He used the same power they called "demonic." Even more bloody. More violent. More absolute. He didn't pray. He didn't atone. He only used this power to kill, to destroy, and then... to take her away.
He overturned everything she knew.
Power... could it be used like this?
Running away... wasn't shameful?
Living... wasn't about dying for others, but about... "joyriding"?
A thick fog of confusion wrapped around her. But a different mist had torn apart her "peaceful" life.
She watched Rhett hum a tune and fiddle with the ship's controls. Her lips moved, as if asking him, and herself.
"You... also use... demonic power... why..."
Why could he be so unashamed?
Why could he be so... free?
Rhett seemed to hear her. He paused, looking at her. His crimson eyes held no mockery or lecture. Only a pure, natural arrogance.
"Demonic?" He laughed, tapping the control panel. "A power that lets me come and go as I please, beat anyone I don't like, and run away if I can't win..."
He looked back at the vast sky and the blue sea. A confident smile spread across his face.
"That's the best power."
"As for why?" He seemed to find it funny. "Because I never think about atonement..."
He paused, each word hitting her confused heart.
"Ever since I came into this world, I've thought about how to live. How to make myself happy. How to live free."
The girl fell silent. She stared at Rhett's profile, at the clouds rushing by, at the blue sea connecting countless islands. The world she had never known was now before her.
Rhett was different from Hancock. He was rebuilding this girl's values, her view of the world.
He was molding her into what he wanted.
As the ship left Piruka's waters, the islands ahead became clearer.
Rhett seemed to think of something. He looked at the silent girl and asked casually.
"Hey, do you know how people trade? With goods, or money... but I don't think they have berries yet. Do they? What a headache."
The girl looked back blankly. She shook her head.
"Say: 'I don't know, Captain.'"
Her voice was soft, but she repeated the new title.
"I don't know, Captain."
"That's right. Say it again."
She looked at him and repeated, a little louder.
"I don't know, Captain."
"Good!" He seemed very pleased. He pulled the controls, sending the ship toward a busy port below.
"Since you don't know—" He dragged out the words, excited. "Let's go see for ourselves! Field trip!"
The ship wobbled toward the harbor, ignoring the commotion it would cause.
Rhett: I can't land properly anyway.
Before they could even step out, a group of natives with crude weapons — spears, stone axes, a few flintlock-like guns — surrounded them. Their faces were full of caution and hostility.
The leader, his face painted, aimed his stone axe at them. His accent was thick. "Leave our land, invaders! We won't leave!"
Rhett: Yes. That's right.
This primitive, hostile welcome made Rhett smile. "Good. This is more like it." He muttered to the girl. "This backwardness fits my idea of this era."
Looking at their ancient weapons, and remembering Piruka's advanced technology, he understood. These "natives" were likely the original inhabitants, driven out by the "moon immigrants."
A race that exhausted their own moon's resources and had to migrate wouldn't be peaceful. This conflict was logical.
"I see." The blood mist around Rhett began to spread, ready to teach these "natives" a lesson.
Rhett: Time to crack the whip.
But before the mist could spread, the natives' hostility froze. They stared at the swirling red mist, then at Rhett and the girl. Their expressions shifted from anger to... disappointment?
"Tch..."
"So it's not them..."
"Forget it. False alarm."
The leader even yawned, waving his hand dismissively. He said to Rhett, in a tone of "what a hassle,"
"Another one with 'demonic power'... why didn't you say so? We thought it was those tin cans or their lackeys again."
"Friendly fire is pointless."
He turned, ready to leave.
"Guess I'll have to wait to propose to my girl..."
Rhett: "..."
The blood mist around him paused, awkwardly.
His plan for a fight was cut short. He watched the natives lose interest and walk away. He didn't know what to say.
Evil Rhett: Wait. This isn't right! Where's the heroic resistance? They just gave up when they saw demonic power?! And when did we become allies? How am I supposed to steal from them now? I can't claim self-defense!