Chapter 396 : Decision

Conquest Sea, aboard the Shimmering Pearl.

In the late morning, under cloudy skies stretching across the vast ocean, the massive cruise ship cut through the waves with unwavering determination. Within the ship’s spacious dining hall, affluent gentlemen and ladies gathered, enjoying breakfast while eagerly discussing the events of the previous night.

Last night was supposed to be the highlight of the voyage—the grand public debut of the Deep Blue Heart. Yet, no one could have anticipated that a figure known as Thief K would completely disrupt the spectacle, publicly stealing the gem right before everyone’s eyes, turning what should have been a carefully orchestrated exhibition into her own personal stage.

Thief K’s breathtaking performance left nearly every spectator in awe. From the scene of last night’s events to this morning’s breakfast conversations, passengers enthusiastically discussed the mysterious thief, each expressing immense fascination with her unconventional methods.

…

"Did you see it?! That Thief K actually showed up last night!"

"Unbelievable... I thought it was just a prank, but she really stole the Deep Blue Heart right under our noses? By the Holy Father, that was insane!"

"Committing theft in such a public setting, targeting such a priceless treasure—utterly lawless! The sheer audacity!"

"Haha! Don’t get so worked up, old man. A thief who sends a warning letter before pulling off a public heist? That’s downright romantic! Honestly, it was far more exciting than some boring gem exhibition. And did you see her figure and face? Absolutely stunning! That was a true beauty. And those graceful movements... Oh no, I think she didn’t just steal the Deep Blue Heart—she stole my heart too!"

"Spare us your hopeless romanticism, you Falanoan! We’re talking about a crime here! That thief is a criminal who deserves severe punishment!"

"Oh, come off it, old man. We’re neither police nor Massimo—this isn’t our problem. All I know is that Thief K was incredible. I need to go back to my cabin and sketch her from memory. I bet the newspapers ashore will pay good money for my drawings."

…

Thus, throughout the dining hall, passengers clustered together, passionately debating Thief K. None had ever encountered a thief bold enough to send a warning letter before striking—let alone one who actually followed through, stealing the Deep Blue Heart in plain sight.

This theatrical, unconventional act shocked the audience while sparking heated debate. Some viewed Thief K as a far more brazen and dangerous criminal than ordinary thieves, deserving the harshest condemnation. Yet many others found her utterly captivating—drawn to her audacity, intelligence, and romantic flair. To them, her appearance elevated the exhibition to new heights, making the voyage far more thrilling and memorable.

While opinions on Thief K varied wildly among the passengers, the Abyssal cultists—the original owners of the Deep Blue Heart—felt nothing but hatred for her. From the moment the gem was stolen, they resolved to recover it and immediately sprang into action.

That very night, under Costa’s orders, the crew of the Shimmering Pearl began a ship-wide search, knocking on every passenger’s door to conduct interrogations. They checked for arm injuries or suspicious items, with the few Black Earth rank Hydromancers among them occasionally performing rudimentary spiritual scans on suspects.

By this morning, over half of the ship’s two thousand passengers had been searched. Even now, crew members could be seen stationed sternly in corners or questioning passengers, though so far, their efforts had yielded nothing.

"Miss Dorothy... these people don’t seem ready to give up at all. They’re still searching, even after all night..."

In a quiet corner of the dining hall, Nephthys—dressed in casual attire—stood holding a plate of cake, whispering to Dorothy beside her, who sipped milk leisurely before responding.

"Indeed... Their determination is more than I expected. That collector might be a fool, but the captain certainly isn’t."

Dorothy’s gaze lingered on the still-active search parties, her expression serious. She had hoped the missing lifeboat would convince Costa and Massimo that Thief K had fled the ship, but they remained unconvinced, insisting she was still aboard.

"What do we do now, Miss Dorothy? If they keep this up, could they find us?" Nephthys asked nervously, but Dorothy reassured her calmly.

"No need to worry, Senior Nephthys. Their current methods won’t uncover us. What we must prepare for is what they’ll do when they fail."

Dorothy was right. The cultists were primarily searching for a fair-skinned woman with an arm injury, but Nephthys’ wound had been healed by the smoke’s restorative properties, and her makeup concealed her true complexion. After Soulwhisker’s possession faded, her demeanor had transformed entirely. The only remaining similarity to Thief K was her general physique—and even that had been disguised.

During her performance as Thief K, Nephthys had bound her chest to appear slimmer and worn high heels to add height. Maintaining agility in such restrictive attire had only been possible thanks to Soulwhisker’s superhuman dexterity and balance.

Though Tide Path Beyonders possessed enhanced vision and spiritual detection due to their auxiliary Lantern alignment, their abilities paled compared to true Lantern Beyonders. Without sigils or tools, even Massimo and Costa—both White Ash rank—could only scan within ten meters, and maintaining such detection drained their spiritual reserves rapidly.

With over 2,700 passengers aboard, conducting even cursory spiritual scans would deplete their Lantern reserves entirely—let alone penetrate Dorothy’s Shadow barriers.

Under these circumstances, divination would have been their best option—and they had tried. But after a single failed attempt met with anti-divination defenses, they abandoned the approach, concluding Thief K must belong to a major faction with powerful protections.

