The gangplank creaked under Ivy’s boots as she took one step forward. Behind her, Riko remained still, lost in thought. When she signed a farewell, he pretended not to see, not to care.
It lasted a little. As she pretended to leave, he flinched.
"Uh… how is your hand?"
She checked the stitched cuts, almost healed but still too fresh to be called scars. Her fingers tickled as she made the signs to speak. "Getting better. Are you sure you don't want to come?"
“I have a couple of promises to fulfill.” He paused briefly, then added, “When I’m done, I may retire in your Blue. Seems a nice place to quiet.”
She smiled at him, though he didn't look.
"I mean now." She said.
Riko held a breath, maybe wishing she'd give up on an answer. Seeing she'd not leave him alone, he blew and dropped his weight over the ship's railing. “Nay… Just because I want his end doesn’t mean I want to see it. Even if he left me to rot, I can’t deny he helped me once, even if only for a short time.” His voice lowered slightly. “I owe him at least my absence during his fall.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. When she finally found the strength to let go, Riko spoke again to halt her.
“Listen,” he said. “Regarding the assault on the
Adamant
—”
Her hands moved quickly, cutting him short. "It’s fine. Stop worrying about that."
He deflated in relief, and a faint smirk formed. “All right, then.” He shifted his weight, searching for something lighter to say. “So… the Blue Kingdom. After I deal with my troubles, maybe I will come to your lighthouse and settle. Long said there's good fishing there.”
She tilted her head, a hint of amusement in her expression. "Not if you rod from shore. Great if you spear dive, though. How about you learn to swim first?"
His smile widened. So did hers.
She felt there was nothing else to say. Not with Riko. After a small nod, she turned away, continuing down the ramp without looking back.
A group of armed men followed as she crossed the piers. Uri at their head and Macha and Sandree right behind.
In the middle of the seafront, a formation of Tampra soldiers awaited them, well dressed and well armed. Leading them stood a large man in royal garments, one arm bound in thick bandages.
“I’m Kubaran,” he said as they approached. “I was waiting for you.”
Macha stepped forward and extended a hand. He whispered, though Kubaran answered loud. "I'm fine!" he laughed. "This is just the price I paid for victory and glory! Nothing serious!"
From the line of soldiers, a round woman in silks appeared. Sandree rushed forward to embrace her tightly. The moment passed almost unnoticed.
“Where is he?” Uri asked, cutting through the scene.
“In a nearby mansion,” Kubaran said, though his attention drifted on Macha. "At first we were crushed by those metal soldiers. But I must say our city's underground dwellers proved very helpful. And after your people in the Nor'Wes managed to disconnect Vega's machines, It all became easy. In the name of my country and family, I truly thank you and your people"
Uri cut any answer Macha could have given. “How many men does he have left?”
Kubaran exhaled lightly, as if the question amused him. “It doesn't matter. No need to worry. Come, follow me.”
“How many?” she pressed. “And the Krait? Where is the krait?”
“He's with him,” the big man's voice was both calming and threatening at the same time. “A few dozen guards inside. More scattered through the outskirts of the city.”
Uri cast a brief glance at Ivy, sharp and measuring. “Enough to worry.”
The walk through the city felt wrong. Streets that should have been loud with trade lay half-empty, their usual bustle replaced by a tense, watchful silence. People lingered at a distance, eyes following them with unease. Windows shut as they passed, doors closed, and conversations died before they could carry on. The city did not welcome them. Not yet.
They reached the palace and stepped into the inner courtyard. At the far side, a group of Kraken men waited, leaning against the wall, watching without speaking. Among them stood a man in rags, sleeves rolled high. His arms were marked with thin black lines running across the skin. He bit into a piece of fruit and grimaced before tossing it aside. Then, he walked until distance between friends and foes became equal.
The Krait, Ivy thought. She once saw all of them, but she couldn't remember the face of this one. Neither the tattoos.
“Vega requested a duel. The fool believes it still matters,” the Krait said.
Uri’s hand moved to her swords. “I suppose you will fight for him.”
Ivy’s gaze flicked briefly to Uri’s side. She had been cut there during the war, and her injury had not healed as fast as Ivy's hand.
“I’m fine,” Uri muttered. “I can do it.”
“You won’t need to,” Kubaran said.
They both looked at him.
“Vega is done. He has no power left. And no men.”
Uri shook her head. “Who are all these people then?”
Kubaran grinned. “Bring him!”
The Krait snapped his fingers, and the squids dragged Vega into the courtyard. His uniform still clung to him, though it was stained and disheveled. His hands were bound tightly.
Uri stepped forward, making the Krait shift.
“What is this?” she demanded. “You broke your code?”
“I break nothing, pup.” He revealed his crooked, yellowed teeth. “I swore to do his dirty work as long as he paid. That was my oath. No money, no Krait.”
Uri grabbed the hilt of her sword. “You twist your words to avoid me?”
He laughed, loud and careless, though his eyes remained locked on her. “You think too much of yourself. I will dance with you another time if you really want, but not today."
