The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 223

Vitona’s death brought many changes to Pandea.

In fact, the messages in front of Seol proved it.

[The former ruler of the Alfrina Strait, Vitona, the Charmer, has died.]

[Secret Labyrinth ‘Vitona’s Nest’ has opened.]

[Secret Labyrinth ‘Underwater Ruins’ has opened.]

[Snowman's great achievements have caused changes in the world.]

[Large and small changes happen in Pandea, The World of Eternity.]

[The Alfrina Strait's drift ice begins to melt.]

[As news of Vitona’s death spreads, the volume of goods being traded in the Trity Canal, the canal closest to the Alfrina Strait, decreases.]

[Rumors spreading rapidly among sailors have led to growing opinions that the sea route through the Alfrina Strait should be reinstated.]

[Faction: Southern Shipping Union’s influence grows.]

[All players can now select the ‘Alfrina Strait’s Legend’ Adventure from their locations.]

[All players can now select the ‘Treasure Ship Recovery’ Adventure from their locations.]

[You have acquired Adventurer Points.]

[The Alfrina Strait has been freed from Vitona.]

[You have received additional rewards.]

[This news spreads to all countries and cities with developed marine trading.]

[The number of Adventurers challenging monsters feared as the nightmares of the sea increase.]

……

Despite receiving many rewards, Seol was unable to read any of these messages.

The ghosts glowing in a blue hue began racing toward the S.S. Men of the Sea.

“She’s dead! She’s really dead!”

“We’re free! We can return to the sea now!”

“Wahahahaha! It’s time to celebrate! It’s a celebration!”

“I don’t even want to see her stupid face anymore! Pull her stupid face off of our ship!”

“Hold on! We should take some of the meat before we pull it off!”

“What? Hah! That’s a great idea!”

Step…

Step…

A man boarded the S.S. Men of the Sea carrying Seol on his back. It was a face that Agony didn’t recognize.

Well, more accurately… Agony didn’t recognize him in that form.

A man half-covered in burn marks stepped on board.

It was Santos.

Furthermore, it was also natural that Agony didn’t recognize him.

[Captain!]

“Agony!”

After carefully letting Seol down, Santos hugged Agony.

[I saved you, captain!]

“Wahahaha! You did. You really saved me, Agony!”

[Then is Agony a glorious sea urchin now?]

“Of course! No, you’re even more glorious than a glorious sea urchin!”

[Really? I’m more amazing than a sea urchin?]

“Yeah, because you’re Agony.”

Embarrassed, Agony pushed Santos away.

[A-Agony only protected the weak.]

“Huh?”

[You told me that, captain. We have to protect the weak. Agony is strong, so I had no choice.]

“Haha… I really can’t say anything half-heartedly around you, can I?”

The pirates were already beginning their celebration.

“Santos! Alcohol! Where did you hide the alcohol?”

“They’re where they always were! I threw away a few of the rotten ones, though, haha!”

“Hahaha… My body’s already rotten anyway. I’m sure it’ll be fine if I drink a couple of rotten bottles! I bet some of us will even drink piss if we run out of alcohol, haha!”

“Damn, I didn’t think about that! I knew you should’ve been the captain instead of me, Silva!” shouted Santos.

“What? I don’t want to! You could give me a boat filled with treasure, and I still wouldn’t want to be the captain of a bunch of idiots like you!”

“Now that I think about it, that was probably the reason I became captain! You guys forced it onto me!”

“You only realized this now? You’re still the same idiot, aren’t you, Santos?!

“Bwahahaha!”

A pirate ship sailing on its own in the Alfrina Strait where none dared to go. They were enjoying a sense of freedom that could only be felt in the endless sea.

“Yeahhhhhhhhh!”

“How long has it been since we had alcohol?!”

“Kahhh… Good! I’ve been waiting for this day!”

“Hey, Sonio! Play us a song!”

“Give me a second, Santos! Where did you put my violin?”

“In the cabins! Go look for it there.”

“I’ll throw you into the sea if you let it get humid, okay?!”

“Hahaha!”

A few moments later, Sonio returned again with a violin in their hands.

“Ahem… I’m sure I’ll make a bunch of mistakes since it’s been a while since I last played it, but… pick the shit out of your ears and listen well.”

“We’re ready!”

A wonderful melody began to play from the S.S. Men of the Sea. A melody deeper and sadder than even the siren’s mystical songs.

“You idiot! You shouldn’t bring down the mood like this!”

“Someone throw that fucker into the sea!”

Bam!

