"ASMODEUS ZECHS… YOU BASTARDDDDD!!!!!!!"
The shout was so loud that not only the people on her own ship, but even Zechs, Pudding, and others on his ship were startled. Along with the roar came a powerful surge of Conqueror's Haki that swept through the area, causing many to even fall unconscious right then.
'She's already awake?' Zechs thought, feeling a slight chill run down his spine.
[Host, the coffin is ready. Don't worry…] Miss System remarked darkly.
'Didn't I tell you I'm not dying, Miss System?' Zechs replied with mild exasperation.
[Even if you don't die, a few bones will probably be broken.] Miss System added casually.
Zechs rolled his eyes and chose not to respond. Instead, he set aside the training sword and picked up his real blade. 'Well… I might have to defend myself a little if she drew her sword,' he thought.
At the same time, Pudding, who was watching the rolling waves, suddenly turned around, "T-that voice… and that Haki… isn't that—" She recognized it immediately. It felt familiar, though slightly different from what she remembered. Even so, she was certain of its owner; she had experienced it many times before.
Zechs nodded. "That's right. It's Linlin."
"It's really Mama? She sounds enraged!" Pudding said, slightly trembling, and couldn't help but ask him, "What did you do for her to be so angry?"
Since she had removed the memory of the reason behind Linlin's apparent exhaustion, she could no longer figure out why she had felt angry about it.
"Don't worry too much, it's nothing serious, just a small matter between a couple," Zechs replied calmly.
"A small matter between a couple? It doesn't sound that simple at all from her shout," Pudding said. She could clearly sense the anger behind the outburst, and since Zechs' name had been shouted, it obviously involved him. "Really, Zechs-sama… what did you do to Mama?" she asked again.
"Well, let's talk about that later," Zechs said. Then he stepped out of the training room and made his way to the maid deck to see Linlin and calm her down…
Pudding felt uneasy and afraid, unsure whether she should follow him or stay behind and hide.
Part of her wanted to disappear somewhere and not come out until her mother's anger had completely subsided. Facing an enraged Mama was the last thing she wanted. She feared the possibility of her lifespan being taken, and even if that didn't happen, there was still the very real danger of being struck down in a fit of rage.
At the moment, her fear felt even stronger because of her guilt. Zechs is supposed to marry her mother, and yet he had kissed her, and that too not just once but many times. Even though it had been that shameless Master of hers who took advantage of the situation, Pudding still couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong against her Mama.
It felt like she had given a green hat to her Mama… and the worst part is, she enjoyed being taken advantage of!
The thought of facing her mother after all that made her heart tighten with dread.
But at the same time, curiosity tugged at her.
From what Zechs had told her, the Mama of this era was completely different, so different that she might not even recognize her at first glance. The thought both unsettled and tempted her.
After hesitating for a long moment, she bit her lip and chose to follow him.
Pudding's movement didn't escape Zechs' notice, but he didn't stop her. Instead, he said, "If you're going to follow me, keep your distance, at least until Linlin calms down."
"G-got it," Pudding replied with a quick nod. She had no intention of getting any closer than necessary.
With that, Zechs didn't waste any more time and hurried outside.
…
The moment Zechs arrived onto the main deck, he noticed that quite a lot of people on the deck had lost consciousness because of the earlier burst of Haki from Linlin… and as for those who hadn't lost consciousness, they kept their distance, standing off to the sides and clearly unwilling to get involved in what appeared to be a matter between a man and his future wife.
Of course, if their captain's life was threatened, they'd certainly try to do something… but as long as Zechs' life wasn't threatened, they'd dare not step in between.
Ignoring this bunch of unreliable melon eaters, Zechs raised his head to look at the looming presence above that was casting a shadow all over him.
It was Zeus, and standing atop the cloud homie was none other than Linlin, staring down at him with a dark expression.
"ASMODEUS ZECHS…" she called his name with a restrained, yet enraged voice.
Zechs looked up at her, then spread his arms with an easy smile. "Ahh… my dear Linlin, you're awake. Did you sleep well? Judging by your refreshed and beautiful face, I'd say you had quite a lovely rest. Isn't that right?"
