Today was the last day she was going to spend within Hargeon, and she had a parting idea in mind. A gift of sorts. She would deal with the blight that had terrorized the port for way too long: The pirates. She had learned about a secretive meeting between several crews of pirates that intended to combine forces to raid Port Hargeon, emboldened by the recent activities of their brethren.

And Esperia would ensure none of them would leave that cove alive. Although her small frame was shrouded in a cloak that concealed her features, the small Lich made her way along the outskirts of the beach, of course, as expected the cove was more secure than usually, already at the entrance leading down toward the cliffs was a single guard stationed, likely someone who would alert their kin if she was spotted. That was something Esperia wouldn't permit. With a light nudge of her staff into the direction the pirate was at, Esperia made a tear in the space behind him, the Kamui magic sucking the unsuspecting fool into the dimension as she disappeared from sight herself.

Once inside the dimension she spotted the pirate, having just collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud, and as he tried to get back on his feet and catch his bearings Esperia was already taking action. A light sway of her staff caused two large missile-like projectiles to emerge in the air above her, one being made of ice, the other of wind magic as she send both projectiles straight toward the confused man.

The wind magic easily caught him by surprise, blades of wind tearing at his body, causing him to drop his sword in pain just as the ice missile collided against his torso and impaled him: deathly and efficient.

With the scouting force of the pirates dealt with, Esperia tapped the bottom of her staff onto the ground, allowing herself to teleport back to Earthland.

Soon she was back at the cliff leading back to the pirate's den, although now there was nobody that could alert the pirates of her approach. A brief glance down the cliff showed her the information she needed. The important looking pirates, likely the captains of the crew were excitedly talking among each other close to their ships, looking over some sort of map while their crews were busily unloading the various treasures they had obtained during their travels. How greedy their thoughts must had been right now. The thought actually made her chuckle slightly as she descended further into the cove.

The next confrontation she was forced to deal with involved two pirates, who were blissfully unaware of her presence thanks to the fact their scout had disappeared, or maybe she should have said: was dealt with.

As she watched the two pirates she swept her staff through the air, allowing two missiles of sharpened rocks to emerge in the air in front of her, a simple gesture being all she needed to send the missiles at the two pirates.The first one had just turned toward the direction of her spell, the man's eyes widening in disbelief as the earth missile tore through his chest, while the other was less fortune and was hit right through the head, his body collapsing onto the ground as his head rolled a few steps further and stopped right next to the spot the captains were discussing their plans currently.

"Huh? What the-"

One of the pirates exclaimed in disbelief, at first thinking there might had been some fighting amidst the crews, but when they saw the cloaked Esperia he pulled his sword and shouted in anger. "Who the hell are you?!"

An angry exclamation that only made Esperia smile briefly, muttering under her cloak. "An adventurer... With a hate for pirates."

Raising her head the pirates saw a tint of red light emerge from underneath the hood, the space around one of the pirate crews twisting and distorting as she tapped her staff a few times onto the sand: several bolts of magic emerging that she send after the pirates as they disappeared into the Kamui dimension.

"What the heck did you do?!"

One of the captains demanded at her, making Esperia smile briefly. "Made things a bit quieter~ now I guess it's time to deal with the big boys..."

She had to admit the odds were quite in her favor, even if at first sight it looked like the opposite: three armed men against a single girl with a staff, most would have placed their bets with the pirates. The first one to attack her was the pirate closest to her, swinging his sword in a wild swing, and yet Esperia merely tapped the bottom of her staff on the sand, channeling her magic through it and letting the sword disappear, leaving the pirate stunned, and before he was able to recover and continue his assault she swung her staff at him, one blow to his stomach and an uppercut being all that was needed for her to knock the man out.

Of course that wasn't where things ended, since Morrigan demanded a feast, so as soon as the man collapsed the staff pulsed with an eerie glow, purple lights coming from the man's body as he writhed in agony as the staff devoured his essence and claimed it as her own.

The remaining two pirates didn't sit idle either! Or at least one of them didn't. One of the pirates was trying to flee, a futile choice for Esperia's Kamui magic swiftly stirred into motion and warped the unfortunate fool into the Kamui dimension while the remaining pirate captain started to draw what appeared to be a matchlock.

"A gun hmm? You might want to reconsider." Was all she said as a warning, but of course the man didn't listen, firing his weapon at her as Esperia warped the bullets into the Kamui dimension, causing them to reappear there and hit the pirate captain she had just trapped within.

