This chapter was edited by Gladiusx. Beta Reader: Reiter.

Feedback is appreciated! Do check out my other stories as well.


The Glutton

"Wakey wakey, my itsy bitsy captive girlie!"

The loud, high-pitched, and grating voice was followed by a splash of seawater that woke Lily up with a gasp. The green-haired girl spluttered as she spat out the salty water, feeling nauseous and drained as she struggled to raise her hands to wipe off her face before glaring at her tormentor.

"You…"

"Nyaayayaya, are you angry? Do you feel enraged? Too bad!" Her tormentor shook her prison, causing Lily to struggle to keep her head above the water level. "How does it feel to be so weak? So vulnerable? Does it feel good? Does your heart keep beating erratically, or maybe you feel aroused? It's just sooo much fun to watch you squirm!"

Lily wanted to scream and curse the cat mink holding her in her hands, yet it would serve nothing but emphasize her terrible situation while only amusing her captor. Instead, she glared murderously at the pink-furred pirate with slitted green cat eyes. If only she were not trapped in a jar of seawater, she could have easily annihilated this entire pirate crew.

"Oh, YES! It's those eyes that I crave–so full of rage yet unable to do anything about it! Nyaaayayaya!" The obnoxious laughter served only to annoy her, and Lily unconsciously growled lowly, yet judging by the wide-fanged grin, the cat mink's sharp ears heard her. "Oh? Did I strike a chord? How delightful! It reminds me of your dumb father before he lost his head, Nyaaaayayaya!"

The mention of Panz Fry's death caused Lily to bite her lips in anguish. She tried, she really tried to hold back her tears, to not give the sadistic pirate the satisfaction of seeing her weak, yet it was no use. Tears stung at her eyes while all Lily could see in her mind was that hateful man with weird glasses and pink clothes as he slayed her resigned father.

Her poor father, who never harmed anyone, who only wanted to feed those in need and showcase his culinary skills; who taught her all she knew about cooking. That sad smile he gave her that froze on his head as it fell off his body would forever haunt her.

Worst of all, it was all her fault. Lily was the one who went on another of her gluttonous binges, only to go into a food coma in her miniature form. They were warned about bounty hunters in the area and were supposed to leave that poor island suffering from famine; one that was caused by some nobles even! But her father decided to spend one more day hunting more Sea Kings for the people to eat their fill while she slept away.

It was then that the pirates captured her without her even getting a chance to fight back, and her father stopped fighting that man when they threatened to kill her. Even though her father had dealt a lot of damage to the pirates and their ship, even though he was holding his own against that powerful blonde pirate with the creepy laugh, he still gave up when her life was threatened.

Just remembering broke her heart again.

"Oh, she's crying, she's crying! Weep for me, girlie, weep some more!" The cat mink skipped around the Captain's Quarters in sadistic glee, keeping a distance from the Captain eating by the desk. Over the past few weeks since she was captured, Lily was usually left alone to her misery, the Captain not caring about her aside from making sure she was unspoiled for the slave market. Yet, that damned mink was close to the Captain, who allowed her a lot of leeway - like a cat toying with her food, she would endlessly torment her every chance she got.

Her captor suddenly stopped and brought the jar to her face, forcing Lily to look her in the eyes though she was distracted by her sharp fangs - if only the mink were foolish enough to eat her, Lily would have escaped long ago, covered in blood and gore, but still free.

"It won't be long now until we drop you off in the markets. Just imagine a female giant with the powers of the Mini-Mini Fruit. I can think of a dozen ways to use you as a fuck toy - You can bet the World Nobles are far more deviant than I, Nyaaayayayaya."

As the damned mink gave another of her grating high-pitched laughs, Lily could do nothing but cringe. It was bad enough that the pirates were the deviant kind, with the Captain and her First Mate being the worst of them all, but to sell her to those rich bastards who put a bounty on her father's head? They were the reason that pink-clad pirate targeted them.

Lily hated them!

She glared at the annoying mink and her Captain; those cheap scumbags had not even fed her properly in a long time. Yet even at the thought of food, Lily's face fell with guilt as she remembered how she got in this situation in the first place, how her father died because of her.

As tears flowed freely down her cheeks, Lily promised herself that if she ever got out of this predicament, she would never ever eat any more than she had to!

"That's enough fucking around, Nina." The Captain's growl-like voice sounded as she munched on a juicy piece of meat with one hand and had a mug of beer in the other. "Don't want you to risk drowning our two hundred million Berri prize."

Lily had a perfect view of the Captain of this pirate crew, a tall (for a human) blonde woman named Matilda. She would have been good-looking if not for her incredibly muscled body that looked more fit on a man than a woman and the many scars and ugly tattoos covering her - even on her large half-naked chest. She almost looked like some savage with her messy, dirty blonde hair that had not seen a brush in weeks or a conditioner in months.

Then there was also her terrible table manners and personal hygiene. As she gorged on the food spread on the desk, the Pirate Captain sprayed grease and bits of food everywhere while chugging from the mug of beer and spilling it down her body before burping loudly.

Why did all pirates have such bad manners and stank like a swamp? It was as if showering were a curse to them, and eating like a civilized person was anathema. Then again, this particular pirate had a good reason to hate water.

"Nyayaya, sure, sure, Captain." The cat mink placed Lily on the desk, excruciatingly close to a plate of roasted meat, even if it was half-burned - the pirates seemed to lack a proper cook. "It's a shame she doesn't have a bounty like her father. 320,000,000 for trespassing and hunting in one of the World Nobles' private reserves? Talk about ballsy. The Celestial Dragon in charge was so angry that he even waived the penalty for bringing him dead, not like anyone can easily capture a giant in the first place. Dumb as a brick to fall for our trap, but ballsy."

