Tales of Berseria The X: Beyond Calamity

Chapter IX: The Unforeseen Circumstances

The infamous pirate ship, the Van Eltia, sailed away from the scene of the Vortigern sea battle at full speed. The vengeful woman, Velvet Crowe, was standing on the bow of the Van Eltia, unable to comprehend the event that unfolded a few moments ago. She remembered the hair comb and the rose corsage Seres gave to her on the night she escaped from Titania before Velvet consumed her.

Questions were floating in her head. Then again, she could still recall that night; a barrage of malakhim artes attacked and mutilated Avernus' body and the injuries she inflicted on him were profound and severe. She saw him die. There was no way he could have survived that night. The sliver of hope turned to zero once again.

The door to the lower deck opened. The pirate malak Eizen, the daemon swordsman Rokurou, the unlikely witch Magilou, and the lizard daemon Dyle stormed out. Magilou crooked like an older woman, raced to the nearest wall and leaned against it, practically breathless.

"Why... *huff* ... Why did you guys need me to help carry him?! I could barely lift up his weapon!", she groaned, "Ohh... my back ... Look what you've done to my delicate body!"

Dyle let out a groan that came out like a hardened hiss and pointed to his backside.

"Hey! If you're talking about me and, if you hadn't noticed, my tail hasn't fully grown back yet! Balancing is a huge problem for me!"

Rokurou swang Dreamshadow left and right, "Now that you mentioned it, Magilou, the weight of this thing is too heavy for a sceptre or even a lance." Rokurou narrowed his eyes and carefully checked the etching on the weapon, "I can't make out any of this. What language is that?"

The kid malak moved to his side, "I can read it."

Rokurou looked at him and smiled, "Be my guest."

The child's eyes scrutinized the writings, "Hmm... It means, " Rise with dreams, die with memories ", in the ancient tongue."

Velvet moved closer and checked the staff herself. Suddenly, her face scrunched up in sadness, "Yes... It's his..."

She let out a silent wail, "You should have dropped it into the sea!"

Rokurou glanced at her unsurely, "You mean the staff? Why?"

"No, not the staff. I'm talking about that imposter! That... thing ! I just can't..."

"Do you want to talk about it?", Rokurou calmly asked.

Velvet turned away, lowered her head, and hugged herself for a moment before going to the inner quarters. "No."

Magilou rolled her eyes and sighed, "And just when she was starting to get better..."

In the meantime, Eizen was standing near the ship's mast with his arms crossed and lost in his thoughts. Rokurou, disappointed, turned to Eizen, "Why did you punch him? He didn't seem like a threat. Especially after he helped us."

Eizen hesitated, which, in turn, made Rokurou even more suspicious. After a brief moment, he narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me that you know him too."

Eizen exhaled, wanting to calm his nerves. "Three years ago, we encountered the wreckage of an unknown ship near the shores of Eastgand. The crew was already dead, and their bodies mangled. We also found the remains of a dead Kraken with its jaw torn from its face. We dove into the waters to search for survivors or any loot. Instead, we found him. He was still alive alongside that weapon and a chest. Aifread immediately recognized the symbols on the staff and wanted to keep it for himself. Things didn't go as planned and he escaped, causing some damage along the way."