Liberating the Fleet

"You... you..."

The Paladin stretched out a hand in disbelief, pointing at Benjamin and the other two. He was so stunned he could not even speak, as though he had seen the sun rise in the west.

"What? You don't recognize us now?" Benjamin smiled kindly. "We did help you drive off such a huge pack of magical beasts. Isn't this a bit much of a way to repay your lifesavers?"

Perhaps their shock was simply too overwhelming. The few Paladins still failed to come back to their senses, stammering incoherently, "You... how is that possible... weren't you locked up in there..."

Benjamin shook his head.

"Your prison cells could only stop us from using Mind Arts, not magic. Like this." As he spoke, he suddenly waved his hand. Dense clusters of Ice Needles appeared, instantly piercing the helpless Paladins.

Several more corpses now lay on the silent ship.

The sailors around them watched the scene, every last one of them frozen with fear.

After who knew how long, someone among them finally came to his senses and stared at Benjamin with frightened eyes. "You... could it be that you are..."

"Don't worry." Benjamin waved a hand and cut him off. "Everyone the Church left behind has already been dealt with. This is the last ship I'm freeing. No one will force you to sail anymore."

The crowd froze again at those words.

After a long silence, the somewhat older captain cautiously opened his mouth. "...You are mages, aren't you?"

"So what if we are?" Benjamin shrugged and openly nodded. "I know you all think mages are servants of demons, but when it mattered most, it was mages who saved you from being surrounded by a pack of octopuses."

"But..."

Benjamin had no intention of stopping. He interrupted the other