Anne Bonny had executed every member of Booze Beard Jack's crew who had been in the bar—except for the one who had fired the iron ball. The rebels of Freshstar Island were now celebrating their victory, filling the air with the sound of banjos, flutes, and other instruments reminiscent of the golden age of piracy. The terrified girls from earlier had been revealed to be hostages, freed now that the danger had passed.
This bar, far removed from the main village, was rarely used, except for a single day each year when the islanders gathered to celebrate the formation of their secret society. Tonight, it was alive with laughter, music, and dancing. People sang and spun across the wooden floors as if reclaiming the space from the shadows of violence that had haunted it mere hours before.
Satō, sitting at the bar, rummaged through the belongings of a dead pirate. He found a bandage, stained but usable, and awkwardly wrapped it around his head in a futile attempt to tend to the bullet wound that throbbed with every beat of his heart. He downed another drink, trying to numb the pain.
The bartender, a wiry man with a mop of graying hair and a smirk that hadn't faded throughout the battle, poured Satō another drink. He gestured toward the lifeless bodies strewn across the room and said, his voice tinged with amusement, "You were talking a big game back there, taking on those pirates. But if you're really a specter, like you say, imagine what kind of horrors you'll face further down the sea. This"—he waved a hand at the carnage—"this was the safest island of the First Great Sea. Makes you wonder, huh?"
Satō wiped his face with a rag, trying to rid himself of blood and sweat. He chuckled bitterly before replying, "You don't need to remind me of my inevitable doom, man." His tone was weary but resigned, as if he were already bracing himself for whatever lay ahead.
Satō felt a hand grip his shoulder. Turning to his left, he found himself face-to-face with a young girl. Her crimson eyes gleamed in the dim light of the bar, and her pale face was framed by long blonde hair tied back with a red bandana. Her sharp teeth flashed as she smiled—a sight that might have been charming if not for the fact that she had just killed over forty men in cold blood. She carried herself with a casual confidence, her beauty made all the more unsettling by the sheer lethality she had displayed.
Taking a swig from her mug, she said with a grin, "Ah, this is probably my best ambuscade yet! Thanks for the distraction, specter!"
Satō's thoughts spiraled for a moment, his nervousness bubbling to the surface. By 'distraction,' you mean getting shot in the head…
He let out a tired sigh, lifting his drink as if to toast his fate, and replied, "You were looking pretty strong back there... being able to stop an iron ball mid-flight like it was nothing. You saved us all, so I guess I should be thanking you."
She raised an eyebrow, her smirk deepening. "Guess you should," she replied nonchalantly, finishing her drink and slamming the empty mug down on the counter. "But hey, you didn't die. That's a win in my book!"
Satō glanced around the room, watching as a brawl broke out nearby. Several crew members cheered and laughed, tossing coins onto the table as they bet on the outcome. One man was sent flying across the room, crashing into a table and reducing it to splinters.
Satō turned back to the bartender, placing his hands on his head, his thoughts racing. Crazy... they're all crazy. I've nearly died who knows how many times, and it's only my first day in this trial!
He sighed heavily and cast a glance at Anne, who was still drinking with abandon. Her cheeks had turned rosy from the alcohol, and her head rested on the table as she let out a contented sigh. Despite her beauty, there was a fierce intensity about her that made Satō uneasy.
His gaze lingered for a moment before he hesitantly asked, "Still... what the hell is happening on this island? Has it been overrun by pirates?"
Anne lifted her head, her expression darkening as she placed a hand on her chin. Her voice was laced with anger as she replied, "Yeah... a bunch of losers who couldn't even make it past the First Sea showed up about three months ago. Started strutting around, calling this place their territory."
She sneered, her sharp teeth flashing as she continued, "And when I say losers, I mean it. There's no real pirate protection here because this island has nothing valuable. Since the Golden Age began, pirates haven't bothered coming here. The only ones who do are retired old-timers, washed-up relics who come here to live out their final years."
She slammed her mug down on the counter, her voice rising slightly. "There's nothing worse than people who've given up on their dreams and make others pay for their failure. That's what these so-called pirates are—a bunch of quitters trying to act tough because they've got nothing left."
Satō stared at her in surprise, taken aback by the passion in her words. He leaned forward, resting his hand on his chin, mirroring her posture. "What is this 'World Edge' you were talking about earlier anyway?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
Is it like being the Pirate King? he wondered to himself, his mind racing with possibilities.
Anne laughed, her head sinking onto the table as she shifted into a relaxed, almost sleepy position. Yet, her crimson eyes gleamed with a determined spark as she replied, "Ah! Is that a serious question? … Wait, you're serious—you really don't know what the World Edge is?"
Satō nodded hesitantly, and Anne shook her head with disbelief. "Since the start of the Golden Age, it's all anyone talks about! Every government, every pirate—they're obsessed with it." She paused, grinning slightly. "But to answer your question? Who knows what kind of place the World Edge really is.
"The legends say it holds secrets that defy the gods themselves. That whoever reaches it will gain knowledge and power far beyond what any mortal could ever dream of holding. And by reaching that place... they'll become the Pirate God. Their name will be remembered for as long as there's even a single grain of sand left on this planet."
Satō's eyes widened at her words, but Anne wasn't done. She straightened up slightly, her voice brimming with ambition. "To reach the World Edge, you have to successfully navigate all Ten Great Seas. And let me tell you, that's no small feat. It's basically impossible. No one has ever managed to make it past all ten seas. But me?" She smirked, her confidence unshakable. "Once I finish dealing with those bastards from Booze Beard Jack's crew and set sail, I'll make it to the World Edge. Ten years at most—that's all I'll need."
Satō lingered on her words for a moment, his thoughts swirling with the weight of her ambition. Finally, he broke the silence. "Why a god and not a king? Isn't it a bit... arrogant to call yourself a god just for finding some place, even if it's impossibly far away?"
