Sirin, who always had to have things her way, naturally wasn't going to let Mei have the last word.
She plopped herself down right beside Kiana, pressing close, then cupped Kiana's face in her hands. "You're such a wimp. It was just a car crash—how could something like that keep you up at night?"
She treated Raiden Mei's warning as nothing more than background noise.
No—she flat-out ignored her.
She was annoyed. So what if Raiden Mei had known Kiana a little longer? Did that make Kiana hers or something?
If she wasn't allowed to touch her, she'd touch her just to prove a point.
And not just touch—she'd squeeze.
"What are you doing?!"
Kiana tried to pry her hands away, but Sirin was faster—and much bolder. Kiana herself had never dared treat anyone that familiarly.
Now Sirin had beaten her to it.
"Stop it, Sirin."
Seeing Mei's expression completely devoid of its earlier smile—her lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure—Yae Sakura stepped in, pulling Sirin back to her seat.
With the battle against the Whale of Transfiguration approaching, now was hardly the time for petty arguments.
Dragged back, Sirin glared at Yae Sakura in irritation but didn't say more. She knew this wasn't the right moment to keep stirring things up.
The Whale was what mattered now.
Still, she couldn't help but fume inside.
Mei, meanwhile, calmed herself and reached out, gently touching Kiana's cheek. "Does it hurt?"
"…Mei, I'm not a child."
Kiana awkwardly rubbed her face where Sirin had pinched it. She felt like Mei worried about her a little too much.
Regret flickered briefly in Mei's eyes as she withdrew her hand. Kiana's skin was so soft—the thought passed unbidden through her mind.
"You mentioned a car accident just now?"
"It wasn't us. We just saw it happen on the road last night. One of the cars suddenly burst into flames."
"Caught fire on its own?"
That alone shouldn't have been enough to shake Kiana's nerves—after all, she'd seen far bloodier things.
When the Almighty Thunder struck, people were slaughtered by Kami. If Kiana truly lacked mental strength, she would've broken down that day.
But she hadn't.
She'd been sad, yes—but her composure never faltered.
"It wasn't an accident. I saw something run off, but I couldn't tell what it was."
Kiana hesitated before admitting softly, "I can't stop thinking about whatever that was."
And then there was what Sirin told her about the dead man's identity—and the sins hidden beneath the flames.
That was what truly left a bitter taste.
"All that over a mystery? If you're that curious, I'll ask around. We'll find the truth easily enough."
"…No, it's fine. That guy got what he deserved."
While they talked, the ship neared the designated area—not far from Sapphire City.
Looking back, they could still see the city's skyline on the horizon. A single mistake in battle here could easily spread destruction toward land.
Out at sea, a massive vessel floated ahead—clearly their staging point.
They transferred over.
Standing on the deck, Kiana looked down at the calm water below—but saw nothing.
Not a trace of Kami. Not even a fish.
"As we agreed before, let me go first," Kiana said, wary that Mei might change her mind. They were at sea, after all—one wrong step could send her overboard.
And she didn't exactly have the power to fly.
"Don't rush in."
"Relax, I'll be careful!"
"You want to fight too?"
Sirin had just finished talking with the ship's crew when she approached.
"Yes."
Sirin gave her a long look before breaking into a grin. "Shouldn't you be asking me about this first? Raiden Mei can't even fight properly at sea."
"…You can?"
"I can!" Sirin said proudly, setting the Edict Edge in front of Kiana. "Use this."
"I don't use blades."
Kiana thought she meant to lend her the Edict Edge and quickly shook her head. She was testing her own strength—her fists versus weapons.
Borrowing Sirin's Edict Edge would defeat the point.
Sirin withdrew the blade with a pout. "You idiot, I meant I can use the Edict Edge to create footholds so you won't fall into the water."
"Walking on air?"
"You could say that."
"With solid footing, I won't have to worry about slipping. That's actually pretty useful."
"So go on—beg me."
Sirin looked at Kiana expectantly.
Kiana froze, eyeing her up and down, but before she could respond, Mei cut in. "Ignore her. It's part of her job."
The Whale of Transfiguration had plenty of followers surrounding it. This wouldn't be a battle solved with a single strike.
"Huh?"
"So you figured that out, huh? Not bad for one night's research," Sirin teased.
"The chatting ends here."
Yae Sakura emerged from within the ship. "Get ready—they're about to launch the torpedoes."
All to avoid dragging this out any longer.
They had gathered all the data they needed. Now it was time to wipe out this nest of corruption.
Moments later, the calm sea erupted into violent waves. Even their ship began to sway under the sudden turbulence.
Until Sirin tapped the deck with her blade.
Golden ripples spread outward, and the ship stilled completely—as though existing in a space separate from the storming sea.
No matter how violently the ocean raged below, their vessel remained untouched.
"Amazing, Sirin!"
"There's more to come."
The sea darkened into pitch black, as though some colossal creature stirred beneath. The sky itself dimmed as heavy clouds gathered overhead.
Then came a sound—a mournful, haunting cry, like a whale's lament echoing from the depths.
A massive skeletal fish, as large as a ship, broke through the surface.
Its body was entirely made of bone. In its hollow eye sockets burned twin green flames. Its ivory frame was entwined with shadowy black mist that reeked of resentment.
It looked like a spirit dragged up from the depths of hell.
Around it, the sea boiled—and then something even more horrifying appeared.
One by one, ancient ships surfaced, rotted and half-sunken, as if they'd been buried beneath the waves for centuries.
From the shrouding black mist on their decks, countless green eyes stared out—disembodied, formless.
Things that did not belong to the living world.
Dozens of ghostly Kami and phantom ships emerged in the blink of an eye, forming a nightmarish fleet across the sea.
"So many?"
Sirin frowned, but quickly relaxed when she remembered she was only acting as support this time—Raiden Mei was the main force.
Drawing the Edict Edge, she traced lines of golden light that spread across the sea, forming sturdy pathways above the waves.
"These are all yours. Think you can handle it?"
"I think so."
The numbers were large, but Kiana calculated quickly—it wasn't impossible.
They could handle this.
Mei nodded. "We can."
Alone, she would have been enough. Quantity meant nothing before her blade.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Sirin turned toward Yae Sakura. "Record the combat data. This is the first time we've encountered Kami that bring ghost ships with them."