1. Capture Slaves. Check. 2. Set Sail. Check. 3. Sell Slaves... (Job: Liberation of Slaves) [Akeya Kuusai]

While ensuring that the five men were indeed unconscious two others made their way off the ship, cautiously approaching Akeya while she was still making sure that the slaver initiates wouldn't get up again. In contrast to all the previous slavers, who had felt the need to yell something at the winged ninja, these didn't say anything, instead looking at each other and nodding before raising their pistols and firing.

While Akeya did notice the two slavers now aiming at her she didn't realize that they, in contrast to all the others so far, had pistols until they were already aiming, making her grunt as she tried to dodge the shots and received one in the membrane in her wing, another two grazing her arm. Luckily the damage done to the membrane was concentrated to one small hole, so while it hurt a lot it wouldn't make her unable to fly. That was less of a good thing now that her opponents had guns, and would just shoot her while she was airborne.

The wounds on her arms were also troubling. They hadn't actually penetrated, but it hurt a lot and she was pretty sure she'd be better off not trying to use it against these two. The only good part was that they had apparently emptied their pistols, so now they were busy reloading them. While they were doing so Akeya started running towards them, trying to think of the best way to take them down. When they saw her coming the slavers exchanged weapons, one of them starting to reload both the pistols while the other threateningly held two cutlasses while waiting for Akeya to come closer.

(Don't mind this.)

The member 'FilFire' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Normal Dice' :

Once close enough the slaver slashed at Akeya horizontally, to which she responded by ducking and attempting to punch him in the stomach. However he danced backwards, apparently having seen her take down the initiates with her fists and not feeling like letting himself be hit. Meanwhile the other finished loading the pistols, and rather than returning the borrowed pistol aimed both at Akeya and began firing.

Akeya this time saw the shots coming, and did the same thing as she did with the last two initiates, what she should have done with the first round of bullets: she turned into a shadow, dashing forwards while the small metal sphere passed through her without hitting a thing. The slaver who was trying to fend Akeya off with the cutlasse looked quite surprised and alarmed as she dashed past him, his swords passing through her without any effect as she jumped at the slaver holding the pistols, returned to her physical form and punched him squarely in the gut, followed up by a sweeping kick aimed at the legs and finished off by a punch to the side of the head which send him flying.

Turning around Akeya glared at the other slaver, who was still somewhat shocked as he watched his partner fly quite the distance before smashing against the ground, unmoving. Glaring back at the winged ninja he levelled both cutlasses and attacked her, trying to corner her with his two weapons, even though he knew about her ability to turn into a shadow. Akeya returned the challenge by spinning in place, her tail lashing out and smashing against the slaver's midriff before he got the time to react, not having expected her to use the limb as a weapon. Thrown off balance the slaver tried to keep Akeya at a distance while righting himself, but in this state it wasn't difficult for Akeya to dodge his cutlasses by turning into a shadow and then delivering a punch straight to the solar plexus, sending the man crashing to the ground.

The member 'FilFire' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

This time nobody else bothered to come out of the ship, giving Akeya enough time to treat the wound on her arm and consider her options. She had already beaten up quite a lot of the slavers, and possibly every one of them but the captain and her First Mate. The group of slavers was never reported as being that big. However she had to admit that she was beginning to get worn out: her wing membrane had repaired itself enough to be capable of flight, but it still hurt. The barrage of water bullets that had caused her to be temporary captured had also caused some bruising and bleeding, and the wound on her arm made her rather reluctant in using it. All in all, she hoped that she could wrap this all up soon.

Seeing how nobody was coming out to fight her this time Akeya saw no choice but to come to the ship, flapping her wings to become airborne and heading for the deck. It was already far too late for being stealthy, and trying to take a sneaky passage could also backfire if the enemy was waiting for her. Instead she scouted the deck, seeing nobody, before landing on it, looking around to find her way.

As soon as she touched the wood new opponents appeared from below the deck, climbing out of trapdoors and reading their cutlasses. Akeya inspected them all briefly before sighing and cracking her knuckles, recognizing them as being another troop of newcomers. Shouldn't take too much effort to take them down...

The five young slavers circled around the winged ninja, apparently waiting for an opportunity to strike. This tactic would have had more effect if they actually had any kind of attack capable of harming Akeya. Their cutlasses looked deadly and sharp, but for Akeya they could as well have been toys, seeing how they didn't possess enough power to affect her once she turned into a shadow. Besides of that the men didn't look particularly happy, knowing that the only reason why they were sent out for this was that all their partners had already been defeated.

