Chapter 22: Albedo's Wrath
The Grand Line, a stretch of ocean known as the pirate's graveyard, churned with restless waves near the entrance of Reverse Mountain. The air was thick with salt and the tension of waiting predators.
Several massive galleons, their masts flying the distinct Jolly Roger of the Flying Pirates—a skull flanked by golden wings—bobbed lazily on the swells. These were not ordinary brigands; they were the vanguard of a legend, subordinates of the Golden Lion, Shiki.
On the deck of the lead ship, a lookout leaned precariously over the railing, his telescope pressed to his eye. He yawned, scratching his scruffy chin.
"Oi, wake up, you lot," the lookout called out, his voice dripping with boredom. "A ship is approaching from the Reverse Mountain current. It's flying a flag I've never seen before... Is that a bird on fire? A phoenix? Or a turkey?"
"A merchant fleet? Or some lost idiots?" A burly pirate sitting on a barrel nearby spat onto the deck, not bothering to look up from sharpening his cutlass. "What does it matter? It's coming from the East Blue."
"Heh." Another pirate, a tall man with a jagged scar running down his cheek, let out a contemptuous snort. "Who cares what kind of bird it is? The East Blue is the weakest of the four seas. What decent goods or strong fighters could possibly come from that backwater puddle?"
The scarred man stood up, stretching his massive frame. He looked around at his crewmates, his chest puffed out with the arrogance of someone who had survived the New World.
"We came back with Boss Shiki from the hell of the New World! Compared to the monsters there, these East Blue rookies are like babies still sucking on milk. A ship from that place is considered brave if it doesn't piss its pants and turn tail the moment they see our flag."
The crew erupted in raucous laughter. They were personally ordered by the Golden Lion to intercept a specific newcomer named Suzaku Yareon, but none of them took the mission seriously. A bounty of 150 million Berries might be a astronomical figure in the East Blue, but to men who sailed under a legendary Admiral, it was merely a decent number. If Shiki hadn't explicitly ordered them to recruit this rookie, they wouldn't have wasted a cannonball on such insignificant prey.
However, the atmosphere on the deck shifted abruptly as the oncoming ship drew closer. It didn't slow down. It didn't change course. It cut through the waves with a steady, unwavering momentum, heading straight for the blockade.
The lookout pirate, who had been so dismissive moments ago, suddenly stiffened. He adjusted the focus on his telescope, his eyes widening until they threatened to pop out of his skull.
"Wait... hold on!"
He scrambled backward, nearly dropping the telescope, and snatched up a stack of bounty posters that had been weighed down by a bottle of rum. His gaze darted frantically between the paper and the figure standing at the bow of the approaching ship.
"That black-haired kid... the arrogance in his stance..." The lookout's voice rose an octave, trembling with disbelief. "And the woman behind him with the black wings... and the blue-haired maid holding that spiked flail... I can't be wrong!"
He turned to the scarred captain, his face pale.
"It's him! It's the target! [Suzaku] Suzaku Yareon! And his executives, [Blackwing Demon] Albedo and [Violent Maid] Rem!"
"What? It's actually them?"
The scarred captain snatched the posters from the lookout's hands. He compared the photos to the figures on the ship rapidly closing the distance. The casual disdain on his face evaporated, replaced by a savage grin.
"He actually dared to charge straight at us?" The captain grabbed the hilt of his massive cutlass. "This kid from the East Blue has some guts, I'll give him that. But guts don't stop cannonballs!"
"Quick! Send the signal to the other ships! The target has appeared!"
The captain roared at the helmsman, his voice booming across the deck. "Don't sink them! The Fleet Admiral wants the brat alive! Cripple their ship and drag them here!"
A sharp, piercing whistle cut through the air. The previously scattered fleet of the Flying Pirates snapped into action like a disturbed swarm of hornets. Anchors were raised with the grinding of heavy chains, and sails unfurled with loud snaps. The ships maneuvered aggressively, forming a tight crescent formation designed to encircle and crush the lone vessel flying the fiery bird flag.
On the deck of the Freedom.
Albedo stood slightly behind Suzaku, her golden eyes narrowing as she watched the enemy fleet maneuver into position. The sheer audacity of these lower lifeforms made her blood boil. To think that such filth dared to block the path of the Supreme Being, her beloved Lord Suzaku? It was a blasphemy worthy of eternal torment.