"Yes… I certainly slept very well… thanks to you," Linlin replied, her voice tight as she struggled to contain her anger.
The memory of being overwhelmed and being pounded until she lost consciousness, and only waking up a short while ago, still burned in her mind.
She felt humiliated, especially when she recalled all the embarrassing and humiliating positions in which she was put while being pounded by him. Several of those positions were so shameful that she couldn't help but feel like crawling into a pit and killing herself just recalling them.
When had she ever been put in a situation like this before?
By this point, if she still hadn't realized that the game had been rigged in his favor from the very beginning, she wouldn't be Linlin.
And the moment that realization sank in, another truth followed.
She had been fooled.
Fooled and completely taken advantage of by that shameless bastard.
And the more she thought about it, the more her anger boiled, and she furiously looked at the culprit of it all.
Although Zechs noticed the fury in Linlin's one, he pretended to be ignorant and responded to her words without the slightest hint of shame, "Really? You slept well, thanks to me?" He chuckled a bit embarrassingly and added, "Gosh… you don't have to express your gratitude to me for that. I'm just glad I could be of service to my future wife."
He smiled as if he were genuinely pleased with himself for putting her through that. "Once we're married, I'll make sure you get this kind of 'beauty sleep' every day and wake up the next morning all glowing."
Hearing Zechs… Linlin's lips twitched for a moment, but then she burst out laughing, "Mama… Mama… Zechs, you really are bold. I'll give you that."
She was almost impressed that he wasn't denying anything or trying to hide.
"Of course," Zechs replied with a nod as if he didn't notice the anger within that tone at all. "When it comes to courage, I'd say I'm second to none." Then he added teasingly, "By the way, why don't you come down? After such a good rest, you must be hungry. I'll treat you to your new favorite breakfast."
The others watching from a distance had no idea what this so-called 'new favorite breakfast' was supposed to mean.
[Host, don't you see that she's already furious? And on top of that, you're offering her 'breakfast' It's almost like you're actively courting death,] Miss System remarked, fully aware of what his so-called 'new favorite breakfast' implied.
'No Miss System… haven't you seen those Snickers advertisements? People aren't themselves when they're hungry,' Zechs replied casually. 'Once I fill her stomach with some butter, she'll calm down and return to normal.'
[More likely she'll become even more bloodthirsty,] Miss System countered dryly.
Putting that aside…
Two others besides Miss System understood exactly what Zechs meant by his 'new favorite breakfast.'
One of them was Streusen, who gripped the railing of Linlin's ship with a furious, almost unhinged expression.
He had already heard Linlin say that compared to Zechs' butter, his own cooking was nothing. Because of that, he immediately realized that this so-called new favorite breakfast was likely the same thing.
The thought only fueled his anger further, and he muttered under his breath. "Linlin… kill that bastard…"
The other chefs and members of Linlin's crew looked at Streusen in stunned silence.
What do you mean, kill that bastard? Isn't he supposed to be the captain's future husband? Do you want her to commit matricide?
Then again, since Linlin and Zechs weren't officially married yet, perhaps that wouldn't count as matricide.
Still… why was he so eager for her to kill the man she was about to marry? As her adoptive father, shouldn't he be happy for her instead?
Or was he simply jealous of his future son-in-law, the man who was about to take his adopted daughter away from him?
Streusen didn't care what the others thought. The only thing that mattered to him was that Linlin killed Asmodeus Zechs.
Because only after Zechs was gone would Linlin return to the woman he had groomed her to be, and to the future he believed she was meant to have.
Zechs could clearly feel the hostility coming from Streusen, but he didn't have the time to worry about the old man. His attention remained fixed on Linlin. The second person who understood exactly what he meant by his 'new favorite breakfast.'
After all, she is the very person whose 'new favorite breakfast' was being talked about here. If she didn't know what it referred to, then who would? Mother Carmel? I am afraid that is impossible… after all, Carmel has been 'missing' for more than 10 years…
But that aside…
Hearing Zechs' audacity to offer her the so-called 'new favorite breakfast', Linlin's lips twitched, and several veins bulged on her forehead.
"You… damn bastard!" she roared and leapt down from the cloud homie.
