Chapter 10
"How are you feeling?"
Castiel asked his sister as he peeled an orange for her. It had become a routine at some point to peel fruits for her. Not that she couldn't do it herself, but because it was the only thing Castiel could do for her.
"I am fine," she sounded annoyed, as it wasn't the first time Castiel had asked her that.
Or maybe it was because she wasn't fine at all, and she had to lie. Castiel could see through her. Although she wasn't in pain, she was afraid. But he didn't say anything about it, pretending to believe in her brave face, pretending that everything was fine.
Though it must have been more than fear, the longing in her eyes as she looked outside made it all clear for Castiel. She was tired of this kind of life: stuck in bed, never leaving the hospital, and not knowing when another episode like this would happen again or if it would be the last.
He couldn't even begin to understand what she must be feeling right now. And he didn't have an idea of how he could help her. He wanted to tell her how much he had tried, but what could he say? That he tried to kill himself but failed?
She would probably beat him to death if she knew about it. The world was just unfair, and Castiel had no other choice. He would love to live with her, find a peaceful village at the edge of the world, and become a fisherman to support themselves.
Maybe they would create their own families one day. But with each day, it was harder for Castiel to imagine it. Time was running out. He didn't have the money. Even now, he owns the hospital a lot. And to get the medicine didn't seem possible with his salary, at least not in time.
"Soon. Soon, all of it will be over," Castiel could only promise her that. "You will be able to leave and go outside and do whatever you want. We can go fishing. Or just sail the world. Anything and everything you want."
"I want to go home."
Home? What was even that for them? They never had a home. A place to call something like that was never within their reach. Now it was just a word to Castiel. But he could see that it was far more to Cass. It was a dream.
"When you get better, you can create your own home," Castiel said, knowing very well he won't be a part of it. "Just rest for now. I will be gone for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"I am being sent to escort a vessel carrying prisoners. Don't worry, before you even realize it, I will be back."
She didn't look too happy to hear that, but she didn't complain. It was good to see her getting better, eating, and not stuck with half a dozen machines to keep her alive. But it was still hard to look at her when she was bedridden and still suffering.
No one could help her. There were no heroes for them. Not for her. She was just an unfortunate girl, and it was up to him to give her life back. He was the only hope she had. And he hated this world, which made it so damn unfair for her to be stuck with a failure like him.
…
The ship was massive, definitely bigger than normal. Well, it was transporting prisoners, so it had to be bigger than a normal Marine ship. Though he had to say it was on the uglier side of the ships he had seen so far.
Bulky and ugly, like the captain of the ship. Captain Martin was a big guy, though only horizontally. He was a head shorter than Castiel, yet looked like he ate four of him. And Castiel wouldn't mind it if he didn't spit while talking.
"Get a move on! You lazy pigs!" he yelled as he hit the prisoners boarding the ship. "I'll beat you all to death if we are late!"
Castiel just looked at him. There was nothing but disgust in his eyes. The fatass was just running his mouth without really helping. Not like there was any need to help with anything. The procedure was going just fine before he came onto the scene.
The prisoners were mostly people who were caught during Castiel's little operation. Just a bunch of thugs and nothing else. But they wouldn't receive any trial; their fate was decided once they were caught. That was just the kind of system that this world operated under.
They would be executed, rot in prison, become cheap labor, or worst of all, become slaves. And seeing where they were going, it was quite evident what their prospects were. Castiel could only feel pity for them, but he didn't care much about them.
The Ilisia Kingdom was very closely tied to the World Government. They were one of its most loyal dogs, and the biggest kingdom in the West Blue. That was the reason why Castiel agreed to escort the ship there.
Commodore Daigin wasn't very comfortable with the failed assassination attempts on Castiel's life. So he was trying to send him away, at least until things calmed down a bit. But Castiel had other plans. It just so happened that this time they aligned with the Commodore's plans.
The Soja Kingdom couldn't get any more of that miraculous medicine the doctor spoke of. But the Ilisia Kingdom must have it. And at this point, Castiel was willing to do anything to get it, even if he had to steal it or murder someone for it.
At this point, he didn't care about anything else. Even if he once again had to watch people be shackled to their chains, nothing would stop him from getting what he wanted this time. Though he didn't expect it to be easy to get.
Like every time, he expected to fail miserably. But if he couldn't get killed, he had to do something with his life. Even if he had to follow behind Captain Martin as his escort, Castiel was already tired of hearing him yell.
He hoped that, if not him, at least this guy could get killed the next time they were attacked by someone. It was so damn annoying, but there was nothing he could do about him, so he just stayed quiet, knowing nothing good would come out if he said anything.
