Aaron sat in a circle with Ezra, Akari, and Raphael beside him, holding the items they received from Nautilus.
The blond boy's item was obviously the most unique, the orange egg with a golden crack, which was completely out of place when compared to the weapons and tools selected by the others.
"Is that really you in there, Akari?"
He spoke to the hooded figure who wore the mystical garment that offered recognition erasure, the identity of its wielder a mystery when worn.
"It is."
Her quiet voice sounded tired, her body resting against the hull of the ship as she closed her eyes and listened without speaking.
Akari and Aaron had already shown the others what they had brought out of the vault—the cloak and the egg–only Raphael and Ezra remained.
The white-haired noble explained quickly about his new staff's capabilities, all three of the other teens nodding along slowly.
As it came to Ezra, however, the interest of the group spiked, seeing as his object didn't quite fit what a former thief such as himself might pick.
"A compass?"
Aaron leaned in, trying to get a better look at the metallic object that glistened in the flickering lamp above them.
"You're damn right. It allows me to track anyone I want, regardless of who or what they are. All I need is a clear image of their face and to have met them before, and I can use it."
Raphael frowned, his expression growing suspicious as he pieced together reasons for why he might've chosen such a tool.
"Who is it?"
The blond boy furrowed his brow, the words of his noble friend not quite making sense to him.
To Ezra, on the other hand, it was obvious as to what he was referring to, and the answer was soon to come from his lips.
"Through the research I've done, he's your sister-in-law's brother, ain't he? Stein Brevmore."
Aaron froze, the name of the man who had fed him the Naelith wine and escaped from his grasp in the underground of Corvassa coming back to him.
The blond boy expected Raphael to show some contempt for the black-haired boy whose goal was clearly to harm his brother-in-law; however, the noble smiled.
"I'd offer you my help gladly. However, I can clearly see that you do not need it."
Standing up and patting Ezra on the back, the white-haired boy vanished into the underbelly of the vessel, returning to his cabin that Cauron had loaned him.
With the three examinees from the Sea of Dreams remaining, a new conversation broke out between the two boys that Akari listened to in the background.
"Do you know what Alaric chose?"
Aaron whispered the words to his friend, worried that the boy would hear him from the other side of the room, where he sat quietly, reading a book.
Ezra nodded slowly, muttering an explanation back.
"Yeah… He picked that book and didn't wanna share what it did. If we're lucky, maybe he'll spill the beans on his own. Otherwise, I ain't askin'."
Both boys nodded, the curled-up Akari simply watching without much care.
There was silence for a few minutes before she spoke up, her pink locks falling outside of her hood as she removed the enigmatic fabric from her head.
"What are you guys going to do after we return and the exam is over?"
Ezra answered the question first, his response full of enthusiasm.
"Go hunting, duh. Whether it be Brevmore or a terror, I ain't lettin' them live for long."
Aaron laughed, his eyes turning over to Akari, who began to answer her own query right away, saving the blond boy's response for last.
"I'll head to the Sea of Souls, where my teacher runs his merchantry. He told me of a position where I can work, and the pay is good, so I might as well."
Once again, there were nods of agreement from the other two teens, the last speaker now up to give his future plans away.
"When we return, I'm going to be working with Lord Thorn on a project of utmost importance. After that, I'm thinking of heading south to the Sea of Polar Storms to train with Lord Kurogane. Once that's done, I'll spend the rest of my life hunting that horned f—"
He stopped, noticing the glares of the other two former challengers.
"Uh huh… Mr. Marshal of Waves has important business to attend to, eh?"
Akari teased him as he turned slightly red, realizing how his words were seen as gloating to the comparatively normal challengers.
"Uh… I'll also go hunt some terrors, I guess…"
There was a pause before the three burst out in laughter, disturbing Alaric, who shot them a nasty look from the other side of the room.
Quieting down, they continued their discussion into the evening, the short ride through the World Between soon coming to its end.
Once they arrived, it would be time to go their own ways, a fresh goodbye for a group of friends that had fought life and limb for a rank.
…
Deep within the humid jungles of the Cosmoti Archipelago, three figures sat around a campfire with the corpse of a minotaur sizzling above the flames.
"C'mon Laquis! Just one more game~!"
Stein Brevmore held his specialized deck of cards, which he used for murder, in his hands, practically begging the white and pink-haired woman to play.
She, of course, rejected him thoroughly, each time more firmly than the last.
"Raymond. Why must we bring this bumbling baboon with us? Is he even any use on this mission, or just a weed needing to be plucked?"
Speaking towards the navy-haired man with annoyance, she watched as he moved his black wings away from his face, his own expression evident.
Stein noticed it as well, laughing and replying to the woman's earlier comment.
"Bumbling baboon…? BAHAHAHAHA! That's the funniest thing someone's called me since that guy in whose throat I shoved a knife!"
Ignoring his response, the commander of their small group spoke up at last, his voice deep and husky as if he swallowed gravel in his free time.
"You know why he is here, Rose. He's an expert in luck, and we are in the land of luck itself. If we want to locate the one island in nearly half a million that has the seal, then we need his abilities."
He sighed, looking back at the meat over the fire, his stomach growling ever so slightly.
"We've only searched a thousand islands so far, and the scouts we've sent ahead have encountered a roadblock. If we are to continue onward, then we should summon another member of the—"
There was no chance for him to finish before a blackish blue engraving on his arm lit up in a flash, a bolt of lightning exploding outward and striking the monster's corpse.
The minotaur vanished as if sacrificed to open a gateway of liquid darkness, which appeared in its place.
"Good evening, my lovely serv— friends!"
Azaroth Pane stepped out from the rift, his eyes gazing around the group until he spotted Stein trying to steal Rose's knife.
"Brevmore."
The psychopath stopped, his eyes panning towards his liege as he swallowed hard.
"Yeah, boss…?"
Raymond watched their exchange in silence, finding the unannounced visit of their master and the Devil within him oddly unnerving.
"You're being substituted for the remainder of this mission. Portman will take your place, and you will return to Svall at once."
The pink-haired girl scowled at those words, her quiet voice coming out in a murmur.
"Does that mean they've completed their unsealing in the Sea of Mystery?"
She hadn't sensed any change in the heavens, and therefore she couldn't be certain, but if the strongest member of the other crew was coming to the archipelago, that had to mean something had changed.
"Unfortunately, there was an obstacle in our path. Not only was Cauron Thorn guarding the cavern, but a new variable has come into play."
All three of the elites immediately drew wary, since someone who trumped even a Sea King in threat level was obviously going to be a factor in their plans.
"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask, what might this variable be?"
Raymond's face was stone cold, a single droplet of sweat coming down from his forehead.
Azaroth turned towards him slowly, his expression dark with a hint of unsteadiness.
"A boy by the name of Aaron Grimstall is being sponsored by a being that we cannot contend with. For our organization, he is perhaps the man we need most on our side."
The elites looked utterly lost, unsure as to what kind of being could trigger such a reaction from their lord; however, after his next words, they could only bow their heads.
"A notice has been sent out across our hideouts in every sea. Convert that boy into a member of the Seven Head Order, and we shall rule the cosmos itself."
He smiled, snapping his fingers and summoning another gateway of darkness beneath where Stein fiddled with his cards.
"Eh?"
Before he could say another word, he vanished alongside the Devil himself, the place where he once sat now occupied by a tall, dark-skinned man with purple hair.
Silence fell between the three elites before Portman broke the tension.
"Where exactly am I…?"