After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Any reason is utterly powerless in the face of facts.

But the more this happened, the more intense the Black Knight's anger became.

Such a humiliating disgrace can only be washed away with blood!

Just as the Black Knight was about to unleash a spiritual counterattack, he saw the young man opposite him open his mouth. In the next instant, a powerful spiritual sound wave spread out, and the Black Knight, who was so close, felt his head go blank, and the spiritual energy he had gathered immediately dissipated.

The second-tier rank meant that the Black Knight's "Intimidation" state lasted for a pitiful less than 0.1 seconds. But in that instant, Ryan, who was in excruciating pain and on the verge of collapse, mustered his strength and pressed down with both hands, causing the greatsword embedded in the Black Knight's shoulder blade to penetrate even deeper.

Through the blurred flesh and blood, one can see the stark white bones inside.

Ryan wanted to finish off the Black Knight in one fell swoop, but unfortunately, the armor worn by the Black Knight blocked most of the power of the "first charge" of the [Storm Sword Skill - Wave Breaker]. After breaking through the armor, the remaining force was not enough to make the sword penetrate any deeper.

At this moment, after using [Soaring Battle Cry] and pressing down with his greatsword, Ryan had truly reached his limit and no longer had the strength to even move a finger.

The Black Knight, severely wounded, felt his spirituality ignite like black flames. He braced himself against the blade of the greatsword with both hands, slowly raising it. His eyes burned with murderous intent, as if he wanted to devour Ryan alive.

"Pfft-!"

The Black Knight abruptly stopped raising his sword. He looked down at the slender hand emerging from his left chest, at the still slightly beating bright red heart held within that hand, and the light in his eyes began to dim.

The black spiritual energy dissipated like smoke. The black knight turned his head with difficulty, looked at the Dark Moon Witch behind him, and forced a smile: "...You...can't escape..."

"We...have...found you..."

The sound faded to a whisper, and as the last word was uttered, the light in the Black Knight's eyes completely died out, and the fluctuations of his spirituality subsided.

He died from a piercing wound to the heart.

"Clang..."

The silver-blue greatsword fell to the ground along with the Black Knight's corpse, along with the exhausted Ryan.

As the cold deck drew ever closer, Ryan slowly closed his eyes.

He is too tired.

Even with the help of the "Necklace of Abundance," the "charge" beyond his current limits is still beyond his current capacity to withstand.

However, the expected collision did not occur. Before his face could touch the cold deck, a soft, slightly cool hand was placed on Ryan's cheek.

A gentle warmth flowed into Ryan's body through the small hand, allowing him to drift off to sleep in comfort.

on the deck.

Frey gently put Ryan down, then stood up, went to the Black Knight's corpse, and reached out to grab it.

A deep blue magical energy surged forth, enveloping the Black Knight. A dozen seconds later, when the eerie blue light vanished, the Black Knight's corpse had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a pitch-black spatial ring in its place.

After completely eliminating the threat, Freyne looked at Cecilia, who was not far away.

The knight girl's once beautiful and charming light golden hair was now withered and gray, which filled Freya's eyes with sadness and self-blame.

"Feel sorry……"

The girl's voice drifted on the sea breeze, carrying a poignant sadness.

……

Ryan was awakened by the loud sound of the waves.

He slowly opened his eyes.

He felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, and when he woke up he was full of energy and vitality.

As soon as Ryan opened his eyes, his attention was drawn to the gray text notification that popped up in front of him.

-

[Path of the Pirate - [Tier 1] Compatibility increased, Traveling Avatar [Spirituality] +0.5 (feedback to Main Body [Spirituality] +0.1)]

-

This is?

Ryan blinked and quickly realized what was happening.

In the previous battle, his actions aligned with the Pirate profession, greatly enhancing his professional compatibility and resulting in an increase in his spirituality.

However, since the one who takes on the role of "pirate" is a wandering clone, the effect reflected back to the main body is only one-fifth, or 0.1% of the spirituality.

But this is good too.

Ryan's eyes were filled with surprise and delight.

He looked at the panel in front of him, and soon his gaze settled on the [Title] section.

