Pirate King Samuel
SPLASH!!—BOOM! CRACK! SHATTER! CRASH! SMASH!
“Urgh! That crazy old bastard! What the hell kind of waves are these?!”
“Pablo!”
“Sorry! I can't freeze all that old man's waves—!”
Jean and Pablo had put up a fierce fight early on against Pirate King Samuel by combining their powers, but as the sea fortress crumbled under the hands of Derek, who had unleashed the kraken, and the North Face Family, the Pirate King could no longer hold back. He unleashed his full might.
He created a massive whirlpool current that swept away even a kraken over 10 meters long without mercy, neutralizing Derek in an instant. And with that, he summoned a colossal tsunami from the nearby waters, bearing down on Jean and Pablo with the intent to turn the fortress into an ocean in seconds.
The pirates had either died already or the quick-witted ones had sensed the Pirate King's extreme rage and fled far away, abandoning the fight. There was nothing left to restrain Samuel's power. The flagship and fortress he had painstakingly salvaged and repaired were now in ruins. His pirate fleet was either grounded or half-sunk. His subordinates, whom he had dismissed as greenhorns, had been beaten.
This was an unbearable humiliation for the Pirate King, and it tarnished his reputation.
SPLASH!!
“You think this Pirate King Samuel would lose to the likes of youuuu!!—!”
WHOOSH!!
“What the hell is that?!”
“Ghost ships?!”
“My power rules the seas! That means I command everything that has sunk into them—!”
!!! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
Ships rose from within the massive tsunami all at once, their gunports opening as the sound of countless cannons being loaded echoed out. They were clearly gunpowder cannons, yet the rusted, coral- and seaweed-encrusted barrels looked ready to spew fire any second.
While Pablo poured everything into freezing the waves, Jean stepped forward, igniting flames across his body to burn the rising ghost ships to ash. But the Pirate King had already finished preparing his attack.
“Fire the broadside!!—!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
FWOOOSH!!
Water?!
Jean! Dodge! That's no ordinary water—!
Instead of cannonballs, massive sprays of water erupted from the gunports toward Jean and Pablo. These compressed water projectiles shot at high speed, piercing Jean's wall of flames in an instant and shattering the giant frozen waves Pablo had made, destroying everything in their path. Soon, they would tear the two men's bodies to shreds.
What blocked them was Derek, transformed into a kraken, who had ridden the currents up to the surface just as the Pirate King pulled the sunken ships.
KABOOM!!—BOOM! ROAR!!
““Derek!””
Huge holes punched through the thick black skin of the massive kraken, spewing a fountain of ink-mixed blood. The battered kraken dissolved into black smoke, revealing Derek's bloodied true form collapsed on the spot.
The Pirate King's power repelled a giant kraken in one blow. Jean and Pablo now understood why their opponent was such a prideful old man—and just how overwhelming the power of a contractor with the 42nd-ranked archdemon truly was.
Their boss and friend, Actor, had an ability that was blatantly overpowered too—if you ignored the tricky conditions. Just peel off someone's face skin, and you copied everything: their memories, physical prowess, magic, and all the know-how and experience they'd gained in life.
Now I get why the boss told us not to push ourselves. This monster...!
Damn it! To beat this crazy old geezer, the boss would need that mage tower lord's face skin!
Though unnamed, Jean and Pablo weren't mere demon contractors—they had fully fused with demons, wielding fire and ice at will. For the past ten years, they'd grown arrogant, convinced no one could stand against them. No one could block their infernos. No one could endure their blizzards. They thought themselves invincible.
But the Pirate King's power was on another level entirely—enough to make their own seem pathetic. Raising tidal waves over 10 meters tall to swallow sea fortresses was child's play. He commanded whirlpools and currents strong enough to crush even a kraken, backed by firepower that could shred giant sea monsters like rags. No one could rival it.
This was the man who had dominated the seas for decades. The Pirate King Samuel.
SPLASH!
“Arrogant whelps! You're done for! You dared touch my fortress, my fleet, my men! I won't let you live easy—I'll dunk you in the depths over and over, torture you with water, and finally hang your necks from my mast to dry!!—!”
ROAR!!
“That's... pirates?!”
“Pirates! They're swarming back in—!”
“Hmph! Looks like my men are driving out your gang! Not a single one of you leaves here alive—!”
As more pirate ships poured in from the ruined sea fortress, dark shadows fell over Jean and Pablo's faces. Only now did Pirate King Samuel survey the surroundings.
Unlike the initial ambush, the North Face Family was barely standing, legs trembling. No deaths, but they'd exhausted their mana—no more magic like at the start. In contrast, over half his own men remained, and seeing the enemy worn out, the subordinate pirates charged with swords and guns to finish them.