"Damn useless pigs," the captain said as he hit one of his crew on the back of his head. "What are you lazing around for? If you finished boarding, get to cleaning."
He sure liked to order people around. Thankfully, he didn't say anything to Castiel, because even if he could tolerate his words, if even a bit of his spit came into contact with his skin, Castiel would punch him.
…
"You should be grateful you get to follow me around, boy!" Why was he still yelling? "This is a great opportunity for a country boy like you."
Spit flew from his mouth as he spoke. Thankfully, Castiel was following behind him as they entered the bottom of the ship. It had been some time since he was in such a place. Back then, the pirates who captured him kept him in a similar place on their ship.
Now he had to watch as others suffered as much as he had. And he could guess that none of them wanted to die, as he did. It did make them more pitiable. Most of them were nothing but thugs; at least half of them were even younger than him.
"Captain, sir." The guard stationed to watch over the prisoners greeted them as they entered.
"Ptui," the captain spat at one of the prisoners' food bowls. "Look at their disgusting faces. Trash, nothing more. And they still dare to glare at me while eating our food? Don't feed them anymore; only give them water once a day."
Captain Martin seemed to enjoy seeing the prisoners' expressions darken. And he was probably waiting for them to protest so he could go even further in his sadistic hobbies. But they weren't stupid enough, and still not hungry enough, to fall for it.
Oh, only the gods of this and his previous world knew how much he wanted to shoot this bastard in the back of his head. He knew that Marines were pretty much all assholes, but even among them, someone like this shit stain was a rare sight.
This job really sucked. Castiel could do nothing but hope that someone would come to kill him soon, as he was really going to lose it. If not for Cass, Castiel would have long since joined the Revolutionary Army just to shoot Marines like this asshole.
"But, Captain," the guard was the one to voice his protest, "we can't do that. As long as they are…"
And he was slapped. The Marine's hat fell to the ground as the guard looked at the captain. Seriously, it wasn't even a day since they set sail, and he already had to witness so much shit that he would rather have his eyes gouged out.
Castiel sighed as he bent down to pick up the Marine's hat, while the captain was more interested in tormenting the prisoners. The guard thanked Castiel as he put the hat back on. How could people like them keep their jobs without extreme circumstances like Castiel's?
He was ready to die for his sister. What did a Marine like this guy have in his heart to endure being humiliated like this and having to watch scenes like this? Castiel didn't know if it was impressive or depressing.
Now he could only hope they would reach the Ilisia Kingdom soon enough. He could only think of that medicine that might or might not be there, and how he was going to get it. Maybe banks in that kingdom were more lenient in giving loans.
Finally, Captain Martin had had enough of his sadistic tendencies, and they left the bottom of the ship, climbing back to the deck. Castiel had to admit, he had never disliked a person as fast as he disliked this man before him.
"Why so serious?" Captain Martin asked. "I heard you're quite a capable Marine, Petty Officer. How about you leave your backwater Marine base and come with me to the Ilisia Kingdom? I can give you a promising future. All you have to do is follow my lead."
Castiel didn't reply; he didn't even show a change of expression. As much as he wanted to tell him off, Castiel decided not to even entertain this man. In the end, he was only Castiel's superior until they reached their destination.
Then, there would be nothing binding them. And he would rather eat feces than be anywhere near this kind of man, and he certainly would never follow his lead anywhere. No promise of riches and power could be worth it. And could such a man even promise him something like that?
In the end, he was just a Marine Captain. And Castiel could tell how he got that rank. He probably owed more favors than he could ever repay. Now he was acting all high and mighty, but in the end, Castiel didn't doubt that he was just a little dog on a tight leash.
"Tch, you're no fun at all," Captain Martin continued to talk as spit fell out of his mouth. "You should learn your place, you know. A Marine like you who only has...."
He didn't finish his words as the ship suddenly shook, and they both almost fell off the stairs they were climbing. Captain Martin cursed as they rushed up to the deck faster now. Castiel was hopeful for an attack, but what hit them was a storm that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The Marines scrambled to take control of the ship as the winds tore through the sails and the waves crashed into the hull. But what Castiel was more focused on was the ship approaching them in this storm.
It was dark, as the clouds covered the sky, and the rain made it even harder to see anything. But Castiel always had good eyes, and he noticed a ship cutting through the storm straight for them.
It was a large ship, and he could see a dragon's head at its front. Now that it was getting even closer, he could tell the whole ship resembled a dragon, even having what looked like a dragon's tail at the back of it.
Castiel couldn't help but lick his lips in excitement as he recognized that ship. The Marine ship couldn't move away; there was no escape for them. They were trapped in this storm, and if he was correct about what he expected, he couldn't wait for them all to be massacred.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.