The Council of Shadows
The pirate fleet, hidden in the narrow inlet near the Aurekawa Citadel, was now Hayate and Neshuda's base of operations. The Sea Witch, though skeptical of the curse, was pragmatic: she had her army, her promise of legitimacy, and a King willing to fight for his throne.
The cabin of The Kraken's Kiss was now the war room. Hayate, Neshuda, and The Sea Witch stood over the crude map of the capital.
"We have two hundred fighters, the element of surprise, and the proof of Qalvetta's treason," Hayate said, his voice firm, his charisma compelling even in the cramped, smoky cabin. "But Qalvetta controls the Royal Guard and the Council. If we simply attack the Citadel, we lose."
The Sea Witch, her eyes gleaming with battle lust, traced a line toward the Citadel. "We hit their treasury first. Steal the gold back that Qalvetta took. That always hurts the nobles."
Neshuda, however, shook his head. He was thinking like a true master of stealth—not about gold, but about leverage. Hayate felt the reflected intense concentration and cool, calculating logic from his Anchor.
"The treasury is heavily guarded, and Qalvetta will expect an attack there," Neshuda explained. "We attack Qalvetta's weakness: his political cover. The Citadel has a dungeon that holds every person he deemed a threat. Henudra's former victims—the loyal, disgraced officials—are there."
Hayate's eyes widened with understanding. "And Henudra himself is there."
"Exactly," Neshuda confirmed. "The dungeon is near the outer walls, with fewer guards than the inner palace. If we free the loyal officials, they become our voice—our proof. If we free Henudra..."
The Vicious Logic
Hayate felt a flash of pure, confusing disgust reflected from Neshuda. Neshuda hated the idea of freeing the man who had nearly destroyed them.
"If we free Henudra," Hayate finished, leaning over the map, "Qalvetta loses his single biggest piece of political stability: the fact that he arrested the original traitor. Qalvetta will be consumed by fear and chaos, not knowing if Henudra is working for us, or if Henudra is working against him."
"It's a poisoned dart," The Sea Witch admitted, smiling cruelly. "A chaotic move. Freeing one traitor to destroy another. I like it. But this is a stealth mission, not a sea raid. We need precision."
Hayate turned to Neshuda. "You know the Citadel's tunnels better than anyone. You will lead the extraction."
Neshuda nodded, his eyes resolute. "I can slip into the dungeon unseen. But there is a heavy iron portcullis—the main gate. It requires two men and pure strength to lift, and the noise will alert the tower guards."
"That's where the curse comes in," Hayate said, his Angelic senses already mapping the problem. "I will go with you. When you lift the gate, Neshuda, you won't feel the pain of the weight. You will feel the surge of devotion to save those people. I will feel the weight, but the pure-hearted motivation will give me the strength to endure the reflection."
Neshuda hesitated, the reflected fear of hurting Hayate spiking sharply. "If you suffer a physical injury from the strain, Hayate, you die. I will not risk it."
"You won't risk it alone," Hayate countered, gripping Neshuda's arm. "I will be there. We face the curse together. That is our bargain, Neshuda. That is the price of my love."
The Night of the Serpent
The plan was set for the dark, moonless night. The Sea Witch would create a decoy raid on the coast near Elderbloom Talbore—far from the Citadel—to pull Qalvetta's main patrols away.
Hayate and Neshuda moved toward the capital in the deepest shadows. Hayate wore simple, dark clothes, his Angelic bloodline features hidden beneath a deep hood. Neshuda moved like the night itself, a true master of stealth.
They reached the dungeon entrance, a heavy stone archway built into the outer wall of the Citadel. The area was eerily quiet, the guards pulled away by the pirate decoy raid.
Neshuda slipped past the outer watch, disabling the single remaining guard with a quick, silent strike to the neck.
They descended into the cold, damp dark of the dungeon tunnels. The air smelled of stale water and despair.
"The gate is here," Neshuda whispered, pointing to a massive, rusted iron portcullis blocking the main cell block. It was too heavy for a single man to lift, even Neshuda.
