Chapter 14

SHAAAAA-

The raindrops that had been striking the glass one by one began pouring down in earnest.
The captain watched the rain from the wheelhouse, scowling as he tapped the radar.

“Damn it. How was I supposed to know it would rain? How the hell am I supposed to predict the weather out in international waters?”

A yakuza standing beside him put a cigarette between his lips and replied.

“Don’t take it so hard. The oyabun¹ was probably just frustrated. We thought whoever was following us was a tail, but they turned around on their own. You said it was some chaebol family’s fishing yacht, right? We should be glad it wasn’t the Korean Coast Guard.”

The navigator glanced at him cautiously and adjusted the course.

“We’ll enter Chinese territorial waters in thirty minutes.”
“Okay. Then you know what happens in thirty minutes, right?”
“…Put them in the cage we hauled up. That way we can dump them all at once.”
“Right. We’ll take care of the preparations. All you have to do is dump it into the sea. Then it’ll all be over nice and clean.”
“But why dump them in Chinese waters? We could throw them overboard here in international waters.”

The yakuza shrugged.

“I don’t know either. The oyabun ordered it. Must be a reason.”
“It’s not like we’re making some kind of sacrifice…”
“Shut up and do what you’re told. That’s how you pay off your debts and keep gambling.”

The captain’s face twisted with anxiety, but the yakuza blew cigarette smoke toward him and walked away.

“Haah… Damn it.”

Once the yakuza was gone, the words that left his mouth were Korean.
Han Ji-woong. A third-generation Korean immigrant.
He lamented how his life had ever come to this.
It was all because of that damned gambling.
Perhaps even that had been engineered by the yakuza to drag him into this line of work.
They must have needed a cruise-ship captain who spoke Japanese and knew the waters between Qingdao, Incheon, and Japan.
He scratched his head vigorously and leaned back in his chair.

“…I’m going crazy. What’s wrong with that now?”

His eyes fell on the two searchlights illuminating the deck.
The two searchlights that should have brightly illuminated the deck even through the blinding rain were flickering ominously.
Not only that, every yellow sodium lamp across the first floor was flickering as well.

Something seemed to be wrong with the electrical system.
There was no engineer aboard, and he was the only navigator and captain. He was on his own.

“Ah, damn it.”

In the end, he would have to handle it himself.
If the electrical system was malfunctioning, even the engine of an old, fully manual vessel like this could become unstable.
He tapped the radar guiding the ship along its preset route, rose from his seat, and left the wheelhouse.

His steps were heavy as he headed toward the electrical machinery room on the first floor.
Soon, people would be murdered aboard this ship.
And his job would be to dump the cage containing their corpses into the sea.

SHAAAAA-

The driving rain blew sideways in the wind, lashing his cheeks and head.
The cold snapped him back to his senses as he descended the metal stairs and stopped.
He couldn’t make it out clearly beneath the flickering lights, but something sticky coated the floor.
And then came the metallic stench of blood.
His heart seemed to drop into his stomach.

“…Crazy bastards.”

At first, he assumed the yakuza had done it.
He thought things had not gone according to plan and they had started earlier than agreed.
For impatient, thoughtless yakuza like them, it would hardly have been surprising.
He looked around for the bodies.
With this much blood, and knowing how careless those yakuza were, they would have left the corpses lying anywhere.
The rain might wash away the blood, but not the bodies.

“…Did they dispose of them themselves? That’s not like them.”

Between the flickering sodium lamps, he spotted something rolling across the deck as the ship rocked with the waves.

“…A… head?”

He had seen documentaries about Japanese swords on television, and even cutting through bundled straw was no simple feat. He knew how difficult it was to sever a human neck made of bone and muscle.
If even the famously sharp Japanese katana struggled with such a feat, the sashimi knives carried by yakuza would not even come close.
Overwhelmed with shock, he stumbled backward.

Thk-

Something touched his back.
He wanted to believe it was the railing of the metal stairs or a wall, but it felt nothing like either.
Warm body heat. Unmistakably human.
The captain slowly turned his head.

“You’re not a pirate.”

The captain’s eyes stretched wide when he saw the figure and heard his voice.
But he was not foolish enough to scream.
He might be doing this under pressure from the yakuza, but he had once captained a massive cruise ship traveling between three countries.
He was neither oblivious nor that stupid.
The person before him wore a red Dokkaebi mask.
The mask hid the lower half of the person’s face, but the eyes and forehead visible above it were so beautiful that it was difficult to tell whether the person was a man or a woman.
The voice, however, was unmistakably a man’s deep baritone.

