One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

A corpse flew straight toward her.

Abby's eye twitched as she effortlessly sidestepped the twisted, shrimp-like body.

If she could dodge bullets, a flying corpse was hardly a challenge.

Still, this was disgustingly unnecessary.

Boom!

Another corpse soared her way.

To be precise, it was half a corpse.

The ground was littered with bodies of mafiosos—some killed by precise bullet wounds to the temple, others sliced cleanly in half by Maude's blade.

Maude, evidently, wasn't the picky sort.

Whether it was a whole body or half, he'd send it flying with a swift kick.

"You...!"

Abby dodged another flying half-corpse, sidestepping it with ease.

But the blood that sprayed from the body was unavoidable, splattering across her face.

"Usopp!"

Abby roared furiously at Maude.

What met her gaze was yet another half-corpse.

Suppressing her growing fury, Abby pressed forward, dodging the relentless barrage of cadavers.

Maude knew full well that Abby, capable of evading bullets, would never be hit by a mere flying corpse.

But blood splattering into her eyes? That was still a possibility worth exploiting.

Thus, with another swift motion, he sent yet another bisected body hurtling her way.

Step by step, dodging the grisly projectiles, Abby steadily closed the gap between them.

To Maude's disappointment, though he had managed to splatter her face with blood, it didn't impair her vision in the slightest.

As the distance between them shrank to less than ten meters, Maude abruptly halted.

Finally within striking range, Abby's rage boiled over. Her face twisted into a feral snarl as she unleashed her attack.

"Daisy."

The rapier in her hand thrust forward, unleashing a storm of needle-like flashes aimed directly at Maude.

"Crazy woman. I'm not who I used to be," Maude remarked coldly, watching the incoming barrage.

Compared to their earlier encounter at the Battle Axe Tavern, this assault barely fazed him.

Calmly reading the trajectory of her strikes, Maude responded with a single, decisive upward slash.

The worn blade of Dark Crow, despite nearing the end of its days, cut cleanly through the dense flurry of sword light.

Clang!

The daisy-like cluster of strikes disintegrated into fleeting sparks, vanishing almost as quickly as they had bloomed.

The rapier's fierce momentum was abruptly halted and sent flying upward.

"What?!"

Abby's eyes widened as she felt the overwhelming force transmitted through her sword.

In the brief moment before the sparks faded, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over her like a tidal wave.

Years of experience in close combat prompted Abby to make a split-second decision—abandoning all else to retrieve her weapon and prepare for defense.

She knew all too well that failing to block the next strike would mean certain defeat.

Her instincts were right.

But she wasn't fast enough.

Maude's blade was quicker than she had anticipated—a speed borne not of skill but raw, overwhelming physical strength.

She saw the glint of the blade in her vision.

Her heart skipped a beat.

And then, a cold sensation spread across her chest.

Maude's expressionless face filled her vision as he sliced clean through her torso.

Slash!

Blood sprayed into the air as Maude's blade passed through Abby's body. He moved past her without hesitation.

As they crossed paths, Abby caught a distinct scent of blood and gunpowder in the air.

Squelch!

Before she could recover, Maude spun around and drove his blade into her back.

A follow-up strike—it was a habit he had always taken seriously.

The bloodstained blade pierced clean through Abby's chest.

Her body convulsed violently at the fatal blow. Trembling, she arched backward, screaming in pain.

The twin strikes drained her strength rapidly.

Her rapier slipped from her grasp, clattering to the ground as her legs buckled beneath her.

Maude stepped forward, catching her around the waist with his free hand.

Supporting her faltering body, he gently pulled her closer, all while driving the blade deeper into her chest.

Abby screamed again, the pain of the blade tearing through her insides wrenching her neck backward. Her head lolled against Maude's shoulder.

Her blood-soaked hair spilled across his chest.

In this moment of life and death, Abby felt the warmth at her back and the solid presence supporting her. Straining, she turned her head to meet Maude's cold, indifferent gaze.

Her trembling hand reached out, aiming for his face, but faltered, settling instead on clutching his shirt.

"If... only..."

Before finishing her thought, she abruptly leaned forward, brushing her lips lightly against his cheek.

"Ha... ha ha!"

With what little strength she had left, Abby let out a wild, delirious laugh.

Maude showed no reaction, pulling the blade free with a decisive motion.

The laughter ceased abruptly.

Abby crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath her.

Her eyes began to lose their light, dimming visibly.

In her fading consciousness, fragments of deep-seated memories surfaced—scenes of a fleeing figure and the raucous laughter of pirates echoing in her ears.

As darkness claimed her, Maude glanced down at her lifeless body.

Raising a hand to the faint smudge left on his cheek, he hesitated for a moment before lowering it, leaving the mark untouched.

Closing his eyes, Maude's mind shifted to the vision of his Hunter's Notebook.

The edges of the blackened void glowed faintly with light as a new star-shaped frame formed beside the swordsmanship section.

White stardust poured into the frame like an hourglass, rapidly filling a third of its space.

"Not only did the star frame form, but it's already a third full," Maude noted, his tone tinged with pleasant surprise.

He surmised it was likely due to the high quality of prey in this pirate world.

To the spectators around him, however, Maude's stillness appeared as if he were savoring the memory of his ruthless act.

A chilling silence fell over the crowd.

Faced with such a dangerous figure, they all silently vowed to steer clear of him in the future.

When Maude opened his eyes again, his attention shifted to where Lafitte continued to fight.

Lafitte moved like a phantom, cutting through the ranks of Abby's pirate crew with precision and ease.

Watching his partner dodge and counterattack with impeccable timing, Maude's gaze sharpened.

"Observation Haki, huh?"

Maude observed briefly as Lafitte reduced their numbers by half, then quietly made his exit.

When Lafitte had finally finished eliminating the remaining pirates, he noticed Maude had disappeared.

Unbothered, Lafitte sheathed his sword-cane with a soft chuckle, casting a glance at Abby's corpse.

"Amusing..."

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