Chapter 66: One-Sided Battle (Part 2)
Clang! With just her western sword, Esdeath blocked Gasparde's simultaneous attacks from both sides. She casually remarked, "Your attack pattern is too straightforward—easily read. Your strength is decent, but that's only thanks to your size. Compared to Eric , your power doesn't come close."
After over a month of Esdeath's "personal training," Eric 's physical stats had improved: his physique reached four stars, and his martial arts shot up to three stars. The cost? His body covered in bruises—but that's a story for another time.
To compare Eric to Gasparde might seem like an insult to our protagonist, but Esdeath casually added, "As expected of the man I fell for—truly exceptional."
No matter how much strength Gasparde poured into his strike, Esdeath's blade stood firm like a mountain. Furious, he shouted "Damn it!" and suddenly his body erupted with spikes of various sizes, attempting to impale her at close range.
Esdeath coated her left arm in thick ice, forming an armored gauntlet. With Haki wrapped around it, she threw a punch straight into Gasparde's chest. Dozens of green spikes shattered on impact, and Gasparde was sent flying like a cannonball, knocking over every pirate in his path before crashing into the side of his ship with a thunderous boom.
"Gasparde got knocked back with one punch…"
"An 85 million Berries pirate… flattened just like that?!"
"Who the hell is this woman?!"
Some pirates who hadn't joined the fight could hardly believe what they were seeing. But a few smarter ones who regularly read the newspapers quickly connected the dots: several pirate crews had recently been annihilated near Drum Island, with frozen remains at the scene. While reports credited Aokiji, it was clearly this woman's doing.
"Perish."
With her signature phrase, Akame continued taking down enemies one by one. Her style wasn't as flashy as Esdeath's, but to nearby pirates, she looked even more terrifying—like a death god in pitch-black gear, her Akame and the spraying blood etching the image deep into their memories.
...
Soylo Kumas, wielding a massive broadsword, and "Vulture" Artoo Duncan, with multiple throwing knives, had flanked Eric front and back.
Duncan, with his sharp eagle-like nose, tried to persuade him. "You're 'Dread Pirate' Darren Eric , bounty 45 million, right? We're all pirates—how about joining us? Together we could loot this entire fleet."
"I gave my word to protect this convoy. I'm not like you, who don't even know what integrity is."
"Hmph, if you won't join us, you'll die with your crew!"
Hot-tempered Kumas raised his giant blade, aiming to split Eric in two.
Boom! The downward slash was dodged by Eric with a simple sidestep. The massive blade slammed into the ice, sending up shards.
"You know, I don't get it. The way you swing that sword—your entire body's full of openings."
As Eric spoke, Duncan threw three knives at his back. But with Observation Haki, Eric calmly bent down, avoiding them—one knife even hit Kumas in front of him.
"You idiot! Where the hell were you aiming?!"
Kumas, enraged by the friendly fire, swung his sword at Duncan, who quickly dodged.
"I was aiming at him! He dodged! Don't blame me!"
Now furious, Kumas forgot about Eric and turned to attack Duncan. At first, Duncan tried to evade, but even a mud puppet has its limits. He snapped and started fighting back.
"Hahahaha, you two are hilarious," Eric laughed, clutching his sides and rolling on the ice.
"Let's finish this idiot off first, then I'll deal with you!" Kumas snarled.
"Agreed," Duncan grunted darkly.
Eric 's taunts had maxed out their aggro—he'd make a great tank in a dungeon run.
"Eh? You guys stopped fighting each other?" Eric asked innocently.
"To kill you!"
Kumas roared and unleashed a flurry of strikes. The 3-meter-tall brute swung his giant blade furiously, forcing surrounding pirates to retreat.
Smaller and more agile, Eric dodged easily using Observation Haki, bouncing around like a monkey. To others, it looked like he was trolling Kumas: 'Come on, dummy, hit me if you can.'
Meanwhile, Duncan kept throwing knives—Eric narrowly dodging each—fueling Duncan's illusion that next time, he'd surely land a hit.
Boom!
After another missed swing, Kumas shouted, "Stop dodging like a damn monkey! Fight me for real!"
"Sure," Eric replied, standing still.
"Die!"
Seeing an opening, Kumas raised his blade overhead, aiming to cleave Eric clean in half.
"You ever heard of 'barehanded blade interception'?"
Eric 's soft voice reached Kumas' ears—but he ignored it.
Clack
Eric caught the descending blade with both hands, halting it cold. Kumas was stunned—he'd assumed Eric dodged because he couldn't match his strength. But now… Eric had stopped his full-powered strike barehanded.
"Hold him still, Kumas!"