There was one race whose people were so beautiful that distinguishing their sex could be difficult.
Han Ji-woong knew of such people.
He had even seen one of those beautiful faces himself when the cage was hauled aboard.
The man before him had to be an elf.
An elven warrior who had come to rescue the kidnapped female elf.
Terrified, he quickly blurted out what he knew.

“The elf is on the second floor… in the captain’s cabin.”

Jun-gyeong nodded at his answer.
He had cut down two yakuza already, but the situation had been somewhat troublesome.
The ship was filled with yakuza, Saenara Gang thugs, and the lost spirits surrounding them.
But those spirits could neither speak nor tell him anything.
They had not yet become evil spirits, but the souls of those dead for too long had already been partially corrupted, losing both speech and memory.
So he had no way of knowing where the dwarf and elf were being held.
If he searched every cabin on the ship, he was certain to run into yakuza or Saenara Gang thugs.
And now, someone who was not a yakuza had appeared and was showing him the way.

“All the yakuza are gathered in the cabins and conference room.”

That was useful new information as well.

“Good information.”

Not having to hunt them down one by one was a good sign.
-He looks like the navigator. Don’t kill him for now. That ship can’t be controlled remotely. You’ll need him to get back to Korean waters.

Jun-gyeong lowered his head and met the captain’s eyes.

“When you get the chance, turn the ship back toward Korea.”
“Understood.”

Jun-gyeong left him behind and disappeared up the metal stairs.
Han Ji-woong watched him go, then collapsed where he stood.
Blood began soaking through the seat of his pants, but he was in no state to notice.
It felt as though he had just escaped from Hell.
All he could do was be grateful he was alive.

“The ship… Right, the ship… I have to turn it around.”

He hurried to his feet and headed for the wheelhouse.
The ship was already nearing Chinese territorial waters.

There was only one place on the second floor suitable for holding hostages.
The captain’s cabin, with a small living room and separate bedroom.
It was tucked away at the very back as though hidden.
The farthest place from any exterior access.

There seemed little need to hide them so thoroughly in the middle of the sea, but the elf April and the dwarf Karzen were being held in the captain’s cabin.
Or rather than being imprisoned, they had simply been drugged and dumped there.
Karzen, a dwarf born with thick blood vessels and vigorous circulation, regained consciousness first and sat dazed on the bed.

“Bloody hell.”

April’s pale thigh entered his field of vision.

“Sloppy damn pointy-ear brat. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and criticized her lack of propriety, but made no attempt to cover her with a blanket or straighten her clothes.
Instead, his face scrunched up even further as he looked away as though he had seen something he never wanted to see.

“Master must be worried…”

His thoughts were entirely consumed by his master.
He had contacted him immediately after passing through the dimensional gate and arriving at Gwanghwamun.
He had told him that he had arrived in Korea and that there was no need to come meet him, that he could find his own way.
Now he had no idea how much time had passed.
He had been drugged the entire time, leaving him unable to keep track.
His master was undoubtedly worried.
He felt ashamed that his own pathetic mistake had caused his master so much concern.
Worse, being locked up with such a sloppy pointy-ear made him worry that some strange smell might rub off on him.
After surveying the room, Karzen’s gaze returned to the elf April lying on the bed.

“…Still, I should probably wake her up first.”

He was second to none when it came to building or handling machines, but elves were best at dealing with humans.
No matter how much he disliked the pointy-eared race, Karzen figured she would be useful in a crisis and nudged April several times with his foot.

“Wake up, pointy-ear. Get up.”

But April showed no sign of waking.
Karzen scowled deeply and stepped over to her.
Then he raised his hand.

SMACK-!

His hand whipped down and slapped April across the cheek.
April jolted upright in shock.

“Wh-What the!?”

April stared at Karzen in bewilderment, but he merely crossed his arms, tilted his head, and responded.

“Sloppy pointy-ear, do something about that skirt of yours. It’s an eyesore. Is this that ‘bone-skinny’ thing they say is fashionable on Earth? You look like you couldn’t put any strength into anything. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
“Shut up, furball. Did you just slap me?”

April’s face flushed bright red as she glared viciously at Karzen.

“What are you talking about? You just woke up late.”
“…Huh…? You didn’t?”
“Stop talking nonsense and figure out how we’re getting out of here.”

At Karzen’s words, she looked around as well.
There was a window, but it was completely fixed in place from both inside and out.
Her gaze settled on the room’s only door.