"Bah, Joker already gave us free rein to sack that island for all it's worth. All he cared about was the giant so he could kiss up to the WG or something. Besides, a female giant slave starts at 50 mil in the auctions. Add her surprisingly good looks for a giant and her devil fruit, and she would be worth a lot more away from the Marine's grubby hands. Or that cheap bastard Wang Zhi." The Captain scowled, showing sharper than normal teeth. "Fucker charges way too much to act as a broker between pirates and the bounty offices."

"Nyeah, and that's why we joined forces with that new guy. For a man who calls himself Joker, he sure likes to plan meticulously."

"Heh, can't deny he's also ballsy. Trying to steal influence from that old fucker who has been around almost as long as Whitebeard."

"Nya, yet Joker struck me as the type not to be satisfied with being a simple broker. No one who has that kind of Haki would be so humble, and Wang Zhi has far more power than a mere broker."

"Heh, maybe we struck gold working for him. I'm thinking we should go check what that opportunity his slovenly subordinate mentioned was all about."

"Didn't Trebol say his Captain invited several other Pirate Captains for a major operation? Nya, we are not really big fish in these parts, so we should hurry up then and join before we lose our chance to reap any benefits."

"Easy there, my pussycat. We still need to finish the repairs the giant cook did to our broadsides. Besides, the more hotblooded morons that get ahead of us, the softer whatever our target will be."

"Nyaya, true. Still…" For the first time, Lily noticed the cat mink look worried. "We need a benefactor quickly, especially one willing to stand up against an Emperor of the Sea if need be. Shiki is not one to let traitors and thieves be, especially as that fruit was dear to him and–"

"Peh, fuck that old cripple. I joined him for the benefits he gave, and now that I have gained this ship, the dumb crew, and the biggest prize of them all, he can go choke, Rararararara." Lily grimaced at the raspy laughter, while Nina did not seem convinced. "Still, you're right, my pussycat. Let's hope Joker will be worth fleecing from. Now, since I interrupted your fun time, how about we have some of our own."

Nina grinned, all worry forgotten, as she licked her lips and sauntered towards the Captain, who grinned back and spread her legs, showing her naked lower half. Lily gagged in disgust as the two freaks kissed and groped each other hungrily before the cat mink knelt before the blonde woman. It was not the first time she was forced to watch and hear those two doing the ugly, yet Lily could only close her eyes, unable to lift her hands to block the sounds due to the seawater sapping her strength.

Suddenly, the door banged open, causing the two naked women to jump.

"Captain! You gotta come and see–"

The sailor who barged in froze before he started drooling, his rotten teeth at full display while a bulge formed in his pants. Captain Matilda stood up and seemed calm enough, yet Lily knew better.

"What is it?"

"A-Ah, Er, there's a giant monster over the horizon. It must be leagues away, yet it's so large, the lookout can see them!" The pirate seemed panicky enough for the women to take him seriously, even as Nina slowly circled him and silently closed the door. "It's roaring like mad and clearly fighting something."

"Is that so?"

"Aye, and there's also a ship sailing right here."

The Captain stiffened and narrowed her eyes, "Colors?"

"No flag. We think it's a brig or a frigate; got Salty Jackson written on her prow."

"I see, anything else?"

"Er, we are running out of rum?"

Captain Matilda stared coldly at the man before nodding to the cat mink, who hugged the pirate from behind, squishing her furry boobs to his back and gently hooking her arms around his neck. "My, you have done such a good job coming here to report. I think you deserve a reward."

"R-Really," The man leered at the two women, "I knew you two needed a real man to–"

Static, and then suddenly, a powerful surge of electricity nearly blinded Lily even though she expected it. The mook could not make a sound other than terrible gurgling before the cat mink finally let him go. The pirate's body fell, yet his head remained in the mink's hands, who tossed it like a ball before grinning at the Captain.

"Nyaaayayaya, how many does that make?"

"Too many that the bosun would start grumbling soon."

"Not our fault they have yet to learn to knock before barging into the Captain's Quarters." Nina let the decapitated head fall next to the rest of the body; its neck was cauterized from the powerful use of Electro, avoiding any spilled blood on the floor. "As the only two females in this crew, we can't allow the men to grow too comfortable."

"Indeed, and no matter how much I would love a good fuck, once we start fucking our underlings, the power dynamics would go to shit."

"Will we attack that ship? Nya, we're kinda out of operational cannons."

"I don't see why not, more loot and wealth for us, and more importantly, a brand-new ship instead of this clumsy old whale. If the ship is coming for the island, then we need only lay in wait until they are too close to change course. Any cannon fire will be unhelpful if we are to take it; we have enough fodder on board to soften them up before we take them out." Matilda put on a leather vest that barely covered her chest and grabbed a pair of wicked-looking gauntlets that ended in sharp claws. "Now, get dressed, and let's see what the fuss is about. It better be something worthwhile to cut me off like that, or else more heads will roll."

As the Captain and her lover dressed for battle and left the quarters, Lily could only stare at the dead pirate on the floor. She felt neither pity nor happiness for his death, just another scoundrel who got his comeuppance. Alone with her thoughts, Lily wallowed again in her misery and prayed that she would be freed from this nightmare. Whether through death or drowning, it didn't matter anymore; without her father, she had nothing left to live for.

P*O*D

"Hah!"

