Wine from the West Blue

"Slow down?"

Kuta drew his gaze back and looked at the woman again.

"..."

As she watched the pirates standing completely motionless, amazement flashed in the woman's eyes, along with horror, resignation, and speechlessness.

She shook her head, brought the cigarette in her right hand to her lips, clenched the filter between her teeth, and took a deep drag. Suppressing the trace of fear that had just risen inside her, she turned to Kuta.

"Look, young man! If you kill them like that, who's going to pay their bar tabs?"

Thud, thud.

Thud!

Only then did the pirates collapse.

For a moment, the clatter of chairs, stools, plates, and glasses hitting the floor rang out without pause.

A thin line of blood encircled each fallen pirate's neck. Then those threads widened into bands, and before long, blood soaked the tables and floor.

Apparently finding the smell of blood unpleasant, Kuta tilted his head toward the dripping pirates and frowned.

Then he swept his right hand outward.

As though seized by invisible hands, the pirates' bodies rose into the air one after another. Even the blood spilled on the floor gradually floated upward, as if time were reversing, and flew out through a side window along with them.

Only after finishing all this did Kuta's frown ease. He turned toward the woman and walked farther inside.

"Bar tabs?" he asked as he walked.

"Aren't their heads payment enough?"

"If I remember right, there's a Marine Base on this island, isn't there? Just take their heads in and collect the bounties. You might even have some left over!"

He plopped down on a stool at the bar, nodded, and considered it before adding, "Hmm... not might. You definitely will. Pirates who make it here all have bounties to some extent. That should