Pirates Attack

City of Water, Commercial Street, inside a mutton shop.

Upon hearing the commotion outside, Sephiroth's hands paused as he counted the money. He stuffed the bills back into the inner pocket of his suit and prepared to head outside to see what was happening.

However...

He had barely taken two steps when three figures rushed into the mutton shop. They held pistols in their hands and wore long blades at their waists, each looking thoroughly menacing.

"Hand over all the meat and money in the shop!"

"Boss Bass, there's a pretty woman here!"

One of the three, a bald man, pointed his pistol at Lilith beside Sephiroth.

"Hehehe! Not bad, not bad!

"To think I'd run into such a beautiful woman. I'll go first later. Once I'm done having my fun, it'll be you two's turn."

Andrew Bass stood two meters tall, with a muscular build, close-cropped hair, a vicious-looking face, and a black eyepatch over his left eye.

He was the combat captain of the Watson Pirates, with a bounty of 9.6 million Belly. Murder, arson, looting, and pillaging were as ordinary to him as eating and drinking.

"Please let my sister go! Take anything you want from the shop."

The blond young man's body trembled slightly, but he still stepped forward resolutely and stood before the three men, gripping a kitchen knife tightly in his hand.

If everything in the shop were stolen, he would suffer enormous losses, but for his sister, it was all worth it...

Bang! Bang!

Andrew Bass sneered and raised his pistol, firing two shots at the blond young man. One struck his chest, while the other hit his forehead, instantly taking his life.

Thud!

The blond young man's body collapsed limply onto the floor.

"Are you telling me what to do?

"What a fool who doesn't know his place. You aren't qualified to negotiate with me!... Ptooey!"

As he spoke, the one-eyed man spat a wad of phlegm onto the blond young man's corpse, hitting him squarely in the face.

"Brother!!!"

Everything had happened too suddenly. Once the blond girl came to her senses, she tried to throw herself toward the corpse.

But...

"Don't be stupid, run!"

Sephiroth snapped out of his shock and quickly reached out with his right hand, grabbing the blond girl and dragging her to the shop's back door before slamming it shut.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out in rapid succession as he closed the door...

Three bloody blossoms instantly burst across Sephiroth's back. Each of the three pirates had fired a shot at him.

Seeing Sephiroth's hand still pressed against the door, Andrew Bass bared his teeth, the cruel grin on his face growing even more savage.

"Another idiot! He deserves to die!"

However...

The next moment.

Before the astonished eyes of the three men, Sephiroth's body rapidly changed. His ears became long and pointed, his height grew to two meters, and a pair of fleshy wings sprouted from his back.

Roar!

Sephiroth let out a beastlike growl, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

He turned, drew his blade, and charged forward in one fluid motion!

The three pirates were horrified at the sight. Only Andrew Bass barely managed to react, instinctively firing a shot at the young man.

Because he had not aimed at all, his accuracy was abysmal. It was practically shooting around the outline of a person—he did not even hit a hair on Sephiroth's body, and the bullet struck the shop wall instead.

Sephiroth swiftly circled around the counter piled with goods in front of him and slashed out with all his strength.

A flash of red blade light streaked past, and one of the pirates was instantly beheaded, blood spraying everywhere.

A few drops even splattered onto Sephiroth's cheek, warm and carrying a faint smell of blood...

Having personally cut off a man's head at close range, Sephiroth felt neither fear nor panic.

As a surgeon, he had long grown accustomed to blood and severed limbs. He had seen even more horrifying scenes...

On the contrary, after personally killing this scum, he felt a surge of excitement and satisfaction.

Their companion's miserable death instantly jolted the remaining two pirates awake. They hurriedly raised their pistols and pulled the triggers at Sephiroth, their legs quickly backing toward the shop entrance.

Bang! Bang!

After transforming into a vampire, the young man's physical abilities had risen sharply. Relying on his predictions, he rapidly sidestepped while continuing forward.

But...

One of the bullets still grazed his left arm, leaving behind a bloody mark.

However...

After dodging, he suddenly lunged forward and swept the Autumn Leaf Blade horizontally, instantly slicing open another pirate's throat.

Andrew Bass cursed under his breath, switching his pistol to his left hand while drawing the long blade at his waist with his right. He swiftly slashed diagonally at Sephiroth.

Before the one-eyed man's shocked gaze, his slash split Sephiroth's head diagonally in two.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...!

Several Black Bats fluttered out from the young man's head.

Even as Sephiroth took the slash head-on, his hands did not pause in the slightest. His long blade swept through the air, severing Andrew Bass's neck in one strike.

Thud!

The headless body crashed heavily onto the ground, while the one-eyed head wore an expression of utter shock.

He simply could not understand why the young man had been able to split his head into Black Bats and evade his fatal strike.

At this moment, the entire Commercial Street had descended into chaos. More than forty pirates moved in groups of three or five, weapons in hand, rushing into shop after shop to loot them. Gunshots, screams, and pleas for mercy rang out without end.

Sephiroth frowned and looked toward the twin-masted sailing ship docked by the canal. His heart was filled with doubt.

A black skull flag hung from the ship's mast. It was clearly a pirate ship.

Commercial Street was located near the central district of the City of Water. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a pirate ship to sail in so openly without anyone noticing...

Just as Sephiroth was still puzzling over it, a gunshot rang out, and a bloody blossom suddenly burst from the left side of his chest.

His eyes were fixed ahead, but he could not see anyone in his field of vision who had fired in his direction.

A sniper...?

Suddenly!

A powerful sense of danger surged through him, and he instinctively tilted his head.

The next moment.

A burning pain immediately shot through his left ear. Even though he had deliberately tried to dodge, the bullet had still pierced through it...