Gwen slashed at the last forward cannon, unable to cut through the steel barrels but managing to dent them enough that it would backfire if used. Jumping a couple of steps in the air, she quickly landed back on the mermaid figurehead of the Sally Jackson.

Hylla was shooting at any pirate brave enough to peek out from the railings or ports; her repeater rifle's high rate of fire allowed her to provide suppressing fire against their many adversaries.

"We have less than a minute till impact. Even with Tyson's reassurance, I'm not confident our ship will survive a head-on collision, especially since they have a ram and we don't." Hylla warned as she glanced at Leo firing his own rifle at musket men on the forecastle. "We need to force them to change their course somehow."

Gwen nodded and she held Lightbreaker tightly in a two-handed grip that gave her far more power and leverage for what she planned as her eyes fell on the oars. She had an idea, and there was no time to doubt herself.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Gwendolyn roared at her crewmates as she jumped towards the rapidly approaching pirate ship and bounced in the air toward its port side. Then, she slashed her sword down with all her might twice, unleashing a devastating wind blade at the row of oars, slicing through all of them mid-stroke and forcing the ship to tilt from a dangerous head-on collision to a much more vulnerable position.

Gwen aimed her second slice right at the forward sections, breaking the ship open for a proper ramming. She could not tell how effective it was, for she immediately jumped onboard the pirate ship's main deck and slashed at a handful of gawking pirates, sending blood and body parts flying just as the Sally Jackson crashed into the gaping hull.

Gwen grimaced, for as Hylla warned, their ship had no ram, and there was no doubt the beautiful figurehead of the matronly mermaid was damaged beyond repair. Nevertheless, Gwen focused only on what was in front of her as she faced over a hundred pirates. Their large numbers gave her pause, and the knight gulped in slight trepidation, yet Gwen would not allow the initiative to pass as she charged at the still-recovering pirates.

"Get'er boys!"

Gwen deflected a sword strike with her shield and counterattacked with a slice at the offender's neck, cutting it open and spewing blood everywhere. She did not give the pirate a second glance as three more attacked her simultaneously, but now that she had solid footing and her full complement of arms and armor, Gwen did not feel threatened. She sliced and diced and cut and slashed her foes, still unsteady on their feet; a whiff from her nose told her they were either drunk or halfway there, as she doubted any proper sailor would be so uneasy on their feet even after a ramming maneuver.

A daring pirate twice her size screamed from behind her and slammed a massive mace that cracked the deck where she stood a second ago. A strike to the wrist with her shield broke his grip before she kicked his groin, causing him to double over in pain, only to eat her sword with his throat.

Gwen withdrew her blade and searched for her next opponent. Within a handful of seconds, she had half a dozen corpses around her, but the rest of the crew had finally recovered and glared at her. Gwen expected them to charge her, but one of them suddenly stared at something behind her and grinned evilly.

It would be the height of folly to fall for the oldest trick in the book, especially when pirates were infamous for their low cunning and treacherous nature. Nevertheless, the ominous sound of footsteps coming from the forecastle behind her and guns cocking had the knight quickly turn, and her eyes widened.

"Fill'er with lead, boys. We can still fuck her corpse!"

Half a dozen pirates, armed with several flintlock pistols in their hands and bandoliers, aimed their guns at her. Gwen quickly placed her shield in front of her and prepared herself to use Iron Barrier just as rapid gunfire sounded out, along with a feminine scream.

The gunfire continued for a few more seconds, much more than possible for the single-use flintlocks, before it abruptly stopped. Chancing a glance over her shield, Gwen was surprised to find all the pirates dead with their bodies perforated by high-caliber munitions. The female knight turned to the crow's nest of their ship that towered over the pirate ship's main deck to find a sweaty Rachel heaving as she stared with wide eyes at the death she had inflicted with her terrifying weapon.

Gwendolyn had seen Rachel tear sea kings apart with her primitive rotary guns, but her new weapon was something she had seen Tyson reforge and rebuild during the storm. Rachel called it a machine gun, and it truly was an unfeeling machine - there was no honor or finesse in its use, and it had only one purpose: to rain death and destruction upon its foes.

Despite only having two barrels, one that fired bullets and another that supposedly fired special bombs that Rachel had yet to make, it was just as fast as the six-barreled gun and far more accurate - not to mention it did not jam or break down nearly as much. Compared to sea kings and monsters, normal humans could not hope to survive such an onslaught. The sudden silence on the deck was marred by sounds of combat below deck, causing Gwen to refocus on the battle.

"Kill the bitch!"

Angry pirates rushed forward fearlessly, their eyes manic. Gwen did not wait to receive them but charged them with a Shave. They did not expect her sudden use of the speed skill and paid dearly for it as she shield-bashed one of them, sliced at another's neck, disarmed the first, and kicked away a third before beheading the first just as he was screaming at the loss of his arm.

Yet, Gwen was already breathing heavily. Without the element of surprise, she suddenly found the pirates much more difficult to defeat. They seemed more resilient, harder to cut through, and simply tougher all around. They had no real skills at arms to speak of, which made her wonder how the hell they made it all the way to the New World; it was almost as if by merely surviving in this turbulent sea, their bodies seemed to acclimate to the purported insanity that came with it.

Then there were the sounds of fighting, swords clashing, gunfire, and screaming below deck, followed by a powerful explosion that shook the whole ship and nearly caused Gwen to lose her footing and have to block a strike from a pirate instead of deflecting. Then, silence for a few minutes as Gwen continued to fight on deck, the pirates unperturbed by whatever was happening below deck.

Suddenly, she recognized Hylla's voice yelping along with what sounded like an electricity discharge, followed by a furious roar and the sound of wood and metal shattering as a feline scream came next.

