North x Northwest

As soon as those words left her mouth, Lil’s crew opened fire.

– Pang! Pang!-

Screams transcended the sound of gunfire. Lil, who tried to get herself closer to the mast, was hugged by Ed as he bowed his head.

‘Because of the long reload time, hand-to-hand battle is next…’

Lil shook off Ed’s arms that were tightly wrapped around her body and peered carefully behind the mast. The sailors who came down from the nets were indeed preparing their hooks.

Deck masters from both ships shouted simultaneously.

“…Throw the hooks!…”

-Tung! Tung!-

The sound of metal thrown into the air and hitting the railing could be heard from all directions. Lil watched with anguish as some of the Bell Rock’s sailors, who were cutting the lines with their axes, were shot by the Western pirates. From both sides, sailors throwing hooks, sailors crossing the ships by hanging from the rigging and sailors cutting the lines, they were all shot and fell into the sea in vain.

“We have to move quickly.”

However, the upper deck was a complete mess, so ‘moving quickly’ was going to be hard. There were no gaps as the fight was in full swing. Lil searched for the path that looked the fastest. The stern, where at first glance only corpses were piled up, seemed quiet for now.

“I’m heading to the stern.”

“What?”

“Cover my back.”

Before even hearing Ed’s answer, Lil was about to jump up…

“Uh-huh, where do you think you’re going?”

“…”

A sharp blade touched Lil’s nape. She was still half-seated when she lifted her eyes upwards to identify the sword’s owner. His face was barely visible, but it was clear he was one of the remaining officers. Ed was also spotted and a gun was being pointed at his back. When the enraged officer applied force to the tip of the sword, a stinging pain pierced her flesh.

“You’re the cause of this mess, aren’t you? Huh?”

– Pang! –

A bullet answered instead of Lil.

With a single shot of gunfire, the officer’s body went down. Lil stared at his bloodied stomach as soon as he collapsed.

“Are you okay?”

It was a familiar and clear voice amidst the chaos. Before Lil even checked his face, she nodded unconsciously. Cesar lifted her up and immediately pulled her in a tight embrace.

“Are you headed toward the stern?”

“Yes.”

Lil, suddenly aware of Ed, pushed Cesar off a little.

‘What would he think when he sees two men hugging each other?’

“We’ll run along the railing on the left. I’ll take care of the front, Cesar on the right, and Ed at the back.”

Lil quickly grabbed the gun that was aimed at Ed only moments ago. After she also picked up the sword, she ran at full speed toward the stern.

Lil had to shoot a big guy rushing in front of them and jumped over the fallen body. Meanwhile, Ed slashed down a few pirates and even dealt with one that clung to Cesar. Suddenly, a familiar voice pierced her ear, Lil gasped shallowly and glanced around.

“…They’re coming to the stern!..”

The toothless bastard blocked the stairs to the stern. Judging from his inability to move, he seemed to have broken his leg by the fall earlier.

“…They’re on the stern!..”

‘The guy who has my necklace!’

“Hey!”

Thinking it would be the last chance to deal with him, Lil began to speed up. At the same time, large men who heard the voice also looked around the stern.

‘If they reach this side, it will prolong the fight.’

There was nothing but a corpse left between her and him. As Cesar and Ed were both engaged in their own battles, they couldn’t help her. After some hesitation, Lil threw away her worries and ran toward the stairs.

“…Toward the stern! They’re coming to the stern!..”

Her opponent was dragging himself up the stairs by his elbows, all the while giggling at Lil. The strange cracking sound of his laughter mixed with the battle cries. Lil quickly closed the distance with the ugly-faced man. Five more steps. Her right arm that was holding her sword, was already raised high. The guy, who was still laughing with his mouth open, lifted a flute-like thing to his lips. It was a thin and short flute that she’d never seen before…

“Captain!”

– Hwik! –

Her blade, whose trajectory was changed due to someone’s interference, cut diagonally across the man’s abdomen. As a result, a variety of jewels spewed out of the ruptured front pocket. Among the brightly coloured stones, only one stood out. Lil reached out toward the red jewel that soared through the air.

