Captain Javier Ortega. The name struck a chord of familiarity in Vynx's mind—he had heard of him somewhere before. Even as the chilling rain poured down from above, Vynx searched his memories for anything he could recall. That's right, my predecessor's journal mentioned him. He was a Lord chosen by the Vampire King decades ago in an era when naval warfare had only begun taking off. Unlike the other Vampire Lords who maintained a territory on land, Captain Ortega was responsible for sowing destruction and fear into the human kingdoms' naval fleets. It was impressive for a single pirate ship to take down so many armed vessels in her lifetime, and even more so for her Captain to have survived an encounter with the previous Hunter. Vynx dared not underestimate his foe, especially when his enemy was far more adept at fighting aboard a ship. 

The storm continued to churn around them, pouring cold rainfall over the ship and washing away the crimson oozing from the bodies of fallen vampires. At the next flash of lightning, Vynx lunged at Captain Ortega, closing the distance between them in an instant. His cutlass clashed against the pirate captain's sabre. The ringing of metal was promptly drowned out by the booming of rumbling thunder, but clang after clang followed as their blades met in a flurry of savage swordsmanship. Captain Ortega did not fight like other Vampire Lords. His movements were far less formal than the nobility's fencing style, yet no less deadly in their precision. Vynx needed to contend with the Captain's speed and strength in their full force while rain blurred his vision and drenched the very soles of his boots. He felt the deck sway beneath them, threatening to tip the hunter over as his feet skidded across the wet wooden boards. He had just barely gotten used to life at sea, and now here he was, fending off an ancient pirate captain who seemed to control the very storm itself.

"Laven, do you sense anything magical on him?" Vynx hurriedly asked. He had not seen where his succubus companion disappeared to, but he could not afford to take his eyes off Captain Ortega at the moment. 

"I do detect a powerful artifact on him," Laven's reply whispered in his mind. "That medallion on his chest—I would wager that it's what's controlling the storm." 

The hunter flicked his gaze downward at the golden, sapphire-encrusted amulet partially tucked into Captain Ortega's tunic. Before he could get a proper look at the necklace, the pirate's left fist slammed into his jaw with a painful CRACK. The blow sent him reeling back. Another punch threw Vynx into the mast behind him, the impact hard enough to rock his senses and cause his sight to spin. 

Captain Ortega bellowed, "What's wrong, boy? Still missing your sea legs?" 

The crowd of surviving vampire pirates laughed viciously. 

"What are you dogs standin' around for? We're in the middle of a raid, not a play!" The Captain scowled and fired his pistol into the air. At once, the pirates scrambled back to the guns before a retaliatory volley of cannonballs from the Princess Marianne sent the pirate ship shaking violently.

"Hah. I like the cut of your jib, Captain." Vynx wiped the back of his hand over his stinging jaw. While the pain was already beginning to fade thanks to his sigil, Vynx reminded himself to stay alert. If Captain Ortega had wanted to finish him off, he likely would have followed up his kick with a sword through the skull. But the man was looking for a fight, and Vynx was more than willing to play into the theatrics. "Laven, I'll keep the Captain busy. Take out the crew. Use whatever tricks you want." 

He sensed Laven smiling in the recesses of his mind. As he braced himself for the next onslaught of attacks, the shadows below him began extending across the deck. The hunter snapped his gaze forward when Captain Ortega closed the distance between them, thrusting his blade right for Vynx's face. Swiftly, he ducked and saw the Captain's sabre piercing into the mast, deep enough to crack the wood.

Captain Ortega gritted his teeth and threw his left fist at Vynx. This time, Vynx dropped his sword, caught the Vampire Lord's arm, and held on stubbornly. "Foolish whelp! You're far from the man that the Hunter was," Captain Ortega barked while attempting to tug his arm back. With his sword embedded into the mast and his arm seized, the pirate tried to overpower Vynx with sheer, vampiric strength. His hand grappled the collar of Vynx's jacket, pushing him up against the pole. 