Gwen could do nothing besides trust in Hylla and what sounded like Tyson to clear out the lower decks.

Suddenly, all her instincts were screaming at her to jump away right fucking now!

Gwen barely disengaged from her assailants and jumped backward, just in time for a figure to crash out from the lower deck - destroying the spot she stood barely a heartbeat earlier.

"Captain!" The pirates cheered, "Captain Matilda is here to help us!"

She inspected her new foe; it was a large, powerfully built woman, nearly seven feet tall, with a long, spiky mane of dark yellow hair that reached her waist. She wore few clothes, allowing her scarred and tattooed skin for all to see, and Gwen noticed a pair of wicked spiked gauntlets that ended in grey steel claws.

"Heh, another woman? It's not every day we attack a ship with women fighters in it, let alone two." The Captain chuckled, her voice reminiscent of a growl. "I think my boys will have a lot of fun once I'm done with–"

The woman suddenly reached out and grabbed an arrow from midair before glaring at the crow's nest of the Sally Jackson. Gwen risked a glance and found Reyna notching another arrow with a newly recovered Rachel next to her, holding a megaphone.

"Don't monologue in a fight, dumbass. And you, Gwen! Don't wait for your foe to finish their spiel. This isn't a movie, now fight!"

Reyna suddenly shouted something, and the arrow the Pirate Captain held shone briefly before exploding.

"CAPTAIN MATILDA!"

The pirates shouted in worry, and even Gwen stared in shock at whatever witchcraft was happening before feeling a tingle in her spine that told her to duck, just as a figure exploded out of the smoke cloud and swiped at where her head was with beastly claws.

"Fucking brat! I will disembowel you and string your corpse on the mast for this!"

Gwen adjusted her stance as she stared at her opponent; gone was the human, and in its place what she recognized as a Zoan user in their hybrid form. The Pirate Captain had grown another foot and bulked up considerably more. Her previously pale skin was completely covered in yellow fur; her spiky blonde hair turned a darker shade, almost brown, and grew all the way to her waist, becoming reminiscent of a mane. The colors combined with her feline mouth, large fangs, sharp claws, bipedal legs, waving tail, and low growl were more than enough for Gwen to recognize what fruit was eaten.

"Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Lion… I presume?"

A powerful roar was the only reply she got before the lion hybrid attacked her with a relentless frenzy. The time for talk was over; now, Gwen had to contend with possibly her most dangerous opponent yet.

P*O*D

Earlier with Hylla

The moment the ships collided, Hylla knew that she had to bring the fight to the pirates. She could not allow them to board the Sally Jackson and risk harm to her sister. The ship bounced backward from the collision, proving Tyson's words that it was far tougher than she looked, yet the bowsprit broke off and remained stuck in the breach, forming a bridge towards the pirate ship held only by loose bits of sail.

Hylla found herself staring at dozens of shocked pirates. Many of them were holding oars, yet all of them were armed, telling her that none were innocent slaves pressed into labor.

Which meant they were all fair game.

"A woman!"

"A hot woman!"

"Let's get her!"

"Let's breed her and milk her like a–"

Several loud bangs rang out, and the four shit-talkers got a bullet to the head courtesy of Hylla's new gun - the last one, in particular, ate two in the nuts and a final one in the mouth that shattered his teeth. Her face was stormy, yet she had learned never to expect anything less from pirates. She jumped into the breached deck, taking stock of her battleground. The pirates were steadily recovering from the collision, but Hylla immediately started shooting with one hand while covering herself with the shield.

Judging by the multiple damaged cannons thrown around, She realized that this must have been the lower gun deck. She could only fire two more rounds at the pirates before clicking her tongue when she realized she was out - maybe castrating that pirate with a gun was overkill.

Hylla hid behind a crate as she reloaded as fast as she could, but not fast enough, as she noticed the pirates had recovered and charged her - her hand twitched towards her revolver before shaking her head, she had no holster for the rifle. Only reloading four rounds out of eight, Hylla quickly changed it to spear form and vaulted over the crate to meet them head-on.

Unlike when she was taken unawares by the prisoners a few days ago, Hylla knew not to underestimate the men of this world. Having trained extensively with Gwendolyn and noticing how stronger she had grown over the past week, Hylla adopted a defensive stance as the first pirate approached with an overhanded strike with his machete.

"Stop fighting back, and we promise to give you a good time you–"

Hylla's spear lunged out like a viper, piercing and tearing through the pirate's throat. Even in a different world, pirate scum would still be pirate scum. Just as quickly as she thrust her spear, Hylla withdrew it and crouched behind her hoplon as several gunshots impacted it harmlessly.

Realizing that bullets were useless, a few pirates charged at her, screaming more obscenities. Hylla met the first with her hoplon, deflecting his blade before bashing him in the chest. Hoping it would work the same as the last time, she called upon the shield to extend the spike in its center. The shield obeyed, and Hylla could feel its spirit awakening with a giddy thrill as the pirate gasped when the spike impaled him in the heart and punched through his back.

Not wasting time to marvel at her success, Hylla swiftly pushed the pirate off, barely noticing how little effort it took her, considering the hefty weight. Two more pirates charged her, and Hylla met them with swift thrusts that they surprisingly managed to block. However, she simply brought her hoplon back to bear.

Hylla would have preferred to use her spear two-handed for sweeping and slicing attacks, yet the ship's deck was too narrow for such maneuvers. There were columns, stacked crates, and bundled cannon barrels every few feet, providing her with cover from flanking attacks but still stifling her footing. It meant Hylla was forced to fight defensively, but it also forced the pirates to come at her one or two at a time through the choke point.

