manipulating her emotions meanwhile.

Because the Side Mission was related to Elizabeth Swann, all major characters that were and would come in contact with her didn't have any higher-floor Contestant's protection. Estrella wasn't a major character, but according to the original storyline, she had maintained direct contact with Elizabeth.

In light of this, Kai couldn't just kill her, either. If he were to dispose of her, then he had potent reasons to believe that Order would just send a powerful Contestant to take her place, bringing balance again.

No. Keeping her alive and occupied was the best route Kai had found.

"Sssss…" Estrella hissed out a moan, biting her lips. "I am…"

Her toes spasmed and her fingernails dug into Kai's thighs. A shudder coursed through her back as Kai pounded her.

Just as the climax found her, Kai's hazel pupils trembled with a profound glint.

At this moment, Estrella's mind was too chaotic; the best state to control her thoughts. Kai reached for her head and put his palm on it. Then he closed his eyes.

His projection appeared in Estrella's mind and saw innumerable thoughts, memories, and emotions.

This was the first time Kai was putting Legilimency into action. With his little Mana and control, especially without a wand, he had little trust in himself to go through with it. Not to mention, this was one magic that he couldn't nudge Darcie to practice as well. The implications of doing that would be too great for others to ignore.

That's why Kai had manipulated Estrella's emotions, letting her get used to the orgasms, and only then did he dare to toil around with her mind. That she was just an ordinary woman, defenseless against magic, also helped him a bit.

Kai raced through her memories and thoughts, brought out the last few hours' worths of sexual events and feelings, and put them into a loop.

When Kai returned to the real world and snapped open his eyes, he had already slid out of her. Estrella had gone to deep sleep, and there was a smile on her face, full of passion and lust.

Kai sneered.

Like the transfiguration, this magic wouldn't last more than a few hours either, he knew. So he would have repeatedly cast Legilimency on her for the next 3 days.

Kai put on his clothes and looked outside through the window.

The sunset had gained a shade of blue and indigo, and the dark of night was dancing with the distant waves on the horizon. On the street, sailors were singing, drinking, and thieving. The cries of young women were everywhere, some in pleasure and some in pain.

And the stench of sewers had already found a balance with the smell of salt in the chilly winds.

'A good time to kill,' Kai thought, grinning demonically.

With the matter of Cersei replacing Estrella finished, Phase 1 of his plan had already come into motion. However, these phases weren't planned to occur one after another, but together.

Phase 1 of the plan was to replace Estrella with Cersei, and then it extended to Cersei's replacement with Elizabeth on the evening of the third day.

But this part only took care of only one side of the story, not touching the matter of Jack Sparrow and his compass at all.

Now was the time to act on that. Now was the time to work on Phase 2 of the plan.

Kai walked out of the inn, donning his sailor's attire and lowering the hat. Eyes followed him everywhere but kept away from him at the same time. Kai had already put up a front for others, doing everything that he had said he would do.

By acting ruthlessly, he had shown his murderous side, letting others know he was a crazy man who didn't even put Abnormality Limiter in his eyes. And then, by bringing Estrella to the inn, he had shown his lecherous and charming side, proclaiming that he was up to no good.

So, at this time, when Kai walked toward the docks, almost none followed him.

Walking slowly and taking many turns, Kai approached the dock where HMS Interceptor and HMS Dauntless were anchored. [Image 6]

From what Kai had learned through Item-M, Contestants usually stayed off from these ships as much as they could, for there was no benefit in just gawking at them. Only by boarding the ship as a crew member, or attacking it as a member of a pirate crew, there was some meaning to it.

Kai, too, had no desire for these ships. At least not now, with his little strength and busy schedule.

Yet, there was something in the ship's direction that he desired the most. Or, it would be better to say, someone.

At the dock, two marines were stationed permanently, and this was the time for changing of shifts.

From behind a tree, Kai eyed four marines. After a few minutes, two of those marines marched off, heading in the fort's direction. These two were also characters of the original storyline, and quite major at that.

Mullroy and Murtogg! [Image 7]

These two were the same marines who, according to the original storyline, had come in contact with Jack Sparrow. Not only that, there was an instance in the storyline, just after Jack had saved Swann from drowning, when the marine Murtogg also held all of Jack Sparrow's effects; his saber, pistol, hat, and compass.

Kai was exactly aiming for that instance on the third day's morning.

Like Phase 1, Phase 2 too demanded a replacement. But in Phase 2, it was Kai's turn to replace the character, and this time, the target must die.

There was just a tiny problem.

Unlike Phase 1, where Estrella had no protection, Kai almost knew that a high-floor Contestant was watching over these two characters.

This wasn't a random world where Kai had reincarnated with the main mission revolving around a major character. Even though he had taken care of Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Barbossa, and other major characters' potential protection, there were still too many characters who shared no particular interaction with Elizabeth Swann in the foreseeable future.

And thus, they didn't come under the purview of Kai's Side Mission.

For him to kill Murtogg meant Kai would need to go through a Contestant, who would have the power to fight and subdue even him.

A chill ran down his spine as Kai thought about that, his bloodlust rising to the brim, spilling out just by a touch.

Yet he controlled himself.

This wasn't the time to act on his thoughts. For now, he just wanted to grasp the timing of their shifts.

When the two characters had left, Kai approached the dock, keeping the two stationed marines in the dark. He looked at the sea, expanding through the narrow entrance of the harbor into the vaster sea beyond.

Then, with a splash, Kai jumped into the sea.

Sea water drenched his clothes, his hair, and his hat, bringing a familiar taste to his mouth, and better than Estrella's soft lips.

When the rumbles of thunder didn't reach his ears, the corners of his mouth arched up.

"What are you smiling for?"

Kai's eyes widened to an unprecedented degree. This question had come to him too suddenly as if the entire world had voiced it out.

And then something happened that made his pupils go even wider.

Crack!

A cracking noise echoed around him, and Kai saw a layer of mirror-like shards propping up all around, covering a ground of 200 meters around him. Its speed was so great that just as Kai saw it, it had already finished forming a spherical cage, confining him within it.

Kai wasn't unfamiliar with this cage, as he had faced it before. Unlike then, he now knew its origins and name.

'Mirror Dimension!' Kai recalled inadvertently. 'From the Marvel Random World.'

"Speak," the voice returned. "I saw you looking at Murtogg and Mullroy. State your purpose, and I might just let you go. We both are from Chaos, after all."

The voice sounded mechanical, with a touch of feminine in it, and it was coming from the skies.

Kai knew he had miscalculated. He had thought that the Protector would never leave the characters' side. Who knew just because he had looked at them, this Contestant would mark him and confine him into the Mirror Dimension?

Slowly, Kai lifted his head and looked at the source of the fatal threat that was making his back sweat.

It was a Contestant, with red and silver armor, and hovering midair, fire coming out from the armor's palms and soles like a massive jet propulsion. [Image 8]

Iron Man Armor - Mark V!

Kai let out a breath as he recalled the name.

This battle… was bound to be one of the scariest, and there was no avoiding it.

Phase 2 — Replace Murtogg, the marine, with Kai — had just been forced to begin.

*********

AN: Sorry guys, a break tomorrow as well. (No Break on next Sunday, as previously planned)