“Why wait?” she pressed.
“You may fool others, but I've seen many ways to hide a limp, and yours is one of them. Want me to kill you? All right, I'll do it. But not if the game is rigged. Find me when you are at your best. Not before.”
Silence lingered until Vega cut through it. "You are all traitors! When the Red Island hears of this, the Kraken will—”
A man struck him across the head. “Shut up.”
Vega staggered but forced himself upright again. “I request a duel,” he said. “If I win, you let me go alive.”
The Krait stepped aside and made an exaggerated bow. “All yours, pup.”
Uri moved, but Ivy caught her arm. Her hands spoke quickly.
“The Queen of Piracy says she will do it!” one ranger said so everyone else could understand.
"Don't call me that," Ivy signed.
Vega’s expression buckled. His throat moved in a hard swallow. Ivy felt unable to discern if he was paralyzed by fear or simply reeling from the reality of a challenge he’d expected no one to accept.
The ropes were cut, and a dagger was forced into Vega’s hand. He stumbled, barely steady, his eyes darting between his former men.
“Are you joking?” he said. “She has a sword.”
Ivy drew her weapon, then let it fall to the ground.
A murmur spread through those watching.
As she passed the Krait, the man stepped backward.
Vega didn't speak further. Didn't wait for formalities. Without form or control, he charged: desperation driving him forward.
Ivy stepped aside with ease, letting him set the pace. Each time he charged, she dodged. If fights were a dance, as the Krait said, this one had no rhythm. After a while, tiredness took over him. He stumbled, and before he could recover, her foot swipe from below, sending him to the ground. Not that she had sought a precise moment to attack. There had been plenty of those in each charge. The kick came from disgust. From not wanting to see that man for one more minute.
For a long time, Ivy had dreamed of the moment they would face each other. Of how she would make him suffer. And now, having him at her mercy, she just wanted to end it quickly. Fulfill the promise of revenge and forget. Avenge Em and move on.
A fleeting memory of the old man struck her heart. Rage followed, hot and unbidden. Without knowing how, she unleashed an uncontrolled kick. He rolled, coughing.
Struggling to breathe, he still forced himself up, but his efforts were in vain. She kicked again.
More rolling on the sand. More moaning and coughing. Yet, he stood once more. Another kick.
She wanted him to beg. To show the same helplessness Em once witnessed in him. She didn't want Vega; she wanted the Crybaby.
But he did not break. He didn't cry.
He gasped, he crawled, he stood. Stubborn and, somehow, worthy of respect. So she struck him again, harder this time.
Vega remained still for a moment. After a moan, he slowly dragged on the dirt towards his little dagger.
Before he could reach it, Ivy kicked it away. He turned, gasping. His hands raised. His only eye was reddened with the effort to hold its tears. The eye patch on the other had fallen, showing the terrible wound she had inflicted on him before. The day everything had changed.
Her hands trembled as they curled into fists. Her injured fingers flared, sharp and insistent.
For a moment, she remained still. Then she stepped away.
A yell burst from within the squid crowd. "The Rajah promised us pardon, and we want to join the Riko. Nothing of that will happen if the Admiral lives!"
To her surprise, Ivy hesitated to form the signs she wished to tell the most.
“The Queen of the Fist says he's all yours." The ranger said.
Ivy sighted.
The Kraken soldiers closed in without hesitation. A cicle closed on the former Admiral. Vega tried to speak, but the words never formed. His scream was brief, swallowed before it could take proper form.
Then the silence returned.
Ivy walked past the Krait, but he motioned for her to stop.
“Girl,” he said. “One question.”
She turned.
“Is it true? The King of the Blue is dead?”
"No. And you better disappear, or he will return to finish what he once began."
Before her words were once again translated, Macha stepped forward. “She says he’s dead.”
The Krait stared at him, then back at Ivy. “Bullshit. He’s alive, isn’t he?” he muttered. “Tell him… the Kraits are dead. All of them. Hear me?”
After her slight nod, the Krait launched into a stride towards the Tampra crowd. With no fear, the assassin passed by Uri and pushed through the rest, shoving aside anyone who didn't move out of the way. When he reached the entrance, he turned and raised a threatening finger. "Tell him!"
Ivy looked down at Vega's corpse as the Kraken dragged him closer. This was the end she had chased for so long. The weight she had carried, the purpose that had driven her forward. It was over, yet it did not feel as she had imagined.
Brought the prize to her feet, the squids disbanded and disappeared as fast as the krait had done.
Macha dragged his feet to her side. His hand reached for the shoulder and tapped gently.
She could not take her eyes off Vega. Her jaw tightened. Her hands moved. "Why don't I feel any better? Will this pain ever go away?"
“I'm afraid it will not,” Macha said. "But it will ease with time."
She drew a long breath.
His arm crossed around her shoulders and squeezed. His forehead reached to rest on her temple. The world froze for a moment. A moment of calm where pain did actually vanish.
She wiped her face with the sleeve and forced a smile for him. "Thanks."