Headed by a Snake

Krysaos drew the Heart of the Ocean from its sheath with a fancy flourish-- a movement he shamelessly copied from a certain elf.

After fighting against King... for whatever reason, he found it far easier to channel his through his enchanted rapier.

He wondered if he'd reached a new level?

That'd be the tits.

Krysaos placed the rapier's hilt near his chin, the flat of the blade pointed forward.

"Your master summons you, Mi--"

"Brother-Captain."

"--whuh?"

Krysaos frowned-- having been interrupted by a hand on his shoulder and the deep voice of his Lieutenant.

"Elle, Coraline," Tycon waved. "Cease your summons, as well."

Before Krysaos or anyone else could argue, cutting winds began to swirl all around them... picking up leaves, debris... and--

"OUR FRUIT!!" The pale Coral Boy yelled, "Quick! Dey'z gotta go back in da bags!!"

"Shut yer FUGGIN' GOB!!" Bob roared. "An' let 'em GO or I'll GUT YA~!"

King had his hands raised high above his head and his eyes were glowing real bright like he was some sort of Elven god. He was obviously preparing some kind of super-move.

"Unforgiving winds, ⌈Heed My Call⌋... strike down these mindless beasts and their ilk."

In a matter of seconds, a razor-sharp, magical cyclone turned the hell-storm of squawking Six-Eyed Ravens into blood, bits of bone, a hundred-thousand feathers... and what was probably bird shite.

...Krysaos turned to Tycon and apologized in his heart, having realized the reason the guy called him off. With King's crazy magic spell, summoning Mina would have just been a waste of mana.

The cawing grew quieter as the few shitebirds that survived flew away.

Krysaos didn't feel bad at all.

Well, he did, a little-- but not for the gods-damned toothbirds. The little elf girl, Coraline, stood a bit too far from King-- just out of the eye of the storm.

She ended up looking like a funky chicken.

...And the smell was like the inside of a Leviathan's arse.

The Coral Boys were similar-- even though the smell was just about the same. They were covered in the stuff, standing at the forefront with their weapons still held at the ready.

Bob turned his head, his mouth agape, "WOT... jus' 'app-ened?"

"We DUNNO," Catshit pumped his axe in the air, "but it WOZZ AWE-SOOMMME!!!!!"

Amidst the cheering of his crew, Krysaos wiped the blood off his face before flashing a grin, "Good work, guy."

"Pathetic," The elf glowered. "Long has this king been without an opponent *worthy* of these blades... Captain Krysaos!"

"Uh huh?"

"I shall forge ahead, "The elf shook his head in disdain before dashing off, venturing deeper into the woods.

"Sea god's ball crabs..." Krysaos frowned, "Who took a shite in that guy's breakfast burrito?"

...Well, it wasn't important. He shrugged and started channeling water magic to clean himself... He figured he'd probably need to summon Mina later to deep-clean it.

"Ancients," Coraline sighed as she started to cast some spells of her own-- something fiery, "don't have any expectations of them or you'll always be disappointed."

"You gonna put that down in your log, Captain Krysaos?" Elle teased.

Krysaos pursed his lips... "I uh... yeah. Why not?"

⁆ But the Six-Eyed Ravens weren't shite. They all died in a swirl of magic under the noble command of me, Captain Krysaos of the Neptune's Revenge. ⁅

Lieutenant Tycon pointed his palm at where King walked off, "Ladies and gentlemen, let us follow. Coraline, Brother-Captain, cast your hygienic spells as we move."

Eh. That was a good call. Krysaos waved his hand above his head to rally everyone behind him-- back into what could pass for a marching formation.

"Followin' this guy blows chunks," He groaned. "I hate to say it, but I almost wish we had Imperia with us."

King always went off on his own. It's what he did. But every time before, they always had the dark elf or one of her goons to lead the way.

Elle was wringing out her headband, dripping blood all over her arms, "Elves are really good at trailblazing through woodland areas, right?"

"Really, Ellie?" Coraline groaned, "Stereotype much?"

Krysaos stopped himself before he commented. He was thinking the same thing-- "I was uh... thinking they'd be good for ambush fodder."

"It'd be too dangerous," The elf girl shook her head. "After decades, if not centuries, of logging, the Tree God placed an enchantment in and around the forest. The details are unclear, but any elves that have visited in the past few decades have gotten cursed."

"Yeah, uh huh..." Krysaos pursed his lips as he stared at Coraline's pointy ears. "And how are you okay, girlie?"

Coraline's eyes widened in sudden panic... then narrowed in confusion, "I uh... I dunno?"

"Flame Eternal," Elle gasped. "Did you forget you were an elf, Coraline?"

"N-no? ...I mean," Coraline bit her upper lip, "I seem okay?"

Starting with Krysaos, Elle and Coraline looked over to Tycon. He usually had an answer.

"Miss Coraline wears specialized jewelry that protects her from the forest's anti-elf formation," The guy explained.

"Ah, yeap. That'll do it," Krysaos nodded. He didn't quite understand, but if the LT said it, that was good enough for him.

"I-- whaaaa?!" Coraline tilted her head to the side.

Tycon didn't respond as he walked ahead. He did, however, tap on one of his earlobes.

Krysaos' gaze wandered back to Coraline. He hadn't noticed before, but she wore small pearls on her ears. They made her look like more of a kid than she was.

"My earrings..." She whispered.

"They're cute," Elle grinned. "So were they a gift?"

"I got them from..." Coraline looked up, "my boss?"

"Miss Bella must have taken a liking to you," Tycon said aloud.

Krysaos raised his eyebrows. There was only one Bella he knew of... Bella Sapphira, the Archmage of the Sapphire Tower.

Which was... the person Coraline worked for? Which also meant the 'Baymax' thing she was trying to cast earlier was some kind of Sapphire Tower-class summon.

And then with the fact that all of the LT's friends were certified bad-asses...

Seven hells-- that probably meant that whatever Elle's 'Gaheris' was might've demolished half-the-forest.

...not that Krysaos would have minded. He was one of said bad-asses, after all. That kind of stuff wasn't anything to be impressed by.

He could even summon a giant Whitesaber Tuna, if he wanted to.

"Hold on," Elle waved. "Then how come Mister King is okay? He's an elf too, right?"

"That gentleman defies conventional logic," Tycon answered.

"Yeah, speakin' of unconventional," Krysaos sneered, "he's been a massive cunt this sun."

Tycon raised an eyebrow as he glanced over, "Is he acting abnormally, as of recent?"

"You didn't notice?" Elle asked.

"I did not."

Krysaos shrugged, "Somethin' prob'ly happened-- not that that's an excuse..."