Vynx felt his feet lifting off the ground, but he remained latched onto Captain Ortega's left arm even as the pirate began to batter his face with his right fist. Every vulgarity under the sun was spat at Vynx with each punch, and he could practically smell the alcohol from Captain Ortega's breath. Blood oozed from Vynx's nose and his cracked lip, yet he hardly noticed until the cold rain hit his bruised skin. Behind the Vampire Lord, flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated the Princess Marianne's sails in the distance. Even as Vynx saw red pooling into his eye, he took some solace in knowing that the merchant ship managed to escape.

"Is there somethin' funny, lad?" Captain Ortega halted his fist as Vynx began to shake with laughter. He panted in fury, the veins on his temples bulging as he glared at the hunter. 

"You must have a lot of pent-up resentment for my predecessor." Vynx chuckled under his breath. "Otherwise, you might have actually tried to kill me by now."

The Captain grinned darkly. "Aye, you have a point there. If you were nothin' but hired muscle, I would've put you down and taken your head as a trophy. But I have greater plans for you, boy." A flash of primal hunger lit in Vampire Lord's crimson irises, and he reared his head back before clamping down on Vynx's neck. Sharp fangs pierced into the hunter's neck and tore through his skin. Captain Ortega drank like a man possessed, his eyes filled with exhilaration as he watched Vynx writhe in his grip. 

It was a familiar pain. One that Vynx had experienced countless times before while fighting the forces of the night, yet that never made the process any more enjoyable. He grimaced and focused all his might into his right hand, even as he could feel his strength rapidly being sapped from him. In that instant, the roar of thunder and waves was a hundred leagues away, and all he could hear was the rushing of his own blood in his ears. Vynx let go of the pirate's arm and swung at Captain Ortega's head. 

The pirate captain's face reeled to the side, taking out a large chunk of flesh before he threw Vynx down to the deck. "Bah. Your blood tastes as foul as your smell." Captain Ortega spat out the hunter's blood and scoffed. "No matter. You'll be a part of my crew soon enough." His fangs glinted in satisfaction, still stained with the hunter's fresh blood. 

Vynx opened his mouth to reply, but he could only choke out a strained cough. He put a hand over his neck, covering the open wound while his sigil silently stitched his flesh back together. As the Captain turned away to bark orders at the crew, Vynx finally saw Laven manifesting herself before him.

"I'm back, Master. The rest of the vampires have been dealt with," Laven chimed. All of the cannons on the ship had fallen silent, and to Vynx's surprise, Captain Ortega was the only pirate left standing. 

"I was wondering why it was taking you so long," Vynx snickered. "You left me to take quite the beating, you know." He reached over to grab his fallen cutlass with his right hand and staggered back up to his feet. 

"Useless swine! What the hell happened?!" Captain Ortega growled and kicked one of the fallen bodies. He spun back to look at Vynx before his eyes widened in bewilderment, fixated only on the golden medallion dangling from his left hand.

"Sorry, Captain, I can't switch employers that easily." Vynx closed his fingers around the amulet. The raging storm picked up in ferocity as sparks crackled in the clouds above. Magic thrummed wildly within the medallion, and as Captain Ortega charged at Vynx in fury, a massive bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the pirate captain in place. The heat and impact were enough to send Vynx falling backwards while the boards of the ship's deck split beneath his feet. Deafening thunder drowned out the Captain's howl of pain, and Vynx was left with nothing but the ringing in his ears even after his vision returned to him. He only caught a glimpse of Captain Ortega's charred body before it fell through the open cracks of the sinking ship. 

His moment of victory was short-lived. He only had a second to sheathe his sword and pocket the medallion before he began to skid down the tilting deck. "Laven, I could REALLY use your help right now!" Vynx yelped and frantically reached for anything to grab hold of. 