"How dare these ugly ants block our path?" Albedo's voice was a low, melodious purr, but underneath the sweetness lay a glacial killing intent. "Lord Suzaku, please allow me to dispose of these bugs. Their very existence offends my eyes."
She didn't wait for a verbal response. She knew Suzaku's will. A slight nod from him was all the permission she needed.
"Very well."
Whoosh!
A pair of magnificent, pitch-black wings burst from her back, spanning wide and blotting out the sun for a brief moment. With a powerful flap that generated a localized gale, Albedo launched herself from the deck. She tore through the air like a black missile, a streak of darkness heading straight for the lead enemy ship.
"Sh-she's flying over! It's an ability user!"
"Shoot! Start shooting! Don't let her land!"
Panic rippled through the pirate crew. They raised their flintlocks and rifles, unleashing a chaotic volley of gunfire. Flashes of gunpowder lit up the deck, and a storm of lead bullets whistled through the air, aiming to riddle the flying woman with holes.
However, Albedo didn't even bother to dodge. She didn't veer off course; she didn't raise a shield. She simply flew straight through the hail of bullets.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The lead bullets struck her body, but instead of tearing into flesh, they produced sharp, metallic ringing sounds. Sparks flew as the projectiles flattened against her skin—or rather, the pitch-black, full-body armor that had materialized instantly to encase her form. It was as if they were shooting at a mountain of diamond; they couldn't leave even a scratch.
"What the—?!"
Before the pirates could process the impossibility of her defense, Albedo descended.
A cruel, beautiful arc curved at her lips beneath her helmet. In her hand, a massive double-bitted battle-axe materialized from thin air. The weapon, known as "Ginnungagap" or simply the [Hell Abyss], radiated a terrifying aura of destruction.
"Insects."
She swung.
BOOM—!!
She didn't aim for a person. She aimed for the ship itself.
The heavy blade of the axe smashed into the deck of the lead galleon. It wasn't a cut; it was an explosion of force. Wood fragments detonated outward like shrapnel. The thick oak planks, reinforced for the Grand Line, were ripped apart as easily as wet paper.
A shockwave, resembling a visible blade of air, continued downward, slicing through the keel, through the hull, and into the sea below.
Creak... SNAP!
The massive ship groaned in agony before splitting cleanly in two down the middle. Seawater rushed into the breach with a roar, and the two halves of the vessel began to tilt violently, dumping screaming pirates into the churning ocean.
"She... she split the ship in half with one blow!?"
"A m-monster! She's a monster!"
On the neighboring ships, the remaining pirates watched in horror, their scalps tingling with fear. Their weapons felt heavy and useless in their hands. They had faced strong Marines and rival pirates, but this? This was a calamity in human form.
Albedo lightly landed on the mast of a second ship, looking down at the chaotic scene from above. Her golden vertical pupils were filled with a cold, alien mockery.
"Bugs should accept their fate as bugs. Just be quietly swept away and spare me the noise."
She moved again. Her figure blurred, moving so fast she left black afterimages burned into the retinas of the pirates.
She descended onto the deck of the second ship. It was a massacre.
Crack!
She didn't even need to use her axe. A pirate swung a sword at her with a desperate scream. Albedo caught the blade between her thumb and forefinger. With a casual pinch, the steel shattered into shards.
In the same motion, she swept her arm in a backhand strike. Three pirates were sent flying backward like pebbles kicked by a giant. They crashed into the mainmast with sickening crunches, their bones shattering upon impact, sliding down to the deck like boneless sacks.
"D-don't come closer! I'm the 130 million Berry bounty Gr—"
The scarred, fat captain of this vessel tried to rally his courage. He feigned composure, brandishing a massive, serrated cutlass and charging at her while shouting his title, hoping his reputation would give pause to this demon.
Albedo didn't even let him finish his introduction.
"Noisy."
She merely shifted her body slightly to the left, the heavy cutlass whistling harmlessly past her ear. In the same fluid motion, she drove her armored elbow into his abdomen.
UGH—!!
The sound was wet and heavy. The scarred brute's eyes bulged from their sockets, capillaries bursting. Saliva mixed with stomach acid sprayed from his mouth as the force of the blow pulverized his internal organs. His massive body curled around her elbow like a cooked shrimp, instantly losing consciousness.
