Pale Justice

After weighing it carefully, Alger decided that with Nast, the King of the Five Seas, presiding over the gathering, nothing too serious should happen. He sailed the Blue Avenger into Toin's harbor.

The small island of Toin, with its dormant volcano, had excellent terrain and a natural harbor no less impressive than Bayam's. But ships with tall masts and raised sails were docking one after another, and the sizable wharf was already packed.

Pirates sang, shouted, laughed, cursed, and cheered without pause. The whole place seemed swept up in a carnival.

Alger stepped off the Blue Avenger and was about to climb a nearby cliff for a view of the entire harbor when he spotted the small sailboat carrying the Hero Detective, Braine. It had docked too.

Detective Braine escorted an elderly man onto the pier, surrounded by three young men and women.

Nearby pirates leered at the group, who looked utterly out of place. When they noticed two attractive women among them, they broke into lewd laughter. A few pirates too drunk to think straight even started forward at their companions' urging, ready to put their hands on the women.

But every pirate who dared approach soon froze in place, eyes full of terror. One burly man who had harassed a tall beauty in the group broke down crying on the spot. A large wet patch spread across his trousers...

An Arbiter's Majesty? That shouldn't be this powerful... Was it an Interrogator's Affliction Whip? Maybe he used some abilities I don't know about, too... Right, the Saint Wind Cathedral's files say Detective Braine has a Mystical Item that can simulate abilities from many Pathways. Looks like it's true...

Watching from a distance, Alger speculated to himself.

In fact, Alger was right. Abner had not only simulated Xio's Majesty to