"I am not carrying you this time." While hovering in the air, Laven waved her fingers daintily down at him. "Have a nice swim, Master!"

"LAVEN—!" Vynx's yell was cut off as he slipped off the damp wood and plummeted into the sea. He expected to inhale a lungful of water as he sank under the swirling waves. Instead, his face was… surprisingly dry, save for the rainwater already matting his hair. It was as if his head were inside a giant bubble, though he still felt the chill of the sea and the slow descent of his body as he waded in place. Around him, he could vaguely see broken ship debris sinking into the abyss while he floated in the midst of the ocean. 

"Don't just stand there. Start swimming!" His demonic mistress was nowhere in sight, but he could still hear her snide voice echoing in his mind.

"Right, right. Too bad I can't see anything down here!" Vynx shot back. The unfortunate reality was that they were stranded in the middle of the ocean during the dead of night, and Vynx had a vague feeling that the Princess Marianne was not going to come back for him. He heard an exasperated sigh before he noticed a violet glimmer of light appear outside of his air bubble. 

"Follow me, and don't you dare stop." Laven might have saved him from drowning, but the pair would be defenceless against any creatures from the depths eager to devour the bodies of fallen sailors.

Vynx did not need to be told twice and began chasing after Laven's purple light. It brought him back to the surface, and the air bubble popped as soon as he lifted his head above the water. Taking a deep breath, Vynx then began to furiously swim, leaving the shipwreck and vanishing storm behind him. His jacket and boots felt ten times heavier submerged in water, but he had no choice but to continue until exhaustion took hold of his body.

It felt like an eternity before they reached the shores of a lone isle. Vynx could barely feel his limbs anymore and allowed the waves to carry him to the sandbank of the desert island. The sun peeking over the pink horizon was a welcome sight, but nothing brought the hunter more relief than to be on solid ground once more. He crawled up the beach on his hands and knees, numb and soaked to the bone. As soon as Vynx was out of the water, he rolled onto his back and collapsed, shutting his eyes for a minute to block out the morning light. He was still alive only thanks to Laven's guidance.

"You're welcome, by the way." The succubus materialized next to him. From the dull look in her eyes, Vynx could tell that she was equally drained from using up all of her mana.

"Remind me to never take on a sailing job again," Vynx groaned. He felt around weakly for his weapons and then the medallion in his pocket. "What is this thing anyway?" The hunter held the piece of jewellery up for Laven to inspect. 

"A legendary artifact, aptly known as the Stormcaller," Laven replied without missing a beat. "Pretty handy for a vampire pirate to have, honestly. It can summon clouds and storms at will, and I'm sure that he utilized it often to keep out of the sun."

"And to attack plenty of ships, no doubt," the hunter murmured. "Wait, SHIT!" Vynx hastily sat up and pulled his predecessor's journal out from his jacket. The leather-bound book dripped with seawater, and Vynx regarded it in utter despair. "Alfred is gonna kill me." 

Laven raised an eyebrow. "You read through it already, haven't you? Then I would say that it's served its purpose."

"It's not about the utility, Laven," Vynx sighed. He gingerly opened the cover and winced. Ink had bled through the aged paper, and he feared even turning the first page to see the mess within. "This was the Hunter's personal journal. A record of his life before he died." Vynx closed the book and set it down on his lap. "... I don't suppose you have a spell for fixing this thing, do you?"

The succubus peered at the waterlogged journal and shook her head. "I do have a spell for copying text onto another surface—it comes in handy when writing contracts—but the original writing has to still be legible in order for me to copy it, and I certainly don't have anything for fixing a book in that state."

Vynx flumped back into the sand. "It was worth asking." For now, he pushed the guilt of ruining his predecessor's journal from his mind. The gentle sound of waves lapping at the shores of the island was enough to ease the fatigue from both his mind and limbs. From far away, Vynx swore he heard a sweet lullaby drifting through the air before his consciousness faded.