Chương 94: Chapter Ninety-Three: Celebration

"Alright," Serena said.

"Tie these around your waists." Amelia was handed a white strip of cloth. Mel received a red one, and they both quickly tied them as instructed. The colours matched the two hand flags Serena held. Those flags would be used to declare whether Amelia, as white, or Mel, as red, scored a point against the other. Serena then handed them both wooden training swords, which Amelia accepted without complaint. She guessed that even with her healing abilities, Serena didn't want to risk the drama of any lost limbs from steel.

Although even wooden swords didn't help cut the building tension. Despite her eagerness to accept Mel's challenge and her growing experience of being in crowds and the centre of attention, Amelia still felt a knot of anxiety form in her stomach. Here she was, surrounded by the Vengeance's officer staff and dozens more on the rigging, about to have a formal duel with Mel! Honestly, how composed did Mel look!? How did the woman manage an expression of such serious determination? It was just a friendly spar, right!?

"Come here," Serena ordered, gesturing with the flags. Amelia and Mel obeyed, quickly gathering around her.

"To keep things fair," Serena began, "keep to red. Also, Amelia, your wards…" Serena trailed off, giving a pointed look.

"Right, right," Amelia said with a nod.

"I understand. I'll only keep the defensive ones." She nudged her aether, cancelling the numerous wards that enhanced her strength and reaction speed, leaving only those that boosted her defences. She kept her disguise running. It would be good practise to spar while keeping it up. Amelia knew Mel was far more experienced than she was. She'd seen her skills in every session Serena held in Asamaywa.

Mel's swordsmanship was more refined, more accurate, and more elegant than anything Amelia could hope to reach any time soon. Not that Amelia's sword was bad, only that Mel's years of dedicated training stood out in comparison. That said, even against Mel's orange aura, it normally wouldn't be a fair battle. Amelia, with her inherited game stats and boosted constitution from numerous communions, was already fighting at a level above normal.

If she added in her spells that enhanced her even further, it wasn't a fair fight at all! In fact, with how many wards she layered upon herself at any given time, Amelia was sure she could take on a Speaker without having to Speak herself. So, in the interest of fairness, Amelia dismantled many of her wards, leaving only her natural constitution and red aura to fight with. Red aura that drew more than a few muttered comments from the surrounding officers.

"Whoa, look at that!"

"How long has she been training again?"

"Never seen an aura so dense."

"Look at that colour! So rich!" Amelia felt herself swell with pride as she absorbed the compliments for her hard work. Her aura was something she'd worked for, and having others recognise her efforts was satisfying on a level that she didn't normally experience with her magic. Sure, her majestic spellwork often inspired awe in those who witnessed her being cute and amazing, but she didn't earn those comments, not like she did with her aura.

Mel, having seen Amelia's aura several times already, focused on manifesting her own. After a brief moment of concentration, red hues danced along Mel's body as she cast a serious look towards Amelia. Her aura flowed up her wooden blade, wrapping it in shimmering light. Ah! How scary! Amelia's knot of anxiety grew a bit bigger. She swallowed and wrapped her weapon with a first-circle ward. She hadn't yet developed her aura enough to protect her weapon like other warriors could do.

Most of her training so far was spent on refining her existing aura so she didn't glow like the Red Moon every time she manifested it.

"First to three," Serena instructed.

"Face each other. Bow." Amelia bowed in time with Mel, each performing the elegant Shimokan pre-sparring ritual. Then, a moment of loud silence descended as the wind caught Mel's hair and a school of fish flew past overhead.

"Begin!" Serena called. Amelia dropped her centre of gravity, sliding her front foot forward to form zenkutsu-dachi –the front stance. Funny enough, it was at this very same place, months ago, that Serena introduced her to it. Of course, back then, Serena was more interested in poking holes in her future girlfriend and Amelia was more focused on getting close to the stern captain. How times had– Amelia blinked as she darted back, her thoughts interrupted by Mel's sword.

The sudden action prompted the surrounding demons to holler their support with raised fists. Mel attacked again and again, tactically flaring her aura to give herself bursts of speed. Amelia blocked, then parried and leapt to the side, trying to find her bearings. The onlooking sailors wasted no effort.

"Go on, get her!"

"Don't let that softhorn rattle you!"

"Keep up the pressure!"

