The corpse collapsed to the ground, eyes wide open in anger and disbelief.
Alka flicked the blood off her blade.
"Looks like you didn't tie yourself up tight enough."
Then she wrinkled her nose and sniffed.
"What's that sll?"
She glanced at the pirate nearby, his face splattered with blood, trembling nonstop with a wet patch by his leg.
Another slash swung his way.
"You fucking pissed yourself? Goddamn bastard, your junk's useless. Should've cut it off when you were a kid!"
She flicked the blood off her blade again. Clear water materialized in her hand, forming a stream that washed her sword perfectly clean.
"Motherfucker, you've dirtied my blade."
She raised her sword to strike again, paused, and thought better of it. She sheathed the blade and walked back to Jason and the others.
Juanlu, already brought up to speed by Jes, looked at Alka.
"Why not kill them? What's the point of keeping these assholes?" He eyed the pirates with utter contempt.
Alka sat nearby, watching the pirates bowing their heads, still trembling slightly.
"No rush. Leave 'em. If you're pissed, just shoot one every few minutes, but make up a reason, the more absurd the better."
Juanlu nodded, a pistol appearing in his hand, ready to vent a little himself in a mont.
"They're full of fear," Jason said with a smirk.
"Isn't that good? Let them soak in it a bit longer. If they break down, all the better."
Only two minutes had passed when suddenly Juanlu fired a shot at the cluster of pirates.
"Bang!"
The sound was dull, but clear.
"Ah!"
A pirate took a bullet straight to the thigh, collapsing to the ground with a wail.
Hearing the scream, Juanlu raised his hand and fired again.
A bloody hole opened in the screaming pirate's head, silencing all struggle.
The surrounding pirates trembled uncontrollably.
"What's the fuss? It just went off by accident. Can't I get a pass?"
"Huh?" Simon stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
That was one hell of an excuse.
"The scent of fear is even stronger now."
Jason grinned at the side.
After that, every few minutes, they started inventing all kinds of reasons.
But sotis they didn't kill, just hurt the pirates in all sorts of ways.
The pirates' nerves were about to snap.
But then Alka stopped short of killing them, giving them a sliver of hope.
"You're the one not letting us finish them. What twisted ideas are you cooking up? Though, honestly, they do deserve this."
Hearing Jason's words, Alka smiled.
"Let them get the punishnt they deserve."
Before long, Chadite and the others ca up from below.
The children and won rescued had no more heavy stench, all cleaned up by the look of it.
They were dressed in all kinds of clothes, clearly cobbled together from scratch.
The materials were familiar—they'd just seen them: bedsheets, curtains, and decorative tapestries.
The handiwork was obviously Chadite's.
So won hugged children, shrinking behind Chadite and Lucilia, still on high alert.
The Puppet Girls stood at their side, softly talking to soothe their nerves.
Looking at the four won's expressions—
The eldest, Julia, though fuming, managed to keep her composure.
Situations like this weren't rare at sea, even in the supposedly peaceful Shishen Sea Region.
Chadite, however, was furious, her face dark as a stormcloud.
She'd spent a long ti at sea, but always side-by-side with Alka and the crew after those early days, so she'd never really encountered things like this.
Matilda, usually the gentle one, was now consud with rage, fire practically shooting from her eyes.
Having lived in isolated places all her life, she couldn't understand such cruelty.
Lucilia, on the other hand, was unusually calm.
She had the look of soone who'd seen this a hundred tis before.
Lord Chadite walked towards the cowering pirates and the corpses bleeding out on the floor, nodded in grim satisfaction.
"How are they holding up?" Alka asked.
"Not great, but Matilda's patched them up. No major issues for now."
"Aside from a handful, most are from the Flower Child clan."
"Let them eat sothing," Alka said, pointing not far off.
Juanlu was already there with a huge pot, boiling up a thick, hearty soup.
Chadite nodded.
The Puppet Girls ladled out bowls of soup and handed them to the refugees.
"Thank you. Thank you all."
"Thank you."
Voices of gratitude rose and fell among them.
Alka and the others kept their distance, avoiding any direct eye contact with the rescued won.
Once the girls had rested—
Alka stepped up to face them.
Once these won had recovered, they no longer looked at Alka and her crew with fear. Though their eyes still darted away at tis.
That much was unavoidable.
Alka didn't mind at all, and said, "See those n over there?"
The won followed Alka's words and looked toward the pirates.
A few pirates couldn't help but lift their heads, staring at the girls.
The mont the girls noticed those pirate stares, their heads jerked down in terror.
"Don't be afraid. They can't fight back anymore."
With that, Alka tossed her blade onto the ground: "If you want to let your anger out, go for it."
"If you don't want to, if you're too scared, you don't have to feel guilty."
"Because none of them will live."
Alka's voice was calm, hiding nothing—everyone could hear.
"What did you say! You fucking—" A pirate shot to his feet, snarling at Alka.
But before he could finish—
A blade had already swung into his neck.
In the pirate's uncomprehending gaze—
All that shone was a pair of eyes raging with hatred and fury.
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