Albedo grabbed him by the back of his collar and tossed him over the railing as if he were a bag of trash.
Splash.
An insignificant spray of water marked the end of the 130 million Berry captain.
"Gr-what?" Albedo tilted her head, her tone innocent yet infinitely cruel. "I didn't quite catch that. Oh well."
Terror spread wildly among the remaining pirates. This wasn't a battle; it was a unilateral, highly efficient extermination. The ferocity and numerical advantage they relied on to run rampant in the first half of the Grand Line seemed ridiculously childish before this black-armored woman.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
"Separate the ships! Don't stay grouped together! We're sitting ducks!"
Panic took the helm. The remaining ships frantically tried to turn, their captains shouting hysterical orders to flee.
"Trying to run?"
Albedo watched them scatter, a hint of boredom in her eyes. She hovered in mid-air, her black wings beating slowly.
"I haven't given you permission to leave."
She spread her arms wide. A pitch-black substance, darker than night and thicker than oil, flowed out from her body. It writhed and pulsed as if alive, condensing and expanding in front of her.
"Skill: [Fallen Heaven]."
She whispered the name of the despair she was about to unleash.
The pitch-black substance surged forward, expanding into a gigantic, translucent black wall that warped the light around it. It resembled the event horizon of a black hole, or the gaping maw of the abyss itself.
It wasn't an explosion of fire or force. It was a wall of absolute negation.
The black wave washed over two of the fleeing pirate ships.
There was no sound of crashing timber. There were no screams of pain.
Wherever the black wall touched—wood, sail, metal, flesh—it simply ceased to exist. The matter silently disintegrated, collapsing into dust and vanishing into the void.
In seconds, the two ships were gone. Erased. Like pencil drawings rubbed out by a giant eraser.
Only a few floating wood chips and rippling circles on the sea surface proved they had ever existed.
On the last remaining ship, the pirate in charge of communications was paralyzed with fear. He sat slumped on the deck, his pants soaked with urine, the stench permeating the air around him.
He watched helplessly as the black-winged female demon casually destroyed the entire squad with a wave of her hand. And now... she was turning her head.
Those inhuman, golden vertical pupils locked onto him. She looked at him with interest, as if contemplating how to dismantle her next toy.
"Ah... Ahhh!"
Extreme terror overwhelmed his mind. He scrambled backward, crawling into a corner of the cabin, his hands trembling so badly he could barely hold the Den Den Mushi.
Buru buru... Buru buru...
The ringtone of the snail sounded agonizingly slow. Every second stretched out like a century.
"Pick up! Pick up quickly! Fleet Admiral!"
With tears and snot streaming down his face, he screamed incoherently into the receiver the moment the connection clicked open.
"Golden Lion Fleet Admiral!! Help... save us!!"
The Den Den Mushi finally animated, mimicking a slightly lazy and impatient expression, the characteristic look of the Golden Lion.
The pirate practically shoved the receiver into his mouth, his voice distorted and cracking due to extreme fear.
"It's Suzaku! Suzaku Yareon! He... he has a black-winged female monster on his ship! She's not human! We're all finished! Everyone is dead! She's coming... Fleet Admiral, save—"
His voice abruptly cut off.
Thud.
Through the Den Den Mushi's projected audio, only the sound of a body hitting the floor was heard, followed immediately by a deathly silence.
Shiki, floating in his palace miles above the sea, narrowed his eyes.
After a few seconds of static, a clear, elegant, yet utterly cold female voice came through the receiver. It carried a hint of a smile, chilling to the bone.
"Hello? Can you hear me? ... May I ask, what business do you have with my Lord Suzaku?"
Click.
The communication was cleanly and decisively cut off.
High above the clouds, in the floating palace of the Golden Lion.
Shiki held the silent receiver, his eyes narrowing further. The laziness and impatience on his face had long vanished. In their place was a smile mixed with surprise, cruelty, and extreme excitement.
"Hahaha... Interesting! This is too interesting!"
Shiki crushed the receiver in his hand, gold dust falling from his fingers.
"A newcomer who can wipe out my vanguard in minutes? And a subordinate with that kind of power?"
He stood up, the swords replacing his legs clanking against the floor.
"This is exactly what I need! Suzaku Yareon... I look forward to meeting you."