Out at sea, Miller stands on the deck of the ship as it sails ahead near a small set of islands. Tan flies from above, landing next to him as Tisha leaps down from the crow's nest.

            “I’m done scouting. We’re close to the location now. I have Fiona up there keeping a close lookout just in case, though.” Tisha says.

Tan nods. “I did a quick fly around. I noticed other ships nearby, so those are likely the other candidates, right?”

            “At least we’ll have allies in this fight,” Zanrit says.

            “If they’ll work with us,” Miller says.

Tisha nods. “Exactly. They're the people who are fighting to become king. I doubt they’d be so willing to work with their competitors.”

            “Exactly. Not to mention we’re currently missing our own King.” Miller says.

Pepper floats down, landing on Tisha’s head. “I can still detect Glyn’s King Piece, but I can’t feel out his present location. There’s too much interference likely caused by the Demon’s influence.”

Zanrit walks forward. “To think we’d be fighting the ancient enemy of all life. It’s truly astonishing.”

            “Exactly. And we have to find some way to save Glyn and Mila.” Tisha shakes her head. “If we can avoid the Demon’s revival, then that’s the best option. But if this is some kind of Greater Demon, we don’t have the type of firepower to confront that.”

            “According to the stories and journals from around that time, a Scared Weapon is needed to deal damage to a Greater Demon,” Pepper says.

            “A Scared Weapon. A vessel of pure Mana carrying scared power that can break up the miasma that comprises a Demon’s body.” The Captain says, walking up to the group.

            “You know about them?” Tan asks.

            “I have my hobbies. On long sea voyages, reading is a pleasant hobby to waste time.” He says.

Zanrit nods. “He has a point. When I was on my raft, I had some reading material on hand.”

            “Oh, what kind of reading did you do?”

            “Mostly on combat techniques and some other information on scavenging plants.”

            “Oh.” Tan flies up to Zanrit’s shoulder. “Do you still have them?”

            “I’ve lost my books a while ago. I have been borrowing Glyn’s books for a while now.”

            “Well, maybe you can recommend me some.”

Miller sighs. “I hate this waiting around. If only we had eyes on the airship itself.”

            “It’s an old war airship, right?” The Captain asks.

            “You know stuff about that too, then?” Tisha asks.

He nods. “Yeah. Discussing the old wars and everything before the Demon war. I’ve even discussed it with Glyn while we had downtime.”

            “So, what can you tell us?” Miller asks.

            “Now, this is mainly speculation based on old documents. The airship should not be able to move quick. Never mind how much Mana it takes to keep that thing afloat. It’s why they stopped being used when the wars ended.”

            “So, they’re flying around in an antique,” Tan says.

            “Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it lacks firepower. These things wiped entire villages off the map in a barrage of magical attacks.”

Tisha sighs. “Don’t I know it? The old Elf Village was destroyed by one of those things when our lands were overrun by Demons.”

            “So, it’s slow. But has enormous destructive potential. A dangerous weapon indeed.” Zanrit says.

            “Hey, guys!” Fiona screams up from the crow’s nest. “I see the airship!” She screams out at the top of her lungs.

High in the skies above the islands, a foreboding shadow emerges, blocking the sun. The saucer-like ship flies as an ominous aura expels from the vessel, covering it in a thick miasma. It floats through the air as everyone stares up at it. Miller clenches his teeth as it moves past them.

            “I don’t think it noticed us,” Tan says.

            “Tan, can you get close to that thing?” Miller asks.

Tan shakes her head. “No way!”

            “That’d be impossible. That ship has anti-air defenses. Flying near it would be a death sentence.” The Captain says.

Tan nods. “Yeah. Besides, it feels wicked, like not in a good way at all.”

Tisha grabs her arm. “And we can sense it down here. It’s so far away, but it’s making my skin crawl just by being near me. Getting close to the thing has to be ten times worse, at least.”

            “How do we stand a chance against that ship?” The Captian asks.

            “I could fire a spell at it. But I don’t think it’d dent it.” Pepper says. “We’d need a high-tier spell or weaponized equivalent to do anything.”

            “Damn it. We need a plan, here.” Miller growls, gnashing his teeth.

            “First, you need to calm down. I understand your circumstances, but getting worked up won’t help anyone.” Quila says, approaching the group with Sam behind her. “And remember this. We are not alone in this fight.”

            “Quila?”

            “Listen, young ones. You don’t need to talk to each other for everyone to be on the same page. And everyone here agrees on one thing above all else.” She points her finger toward the airship. “And that agreement is that that stupid thing needs to die here and now!”

As she makes her proclamation, a beam of light races across the sky, crashing into the airship and knocking it off course. As it trudges along, a series of explosions go off across the side of the ship. Energy blasts fire from the ship, only to explode mid-flight as another blast of light hits it, knocking it towards the water.

The ship fires everything that it has into the air, only for a shadow to emerge from the water. Tendrils shoot out from under the waves, wrapping themselves around the ship and dragging it into the sea. As everything around it explodes, the tendrils disappear, sinking into the waves as smoke bellows out from within the airship, with it sitting motionless on the surface of the water.

Before anything else can happen, a dark miasma expels from within the ship, forming into a translucent dome and trapping it in place. A series of explosions go out just above the dome as the force rocks the airship but leaves it undamaged.

            “What was that?” Tan asks.

            “The other King Candidates, I presume. They weren’t holding back and unleashed their full force on the airship.” Sam says.

The Captain nods. “They brought it down. But the damned thing is still in operation. It’s just pinned right now.”

            “Then what can we do?” Miller asks.

            “For now, I say we land on an island and regroup. We’ve been at sea for a while now, so getting on bearings and scooping out the situation properly would do some good.” Tisha says.

Miller nods. “You're right. For now, let’s regroup. Once we find a way around that barrier, we can get to work.”

            “That’s the plan,” Tisha says.

            “Right, I’ll sail us to an island. You all look for some supplies while you're there.” The Captian walks off as he orders the crewmen around the ship.

Tisha stares at the ship, putting her hand to her chest. “Glyn, please be okay. I’ll save you, I promise. And you too, Mila, watch out for each other.”

Miller looks at her, then shakes his head. “I have to focus. Mila and Glyn are counting on me. I can’t let either of them down. Especially not right now. But I will see us through this. And then you can take being in charge back forever, Glyn. I have no idea how you put up with this.”