Netori SSS-Emperor: All Queens Shall Be Mine!-Chapter 83: More Than One Can Chew

A cannon pointed from a hundred miles at three Siren ships that had been involved in the capture of the islands of Geia, needless to say, it stressed not only Kayla and the soldiers but also Katherine as she didn't intend to actually fire. If pushed by the other vessels, her bluff would instantly fall apart, thus leaving her with no option but to take the citizens hostage and hope Kayla actually cared for the people of Aesthonia.

"This is suicide, Katherine!" Screamed one of the male pirates. The others quickly joined him in a chant, and although they'd finally gathered the courage to speak against her, the moment she looked them in the eye, their revolt came to a swift and nervous end.

"Keep to the cannons, idiots! How are we gonna get away without fighting at this point?!" Screaming at them, she chased them off. Left alone on the deck again, she looked into the distance at the crowded Siren ships.

Populated mostly with families, the ships had come to a halt under the threat of being blown up otherwise. With the magic cannons trained on them, Kayla ensured that they didn't make any quick move and simply waited for Katherine and her crew to grow too tired to continue holding this stalemate.

'Ughhh, where is the king?! I wanna sleep already!' Tired from this battle of attrition already, Katherine wanted an out–absolutely any. What had started as a plan for revenge had quickly turned into a battle of survival. Chased for days and now stared down by over two dozen vessels, she had little hope for anything else but somehow making it out of this mess alive. 'Deadeye won't work, neither will the cannons at least not without blowing up those people. What the hell am I supposed to do?!'

Pulling her hair, she struggled within herself as the realization that her action had consequences finally settled in. The death of her father had masked everything else for her, but now, as the sorrow had begun to pass, regret was seeping in and making the dilemma worse. To fire at the citizens if push came to shove or to simply surrender her father's greatest creation to the people who'd killed him? Of course, there was another choice.

The cannon in her holster. One click to end it all. No more dilemma, no more sorrow, and perhaps she would even get to reunite with her father. Grabbing the gun, she lifted it to her temples. It's cold barrel pressed against her head. She turned towards Aestonia and whispered.

"What do I do?" She stared in that direction for a while, hoping to hear the voice of reason her father instilled within her. But when only the sound of silence echoed in her heart, Katherine closed her eyes and took a deep breath to get herself ready to meet him. As she pulled the trigger, she expected a bang to shatter her skull. "What?!"

Opening her eyes, half disappointed and half relieved, Katherine stared at the cannon in utter disbelief. The weapon made by her father especially for her, of course, couldn't be used to hurt her. And those runes carved into its barrel ensured just that.

"AHHH DAMN IT!" Throwing the gun to the floor, she cursed her fate. After finally gathering the courage to end it all, she was pulled from that cold and final embrace. "What is the point of a weapon that can't kill a person!?"

First Kayla and now herself- her weapon had failed to kill the only two targets that she'd ever pointed its barrel at. She wanted to throw that thing into the ocean had it not been for the fact that it was her father's last gift for her. And so, picking it off the ground, she put it back into its holster.

"T-the king!" The echo of a voice from up ahead alerted Katherine's ears. Looking in the direction of the sound, she shortened the distance with her magic and saw every soldier on board looking towards Aestonia.

Turning in the same direction, she too saw the vessel of the king finally emerging from the horizon. Just a glance was enough to urge her into action, and thus, charging under the deck, she quickly checked on the men and whether they were stationed behind the cannons. Having barely enough people to fire one magic cannon at a time or a few dozen regular ones, she made sure that they were informed of their plan to shift from magic cannons to the normal ones as soon as they fired them, if they did have to fire them at all.

By the time she returned to the deck, the king's ship wasn't too far away from her. Running up to the wheel, she decided to meet him halfway and make the demands that she'd wanted to make of him all day.

As the ships eventually sat beside each other, Katherine saw for the first time the new king of Aestonia. She hadn't expected him to be such a charmer, but trying not to let her tension or blush show, she took a deep gulp and jumped onto the much smaller ship.

"Finally, I've been waiting to talk to you since this morning..." She muttered upon landing, and although Wolf was being blocked off by his own guards to approach her directly, he parted them on each side and stepped right up in front.

"How about you tell those crewmates of yours to lower those cannons and we can actually have a conversation." He said, not willing to do anything unless those magic cannons were no longer aimed at his people.

"Not yet. Let's talk first, yeah?" Swallowing her angst, she looked him in the eyes and hoped deep in her heart for him to see sense, unlike his mad predecessor.

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"Then talk," Wolf replied while folding his hands together.

Finally, Katherine had a chance to demand justice, and although she knew nothing would change–at this point, she had no choice but to either beg or have her companions blow up a shipload of innocent people. And neither were choices that she was quite too fond of.

'Alright, here goes!'