Chapter 538: A Girl In Silver

Thousands of years ago.

A merchant ship sailed in the storm, battling against the crashing waves and howling winds, and the crewmen fought against the elements with all their might.

It rocked back and forth like a small leaf in a raging river, and some of the crewmen fell off the ship into the churning waters below.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

“Captain, save us!”

In the midst of the deck, a malnourished-looking young man crouched down, clutching a rope tightly in his hands, and pulled it to furl the sail.

“Argh!”

His hands were bleeding from the rough fibers of the rope, and his body was barely able to survive the violent winds.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Imperius breathed heavily, his arms shaking from the strain of holding up the sail, and then saw a lightning stab through one of the masts.

The mast fell down and fell on top of one of the crewmen, crushing their body like a bug.

“Oh my god!”

Imperius shouted, horrified by the gruesome scene, and rushed over to try and lift the mast off of the crewman.

But he was already way dead.

“Imperius!”

The captain walked over to him, and with an angry gaze, smacked his hand across the face of Imperius.

The smack almost sent him overboard, but he was able to hold on tightly to the railing.

“Urgh!”

Imperius coughed blood, his legs shaking, and he turned to look at the captain with a shocked look.

He couldn’t understand why he got hit just now.

“You useless shit. Look at what you just did!”

The captain pointed to the sails, as when Imperius let go of the rope, the sail got free, and it was now in tatters.

“I-I am sorry, b-but… I wanted to help him!”

Imperius said with a shaky gaze.

“You’re nothing but baggage at this point. Get the fuck off!”

The captain pulled him up, and without further ado, just tossed him off the railing into the murky waters below.

“No, Captain, I am sorry!”

With a splash, he went through the water surface, and he had to swim through the stormy waters, but when he reached back on the surface, the merchant ship was already long gone.

“Why… Why would you kill someone so nonchalantly? Especially someone who was working hard and was just trying to save someone!”

Imperius screamed, but with the rumble of the storm, his cries were drowned out, and he got swept away by the enormous seas.

The water was even ice cold, so when he got fully dipped in the water, he felt like he had turned into an ice cone.

He didn’t know how much time went by—the sky stayed dark because of the storm clouds—and it took all of his strength to stay above the water.

However, he was starting to lose his strength and soon couldn’t hold himself up in the water anymore.

He kept falling to the depths, his tears mixed with the water around him, and he tried to reach his hand towards the surface.

Slowly, his eyes came close.

At that moment, an ice-cold hand grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the surface—Imperius dangled in the air, gasping for breath and looking into the piercing eyes of his savior.

However, the savior of his was standing in the sea—on top of the water—as if they were walking on solid ground.

A silver-haired woman stood before him. She had a pure, fair skin, which seemed to be made out of porcelain, and she wore an almost transparent silvery dress.

It wasn’t drenched, even though rain was falling all around him, and she was an extremely beautiful individual.

“W-Who…?”

Imperius asked painfully.

“Heh~ Before I answer that, where did you come from? Is there a ship nearby, hmm?”

She asked.

“A-A merchant ship… W-We came over from the Martial World, and we’re heading over to the Paradise World…”

Imperius said with a painful expression.

“Good… My name is Mercedes Rosburg; nice to meet you. You want revenge on the one that did this to you?”

She asked.

“W-Why do you think I have been wanting revenge? I could’ve been tossed over the railing because of the storm.”

“You’re very angry, young man. I guessed. Hehe~ I am in need of a ship, as my last one got destroyed in the storm~”

…

In the midst of the stormy seas, blood trickled down the deck of the merchant ship, and severed heads were rolling down the stairs of the captain’s quarters.

With the silver dress fluttering around her, Mercedes looked around the ship with a smile on her face.

With a frightened look, Imperius looked at the captain of the merchant ship, hanging from one of the masts, with a hangman’s knot around his neck.

Mercedes put him there.

“Young one. Mind taking care of the sails? I want to return back to the mainland of the Paradise World, and I am not much of a sailor.”

Mercedes said with a giggle.

With a nod, Imperius went to the helm, turned it around, and using the compass, he set their course for the mainland of the Paradise World.

At that moment, Mercedes walked behind him, put her hand on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear.

“There is goodness in your heart, but what for? What are your goals in life? You’re just a chore boy in a merchant ship.

“Is that all you want?”

She asked.

“I-I don’t know… It is a job, and I want my family to leave poverty behind…”

Imperius said.

“You will never achieve your dream being just a choreboy. You were about to die with me, so now, I own you.

“It doesn’t have to be bad.

“I can give you strength to become a strong, wealthy, and influential man. I think there is a whole region of riches that no one has tried to exploit.

“World Seas… Why don’t you become a pirate?”

Mercedes asked with a smirk.

“Pirate? What is that? I am not aware of that term.”

Imperius asked with a frown.

“Where I came from… there were all kinds of pirates. Blackbeard, William Kidd, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack.

“They were stealing from merchant ships and plundered everything they could get their hands on. Why not become the symbol of fear of these waters, hmm?”

She asked with a smile.

“I-I don’t know…”

Imperius said with a frown as he felt like there was something else she was after—she wanted him to become a pirate for some reason—but he couldn’t understand why.

Mercedes reached her hand towards empty air close to her—then she brought out a knife from the empty air—and she slit her hand.

She put her bleeding hand in front of Imperius and said.

“This blood will make you strong. Drink it!”

Imperius shook his head, wanting to take a step back, but Mercedes grabbed the back of his head and put his lips to her hand.

The crimson blood entered his mouth.

“A-Aargh…”

Imperius groaned, and at that moment, his hair turned white like snow, and his eyes turned as black as night.