Akeya herself also wasn't too enthusiastic, motioning for the slavers to just start attacking her already. The sooner she could finish these guys the earlier she could capture the First Mate and Captain and wrap this whole thing up. Her disdainful invitation for a fight turned out to be enough to incite the slavers into attacking, all together jumping forward with flashing cutlasses.

All cutlasses met the deck in the same location, where Akeya had been standing up until that point. Now however she was in their air right above it, quickly spinning and using her tail to give each of the young men a strike as if from a whip right in the face. Cursing they all jumped backwards, covering their face with their hand or hissing painfully.

The half dragon on the other hand didn't feel like giving them a reprieve, and while they were still reeling from the whip strike she punched the cutlass out of the hands of one of them, grabbing it herself and quickly lashing out, slashing him deeply in the belly.

The four remaining slavers became even angrier as the fifth fell down, trying to keep his blood and insides from flowing out of the cut while groaning painfully. Akeya solved that issue by kicking him in the head, knocking him unconscious and removing him from the fight. Meanwhile the other initiates once again charged her, although this time Akeya took a more serious stance, her cutlass held at the ready as she waited for them to come at her.

Once they came close enough she jumped at one of them, turning into a shadow as he lashed out and materializing behind him before slicing him across the back, kicking him forward into the attacks of the others to send them into disarray. Moving to the next, who just jumped away from the already cut slaver falling towards where everybody else had been aiming their attacks, and she spun in a circle while crouching, cutting him across the waist.

With three of the slaver initiates busy trying to avoid bleeding to death Akeya focused on the last two, grabbing another cutlass before charging at them, just as she came close enough once again turning into a shadow and dashing past them, intending to reappear behind them and finish them off.

Imagine Akeya's surprise when they used their previous experience with that trick and turned around with her, slashing at her and forcing her to block rather than attack. After that they started attacking furiously, driving Akeya back while they did their best to keep her from attacking more than they actually hoped to hit her.

Shocked at this development Akeya danced backwards, the two slaver initiates stubbornly following her while they kept lashing out with their cutlasses, forcing her to block and parry and dodge while trying to find a way to take them down. Of course she still had plenty of spells she could use, but she had rather save what energy she still had for when she found the First Mate and Captain, seeing how those at least were reported to be formidable and dangerous opponents, who would almost certainly keep fighting until they died, knowing that they were dead men either way.

However this was becoming troublesome. She was fast and strong enough to parry and block, but the frantic attacks were too furious for her to break through without taking a risk. She would be immune to their attacks while in shadow form, but she wouldn't be able to attack either. They had already learned of her tendency to wait for them to attack and then throw them off balance with her shadow form, so as frantic as their attacks were they didn't use any attack where not meeting resistance would send them stumbling. All in all, it could be best described as a deadlock, where neither side really could advance.

At least, up until Akeya figured out a way out of this, after which the stalemate ended rather abruptly. She once again dashed forward in shadow form, repeating the trick of appearing behind the slavers and slashing them. Except that when the slavers started turning around to meet her there she suddenly came to a halt and jumped upwards, materializing and spinning so her cutlasses spun around her in a spiral of steel, slicing open their stomachs, chests, faces, causing them to fall down while still trying to figure out what just happened.

Landing back on the deck Akeya held onto the cutlasses, surveying the field. All five the slaver initiates were unable to fight, either dying from blood loss or just wounded to the extend of being incapacitated. She really hoped that was the last of them...

As Akeya surveyed the field she tried to figure out what path she should take to reach the Captain and the First Mate. Quite obviously they were somewhere below deck, probably keeping an eye on their cargo while sending all their minions at the interloper. With some luck that meant they hadn't seen her fight yet, so maybe she would be able to surprise them...

Hearing something the ninja spun around, just in time to see somebody charge at her at absurdly high speed, bloodied cutlasses flashing. Jumping backwards Akeya parried the sudden onslaught with her cutlasses, although the assailant apparently had no trouble with just continuing to attack, forcing Akeya backwards as she did her best to dodge everything. He was fast, faster than she, and the only reason this tactic was working was because while he was fast he didn't possess a lot of brute strength, so while Akeya had to keep an eye on a lot of attacks her own enhanced physical prowess and reflexes at least kept her from being cut to ribbons, even if she was driven back a lot more forcefully than the two previous combatants had been able to.

While this continued the door (from which the First Mate had jumped and charged Akeya) opened wider, revealing the Captain herself, grinning and aiming a set of pistols, apparently uncaring about the fact that she had just as much chance to shoot her alley as to hit Akeya.

Akeya had been hoping to fight somebody who wasn't hopelessly outclassed, and she got what she asked for. Now to hope she could defeat them and not regret being happy with the job being too easy...