‘I can’t miss it!’

After catching it, the man’s face became visible behind her clenched fist and the strange flute was directed towards her. Suddenly, the sharp end sprayed some powder. Rooted on her spot, Lil could only look at the blue powder that explodes like fireworks in front of her nose. However, her vision gradually tilted. She didn’t know what had happened but she started to fall sideways. Lil glanced at Ed, who had appeared out of nowhere and had pushed her aside. Because of this, her body was now out of the blue powder’s range. The last thing she saw before banging her head on the deck was the dust blasting into Ed’s face.

– Thud! –

Lil, who had no time to break her fall, lifted her head in pain.

“Hey!”

“…”

But Ed didn’t answer. Facing the sun, Lil held her hand in front of her forehead and looked up. Standing tall in front of her, Ed’s back and shoulders staggered as he began coughing. He tried to shake off the dust by waving his hand, but it didn’t seem to help. Lil got up on her knees and tried to support Ed who was struggling to even stand upright at this point, but the moment he turned…

– Pang! –

Ed’s body shook in shock and Lil’s vision was obscured by his back. Without knowing the reason, she could only watch as the shirt she was holding slowly dyed red. Because she had not yet figured out the situation, Lil let out a futile sound.

“What…”

Ed’s body, which couldn’t support itself anymore, fell towards her and his brown hair brushed her nose. Behind Ed’s collapsed body, she could see a man pointing a still smoking gun. The guy chuckled as Lil received Ed in her arms and let out a shrill cry.

“Ed!”

Lil barely managed to catch Ed without falling back. Seeing his trembling eyes, Lil spits out a curse.

“You crazy bastard!”

“Captain… The blue powder… Didn’t you recognize it?.. It’s their drug tool…”

Lil glanced at Ed, who was muttering useless words while the man who shot Ed was busy reloading his gun. Lil immediately got back to her senses and rummaged around her waist for her dagger. In the meantime, a short gust of wind blew past her ear and she reflexively turned her head to the side.

‘Huh? Is it already in front of me?’

Cesar was crossing her view. He jumped up the stairs in an instant and stabbed the man in the chest without hesitation. The trembling body, which was stabbed at a vital point, was unable to counterattack and soon drooped.

“Cesar!”

Lil wrapped her left arm around Ed’s back to lift him up.

“Captain… You won’t be able to carry me…”

Ed, who sounded like he could collapse out any moment, grabbed Lil’s hand and brought it to his side. Lil noticed that his hand, that was covering hers, was shaking.

‘It’s because he’s bleeding out.’

Lil’s hand began to soak in Ed’s blood as she let herself be guided in the right direction, before pressing hard on the gunshot wound.

“Please stop the bleeding…”

Lil muttered something unconsciously.

“…Aren’t you supposed to have passed out by now?..”

“I… I’ve been shot often…”contemporary romance

“You idiot, you don’t have to answer that.”

Cesar, who put his sword back in the sheath, took Ed’s right arm and wrapped it around his neck.

“On the count of three. One, two, three.”

Ed leaned almost completely onto Cesar. Because her height didn’t fit Ed’s shoulder, pressing the wound hard to prevent further bleeding was the only thing Lil could do. Lil stepped over the corpse, climbed the stairs and called out to the helmsman on the stern of the Bell Rock.

“Joe! Come on, get the plank!”

Surprised by the sudden call, Joe turned to them and quickly brought back a longboard. Lil tapped on the crossing between the ship and the Bell Rock as if she was testing it, before she sent Cesar on it first and gave Ed a warning.

“Hey, it’s a crossing board. If you miss a step, you’ll fall. Keep your feet together.”

“Al…Alright.”

Ed’s hot breath brushed past her ears.

‘It’s truly a miracle he’s still conscious. When I was struck by that blue powder back in Marchand, I immediately blacked out… Which was the start of all this…’

Lil crossed the board anxiously, listening to his weakening breath.

“My cabin…”

“We’re going there. Joe! Take over his right arm. Cesar, take over the front and clear a passage.”

“Quickly… I think I’m about to pass out…”

– – – – – 

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