Pirate Noel fled in a hurry.
A silver kn*fe raced through the air, slicing into a nearby pirate. Limbs were cut, creating red lines on the body. Silver gleamed. bl**d spurted.
A soldier facing a pirate was drenched in bl**d. The soldier’s pupils widened, and his body stiffened.
The bloodied kn*fe flew indifferently toward the next pirate. The pirate screamed and ran away.
The kn*fe grazed the pirate’s leg. The leg was severed, and the body crumbled down. Countless red lines butchered the flesh. Shattered limbs and body parts spilled out.
Chaos engulfed the surroundings like a tidal wave. Fear came without distinguishing friend from foe.
The struggle between the trading guild’s forces and the pirates had long stopped. Instead of a fight on the deck, a massacre took place. Lives were butchered, and red debris scattered. A scene that shook the foundations of the mind unfolded.
Pirate Noel was sweating profusely. He ran and roughly pushed the door. He dashed out of the deck and through the corridor.
Countless footsteps followed in a scream. The fleeing pirates surged into the corridor like a retreating tide.
A pink-toned girl chased after them. Knives circled around her.
As the girl gestured, the kn*fe charged forth. The trajectory sliced through the crowd. Screams echoed. Bloodstains splattered all over the corridor.
Noel, leading the pack, lurched and barely grasped the cabin door. With trembling hands, he turned the doorknob and stepped inside. The door closed, and silence enveloped him. A bolt shot into place.
He collapsed as his legs gave way. Heavy breaths resounded. The horrific sight of the red massacre lingered in his vision like an afterimage. The cabin was quiet, yet the screams and the ensuing horrific silence echoed in his ears.
A murderous creature in the form of a girl was relishing in the killings. With drugged, dazed pink eyes, she sliced limbs and scattered flesh.
The violent slaughter crushed will and instilled fear.
Noel wished this moment was just a nightmare. He prayed earnestly that the presence felt outside the cabin and the footsteps halted before the door were just illusions.
Suddenly, a shock hit the door. The wooden door broke, and the bolt came undone. Wind rushed in. An aura of malice swept through the cabin.
Through the open door, the girl stared at Noel. Her pink eyes were hazy.
An indifferent gesture pointed to the collapsed Noel. The knives circling around her shot forth fiercely.
And as they flew halfway, they suddenly sputtered out, like they had run out of batteries and dropped to the ground. The blade clashed against the floor, creating a sound.
Silence lingered between the pirate and the girl.
The girl blinked slowly, as if intoxicated. She looked down at the magic stone kn*fe.
“Oh dear, I’ve run out of fuel.”
Her moist voice chimed.
Eek.
I’ve used up all the magic stone fuel.
My gold value.
Pastel felt a wave of despair wash over her.
Hormonal friend.
What a wasteful habit~.
Eww.
Bringing in the money is the country.
Suddenly, a pirate surrendered, raising both hands and kneeling. He began to babble something.
Waaah.
The corpse is talking…!
An existence that should have died is still alive…!
Pastel was taken aback. She swung her sword in shock. The blade swept over the kneeling pirate. The upper body was sliced at an angle and collapsed. bl**d gushed, drenching her pink hair.
Wow, warm.
She brushed her hair aside and picked up the kn*fe. It had lost its shine, as if its batteries had died.
Eek.
Such a true hormonal friend.
It’s all gold, you know.
Because of that wastefulness, a corpse that should have died is coming back to life and all that.
Uuuh.
It’s a zombie.
Scary.
Pastel trembled as she stepped out of the cabin. Still in a daze, she returned to the deck and saw the trading guild’s forces tidying up the chaos of the massacre.
Max, who was leading the forces, turned around. His body froze. The soldiers, who had turned with him, were the same.
Huff.
It’s the wicked Max.
The kind and gentle Pastel trembled at Mr. Max’s wickedness.
A complex silence flowed.
Huh?
A strong gaze she couldn’t comprehend.
As if seeing Craft.
During the eradication operation, they fought three battles.
As if marking territory, there were pieces of corpses spread across three pirate ships.
Once the battle ended, someone had to clean up, but the Hormonal Friend, who had never lived a life of cleaning, didn’t care.
Of course, Pastel, who was living a life where the demon lord cleaned up for her, was the same.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
Huff.
“Really?!”
It was loot distribution time.
By unanimous decision, ownership of the three pirate ships was transferred to Viscount Pasha. Loot, which accounted for more than half of the income from the pirate ship plunder, was handed over without any protests.
Thanks to Duke Craft, whose insides were as dark as the night, personally dismembering corpses and marking territory all over the pirate ships, a warning was palpably felt: Don’t touch my spoils.
Everyone strongly empathized with the duke’s will and agreed to the peaceful distribution of loot. It was not out of fear.
Also, it was absolutely not out of the cold truth that one could cover up a few murders if one had the status of a viscount, sending chills down their spines.
Pastel, who lived freely without deeply contemplating how her actions affect others, was simply moved.
Such kind people.
People willing to open their wallets for a starving child.
“I’m honored to accept it without shame!”
The pirate ship!