For a brief moment, it almost looked as if she were rushing into his arms, like he said, ready to hug him, and take whatever this 'breakfast' he mentioned, but the fists she had already clenched and drawn back in a punching stance made her intention clear.
She hadn't leapt off Zeus to embrace him or get her 'new favorite breakfast,' instead, she had leapt to give him a pummelling that he seems to deserve. "Die, you perverted bastard!" she shouted, swinging her fist straight at him.
"Linlin, you know… domestic violence isn't very healthy for a long-term marriage," Zechs said and instinctively used Shave to dodge her punch. Dodging such an attack wasn't too difficult for him. His fighting style relied heavily on speed and evasion, wearing opponents down by avoiding their attacks and making speedy counters from their blind spots.
But the moment he dodged the strike, he immediately regretted it, not because Linlin had used a feint or anticipated his movement, but because—
Her clenched fist slammed into the deck.
Boom!
The impact thundered across the ship, shaking it entirely, causing the wooden surface of the deck to split and crack under the sheer force of her fist.
"Damn… I forgot about the ship!" Zechs cursed, steadying himself as his heart bled from looking at all those cracks.
But he didn't have time to say anything because Linlin's second attack was already coming.
Up until yesterday, when she was 8.8 meters tall, her movements used to be somewhat slow. After missing an attack, it would take her time to locate him again and turn for the next strike. But now that her body had become smaller, she was far more agile, and her reaction speed had also become extremely fast.
The moment her first punch missed, she had already adjusted, and her second attack came almost instantly.
Zechs hurriedly dodged again.
Boom!
Another thunderous impact rang out as a powerful gust of wind pressure swept across the deck. This time, her fist didn't strike the wood directly, but the force alone was enough to shake the entire ship and stir the surrounding sea into churning waves.
'She really is a monster,' Zechs thought. She was relying purely on raw physical strength, yet her attacks carried overwhelming destructive power, fully showcasing how strong she truly is.
In fact, the current Linlin was even more dangerous than she had been the day before. It wasn't just her improved agility and reaction speed; her immense strength was now compressed into a smaller body, making every strike denser, faster, and far more destructive.
After narrowly avoiding her third attack and seeing the damage around him, Zechs realized he couldn't let Linlin continue rampaging like this.
"Linlin, wait!" he called out. "If you keep attacking like this, my ship is going to be destroyed!"
The vessel had already taken some damage, though it wasn't critical yet. But if this continued, the ship would soon be beyond repair, and that was something he absolutely couldn't allow.
"Oh… the ship will be destroyed? That would be a problem…" Still seething, Linlin paused for a brief moment.
Seeing her pause, Zechs thought she might be calming down and quickly spoke up. "Yeah… so let's just talk this th—"
But she cut him off, "I have a better idea to make sure the ship doesn't get damaged," and added with a dark smile on her face, "If you stop dodging and just take my attacks, the ship won't suffer any damage at all."
After saying that, she didn't hold back and attacked again, forcing Zechs to resume dodging or deflecting.
Seeing that Linlin had no intention of stopping, Zechs thought for a moment and decided to draw her away from the ship first.
With that decision made, he manifested his wings, spread them wide, and took off into the air.
"You bastard… trying to run away?" she roared. "Do you really think you can escape?"
With a manic smile, she leapt onto Zeus and immediately chased after him.
…
As Zechs and Linlin moved farther away from the ship, the oppressive pressure surrounding it finally eased. The pirates let out collective sighs of relief.
Pudding, who had been hiding until now, slowly stepped out and looked toward the distant figures.
Setting aside everything else, including the fact that her mother was relentlessly attacking Zechs, what caught her attention the most was Linlin's appearance.
"Is that… really Mama?" she wondered in disbelief.
The difference between Linlin chasing after Zechs and the Mama she remembered was impossible to ignore.
There were many changes: her beauty, the sexy figure, the aura she carried, but the most shocking detail of all was Linlin's height, which made Pudding stare in disbelief.
'Why is she so short?'
The Mama she knew was an enormous woman, nearly 8.8 meters tall. It wouldn't even be wrong to say that her Mama was the tallest human being she had ever seen.
When standing beside her, Pudding couldn't even reach her knees. In fact, two of her would have to stack together just to reach up to her knees.
