Amelia sighed.

She had originally planned to leave and find a secluded spot to lie in ambush.

But seeing the dying Leo in such a wretched state, she couldn’t just walk away. She squatted down to tend to his wound. "Hold on."

The moment she finished speaking, Amelia swiftly drew out two bullets from her rifle’s magazine.

With practiced ease, she used her dagger to pry open the casings, carefully spreading the gunpowder evenly over the mangled shoulder.

Leo frowned in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Click.

The sound of a lighter.

Amelia flicked the flame across his shoulder. Sparks flew.

The gunpowder ignited under the extreme heat, blasting a surge of searing temperature that instantly turned his wound into blackened char.

At the same time, it cauterized the bleeding.

"Aaaah!" Leo screamed, the agony so intense it nearly drove him mad.

He clenched his jaw, writhing violently on the deck.

Amelia slowly stood up. "I can only do so much. Whether you live or die depends on you now."

With that, she turned to leave.

"Wait!" Leo suddenly lifted his head, panting heavily at her.

Amelia paused, tilting her head slightly. "What is it?"

Leo gritted his teeth, reached into his back pocket with his left hand, and pulled out a small glass jar containing over a dozen pill tablets. "I don’t want to owe you anything. This is all the survival stock I have left. The vitamins will help you. Take them."

Amelia turned, took the jar, and popped the lid open. Her brow immediately furrowed.

The pills were stamped with dense, tiny numbers, ranging from 1 to 31.

A strange expression crossed her face. "Mr. Leo, where did you get these pills?"

Leo took a deep, pained breath. "Stephanie made them. Relax, it’s a product of her innate ability. The quality’s guaranteed."

Amelia picked up another pill, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it. Her expression grew even more bizarre. "Have you taken these yourself?"

Leo gave a self-deprecating smile. "Of course I have. I downed three whole bottles. If I hadn’t saved a few for memory’s sake, you wouldn’t have gotten a single one."

Hearing this, Amelia’s eyes widened. Her lips trembled. "What? You took three bottles? That means... you took three hundred birth control pills today alone?"

The words "birth control pills" made Leo freeze. "What are you talking about? These are obviously vitamins!"

Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mr. Leo, I think I need to give you a quick lesson in basic common sense.

On the commercial market, the only medication stamped with specific dates is birth control pills.

The dates are there to remind you to take one every day without missing a beat. Only then is it effective. Any girl knows that.

So, are you absolutely sure Ms. Stephanie’s innate ability produces vitamins... instead of contraceptives?

After all, everyone’s power has its secrets. I haven’t even told my partner everything about the Enchantment ability either."

Leo’s expression shattered at her explanation. "Impossible! You’re lying! Stephanie is such a pure girl, how could she possibly awaken a power like that? That’s an ability only a slut would have!"

"You lied to me! Stephanie said she was a virgin, why would a virgin eat something like that?!"

Amelia watched Leo’s panicked expression and sighed. "Mr. Leo, I should remind you that I’m not the one lying."

"When men ingest female birth control pills in excessive amounts, it triggers severe physiological side effects. Someone who downed three hundred of them in a short span, like you, should already be experiencing a sharp drop in libido, erectile dysfunction, breast swelling, lactation, and full-body edema. These are basic medical facts."

With that, Amelia pulled a compact mirror from her coat and held it up for Leo.

Looking into the glass at his own swollen, distorted body, Leo’s pupils contracted sharply. "Th-this can’t be me... How did I turn out like this? My chest... what’s that white stuff?!"

Amelia stood up awkwardly, taking three steps back. "I’d say it’s milk."

"What?! I’m a man... producing milk?" Hearing that, Leo felt like a complete joke.

"Hahahaha!" Leo burst into hysterical laughter, his face twisted in misery and madness. "You deceived me... Stephanie, you tricked me! You ruined me! I actually believed every word! You bitch, you told me you were a virgin, and I spent so long tiptoeing around you, protecting you!"

"You filthy witch!"

In that moment, Leo completely lost his mind.

Seeing this, Amelia silently backed away, putting distance between herself and him.

Moments ago, a dangerous aura had been creeping along the ship’s railing. Relying on instinct, she’d chosen to hide immediately.

Sure enough.

Not long after she vanished, a skeletal arm appeared at the stern.

Soon, a skeleton clad in tattered pirate gear climbed onto the deck.

It moved with brisk, unnatural steps, the cutlass at its hip clinking with every stride.

Then came a second, a third, their bones thudding against the wooden planks.

Some wielded long blades, others carried flintlock muskets. The only thing they shared was the crimson ember-like glow burning in their hollow eye sockets.

Hiding within a pile of crates, Amelia watched the dozen or more skeletons approaching, her expression tightening. "Damn it... what kind of monsters are these? Will we have to face threats like this from now on? No, they’re probably not even alive anymore."

She muttered under her breath, her fingers already tightening around her pistol’s grip.

Just as the lead skeleton stepped into her effective firing range, she was about to draw and take a shot.

But before she could move, a series of explosions of flame erupted.

The five closest skeletons were instantly engulfed in orbs of fire.

"Kevin!" Amelia gasped, her expression instantly shifting to disbelief.

The fireballs detonated almost simultaneously. That meant Kevin had to fire five rounds blind, without a clear sight picture, and land every single one directly into the eye sockets of the skeletons’ skulls.

This level of precision, this kind of marksmanship... even the most elite SWAT officers would struggle to pull it off.

In Amelia’s understanding, only the absolute top-tier special forces operatives could achieve something like this.

Her lips twitched as she muttered, "That guy... his gunplay is actually that good? What is he, anyway?"

Just as Amelia was lost in thought, the skeletons on the deck let out a furious, rattling roar.

With their comrades ambushed, the remaining skeletons drew their weapons and aimed directly at Kevin, who had just stepped out of the cabin.

But before they could act, a crimson glow instantly flashed within Kevin’s pupils.

The Fixing Gaze!

Seven or eight red beams shot from his eyes, locking onto every skeleton present.

In an instant, all the skeletons froze mid-motion, standing rigid as statues on the deck.

Then, under Amelia’s stunned gaze, Kevin raised his hand and summoned the Holy Lance. With one thrust per skeleton, he drove the spear into their skulls.

Each thrust was followed by a skeleton dissolving into specks of light.

Witnessing Kevin’s power left Amelia completely speechless, her shock rendering her silent.

Her mouth hung agape, her throat bobbing as she let out a soft, stunned hum.

Kevin, meanwhile, caught her movement, turned, and walked toward her hiding spot among the crates.

"You hiding in here for?" Kevin reached out, pulled Amelia up, and gently brushed the wood dust off her clothes.

Amelia looked at him, her expression deeply complicated. "What exactly is your innate ability? Why can you summon the Lance of Longinus?"

Hearing her question, Kevin instinctively glanced down at the holy lance in his hand, then back up at her, suddenly realizing.

As a Vatican patrol officer, Amelia would naturally recognize the relics in St. Peter’s Basilica, including the Lance of Longinus.

Realizing this, Kevin no longer held back. He offered a faint smile. "As you can see, my innate ability is to summon this holy lance. It’s naturally designed to suppress all Eldritch Entities."

Hearing that, Amelia fell completely still, her mind reeling. "Then it’s true... You’re actually the strongest combat-type talent holder on this ship."

[Affinity +50]

Hearing the prompt in his ear, Kevin instinctively looked up at the space above Amelia’s head.

Right now, the police officer’s affinity toward him had reached 50 points.

Just 50 more points, and he could establish the Covenant of the Saint with her.