“Urgh…”

The crew kicked Sonio, knocking him into the sea.

After being pulled out of the sea by Pupu’s tentacles, Sonio began to grumble before playing again.

“You idiots can’t even read sheet music… What the fuck would any of you know about the mood?!”

“Hey, Sonio! All of us already know you can’t read sheet music, hahaha!”

“Shut up! Do you have proof?!”

“Because the songs are different each time you play it!”

“Music is all about feeling! I was just playing with emotion, alright?!”

“Pupu! Don’t pick that bastard up this time, okay?!”

“More importantly… When did Pupu get so big?”

The S.S. Men of the Sea was no longer a ship that drifted in the waters alone. It almost felt as if the crew were filling up the entire sea themselves.

“The keel of the ship is fine, but the bow has issues. I’ll fix it real quick, Santos.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Fliver!”

“We have to prepare for what comes next, don’t we?”

“...Yeah. You always did know how to read my mind, I see that hasn’t changed.”

As Santos and Fliver, the crew’s carpenter, continued to talk, they turned around to see the rest of the crew.

“Hey, would you look at that!”

“That damned sea urchin’s damn good at drinking!”

“And he saved us? You’re lying, right?”

[Hehehe… Agony is the bessst…]

Santos laughed after seeing Agony’s fluttering eyes.

“Don’t feed it too much! Even I don’t know what will happen if the sea urchin gets drunk, alright?!”

“Yeah, you’re right!”

Agony began to drunkenly dance while watching the pirates show off their talents as well.

“It’s been a while since we had a guest,” said Santos. “Let’s do that!”

“Ah! That? Yeah, I’m ready!”

“Sounds fun.”

As Agony looked around, confused, Santos clapped to steal his attention.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

“Now, let us introduce ourselves… Pupu!”

“Ppuuuuuuu!”

Sonio began playing an uplifting song on his violin.

“With just one ship, we’ll conquer the sea~ Loyalty!”

“Puupuu!”

“Loyaltyyy!”

“Loyalty!”

The pirates began to sing alongside Santos.

“Friendship!”

“Pupu!”

“Friendshippppp!”

“And love, too!”

“Puuuu!”

“And love, tooooooooo!”

The song Santos had sung alone felt completely different, with others singing alongside him.

“We’re the great men of the sea~ Now, let me introduce you to the crew of S.S. Men of the Sea!”

“Puuu!”

“Ahahahahaha!”

“Helmsman~ Bridon!”

“That’s me!”

“Boatswain~ Malle!”

“Over here!”

“Cannoneer Jenin!”

“......”

“Where’s Jenin?”

Silence filled the air.

But then, someone interrupted it.

“He’s throwing up over there. I think he forced himself to eat something rotten.”

“Wahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

The song continued after that.

There wasn’t a single person who didn’t respond to Santos’ call.

“Carpenter~ Fliver!”

“I’m finally done now. From here on out… I’m drinking as well!”

“Pupu!”

“Navigator~ Cherico!”

“I was worried that you weren’t going to call me!”

“Pupuuuu!”

Agony held its hands together.

So it was a song like this.

It was a song as joyous as this.

Agony continued to watch the pirates with bright eyes.

“And lastly… the captain of the great S.S. Men of the Sea….”

Santos did not have to request a drumroll at all.

Before he could even ask, all of the crew began pounding on the deck.

Rumble rumble rumble!

“Me, Santos!”

“Cheeeeeeeers!”

“Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Agony, right now… was dreaming.

It had spent countless years trampling over lives after having been born as a nightmare on the battlefield.

In truth, it had found that life fun before. However, it had never once considered living like that as happiness.

This moment right now… with the crew of the S.S. Men of the Sea… this was Agony’s happiest moment.

Having them by their side gave Agony endless strength, albeit an unfamiliar type of strength.

It was learning what feelings were, what emotions were.

Their celebration continued loudly all night.

Agony’s eyes fluttered open.

It had fallen asleep, drunk off the alcohol.

The sun was slowly rising in front of it.

However… the crew was gone.

[...Captain?]

“Agony.”

Santos had called out to Agony from behind it.

Though his disfigured face was a frightening sight, it also felt pirate-like to Agony.

“Could you come have a seat here?”

[There? Why?]

“Because the sun is rising here.”

[Alright!]

The two sat side by side, watching the horizon.

“Was it fun?”

[Yeah, it was the best! I like the salty smell now, the breeze is nice, everything’s great!]

“That’s good.”

[You know… captain…]

“Hm?”

