Book 4: Chapter 99 (1/2)

A fleet of boats sped through the ocean. Huge wakes were left behind as they roared across the waters, traveling at a breakneck speed. A few crew members could be seen floating in the air, tied to the railings of the boat to prevent themselves from falling off.

“Captain, I see land!” the crew member in one of the boat’s crow’s nest shouted.

The captain, a miserable-looking man tied to the main mast of the ship, groaned. “Thank the Lord.” He craned his neck, peeking at the horizon. Evidently, his crew member had a better view than he did since he couldn’t see anything at all except for the endless ocean. “Before we reach land, I think we should figure out a very serious problem. How do we stop the boat?”

The crew members exchanged glances with each other. A devil had cursed their boats, increasing their speeds and inflating their sails. Even when the wind blew the other way due to the boats’ extreme speeds, their sails remained full of air, pushing the boats forward into the headwinds. If even nature couldn’t stop their boats from advancing, how were they supposed to do the same? “What if we cut the sails free?” one of the crew members asked. “That should stop the boat, right?”

Another crew member snorted. “Once we cut them free, how are we going to go back home without them? Are you a tailor? Are you going to knit us a sail out of nothing? We can’t afford to lose these magic sails; instead, we should find a way to tame them.”

“Well, whatever we decide to do, we have to do it soon,” the crew member up in the crow’s nest said. “I reckon, at the speed we’re going, we have fifteen seconds before our boats crash against the shore.”

“Cut the sails free!” the captain shouted. “It doesn’t matter how we’re going to get home if we die on impact while landing!”

“Tsk, that’s such a waste.” The crew member who argued for keeping the sails shook his head. Then, he pulled on the rope attached to his waist, dragging himself back onto the boat from the air. He stretched his hand out and grabbed one of the ropes keeping the sail in place and cut at it with the knife he kept tied around his waist. Unfortunately, his knife seemed to be a bit dull, and the rope wouldn’t cut.

“I can’t cut the ropes!” someone else shouted. “They won’t budge!”

“Could it be, the devil cursed the ropes too?” the captain asked and stared up at the sky. All he saw were the white sails, fully extended, blown by the demonic, unending wind. He signed and looked ahead. The landmass, which he couldn’t see previously, was growing at a tremendous rate. “Brace yourselves for impact, men! Let’s pray the devil cursed the hull, or our boat will be completely destroyed.”

“If I survive, I’m going to send my wife a note, telling her I love her.”