Episode 196
Chapter 63: Escape (Part 1)
The pirates ran on, completely unaware that Jin and his companions were secretly following them.
They stopped at a well.
Like most of the wells on this abandoned island, it had long since dried up and lost its function. But this one seemed to serve as a secret passage leading somewhere.
Without hesitation, the pirates plunged into the well.
“Hmm.”
Jin’s companions exchanged glances and shrugged.
“Looks like there’s some hidden space down there, and they’re planning to hide out.”
“But they said they could shake off the Bimont regular fleet, so I doubt they’re just hiding.”
“Still, they don’t strike me as the sharpest. Maybe they really are just trying to lay low. They didn’t even seem to understand why the fleet surrounded the island.”
“That’s true.”
Kashimir and Alisa nodded, and the others followed suit.
“Well, we’ll follow them down and if it looks bad, we’ll have to be ready to swim out. Let’s hope they have some trick up their sleeves.”
Jin and his group approached the well. There were no traces of the pirates left at the bottom—it was clear they had disappeared into another space connected below.
One by one, Jin’s companions jumped into the well, and their eyes caught sight of a metal cover lying flat on the floor.
It was a kind of door. Without a handle and tightly shut, it looked impossible to open from the outside.
At least, for ordinary people.
With a crack and a bang, Jin crushed the metal cover barehanded and tore it off.
“Wow, you’ve gotten strong, kid. Tearing metal like it’s paper.”
Murakan said it casually, but Siris, touching the bent cover, couldn’t help but shudder inwardly.
Just as they were about to descend the passage—
Whoosh!
A dagger flew through the air. It was coated with an aura of about three stars, but Jin waved his hand like swatting a fly, and the dagger bounced off, clattering to the floor.
Before anyone could shout who had thrown it—
Jin’s eyes flashed fiercely as he closed the distance. The pirate, one of those they had been chasing, was so stunned he couldn’t even scream.
Grab!
Jin seized the pirate by the collar.
“Sorry to startle you, but we’re not here to hurt you. Come with us. You guys seem to have a plan.”
Flash!
Before Jin could finish, the dark passage suddenly lit up with torches.
Other pirates, who had opened the metal cover to let them in, now held the torches. Jin and his group were taken aback.
“How many of them are there?”
It wasn’t just a handful. At a glance, there were dozens, maybe over a hundred. It was astonishing that so many pirates were gathered in this underground passage, but it wasn’t intimidating.
No matter if there were a hundred or a thousand, they weren’t a real threat to Jin’s party.
The torch-bearing pirates all drew their weapons, glaring at Jin and his companions.
“Damn it, who’s the last one that came in? Looks like he’s been followed.”
“Chikol and Belve. Clumsy fools.”
“Luckily, not many followed. Captain, what should we do? I say we kill them all.”
Chikol and Belve were the names of the pirates who had followed Jin’s group. As the pirates grumbled, Jin’s group smiled dismissively.
“Quiet!”
Someone shouted from the pirate ranks and stepped forward.
It was a man Jin knew well—the leader of this pirate band. Pirate King Cosmos, the mastermind behind this secret passage.
“So, you’re the captain.”
Jin flinched as Cosmos’s eyes widened the moment Jin spoke.
“Jin Gray…!?”
“What?”
“You’re Jin Gray!”
“Who’s that? What are you talking about, pirate?”
Jin feigned ignorance, but Cosmos continued with certainty.
“You think I’d forget that voice? Thanks to you, I’m still drowning in debt. Good to see you, you bastard!”
“Huh? Captain, is that guy really Jin Gray?”
“Jin Gray? Last year’s champion? The one who put our captain in debt?”
Jin shrugged helplessly. Thanks to his blond hair and makeup, he looked completely different, but those who knew his true face recognized him.
“Well, fine. Since you know who I am, no need for long talk. Cosmos, you know the situation outside, right? The Velado Principality fleet has the whole area covered. You’re not planning to just hide in this passage, are you?”
Jin asked brazenly, and Cosmos trembled.
“Do you think I’m going to help you?”
“We’re not exactly enemies, are we? Why so hostile?”
“Shut up! Because of you, our pirate crew is still handing over gold coins to your precious friend…!”
“My friend?”
“Beradin Zipple, that devil of a man!”
Jin remembered.
—Jin Gray! Let’s gooo!
He recalled Beradin placing a 100,000 gold coin bet on himself against Paul Mick (Dante Hiran). Jin’s payout was triple when he won.
Since that day, Cosmos had been sending whatever money he made straight to Beradin.
Debt snowballs, and Beradin was ruthless about money. Cosmos had paid off the principal but was still paying massive interest.
No one, not even a pirate king, would dare cheat Beradin Zipple out of money.
“…That’s unfortunate. Well, not really unfortunate. If you want to make money from underground fighting tournaments, you have to accept some risks, right? If Paul Mick had won, he’d be sitting on a fortune.”