Agony continued, shyly.

[I… want to live now.]

“......”

[There are so many things that I don’t know, and people need to teach me them. And captain, you taught me a lot of things.]

“...I did?”

[Yeah! Agony learned that alcohol and pee are different, and that the strong need to protect the weak! Also… Huh? What else did I learn again?]

“Agony… do you have a lot of things to tell me?”

[I do! Why?]

“Then… I guess I should say what I have to say first.”

Santos then pointed at the sea.

“Agony, can you see the sea?”

[Yeah! There’s a bunch of water! And it’s salty!]

“The sea… it’s something that just by watching it ebb and flow, things are passed onto you.”

[It passes things onto you? That’s awful! Huh? Then am I awful too? What does it pass on?]

Agony could only see Santos’ disfigured, burned face from his perspective.

And for those same reasons, it couldn’t see Santos’ expressions.

“It forcibly plants those seeds inside of you.”

Tap…

Santos tapped on the ship.

“Everything began with this ship. The S.S. Men of the Sea taught a lost noble like me the ways to become a great pirate. It taught me insignificance and weakness, as well as the wilderness and nature.”

Agony then realized it.

There was something off about Santos.

[S-Santos?]

“It’s time for me to break free from my old shell and head to the stars.”

A brilliant light filled up the sea from below.

The light was slowly turning the black sea into a bright, clear blue.

Time was running out.

“Yeah, this ship is my everything, my universe! And…”

[C-Captain!]

Santos turned to face Agony.

His body was fading away.

[Huh… Y-Your body’s weird, captain!]

“I will give it to you, Agony. Congratulations on your mutiny, it was a success. You are now the new captain of the S.S. Men of the Sea.”

The other pirates had left before Santos.

The dawn removed the false lives from the world, leaving behind only the living.

Only the living were allowed to breathe into a new day.

The dawn returned all who must return into dust.

[Ahhhhhhhhh… Don’t go. Don’t go, Santos! I had so much fun!]

Drip…

Something that should never fall from the eyes of a mass of evil like a demonic spirit began to slowly drip down.

Agony’s small hands pointed at its chest.

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Santos! I-It hurts here! Why does it hurt? Tell me!]

“......”

[It’s weird! Why does water keep coming out of my eyes?! Am I dying?]

“Haha! Did you forget that we were the ones closest to the sea? It’s a good thing, Agony!”

[It’s a good thing, really? But it… But it hurts so much…]

Santos’ body began to scatter like dust into the wind.

Faaaaade…

“Thank you for bringing an end to the legend of Santos. When we meet again… Agony, I’ll have you tell me your legend.”

[......]

“It’s time to set sail, Agony! Go out into the world! Find your reason to live!”

Santos completely faded, and the last expression on his face was a hearty smile. The only thing he left behind… was his voice.

“It’s time to begin… your eternal… voyage…”

Faaaaaaaade…

The blue soul turned to a heap of dust.

“Ppuuuu…”

Pupu then looked at Agony with worried eyes.

Agony’s head stooped low as it quietly stared at the waters. But then…

Glooow…

[Huh…?]

Fwooooooosh…

The blue dust began to move, forming a current.

The dawn made its glistening movements even more visible.

It was an incredible, wonderful sight.

Fwoooooosh…

[S-Santos?]

The soul continued to swirl before arriving at its final location… Seol.

Fwooooosh…

The blue energy surrounded his body before causing his body to glow blue as well.

It was like a dream.

Agony, seeing that, laughed and cheered up.

[Pupu!]

“Puu?”

[Get ready! We’re going to do that!]

Pupu scratched their head before realizing what Agony had meant. They then let out a shout.

“Puuuuu!”

Agony began to sing.

[With just one ship, we’ll conquer the sea~ Loyalty!]

“Pupu!”

[Friendship!]

“Pupu!”

[And love, too!]

“Puuuu!”

Agony sang as hard as it could.

[We’re the great men of the sea~ Uh… what was it again? Regardless! Let us introduce ourselves!]

“Puuuu!”

[Boatswain Agonyny!]

Agony then created a beard with its abilities, playing two roles.

[Agonyny! Have you scrubbed the deck?]

[I haven’t!]

[Excellent work! Navigator~ Agogony!]

Agony then even imitated rustled, messy hair.

[Where are we going right now?]

[I don’t know!]

[Perfect!]

Agony continued to create new members of his crew and began to imitate them. More accurately, it was imitating the original members of the crew that it had met last night.

It was something only he could do to honor the dead.

