"What are you two still doing in here?" Narrita shouted as she continued to pull on Aurrie's legs. "Hurry up and get out of here!" The Queen fought back against the bandit's tugging. She flailed her head from side to side, moving both her body as well as rocking the ship from side to side. "No point in all of us dying if we don’t have to!" Narrita shouted again.
Tamma looked at the surface of the deck and watched the trail of cannonballs Narrita place move with swaying of the ship. "She's right, Miwah! This boat could blow up any second if the Queen keeps shaking like that!"
"But..." Miwah muttered as she looked at Tamma at the top of the steps. "Aurrie and Narrita!"
The cannonball Narrita lodged between the wall and the steps unstuck itself. Both Miwah and Tamma stared at it with open eyes as it slowly rolled down the stairs, one step at a time. It clunked with each drop, with both girls paralyzed in fear.
"One of you needs to grab it!" Yalch shouted as the cannonball started to pick up speed. Miwah snapped out of her stupor and scrambled forward, dropping Liberator to the side as she darted for the explosive. The seamstress dove with both hands open, clutching the tiny steel ball in both hands before it fell down the final step.
"W-What should I do with this thing?" Miwah said as she stretched her arms out in front of her.
"Don't drop it, lass!" Tamma said as she took a few steps back up the stairs. "Just set it down! Anywhere!"
Miwah turned around and saw Eijnar hold his axe, limping ever closer to Narrita and Aurrie as they struggled against the Queen's grip. The seamstress closed her eyes. Then took in a deep breath.
"Miwah! What are you doing?" Tamma cried from the top of the stairs as she watched the seamstress hold the cannonball in one hand. Without saying a word, Miwah rolled the explosive across the ship's floor. It traveled in a straight line, avoiding all obstructions and debris as it headed towards Eijnar's foot.
The Ghenkan stopped his approach to focus on the oncoming bomb. He tried to limp away, but his slashed ankle made him fall to the side. Eijnar dropped his axe as soon as he hit the ground, leaving him sprawled out as he watched the cannonball roll in front of his face.
Having heard the commotion, Narrita released Aurrie's legs and went for Eijnar's axe. She picked it up and stared into the Queen's clustered eyes. She held the axe's shaft with both hands and heaved a sideways sing at the bug's exposed face.
"Let her go!" Narrita shouted as the blade of her weapon pierced into the bug's left eye. Purple blood burst out of the organ, coating the bandit and Aurrie in the pulpous fluid. The Queen hissed again as its pincers opened wide, dropping Aurrie onto the wooden floor. The housekeeper clenched her wrist as she got on her knees.
"Come on, Aurrie," Narrita whispered as she picked the housekeeper up by the shoulders. "I didn't do all this just for you to sit here and die!"
"Ugh... my wrist!" Aurrie groaned as she dropped her sword to hold onto her hand.
"Worry about it later!" Narrita pulled Aurrie, forcing her to run past the shaking and screaming Insectus Queen with a quick shove. As Narrita followed, Eijnar extended one hand and grabbed the bandit's foot. Narrita fell face first on the ground as the captain dragged her back with one hand.
"Looks like you'll be my co-captain after all!" Eijnar shouted, on his face a wicked smile. One eye opened wider than the other as the captain dragged Narrita closer by her heel. He still onto his sword with his other hand and raised it above the Xiwaoan cannonball. "You've heard the saying! Captains always go do with the ship!"
"Let go you, clod!" Narrita used her other foot to stomp on Eijnar's hand, but with each strike the Ghenkan laughed.
"It was a pleasure working with you, Narrita!" Eijnar said with his hand trembling over the Xiwaoan cannonball. "Maybe we'll see each other again on the other side!"
Narrita stopped struggling. She fixated on Eijnar's sword; her eyes stuck watching its trajectory as the captain lowered the blade. Mid-fall, a familiar shield obscured her vision. As the sword was on its way to smash into the cannonball, Aurrie bent down and held Narrita tight while keeping her shield between them and the Ghenkan.
Eijnar's sword collided with the explosive. There was a clink. Then for one second, silence save for the tormented sounds of the half-blind Insectus Queen.
