Pirate Pt. I

 Almost two months passed since they fled the overrun continent, following the shortest route to the other continent. As you looked down on the two land masses, they were shaped like fangs, but they originated on different sides of the world. The continent they came from, which had its origin in the north, got thinner as it reached the equator, while the other was rotated upside down, but loosely had the same features.

 While they looked similar on the surface, the two couldn't be more different. The northern continent was weak in spirit power, that being the most probable reason they lost to the monster surge, while it also let the land be a single great empire as no one had the strength to uproot it, strength the southern one had an abundance of. Young warriors frequently left for it to train their spirits, but had a very small chance to come back safe, be it that they were killed or that they just liked it there.

 While the trip was peaceful, the rations began to dwindle, barely being enough to sustain their bodies.

 "I swear it's only a third of what it used to be…" Maizy said.

 "We only have to endure it for one more month, we'll reach the continent soon enough."

 "But I'm so hungry! Even the food at the orphanage was better, these crackers, if you can even call them that, are only made of flour and water, they are barely edible. And this dammed beef, I swear it has more salt than the ocean."

 "If you're hungry, you can have mine, all this salt is giving my tongue blisters."

 "You… Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm not hungry…"

 "I can tell that you are lying, but I don't feel any better than you, what would I not give for a full meal…"

 *BOOM* An explosion could be heard from outside and the boat shook.

 "What the…!" Maizy managed to shout before a cannonball exploded through the wall.

 As they looked through the hole, there was another ship, flying a jolly roger, overlooking the deck, a man that looked comically like a pirate, complete with the stuffy black beard, eye patch, and even a monkey dressed in a wifebeater on his shoulder, and of course, sitting with his wooden leg against the railing.

 "Ahahaha! What do we have here?" The man spoke, his voice was so raspy that they wondered how he was capable of shouting so loudly.

 "We are under attack! Everyone on deck!" Finally, the chef's voice was heard and they followed it.

 "Let's go, Maizy!"

 When they reached the deck, a bloodbath stood in front of them, five of their crewmates were lying lifelessly on the ground and two others were fighting a man who had spider legs coming out of his back, suspending him in the air.

 Before they could intervene, their boat shook as it was rammed by the pirates, and soon, they were surrounded. The two stood back-to-back, weapons in hand, as the other people came out of the ship.

 First were the adventurers, Mccoy and Thorne first, armed with their sword and daggers respectively, and behind, crossbow in hand, Peregrine.

 "What the hell do you want?!" Thorne shouted.

 "Hey, shud' up and let me introduce myself, maggot." The same raspy voice from earlier spoke, as the pirate landed on the deck, his wooden leg not even being a problem. "Now, I am Sable Silverheart, the captain of this ship." He raised his hand towards the boat. "I hate that I have to do this, but I will be gracious and let you all live… if you give us all of your supplies. I won't even take any slaves as we wouldn't even be able to feed them."

 "That…! That's madness, we will die without any food!" One of the crew members shouted.

 *SLASH* In a moment, that man's head was displaced from his shoulders.

 Silence overtook the ship, no one could see how the man died, and the pirate was too far from him for it to have been a simple trick, but even so, all anyone saw was the pirate moving his hand a little.

 "..."

 "So, what do you thi…" The pirate was interrupted.

 "I won't accept this!"

 "Iiii… Avis, are you crazy!" Maizy tried to stop Avis as he advanced.

 "Do you have a death wish, little boy?"

 "Fight me, if you win you get all our food, else you leave us alone!"

 "Hmmm… Does this boy speak for all of you?"

 "...Yes, I trust Avis, the duel can commence." The chef, clutching his slashed arm said, before looking at Avis and nodding.

 "Then so be it! Let's begin."

 "Not so fast, a contract first." Avis stopped him.

 "Alright, you caught me, but you won't be the signer, since this is where you'll die."

 "Then you better not sign it either."

 As such, the chef and a representative from the pirates made a contract. It isn't a mere legal document, but a way to bind two people in an agreement, if both souls consider the agreement broken, then the one who breaks it will suffer tremendously until the end of their life, which won't come quickly, nor peacefully, but will come soon enough.

 With the rules being so lenient, the contracts are not that strong, but for such situations are enough, they are predominantly used for slave contracts and street business, as they are easy to do and are not against the law, unlike more extreme methods.

 "Is that good enough?" The pirate asked as the paper the contract was written on was engulfed by flames.

 This is another quirk of the contract, new conditions being able to be implemented after the signing with the consent of both parties, but if the document is burned or otherwise destroyed, the rules are set in stone.

 "Yes, we can begin. Maizy, give me your sword."

 "Are you sure? We haven't tested it enough!"

 "Yes, come on already." As the swords floated to him, he firmly gripped the handle in both hands.

 As he held it, the veins in his hand started bulging, and the translucent purple of the sword started dimming until it was only a very pale pink, the same color as his eyes, and even its shape started changing, becoming broader than the rapier it previously was.

 This was expected however, as the two spent the last months together, Avis became curious about Maizy's sword, and when he asked her to use it, to both of their surprises, the eyes on his chest opened again, and the sword had a similar reaction to now, but after that, he couldn't open it anymore, neither did the sword have any reaction.

 As a last-ditch effort, he tried remembering the feeling of it opening, how the eyes moved, and as he tried to focus on it, he felt something strange, he found a new muscle in his chest, weak and hard to use, but as he was still training it, an idea came to him, using his new spirit, he made it into a hand that kept the eyes open.

 The eyes were trying to resist him thugging at them, but eventually, they became more obedient, and his training resumed.

 "Maybe I will take the girl, she has such a strange power. Well, let's begin already! Martin, give the start!"

 "Get in position, and… Begin!"

 The pirate, Sable Silverheart, didn't even bother to unsheath his sword, confidently staring at Avis with a hand on his hip and the other seemingly holding onto nothing.

 To his surprise, however, Avis slashed behind himself, cutting something that was invisible to everyone watching.

 "What! How do you see through…"

 The pirate stopped speaking as the boy took off his shirt. Three eyes were burrowed in his chest, focusing on the pirate before him.

 "So, you are a spirit user, interesting…" After the initial fluster, the pirate went back to his nonchalant attitude, and finally unsheated his sword. 

 "This won't work on me, you know?" Avis asked the pirate.

 "I realized it!"