Duncan threw dozens of knives at Eric 's back.
"Heh, even if you blocked Kumas' hit, you're dead meat after this!"
Duncan grinned, toying with the last of his blades.
"Not necessarily… Have you heard of Logia-type Devil Fruits?" Eric replied nonchalantly.
"Huh?"
Bzzzt bzzzt!
The knives embedded in Eric sparked with blue lightning. Magnetically charged, they slowly pulled free from his body.
"What the hell are you?!"
Kumas and Duncan paled.
"Me? I'm… God."
Eric suddenly appeared in front of Kumas, his face lit dramatically, a grin barely contained. It was a line only a full-blown chuuni would say.
"10 Million Volts: Discharge!"
Blue lightning exploded in front of Kumas. The giant pirate was charred black, his blade partially melted. Drops of orange-hot metal hissed into the ice, leaving small pits.
"!!"
Duncan turned to run.
Eric 's voice came from behind. "Let me return the favor—Gate of Babylon!"
All the knives Duncan had thrown reversed direction, propelled by electromagnetism. Though only a few hit, they struck at supersonic speed, tearing him apart. The others struck the ice with deafening booms. From what remained of his head, one could barely tell it was once "Vulture" Artoo Duncan.
The battle had lasted less than 15 minutes. Of the four pirate captains, half were already dead. Most of the underlings lay weakened from Kurumi's domain.
"Strategist" Wode Aziz realized it—this enemy was far too strong. No strategy could close the power gap.
He made the logical choice: escape. Loyalty and alliances meant nothing if you were dead. As always, survival came first.
Using other pirates as cover, he carefully retreated—until he saw flowing black hair and a pair of Akame beneath bangs.
Despite the cold ice underfoot, Aziz was drenched in sweat. Huge beads rolled down his face.
"I surrender."
He raised his hands, but his darting eyes betrayed him. Akame didn't buy it—she charged.
"Tch!"
Aziz pulled out a double-barreled shotgun from nowhere. Modified so large it looked more like a handheld cannon, he aimed at Akame and fired.
Lead filled the cone ahead, shattering ice and creating a mist.
"Perish."
A voice behind him froze his soul. The last thing he saw was his headless body as it hit the ground.
Thud—his real head hit next.
Only after did the blood spray.
...
Pushing away broken planks, Gasparde crawled out of the crater made by his own body. His clothes were in tatters.
"I held back earlier… and you're only recovering now? You're not even worth calling trash."
Esdeath, furious and disappointed, had hoped this fight would excite her. But most pirates were down, and even her chosen "strongest" opponent was trash. The ice around her was littered with enemy body parts.
"Ugh… I surrender. I'll serve under you."
Covered in blood, Gasparde knelt. He had betrayed the Marines to gain power. To him, survival came before pride.
Thud
A white boot stepped into view. Gasparde looked up—only one of her eyes visible through her bangs, filled with cold contempt.
"Boring. Die."
"Wait—"
Crack!
Her leg whipped around like a whip, kicking him in the face.
Splatter!
Blood flew. The toe of her white boot was dyed red.
With all captains defeated, the remaining pirates surrendered en masse. Out of mercy, Eric chose not to slaughter them.
He summoned merchant ships to tie up the pirates and hand them to the Marines.
"Such amazing power! Without your escort, we'd be doomed. Thank you! And thanks to Master Tom for recommending you," Wall said, heaping praise—and selling Tom out in the process.
'Tch, that innocent-looking guy was anything but honest,' Eric thought, having seen through him now.
"Could you also turn in the bodies of the wanted criminals and collect the bounties for us?"
Since no familiar item had been used to summon Gasparde, Eric couldn't call on the system to use his corpse. And with his squashed face after Esdeath's kick, he wasn't even recognizable anymore.
Hopefully the Marines had DNA tests. Duncan's body was also obliterated by "Gate of Babylon."
System payout complete:
63 million – Soylo Kumas
57 million – "Vulture" Artoo Duncan
51 million – "Strategist" Wode Aziz
50 million – Nides
85 million – Gasparde
Total: 306 million Berries
Looks like elite bounty hunting really does pay.
Eric 's funds now neared 2 billion Berries. Would Nami beg to marry him if she found out?
"Ara, Eric -'s smile is a little suspicious."
"What are you thinking about?" Esdeath's voice pulled him out of his pervy thoughts.
'Crap… my face must've given me away,' Eric panicked internally.
"You're totally making the 'crap, I got caught thinking weird things' face, Eric -~ Want to tell us what it was?"
Eric wailed in despair. "You're all too smart!"
(END CHAPTER)
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