The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 222

BAAAAAAM!

“Ppuuuuu!”

Pupu was sent flying after being struck by Vitona.

Though the large octopus had managed to buy a good amount of time against Vitona, it was clear that it wouldn't be able to rejoin the fight for a while.

Still, it had managed to save Santos.

“Why did you come, Agony?!” shouted Santos. “No one will be able to remember us now.”

[You won’t need anyone to remember you! We’re going back alive!]

“You… Huh? You were a sword?”

[Yeah! I was a sword!]

“Hahahaha, perfect timing! We might not be in the best position, but I just so happened to need a sword as well.”

Agony then continued.

[Stab me into her! I’ll rip and tear into her, make her a complete mess!]

Santos thought for a second before nodding in response.

Nod…

Kieeeeeeeeeee…

Vitona flicked her tongue as she stared at the weapon in Santos' hands, clearly worried by its aura.

“Let’s go!”

[Go!]

Fwip!

Santos’ body felt strangely light.

Initially, he thought it was due to a change of heart.

Having someone like Agony by his side provided a small but vital sense of relief, allowing him to move without fear.

However, this was only partially true.

Though he was clearly moving better than before, thanks to his renewed confidence, it was Agony’s strength that made him move as swiftly as the wind.

Kieeeeeeeeee!

[Vitona, the Charmer, used Glacier Shot.]

[Countless projectiles are fired in front of you.]

[Those struck by them are afflicted with Abnormal Status: Slowed.]

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Icicle-like projectiles flooded toward Santos.

‘I won’t be able to avoid them all.’

Santos was exhausted. He recognized that his body was no longer moving the way he wanted.

‘I should try to block as much as I can while preventing them from hitting my vitals…’

Fwooosh…

The icicles had reached him already.

Santos then swung Agony.

Swish…

It felt as if he were cutting through butter, and the sword’s sharp edge surprised even him, its wielder.

That… was Agony.

Not to mention…

Fwoooosh!

Fwooooooooooosh!

‘I’m… faster?’

No, he didn’t become faster at all. It was Agony who was fast.

Swish…

Swiiiish…

Santos naturally took a step forward.

Fwooooosh…

Just then, Santos noticed a few icicles hurtling at him from an unexpected angle. Vitona had aimed for his blind spot, and it was already too late to react.

‘I should try and turn my hips to…’

But then…

Fwirl!

Agony's blade lashed out like a whip, shattering the icicles before they could reach Santos.

All that at a blisteringly fast speed.

Kieeee…

The fight was undoubtedly different from before. Vitona was clearly shocked after seeing Santos take no damage from her attack.

‘I might be able to win…’

With this sword… With Agony… Santos could actually win.

A flicker of hope ignited within Santos' heart. Though faint and on the verge of extinguishing, it was undeniably there.

Kieeeeeeee…

[Vitona, the Charmer, used Voluntary Help.]

[Some creatures within Vitona’s territory respond to her call, joining her in combat.]

[Vitona’s call grows stronger over time.]

It was a strange, high-pitched cry.

Fwoooosh…

Shadows began to emerge from beneath the water.

Fwip!

Fish leaped into the air.

Each of them bore an armor-like plate on the bridge of their nose, ensuring that any collision would result in broken bones.

Hrgh…

After taking a deep breath, Santos pointed Agony forward. It was a ridiculous action, but one that Agony told Santos to take.

And in an instant…

Agony’s blade flashed before moving freely.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Santos saw it clearly.

The school of fish charging at him split, like Moses did the Red Sea, unable to touch him at all.

Thud thud…

The cut fish fell onto the drift ice, staining the ice red.

[Tasty!]

Agony began devouring the fish with a mouth it formed on the blade.

The black sword was proving itself right now.

It was proving not only its worth but also that it was going to protect Santos.

Kieeeee…

Fwoooooooosh!

Vitona began wildly thrashing her tail, almost like she was trying to get rid of all of the ice.

Santos had been sent flying by that tail multiple times already.

As such, he couldn’t help but freeze as it raged violently.

Fwooooooosh…

It was coming.

He had to dodge.

He couldn’t dodge it last time, but maybe this time he could…

But then… Agony shared its intent.

Santos.

I will cut it down.

Swing me.

Santos quickly changed his stance and began charging toward her instead.

His vision was filled with the colors of Vitona’s scales. As her tail swept through the ice, finally reaching Santos, he let out a war cry.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Fwoooooosh!

A beautiful half-circle cut across the view ahead of him.

In a world filled with only Vitona’s colors, a new color shone through.

Red.

The sky began to rain crimson.

Santos only recognized the sound of cutting flesh after the fact.