The first pirate feinted at her shield with his cutlass, but she saw his other hand fingering a dagger, giving her ample time to move into the attack and strike him before he could begin the feint. While unbalanced, she kicked his knee, causing him to stumble before stabbing him in the stomach with the hoplon's spike and pushing him back.

From her experience, that would hardly be enough to instantly kill a pirate in this world, yet the second pirate didn't give her a chance to finish him off. He pulled out two flintlocks and tried to shoot her while she was still unbalanced from the shield strike. Time seemed to slow down as he fired once at her head and again at her torso, yet Hylla could see the round balls of lead as clearly as one could see a ball being tossed by a child.

Hylla bent her back ninety degrees to be parallel with the ground at the waist, allowing both rounds to pass above her harmlessly while twisting the spear's grip, turning it back to the rifle, flip-cocked the lever, and fired two shots, flip-cocking again between shots.

One shot at the gawking pirate's head, blowing it apart with the high caliber rounds, and another at the first one's throat, nearly decapitated his head, who, as she feared, still had enough vitality to throw his dagger at her.

Hylla lifted her right leg and kicked the oncoming projectile from the air, lodging it in the ceiling. Now balanced on just her left leg, which bent to her knee, and her body still contorted, Hylla hurriedly stood back in a defensive stance. There was a bit of an empty gap between her and the next group of pirates, where they grouped around an empty area of the deck free of debris and clutter.

Not letting the chance go, Hylla swiftly started reloading, even as several pirates pulled out flintlocks, causing her to curse and fumble - back to four out of eight rounds. Not willing to stand there and keep tanking lead, she returned to spear form and charged shield first at the group, barreling over a couple of pirates before giving a wide slash with her spear.

Having taken down the gunners, Hylla decided to risk it. She slung her shield on her back, switched the gun to spear form, and held it in a two-handed grip.

Then she danced.

Screams of pain and bodies hitting the deck were all Hylla could hear as she waved her spear in circles, around her head for slicing strikes, overhead for crushing slashes, and midair pirouettes with wide sweeps before crouching and hamstringing several pirates at the same time. She never even knew she could do so much with a spear, as she barely had any experience fighting with it.

Then again, Hylla had never used a gun before meeting her crew. She had no idea how she could use these weapons without any prior training, especially the gun that she instinctively knew should not be as accurate nor powerful as any mortal lever-action rifle. Made from Celestial Bronze and inscribed with runes of strength and durability along with a multitude of other effects, her mistress had really gone all out with Tyson in creating it. She supposed the rounds were normal enough, but it was all the gun - if she could do such devastating damage with regular lead bullets, Hylla wondered what she could do with more specialized rounds.

Eventually, she stopped her deadly dance for a breath and beheld her handiwork. Pirates lay everywhere within a twenty-foot radius of her as if she were a tornado of sharp steel. Limbs, rolling heads, and men trying to hold onto their guts littered the floor, a sight that caused her to feel giddy for some reason as if she had done a good job or work of art and was savoring it.

"F-Fucking hell! I ain't gonna fight that demon!" The remaining pirates backtracked, only to bump into a large, vicious-looking man. "B-Bosun!"

"You fools! It's only one woman. Surround her and fill her with lead from all sides!"

Hylla clicked her tongue as the pirates were rallied by their leader. She was about to retreat to the choke point only to notice something curious nearby: a stack of red barrels painted with a black fiery skull.

Surely not… they just couldn't be that dumb… could they? Percy would have had them hung upside down by their toes from the mast if they had such terrible safety standards, friends or not.

Oh wait, they're pirates… Only one way to find out.

Hylla quickly backed up, turned her spear to gun form, aimed, and shot at the powder barrel before hiding back behind her shield as the explosion rocked the entire boat. Thankfully, her shield proved to be just as impervious to heat as it was to blunt force, even though it nearly got unbearable as flames and sparks licked its sides.

When Hylla felt the heat dissipate, she lowered her shield and gazed at the destruction. The ground in front of her was strewn with burned corpses, while a few of the pirates further back screamed in pain, their limbs burned or missing. The ship had a massive hole leading to its hold, while the hull wall was completely blown away, revealing the rough sea barely a few feet below, the waves already splashing seawater on deck.

A few shots put those half-dead out of their misery before Hylla stood up and reloaded her rifle to full capacity. She continued to the end of the deck, jumping over the hole to the hold, noticing many crates as she did, and arriving at a door leading to the first gun deck. She was about to grab the handle, only to jump back when it banged open, and two figures tried to ambush her. Hylla dodged an electric attack of some sort, her hoplon drinking the light show without passing it to her, but then tanked a powerful metal claw. She jumped back with the powerful blow and stopped at the edge of the hole. Hylla flipped back over it again and found herself facing a strange duo as she shook her arm from the blow.

A furry, as in, one of those strange people wearing animal costumes that some of the girls on Circe's island liked to watch on TV, except she looked incredibly real. The other was a scary-looking woman. More pirates appeared from behind them, filling out the deck. Hylla gulped as more and more kept coming, and she suddenly felt trapped.

"Well, well, look at this hot piece of meat." The tall, feral-looking woman grinned; her single-slitted blue eye seemed to undress her just as much as any male pirate did. "And look at what you did to our ship! Good thing we were planning to take over yours anyway."

"Nyaaayayayaya, the boys and I have this covered, Captain. Why don't you see what's making all that ruckus upstairs."

"Heh, don't let me down, Nina."