"Go for the kill!" Honestly! Just how bloodthirsty was Serena's crew!? This was her fault for playing the stern captain all the time! Tightening her grip on the sword, Amelia closed the distance. She knew Mel was more comfortable attacking, so she couldn't sit back and react all the time. She flared her aura, painting the ship's deck with red hues.

Amelia darted forward, striking out with mune-tsuki, the chest thrust, attempting to emulate the power and precision she'd experienced in Kenhoro under the tutelage of Grandpa Gu. She timed it well. Mel was caught mid-stance change. The demon's hurried parry wasn't sufficient to stop Amelia's sword breaking through and scoring a solid hit against her chest.

"Point!" Serena shouted, raising the white flag.

"Reset!" she commanded. As Amelia and Mel returned to their original position, Amelia heard Serena give Mel a few pointers.

"Don't underestimate her," Serena warned.

"You know how powerful she is. Don't think that just because you've reached orange and she hasn't, you have an advantage. Disguised or not, she's a Speaker. Don't forget that." Serena paused for a moment before adding, "She struggles with quick footwork and rapid blocking. You can overwhelm her if you time it right."

"Yes, Captain," Mel answered, nodding solemnly. Excuse me! Amelia thought, only just stopping her cheeks from inflating. Who do you think your girlfriend is, huh!? Where's my advice! She allowed herself to pout just a little, but it wasn't backed by any real anger. She knew Serena was just using this spar as further training for her new officers. Amelia also knew she could have private lessons with Serena whenever she wanted.

For a moment, she wondered how Mel would react if she found out about Amelia and Serena's relationship. Surely Mel would be accepting, right?

"Begin!" Serena shouted. Mel darted in before Amelia had time to settle into her stance. Seeing that the demon was going to unleash a relentless assault, Amelia tried to interrupt it by throwing out another mune-tsuki and hopefully scoring another point. Only this time, Mel parried it perfectly, twisting her body to strike down against Amelia's quickly established guard. She narrowly defended against one, two, and then three expertly delivered strikes.

Amelia thought she saw an opening and risked a counterattack, only for Mel to manoeuvre her sword with a flick of her wrist, slapping Amelia's weapon out of the way before twisting around and landing a killing blow against Amelia's exposed neck.

"Point!" Serena raised her red flag, prompting the surrounding demons to cheer.

"Whoa," Amelia muttered, unable to help herself. Mel has progressed far faster than she thought possible. It wasn't that long ago when they sparred for the first time in the Kenhoro Officers' Academy, where Mel's red aura had seemed almost comically slow compared to the overwhelming abilities of Grandpa Gu. Mel had parried and retaliated on instinct. Instinct that Amelia was fundamentally lacking. Instinct that would take years for her to develop. She couldn't wait!

With one point each, they both reset and, at Serena's command, began the next round. Any hope Amelia had of skillfully scoring another point was quickly dashed. After a few hesitant engagements, it became clear that Mel was quickly adapting to Amelia's aura. Sure, Amelia felt that on any individual movement she could move and strike faster than Mel could, but Mel had simply far more experience in chaining together attacks, forming a flow that, as much as Amelia tried, couldn't stop from slipping through her guard.

"Point!" The red flag was raised after the tip of Mel's sword found Amelia's stomach. Amelia had been tricked by a double-feint! She could tell, judging by the way Mel's lips curled upwards, that the demon was extremely proud of herself. Even though she was losing, Amelia found herself cheering for Mel. After all, Amelia's friends were talented, hardworking individuals, and she loved seeing them succeed! Not that Amelia planned to lose easily.

Given that Mel was relying on her strengths – her years of prior training and instinct – Amelia would do the same. While her finesse still needed work, Amelia's raw power could give even a Speaker warrior an unhappy surprise.

"Begin!" Amelia flared her aura, slipping into her preparatory stance before Mel could rush her down. She managed it in time, and when Mel began her assault with a probing strike… Amelia tucked her stomach in and raised her sword high with both hands. She would make Katalin proud of this rendition of the Hawk. Amelia moved forward with explosive power, bringing down her weapon with as much power as she felt she could safely muster. She felt her blade cut the wind itself as it bore towards the confident Mel.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Credit to Mel's talents, she adapted quickly, twisting her body to guard against the heavy attack. Amelia's warded blade slammed into Mel's defence, causing a burst of red hues to fly out from the contact. If someone was looking at this through the Shimmer, Amelia had no doubt there would be an explosion of the magical colour of ochure. Mel's defence held for a moment.