“There’s no way they’ll find Nephthys and me through conventional means. But these are cultists—when cornered, they’ll resort to anything. We must prepare for extreme measures.”

Dorothy’s thoughts raced as she discreetly manipulated a small corpse marionette to intensify her surveillance of Massimo and Costa.

…

That afternoon, on the Shimmering Pearl’s rear deck.

By the stern railing, Massimo in his suit and Costa in his captain’s uniform stood surrounded by uniformed crew. One sailor stepped forward, reporting respectfully.

"Sir... We’ve completed preliminary inspections of the entire ship and all passengers. Regrettably, we’ve found no trace of the thief."

"We’ve examined every passenger’s hands—no puncture wounds from water projectiles. All women matching the thief’s general description underwent spiritual scans, but nothing turned up. My apologies."

Massimo and Costa’s expressions darkened further. Massimo spoke first, his voice icy.

"Hmph... As expected. That thief is a Shadow Path Beyonder—she must have healed her injury somehow. If she’s using her full spiritual power to conceal herself among twelve hundred women, even exhausting all our Lantern reserves might not uncover her."

Costa remained silent for a moment before adding grimly,

"Twelve hundred women? Heh... It’s not that simple. How can you be sure the thief is even a woman?"

"What? Isn’t it obvious? Her voice and appearance—what else could she be?" Massimo retorted, baffled.

Costa’s expression hardened.

"Stop trusting your eyes, Massimo. Think. If she’s a Shadow Path Beyonder with healing abilities, and her smoke screen carried both Chalice and Shadow traits, she’s almost certainly from the Blood Shade Branch.”

"If she’s a Shadow Facade or even a Vampire, her appearance—even gender and age—could be entirely fabricated. The traits you saw mean nothing. Every single person aboard is suspect, not just women!"

Massimo’s eyes widened in realization.

"Blood Shade... Of course! Those damn spider-loving bloodsuckers! Wait—last night, when I touched the Deep Blue Heart, I felt something furry, then my hand went numb and I dropped it.”

"Now that I think about it, that thing on the gem must’ve been a spider! A bite that painful couldn’t have been normal—it had to be one of those freaks’ specially bred venomous breeds! No wonder she had anti-divination... She’s one of the Eight-Spires’ lackeys!"

Massimo rubbed his right hand, nodding as if everything now made sense. In this era before widespread electricity, few understood what an electric shock felt like. Most encounters with electricity came from lightning, telegraph stations, or static—none of which Massimo, a coastal-dwelling Tide Path Beyonder, had experienced.

Thus, when shocked for the first time, he mistook it for a spider’s venomous bite.

"A spider that could make you drop the gem from pain? Hmph... Must have been a neurotoxic variant. If you were bitten into releasing it, that further points to the Eight-Spired Nest. But..."

Costa frowned deeply, his voice lowering.

"...Why would the Spider Queen’s brood suddenly interfere with our affairs? After botching their last scheme and nearly being driven out of Pritt by the Despenser royals and the Church, why waste energy targeting us? What’s their motive?"

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Massimo waved off the concerns.

"Who cares about motives? With this much evidence, that Thief K is tied to those bloodsuckers! The Spider Queen is a God of Schemes—whatever those freaks are plotting can’t be good.”

"Our priority is catching that spider-bitch and recovering the Deep Blue Heart. Once we have her, we’ll get answers."

Costa exhaled sharply.

"Obviously. But how do you propose finding a Shadow Facade or Vampire hiding among 2,700 people?"

"Simple! Kill them all, one by one! I’d like to see her stay hidden when her turn comes!"

Massimo gestured at the ship behind them, his tone chillingly casual, as if discussing livestock.

Costa fell silent for a long moment before murmuring, "These people... are living sacrifices meant for Haimohois. We’ve no idea how many we’d need to kill before reaching her. If we slaughter too many... neither of us can bear the consequences of shortchanging Him."

Massimo swallowed thickly but countered, "If we don’t recover the Deep Blue Heart, the ritual can’t proceed at all—Haimohois gets nothing! That outcome would be far worse!"

Costa stared at the horizon, where gray skies met turbulent waves. Finally, he spoke again.

"Bins, where are we now?"

"Sir, according to the nautical chart, we should be in the southwestern waters of Sok Island. It’s about a day’s journey to reach the designated area."

A sailor standing beside Costa respectfully answered. Hearing this, Costa fell silent for a moment, then made a decision in his mind and spoke again.

"Change course. Sail west. We’re going to White Tear Island."

"Yes, sir!"

The sailor named Bins immediately turned and ran off to the control room to carry out the order. Meanwhile, Massimo, standing nearby, was surprised by Costa’s command.

"White Tear Island? Isn’t that where Lord Swordscale presides over the temple?"

"Yes… exactly, Lord Swordscale’s domain. It’s fairly close. At full speed, we can reach it in just over a day," Costa replied, a firm resolution flashing in his expression.

"There are many people there, and Lord Swordscale’s methods are powerful. I refuse to believe that this little thief can still remain hidden in his presence."

"Although heading to White Tear Island to seek Lord Swordscale’s help will surely earn us some reprimands and punishments… the offerings for Haemohoys cannot be lost. Compared to its wrath, Lord Swordscale’s punishment is something we can at least endure."