As the one-eyed woman turned her back to leave, Hylla's mind worked on overdrive. They wanted their ship? The new home that Percy and her mistress had offered for her and Reyna? Hylla recalled what she promised the Captain and her mistress, and boiling hot rage poured through her veins, causing all her pains and soreness to melt away. She had wondered what the hell the two women were doing on the same side as pirates, but she was the Captain?

A gunshot rang out, but the Pirate Captain impossibly dodged the round before grinning at her. "Ohhh, feisty! Make sure you keep her alive, Ni. I want my turn after the boys have their fun."

The woman ran off just as Hylla fired another shot, gritting her teeth at the cat woman's annoying laugh and the men's hollers.

"Nyaaayayaya, you heard her, boys. Let's get her!"

The pink-furred woman grinned manically as she bent her knees before near instantaneously covering the distance between them, her hands bright with electricity!

Hylla yelped as she was too slow to block her with her shield and nearly dropped her weapons from the shock as she grabbed her shoulders. She kicked the woman away, whose eyes were wide, probably surprised she managed to tank her attack - and Hylla had no idea how she felt no pain, as she could feel the heat coming from her hands, though the smell of burned flesh told her she did not come out unscathed. By the time she recovered, Hylla found herself surrounded on all sides by pirates while the catgirl slinked between them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"We got you now, bitch! Surrender, and at least you will still have your limbs when we're railing you."

Before she could reply with a bullet to the head, a loud splash came from the hole in the hull before a hulking figure landed onboard. Hylla could have giggled when Tyson bellowed out a furious roar as he swung his sledgehammer (or was it a maul?) and turned three pirates into a bloody mist with one strike, sending their shattered bones at their fellows. But she was too busy breathing heavily, as the smell of blood and death seemed to awaken something in her.

She could tell she was injured, yet Hylla felt no pain, only excitement, though she wished she could wipe her eyes as her vision was slowly growing red. Was she bleeding from her head?

As the pirates tried to retaliate against Tyson, he swung twice more, sending broken and shattered bodies everywhere until he reached her.

"Hylla, I'm here to help." The Cyclops announced from beside her, holding a towering shield in one hand and his maul with the other.

"Glad to have you, Tyson." She grinned at the young Cyclops, stifling the sudden desire to touch his bloody maul. "How's the ship?"

"Some boarders tried to capture it, but we repelled them. We heard the explosion, and Leo sent me to check on you." She could not see the Cyclops' lone eye from his reflective goggles, but he seemed serious - no smiles or quips coming from him. "Now, let's fight!"

Hylla grinned at the suddenly not-so-cocksure pirates, particularly a certain pink-furred catgirl whose previously playful tail now stood straight. Feeling confidence and power course through her, along with her increasingly reddening vision, Hylla suddenly willed her hoplon to produce the blades that Calypso managed to coax out of it so long ago. She did not even know what made her so sure it would work, but she just did.

Apparently, the spirit was truly awake, as she could feel a bloody mania coming from the hoplon and resonating with another part of her mind: the call for death and blood. As the blades grew from the shield's rim and started whirring like a chainsaw, Hylla was more than willing to oblige.

"Aye, my dear Cyclops. Let's bathe in their blood!"

P*O*D

On the main deck

The sound of steel clashing on steel rang out as the Pirate Captain's clawed right hand crashed into Gwen's shield. Gwen grimaced as her hands shook; such strength!

Matilda's other clawed hand rose above her head for another strike, and Gwen was forced to disengage, allowing the pirate woman to strike the deck instead. Her eyes widened at the sheer strength of the woman as the wooden floor was obliterated.

Gwen glanced at her shield and gritted her teeth angrily as she found three deep gorges dug into the steel. That was her favorite and only shield!

Another beastly roar had her roll sideways before placing her shield on her back; blocking would not be useful against a foe of such caliber. Gwen gripped Lightbreaker with a two-handed grip as the lion woman lunged at her again, her gauntlets poised to eviscerate her.

Yet, she was prepared this time, and abusing the fact the woman had practically no defense, Gwen focused on where her attacks would land and simply let go.

Paper Arts.

Like a sheet of paper flying with the wind, Gwen breezed around the lion woman's vicious attacks, dodging her brutal-looking black claws and gauntlets before finding herself inside her guard. Realizing this would be her best chance to end her, the female knight stabbed her blade at the Lion Zoan.

At the very last second, the lion woman flinched sideways unnaturally, causing what would have been a mortal blow to turn superficial as it merely scratched her sides instead of her heart.

Gwen stared in shock as the Pirate Captain held her sword by the blade, her previously yellow hands unnaturally dark for some reason. The knight did not have a chance to think before a kick crashed into her head, nearly dropping her unconscious, yet Gwen held tightly to her sword, even as her head shook from the blow. Realizing that she was trapped, Gwen heaved with all her might, yet the woman would not budge, simply grinning evilly at her with a maw that had far too many sharp teeth.

"Tough one, aren't you? So close, but no–"

Something whistled through the air and Matilda barely managed to twitch at the last second to avoid an arrow to her exposed neck. Instead, it pierced her upper arm, causing her to lose her hold on Lightbreaker. Gwen immediately used that chance to kick the lion woman away, expecting retaliation; she jumped backward only to look confused. The Lion Zoan had her eyes wide as she hurriedly pulled the arrow out of her flesh and threw it her way, just in time for it to explode and send them both reeling.

Gwendolyn vaguely heard Reyna cursing in the distance before stumbling as something grabbed the back of her legs and brought her to her knees. A glance showed a couple of pirates had sneaked on her and were about to stab her with dirks - every armored warrior's weakness. Damn it! She was careless, and had forgotten the deck was still infested with pirates.