Wow.
“To say there’s no shame, you Lord Viscount deserve it.”
Mercenary Holden said.
“Mr. Holden…!”
The response of a coarse-mouthed person.
Huff.
Twice as moved.
“I thought you were just a greenhouse flower, but you’re really different from how you look. So this is what I’d only heard about Craft. I wonder if noble lords meet the duke every time; if they really live in fear.”
Max frowned.
“What rudeness toward the duke.”
“Oh dear, I’m scared! My ankles hurt! Duke, please stop him! He might hit me!”
“Ugh! I understand! Max! Don’t be like that!”
Pastel pointed at Holden.
“This person is just a bit coarse with words and has rude thoughts! It can’t be helped if it’s in their nature!”
Such kind people.
Holden and Max both looked stunned and turned to her.
Huh.
Is there something on my face?
She rubbed her cheek.
Huff.
Clean.
Holden rubbed his arms and shivered.
“Craft is scary. I’ll be careful with my words.”
They left written records of the loot distribution and disbanded. The trading guild ships, having completed their pirate eradication and plunder, sailed towards the Sky Island.
Pastel stepped off her existing ship and boarded the pirate ship alone. Although it was covered in corpses, it was clean thanks to the kind trading guild forces.
“Waaah!”
She spun around in the middle of the pirate ship.
This is really my ship.
Not something I beneficially took from the Academy Skywhale but a fair and square obtained ship of my own.
Economic criminal Pastel became economic criminal (kinda not) Pastel!
Pudduut.
The little guilt she felt seemed to wash away cleanly.
She spread her arms and declared boldly.
“This ship will be operated under the kind and compassionate purpose established for starving children by the Craft Guild!”
It’s genuine.
A declaration without an ounce of falsehood.
“Oh yeah!”
Pastel danced with excitement. She waved her arms and made stepping sounds.
Dunju dunju.
Tap tap.
Let’s dance~.
Huff.
I dance so well.
Am I a super genius?
A well-dressed demon approached the deck, inspecting the magic stone kn*fe with casual strides.
“Younger Craft.”
Pastel’s face brightened.
“Lord Demon! Lord Demon! Look at me!”
Dunju dunju.
Tap tap.
Huff.
I’m really dancing well!
She sent an expectant glance towards the demon.
The red eyes scanned the girl who was dancing Dunju Dunju.
“By the way, you must not have learned social dancing. It’s okay if you can’t dance well. Everyone has their first time.”
Huff.
A completely different evaluation!
Pastel slumped down.
Super genius, defeated by the wall of reality.
Ugh.
The demon appeared perplexed.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“My heart hurts.”
Despair.
Total despair.
The demon seemed to have adapted to Pastel’s capricious behavior and changed the subject after inspecting her more.
“More importantly, I’ve found the cause of the performance decrease.”
Ugh.
The cold world of adults ignoring the despair of the defeated.
I’m freezing.
Freezing, freezing.
“Younger Craft?”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
Pastel rose to her feet.
The demon brushed off the dust from her clothes.
“Right, listen. The reason the magic stone kn*fe’s usage time has been decreasing is indeed due to an issue with the charging capacity.”
They had gone through three long battles while plundering the pirate ship.
Each time, the kn*fe ran out of fuel and had to be recharged using a magic stone. By placing the kn*fe against the magic stone and doing the ziiing~ sound, the kn*fe got recharged.
However, this resulted in an inexplicable problem. The more it repeated discharging and recharging, the shorter the usage time became.
The demon lord’s legacy, how much had it been used for it to break already?
Ugh.
My life is a struggle!
Life is too tough for Pastel…!
The demon flicked the magic stone kn*fe with their finger. A clear sound echoed.
“Upon investigation, it turns out something was being filled in the fuel tank instead of actual fuel during combat.”
Huh.
“Were the insides messed up because it was used so harshly, causing bl**d to enter? Is that the reason?”
Hormonal friend.
“That’s not it. No, kind of similar.”
The demon’s finger touched the kn*fe. Gooey black viscous substance was drawn out from inside the kn*fe. It formed into a round blob in the air.
Wow.
“It’s magic energy. Just like animals consume magic energy from the air, people unconsciously consume magic energy too. It seems the kn*fe has drawn out the magic energy from the bodies of those it killed.”
Oh!
“However, it didn’t just extract the magic energy from the bodies.”
The finger pointed at the black viscous substance. The substance contained some cloudy gray mixed in.
“The essence of existence. It extracted not only the magic energy of the slain opponent but also some essence of existence.”
Oh?!
The demon frowned.
“Absolutely an evil byproduct. I can’t even imagine the huge problems and side effects it could cause.”
The demon inspected the kn*fe.
“We must properly examine what the previous Demon Lord intended by creating something like this—”
Nom.
Gulp gulp.
The demon looked around blankly.
“Why are you eating that?”
Pastel’s eyes widened.
Jelly was being chewed in her mouth.
Huff.
When did it get in my mouth?
Is this poison, by any chance?
Ugh.
Pastel, on the brink of d*ath from eating something off the ground…!
Gagging Pastel…!