Splaaaaaaatter!

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

“I-I cut her…”

The skeleton was painted in her hot blood.

Vitona’s blood was as hot as she was cold. And for that reason, he could defeat her. Santos could reach her.

Kiaaaaaaaaaa!

Thuuuud!

Vitona began to writhe while letting out a scream, causing Santos to laugh suddenly.

“Bwaha… Bwahahahahahaha!”

The cool flame in his eyes began to blaze.

“So this was who you were…”

Agony then responded.

[Yeah, this is me, Agony.]

Kieeeeeeeeeee…

Vitona cried out once more.

This time, sirens crawled up from the waters. A glance was all it took for Santos to know there were a lot of them.

The sirens had already realized that their songs didn’t work on them. As such, they began charging at Santos with their claws.

Ehhhhhhhh!

They let out an eerie cry as they approached him.

However, Santos once again pointed Agony straight forward.

Stab…

Ehhhhhh…

Splaaaaatter!

Agony was different from other swords.

It was more precise, more perfect for taking lives.

It was only possible because Agony had experienced countless deaths before. It would predict where its opponents would go and wait for them to run into its blade.

Splaaaatter!

Splatter!

Each swing of Agony was followed by a fountain of blood.

Agony felt neither guilt because the sirens were similar to humans nor did it deny the experience it had lived so far.

It simply did as it had always done.

The number of sirens began to dwindle.

But then… one of them was trying to turn the tides.

Staaaaaaaab!

After being stabbed by Agony, a siren held onto its handle while throwing up blood.

Grab!

Graaaab!

Ehhhhhhhh!

More sirens charged in toward her, trying to buy time.

Amid the chaos, another siren silently approached Santos from behind.

With Agony restrained, Santos was in a dire situation.

He had to relinquish his hold on Agony and confront the siren bare-handed, weaponless against her deadly claws.

That was what everyone thought.

However…

Santos did not let go of his grip. Instead, Agony made its move.

Fwirl!

The blade quickly changed into a chain, with a blade growing on the other end of the handle.

Santos, without even turning around, stabbed directly behind him.

Staaaaaab!

After piercing the siren’s heart, Agony returned to its original form to cut down the other sirens in front of Santos.

Agony cackled as it dyed itself in blood.

[Hahahahahaha!]

“Haah… Haah…”

Santos had never been pushed to his limits like this before. Luckily for him though, Agony had taken the lead in the situation. All Santos had to do right now was swing Agony.

Splatter!

Splaaaatter!

The drift ice was now littered with the bodies of countless sirens, each lying still and lifeless.

However, the situation still could not be considered good.

Something strange was happening to Vitona.

Kiaaaaaaaaaaah!

Blue lights, which appeared to be the souls of the fallen sirens, began to be drawn into Vitona.

[Vitona, the Charmer, used Soul Reap.]

[The souls exude an ominous vitality.]

Writhe…

Vitona rapidly regrew her severed tail, causing Santos to scowl at the sight.

He had forgotten for a second that he was fighting a monster.

A monster that had consumed the souls of countless sailors.

Vitona was not an ordinary monster either.

They had managed to last this long because they were a skeleton who couldn’t have their soul stolen and a demonic spirit. If it were anyone else, the fight would have already ended by now.

Santos began to worry… he couldn’t think of a way to finish her.

“Haah… Haah…”

But then… Agony said something to him.

[Captain.]

“Haah… A-Agony…”

After careful consideration, it had reached a conclusion. It then gave Santos a suggestion to help him.

[Stab her heart. All lives die when their hearts stop pounding.]

This was a simple truth that Agony had learned over the course of its life.

“Haah… Haah…”

[You can do it, right?]

“I-I don’t know.”

[...You can do it.]

“...Yeah.”

[Say that you can do it, captain!]

As Agony let out a cry, Santos gritted his teeth harder.

Clench…

“I… can do it. I, Santos, a man of the sea… will save my crew!”

[Good! You’ll save your crew, and I’ll save you.]

“Yeah!”

[Let’s go!]

“Ahhhhhhh, here I come! Men of the sea are coming at youuuuuuu!”

Fwooooosh!

Vitona shot out more large chunks of ice at Santos.

Almost as if to prove how healthy she was, the chunks of ice were much larger than before.

However, the same trick wouldn’t work twice.

SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

After one slash to cut the glacier in half,

SLAAAAASH!

Santos cut once more to open a path.

A path to reach Vitona.

Kieeeeeeeee!

Finally, after all this time… Santos was about to reach Vitona.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”

But then, Agony warned him.

[Captain, I can’t see her tail! Watch out!]

