The Undead Emerge from Their Coffin

Clang!

The two pirate ships slowly drew closer. At the instant they passed each other, Bruto's side was already prepared. The sailors threw grappling hooks, setting up gangplanks to the Hundred Plans Black Cat.

"Kill them!!"

"Charge with me!"

"Kill them all and take their treasure!"

One ragged pirate after another leaped across the gap between the ships, beating their ribs and shouting battle cries as they swarmed onto the deck like locusts.

As the distance closed, Bruto noticed something strange.

There really was not a single person in sight!

But he only assumed that they had either fled into the cabins in fear or hidden in the shadows, preparing to focus their fire and deal them a crushing blow.

After three years as a pirate, Bruto had at least that much command experience.

So he stood on his own deck, letting his men charge ahead as he watched them cross the gangplank, rush onto the deck, and storm into the cabins.

Then...

"Captain, there's no one inside!"

The pirate who had charged in fastest emerged from the other end of the cabin, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"But the kettle in the kitchen is still warm, and the food on the table has only been half eaten."

There were signs that people had lived here, but no people could be found?

What was going on?

Bruto's eyes widened.

There really was no one?!

"It... it's a ghost ship!"

Suddenly, the first mate let out a shriek that startled him.

People who made their living at sea had all heard more or less about ghost ships. At those words, every gaze turned toward him.

Those eyes reflected an eerie light beneath the sun. The first mate swallowed. "Kuro's ghost must still be on this ship. He didn't want Zango to become captain, so he killed them all."

"Bullshit!"

A thick palm slapped the first mate across the face, sending him flying with blood spraying from his mouth. He crashed against the cabin wall, leaving it covered in cracks.

Bruto glared with bull-like eyes. "Kuro was arrested alive! I saw with my own eyes when he was paraded through Loguetown! Ghost, my ass!"

With that, Bruto glared furiously at the trembling crew and barked out orders.

"Move all the treasure onto our ship, then set this one on fire! If they won't come out, then they can wait to become real ghosts!"

"Yeah!!"

"The captain is mighty!"

Nothing could calm a group of suspicious, frightened pirates better at a time like this than a ferocious captain. In an instant, deafening cheers erupted.

Bruto's expression did not change as he accepted their admiring stares, but privately, he was troubled.

"Damn it, what if they abandoned this ship?"

He did not want to let such a heaven-sent opportunity slip away!

Should he announce to the world that he had wiped out the Black Cat Pirates?

What if the real Black Cat Pirates showed up someday? Wouldn't he become a laughingstock?

It was not as though such things had never happened. What kind of scum could not be found among pirates?

At that moment, the first mate, who should have been unconscious, swayed as he climbed back to his feet. His hands hung limp at his sides, and his body was bent over so deeply that no one could see his expression.

Hearing the movement, Bruto turned around.

"Huh? Since when did you get so tough?"

He had struck harder this time. He had thought the man would need three days in bed before waking up.

Bruto had been afraid earlier too, so he had hit a little harder. It was just that the expression on his fat-covered face had not been very obvious.

After several seconds of silence, Bruto impatiently glared at him.

"I'm talking to you! Are you mute?!"

The skinny first mate shuddered all over, then raised his head the next second.

"He was right."

Gulp...

Bruto swallowed.

The first mate was speaking, but his eyeballs had rolled up to their limits, leaving not a trace of black visible. Blood vessels covered his hollow eyes.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Heh!"

A strange smile appeared on the first mate's face as he spoke one word at a time.

"Earlier, I was on that ship."

A bone-piercing chill brushed over Bruto's entire body like a wire brush. His pupils dilated, and goosebumps rose all over his skin.

What did he mean by "I"?

The first mate had only mentioned one person before: Kuro the Hundred Schemes!!!

"Now, I'm on your ship."

"Stop playing tricks!!"

Overwhelmed by terror, Bruto exploded in rage. He suddenly swung his massive curved blade and brought it down at the first mate.

Creak!!

"What happened?"

"Damn it, that sound came from the captain!"

The thunderous impact startled the pirates searching the Hundred Plans Black Cat. They rushed onto the deck and saw their captain, the "Great" Pirate Bruto, frozen in the posture of bringing down his blade, breathing heavily.

Blood had splattered all over his face. On the deck before him lay the corpse of First Mate Masi, split into two halves.

"This..."

The pirates looked at one another in confusion.

Why had the boss killed his second-in-command?

Aside from being unable to fight, First Mate Masi did everything else well. Otherwise, Bruto could never have kept such a large ship fed; he would have traded all the treasure for alcohol long ago.

Had he finally run out of patience?

Unlike the confused pirates, Bruto's eyes were filled with terror. Cold sweat streamed down his greasy, bloated face.

