Cold Skin
Lo pushed his crew to the ship. "Push it back to the water! We need to get out here!" He yelled at them. Kee ran inside the cabin and hid under the blankets. Although, it won't matter to the Entente. They are not looking for them after all.
Areia teleported next to the crew pushing the giant ship. "Need a hand?" He flicked the ship off the beach and it crashed on the water.
"Did he just flick that ship away?" Sun asked in disbelief.
Borvo grabbed by the shoulder and pulled him to the White Pearl. "We need to go!" He yelled, "It's not safe here!"
Morgeux teleported between them and smiled. "On the contrary, I think it is safe." She reached for Borvo's face with her cold hand, but an explosive cannonball hit the back of her head. Sparrow was on the ship with his hand on the swivel gun. Vivi was next to him, reloading the cannon with another incendiary ball. Once it was reloaded, Sparrow fired another shot that sent Morgeux flying several feet away from them.
Not wanting to be idle during the fighting, Sun summoned his sword out of the ship's cabin carefully so as not to damage the White Pearl's visage. Then he unsheathed the sword while covering it with his signature hot mana. "Heat Wave!" He yelled as he slashed the air with his blazing hot sword. The ebony blade distorted the air around it as mana formed into a wave of flame. It traveled as fast as an arrow across the beach and towards Morgeux.
The flames were hot, but they did little to Morgeux's body. She simply changed to her habit once the fire passed through her. Borvo's body began to shake uncontrollably from the overwhelming odds they were facing. "Why the hell are you here?" Lo yelled.
"Who are these guys, anyway?" Sun asked.
"They are the Entente." Lo ran away and into the shallow waters. "They are second in command in the church. They only answer to the Goddess and their Pontiff."
"But why are they here?" Sparrow shouted.
"I don't know, but usually, if more than one appears, then it means they are on a hunt. And unfortunately, we could all be the target."
"No," Borvo said calmly, "I think I know who they are after, me. Go back to the ship and take the other ship's crew with you. Leave and never come back." Borvo pulled Sun back and he walked forward.
"What?" Sun twisted his brow.
"Just go, but don't forget me." He placed his hand over his chest and held his breath under Entente's power. "Leave them alone. I know why you're here."
"You do?" Morgeux tapped her fingers together.
"I've already the exam, and my plans for my kingdom's reconstruction were given the seal of approval. Unless the rival families bribed the church. Which is a sin greater than murder." Borvo's legs were shaking, but he must have resolved. The effort to speak was the same as climbing a mountain. "But make no mistake, your previous plans to have me disqualified failed because good people exist. And this plan too. Kill me if you have to, but my friends that are standing on this beach today will not be silent!"
Morgeux yawned, "You're only half right." She teleported in front of Sun, "We also would like to speak to you young goblin." She whispered.
Shuja shot her arrow in a split second. It landed on Morgeux's crown, and the habit's hood fell on the sand, revealing her deformed head. Coming out from the top of her head, where hair should be growing, were green snakes. She was a mutated beastkin, deformed by corruption, becoming a hideous chimera. The snakes hissed at Sun.
"Too late!" Morgeux grabbed Sun's throat, but Borvo tackled her to the sand. This was the wrong move. The moment Borvo touched her skin, his body turned into stone. "Blasted statues." Morgeux was pinned under Borvo's statue. "Don't just stand there! Help me Areia!"
Areia's eyes glowed cold blue. A sign that he was using his telekinesis. He flicked his finger, tossing the frozen Borvo into the air with his mana. Shuja caught Borvo. "Watch where you're throwing him!" She shouted, and then she turned at Lo's crew that were stranded on the beach with them. "And what are you doing? We outnumber them! We have to attack now!"
Lo slammed the water, "Are you insane? There's no way we're winning against them. Their best hope is to swim back to the ship! Also, why does the water feel like it's getting warmer?"
The water's temperature started to rise as Sun's mana begins to form a vortex within his chest. The flames in his body were reignited. He raised his fire sword over his shoulder and gathered all the mana he could into his legs. Then, like a grasshopper, he launched himself towards Morgeux and stabbing her on the chest.
The sword would have pierced a normal person, but Morgeux's mana was far stronger than the hot blade. It simply pushed her away and into the bushes. "Shuja, get Borvo on the ship and find a way to cure him!" He shouted, "I'll deal with them here."
"Master Lo, what should we do? I don't think that feathered orc can beat them by himself?" One of Lo's crewmates yelled.
"Shut up, you cry baby, and start swimming to the ship." Lo dipped his body until the water reached his shoulder. "I'll make sure that beast can't get you." They jumped into the water and started to swim to their ship. The captain had ropes lowered so they could climb up faster. He also had the cabin boy tell Kee that Lo is staying on the beach. This made Kee angry, but she knew she could do nothing but wait. She had no talent in fighting, and Lo was barely any better than her. He at least knew how to use mana.
But there was still someone that can aid them on the beach. Her pet serpopard, a long-neck leopard, was a natural bork killer. "Minthe, go help papa Lo." She told her pet. The serpopard stood up while Kee removes her collar around the base of her long neck. "Now go!" Minthe dashed out of the room and up the ship. She jumped into the water and began to swim to shore.
Back on the island, Areia cracked his fingers. He was ready to deal with both of them, but Morgeux was not about to let him have all the fun. "Wait! Let me manhandle them."
"Um, how about no?" Areia said sarcastically.
"Areia, I'm not asking you." She walked out of the bushes while glaring at him, "I'm telling you."
"And why should I listen to you?" Just as Areia spoke, Kovacs jumped off the cloud island above them and landed behind Morgeux. She turned around looked at the Kovacs and his exposed rock-hard abs.
Morgeux's fingers climbed up those abs, mimicking a spider. "I get it. You don't trust me, but my heart is hundred percent loyal to the cause. I'm not going to kill them or torture them unless they force me to do so. I just want to do the part where I teach them our lesson."
Lo overheard Morgeux, "Oh shit. But I guess we're lucky."
"Why is that?" Sun asked.
"They are here to teach us a lesson. That means they intend to threaten us and even torture us. But we're dealing with the Entente, and we still don't know what they're really after.
"But why do that?"
"A lesson could mean to keep unruly kings and queens in check. Show them true power to traumatize them into submission. But it could also mean that they are warning you. Something they have planned directly or indirectly will affect you or me in the future. And they want to make sure that you understand the consequences of your decision. So that you are carefully taking into account all the risks."
"Warning me?" Sun stabbed the sand with his flaming sword, turning the surrounding into glass. "They shouldn't have because I don't need it. I can take care of myself."
"Well, I, for one, am thankful for the warning. At least I know not to mess with the church." The sand beneath the water Lo started to rise above the water surface. They gathered around his arms and chest, getting stuck to his skin thanks to his sticky mana. The pressure of his mana hardened the sand on his skin. He walked out of the water wearing a living armor made of sand and seashells.
"Nice armor," Sun's compliment did little for Lo's confidence.
"Thanks, but I don't think it will last long with your fire. Just stay out of my way." Lo coughed, "Also be careful. The Entente likes to give lessons. It's like a game to them."