Duke’s, Jane’s and Gloria’s ships formed the spearhead. Jabu’s and Hugo’s ships made up the shaft, while Raymond and Laurence brought up the rear. Kagiso’s fleet vanished and appeared near the middle of the formation.

The pirates watched as the lush island came into view. They peered over the taffrail and raised a single eyebrow at the eerily empty waters. 

The reefs and kelp forests were devoid of life. There wasn’t a biological energy signature for hundreds of kilometers. 

The air around the Whale Ships sparkled, the bright blue waters shimmered, and a gentle breeze blew across the jungle canopy.

“Bace for impact!” “Collision in…” “…3…” “…2…” the bridge officers counted down, before they held onto their seats and grit their teeth. Duke opened his eyes. He, Gloria and Jane let their Astral bodies burst out of their bodies. The glittery ghosts enveloped their ships and swung their fists.

The air around the specters’ fists sparkled and the Whale Ships’ shields crashed into the barrier, with a world-shaking impact. The invisible dome wobbled, and the sky cracked open.

The spearhead forced its way through the barrier and a deafeningly loud shattering noise washed over the island. However, nothing happened. Not a single wing flapped away from the treetops and the villages poking out of the foliage did not sound their alarms. The jungle island and its three mountains were completely silent.

“They are here. Yet I do not feel a single soul.” Duke reported with surprise, and Jane’s eyes glowed red. “Aye, and whatever they are, they make my skin crawl. I haven’t felt this since we were children. That hungry gaze. That lust, and malevolence.” She replied, with an eager chuckle.

“Demons.” Gloria whispered, and the jungle shifted. Bushes and shrubs rustled, before shadows hid behind the tree lines. 

“Impossible. That would mean they have anticipated our arrival.... No matter. This beach is where we set our base camp. Deploy the legions. Do not let the enemy drive us off this beach.” Raymond instructed, and Kagiso’s eyes glowed blue.

“What have you led us into?” the two-horned man asked, and the breach in the barrier sealed itself quickly. A monstrous roar sent shivers down the civilian crew’s spines. 

“A pivotal moment in our people’s history.” The three-horned man replied. The hairs on the back of their necks stood on end, before the alarms blared.

“Incoming fire!” the analysts reported, and a storm of bright white arrows, spears and bullets erupted from the forest. The ground trembled, and the trees shook violently. 

The Whale Ships approached steadily, while the projectiles disassembled the foliage and shattered against their dense crystal plates.

The Eraser Bullets, Bolts, Arrows and Spears were no match for the Draconic shields. A faint rumbling noise, like the thundering of a thousand hooves, grew louder and the shadowy bodies climbed up the trees.

“Hmph. Flush them out.” Jane ordered impatiently. “Flatten the terrain!” the bridge commander barked. The two-horned woman’s ship charged ahead of the others. The Whale Ship wrote four magical circles in front of its nose and the spells printed crystal warheads in their centres.

“Fire!” the bridge commander ordered. The four Atomic Spells fired crystal warheads, with a blindingly bright flash. 

“What in the Universe do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to irradiate the entire island?” Laurence asked angrily and the crystal warheads cracked open. The atomic bombs detonated, and the explosions illuminated the malformed creatures momentarily.

The seas of white-hot energy engulfed the beach, and the shockwave cleared a large swath of the southwestern jungle. The waves of radioactive dust rolled across the coast and crashed into the invisible wall over the horizon.

“I have grown tired of waiting and it seems they have as well.” Jane replied, and her eyes glowed eagerly.

“You may have forced them out of hiding, but you have also destroyed any evidence there may have been. Stay in formation and guard the camp. My pirates and I will investigate the structures in the distance and any others we find along the way.” Kagiso suggested, and Raymond’s eyes glowed purple.

“We do not take orders from anyone. You have ferried us here, Party Leader. Your role in this play is done. I will see you all on the battlefield.” Jane replied and her Whale Ship opened its mouth. The legions of soldiers cocked their guns, raised their banners and started their engines.

“Any with a thirst for combat and glory are more than welcome to join us.” Hugo said, and he broke out of the formation as well. Jabu’s ship peeled away and opened its mouth.

“Bloodthirsty fools. Did I not say that we were quicker?” Kagiso rumbled maliciously. The pirate ships appeared in front of and above the charging monsters. 

“Slaughter them!” Bokbaard roared as he leapt overboard.

The pirate ships fired their cannons and the glittery white spheres punched perfectly round holes in their targets’ bodies. The old pirate cackled madly, and his crew followed him overboard, with a deafening roar. Crane strolled towards the monsters.

“Hmph. Show off.” Feng whispered behind her mask. The spectacled captain sheathed his sabre and a dusty tornado erupted around him. The glittery tube of sandy winds carried the mutilated corpses, severed limbs and decapitated heads into the air.

Crane drew his sword and swung once. He disrupted the flow of the air currents, halted the tornado and scattered the dust-clouds. The soldiers and Candidates were shocked by the sight.

The civilian crew stared at the monitors. The spectacled pirate stood in the centre of a shower of malformed body parts. Their enemies were bipedal creatures that resembled the magical animals and mythical beasts they had heard stories of as children.

Horned werewolves with metal bristles for fur, hairy trolls with lascivious smiles and scaled women with forked tongues made up most of the first wave. Smaller humanoid creatures lurked in the jungles further north and bat-like women took to skies above them.

“Yokai?” Feng wondered. “These things are demons? I expected more.” Crane said, with a hint of disappointment, and he adjusted his glasses. 

“Ha! The fun has just begun, laddie!” Bokbaard shouted, and he threw his great-axe. The heavy weapon broke the sound barrier, with a loud boom, and spun through the air like a wheel.

The great-axe crushed the yokai charging towards the spectacled captain. He swung his sword and fanned the dust cloud away. The old pirate landed next to his axe, with a ground shaking thud. Bokbaard adjusted his fur coat and straightened his hunched back.

The old pirate watched the demon’s leg twitch, before he drew his pistol and fired a supersonic shot. The booming bullet obliterated the werewolf’s head and its leg stopped moving.

The pirate captains, and their first mates, landed in the dusty clearing. They dashed forward at supersonic speed, while the rest of their crew descended slowly. Feng flicked her wrist and the dust clouds sparkled. Sandy swordsmen formed quickly, and they cut down dozens of demons, with a single swing.

Marauder tapped his staff on the ground, and hundreds of mosquitoes returned to him. They projected holographic monitors, and he downloaded the test results. 

The pale pirate captain gripped his staff tightly and the mosquitoes turned around. They flew back to the demons and injected the back of their necks.

The monstrous bodies stopped moving. Lumps formed on their skin and their magical cells self-destructed. The pirate crew landed on the ground and charged as soon as their feet touched the irradiated soil.