On the deck of one of the Sea King’s fleets, the general stopped using a spyglass, his face pale and frightened.
He saw a thing he never expected to see.
“General, what did you see?” A crewmate asked. “Did you see the boss?”
“W-we…” The general panted heavily and put the spyglass away. “R-retreat, immediately!”
The crew looked stunned.
“Why? Is the boss alright?”
“The Sea King is…” The general blew air into his lungs and then shouted. “Dead!”
It was so silent that even the sound of their own breathing could be heard.
The crew looked at each other and managed to see their shock in the eyes of others. It was an unprecedented thing. They never expected to hear one of Pirate Kings die.
Let alone their boss, who was as strong as a mountain!
“G-general, what will we do?”
The general unbuttoned his shirt and looked down at his chest. There was a small trident mark on one of his chest muscles, but then it vanished as if it were removed by an eraser.
He suddenly felt like he could breathe more freely.
He wasn’t bothered that he was under a slave contract and forced to work with the Sea King. He still had more money than he could ever acquire as a non-pirate.
However, in the back of his head, he still yearned for real freedom.
“These ships have plenty of rewards from our journey!” The general shouted. “We split the spoils and then go on our separate ways. The Sea Pirates are no more. We are disbanded!”
As the crew saw their slave contracts disappear, their lips turned into a smile, and they all cheered in unison. They all had money saved up, and with these spoils, they could live a wealthy life somewhere safe.
…
On the Breast Island, in the yard of one of the nice houses.
Sonney and Lonney stood at the entrance of the house and looked into the horizon. They could see a mushroom cloud reaching all the way to the sky.
“W-what the hell is happening there?” Lonney asked.
“Do you think Bonney is alright?” Sonney asked worryingly.
“It’s like gods are fighting there…” Lonney whispered while wishing for her sister’s safety. “Just like back then, when Dark Waters didn’t exist yet.
“It feels like the world is changing in that island…”
…
On the deck of the Inquisitor ship.
The red-robed Inquisitor lowered his spyglass and touched his nose. He didn’t notice before that his nose was bleeding.
“Hmm, I got a little bit too excited.” He wiped the blood off and smiled like a crazy man. “One of the Pirate Kings is dead. This day has already become historic.
“Now, Mars is under heavy assault, and even though he managed to kill a few filths, he might also die.
“Whoever survives will be captured by us.”
…
On the Sea King island.
A part of the mountain fell off and fell to the sea. Former Sea King employees kept emptying the black castle, most of whom were carrying treasures in their arms.
They had heard about the death of the Sea King by a transmitter device from one of the ships of the fleet. They realized that the Sea Pirates were done, and soon the territory would be conquered by another king.
If they hadn’t taken the treasures, the rival pirate king would have, and there were still plenty of treasures from auctions and different raids. A single treasure was enough to feed a family of five for thirty years.
At the site of the mushroom cloud, the ground was burned, and the lakes that had been formed by the excessive rain had dried out. It was back to the barren wasteland as it was before.
“You alright?” Jake lifted a big boulder and tossed it away as if it were nothing but an ordinary pebble. He then helped Ors and Leon get back to their feet.
A little distance away, Zero stood with half of his body burned severely, but the crimson tendrils still hovered around him as if they were trying to protect him from further harm.
Ambrose reappeared from the air as he died in the mushroom cloud. While other Black Heart members tried to escape the explosion, he tried to stop Loki from killing himself.
Unfortunately, even with Formlessness, he was too slow.
‘Another one died…’ Ambrose bit his lip. ‘Damn, it hurts. Even though I haven’t known for long and they are apparently nothing but lines of code, it still hurts…’
From the mushroom cloud, a burned golden arm crawled out, and soon, a heavily injured golden man with the ground covered in golden blood appeared.
He was Mars, and he once again survived a deadly attack.
‘T-these fuckers…’ Mars groaned and rested for a moment on the ground. ‘I-I allowed them to grow too powerful while on my ship…
‘I ought to have monitored them more closely or simply confined them in a fucking cage.’
Mars’s anger and frustration boiled over.
He let out a furious roar, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Still alive, huh…” Ambrose said from some distance away while looking at Mars slowly standing back to his feet. “A more persistent than a cockroach.”
“Whoo…” Mars breathed fire out of his mouth and looked at them with a fiery gaze. “Another one died for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.” Leon clenched his fist. “You are injured, and we’ll finish you off.”
“All of you are injured and exhausted.” Mars grinned. “Tell me, Leon, can you even walk anymore?”
Leon looked down at his trembling legs and gritted his teeth. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore or move them. He could barely stand on his feet.
“I am already the winner; you just haven’t noticed it yet.” Mars said, his voice dripping with arrogance.
However, out of the sight of others, Mars’ body began to crumble and decay, revealing the true extent of his weakness. They were all internal damages, and if any doctor saw them, they would ask in shock how he was alive, let alone stand and fight.
‘Fucking body, don’t fall down yet…’ Mars bit his lip and formed another fist with his remaining hand. “Whooo… Mercury… Death!”
A massive giant’s fist appeared in the air, rushing towards Leon and others.
It seemed like the final phase of the fight was about to start.
…
On the far horizon, a skeleton-bodied creature walked on the sea bed, a rusty sword in hand.
It soon started swimming upwards, and soon, its skeleton head popped up beneath the surface, staring towards the island with its hollow eyes.
“Death came from there, but it’s gone…” The skeleton whispered, and at that moment, it caught sight of someone.
A black-haired young man with two blood-red swords in hand was fighting a golden-bodied figure. He felt unnaturally familiar.
“No way…” The skeleton whispered in surprise. “Is there still another one? I thought I was the last one… but why? Why now? The enemy is gone, and its era of peace… or is that going to change?”
However, then its hollow eyes turned serious; it at least looked like it.
“Suicide Swordsman… no, he’s already Blade Master. A perfect candidate to be my vessel.
“I escaped in the era where there is someone who can become a vessel; this cannot be a coincidence. Nothing in this world is a coincidence.”