Then the aura that wrapped her weapon shattered, followed by the wooden blade itself. Amelia's blade continued downwards, stopping just before colliding with Mel's collarbone. As the explosion of colour settled, Amelia and Mel made awkward eye contact.

"Hehe," Amelia giggled.

"Point!" Serena yelled.

"H-hey!" Finella shouted.

"When did you learn the Hawk!? When did you visit the North!?"

"Secret!" Amelia shouted back. It was good to keep an aura of mystery about herself, wasn't it?

"Don't assume," Serena said to Mel, handing her another weapon, "that your opponent will use attacks you're familiar with. Real combat is full of surprises."

"Yes, Captain," Mel replied, wrapping her new weapon with her aura.

"Take your positions!" Serena demanded.

"Begin!" The atmosphere became electrified as the match point began. With so much yelling from the crew, it was hard for Amelia to focus.

"Five taks Officer Mori wins!"

"Don't let demonkind down!"

"Overwhelm her!"

"Look! She's scared!" Amelia resisted rolling her eyes, knowing the moment she took her eyes off Mel, she would be under assault. They circled each other, drawing slowly closer. They didn't glare at each other or even look each other in the eyes. No, Serena had long trained that habit out of Amelia. Instead, they watched each other's bodies and wrists. After all, all movement started from the legs, and all swordplay began at the wrist.

It might make for a good story, but looking at your opponent's eyes was an easy way to miss out on critical information. With how explosive an aura-empowered fight was, it was those initial engagements of leg muscles that you needed to react to. Unfortunately, without her normal layers of enhancements, Amelia's perception wasn't quite able to keep up with Mel's instincts. The demon darted in, feinting low before attacking high.

Amelia tried to counterattack, but Mel slipped in a thrust that caused Amelia to frantically block. The thrust was expertly followed up with a flow of strikes that forced Amelia to adjust her stance, throwing her off-balance, revealing her vulnerable side and–"Point!" Serena called, raising the red flag as the surrounding demons exploded with cheers.

"Well done," Amelia said with a grin. Despite her loss, she couldn't help but smile at her friend's achievement.

"Ah… Thank you…" Mel said, catching her breath while trying to look composed. They handed their weapons back to Serena. After Mel returned to the circle, where she received pats on the back from the energetic Ainese twins, Serena leaned down to Amelia and whispered, "Great work. That was a nice Hawk."

"Thank you," Amelia said with a grin.

"I learned from the best." Serena looked like she didn't know whether to blush or clutch her horns. Adorable!

"R-right!" Serena shouted, clearing her throat.

"Who's next!?" After a few seconds, Dagon stepped forward. His muscular body exuded a presence that quickly quenched the chattering of the onlookers. Now, there was a deathly quiet as everyone waited in anticipation. Who would Serena's second-in-command challenge?

"Come on then," Dagon intoned, picking up a wooden sword.

"Let's see how hard your horns are, Officer Bright." Amelia didn't miss the almost inaudible groan coming from the northern officer. Looks like there was plenty of entertainment to come! Serena settled in her chair at the mess hall's elevated officer table, adjusting it until she was satisfied. As her officers filled the seats around her, the remainder of the crew filtered through the other end of the long, narrow room, taking their seats and talking amongst themselves.

After a few more eventful spars, where even Hinako found an opportunity to earn respect after one of Allston's engineers, a fire mage, challenged her to a duel, the sailors had finished catching lunch and Serena had called an end to the impromptu training session. She'd left Dagon in command. Ranna was behind them and they would soon make their final approach to the Andalus Fortress. Her First Officer was more than capable of handling everything, so she left the ship in his hands while she took an early lunch.

As her officers settled in and began discussing the sparring, the fragrance of fresh fish slowly filled the room, making everyone's mouth water. From the kitchens, the sounds of steam and sizzling fillets could be heard. Those with good hearing, or those sitting closer to the opening that led to the kitchens, could hear the head chef barking orders. Along with a familiar voice squeaking, 'Yes, Head Chef!' Amelia had volunteered for kitchen duty.