Pathetic fools! Losing thousands to these kids? What a disgrace to our pirate alliance! Once this is over, I'll drag back those deserters and sink 'em as an example—!
“Captain! You alright?!”
“[Lotrek, First Mate]? Where the hell were you?!”
“Don't ask! They raided the slave pens! All the high-value异種 slaves and foreign nobles we captured—gone! They cleaned us out!”
“What?!”
“Those whelps were a decoy! Their real target was our slaves from the start!”
“Damn it!!— North Face! That arrogant punk really stabbed me in the back?!”
“Before coming here, I sent Balbarosa, Rosen, and Alcap to chase 'em. The rest of the captains... didn't make it.”
“...They're... dead?”
The final revelation from Lotrek, the alliance's number two and Samuel's first mate. The subordinate captains with whom he'd sworn to conquer the seas that fateful day, clinking glasses. Most of his sworn brothers were gone, and even the Pirate King couldn't hide his grief.
They'd started as rivals, clashing for years, but sometimes united against the navy. Later, after Samuel contracted with Bepha, he subdued them as subordinates. They roamed the seas together, spreading infamy—not mere underlings, but blood-sworn brothers vowing to conquer the oceans, race to world's end, die the same day.
Learning they were dead shook even the Pirate King to his core.
“Daric... Anderson... Polius... Michelin...”
WHOOSH! FLAP!
“Captain Samuel! Watch your back!”
!!!
“Sorry! Gotta take our friends and go! Stay safe, old timers—!”
“You bastard!!~~”
"[Warp]"
WHOOSH!
…
“AHHHHHHH!!— Those damn bastards!!—!”
Seizing the Pirate King's momentary daze, a man with black wings and goat horns—Allen—swooped from the sky, grabbing Jean, Pablo, the fallen Derek, and the rest of the North Face Family before warping away from the battlefield.
Realizing too late they'd slipped away, Samuel flew into a rage. His first mate rushed over, gripping his shoulders to calm the rampaging Pirate King.
“Captain! Captain! Calm down! They haven't gone far! I'll send the kids after 'em—settle down—!”
“RAAAGH!!— Let go! I said let go! I'll go kill that damn North Face myself!!—!”
“Captain, hold it! You've used too much power too! Rest first—we can chase later! We control all sea routes anyway! They're trapped rats in a cage on this North Continent!”
“Huff!~ Huff— Fine... Send the pursuit squad! Now!”
“Got it! Hey! What're you idiots doing?! Chase 'em—!”
“““Aye~ Aye~ Sail!—!”””
…
“Hey! Grab a barrel of rum before you go! Captain, drink some and cool off! We'll handle the rest!”
“...Alright. Thanks, First Mate. Huff— I'll rest a bit.”
“To our ship's cabin then. Hey! Bring a barrel of rum to the cabin! Hot water and towels too!”
Convinced by his first mate's sincere words, the Pirate King dragged his heavy shoulders to the cabin. He cracked open the rum barrel his men brought and chugged straight from it. The first mate fetched a hot towel, wiping the grime from Samuel's body, trying to soothe him.
Swish— Swish—
“Feeling better?”
“...Yeah.”
“Turn around, Captain. Your back's sweaty too.”
“Tch... What do you take me for?”
“After decades sailing together, has our captain ever taken proper care of himself? I've always done it!”
“Heh... True...”
“You lot, show's over! Go tell the pursuit squad—find 'em no matter what!”
“““Y-Yes sir!”””
CREAK— THUD—
…
“Daric... Anderson... Polius... Michelin... Sorry. I'm sorry...”
“That's enough. We'll meet 'em again soon.”
…
“Remember that day, Captain? Our oath when we became sworn brothers. Not born the same day, but we'll die the same day.”
“...I remember.”
“They'll understand in the afterlife. Don't worry too much.”
“First Mate... I...”
STAB!
“Guhk!— Ack... Cough!—!”
…
A blade plunged into the Pirate King's back. Caught off-guard by the sudden betrayal, Samuel gasped, blood spilling from his mouth, staining the cabin red.
“Because, Captain... soon you'll join us in the afterlife, right?”
“What... You... betraying me like...”
“Betray? Oh dear—♪”
RIP— FLAP!
CRACK!
…
“Y-You bastard?!”
“Long time no see? Pirate King Samuel? Nice to see you again like this.”
“N-North... Face?!”
He grinned—
“Just like the owner of this face skin... You'll be taking a long trip to join them soon, won't you? Right?”
Lotrek the First Mate. His true identity: Actor, wearing the man's peeled face skin. As Actor shed it to reveal his real face, Pirate King Samuel faced the shadow of death.