While the captain was aiming the first mate kept attacking as if in a frenzy, swords moving so fast as to turn into a blurring whirlwind, forcing Akeya further and further backwards. She had to find a way to deal with this madman, and soon, otherwise the captain would just start shooting and then they'd both end up shredded...

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. As soon as the captain was ready she yelled out, and the first mate jumped backwards as soon as he had charged forwards, Akeya herself didn't need help realizing that the yell was the signal, and once the captain started shooting she quickly used Shadow Step to get out of the way, knowing that if she tried to evade using shadow form the first mate would just get ready to slash her to ribbons the moment she tried to return to her physical form. He was way too fast for her to try tricks like that.

Unfortunately he was also fast enough that the moment Akeya reappearing after shadow stepping he was already on top of her, ignoring the half a dozen explosions wrecking the deck where they had stood just a moment ago in favour of once again subjecting Akeya to a whirlwind of steel and blood. The half dragon hastily shadow stepped again, only to once again find herself facing the first mate, this time earning a shallow slash across the stomach for her troubles, not enough to incapacitate her but still being a nuisance. Seeing no other option at this point Akeya shadow stepped again, leaving her shadow behind as she this time didn't move to another piece of the deck, but right into the air, where the first mate's blades couldn't reach her.

The first mate quickly started looking for where Akeya would reappear, once he saw that she was flying frowning and cursing. He wasn't stupid enough to try reaching her up there, seeing how even if he could jump that high trying to fight in the air without the ability to alter his course would just make him the ideal target.

The captain on the other hand didn't mind much. Flying targets can be shot down just as easily as those standing on the ground. Besides, this way she wouldn't have to worry about messing up the ship. She lifted her pistols, a special type which she could easily and without any real downtime reload, aiming at the airborne ninja while her first mate kept cursing as he waited for his opponent to come down so he could slice her to pieces.

While the captain was aiming Akeya flew around, concentrating as she once again decided to use the black spheres she used to destroy the tiller and finish off the first veteran slaver. However this time she'd have to be a bit trickier with them. The first mate would just dodge them if he saw them coming, and she had to take care of him before she could focus on the captain.

When the captain finally started shooting, spreading out the shots to ensure that Akeya couldn't fly away, the half dragon didn't bother trying to dodge. Instead, she disappeared entirely, reappearing where she had stood before shadow stepping into the air as if she had never left that spot. While the captain and first mate were still confused black spheres quickly started to form, and when the first mate charged at her he would find that both his legs were pierced by a dozen of the black spheres, causing him to fall helplessly onto the deck screaming as blood started pouring from his legs. The fact that he was moving so fast when the Shadow Dragon's Scales were flying at his legs meant that his legs were completely riddled with holes now, removing the crazed first mate from the fight.

The captain looked at Akeya, who made sure to stay far away from the now immobile first mate while slowly approaching her final target. While the first mate's legs were ruined to the extend of no longer being able to support him she hoped that he at least would not bleed out too much before she could prevent his death, so she could take him to the authorities and get the reward for capturing him alive.

Before she could do that, however, she'd have to take down the captain, who didn't seem inclined to make it particularly easy. She kept her pistols trained on Akeya, ready to shoot her to pieces if necessary.

"You know, you've made quite a mess of my crew. You really should own up for that."

Akeya shrugged, keeping her focused glare on the captain while slowly advancing.

"The job is to prevent you ever setting sail again. Disabling your crew was part of that."

The captain grunted, not looking particularly impressed by this.

"I can find a new crew quite easily. I more meant that I'll make sure to get enough money out of selling you to make up for this little rampage of yours."

Akeya shrugged again, not bothering to answer. The captain waited for a bit, wanting to make sure that they were finished talking, before sighing and suddenly firing, sending a barrage of bullets straight at Akeya.

The ninja dashed to the side, the captain following her with her guns and continuing her shooting, a trail of destruction following Akeya as the explosive bullets tore up the ship, a couple of the younger slavers that had been taken out by Akeya also being hit and killed if they weren't already dead.

Akeya herself managed to avoid the bullets, mostly because she was constantly using her shadow form to move faster and prevent getting knocked off balance by the explosions wrecking the deck. After the captain ran out of bullets she closed in, kicking the captain in the stomach, the captain grunting before swinging a punch back while still holding her pistols, forcing Akeya backwards while the captain quickly reloaded and once again aimed. The fact that she didn't react to the kick besides grunting meant that she was a lot tougher than her own followers. Looks like Akeya has to go full power here...

