The Price of Truth
Hayate lay on a rough canvas cot inside The Sea Witch's personal cabin, recovering from the reflected agony of Neshuda's exertion. He felt the cold, hard wood of the ship beneath him—a stark change from the silk sheets of the Aurekawa Citadel.
The collapse had revealed everything. The Sea Witch stood over him, her arms crossed, her face etched with a mix of awe and cold fear. Neshuda stood guard, silent and tense, his face mirroring the King's weakness.
"The whispers are true," The Sea Witch stated, her voice low. "Your King is cursed. Your pain is his poison."
Hayate, though weak, met her gaze. "It is the truth. We are bound. If he suffers, I suffer. If he dies, I die. I did not ask for this, but I use it. We are honest with you, Sea Witch. I need your ships, and you need a new legitimacy on the sea. The curse is a risk we both take."
The Sea Witch stared at Neshuda, who stood like a statue of pure-hearted loyalty. She finally understood the chilling resolve in his eyes—he was fighting not just for his King, but for his own life and soul.
"A deadly game," The Sea Witch conceded. "But I respect the honesty. Qalvetta deals in lies, and you deal in fatal truth. I hold to the bargain: move my three fleets—The Kraken's Kiss, The Shadowrunner, and The Serpent's Eye—to the safe inlet near the Citadel before dawn. If you can achieve that impossible feat, you have your army."
The Tactical Nightmare
Moving three massive pirate ships and nearly two hundred men past the Royal Guard patrols, up the heavily controlled coastline, and into a hidden inland waterway near the capital was suicidal. The Royal Guard constantly monitored the approach to the capital.
Hayate, sitting up, felt Neshuda's intense, focused determination—the raw emotional energy of a master of stealth presented with an impossible challenge.
"Neshuda, how?" Hayate whispered, looking at the map of the coastal approach. "Qalvetta has patrols stationed every two hours, and the main Citadel lighthouse sweeps the whole bay."
Neshuda took the map, tracing a line with a scarred finger.
"We don't go around the coast, Hayate," Neshuda explained, his voice low and tactical. "The Royal Guard expects traffic from the sea. We use the old way—the abandoned supply channel that runs under the cliffs near Kaidori Town. It's narrow, shallow, and hasn't been used in fifty years. It's too tight for Royal galleons, but your Angelic senses will have to guide the ships through the rocks."
The plan was terrifyingly risky. It required the King's Angelic senses to navigate rocks and hidden sandbars in the dark, and Neshuda's perfect timing to sneak the entire fleet past the last line of defense—the Royal Guard's lighthouse patrol station.
Hayate felt the reflection of Neshuda's cool, calculated stress.
"My senses are weak, Neshuda," Hayate admitted. "I need absolute concentration, and I need you to be completely calm. If you panic, I panic, and we sink two hundred people."
Neshuda nodded, his eyes locked on Hayate. "Then I will become the anchor you need, and you will become the eye of the storm."
The Midnight Passage
The plan began at midnight. The three pirate ships, sails dark and trimmed, crept out of Hanegawa Village harbor. Hayate stood on the deck of The Kraken's Kiss with Neshuda and The Sea Witch, who watched them with skeptical intensity.
As they approached the treacherous, cliff-lined passage near Kaidori Town, Hayate felt the reflected stress from Neshuda spike. Neshuda was controlling the crew, managing the timing, and preparing for an ambush, all while suppressing his emotions.
Hayate focused his Angelic senses. They were weak, but the connection to Neshuda amplified them. Hayate could sense the deep, dangerous rocks hidden just beneath the choppy water—the subtle magic of the earth itself, speaking of danger.
"Starboard! Hard to starboard!" Hayate yelled, his voice carrying over the wind. "Fifty feet, a massive rock shelf! We must hug the port side!"
The Sea Witch, who knew the sea better than anyone, was shocked. "There is no rock there, King! The charts are clear!"
"The charts were made before the last storm," Hayate countered, his eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "Trust me, Sea Witch! Or we shatter the keel!"