Serena supposed Amelia wanted to take the opportunity to help cook ingredients she'd never seen or tasted before. Or perhaps, equally likely, the woman simply volunteered knowing the head chef would hunt her down anyway. Either way, Amelia wasn't the only one slaving away. Mel, Hinako, and Daichi had been corralled into service before they could even think about running. At the time, Daichi had looked like he was going to protest, but a stern look from Serena had quenched any resistance in his eyes.

He was adapting to ship life fast, but Serena could tell he missed some of the comforts of his highborn life. Whether you were highborn or not, on the Vengeance, everyone had to do kitchen duty at least once. Allston's men had managed to catch a grand haul. This far south, the skies were teeming with arkis, winterfish, and even the rarer longtails. They'd barely needed to wait until the greedy fish had been hooked.

While they came nowhere close to the deliciousness of sardis, the fish they'd caught would do wonders for ship morale. Serena mentally awarded herself points for the decision. It had been a good idea. While the Southern Passage would be full of delicious predators and prey, it was unlikely that they would have the opportunity to fish after leaving the Andalus Fortress.

It would be all hands on deck, her entire crew would be focused on keeping the ship stable and prepared to counter any unforeseen dangers the Southern Passage was known for. It wasn't like they could casually unfurl the sails and have men on the rigging, after all. The upcoming skies were filled with tornadoes that could rip a wooden ship apart. With this catch and the cuts of venison and wine Serena had prepared for the upcoming Christmas celebration, ship morale should remain high for the foreseeable future.

The lunch today also doubled as a celebration for Finella and her squad, who had just earned enough respect to be well-accepted by the majority. I'm a great captain, aren't I? Serena thought.

"I can't believe the behaviour of the perimeter ships," someone at her table said.

"You'd think they weren't part of the Empire, with how they're treating us!"

"I heard it's worse around Hokanai and Fengra," Tomes grumbled.

"It's not right. We should be united, not bickering amongst ourselves."

"Officer Song," Thorne called out, prompting both Ido and Arin to look at him.

"Uh, either one of you, I guess. What's the attitude like, down there? I'm guessing you're local, am I right?"

"That's right," Ido nodded, tapping his single horn, a characteristic trait of Ainese demons.

"We were born and grew up in the lowlands outside Fengra. It's where Arin learned to hunt."

"Ah, I was wondering where those skills came from," Thorne said, nodding towards Ido's sister.

"So what do the lowland lords say from those parts? With regard to the rest of the East?"

"Well…" Ido hesitated, flickering his eyes between the numerous senior officers looking at him.

"Growing up, there was always tension. The Far East always felt they were cheated when their candidate for Overlord wasn't chosen. They claim it was petty politics."

"And what do you think?" Thorne intoned. It wasn't asked interrogatively, but his tone had an underlying seriousness.

"It wasn't something we thought about growing up," Arin said, taking over from her brother.

"It was just things you heard, mostly from the older generations when they drank ale. The real discontent started when the conflict erupted. The taxes imposed, and the loss of, uh…" Arin looked up, trying to find the right word.

"Autonomy," Ido said.

"Autonomy," Arin echoed.

"Right. The loss of autonomy, especially around the crystal and steel markets. It caused a lot of problems. The merchants, especially those around Kraken Kur, didn't like being forced to sell to the Three Sisters. As for what we think"–the Ainese demon shrugged–"I don't know either way. Seems everyone's had a rough time these past few years."

"Ain't that the truth," someone muttered.

"What about you, Officer Adachi?" Thorne asked.

"What does Intelligence know about any budding civil war?"

"Hey," Aiden raised a disarming pair of hands.

"Just because I'm in Intelligence doesn't mean I know every secret and operation. I'm as blind as you are. Whatever's going on, it must be safe enough for now. They wouldn't have given us the order to sail this way otherwise." Thorne nodded before turning to Serena.

"I'm concerned the Andalus command might refuse to let us dock, or give us sub-par fuel. We're relying on their stocks to make it across the passage, after all." Serena clicked her tongue.

"They would be fools to make that mistake. Believe me, we're getting what we're entitled to." At her words, her surrounding officers nodded their support. No matter what, Serena wouldn't let the petty politics of the Far East interrupt their divinely-given mission. Even if she had to Speak.

