Deep within the Fog Sea.
Silas Londor stared into the depths of the gray mist with a deep frown, watching the Hanged Man as he listened to his prayer.
The Pirate Convention had taken a violent turn. The "Admiral of Blood" and the "King of Immortality" had betrayed the others, and the Divine Abomination Suah had descended...
One piece of terrible news after another poured into his ears.
The Hanged Man had called upon Mr. Fool for help, and Mr. Fool had passed the message along to Silas because...
"...I also spotted Temperance's fleet, but I didn't see him anywhere. He doesn't seem to be here. Mr. Fool, please tell him that his crew is in danger too!"
The Hanged Man's final words crashed through his mind like thunder.
At almost the same moment, a burning pain flared across Silas's skin.
It was a distress signal from Anderson.
Before leaving, Silas had given his first mate a talisman. If Anderson activated it, that meant they desperately needed his help.
In other words, his men really had gone to the Pirate Convention, and now they were trapped in a hopeless situation.
Damn it!
The moment Silas understood what was happening, his expression twisted.
"Are you all right?"
Antia stood beside him, unaware of the message he had just received. Still, one look at his face told her something was wrong.
Silas waved her off, drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and prayed.
"Mr. Fool, thank you for the warning."
When he opened his eyes again, he knew there was no time to waste. If he could not reach them immediately, his entire crew might be wiped out.
He had worked so hard to bring this group together, to earn their loyalty and forge a bond with them, and now all of it might disappear in an instant.
How many times had this happened already?
Black Thorn Security Company. The Lambs of the East District. And Cecilia...
A fierce, violent emotion churned in his chest and surged into his head, so intense that it felt as though his skull might burst.
Silas knew exactly what it was.
Anger.
This time, he absolutely would not be too late again!
So what if the enemy was a Sequence 1 Angel? He would tear every last one of those damned things apart with his own hands!
With that thought, Silas spun around and looked at Antia, the powerful ally he had only just recruited.
"What is it?"
Under his direct stare, the young angelic woman looked slightly confused.
Silas gazed into her breathtaking crimson eyes and spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
"I need you."
Her eyes widened for a moment. A few seconds later, they gradually returned to normal.
"All right."
Her voice was clear and captivating, while an intense, indescribable emotion swirled deep within her eyes. At last, she spoke with heartfelt emotion.
"How many years has it been? I've been waiting all this time to hear you say those words."
---
Sonia Sea, Black Lake Island.
Under the pitch-black sky, the entire island had already been split in two.
Near the shore, the Death Announcer, flagship of the King of Immortality, was slaughtering the pirates who had fled there. Led by four pirate generals, the survivors fought desperately against it.
Above the island, Suah's cursed body was slowly forcing its way out of the rift. It craved living flesh and blood, especially bodies as refined and rich in spirituality as those of the Sea Kings.
The entire island had transformed into a living mass of writhing flesh.
Alongside the countless black arms pushing out of the sky, it closed in on the kings' flagships at the center of the lake.
"Distort!"
An immensely authoritative voice rang out from the heart of the lake.
The writhing flesh froze for an instant, but soon began moving again.
The rift in the sky widened further as mass after mass of thick, black, squirming flesh was forced through, gradually forming the true body of the Divine Abomination.
It resembled an enormous tree drenched in oil, with black, viscous branches stretching outward.
Only upon closer inspection did one realize that every branch was actually an arm, a twisted limb covered in all manner of hideous, malformed growths.
Countless bloodshot eyes, both black and white, densely covered the dark "trunk."
Anyone who looked upon them immediately lost their mind, twisting and raving as they became Monsters enslaved to Its will.
Dozens, then hundreds, of arms shot out in every direction, sealing off both the sky above and the ground below. The kings were surrounded on all sides.
The Divine Abomination Suah wanted nothing more than to take Its time savoring these delectable offerings of blood and flesh.
But the offerings had no intention of dying without a fight.
Three vessels floated above the black lake, the flagships of three kings. Faced with Suah's assault, each launched a counterattack of its own.
The Black Emperor, flagship of the "King of the Five Seas" Nast, fired its cannons without pause.
The sailors who had sworn loyalty to the count summoned their courage and maintained the barrage, supporting Nast as he resisted Suah.
Meanwhile, Queen Mystic repeatedly cast "Mystical Reenactment," producing one strange effect after another to slow Suah's attacks.
As for the final king and his ship...
Where were they?
No, wait. That flagship had disappeared, along with its master!
"Barros Hopkins!"
Nast's furious roar carried clearly across the vast distance.
The least conspicuous among them, the "King of the Black Throne," had seen the crisis unfolding and decided he had no intention of facing an Angel's full force.
Although the spirit world had been sealed, his ship could still travel through the sea of collective subconsciousness.
He had slipped past Suah's blockade and seized the opportunity to escape!
"That bastard. He's always been a coward."
Bernadette spoke coldly as an ancient spear, radiating an aura of destruction, condensed in front of her. She hurled it into the sky, forcing back a black arm reaching toward them.
"Hold on. We still have hope."
"What hope?" Nast asked.
"I just used Prophecy, and it told me..."
Bernadette looked toward Anderson aboard the Black Emperor. A spent talisman rested in his hand.
"...that reinforcements are coming."
Before she could finish, Suah launched another attack.
Perhaps It had gone too long without feeding. Perhaps It was furious that one of Its prey had escaped.
Whatever the reason, the twisted faces covering every black arm released an earthshaking howl at the exact same moment.
It was a terrifying sound that pierced directly into the spirit, a curse that struck the very core of the soul!
No one could withstand such a dreadful sound.
The flagships at the center of the lake, the ships near the shore, ordinary pirates, pirate generals, and even the two remaining kings all trembled beneath its power.
Their limbs stiffened. Dark emotions flashed through their minds, filling them with an unbearable urge to lash out even as fear gripped their hearts.
The kings and generals managed to endure, but many of the surviving pirates immediately began attacking one another, desperately venting their emotions!
"Ahahahaha!"
The chaos gave the "King of Immortality" Agalito the opening he had been waiting for.
The Death Announcer laughed along with him, intensifying the pirates' negative emotions even further as it charged straight toward them.
Its target was the most conspicuous warship in the fleet.
The Blood Reverend's flagship!
Before it could reach the ship, however, the waters near the shore suddenly underwent a strange transformation.
A thick, brilliant crimson spread across the surface.
Then a black, three-masted ship forced its way out of the void, arriving without the slightest warning.