The captain once again aimed, this time not even pausing to take a breath before releasing another barrage of explosive bullets, at this range being quite sure that this half dragon girl would be hit, after which she could subdue the bitch and tie her up. She already had some ideas who she could sell her to. Something as exotic as a half dragon, and a female no less, should fetch quite the price.

Akeya meanwhile had entirely different plans. As soon as she saw the captain begin to pull the triggers of her pistols she disappeared into the shadows, once again using her Shadow Step three times in quick succession, this time putting everything behind moving and switching in and out of her shadow form as quickly as possible.

The first step made her appear in the air before the captain's head, spinning around and kicking her right in the face, making her stagger while trying to aim at the half dragon, even though Akeya already dispersed immediately after delivering the kick.

The second step she appeared behind the still staggering captain, this time punching her in the back with both hands to send her flying, once again already beginning to move while still in the position of her attack.

The third step she appeared right below the airborne captain, supporting herself on her hands while kicking the captain up high.

After the third step Akeya jumped backwards, steadying herself while taking a deep breath. The captain's bullets had all missed, only damaging the ship further while the elusive Shadow Dragon Slayer constantly changed her form and location. Akeya felt really glad that she had encountered Ayaseru and Whedalsin before going on this mission. She wasn't sure she could have made it without using what they thought her.

Of course, she now just had to finish the job.

When the captain came down she came down hard, slamming into the deck with enough force to cause a loud cracking sound. Whether it was from the captain's bones or the wood Akeya didn't know, but she was a bit busy with something else. She had been gathering most of her remaining magic inside her chest, and now that her target was available she was ready to let it go.

Taking a step forward Akeya released her Shadow Dragon's Roar, like before using so much of her magic energy that her form became more draconic for the duration, dark blue scales covering her while her canines and nails lengthened. A cone of black flames came forth from her mouth, and it was all aimed at the captain lying there, enveloping her completely as Akeya used her strongest ability to ensure that no matter how tough this captain might be, she would stay down.

The torrent of black flames lasted for half a minute before Akeya ran out of breath, panting heavily as she looked down at her target. The captain was completely unconscious at this point, and Akeya wasn't sure whether she was still alive, the way she was completely covered in shadows. Well, she had been quite sturdy, so Akeya felt optimistic about that.

Although not optimistic to just leave her be. kneeling down next to the former slaver Akeya treated her wounds as best she could, relieved to find her still breathing, although ragged and weakly. She'd have to put a lot of effort into keeping the captain alive while taking her back to Hargeon Town to be tried and executed.

After ensuring that the captain would at least survive the following couple of hours Akeya walked over to the first mate, who appeared to have passed out due to blood loss. Seeing how the job said that Akeya would only get the bonus reward if she brought both the captain and the first mate in alive she also treated his wounds, which mostly consisted of shutting off the blood flow to his legs so it wouldn't all just go all through the holes her Shadow Dragon's Scales had put in them.

After treating to both the captain and the first mate Akeya sat down, breathing heavily as she looked after her own wounds. As befitting for the Shadow Dragon she had managed to avoid any serious wounds, but all the little things tend to build up, so it took a while before she felt good enough to stand up and head deeper into the ship, to check up on the slaves.

The slaves seemed to be okay, although absolutely terrified about what had been happening at the end, with the captain recklessly tearing up the deck with explosive bullets. Luckily the slavers valued their cargo quite highly, and had made sure that the part of the ship where they were kept until it was time for them to be sold could endure quite a beating.

The slaves themselves were ecstatic once they were convinced that they were free, even going so far as to hug Akeya and thank her on their knees while the winged ninja tried her best to endure it. At least none of them bothered to ask about her wings and tail, or why her entire face was hidden behind dark blue cloth. Probably didn't feel like offending their saviour.

After getting the women who were supposed to be slaves to help her gather up the slavers that were still alive (the captain, the first mate, the two slavers that had bothered using pistols and the five that had fought Akeya on dry land. The five young slavers that Akeya had fought on the deck had all either died from blood loss or the captain's explosive bullets) Akeya set a couple of them to making sure the captain and first mate would survive, although even the woman who had experience with medicine said that it would be a close call on both of them. She could probably keep them alive long enough for Akeya to hand them over to the authorities, but whether they would survive to see a public execution would depend on the authorities.

A couple of hours later Akeya set out together with the rest of the women, having used some of the wood of the ship to make rudimentary sleds to carry the surviving slavers on (of course those were all tied up. Even the captain and the first mate, although their chances of actually doing anything even if they weren't tied up were low). It would probably take a while for them to reach Hargeon Town.

Akeya would let the authorities decide what to do with the ship and the bodies. Not part of her job.