They looked through the bars. Inside, several figures were huddled in the cells—some former officials, a few loyal soldiers, and in a separate, heavily locked cell, the hunched, sinister figure of Lord Henudra.
The Gate and the Curse
Neshuda set the recovered documents—the proof of Qalvetta's treachery—on the ground. This was the moment of truth.
Hayate took a deep breath, focusing his Angelic senses. He felt Neshuda's hands grip the iron bars of the portcullis—the physical effort was immense.
As Neshuda began to lift, Hayate felt the reflected pain hit him. It wasn't the brute weight of the iron that slammed into him; it was the sharp, tearing agony of absolute physical strain. Hayate cried out, his muscles screaming in phantom pain, his knees buckling.
I am hurting him! Neshuda thought, his dark eyes wide with terror, the guilt spiking. Stop!
But Neshuda couldn't stop, or the gate would crash down and trap Hayate. He had to suppress the guilt, replacing it with the pure-hearted devotion to the mission.
Hayate felt the pain shift. The raw strain remained, but it was now mixed with a wave of Neshuda's fierce, desperate resolve to save the men behind the gate. That reflected feeling was the anchor. Hayate pushed his own healing aura into the curse, forcing himself to endure.
With a final, sickening scrape of iron, the gate was lifted just high enough for Hayate to slip through. Hayate collapsed against the damp wall, gasping for air, clutching his ribs.
Neshuda immediately dropped the gate, rushing to the King, his face etched with agony. "Hayate! You're shaking! I knew this was too much!"
"It was worth it," Hayate whispered, pushing himself up. "The pain is fading. It was worth it."
The Liberation
Hayate, leaning heavily on Neshuda, opened the cells of the loyal officials first. These men, haggard and pale, recognized their King and immediately wept with renewed loyalty.
"Your Majesty! Qalvetta claimed you authorized the tax levy! He said you abandoned us!" one former official cried.
"Qalvetta lied," Hayate said, his voice weak but clear. "He is the traitor. I need you to go to the Council and speak the truth. This is the evidence."
He gave them the recovered treason documents and the sealed note to the city guard captain (an ally who still commanded a few loyal men), ordering them to spread the truth and rally support outside the Citadel.
They left through the tunnels, now Hayate's voice in the capital.
Finally, Hayate turned to the deepest, darkest cell. Lord Henudra looked up, his eyes glittering with cold, calculating hatred.
"You came for me, King," Henudra sneered. "After putting me here, you need my chaos."
"I need your chaos to destroy Qalvetta's order," Hayate agreed, opening the cell door. "You are free, Henudra. You know the tunnels. Go. But know this: if you harm the kingdom, I will hunt you down. This freedom is simply a leash for my purposes."
Henudra smiled, a truly unsettling expression. "The King has learned to be cruel. Good. Chaos is my friend. Qalvetta's fall will be a beautiful thing to watch."
Henudra slipped into the shadows, vanishing immediately. He was now a loose, dangerous political bomb in the capital.
The King's Reckoning
Hayate and Neshuda used the chaos to their advantage, slipping back out of the tunnels and returning to the hidden pirate fleet.
As the sun began to rise, the loyal officials—the men Hayate freed—were already spreading the news: the pure-hearted King was alive, Qalvetta was the real traitor, and the jailed were free. The capital was spinning into political panic.
Hayate stood on the deck of The Kraken's Kiss, watching the distant smoke rise from the capital—the symbolic fire of political disorder.
"The Prisoner Gambit worked," Hayate murmured, his chest still aching from the reflected physical strain. "Qalvetta is panicking."
Neshuda stood behind him, his presence a comforting, steady wall. "It worked. But you are weak, Hayate. You cannot endure many more of those reflections."
Hayate turned and grasped Neshuda's hands. "We are not going back to the Citadel until I am strong enough to withstand your worst fears, Neshuda. Our next target is the true enemy: Qalvetta's financial stronghold. We starve the viper before we cut off its head. We hit the main treasury, and we hit it now."