“Look at the nerve of that guy!”
“Captain, why hesitate? Just kill them! No time to waste, let’s finish this and get out.”
The pirates snarled and shouted.
But Cosmos was busy calculating in his head.
‘He’s obviously from a noble family, just like Paul Mick, Jin Runcandel, or Beradin Zipple. And those companions of his don’t look ordinary either.’
Cosmos still believed Paul Mick was Jin Runcandel.
Murakan and Quikantel shared the pirates’ attitude.
“I was wondering what was going on, kid. Let’s just rough up a few, take the captain hostage, and start. Why listen to their talk?”
“Agreed. No time. Let’s crush them and find out if they really have a way off this island.”
Murakan stepped forward aggressively, and the pirates looked ready to attack.
“Hey, Cosmos. If that guy throws a punch, you’ll all be dead for real. So, here’s my offer.”
“Nonsense!”
“Listen. We’re all stuck here trying to escape this mess, right? I don’t know what plan you have, but if you help us get out, I’ll wipe out your debt.”
“What?”
“Exactly. I’ll erase your debt and give you a generous reward.”
Swish!
Cosmos drew his sword, but Jin released his energy. The force made the hundred or so pirates hesitate and step back.
At the same time, Murakan dashed forward, subdued Cosmos, and broke his sword.
Jin looked down at him and whispered—quiet enough that the other pirates couldn’t hear.
‘Just in case you try to refuse or bargain, my name isn’t Jin Gray. It’s Jin Runcandel. Paul Mick, who faced me in the finals, is Dante Hiran.’
As revealed when Beradin saved Dante in the arena finals.
Cosmos was a sharp judge of the situation.
‘…Hmph, so you weren’t Paul Mick, but Jin Runcandel?’
‘Right. It’s no coincidence we met in your arena. And Beradin Zipple was watching.’
Cosmos finally understood.
Why Beradin Zipple saved Paul Mick, known as Jin Runcandel’s reserve rider, in the finals. Until now, he had only accepted it as the whim or deal of those above.
The other pirates stomped their feet in frustration as they watched Cosmos get subdued in seconds.
‘So it wasn’t us that made the fleet leave, but you. There’s one more condition, Jin Runcandel.’
‘Speak.’
‘After you escape the island, swear to guarantee the safety of our pirate crew.’
‘You mean to keep the Velado Principality’s pursuit off us?’
‘No! I mean you, your companions, and the Runcandel Knights under your command must never come after us. The Velado Principality is no problem.’
Cosmos didn’t know that not only Velado, but Bimont, Zipple, and Kinzello would be chasing them.
Jin hesitated briefly, wondering if he should tell Cosmos, but decided it was better to get help escaping first.
‘I swear it. On my life and my family’s honor.’
Cosmos had no choice. Asking for a vow was just a formality—the moment Jin’s group found this well, their fate was sealed.
“Tch, I accept your offer. Follow me!”
As Cosmos stood up and shouted, his subordinates tilted their heads in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going on.
“Captain! It feels like we’re being threatened here. Don’t go trying to save face recklessly. What if those guys get pissed off and start beating us up? From what I can tell, they’re not the kind we can handle.”
“Jin Gray, I had a feeling that guy might be a big shot, like Paul Mick or Veradin Ziphl. Well, there’s plenty of room anyway.”
“Are they really going to wipe out our debts?”
The confident attitude from moments ago had completely vanished. With their leader bowing, the crew had no choice but to fall in line.
“By the way, Cosmos, what’s the plan? Is it for real?”
As Jin followed the pirates, he asked, and Cosmos gave a knowing smile. It was the kind of smile that said, “Even if you’re Runcandel, you won’t believe what you’re about to see.”
A little further down the passage, a cliff suddenly came into view.
Below the cliff was a cavern, and in the center of it sat a massive sailing ship.
In other words, there was a ship deep underground—completely unexpected. Even more surprising, there were more pirates bustling around there than the ones who had just arrived, all busy preparing something.
“This is Order No. 7. We’re escaping on this.”
“That’s quite a grand name. How exactly?”
“Just get on board. You’ll see soon enough.”
There wasn’t a single drop of water underground to float Order No. 7. And how were they supposed to escape by ship from a sealed cavern?
Before Jin could make sense of it, the pirates began boarding the ship under Cosmos’s orders. Jin and his companions found themselves climbing aboard almost without thinking.
“Detonate it!”
The moment Cosmos shouted, the cliff forming the cavern started to collapse. The pirates had set magical bombs in advance.
Whoooosh!
At the same time, an enormous torrent of water began pouring in from the destroyed cliff.
Amazingly, as the cliff crumbled away, the sea came into view.
“Fly, Order No. 7!”
Swept up by the rushing water, Order No. 7 soared toward the open sea.