The Sea Witch barked an order. The ship turned sharply, scraping the side of a massive, unseen rock shelf. The roar of the stone against the hull confirmed Hayate's sight.
Reflection: Neshuda's relief and pride. Hayate smiled, a fleeting moment of relief washing over him. The curse was truly their ally.
For two tense hours, Hayate guided the ships using his Angelic senses, each turn dictated by the shifting weight of danger he sensed from the rocks and reflected from Neshuda's intense, focused control.
The Lighthouse Test
The final obstacle was the Citadel's main lighthouse patrol station. The abandoned channel ended just a short distance from the station, forcing them to sail past a brightly lit watchtower where Qalvetta's loyal guards maintained constant vigilance.
Hayate felt the reflected terror and absolute silence from Neshuda. Neshuda had gone completely rigid, becoming pure master of stealth energy.
The ships crept forward, using only the smallest, muffled movements of the crew.
Suddenly, Hayate felt a sickening, sharp spike of betrayal reflected from Neshuda.
"We're caught," Neshuda whispered, his jaw clenched. "They're coming. Two Royal Guard dinghies, fast. Qalvetta's men."
The Sea Witch gripped her sword. "We fight them here! We can't let them signal the Citadel!"
"No!" Hayate snapped, his pure-hearted resolve hardening. "Neshuda, you can't fight them! If you get hurt, I will collapse and we will be stranded!"
"Hayate, I have to!" Neshuda argued. "We can't let this army be lost for your sake!"
Hayate pushed his Angelic senses to their limit, straining to find a solution. He could feel the proximity of the ghastly, silent guard boat.
The charm, Hayate realized. It's the only way.
Hayate took a deep breath. He focused his mind, not on commanding the boats, but on pushing his charisma and healing aura outward—a wave of calming, hypnotic sincerity aimed directly at the approaching guards.
"Friends," Hayate murmured, projecting his voice and charm over the dark water. "It is late. Go back to your tower. There is nothing here. The sea is empty and safe. You are tired. Go home."
The Unlikely Success
The patrol boat, already close enough to raise the alarm, suddenly stopped.
On the boat, Qalvetta's guards looked around, confused. The King's charisma was so strong, so gentle, that it wrapped around their minds like a thick fog.
"The King said the sea is safe," one guard muttered, rubbing his eyes. "He said we are tired. We should go back."
"Yes," the second guard agreed, his voice thick. "Nothing here. Just water and shadows. Let's return."
The two dinghies, only yards from discovering the entire pirate fleet, slowly turned and sailed back toward the lighthouse, leaving the hidden pirate fleet untouched.
The Sea Witch stared, slack-jawed. Her hardened, cynical mind couldn't process the simple, overwhelming power of Hayate's Angelic bloodline charm.
Hayate collapsed instantly, the intense effort of projecting his charisma and the reflected relief and exhaustion from Neshuda hitting him at once. He fell back onto the canvas cot, shivering violently.
"We made it," Neshuda whispered, covering the King with a blanket, his hands trembling. He had seen the power of the curse used as a weapon, and it terrified him.
The Alliance Forged
The pirate fleet successfully docked in the tiny, hidden inlet—a perfect, concealed base of operations near the capital.
The Sea Witch stood over Hayate, her expression one of complete, total surrender to belief.
"You are no mere boy, King Hayate," she said, her voice heavy with respect. "You moved my ships, you defeated the guards with a whisper, and you did it all while dying of a curse I cannot fathom."
She knelt, a shocking display of respect from the Pirate Queen.
"The bargain is sealed. The Sea Witch and her fleet of two hundred fighters swear absolute loyalty to you. We fight Qalvetta. We fight for the true King."
She then looked at Neshuda, who was standing fiercely over the King.
"But Shadow, you must protect him. If he bleeds again, if he collapses again, I will have to decide if my oath is worth the risk of following a King who can die simply because his Guardian gets angry."
Neshuda nodded, his dark eyes resolute. "I will not fail again."
Hayate sat up, pushing the weakness away, his spirit renewed. He had a base, an army of two hundred seasoned fighters, and the proof of Qalvetta's treason. The time for running was over. The time for fighting had begun.