The entire ship was thrown into chaos as we were tilted on our side. Who had said these guys were easier than the last assassins? Yeah, it was me, but that was before I realized that the assassins with Rea had been a distraction from the beginning. The smoke must have been a screen so that something else could get close to us. That something else was…

“Pirates!”

“We’re under attack.”

“They even have air pirates?” I cursed.

Airships were supposed to be a rare thing that was specific to the Jespain. Even getting a ride on one had taken a great deal of effort and special permissions from Jespain. Yet, suddenly, we were being attacked by a flying pirate ship. No, it was more accurate to say this was an assassination in the guise of piracy. Just like the way the Fae invasion had been hidden behind pirate attacks, this assassination would seem like a helpless mistake.

The spells that kept the ship upright started to take effect and it straightened so that I could stand on the floor again, even though I could hear the groan of the other ship still pushing against it. Commotion had broken out upstairs, I could hear both sailors and my girls fighting above. While I had no doubt my girls could contain the situation, I wasn’t just going to sit back and watch everything happen. I ducked out the cabin door and started heading down the hallway.

“Ahhh!” I had made it halfway to the stairs when a familiar cry caused me to stop.

I turned around to see Rea standing there, and several of the pretend pirates holding her at sword point.

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“Rea…” I frowned.

“Help! They’re going to kill me!” She cried out desperately.

Was that seriously their plan? They were planning to use Rea to get to me?

“Put down your weapon or we’ll kill the girl!” One of the pirates declared, holding his blade up menacingly.

“Please, do what he says.” She teared up on command. “I’m so scared.”

“Kill her then,” I responded.

The girl’s eyes widened, and even the assassins seemed taken aback. The leader recovered quickest. I recognized his voice as the one who had spoken to her earlier when she helped them get on the ship.

“You don’t think I will?”

“Here, I’ll help you!”

I pulled out Alysia and then threw her. Normally, a blade her size would flop to the ground, but she was no normal blade. She flew down the hallway in a straight line. The assassins jumped to the side in shock. The only one who didn’t move was the girl standing in the middle. Alysia’s sliced right through her neck, and Rea’s head left her body.

Before the assassins even could recover, I made an explosive movement. Alysia had slowed to a near stop, and her hilt snapped to my hand like we were magnetized. I slashed down at the recovering assassins, who didn’t even have a chance to bring out their soul revving daggers. The leader was the last one, having managed to partially dodge my attack and take a powerful wound on his shoulder.

“Y-you monster!” he cried out.

I ignored him, cutting him down. His sword broke in two and he died as well.