“If someone comes in, you handle them, pointy-ear.”
“…Me? Why?”
“You’re better than me at attacking and killing humans, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about, you hairy bastard? We elves cherish life and nature…”
“Bull-fucking-shit.”
“…”

Karzen frowned at her.

“Do I look human to you? Who the hell do you think you’re fooling? Cherish life and nature, my ass. Why, you little…!”
“Enough, enough. Fine, I get it. It sounds like someone’s coming, so back off.”

April shoved Karzen aside, took position beside the door, and raised the edge of her hand.
Karzen retreated and crouched behind the bed, hiding himself.

Creeeak-

The captain’s cabin door, rusted by the sea air, opened with a grotesque creak as someone stepped inside.

April immediately struck toward the newcomer’s carotid artery with the edge of her hand.
The movement was smooth and confident, clearly not something she had done only once or twice.
A smile appeared on her face as she pictured him collapsing unconscious moments later.
But not everything in the world went according to her expectations.

Grab-
“Huh?”

Her wrist caught, she stared blankly at his face.
Her attack was too fast and powerful for an ordinary human to catch in mid-strike.

“Elf. You’re unharmed.”
“…”
“Where is the dwarf Karzen?”

April narrowed her eyes and asked back.

“…Karzen? You’re here for the furball, not me?”
“I have no interest in you. Where’s Karzen? Weren’t you together?”

At that moment, a head cautiously peeked up from the end of the bed.

“There you are.”

Jun-gyeong casually released April’s wrist and walked toward Karzen.

“Smith sent me.”
“Ah, Master did? Thank you. I’m Karzen.”
“I see. Let’s go.”

Jun-gyeong led Karzen out and closed the door behind them.
April stared blankly after them.

“…What… was that…? What about… me…?”

A moment later, after receiving an earful from Ok-hee, Jun-gyeong opened the door and crooked his wrist.

“Hey, elf. If you’re coming, hurry up and get out here.”

April blinked at his gesture, one eyebrow twitching.
Jun-gyeong remained utterly unfazed.

“Or don’t, if you don’t want to.”

Just as Jun-gyeong was about to close the door again, April moved quickly and caught it.

“…I’m coming. I said I’m coming.”
“What a hassle. Hurry up. Karzen’s waiting.”

No one had ever treated her like this before.
Not even her kidnappers had treated her this way.
Though they had put her in a cage and taken her out to sea, until then they had handled her carefully for fear she might suffer so much as a scratch.
Of course, that was partly because any injury would lower her price and because the yakuza buyers had repeatedly warned them to be careful, but either way, she had never been treated with this kind of disregard and disdain.

Jun-gyeong took the two of them toward the wheelhouse.
It could be locked from the inside, and more importantly, it was where the only person on the ship he could reasonably trust was located.
Jun-gyeong had spared the captain’s life, so the man would surely do his best to follow his instructions.

When Jun-gyeong entered the wheelhouse with the elf and dwarf, Han Ji-woong’s eyes widened to the point of tearing.

“Why…? Why are they here…?”

Jun-gyeong glanced at him and sat the two captives down in a corner.

“Sit there. Don’t move.”

Karzen nodded, while April shook her head.

“Do you have any spare weapons?”

Jun-gyeong met her gaze.
His expression asked what she meant.
Karzen answered in April’s place.

“The pointy-ear is a capable warrior. She’s fast and strong. She can handle most humans.”

Jun-gyeong gave a faint chuckle.

“Then why did she get captured?”
“…I simply wasn’t accustomed to firearms. The Capri Dimension doesn’t have things like tranquilizer guns.”
-No. The yakuza there will have firearms too. She can’t afford to get hurt at all.

Jun-gyeong nodded at Ok-hee’s words.

“For once, we agree.”

He looked at April and spoke.

“Stay here and behave.”

As Jun-gyeong left the wheelhouse, he spoke to the captain.

“Lock the door. Keep an eye on that woman and don’t let her out.”
“Yes!”

There was no need to tell him never to open it under any circumstances.
Since none of those bastards would be coming this way.
All he had to do was keep the door securely locked.
So the elf could not rush outside.
Then Ok-hee’s voice came through his earpiece.

-Twelve yakuza and twelve from the Saenara Gang. Twenty-four total. Ah! You’ve already killed two yakuza, so that makes twenty-two.

Jun-gyeong’s steps were light and easy, as though he were heading out for an evening stroll.