The cannonball burst into a fiery display. The explosion blasted through the roof and into the deck, turning sharp wooden chunks into deadly projectiles.
"Aurrie! Narrita!" Miwah shouted as she shielded her turned face from the fiery detonation. She turned her head just in time to watch the other two Purifiers get blasted back from the explosion, sending them skidding across the ground. Once they landed, both lay motionless on the ground, dressed in their usual attire but scorched and tattered with their eyes closed.
Miwah fell to her knees, her hand over her mouth as she looked at the pair. She extended one hand as if she were reaching out for them until Tamma ran down the stairs and clutched her shoulders.
"Miwah! We... we have to get going," the hunter said while holding back tears.
"Grab them!" Yalch said as he hovered over Aurrie. "I can still sense life in them!"
Miwah snapped out of her shock instantly and reached down for the unconscious housekeeper. Tamma picked Narrita up by the shoulders and together they dragged the others up the steps. As they got up the stairs, the boat tilted back as other parts of the ship started to erupt. Water filled the lower portion of the boat as its angle in the water sharpened downwards. Chunks of the ship went flying all around, scattering embers around the four girls.
"Almost there!" Tamma said as they headed towards the top of the deck. Miwah looked in the other direction after hearing a menacing hiss overcome the clamor of warped wood. The Queen crawled after them, her armor blown off, revealing all the pulpy black and purple mass underneath the exoskeleton. Her pincers were now crooked and misshapen while Eijnar's axe remained embedded in one eye.
But her rows of jagged teeth remained. She scaled up the sinking ship, zig zagging because of her missing leg. Despite the Queen's injuries, she zeroed in on Aurrie and Miwah.
"I still have my spell, Miwah!" Tamma shouted as she stopped by the edge of the deck.
"What are you suggesting?" Miwah asked as she caught up.
The hunter looked at the Queen as she scurried up the stairs before looking into the waters below. Chunks of wood floated against in the calm waves. "You'll have to jump. Just make sure these two keep their heads above water. Use some of the debris to float." Tamma lifted Narrita as upright as she could, propping her up against Miwah's right arm.
"I can barely hold one of them!" Miwah said as she tried to keep Aurrie upright with the other.
"All you have to do is fall, lass."
"What are you going to do?"
"If I jump to the other side, I can get a clear shot at the rest of the cannonballs. If that doesn't take out the Queen..." Tamma shifted her head to the side of the deck. "I don’t want to think about it. Let's just see if this idea works first."
"You are crazy, Tamma!" Miwah declared as she clumsily poised herself and the unconscious girls. "If we do not survive this, I want that to be that last thing I ever say to you!"
Tamma pulled Solstice's string back, creating a long golden arrow. "Love you too, Miwah," the hunter said without looking at the seamstress.
"Jump!" Yalch said to Miwah. She sighed while making sure Aurrie and Narrita's heads were upright. The seamstress took one step and plunged towards the water. Her legs flailed during the fall before both her and the other two submerged beneath the water's surface. With all her might, Miwah held onto the other two as she kicked her legs furiously, quickly bringing all three above the waves. A chunk of the ship drifted by, giving her a place to rest the others.
Making sure that everyone was above the water and secured on the piece of wood, Miwah kicked her legs and made the make-shift raft drift closer towards the shore. She turned her head and saw Tamma jump off from the far side of the deck. The hunter's back was to her as she fired Deadly Line.
The spell lit up the night as it travelled down the sinking ship. As Tamma fell into the water, the far end of the boat exploded. Smaller eruptions traveled throughout the craft, scattering more flaming scraps all over the water. Miwah ducked her head as the rest of the boat burst into flames, sending rough waves towards her raft.
"Tamma!" Miwah cried over the raging fire. "Yalch! Is Tamma all right?"
The ghost flew higher, scanning the waters as he placed his hand over his eyes. "I see her!" he shouted while pointed to Miwah's left. He lowered himself and waved at the hunter. "Over here, Tamma!"
Tamma swam closer, getting close enough to join Miwah in guiding the debris back to shore. "These two all right?" the hunter asked after taking a deep breath. She held onto the end and helped guide them to shore.
"Barely," Miwah replied.
"We'll see if they start bickering once they wake up," Tamma said.
