The life drained from him as blood mixed with rain, turning the battlefield into a sea of red and water.
His colossal body lay still.
Silent.
Gone forever.
Inside the navy headquarters, Sora Nithel sat quietly — unaware that his father had already taken his last breath. The weight of that loss had not yet reached him.
Lightning split the sky again.
Rain poured harder.
The battlefield trembled under the storm.
{Flashback — Island of Roses}
Uruma Nithel stood before the people of the island as they raised their weapons in defiance. They stood ready to die to protect a legendary sword of Karyu Tenshin who wielded the blade "Shinkourai" in the Void Century.
The people fell one by one under the power of the Navy.
Yet inside Uruma's heart, there was no joy.
Only a question.
"Why… do they protect that blade so desperately?" he wondered.
His hands tightened.
"I only wanted that sword… so my son could protect himself. So he could grow stronger than the pirates of this era… Is that so wrong?"
{Back to the Present}
High above, Seraph Admiral Seraphel Dawn still hovered in the sky, his wings burning with holy light.
On the shattered battlefield below stood Ashveil Kenny, blood dripping from his wounded shoulder.
"Come down already, you coward!" he shouted.
Seraphel smirked.
"Why would I?"
His wings spread wide.
Hundreds of arrows made from pure holy light rained down across the battlefield.
Ashveil raised his palm —
A black hole formed in the air, devouring the arrows before they could touch him.
"Tch… coward," he muttered through his teeth.
When the storm of light finally stopped, Ashveil turned his back.
"Ashveil Pirates… we're retreating," he announced quietly.
"There's no reason to fight any longer."
One by one, his crew began to withdraw —
Boots striking stone.
Footsteps fading into the rain.
From the ruins, Morgan Tarek stepped forward, crimson cloak fluttering behind him.
"I have already had my revenge," he commanded.
"We are leaving."
The Axe Pirates turned and marched toward their ship.
Not a single Seraph Admiral dared to stop them.
Even if it did not look like it…
The war was over.
The Navy had accomplished their objective.
This battle would be recorded in history as:
The Devil War.