The fire crackled softly in the hideout.
Orimo stood, fists clenched, his voice steady yet trembling with the weight of everything he had seen.
Orimo:
I will deal with it.
I cannot overlook the killing anymore.
The things I've witnessed… they haunt me every night.
If I don't act now, I will be ashamed of myself.
They're all human—free and equal to us in status.
The room fell silent.
Erik stared at him for a long moment—long enough for memory to open like an old wound.
---
{Flashback}
A ship cutting through dark waters.
Moonlight shining on the figure of Ryuta Konan, cloak fluttering in the sea wind.
Erik, younger, stands beside him.
Erik: Why are you against the Dominion's order and propaganda?
You could live quietly, you know.
Ryuta didn't look at him—he looked at the horizon.
Ryuta:
I want to become a man I can be proud of.
And to become that—
I must never overlook injustice.
The ocean wind howled.
The ship sailed forward into the unknown.
---
{Back to Present}
Erik's eyes soften.
Erik (thinking):
He really does carry your spirit… Ryuta.
Erik steps forward.
Erik:
Then do it.
But tell me, Orimo—do you want to live freely?
To travel across the whole world…
and challenge the tyranny strangling it?
Orimo:
Yeah. I do.
Erik smirks slightly.
Erik:
Then why don't you become a pirate?
Orimo blinks.
Orimo: …What's a pirate?
Erik:
A pirate is someone who sails the ocean with freedom.
No chains.
No masters.
Only the open sea and the will to choose his own path.
Orimo's eyes burn with resolve.
Orimo:
If that means I can fight what's wrong with this twisted world…
Then yes. I'll become one.
Ryuki steps forward, smiling faintly.
Ryuki:
Then let me join your crew.
Orimo:
Of course.
Erik laughs under his breath.
Erik:
Ryuki is strong.
So take care of her.
Orimo:
Yeah. I will.
A sudden stillness falls.
And in that silence—
A voice only Erik can hear.
Soft. Echoing. Ancient.
Ryuta (whispering):
Someone else will carry my will.
Erik closes his eyes.
The Will of the Devil King lives on.