Forty minutes after the "fireworks display" ended, Steward Cordova Roye stood on the deck, looking at the Big Eater, already more than half submerged, and the corpses of several pirates floating on the sea.
After capturing Danitz that afternoon, he had ordered the waters near Bayam to be monitored. Not long ago, he received notice that unusual celestial phenomena had appeared over the sea.
Cordova immediately set out with two teams of Mandated Punishers aboard a Church of Storms vessel. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the remnants of a fierce battle.
Now, the Mandated Punishers were searching the doomed ship for clues that were unlikely to exist—clues regarding the Admiral of Blood.
A moment later, Cordova Roye received the reports one after another.
"We can confirm that this is the Big Eater. Its captain is Margo, known as Big Eater, with a bounty of 5,800 pounds."
"We found the bodies of the Big Eater's second mate and boatswain aboard. They were White Hat Roch, with a bounty of 1,200 pounds, and Laffy, with a bounty of 700 pounds."
"The damage to the ship was mainly caused by explosives. In addition, there were very few traces of combat—one could say almost none. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the explosion destroyed the evidence of battle."
"There is no sign of Big Eater Margo or Red Hair Zote. We suspect they have escaped. Likewise, there is no sign of Hunter Rayleigh or Flame Danitz."
The steward listened quietly. Only after hearing the last report did he raise his head and say, "Big Eater Margo is a trusted aide of the Admiral of Blood. Like Iron Maveti, he is a Zombie and one of Senor's important captains."
"It seems they captured Danitz, but because Margo had White Hat Roch