He could feel it. Something was around him!

In the pool of blood where the first mate had fallen was a fresh footprint that belonged neither to Bruto nor Masi!

And from time to time, blade-like gazes seemed to come from all around him, leaving him with a faint prickling pain.

"G-ghost!!"

At last, he cried out. A foul-smelling liquid flowed from between his legs and dripped down his trouser cuffs.

On the deck of the Hundred Plans Black Cat, the pirates stared in disbelief at that trembling lump of flesh, crying with a quavering voice and wetting his pants. For a moment, they began to question reality itself.

"N-no way, right?"

"The captain..."

He had been scared so badly that he pissed himself?!

Wait, that did not seem to be the important part.

"Ghosts?!!!"

Fear was contagious. There was no need for a Necromancer to deliberately manipulate anything. Creatures capable of higher thought could scare themselves sick through their own imagination.

"Quick, get out of here! There are ghosts!!"

Without waiting for their captain's orders, the pirates surged back toward their own ship like madmen. Some even abandoned their heavy treasures on the ground, wishing they had two more legs.

But when Bruto saw that, he could only suffer in silence.

It was already too late.

That thing had already come aboard their ship.

The truly safe place now was actually the Hundred Plans Black Cat!!

"Tsk, bullying idiots is no fun at all."

Watching this scene, Lowett shook his head in dissatisfaction.

He had even prepared several small spells. That man looked huge and imposing, nearly four meters tall, yet his courage was so small.

And he called himself a "Great" Pirate.

I haven't even put in any effort, and you're already down.

Then he nodded in satisfaction.

"But at least it proves that the combat results meet expectations."

The gazes Bruto had felt were real, and the prickling pain had not been an illusion.

Following Lowett's orders, Kuro, transformed into a Black Knight, used Silent Step to vanish. Then, bit by bit, like the finest surgeon, he precisely and slowly carved away Bruto's flesh along the lines of his muscles.

The prickling sensation Bruto felt was actually the final signal sent by his sensory nerve endings before they disconnected from his central nervous system.

As long as the speed was fast enough, someone whose head was cut off might not even realize what had happened, dying painlessly.

By the same logic, as long as the speed was fast enough, it was possible to keep the flesh from falling away.

Strike while the head was not paying attention!

Being able to accurately hit targets while repeatedly using Silent Step was the greatest achievement of the Black Knight Modification.

Combined with the natural immortality of Undead creatures, the current Kuro would not easily fall behind even against elite officers from Marine Headquarters.

A human's stamina had limits. A human body had limits.

But the undead did not. Black Knights did not!

If Lowett wished it, he could make Kuro disappear from the eyes of the world for an entire day and night.

Even that was only because this Black Knight was still low-level, and the wear on his joints had to be taken into consideration.

Combined with the spells and combat training Lowett himself possessed, any future major battles would truly become... much easier!

"Speaking of which..."

Dispelling Concealment Magic: Void Existence from his body, Lowett appeared directly aboard the enemy pirate ship.

He glanced at the stunned pirates beside him and asked, "Where is your navigator?"

"H-he's... in the back, inside the cabin."

"Is that so? Thanks."

The black vortexes in Lowett's eyes dispersed. He nodded and headed toward the cabin.

Halfway there, he turned back as though suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, right. I can't let you see my face... I'll definitely remember next time!"

With that, he turned and continued onward.

Next time?

Why would there be a next time?

What would there be a next time?

And... who the hell are you?!

Several pirates snapped out of it and were just about to open their mouths when the wind swept past and chunks of flesh flew everywhere.

Splash...

Rustle!

In an instant, the small deck turned into a living hell.

No screams could be heard. Only the blood that sprayed and danced through the air fell in a drizzling rain, soaking the deck.

One bloody skeleton sculpture after another, stripped of all flesh, remained frozen in their previous poses upon the deck. At the very center, Bruto wore a satisfied smile as he peacefully closed his eyes.

"Finally, I'm free."

Splash!

Large chunks of flesh, minced into pulp, slid off his body. From the neck down, only stark white bones remained. Only his plump head was still intact. Yet paired with that completely bare skeleton, the sight was indescribably eerie.

Whoosh...!

For an instant, the rhythm of the falling blood rain seemed to falter. Something vanished by the cabin door. Looking down closely, wet, crimson footprints stretched forward, leading into the darkness at the deepest end.

Thanks to readers ~Burying Myself with Both Hands~ and ~Blue Flame of Fire~ for the 100 rewards. Thank you for the support.

It's not that I won't ask for recommendation votes, but there seems to be something wrong with the recommendation-vote details in the Writer Assistant. It freezes whenever I tap it, and then crashes. It's only "99+," yet every other notification opens normally.