Anne threw her head back and laughed, the sound ringing out above the chaos of the bar. She looked at him with an amused smirk, her crimson eyes gleaming. "A king? Specter, a king—even one sitting on a throne of riches, ruling over peasants—is still something that can be understood. Something that can be comprehended. Being a king is, without question, one of the highest stations a human can achieve... but it's still human."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping into a tone both reverent and defiant. "A god, on the other hand? A god is something beyond understanding. You can theorize about it all you want, but it's incomprehensible, beyond the limits of mortal thought. A god exists in a realm so far above us that all we can do is look up at the heavens and try to grasp even a sliver of its greatness."
Anne sat back, crossing her arms with a confident smirk. "Sure, I'll admit the title is pure arrogance. It's so arrogant that the nobles of every mighty nation lose their minds every time someone so much as mentions it. But that outrage? That's proof of how monumental a feat it would be to reach the World Edge. It's a task so incredible, so impossible, that only a god could achieve it."
Her voice grew serious, her eyes narrowing with determination. "The quest to reach the World Edge is the journey of a lifetime. Once you set sail for it, there's no turning back. The only way out is death—or glory."
Satō stared at her, his mind racing as he tried to comprehend the scale of what she was describing. In that moment, he understood that for Anne, this wasn't just a dream—it was a calling, one she would chase no matter the cost.
Satō lingered for a moment, studying Anne as she took another swig of her drink, her cheeks still flushed from the alcohol. Finally, he spoke, his tone curious and slightly skeptical. "You look... quite young for drinking alcohol, killing people, and planning to sail across the Ten Great Seas. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
Anne sighed and set her mug down on the table with a soft clink. "Well," she began with a slight smirk, "I'm seventy years old."
Satō blinked, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Seventy?"
She waved off his reaction with a dismissive hand. "It doesn't matter how old I am. What are you, my parent?" She leaned back, her posture relaxed but her tone carrying a hint of impatience. "It's best to start young, you know. My journey through the Ten Great Seas will take decades. Decade upon decade, if I'm being realistic."
Anne paused, glancing at the mug in her hand before continuing. "The most powerful pirates in the Ten Great Seas? They're all in their forties or older. Some of them are downright ancient. So if I'm going to reach the World Edge, I need to build my strength now, while I still have the time."
Satō scratched the back of his head, still processing her answer. Seventy? He thought about questioning her further but decided against it. Something about the fire in her eyes told him she wasn't lying, even if her youthful appearance defied reason.
Here's a revised and polished version:
Satō sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before speaking in a curious tone. "Didn't you say earlier that the journey would only take you ten years?"
Anne paused, her red eyes glinting with amusement as she looked at him. Then, with a hearty laugh, she raised her mug and took another drink before replying. "You seriously believed me when I said it'd only take ten years? Specter, you really don't know anything!"
She set her mug down, shaking her head as if the idea was absurd. "Traveling through one Great Sea, in the best-case scenario, takes at least five years. And in the worst case? It can take a decade or more. That's just one sea. Do you know how many there are? Ten!"
Satō's eyes widened slightly, but she wasn't done yet. Anne leaned forward, a playful smirk on her lips but a serious gleam in her eyes. "Don't get me wrong—I'm confident in my abilities. But I'm not delusional. Each sea you cross, the challenges get tougher. The waters get bigger and bigger, the climate more unpredictable, and the creatures... well, let's just say they stop being things you'd want to see even in nightmares. You'll reach a point where you might spend months—months—just seeing water on every horizon."
She paused, her expression softening as she gazed at the ceiling, her voice carrying a tinge of longing. "This world is vast, Specter. So vast it's impossible to grasp how big it really is. And that's why I can't waste my life rotting on that boring little island of mine. I need to see it all. Even if it kills me."
Satō took another sip of his drink as the bartender filled his cup again. With a slight tilt of his head, he asked, "Still, you're trying to free this island from those Booze Beard pirates? You could've, I don't know... just left?"
Anne placed her cup down, her gaze turning distant as she stared at nothing in particular. Her face softened into an expression of resolve as she replied, "Yeah, I could've done that. Believe me, I'm dying to explore the world and become the Pirate Goddess... but I grew up here. These retired old-timers who once called themselves pirates, and the natives of this island—they're my people. I couldn't just abandon them like that."
Her voice hardened, her red eyes blazing with indignation. "And those guys? They're just losers pretending to be pirates. It's against my pirate code to let something like this happen on my island."
Satō blinked, surprised by her response. He looked down at his cup, swirling the liquid inside before muttering, his face flushed from the alcohol, "You're... quite admirable. I didn't expect that from you."
Anne smirked, her sharp teeth glinting. "What? Just because I kill people left and right in brawls doesn't mean I don't have principles."
Satō chuckled nervously, but then a thought struck him. Right! I need to ask her about that Mythikos Attribute thing...
As he opened his mouth to speak, a sudden burst of loud music erupted from the other side of the bar. He turned toward the noise and saw most of Anne's crew gathered around, chanting boisterously to a sea shanty:
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike,
The bosun brained with a marlinspike,
And cookey's throat was marked belike...]
Anne's grin widened as she spun her chair to face her crew, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "They're singing my favorite song!" she exclaimed. "You better listen, Specter, so you can sing it for me when you're in my crew at sea!"
Satō turned back, an incredulous look spreading across his face as he thought to himself, Since when did I say I was joining her crew?!
The rebels of Freshstar Island sang and danced well into the night, their joyous voices echoing across the island as they celebrated their triumphant ambush of Booze Beard Jack's crew. The energy was infectious, but it was too much for Satō, who found himself struggling to keep up with their boundless enthusiasm.