【Title】: Child of Blood (A person who violates the [Golden Rule] and is marked with the Blood Mark will not only attract the Royal Navy's pursuit, but will also be more likely to gain favor with a certain group. Remaining mark time: 2 days, 8 hours, 11 minutes and 34 seconds)

no change?

Ryan frowned slightly.

When he killed the first-tier professional who used a harp and whose appearance and demeanor were undoubtedly those of a nobleman, he was prepared for the "Bloody Mark" duration to be aggravated or prolonged.

This unchanged scene left Ryan somewhat bewildered.

Could it be that the guy wasn't a noble? Or is it that if someone with the "Bloody Mark" attacks a noble again within the marked time, it won't cause the marked time to be extended?

The second guess, Ryan thought, was unlikely. If it were, the so-called "bloody mark" would only make the marked person more unscrupulous, which was illogical.

If the first guess is correct... the other party's noble status is unlikely to be wrong. In the Kingdom of Augustus, people who are not nobles are not allowed to wear noble clothing.

Based on this, could it be that this nobleman's "rank" was too low, and he was not considered a true nobleman?

According to the original owner's remaining memories, Augustus's noble titles, from highest to lowest, were duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron, and lord. The last one, "lord," could not be considered a true "noble" to some extent.

Is this man a lord? It must be...

With his mind in turmoil, Ryan shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Who cares? Anyway, he's like someone who's already got too many lice to care about.

Ryne, who was starving, got off the wooden bed and pushed open the door.

The soft moonlight poured over him the moment he opened the door.

Just as he stepped out of the room, a clear, crisp voice reached Ryan's ears.

"Are you awake, Mr. Ryan?"

"How are you feeling? Is there anything that's bothering you?"

Ryan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dark blue figure standing quietly by the deck bulwark not far away.

The moonlight falls like fireflies, creating a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

It's just that, for no apparent reason, a faint sadness wells up in my heart.

I recommend a young author's book, "Going to Work, Then Being Blackmailed by a JK Girl."

-

[Recommendation]: A truly excellent book; all I can say is, it's very exciting.

Here is a brief introduction:

On my first day at work, I was extorted by a high school girl on the tram.

"Uncle, you don't want to lose your job because you're mistaken for a pervert, do you?"

"5 yen, I'll pretend nothing happened, okay?"

"Otherwise, I might shout it out, okay?"

The girl was extremely arrogant.

The problem is, looking at the girl's "Private Kamishiro Girls' Academy" uniform, Takizawa Yuuya couldn't help but recall his job:

If I remember correctly, he is the acting chairman of the "Private Kamishiro Girls' Academy".

And

"Ding"

"Individual matching the criteria detected. The Villainess Correction System is at your service!"

"This system aims to punish all the evil deeds of wicked women, promote positive energy, and help them reform!"

Chapter 53

The moon is as gentle as water, and the waves are as smooth as ripples.

Ryan walked to the bulwark.

As he got closer, he saw the knight girl standing in a dark corner not far from Freyne.

The moonlight, as silvery as silver, could not conceal the girl's full head of gray hair.

"Miss Cecilia, you?!"

Ryan frowned, his expression turning serious.

The original Cecilia, though possessing a cool and aloof demeanor, exuded youthful vigor. Now, although her face remains the same, the signs of aging in her body are clearly perceptible even to him.

This is very wrong.

Ryan then recalled what Cecilia had said to him during the previous battle.

"...If there were a higher-ranking professional, they could glimpse the 'fixed point' of the [Black Cage] in the mortal world..."

“I have a way to do this, but I will be severely weakened afterward…”

The girl's voice still echoed in his ears, but the situation was urgent, and Ryan didn't think much about it.

Upon closer reflection, it suddenly dawned on me how much determination and weight were contained in Cecilia's seemingly casual words.

The panel's prompts are correct; Cecilia's rank is only Tier 1, even though her strength far exceeds the Tier 1 range, her rank remains the same.

So how is it that she, whose rank is lower than the Black Knight, can do things that only those of higher rank than the Black Knight can do?

The answer is obvious.

She must have paid an unimaginable price to elevate her status.

Cecilia's unprecedented "posture" was a result of her elevation to a higher rank.