Conquest Sea, aboard the Shimmering Pearl.
Under the dark sky, the massive cruise ship cut through the vast ocean waves. Crowds of passengers gathered on the open foredeck, jostling for a view of the voyage’s most anticipated moment—the unveiling of the Deep Blue Heart.
As all eyes fixed on the angel statue at the bow, veiled in white cloth, anticipation hung thick in the air. The moment the gemstone collector Massimo finally pulled away the covering, the crowd’s expected gasps of awe never came.
To most of the spectators in the back, the blue gemstone in the angel’s hands, while large, appeared disappointingly ordinary—far less dazzling than some of the jewels displayed earlier in the day. Murmurs of discontent spread as their faces twisted in disappointment.
But for the few in the front rows, their expressions froze in shock. They saw the note pasted on the gemstone—a message from Thief K, declaring that the stone in the angel’s hands was a fake. The real Deep Blue Heart had already been stolen and replaced!
Thief K was no joke. Those warning letters hadn’t been pranks.
"What the hell?! Where’s the gemstone?!"
From the upper deck, Costa—his vision enhanced by mystical means—saw the note and nearly crushed the railing in his grip. He could clearly sense it—the spiritual signature of the Deep Blue Heart, which had been present just moments ago, had vanished. The gem had been stolen right under their noses!
How had the thief done it?!
From the moment the Deep Blue Heart had been placed in the angel’s hands, the entire bow had been under tight surveillance. No one had approached the veiled statue. No suspicious figures, no strange sounds—yet the gem had been swapped anyway!Was this some unknown mystical ability?!
Costa’s mind reeled. Beside him, Massimo—who had just been mocking Thief K—was even more stunned. The spiritual presence he had sensed earlier was gone. The gemstone’s glow had vanished.
Staring at the dull, note-covered stone, Massimo’s shock surpassed even Costa’s. He was the one responsible for the gem’s security. This was unthinkable.
"Damn it... What the hell happened?! How did they get to the statue?! How did they open my mechanism?!"
Gritting his teeth, Massimo pulled out a key and, without hesitation, climbed onto the angel statue in full view of the crowd. He had to see for himself.
As he reached the angel’s hands and inserted the key into the hidden mechanism, loosening the restraints holding the gem, his fingers brushed against something unexpected—a spider-shaped corpse marionette lurking beneath the “fake” stone.
At that exact moment, hidden among the crowd, Dorothy seized her chance.
She channeled her spirituality, flooding the marionette with Flowing Current Form—a current far stronger than before.
Crackle!
A blinding flash erupted from the angel’s hands, followed by a deafening snap. Massimo’s fingers convulsed violently as an unbearable jolt of electricity surged through him. His muscles locked, his grip failed—and the fake gemstone tumbled from the statue’s grasp, plummeting toward the sea below.
"What—?!"
Massimo and the crowd gaped in horror as the gemstone fell—but before it could hit the water, a black streak shot forward from the audience.
A figure leaped onto the ship’s railing, then dashed along the narrow edge with impossible grace, sprinting toward the angel statue. With a single fluid motion, they snatched the falling gemstone mid-air.
Massimo, still reeling from the shock, lost his balance and crashed onto the deck.
All eyes turned to the figure now standing effortlessly on the railing—a woman in an elaborate black gown.
Her outfit—a fitted corset, a wide skirt, a flower-adorned hat—was no different from the high-society ladies in the crowd. Yet no one could fathom how she had moved with such speed and precision in such restrictive clothing.
Beneath her wide-brimmed hat was a butterfly-shaped half-mask covering her upper face, leaving only pale skin and crimson lips visible. Her gloved hand clutched the blue gemstone.
With a smirk, she tore the note from the stone and raised it high—and the dull gem suddenly blazed with an ethereal blue light, illuminating the sea and sky.
"As promised... the Deep Blue Heart is mine."
Her voice, elegant and clear in Ivengardian, rang across the deck.
The crowd stood frozen in dual shock—first at the gemstone’s undeniable beauty, and second at the realization that Thief K was real... and a stunning woman at that!
"Thief K—SEIZE HER!"
Massimo, his hand still numb from the shock, bellowed the order. The guards lunged forward—but the thief moved like a shadow.
She danced along the railing, her steps impossibly light, her movements more precise than any tightrope walker they’d ever seen. And she did it all in that cumbersome dress.
The audience gasped as she effortlessly dodged every grab, leaving several guards nearly tumbling overboard in their haste.
Frustration boiling over, Massimo raised his hand—and fired a barrage of near-invisible water arrows from his sleeve.
The translucent projectiles were impossible to detect—yet at the last second, the thief twisted aside, avoiding most.
But two struck her forearm, piercing clean through.
She staggered but kept her balance. Before Massimo could fire again, she whipped out a test tube filled with dark red liquid and hurled it onto the deck.
BOOM!
A crimson mist exploded outward, engulfing the entire bow in a thick, wind-resistant fog.
Massimo coughed, waving his hands uselessly. He tried to manipulate the mist—but it wasn’t just water.
It was a blend of Chalice and Shadow spirituality, resisting his control.
"Damn it!"
He slapped a Scent-Tracking Sigil onto himself, enhancing his sense of smell—but the thief had erased all traces of her scent.
She was a seasoned Beyonder.
Regret flooded Massimo. He should have taken those letters seriously.
The mist lingered, blinding everyone on the bow—and in that moment, the thief leaped overboard.
As she plummeted toward the sea, an invisible current of electricity surged through her body, magnetizing her.
THUD!
She slammed against the steel hull, clinging to it like a spider. The momentum dragged her down several meters before she stopped—just seven or eight meters above the churning waves.
The ship’s deafening wake masked all sound of her impact. And thanks to the hull’s sloping shape, no one on deck could see her.
She scrambled along the steel, cat-like, until she reached an open porthole near the stern.
Without hesitation, she slipped inside—where a man immediately sealed the hatch behind her.
Panting, the thief straightened up and pulled off her mask, revealing slightly darker skin beneath the makeup.
" Huff ... Did I do alright, Miss Dorothy?"
"You did perfectly. But we don’t have time—get changed."
The man—one of Dorothy’s corpse marionettes—gestured to a corner where a simple golden dress, heels, and a basin of hot water waited.
Nephthys handed him the Deep Blue Heart and began scrubbing off her disguise with practiced speed.
As she transformed back into her university-student self, Dorothy examined the gemstone through the marionette’s eyes.
“At last… the treasure of the Abyssal Church, the gem that calls the Serpent’s descendants… the Deep Blue Heart is in my hand.”