Captain - "For your lives, keep rowing!"

The old man stood up in bewilderment. When he looked down at the lower part of the ship, several men lay on the floor while others mourned their deaths with tears. Others were injured; the arrows had struck them in non-vital parts of their bodies, but it was unlikely they would survive on that ship, and worst of all, they knew it. The ship was practically motionless, moving only from the remaining momentum it had gathered so far. The line of warships was closer than ever; they were unstoppable, but most of the enemy fleet had already been left behind. A little more, and they would be out of that conflict.

"Men, we cannot stop now. For your lives, keep rowing!" The orders felt like stabs, even to the captain himself. He had never imagined demanding that his comrades leave their dead friends aside and resume rowing, but the lives of each and every one of them depended on it. For the greater good, the men followed the command. The violence with which the oars slipped through the water seemed stronger than the fire of that dragon. Perhaps they were fueled by the thrill of battle, the euphoria of magic, or the fear of death. In any case, they were still in the midst of that slaughter.

More magic surged through the sky; colorful rays and fireballs crossed from one side to the other, sometimes colliding and staining the ocean with chaos and beauty. Near the end of the line that defined the battle, almost in the calm beyond the warship array, Parrot shouted as he let go of the oar and rose from his seat.

"A man! There, a living man!" Close to the left side of Lord Curious, nearly halfway along the ship's course, a kind of man swam toward the vessel, clutching onto a piece of wooden hull almost his size. The yellowed shard floated in the midst of that crystalline ocean.

Captain knew that the last thing he should do was get involved in that conflict. He didn't know who those people were, let alone what they were fighting for. He only knew that both sides were extremely powerful, and any attack would cost him his life and the lives of his sailors. However, the drifting man belonged to the side of the warships that were closest to Lord Curious. Helping him could show that their small ship was not an enemy. He looked at the yellow wall formed by the warships on the left side, distant but closer, then turned to the right side, where ships of the same size but darkened formed a distant wall. His decision was automatic.