"I got you now! Die bitc–"

Suddenly, both men had holes in their heads as something incredibly fast punctured through one pirate's temple and exited through the other's head. As they let go of her, Gwen risked a glance at where the shot came from only to gawk as her Prince had somehow managed to sneak on board the pirate ship's forecastle.

"I shall not allow any filthy hand to shank my knight." Leo glared coldly at the rest of the pirates before his eyes softened as they fell on her. "Gwen, this is an order from your prince; I would like that Pirate Captain's head on a spike."

The sheer gall of her Prince's declaration had the pirates stumped for a few seconds. Even the lion hybrid stared at him ludicrously before growling deeply - the arrow wound had already healed courtesy of the insane vitality of Zoan users.

"You think you can take out all of us with a single gun?" The lion woman swiftly tilted her head sideways, dodging the bullet Leo fired with his rifle, causing it to hit another pirate. "My Observation is too good to fall for cheap tricks like bullets and arrows."

Observation? Why did this sound familiar to Gwen?

"Oh, really? Is that a challenge?" Leo smirked, yet Gwen could tell he was shocked the woman had dodged a bullet at such a short range. "Well, how about you try out my friend's gun instead?"

Gwen did not need a second wasted to understand the threat as her Prince waved at their crow's nest. She quickly ran for cover behind a crate of cannonballs just as Rachel aimed her machine gun and unleashed hell on the deck.

"Die pirate scum DIE!"

The sound of a gun cocking, then roaring gunfire, louder and deeper than any musket or pistol, rang in rapid succession like a million saws cutting into wood at the same time. Wood, flesh, and metal getting ripped apart were followed by men screaming in agony before being eternally silenced as it was replaced with flesh turning to mulch and bone getting grounded to dust. Rachel continued to scream hysterically as she fired at anything remotely looking like a pirate for what felt like an hour but was most likely less than a minute. Finally, the girl ran out of ammo yet still continued pulling the trigger uselessly until Reyna pushed her aside from a retaliatory musket ball coming from the poop deck.

"Keep shooting at that bitch!"

Gwen vaulted over the cannonball crate to find most of the deck had turned into a charnel house. There must have been at least fifty pirates in her direct vicinity before Rachel mowed them down into pieces of flesh and bone and turned the previously brown deck red. One more attack like that would probably finish off the pirates, but as she glanced at the Sally Jackson and where Rachel and Reyna were grappling down to the deck, she realized that wouldn't be happening any time soon - most likely, they had run out of ammo.

She processed all of this in a couple of seconds before she found more pirates coming out of the galley despite still hearing Hylla and Tyson causing utter mayhem below deck. Just how many of them were there?

Wait, where was the Pirate Captain?

The sounds of rushing footsteps, flesh parting for steel, an angry growl, a sword shattering, and finally, a familiar pained groan caused Gwen's heart to drop to her stomach. She turned her head frantically, searching for Leo, only for rage and terror to course through her veins.

Her Prince was on the ground with a massive foot holding his chest and sword arm down. His sword lay broken at the hilt, with the blade plunged deep into the lion woman's guts. The woman herself was in terrible shape, her body riddled with bleeding wounds from the hail of bullets that Rachel unleashed upon her, yet she still stood.

"Y-You son of a bitch!" The lion woman glared in absolute murder with her single eye. Her claws raised high for a finishing blow. "Almost had me there. I want to enjoy killing you slowly, but…"

Captain Matilda slowly glanced at her, her pained face morphing into a sadistic grin. Gwen didn't think. She had to protect her Prince. There was no one else who could help. She struck the ground as fast as she could, ready to Shave, but before she even made it to the fifth step, the lion morph struck down, her claws heading for her Prince's wide eyes. Gwen could see it in slow motion, could almost imagine to her terror the wicked claws stabbing through Leo's head, ending his life!

The world shattered.

All sound suddenly ceased. The fighting below, the rough sea, the howling wind, the pirates on deck still trading fire with Rachel and Reyna, the lion woman - everything froze as if time itself had stopped. Gwen halted right before she was about to dash. She could not breathe. Oceans of sweat seemed to be pouring down from her head as every follicle of her hair stood, and goosebumps appeared all over her body. Not a single living thing on the ship seemed to understand what was happening until an earthshaking roar of anguish crashed into them from the horizon, followed by a gust of wind so powerful it shook both ships and cleared the skies from clouds and any lingering fog. Gwen could have sworn she had seen some sort of lightning flaring out erratically in the heavens, but it was gone before she could focus on it. Thuds came from around her, but Gwen could not move her head from the sheer terror of what she was feeling!

The pirates in front of her seemed to be collapsing and foaming in the mouth. Even the lion woman shook terribly, muttering incoherently about a Supreme King or something. None of that mattered to Gwen aside from the fact the woman had barely missed her Prince, yet her claws were dangerously close to his head. Struggling against whatever was binding her as hard as possible, she managed to finally break free of the spell and stumble forward.

"G-Get away from MY PRINCE!" Even as she screamed, Gwen felt her knees shaking terribly, yet she still managed to grab the lion woman's attention with a weak wind blade that barely scratched her arm.

It was then that several things happened at the same time.

The loading hatch blew away, and two familiar figures utterly caked in blood and gore jumped on the deck, one of them holding a strange feline human who had her arms and legs twisted unnaturally. Hylla looked utterly ragged; her shield seemed to be humming ominously as serrated blades ran like a chainsaw - her sparring partner's eyes seemed to be glowing an ominous red, and she had a disturbing smile on her bloody face. Tyson looked relatively healthy, though she could see a few cuts on his muscular arms, yet his bulky shield was red with blood while his maul had guts and other body parts on it.

