From Another World (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 105: Against the Houshou Pirates

 We were in front of the town's gates and the docks were in the opposite direction. The game was supposed to be simple. If we managed to steal Marine's hat before the sun set, she would cooperate with us and sail. But if we failed, Ayame would be part of her crew.

"Are you out of your mind? What makes you think we can beat the Houshou Pirates?" Rushia asked.

"It's faster and better than trying to secretly gather that amount of money", Ayame answered.

"We don't have to beat them. We just need to steal Marine's hat", Kanata told her.

"But does that mean we aren't allowed to exterminate them? I believe that Captain Marine will not sail with the murderers who killed her crew", Roboco said.

"We can't destroy the buildings too. Bringing suffering wouldn't be fun at all!" Ollie added.

This was troubling. We couldn't kill them so our options were limited. We couldn't destroy the houses in our way so our routes were predictable. These rules made this fight even harder.

This isn't a fight. This is a game. You gotta have fun, Noir told me.

"There's only one thing we can do", Ayame said.

A green smoke rose up from the distance and that was the signal to start. The sun was most likely going to set two hours from now since I could feel the night approaching. That's why we decided to charge through the main street and get it over as soon as possible.

However, several members of the Houshou Pirates were there. They all had swords and guns while completely outnumbering us. However, it was all useless when I faced my palm at them and their own shadows rose up and bound them in place.

"Mikage! What are you doing?!" Ayame shouted.

Their bodies became limp and the shadows wrapping around their necks disappeared. Ayame rushed over and checked on them but I knew I did nothing wrong.

"They are still alive", she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course. I pressed their carotid arteries. The lack of blood flow towards their brains will make them faint. They'll wake up soon enough", I answered.

"I see! We can just knock them out!" Ollie shouted.

"That's right! If we are unconscious, you guys can fight freely!" a woman's voice said behind.

I instinctively commanded my shadow to turn into a spiky shield. How could someone sneak up like that without me detecting them?! But I didn't feel my shadows piercing through something so whoever that person was, I didn't kill them.

"That's great! That was dangerous!" the same voice exclaimed.

A woman with long white hair and wearing a blue-white dress was smiling at us. She had blue fins at the sides of her head so she was most likely a mermaid. If she was attacking us like this, then she must be one of the Houshou Pirates.

"You guys go on ahead! I can handle this!" Ollie grinned.

"Be careful. That woman is Doris, the navigator of the Houshou Pirates", Ayame told her.

Doris didn't attempt to attack us as we moved ahead. Instead, she charged straight at Ollie while water formed around her arms. They exchanged strikes for a while and I could no longer see them.

But before we could go any further, two more people appeared in front of us. One was a black-haired woman wearing a white jacket. Her chest was wrapped with bandages and her right arm was holding a pink sword.

Beside her was a young man with black-white hair. He was wearing a black fur coat while wielding a pistol on each hand.

"Kson, the vice-captain of the Houshou Pirates", the woman smirked.