[And now~ Here, the vice-captain…]

Agony looked to Seol.

[Yeah, you!]

Agony moved Seol’s lips once more, pretending to be him.

[You waited a long time, didn’t you?]

“......”

[Tch… not fun at all.]

As expected, Seol showed no response.

[And lastly… Captain Agony!]

“Puuuuuuuuuu!”

Silence filled the air once more.

Agony was crying.

“Puuu…”

Pupu began to pat Agony.

[I’m not crying! Agony doesn’t know how to cry!]

“Ppuuu…”

[No, Santos did teach me how to…]

Agony then looked at Seol, whose body Santos had entered.

[Santos, you’re in there, right?]

“......”

[Alright! Then we’re setting sail!]

“Puuuuu!”

[Where do we go, though?]

“Puuuu…”

[Let’s go anywhere! The land! We’ll go to the land! Let’s go, baldy!]

“Puuuuuuu!”

Slap! Slap!

Pupu began to slap Agony’s head.

[Mutiny already?!]

Slap! Slap!

[I’ll forgive you only this once!]

Slap! Slap!

[I take back what I said about calling you bald…]

“Puuuuuu!”

* * *

A considerable amount of time had passed.

When someone is at sea for that long of a time, it typically ends in one of two results.

They either arrived at their destination or… something went wrong.

In this case, the result was obvious.

Something had gone wrong.

Agony did not know where it had landed.

[Pupu! This is all because of you!]

“Puuuu!”

[Sorry, it’s my fault! I wasn’t taught how to lower the anchor!]

“Ppuuu!”

Though Agony didn’t know where it was, it did know that it had arrived on land.

It was now time to leave the S.S. Men of the Sea.

[Pupu, I’ll see you again, right?]

“Pupuuuu!”

Of course.

I’ll be waiting for you, you amazing sea urchin.

[Hehehe… We’ll meet again, then! You have to get bigger before then, though, okay?! Because I’m going to grow big as well!]

Agony wildly flailed its small arms to wave goodbye.

It had made sure to put down the two treasure chests and Seol first before it did, though.

Step…

After the S.S. Men of the Sea let down Agony and Seol, it disappeared into the horizon with Pupu.

Agony still did not know where it was.

But that only made it more curious.

[I’ll just… I’ll just look around a bit, okay?!]

Leaving Seol behind, Agony ran up a nearby hill on its stumpy legs.

There seemed to be a small forest right beside the coastline.

It was a forest filled with beautiful scenery.

Fwoooosh…

Pink petals fluttered throughout the mysterious forest.

It noticed a strange bird, as well as a beast, aiming for some eggs that seemed to belong to a reptile.

The forest was rich with life and filled with a variety of colors.

The scene captivated Agony, causing it to stop before it noticed one more thing.

[What’s that?]

There were a few black spots in the forest.

It did not feel natural at all.

Agony did not want to get closer to it.

[...Huh?]

With a worried heart, Agony quickly ran down the hill.

Run…

Agony made it down the hill.

[...Oh no.]

They had disappeared.

The two chests and the human had disappeared.

[I’m sorry! I forgot! Where did you go? Where could you have gone?]

Agony was sure that the culprits were the two black energies it had noticed earlier.

As Agony had no plans of letting anyone take something from it, it resolved to find the human, no matter what.

[...Huh?]

There were footprints on the beach.

It seemed that there were more than just a few people.

Did humans take them?

But then who would…

Agony quickly eased his worried heart and followed the footsteps headed toward the forest.

[I can’t lose them! I need to protect them! Agony will protect them!]

The footsteps slowly grew more faint.

Agony focused solely on the ground as it followed the trail, trying to do its best not to lose them.

And after a while…

Thud!

[Ouch!]

Agony looked up at what it had run into.

It was neither a hard rock, nor a fully grown tree.

So then… What did it run into?

Raise…

When Agony looked up, it spotted a young man with golden eyes observing the forest.

Agony’s jaw dropped. It hadn’t expected to meet him like this.

[Uh…]

“I guess I drifted all the way into the east.”

[Ahhh…]

Just like in the future that the ghost king saw, the man had arrived in the east.

- He will cross the waves on an old boat. He will come to the east to meet me.

Everything that Agony and the man would experience next is something that is going to happen in the Khan Empire. In the land of flowers and flames, where the blood of dragons rules.

“Come here, Agony.”

[...Huh?]

The man put his hand forward for Agony.

He then said the exact words that it had been waiting all this time to hear.

“You waited a long time, didn’t you?”

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