Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

”Put away the fishing rod. We’ve already left the territory of the God of Vows and Wind. The sea out here is heavily polluted, and it’s easy to reel in all sorts of monsters.”

Loren walked to the edge of the ship, reminding Anna, who was fishing.

”Oh.”

Anna put away her fishing rod. Beside her was a bucket full of fish.

She was always incredibly lucky. Her rod didn’t even have a float; she just cast the hook in, pulled it back up, and the fish were already on. It was a sight that made Loren slightly envious.

”Since we’ve left the God of Vows and Wind’s territory, we can switch ships.”

Standing at the bow, Loren took out the conch that had dropped from Mara. It was the token for summoning the ghost ship. A single blow would call forth the Raging Tide.

Loren raised the conch high. As the wind blew through it, it produced a sound. The sea began to churn, and the Raging Tide emerged from the depths.

It wasn’t actually resting on the ocean floor; it just appeared this way. Ghost ships don’t truly exist in reality at all times.

”Come on up.”Loren was the first to jump onto the Raging Tide, firing a grappling hook to successfully latch onto their original ship.

Laila was the first to climb across the rope. Just as she was smugly looking back at the others, she saw Loren personally carrying Lilith and Scarlett over. Scarlett even waved at her.

”... ”

Laila’s smile vanished instantly. She pretended nothing had happened and walked into the cabin.

The cabin still bore traces of their previous stay. Laila expertly returned to her room.

This was also how she maintained a sense of superiority. She had been with Loren for a long time, and she still had her own room on this ship. The newcomers had no idea what this vessel even was and would need Loren to explain it to them slowly.

”This is a ghost ship. It can sail unaffected by ocean currents, steer freely in any direction, and even has special effects.

”I took this ship from that Mara woman before. I just didn’t expect I hadn’t finished her off back then.”

Paqina, too, was seeing a ghost ship for the first time. She curiously explored the interior.

The Raging Tide wasn’t a large vessel. The space was somewhat cramped for a pirate crew, but for Loren and his small group, it was more than enough.

Loren held a sea chart in his hands. It was the most detailed one he could find, yet even so, many places remained unmarked.

For example, the small island ruled by the Evil Dragon that Loren had once visited wasn’t marked on the map at all.

Otherwise, if people knew a dragon was there, they would have swarmed it long ago, skinning it and pulling its tendons.

Even though dragons are generally powerful, there are plenty who value money over their lives. A Murmuring Dragon, given its combat strength, could be killed by a single mercenary.

”Right now, the Angler is also swimming in our direction. We’re in luck. It’ll save us some time.”

Nami had been monitoring the Angler’s movements. It had almost no ability to change direction, typically just circling in a very wide loop, making its path easy to predict.

”Will we encounter the merfolk on this trip?”

After hearing about the merfolk from Loren, Paqina had grown somewhat interested in them.

She had discovered that merfolk weren’t the evil creatures depicted in textbooks. They were just like humans—complex, some naive, some cruel.

”Yes, at the very least, I need to go see the merfolk princess.”

Loren wasn’t exactly trusting of the merfolk, but he trusted the Perpetual Observer. And the merfolk princess, who had obtained the Observer’s power, was indeed worth trusting.

”Come up to the deck. I’ll show you what the Endless Ocean really looks like.”

”Alright.”

Textbooks often mentioned the Endless Ocean, and the word most frequently used to describe it was ”madness.” This place, free from the restraint of the Orthodox Gods, had no logic whatsoever.

Loren and Paqina leaned over the ship’s railing, watching the waves. The waves moved chaotically, without any pattern, yet they didn’t affect the Raging Tide’s voyage.

”Normal ships can’t sail the Endless Ocean. The currents alone would stop them. Sinking to the bottom is the only outcome.

”To sail here, you must receive a god’s blessing. Among the Orthodox Gods, only the God of Vows and Wind has this ability. Even ships from other churches need His help to navigate here.

”That’s why the God of Confusion has no interest in seafaring.”

”Then how do pirates sail? Don’t their ships sink?”

Paqina instinctively raised her hand, as if she were still in class.

”They need a god’s help too, but the one who helps them is the Sea God.

”The sea is the Sea God’s domain. Even the Orthodox Gods’ authority is less than the Sea God’s here. That’s why pirates who believe in the Sea God dare to attack the Church of the God of Vows and Wind’s ships.

”It’s not just pirates who worship the Sea God. There are many civilized islands in the Endless Ocean, and they all believe in the Sea God as well.

”Pirates plus these people make for a significant number, so their faith is coveted by many evil gods. Now, there’s more than one Sea God on the ocean, and there are gods other than the Sea God too.

”These gods are in competition with each other, so conflicts often break out between their followers... Get ready...”

Loren suddenly changed the subject. Though Paqina didn’t know what was happening, she began silently chanting incantations.

”Here they come.”

As Loren spoke, several people dressed as pirates suddenly leaped out of the sea. Their target was Loren and his ship.

”Five of them.”

But before they could even land on the deck, the Blood Moon Condensed Light Loren had fired cut two of them in half. Their bodies didn’t even have time to hit the water before they were dissolved by Return to Earth.

On the other side, Paqina unleashed the Sin-Burning Flames. The small spark of fire instantly expanded upon contact with the pirates, engulfing them entirely.

Five people had jumped up, but only two landed on the deck. One had just been burned to ash.

Since the Sin-Burning Flames achieved this effect, it meant these people were certainly no good. So Loren didn’t hold back, striking decisively:

”Who are you people? Why did you attack us?”

”I’m not telling you!”

One of the pirates was tough, showing no fear even after seeing his companions obliterated.

”Die!”

He tried to raise his blade, but as he lifted his hand, he found it unnervingly light. His hand and the scimitar he held had vanished.

”You could get a hook fitted now.”

The pirate saw the cold gleam of Requiem as it lashed out. The pain only hit him then.

”AHHHH!”

He screamed, clutching his severed wrist, but Loren’s blade didn’t stop. Requiem precisely gouged out one of his eyes and then sliced off one of his legs.

”Now you look more like a pirate with an eyepatch and a peg leg. So, Mister Pirate, can you tell us your purpose now?”

Loren crouched down, looking at the man’s gruesome state up close.

These people had attacked him out of nowhere, and it was really starting to annoy him.