"A matter to discuss, Captain," a voice broke out. Serena looked down the table to see her medical officer, Hillbrand, talking to her.

"Yes?"

"Been hearing talk about the ship finding the human's magic strange." Hillbrand flicked her eyes towards the kitchens before asking, "can she still heal? It'll be a big loss if we lose access to that."

"She can, as long as she's careful," Serena answered.

"Just don't expect any ship-wide healing magic any time soon. She wants to heal the fingers of one of our new cadets, so expect them to make an appearance some time soon."

"Good to know, Captain," Hillbrand said.

"Speaking of the new cadets, I wanted to ask about the woman. The new one," Hillbrand nodded down the room. Serena followed her gesture to see that her medical officer was nodding towards Seonmi.

"What about her?"

"She's in the general crew quarters, right?"

"Right."

"I'm concerned…" Hillbrand tapped the table idly.

"A woman like that. Around so many men." Hillbrand sniffed.

"Those whistles she got outside weren't just for her marksmanship. She's got thick-based Manwese horns with a Fengra twist. That's an exotic package for most of your men."

"You have a request?" Serena asked.

"Allow me to set her up in the medical wing. Let her use the medical washrooms. I can give her work to do, so it doesn't look like favouritism." Hillbrand met Serena's eyes, her face serious.

"I fear the men might get certain… temptations. She isn't a warrior or mage, is she? If we go through a period of low morale… some men might find their own ways to raise it." Hillbrand held Serena's eyes, her expression serious.

"Tsk! They'll hang if I hear even a whisper of that nonsense," Serena said definitively.

"Alright, Hillbrand. Sort it out."

"Thank you, Captain." Serena looked at her officers.

"Anyone else have any concerns? Might as well settle–" The door to the mess hall slammed open. Dagon hurried through and up to the officers' table. He bent down, whispering, "Andalus Fortress are firing their guns, Captain." Serena narrowed her eyes.

"Not at us, I presume?" It wasn't a serious question. If they had incoming fire, Anathor would have warned them.

"No, they just seem to be firing into the void."

"A firing salute?" Thorne offered.

"Perhaps they're welcoming us. Or perhaps they're testing the guns?" Dagon shrugged.

"They would have notified us if they were. It's weird. They're not responding to our messages. Thought it best to notify you before we got too close, Captain." Serena sighed. Lunch would have to wait.

"Come on, you lot," she said quickly, standing up.

"To the bridge!"

"Aye, Captain!" came the chorus of replies. Serena led her men to the ship's bridge, where they quickly settled into their stations with professional efficiency. Looking through the bridge windows, she could see the dark shape of the Andalus Fortress ten klicks in the distance – a monstrosity of iron and steel, stubbornly sticking out of the last mountain island of the Kraken Kur archipelago where it guarded the entrance to the Southern Passage.

Then she saw the telltale flashes of cannon fire, and, by manifesting orange aura and focusing a little, heard the sounds eventually reach her ears almost half a minute later.

"Signatures?" she asked Sensors.

"Nothing we can't identify," the sensors officer reported.

"But they are all centred around the port. It looks like the perimeter ships have all docked up or are hovering close by."

"Shell trajectories? Are we sure they're not trying to hit something we can't detect?"

"Same trajectories each time, Captain. It's not coordinated fire. They're shooting at nothing."

"Send them another request. Keep sending messages until we get a response."

"Aye, Captain." The sensors officer began tapping out a series of aethergrams.

"Officer Adachi," Serena called. Once Aiden approached her, she asked, "Anything I should know?"

"It's news to me," Aiden said with a shrug.

"Maybe they got drunk? I doubt it's a fight, we would have heard a distress–""Captain!" Finella suddenly shouted.

"They're replying! It's…" Serena waited patiently until Finella's eyes widened in shock.

"Well?" she snapped.

"What is it?"

"It's…" Finella swallowed.

"It's a celebration! They're celebrating!"

"Celebrating what, Officer Bright?"

"The war!" Finella exclaimed, her face turning jubilant.

"The end of the war!"

"The end…?" Serena trailed off.

"The Republic signed the treaty! Two days ago!" Finella swallowed.

"The war…"

"... The war's over!" Serena blinked twice. Maybe she would have to use up that venison and wine sooner than she'd expected.