After two rounds of bombardment, Queen Anne's Revenge seemed to enter a brief lull in its fire. Only then did its ghostly green-outlined hull emerge fully from the Spirit World. It ran aground beside the beach of its own accord, presenting its broadside to the enemy.
Judging by the sand piled up at its bow, its engines would have little trouble freeing it. It had deliberately beached itself for a better firing angle.
The smoke and golden afterglow dispersed, revealing what remained of the Black Giant Hand after the repeated cannon strikes.
Countless holes had been blasted into its surface, deep enough to expose bone. Some shots had punched straight through the arm, which stretched more than ten meters long. Black granulation tissue writhed inside the wounds but could not yet knit them shut. The skulls and bulging eyeballs on its surface had been swept away by the explosions, leaving only ravaged skin that continued to drip slime.
Despite its grievous injuries, it hovered steadily in the air, its five fingers clenched. The rest of its body, hidden in the Spirit World, seemed to have strength left to fight.
Above it, the two-headed messenger Reinette had identified friend from foe by the attack. She continued her descent, the other two heads in her hands opening their mouths wide as they lunged at the Black Giant Hand.
With another Angel on the scene, her strategy of holding the enemy off was no longer needed. Now it was her turn to strike back!
At that thought, an unusual emotion flickered through the mysterious messenger's eight blood-red eyes.
Below them, the enormous black warship took full shape, left the Spirit World, and entered reality. The cannons along its deck rose one by one, loading themselves without a crew and aiming at the Black