Headed by a Snake

Tycondrius closed the door behind him.

Lieutenant Mina was installed in the Captain's bed.

Sweat poured down her gaunt face and uncovered skin, soaking the sheets through. The luster of her purple hair and mermaid tail might have made fine treasures for a collector... but they'd grown dull and dry.

Her pallor heavily implied the unlikeliness of her survival.

Without her usual coral armor, Mina looked small and frail-- more like a child than the weapon she was crafted to be.

Bandages covered her bosom, a mark of dried blood in a single spot.

The poisoned crossbow bolt had struck her near the heart.

Yet still... she breathed.

She lived.

As for the reasons... it was due in part to Tycon's Support Skill: ⌈Desire Trigger,⌋ her Iron-Rank physique, and... her ever-dwindling force of will.

Though Captain Krysaos had incurred no obvious physical injuries, he too was in a state of suffering.

He sat in a chair beside his loyal blade, arms crossed, coat tossed aside. His beard grew quick enough that even missing a single sun of shaving, he looked like a filthy and broken vagrant... not at all like an Officer of the Royal Marines.

Tycon pursed his lips, trying his best to hide his disappointment, "Krysaos... have you slept?"

"Not yet..." The miserable human groaned, standing up to stretch... "Say... ya got any more of that rum, LT?"

"The rum's gone, Captain," Tycon frowned, "as well as the wine. And I don't plan on giving you any whiskey unless something *good* happens."

"...Right," Krysaos closed his eyes. "You ready to tell me who did this?"

"I refuse," Tycon responded coldly.

Krysaos took a deep breath... "And if I give you a direct f*ckin' order?"

Tycon shook his head, not intimidated in the least, "Then I would remind you to rationalize... to use logic befitting an Officer, rather than a madman who mistakenly believes he has nothing to lose."

Krysaos clenched his fists, walking over to Tycon... and grabbed the lapels of his coat.

"Come f*cking ON!!! Don't you think I deserve to know?!"

Out of reflex, Tycon had lowered his weight and placed his right hand around the Captain's throat-- ready to crush his windpipe.

There they stood... at a potentially lethal impasse.

...For one of them, anyroad.

Tycon raised his chin in a challenge, "Who is your true enemy, Brother-Captain?"

Krysaos narrowed his eyes... "Princess Imperia of House Vulkoori."

"Such an allegation, I will neither confirm nor deny," Tycon responded calmly.

The man released his grip-- and Tycon did the same.

Krysaos swiveled about, walking to the porthole to stare out onto the ungentle seas... "She... Imperia is the only f*cking logical answer... You should be f*ckin' proud'a me, LT... Me? Usin' my f*ckin' rationalization..."

Tycon smoothed out his coat and silently stared at the Captain's back.

He struggled to find words... any words.

Openly denying the Captain's conclusion was pointless.

Any statement of reassurance was insultingly simple to oust as a transparent lie.

Any mention of the due process of military law or the inclement weather would only serve to incite the man's anger.

Opening a discussion about Imperia's mutinous reasoning... would be purely hypothetical and therefore also useless.

"Does anything change, Captain?"

Krysaos bowed his head... "It does not. We don't know why Imperia would shoot Mina... I don't-- I don't f*ckin' get it. They were supposed to be f*ckin' friends..."

He put a hand over his eyes, "Seven, gods-damned, motherf*cking hells... Whatever the reason, it's probably my own gods-damned fault."

The Captain seemed to be referring to a conversation he and Imperia shared before they began their journey across the open waters.

There was a disagreement.

The details were unimportant.

"LT..." Krysaos turned around... "What happens... if she-- if Mina... dies?"

Tycon glanced down at the unconscious mermaid... "That... would not be ideal."

Krysaos turned his head, wincing as if the news had wounded him... "She... she's a Weapon Spirit. I know... she lived and breathed like the rest of us--"

"She still does, Brother-Captain..."

"Ain't the point!!" Krysaos snapped as he drew his sword, pointing furiously at the azure blade, "She'll be fine! She'll just... return to this-- the Heart of the Ocean. She'll recover... just like... just like when we rescued her from the Amphitrite Reef Tribe."

"This... is true," Tycon pursed his lips.

"We've been friends for a good while, Tycon," Krysaos frowned. "We've been through this before. Tell me everything... even the shite I don't want to hear."

...It was a reasonable request-- yet one that Tycon did not wish to appease.

However... it seemed it was no longer a truth that he could comfortably hide.

"Very well..." He took a deep breath... "Lieutenant Mina is a similar existence to the Coral Boys... a young spirit, though her memories are not held in her bloodline, but within the Heart of the Ocean itself. In theory, she is immortal..."

"But...?"

Tycon waved his hand, activating a sliver of watery mana at the tip of his finger. Tapping the Captain's held blade, the weapon glowed a serene, yet dispassionate blue.

Closing his eyes, he mentally judged the sword's magical capacity... and came to the same conclusion he'd originally ascertained.

"When the artifact sword recreates Mina's physical form... there is no guarantee her memories-- or even her personality will remain."

Krysaos grabbed his chair and threw it against the wall. With his recently consolidated Iron-Rank strength, it broke apart in splinters and dust.

"That's TOTAL BULL-SHITE, LT!!" He shouted, "She... she died once before! On the deck of this very f*cking ship! And when we found her... she-- she knew exactly who we f*cking were."

Tycon narrowed his eyes, "The Heart of the Ocean will restore her to us-- we know this, Brother-Captain. Mina may suffer few ill effects in recovering from mana exhaustion, but... if her physical form were to undergo forced dissolution... a far greater price must be paid."

Krysaos squeezed his eyes shut... a single tear dripping down his cheek, "F*ck... F*cking... f*ck..."

Tycon took a deep breath... but said nothing.

He shared his Captain's sentiments.

The entire crew did.

Mina served a vital role on the Neptune's Revenge, keeping sea monsters at bay.

...but above that, she was kind. She was caring and easy to converse with. She spoke of honor and duty. She acted with grace and understanding... without prejudice and without question.

She was loved.

And by one man more than the others.

It was a love that she reciprocated.

"I... already knew," Krysaos whispered... "Sorry for blowin' up on ya, LT..."

"Hmph. Apology accepted."

Tycon flipped his wrist, summoning a jug of fresh water from his spatial ring before placing it on Mina's bedside table.

"Keep her hydrated. I will return to the deck to continue the watch."

"...Yeah. I will," Krysaos gulped as he sat down on the deck... "Thanks.... Tycon."