Chapter 404: Eleven (1/2)
”Judging from your clothes and faces, I'd say the person who wants to meet me must be the devil,” Arthur looked at the black clothes of the people around him. Some wore cloaks, and others were black leather jeans and nothing else.
”It is unwise to insult our boss,” one of the cloaks said to him threateningly, and Arthur glanced their way. He waved his hand, and the ground beneath them turned soft, dragging the one who spoke into it before it hardened.
”Next time you threaten me, you will die,” despite saying that, he didn't mean he was going to kill him, but the short-tempered girl next to him would certainly do.
”I apologize for his misconduct,” the young man who spoke earlier hurried to make amends. ”These rookies know not of our ways, and our boss's recent rise simply blinded them.”
”Recent rise?”
”I'm sure that you have heard of her,” the young man nodded. ”The rising star of the sea, Eleven.”
”Your boss's name is a number?” Dia scowled. ”These are nothing more than gangsters. Let's leave.”
However, Arthur had no intentions of leaving because the young man's words caught his attention. Before he could ask for Dia's patience, one of the 'rookies' used his fire ability to block his path.
The flames spewed out in front of her, and Arthur could tell her patience reached its limit. Before he could grab into her, the princess's wrath exploded.
”You think these are flames?” Diana said with disdain. ”Let me show you real fire,” she waved her, and the blue flames of the ice phoenix rolled off her sleeve, washing away the alley.
Her flames ate away everything in her path, and the alley turned into a scene from hell. Arthur decided it was time to stop her when he sensed a presence descending in front of them, and the air grew humid.
A giant wall of water appeared in front of them, working to extinguish Dia's blue flames. Arthur never thought that a person would be able to extinguish the flames of a phoenix, but the presence was familiar and nauseating.
Then, it appeared above the wave of rushing water. A blue spirit surfaced from with the water, and Arthur could tell it was one he had met before. The blue flames retreated as the frost exploded from Dia's hands, turning the water into ice.
”Please wait, golden one!”
A voice called, and Arthur's suspicion was confirmed. He appeared beside Dia, and his hand rested on her shoulder. Then, like a defused bomb, the princess calmed down, and her mana returned to her body.
”Why?” she asked not with anger but puzzlement. Arthur simply shook his head and turned toward the rising water vapor as a person appeared from within it.
It was someone he never saw before, and she wore a white shirt beneath a leather jacket. In addition, a scarf surrounded her neck, and a hat covered her head, giving off a deceptive appearance.
”I apologize for these fool's behavior,” the woman bowed down the moment she stood in front of them, and the men behind her were thrown into disarray. ”They are new to my crew, and I never thought they would be foolish enough to go against you.”
”Ah, if it isn't the Greatest Pirate?” Arthur grinned, and the woman startled as she jumped back. Her surprise confirmed that she was who he thought to be.
”Ah, I guess I don't need to confirm your identity anymore,” the woman removed her hat and kneeled. ”I've met you, at last, My Lord.”
”Are you taking up my offer? What about your dream of being the greatest pirate?”
”Let's talk elsewhere,” the woman stood up and spread her arm for Arthur to follow her. ”I have a place we can sit in chat. May I have this honor?”
Before he agreed, Arthur turned toward Dia to get her approval. After all, he didn't want to force his opinion. The princess glared at the pirate silently before meeting Arthur's gaze.
”I'm fine with it,” she took one step to be side by side with him. Arthur smiled and nodded toward the pirate, who led the way toward their hideout.
***
Her name was Eleven, and that was the first thing Arthur got to learn about her. When he asked about the oddity of her name, he got to know of her dark past.