"D-Damn you–"

Several gunshots rang out, and Gwen flinched as she turned to Leo. A smoking revolver was in her Prince's free hand - made from that strange shiny metal that the crew seemed to prefer, and Percy had gifted to her Prince. Matilda stumbled backward, her single eye full of incomprehension, as the Pirate Captain gurgled and tried to stem the blood pouring down from several holes in her throat.

One final bang and the lion woman was flung backward, a small hole appeared in the back of her head, pouring copious amounts of blood before she struck the deck. Her eye was gone, the bullet destroying it and tearing through her brain. Prince Lionel slowly stood with a groan, his face covered in the woman's blood while scowling at his broken sword.

"S-Shit, you actually killed her, nya? What a shitty day…" A weak voice came from the pink girl as she stared at the dead Pirate Captain before losing consciousness.

"H-Holy shit!"

"T-This can't be happening."

"THEY KILLED THE CAPTAIN!"

"RUN! JUMP OVERBOARD! WE CAN STILL MAKE IT TO THE ISLAND AND HIDE IN THE MOUNTAIN!"

Chaos reigned supreme on the pirate ship as all the surviving pirates jumped overboard, not daring to face them or attempt to rescue their wounded. Gwen scoffed before her eyes fell on the Pirate Captain. She might have been an enemy, but she had fought well. Too well. Such excellent instincts… were they due to her Zoan fruit or something else? Her strikes were heavy, and her claws had strangely turned dark yet now that she was dead and slowly transforming back into a human, the regular steel gauntlets looked dull and grey.

The female knight shook her head and hurried to Leo. "My Prince! Are you alright?"

"I'll live," His sword hand was shaking, and he stared at it strangely before his gaze fell on the fallen Captain. "I did not expect such insane instincts. I was aiming to behead her while she was down and looking half-dead, but somehow, she just knew right before I gave the finishing blow."

"Do you think this was…"

"Haki? I am not sure, but this is not the time." Leo glanced away and Gwen followed his gaze to the limping Hylla and a stoic Tyson still holding onto the cat creature as they approached them. "Who is this?"

"An annoying fucking thing, that's who," Hylla growled, her shield still whirring ominously, and Gwen noticed several burn marks on the girl - still smiling despite her annoyed tone. "I would have killed her and be done with it, but Tyson had already broken all her limbs, and I figured we need knowledge and information."

"Her electric trick barely tickled me, and she was too surprised when it didn't work that she went down with one strike." Tyson chuckled, his eye hidden behind reflective goggles. "Your hair will need to be fixed, Hylla."

The spear wielder groaned and elbowed the Cyclops jokingly; her hair truly did look like it had been dunked in gel and sawdust. "Wait, where are Rachel and Reyna?"

They quickly ran to the railing and searched the deck of the Sally Jackson for the two girls who saved her life several times in that fight. Gwen grimaced as she beheld the damage done to the beautiful ship. The foremast was slightly damaged, but she thought it could be repaired in time, especially with Tyson's talents. The bowsprit, the jibboom, and the figurehead were utterly shattered, along with the attached sail. Thankfully, the hull itself was intact, though it was difficult to tell the extent of the damage from where she was standing.

"There!" Hylla cried before jumping back to their ship, stumbling on her injured leg and crouching to check on the two. "They're breathing. They seem to be asleep."

Rachel and Reyna had collapsed on the deck close to the loading hatch. Judging by the abandoned machine gun, ammo boxes, hand cannons, and bombs nearby, they must have been in the process of some seriously explosive trick when whatever had caused everyone to freeze up hit them. Which reminded Gwen, just what the hell was that? She glanced at where she thought the shockwave came from and frowned as she thought something was missing.

Ah, the monster… the sea king that Calypso had flown to fight was gone. Could it be?

"What's with all the racket?"

The sound of a door opening had her turn back to the Sally Jackson, and a yawning Percy Jackson walked onto the deck, still rubbing his eyes sleepily and scratching his sides. A moment later, the squinting captain froze at the sight of the carnage around him. Percy's eyes continued to widen as he beheld the damage to his ship, Hylla's bloody state, and the collapsed forms of Rachel and Reyna before finding the pirate ship and all the death and destruction onboard.

Finally, Percy's eyes found them on the deck, and Gwen couldn't resist waving at him, which he absentmindedly returned.

"Damn… What did I miss?"


And the crew's first test: I say they scored an Acceptable. Barely passed.

Hylla is the daughter of a war goddess. We know some of the abilities from that deity from Reyna's abilities page in the wiki, yet we never really see Hylla herself in action. Aside from being supremely talented in any weapon she uses, along with identifying any tool designed for war and knowing how to use it, Hylla also gets a berserker's rage or a combat trance, so to speak.

Her Hoplon also builds on it, which will be explained later. Suffice it to say, there is a reason why she was not at all affected by that shockwave from earlier.

And we come to the explosive end of the chapter. What was that shockwave? Well, you don't really need to be a genius to know. Calypso is a freaking Titaness, and while she does not have a True Form, her destiny, along with the rest of the crew's, was altered and unfettered once she crossed to this new world. Accessing new powers previously unknown to her is a no-brainer.

As for how the hell Percy slept through all that racket will be explained next chapter but you can blame Tyson if you want.

If you would like to support me, or read five chapters ahead (total of twenty across all of my stories), join me on my Patr(eo)n under the same penname.