“What…”

Vitona, who had kept her tail out of the water the entire time, had hidden it from sight.

Santos soon realized why.

FWOOOOOOSH!

Vitona’s tail erupted from the waters, breaking through the drift ice to appear right in front of Santos.

“Urgh…”

Santos had managed to turn his body slightly thanks to Agony’s warning. Even so, her attack was inevitable.

Would Santos even be able to find another opportunity if he was swatted away?

Would he even be able to stand up again after getting hit?

Countless questions filled Santos’ head.

However, a single command from Agony was all it took to blow those all away.

[Throw meeeeeeeeeee!]

Santos did not have any hair, but he felt them stand on its ends.

As if he had received a divine revelation, he threw Agony with all his might.

Fwoooooooosh!

Baaam!

The tail barely nicked Santos, but still managed to throw him to the side.

He then quickly turned back, honing his eyes on Agony.

What happened to Agony?

Fwoooooosh…

The black blade whizzed through the air, perfectly targeting Vitona’s body.

And then…

Santos let out a scream as well.

“Agonyyyyyyyyyy!”

[Yeahhhhh! There you were!]

Splaaaatter!

With a fierce sound, Agony had pierced through her flesh.

After completely piercing Vitona, Agony cried out once more from the other end.

[It wasn’t her heart! I destroyed something else!]

Glooooooooow…

After a few seconds, Vitona’s body began to glow in a blueish hue.

Fwoooooooooooooosh!

The light grew brighter, filling the entire area.

They were souls.

Agony had just pierced through Vitona’s soul pocket, and as such, the souls that had been trapped within it were slowly being freed, one by one. The souls began to flee, running away from Vitona as fast as they could.

Santos’ face was filled with joy.

And like this, they had been freed.

“We saved… everyone…”

In a hurry, Vitona quickly swung her tail at Santos.

Fwooooosh…

Agony was flying away, and defeating Santos seemed like the clearest move to bring her closer to victory.

Santos had run out of energy.

He couldn't even raise a finger anymore. It was obvious that he would shatter into pieces after being struck by her tail.

Santos calmly extinguished the fire in his eyes, accepting his fate.

However… Contrary to his expectations, Vitona’s tail did not reach him.

“Stop it!”

“She’s aiming for the captain!”

“Don’t let her attack Santos! It’s way too cramped for his ass to join us too!”

Blue souls rushed to Vitona’s body, stopping her from moving even an inch.

And obviously, there were also souls that Santos already knew.

“Santos! We were waiting for you!”

“Why’d you make us wait for so long?!”

“Hahahaha! I knew you’d come, ya idiot!”

“What did I say?! That idiot was sure to come back, hahahahahahahaha!”

The blue souls, the crew of the S.S. Men of the Sea, were laughing at Santos.

Even with other souls hurriedly fleeing, the crew of the S.S. Men of the Sea abandoned their escape, something they had been longing for, to aid Santos.

Santos wasn’t the only idiot. The crew of the S.S. Men of the Sea all had a screw loose.

The souls of multiple burly pirates began to attack Vitona, some even trying to poke her eyes.

“Stop moving, you damned snake!”

“Hahaha! You can struggle all you want! You’re going to die!”

Kieeeeeeee!

The souls were strangely confident for some unknown reason. As they all worked hard to restrain the thrashing Vitona, they all turned in the same direction.

It was dark, the sun had refused to rise.

Beneath the stars, their ship, the S.S. Men of the Sea, was crossing over the black waters.

With Agony wrapped around its bow.

Seol’s unconscious body was laid on a piece of floating ice. Pupu had already placed him safely aside.

It was quickly shown why Pupu had done that.

Agony, the black chain wrapped around the front of the ship, called out to the baby kraken.

[Pupu!]

“Ppuuuuuuuu!”

With all their might, Pupu hurled the S.S. Men of the Sea at Vitona.

Clench…

A legend of the Alfrina Strait.

Vitona had stolen the souls of the crew of a certain pirate ship, preventing them from their eternal slumber.

Fwooooooooooosh…

The pathetic captain, having lost his crew, met a black sea urchin on a stormy day at sea.

[Agony is gloriousssssssss!]

And by it, he was saved.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Kieeeeeee…

With Agony wrapped around it, the front of the ship completely pierced through Vitona.

Agony, covered in the sea serpent’s blood, began to chew and eat her flesh.

[This time… it was spot on.]

Thuuuuuuud…

Vitona’s body lost strength before ultimately falling onto the floating ice.

She would never wake up again after this.

In the old legends of the S.S. Men of the Sea, which had been paused for a long time, a few new lines were added, immortalizing Agony's name within its legend.