Chapter 287: Apparently, Space Pirates Don’t Appreciate Chicken Jokes.

"...It’s a damn chicken!"

My surprise barely lasted a moment before that damned trembling white bear, Semo, hurriedly whispered into my ear.

"Oh, my lord. Please don’t be so disrespectful towards Lord Murgin. I beg you."

Oh... so Murgins were basically space chickens.

With that thought, I looked back at the old Murgin.

Several scars crossed his face, one running directly over a glowing eye. Heavy metal plates covered parts of his shoulders and chest, decorated with the skulls of strange beasts and across his chest was a tattoo of a chicken skull with a single red eyes.

Every tooth in his mouth looked sharp enough to tear flesh apart.

"So, this little vessel actually accepted our communication."

His voice echoed through the carrier as his gaze slowly swept across everyone before finally settling on me.

"...Interesting and what an unexpected gathering this is." A smile stretched across his face. "A bunch of Furbarians travelling alongside... Monkins? Or is it some other race?"

He didn’t seem to recognize humans or even demons but that was normal. Although A.S.S. was technically an alliance of many races that considered themselves supreme, there were countless other species scattered across the vast universe who weren’t part of it and didn’t know shit about the residents of Nytharrea.

Hell, even among the races that were part of A.S.S., plenty of people had never seen a human or demon in their entire lives.

So, I wasn’t all that surprised.

"I am Krag, second-in-command of the Fourteenth Fleet of the Blood-Eyed Murgin Pirates and you oblivious fools have entered territory currently under our control."

His grin widened.

I matched his smile.

"Can we let this pass as an innocent mistake made by your juniors, Sir Krag?"

I had no idea what language he was speaking because, unlike Semo and Bearlina, who had actually learned and spoke Nytharrea’s language, this Murgin clearly wasn’t speaking the same one.

Thankfully, my Myths did the work for me, allowing me to understand every word he said.

Semo, Bearlina and even Arza looked surprised to hear me speak their language so fluently but I ignored their stunned stares.

The Murgin captain blinked once before leaning forward with an amused expression.

"Sure! That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I am ready to forgive you all for your mistake... but only after you surrender."

Several Murgins behind him let out mocking chuckles.

"That would be rather difficult, Sir Krag. You see, I have somewhere I need to be but I am perfectly willing to surrender to you once I return. I am even willing to make a soul contract, if you wish."

Like hell I had any intention of doing that, but it wasn’t as if any kind of contract could bind me anyway. So I might as well try resolving this peacefully... and even if that failed, I hoped I was buying enough time to activate the Warp Drive.

The giant Murgin’s grin stretched even wider.

"You have exactly one opportunity." His voice echoed throughout the cockpit like thunder. "Power down your engines, deactivate every weapon, open your docking ports, let my men aboard and surrender peacefully."

"If you do, I might spare enough of you to make the trip to the slave market worthwhile. Besides, it’s not like you have much of a choice, you are surrounded. So consider this an act of mercy."

As if on cue, Bearlina expanded one of the surrounding displays, allowing everyone to see the situation clearly.

Five rough-looking ships floated between the surrounding meteorites like predators lying in wait, while several more remained hidden behind enormous chunks of rock.

Compared to them, we looked like a rabbit surrounded by starving wolves.

Semo collapsed to his knees.

"...We are finished."

A suffocating silence settled over the cockpit as no one spoke, their eyes slowly drifting toward me, waiting for my decision.

I scratched my cheek, my gaze shifting toward Bearlina. He gave me a subtle signal that everything was ready for the warp drive and my smile widened.

"...Nah."

The captain blinked.

"What?"

"I said no. I mean, come on. If you were at least offering free fried chicken with the slavery, maybe I would have thought about it."

For a moment, nobody spoke but then the Murgin’s face twisted with rage.

"...Kill their engines!"

"Activate the warp!"

The Murgin captain and I shouted our orders at the same time as Bearlina immediately slammed the lever in front of her forward.

The ship trembled violently, every engine roaring to life at once but just as the ship was about to launch, a massive projectile slammed into the side of the cockpit.

The wall exploded inward, tearing open a gaping hole.

Standing closest to the breach, I was yanked toward it almost instantly.

Arza lunged to grab me and even my cloak desperately tried to pull me back but the force of the decompression acting on my bodyweight was stronger than all of them as the ship was in a warp drive.

"My liege!"

I could even hear the distressed voice of Bearlo coming from the side.

As my body was about to be hurled out of the ship, countless thoughts flashed through my mind, my Moon Card pushing my perception to its absolute limit.

Everything around me slowed, the panicked expression, the blaring alarms and the crack spreading across the hatch healing slowly.

It all unfolded within the span of a single second.

There wasn’t enough time.

Even if I summoned the Magician Card right now, I wouldn’t be able to complete the teleportation before I was thrown into the endless void.

Tch.

So I did what I always did when things went to hell.

I improvised.

"Go to Biribri,"

I shouted, locking eyes with Arza.

"Don’t worry about me, I will get there..."

The force pulling me outward suddenly intensified.

"...Just wait for—"

My voice was swallowed whole as the world flipped upside down and I was thrown out of the ship, hurled into the endless abyss of space.

The moment my feet left the deck, my ever-so-rebellious cloak reacted before I could even think.

It surged around my body like a living creature, wrapping itself tightly around me before swallowing my entire face in a protective embrace.

But before I could even process what had happened, something warm crashed into my chest.

...Huh?

I looked down.

Arza.

That damned girl had jumped after me before the emergency hatch could seal itself shut.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around me, using her own body to shield mine as we continued spiraling farther and farther away from the ship.

For the first time since I had met her, there wasn’t the slightest trace of indifference in her crimson eyes, only quiet determination.

...You fucking idiot.

The ship was already disappearing into the distance, becoming nothing more than a tiny speck swallowed by the endless tunnel of distorted light.

Meanwhile Arza’s skin was growing paler by the second under the merciless cold of space but instead of letting me go, she only tightened her grip ever so slightly, as though letting go had never even been an option.

Mana surged through my body as my Jester Flames sprang to life.

Arza looked surprised but sensing no hostility, she didn’t resist as the flames engulfed her. Instead of burning her, the flames, understanding my intent, wrapped around her like a warm blanket, shielding her from the freezing void.

I did the same, forcing myself to relax ever so slightly.

At least we weren’t dead.

Breathing wasn’t a problem because as long as I had mana, surviving the vacuum of space wasn’t exactly impossible but unfortunately, that wasn’t what worried me.

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked around.

...Ah.

Tens of lights pierced through the darkness, every single one of them was trained directly on me and Arza as we floated helplessly in the center of the endless void.

My lips twitched.

...Well, so much for getting away.

The Murgin pirates had been waiting for us.