Boarding Battle, Hijikata Toshizo's Advance

Lawrence had figured it out: Oceannus didn't really want to, or rather, wasn't in a position to meet with her and exchange intelligence right now.

So she came back.

She wanted to return to Fujimaru Ritsuka's side, but halfway there, she heard Edward Teach's earth-shattering, ghost-weeping spectacle.

She nearly died.

For one brief moment, she even thought, Maybe I should just go back to the Throne of Heroes.

Whether in life or after death, she had never felt her worldview collapse as thoroughly as it had now.

"What is that, Senpai?" Mash lay sprawled on the ground, weakly pointing at Edward Teach.

"That's a Servant... B-Blackbeard, probably," Fujimaru Ritsuka answered Mash in a trembling voice.

"I don't want to admit that thing is a Servant, Senpai. I really don't..." Mash's face turned ashen, as though she had suffered spiritual death, doing everything in her power to deny that she belonged to the same species as that humanoid trash over there.

Edward Teach dug the jewel out of his face. "Ow, ow, that hurts, that hurts—huh?"

He saw Mash, Fujimaru Ritsuka, and Lawrence standing in front of them.

His disgusting gaze wandered back and forth among the three of them, sending chills down their spines.

Edward Teach suddenly shrieked, "Pass—! All of you—pass!"

"Ahhh, I'm so embarrassed! There are so many good women here, this is amazing, amazing, amazing!"

"There's even an eyepatch type! Bartholomew's probably drooling already!"

"I'm going to take all of you—pugh—"

Francis Drake had already leaped off the deck and planted a flying kick squarely in Edward Teach's face.

Mash squatted on the ground with her arms around her knees, shaking violently. "Senpai, I can't breathe anymore..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka was hardly in better shape than Mash, but she still summoned all her strength to pat Mash's head.