I vanish from the spot he's aiming for and reload one of my .44's as I move. His head slowly swivels to track my movement and his eyes widen considerably in fear as I chamber six new rounds all at once.
'Five seconds'
His fist touches down in the area I used to be in the same moment that my finger glides over my weapons special feature. The rapid-fire trigger. And thus was the end of Mr. 'Lv.23'.
+615 Exp!
Skill Lv. Up! Firearms Mastery Lv. (6/10) → (7/10)
- Your ability to accurately use pistols, rifles, and portable cannons. Current Accuracy: 60%. Accuracy % is equal to [Firearms Mastery Level x5 + ¼ INT].
'Six seconds'
A pirate with a swirling red tattoo on his arm thrusts a sword at my back and [Kami-e] easily bends me to safety. I pistol-whip the mans adam's apple, slam another speedloader into the cylinder, and brain him while he's too busy clutching his crushed windpipe.
+450 Exp!
'Seven seconds' The door to one of the main cabins is violently kicked open, only instead of Eustass appearing, it's instead an unnaturally tall man with a brown headdress, fishnet stockings on his legs and chest, and a dark red trident in his grip.
Wire, Kid Pirates, Lv. 35
'Eight seconds'
Time is running short. Guns are going to be useless soon.'[Geppo]!' I bounce around the ship like an erratic pinball, trading an empty gun for Kugizume while I do so, until I land in the middle of the trio standing on the bow. Two nervously raise their weapons, panic evident on their face, but the last simply falls on his ass and begins crawling backwards.
'Nine seconds'
The first to charge is, astonishingly, the weakest among them. A Lv.11 named 'Dian' who I'd rank no more threatening than 'Reggie Poliver'. I raise my revolver to neutralize him when an invisible force rips the weapon from my grip. The one I'd sheathed in its holster goes flying after it and is quickly followed by the speedloaders clipped on my belt.
'Time's up.'
Kugizume tries to tear away as well, but thanks to a last moment tightening of my grip I keep hold of the Meito...at least for the moment. Dian goes for a telegraphed overhead swing but I sidestep it with ease. I latch onto his wrist, maneuver him in front of me as a meat shield and turn back towards the main deck where the hosts of today's wonderful little shindig have assembled.
Eustass 'Captain' Kid, Aspiring King, Lv.65 Heat, Kid Pirates, Lv.39 'Massacre Soldier' Killer, Kid Pirates, Lv.52 My eyes slowly comb over the trio, trying to focus on all of them while also keeping watch on Wire, who's checking for pulses in the background. Heat's face is blank. Not a speck of emotion on his scarred zombie-like visage. Lv.39 is a bit higher than I was expecting for him but...gonna have to just make do. The 'Massacre Soldier' is silent as expected...though he is standing unusually straight. 'And is that a small jitter I see in his frame? I think someone's excited for a rematch.' Eustass meanwhile is frothing. Bolts of violet energy are sparking across his palms, signaling the use of his powers and drawing hundreds of weapons and other scraps of metal to his side.
And I do mean hundreds.
Sealed crates that had been lining the side of the main deck have burst open and are expelling their armaments by the dozen. A hatch to the gun deck flips wide and even more munitions rise out to join the massive amalgam of metal. I lose sight of my .44's as they disappear somewhere in the center of the assemblage and a small irritated voice in my head complains about how every fight recently seems to end with me having to find out where my guns ended up.
"Who..." Eustass rasps with boiling orange eyes. "Who...?"
You know...it occurs to me…that if I wanted to... I could just leave at this point. I could toss this 'Dian' fellow aside, escape back to Kiwi with [Geppo], and there'd really be nothing they could do about it.
Such a shame that I really don't want to.
"I'm a guy with a grudge." I answer, then emphasize my point by ducking an attack from behind and running the pirate through with Kugizume.
+335 Exp!
Ding!
You have reached Lv. 44! You have 20 points to spend.
"Now bring it."
Eustass howls and thrusts the train of amassed metal forward, clearly not caring In the slightest of the hostage in the way.
I shove my meat shield forward and [Geppo] into the air for safety. Dian screams as the tunnel of metal sweeps over him and he quickly disappears inside the wave of iron and steel.
+240 Exp!
Killer hops into action, racing across the top of the metal construct with both scythes spinning and eagerness in every step. '[Adrenalin Rush]'
[Adrenalin Rush] Activated!
STR (149 +70%) → (253.3)
Kugizume crashes into his weapon, batting his arm aside and throwing his whole torso backwards. Unfortunately, much to my chagrin, it seems almost as though he was counting on it. Killer uses the momentum of the spin I've forced him into to swing his leg into my side and connect right below the kidney.
Probably wouldn't be as much of an issue if there wasn't a small retractable knife sticking out of his shoe.
-58 HP!
I nearly bite my tongue in the pain. SON OF A-' My elbow slams down, sending the First Mate plummeting back to ground level and prompting a blue window telling me about the 100 or so points of damage I just got in. Meanwhile, the great serpent of metal rounds on me again and as I dodge it's metaphorical fangs I take a moment to focus in on the man controlling it. '[Observe]'
Eustass 'Captain' Kid, Aspiring King, Lv. 65
Even at a young age, Eustass Kid knew he was different from his peers. Gifted with a fierce ambition and a body that was naturally tougher than those around him, Eustass easily rose to notoriety as the leader of a criminal syndicate in his home Kingdom. As his power and infamy grew, rogues and malefactors naturally gravitated to his side until it was time for Kid to strike out and pursue the highest aspiration one can aim for in this world. To be King Of The Pirates. His callous lack of humanity and the bloodbaths left in his wake have earned him a staggering bounty of 59,000,000 Beri. One of the three highest currently sailing the South Blue.
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