Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The Glory of the Moon!
The wolf regarded Cecilia with a gaze heavy with expectation, trust, and profound regret. A voice, gentle and resonant, filled the air beside her.

“…King, the bloodline you carry… to meet you at my life’s end is perhaps the greatest gift fate has bestowed upon me.”

“My name is Moon Wolf Bernhard, descendant of kings. Please, accept my final offering…”

In awe, Cecilia watched as a brilliant light began to emanate from the wolf. The pure white glow intensified, overshadowing even the deepest stains of blood, until all that remained was the luminescence of the moon itself.

Moonlight enveloped Cecilia, transforming her. Her hair, catching the celestial light, began to shimmer with a soft, ethereal gray, lengthening until it cascaded down her back. As the light intensified, her golden locks turned a radiant silver-white, a crown befitting a guardian born of moonlight and ancient legacies.

The girl’s pupils shifted, elongating into vertical slits that mirrored the moon hanging solemnly in the sky. Her body became enveloped in a flame-like aura of pure white light, breathtaking and otherworldly.

Her spirituality soared, transcending its earthly bounds. The once shattered vessel of her being was now re-forged in the celestial fires of the moonlight, reborn stronger and more resplendent.

“The legacy of the Moon Wolf King… the human guise of the Silver Moon Wolf, it is truly magnificent…” The Moon Wolf’s voice was serene, filled with a peaceful acceptance as its form began to dissipate from the tail upwards, turning gradually into ethereal ash.

As the final traces of moonlight faded, Cecilia felt her own transformation subside. Her once ordinary blonde locks were now a luminous silver-white, and her eyes shimmered with a soft silver hue. A profound sadness welled within her, a poignant blend of loss and newfound solitude.

Cecilia reached out, her fingers grasping at the elusive moonlight, but it slipped through like silken water, impossible to hold.

“Don’t wear such a mournful expression, Miss Wolf Girl…” A gentle voice caressed her ears. Turning, Cecilia saw a woman dressed in a vivid blood-red gown standing where the Moon Wolf had vanished. “Bernhard fulfilled its destiny. You should celebrate its peacefull end.”

Cecilia’s gaze, now icy, met the stranger’s. “Who are you?”

The woman in red smiled softly. “Me? Just a fading echo soon to be silenced. Pay me no mind.”

She changed the subject swiftly. “Aren’t you searching for your companions, the Dark Moon Witch and a knight named Ryan?”

Snapped back to reality by the mention of her friends, Cecilia’s voice was sharp. “Where are they?”

“Don’t worry,” the woman, who called herself Selina, smiled, her finger tracing a mysterious arc in the air. Blood-colored ripples danced from her fingertip, conjuring a swirling vortex portal. Ryan and Freni tumbled out a moment later.

Ryan, quick to recover due to his robust physique, steadied himself and assessed the Blood Witch Selina, the most potent aura in his senses. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Selina pressed her finger to her lips, signaling silence.

“I’d love to stay and chat; it’s what I enjoy most. Sadly, time is a luxury we lack…”

Below their feet, a vast circle of blood-red sigils began to spin, gathering ominous energy.

“Farewell, Miss Dark Blue Witch, Sir Knight Ryan, and Miss Wolf Girl,” Selina called out playfully, her voice light as the sigils glowed brighter.

In an instant, a blinding burst of blood-colored light enveloped the trio. As it receded, they were gone.

The sound of shattering glass pierced the night as a terrifying purple-black fissure ripped through the sky of the Whirlpool Islands. A colossal eye, indifferent and cold, peered through the rift, surveying the scene below like a deity observing an insignificant ant.

“Ah, you’ve arrived so promptly,” Selina remarked, her smile unfaltering as she was encircled by swirling, blood-tinted lights that wove into a complex and stunning constellation of stars.

Her gaze met the giant eye unflinchingly as she rose into the air, her form radiating a fierce glow that turned the night sky a deep, ominous red, staining even the moonlight with the hue of blood.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” she declared, her voice resonant with anticipation and resolve.

The entire horizon was drenched in a deep, blood-red glow that swallowed everything in sight.

Ryan, engulfed in this crimson chaos, felt a surreal disconnect; his body seemed to spiral out of control, leaving only his consciousness tethered to reality.

The world spun madly on its axis, time stretching and contracting around him in a dance that defied all measure. It was impossible to gauge the length of his ordeal; it felt eternal until gradually, the violent spinning subsided. As the overwhelming red began to dissipate, hints of another color started to seep through the edges of his perception. With cautious relief, Ryan cracked his eyes open.

“Plop!”

“Plop!”

Before he could take stock of his new surroundings, the abrupt sensation of freefall was cut short by a splash, followed by another. Instinctively, he moved his limbs, paddling to the surface. Emerging from the depths, he spotted a figure nearby, the silver-haired knight, Cecilia, who also grappled with the waves.

However, Freni, ever resourceful, had reacted with more finesse. Utilizing her magic just before impact, she crystallized the seawater beneath her into a solid platform, sparing herself the disarray of a watery plunge.

Once both Ryan and Cecilia were hoisted onto the dark blue crystalline surface, a moment of silent acknowledgment passed between them. Their eyes shared the brief sparkle of camaraderie and relief in the chaotic aftermath.

But their reunion was cut short by a light, mocking laughter that echoed around them, chilling and familiar.

“Ms. Dark Moon Witch, Mr. Knight Ryan, and Miss Wolf Girl, hello~”

The voice, unmistakably Selina’s, jolted them from their relief. Spinning around, they found the Blood Witch herself materializing at the edge of their makeshift raft. Her form was ethereal, slightly translucent, with edges that seemed to bleed away into fine, blood-colored mist.

“Don’t look so shocked. What you see is merely a spiritual projection I left behind, a safeguard activated upon my demise,” Selina explained, her eyes gleaming with amusement under the sharp flick of her eyeliner, reminiscent of a cunning fox.

She continued, her voice tinged with a cryptic tone, “I used an exceedingly rare artifact to teleport you here, to the inland sea south of the Whirlpool Islands. As for your exact location? Well, even I can’t be sure.”