Wind!
A gale!
Wind rose from the ground, wrapping around Bluebeard and spinning furiously.
The invisible, colorless wind now revealed a color-
Red!
Scarlet!
Scarlet, mixed with flesh and entrails!
Then a streak of ghastly white appeared.
That was the color of pulverized bone swept into the wind.
Blech!
Matidal, standing nearby, began retching.
The sight of those flames moments earlier had shocked her so deeply that her curiosity had driven her to watch everything.
She had seen Horton emerge from the flames completely unscathed.
She had watched Horton stroll through the fire like a young nobleman.
Then she had seen the wind!
And because she was so close, Matidal could even see the first mate of the Dokiman Island Devils being sliced to pieces.
Matidal was no innocent little girl, but this was the first time she had witnessed someone being cut apart like that.
Under that overwhelming shock, Matidal's body obeyed its most primitive instincts.
She threw up much of last night's dinner, and eventually even brought up her stomach acid.
Horton glanced at Matidal and flicked his hand, dropping the minced flesh onto an empty patch of ground nearby.
Matidal, who had only just stopped vomiting, began again.
Horton noticed, but paid her no mind.
He had more important things to do.
The wind carried Horton toward the harbor in the distance.
With a sweep of his gaze, Horton spotted the Dokiman Island Devils' fleet.
One two-masted Caravel and three Cork Sailing Ships.
All four vessels had been modified.
The Caravel had completely sacrificed its hold simply to accommodate more cannons.
The three Cork Sailing Ships, meanwhile, had completely abandoned their cannons to make room for more cargo space. Even the rope nets and sliding hooks on their decks were meant for loading and securing goods.
*A