Of course, during that same moment the pirate, realizing the futility of his fight asked hesitatingly. "Might we... parlay?"

He was hoping to negotiate with her?

"..." Esperia gazed down quietly at the man as she thought about what to do. She could easily kill him and be done with it, but perhaps she could do something better, something that would ensure that Port Hargeon would be safe from pirate attacks for a while.

"Please spare me... I'll give you all the treasure we have! I'll even do anything you'd ask from me!"

The man's plea made her contemplate his offer for a while, a hand raised to her cheek as she considered the option. However, it was only after a moment of silence that she spoke up. "You will return to your kin and warn them of what happened today. Tell them to never sail near Port Hargeon again, lest they'd incur the wrath of the Witch of Greed."

The man nodded his head attentively at her words, hesitatingly asking afterwards. "And... my treasure?" The words caused her to chuckle softly. "Did you not hear me the first time? I am the Witch of Greed, all this treasure belongs to me now."

Lightly raising her staff in a threatening motion Esperia caused the pirate to scurry away while she gazed around the area. To be honest, she didn't really care that much about the treasure, the only reason she wanted to claim it was in order to obtain some funds for her journey, after all she could no longer rely on Blue Pegasus for her expenses, which meant she would need to start earning money herself. Fortunately, she now had a way of storing all this treasure, a clever way if she had to say so herself. With just a little tap of her staff she allowed the heaps of treasure to be sucked into the Kamui dimension, knowing that there they would be safe till she would decide to sell them.

It might had been a bit unfair for her to do so, after all those things all once belonged to other people, but she took the risk of getting here to beat those pirates, surely she had some right to the treasure then? Morrigan laughed at her attempt to reassure herself that what she was doing was correct. But nonetheless, it didn't matter to Morrigan what people thought, for her there was nothing more important than the pursuit of power, she had long abandoned everything else that could have distracted her.

With the last pirate having escaped Esperia allowed her body to slide down onto one of the seats, a gentle sigh escaping from her mouth. It was odd, despite the fact she did both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, she felt somewhat empty toward both. She couldn't say which one was more beneficial, but if she had to make a guess, she would say a part of her was glad that the pirates would no longer terrorize the people of Hargeon for a while. Of course, how long remained to be seen, after all pirates weren't exactly the smartest people in the world from what she had heard and experienced so far.

Still, for the time being, she had done what she had come here to do, it would soon be time for her to travel to the first destination she had in mind: The Sieghart Mountains. She wasn't certain what she would find there, but according to Morrigan there would be something of great interest to her there. Making her way out of the cove Esperia thought about one more thing, a final look at the port before she would truly leave it behind. Whether it was nostalgia or something else, she did consider Hargeon akin to her home for the past few years, so leaving it now? It felt kinda odd, not that she was still doubtful or unsure of her decision. No, she had long chosen to walk this path that she had decided on herself.

Still, it was odd how despite the fact she loved the scenery of Hargeon, she felt oddly calm as she looked at it from afar, eerily calm even. But either way, she had made her choice, and so she turned her back toward the port and started to walk away.

She would wait till she had left the port far enough behind her before calling upon the help of a loyal friend of her, a certain white wyrm that would help her reach the mountains.

"You changed a little Esperia." Morrigan muttered softly, leading Esperia to turn toward her and smile softly. "Have I?" The spirit nodded her head firmly in response. "In a way you have grown stronger, colder and firmer, I like it~"

He words earned a brief chuckle from Esperia who merely shook her head, seemingly pondering about what the future might hold for her.

So far she knew literally nothing about the Sieghart Mountains, after all she had never been there before, but it seemed there was a hidden fount of power there, something of great interest to Morrigan who was trying to convince her to go there. But for what reason? What purpose did Morrigan have to make that suggestion? Was it merely the pursuit of power? Or perhaps it was another scheme of hers. Esperia wasn't sure, but in all honesty, she felt mildly excited at the idea of seeing the different scenery, taking in all the sights and learning about the people there. To her this knowledge started to become more fascinating by the day, and she didn't exactly understand why. Some might say it was a silly notion: the desire to understand everything, to 'know' everything. Others might say that it was a greedy ambition to have. But Esperia had understood by now that she was becoming a greedy and selfish person. In the end, there was a reason why she was starting to be referred to as 'The Witch of Greed', rather than Asmodeus' vessel, and honestly? She was kind of starting to like it...