Chapter 144 Sunbathing
In the daytime, the still dazzling crimson lightning drew the attention of a Sea King. It swung its massive head and opened its enormous bloody maw, lunging at her to bite.
"Pfft!"
Scáthach charged straight into the Sea King's giant mouth, unstoppable as she pierced through the creature's thick skull from behind, bringing with her a spray of blood.
The Sea King's wail echoed across the sea.
"Hm?" Da Vinci asked in puzzlement. "Was it really that easy to wound this super-giant Sea King, whose skin can't even be pierced by artillery?"
"More or less," Eric tried to recall the two enormous skeletons on Little Garden, stretching across almost the entire island, no smaller than this Sea King. Yet they were still slain by the blue ogre Dorry and the red ogre Brogy, who even dragged them ashore to compare their size. Who knows how they managed that!
"Esdeath still relies too much on her powers. The top-level fighters in this world all combine their abilities with their physical techniques and Haki to unleash even greater strength."
"If she not only used her powers but also combined her swordsmanship with Haki, this super-giant Sea King would have already been dead at her hands."
As he spoke, Akame's Murasame struck the Sea King. A burst of black light flared, instantly slicing open its body and leaving behind a sword wound nearly a hundred meters long.
Scarlet blood sprayed out, splattering all over Akame's face before she could dodge.
Dark runes crawled from the wound, spreading across the Sea King's body.
"Raaagh!" The highly intelligent Sea King seemed to realize its end was near. It raised its head and roared skyward, letting out an earth-shaking cry of unwillingness.
"Don't kill it so fast! A prey this huge ought to serve as a proper punching bag!"
"Ice Age!"
Hearing the same name as Aokiji's move, Eric froze.
Centered on the Sea King, tens of thousands of meters of ocean froze in an instant. The Sea King became an ice sculpture, captured mid-roar, and even the distant Invincible was frozen together with it.
Eric: "..."
"It's not that I couldn't finish it quickly, I just wanted to test my move on such a giant Sea King. Seems my previous techniques aren't quite suited for prey this large." Esdeath's voice clearly came through the communicator, having overheard Eric and Da Vinci's conversation.
"But Eric has a point. From now on, I'll carefully study how to combine my swordsmanship, powers, and Haki to create an even more powerful new technique."
The massive prey captured, the three blood-soaked Valkyries returned to the deck, leaving a trail of crimson dripping down from their clothes.
"So, this is what you turned yourselves into?" Da Vinci circled them once. "There's no way to wash this. The clothes are ruined."
"This was a gift from Eric! I can't throw it away!"
"Mhm, mhm."
"My bodysuit is inscribed with runes. Blood can't stain it. A single wash will clear the surface."
The other two, troubled, glared when they heard the different voice.
They had all fought together, covered in blood. How could she sneak away?
Standing nearby, unable to bear the stench of the Sea King's blood, Kurumi pinched her nose and asked, "Do you like that outfit so much?"
"Of course!"
"Then shouldn't you have taken it off before the battle?"
"..."
"Sigh." Staring at her rival, Kurumi lowered her head and sighed. "Fourth Bullet (Dalet)!"
Two Fourth Bullets fired, and the blood soaking Esdeath and Akame retreated like a receding tide, restoring them to their original state.
Only Scáthach stood there, drenched in crimson…
In the end, kind-hearted Kurumi helped clean her up too, while Scáthach carved runes into everyone's clothing to prevent their beloved outfits from being ruined in the future.
…
After two days of sailing, they finally crossed the Calm Belt, leaving behind a path paved with the Sea King's corpse, and reached the East Blue.
Wearing a swimsuit, Kurumi lay on a lounge chair sunbathing, sighing contentedly. "The natural sea breeze feels so nice. In the Calm Belt, there really wasn't even a single breath of wind—it's unbelievable."
"You should put on some sunscreen," Eric said awkwardly, his gaze wandering over Kurumi's snow-white skin. "The sun is a bit harsh."
"Ara, afraid my skin will get tanned? Then I'll trouble you, Eric-~" Kurumi teased as she handed him a bottle of sunscreen.
"Eh? Isn't this something a woman should help with?" Eric wanted to refuse, but his hand instinctively accepted the bottle.
"H-How should I put it on?" he stammered, swallowing nervously.
'This is that legendary sunscreen scene from anime with your girlfriend?! So those moments in Japanese anime are real!' Having never experienced this before, Eric's mind lagged, his hands trembling. 'I wonder if I could "accidentally" slip…'
Kurumi lay face down on the lounge chair, untying the two thin strings at her back, letting them fall to the sides under gravity.
She tilted her head, glancing at Eric standing beside her, and said softly, "Better not slip, Eric-~"
Her words made Eric's heart clench. Having his thoughts exposed, he shifted his gaze and muttered defensively, "No way. After being together this long, don't you trust my morals and code of conduct?"
He poured the sunscreen into his palms, rubbing them together to warm it so the cool liquid wouldn't discomfort her skin.
Kurumi's eyes instantly went cold. That wasn't the move of someone inexperienced with women. Could he have been secretly seeing someone else? Pretending to be casual, she asked, "Eric-, where did you learn to warm up sunscreen like that?"
"From anime, of course. And light novels too—lots of works show it." Eric answered innocently without a second thought.
"Anime? Light novels? How come I've never seen any?" Kurumi had often searched through Eric's room, checking every corner, but had never found any contraband, nor any sign of anime or light novels.
Hearing this, Eric suddenly fell silent, his heart sinking. 'I guess I can't go back… to the real world…'
Sensing the flash of melancholy on his face, Kurumi smiled lightly. Whatever his past, or whoever his previous female friends were, wasn't the most important thing being with her now?
She would accompany him across the world, face dangers together, and share their lives…
Thinking this, Kurumi cooed in a voice that could melt stone, "Hurry~ The sun's a bit much~"
"Coming." Eric reached his hands toward Kurumi's snow-white back…
Suddenly, another pair of pale slender hands darted in from the side, quickly pouring sunscreen and spreading it over Kurumi's back. The cool touch made Kurumi gasp, letting out a sharp, clear "Kya!"
"Esdeath!" Kurumi ground her teeth as she spat out the name she hated so much.
(END CHAPTER)
(END CHAPTER)
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