And yet, the Mama now chasing after Zechs was nothing like that gigantic figure.
She was even shorter than her stepfather, who is only a bit taller than Pudding.
The difference was so shocking that Pudding could barely believe that the person she was seeing was really Linlin.
At that moment, she recalled Zechs' words, 'You'll probably be very surprised when you see her. You might not even recognize her at first.'
Pudding had to agree… for a moment, she really didn't recognize her Mama.
'Does this… have something to do with him?' she wondered, her gaze shifting toward Zechs. Her instincts told her the change had to be related to him.
After all, he seemed to possess strange abilities, powers that could even summon people from the future. If that was possible, then perhaps her Mama's sudden change in size was connected to him as well.
She felt she should ask him.
'Ah… but before anything else… Zechs-sama, you'd better survive Mama's wrath. I-if you dare to die… I won't forgive you! Hmph!' she thought, letting out a small, indignant snort like a Tsundere.
…
In the sky, Linlin continued her relentless assault. But Zechs dodged most of the attacks, and some were deflected.
And each time he avoided Linlin's strikes, her frustration only grew.
Seeing her blows repeatedly failing to land made her even angrier. "Damn it, you bastard! Stay still and let me hit you!" she shouted.
Zechs' lips twitched. "Now you're being unreasonable, Linlin…"
He would be a fool to simply let her hit him. Still, he tried to reason with her. "Come on, Linlin… instead of tiring each other like this, how about we sit down and talk it out? Domestic violence isn't exactly healthy, you know…"
Since Linlin was already someone he considered his own, Zechs was reluctant to fight her seriously. Besides, he could tell she wasn't truly trying to kill him; she was venting her anger. If she had been serious, she would have been using Haki, her sword, or even the full power of Zeus and Prometheus. But she wasn't; she was only using Zeus to chase after him and was only relying on her raw physical strength.
Because of that, Zechs didn't take the situation too seriously and preferred to resolve it through words rather than an actual fight.
Hearing those words, Linlin paused and looked at him.
"Haah… Talk this out…" she said, letting out a breath. "Fine… If you apologize properly and beg me sincerely enough, maybe I'll be generous and forgive you."
In fact, she had also enjoyed the previous night a lot… at least the pleasure. What truly bothered her was the feeling that she had been deceived, taken advantage of, and completely dominated. That was something her pride, her spirit of a queen, couldn't accept.
But if he apologized by begging sincerely, admitted his fault, and accepted that he had cheated instead of her losing the game, she was willing to let it go.
After all, she did feel grateful to him, and the two of them were about to be married. So, she was willing to be magnanimous.
At those words, Zechs raised an eyebrow, "Apologize?"
Apologize to Linlin? He had no intention of doing that.
After all, it wasn't just Linlin who possessed the spirit of a Conqueror; he did as well. And by nature, he wasn't someone who would back down.
Of course, if this had been any other matter, he might have chosen to apologize simply to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But this situation was different. It concerned the balance and dynamics of their relationship and future marriage.
If he apologized now and begged for her forgiveness, wouldn't that place him in a submissive position? Zechs, who was naturally dominant and liked to be the one in control, had no intention of lowering himself before a woman he intended to conquer.
In his view, he would take the dominant role, and she would have to accept the position of the one underneath him. No matter what he asked of her or how far things went, she would need to accept it and willingly let him do whatever he wanted with her.
Of course, he knew that such a dynamic was still far from being fully established. It would take time, like slowly boiling a frog, step by step.
But even so, that didn't mean he was willing to apologize to her.
Moreover, he didn't believe he was actually in the wrong. The game might have been tilted in his favor, but not because of any broken rules.
He simply had the advantage of experience and knowledge, things Linlin lacked.
That wasn't cheating; it was just how things were. Linlin ought to be aware of that when she agreed to play!
And even if it could be called cheating… so what? Among pirates, deception and trickery were nothing unusual.
Because of all these reasons, no matter what happened, Zechs had no intention of apologizing.
But instead of refusing Linlin outright, Zechs approached the matter differently, "Alright… if you can explain clearly what mistake I made and exactly what I should be apologizing for… then I'll consider it."
"Explain?" Linlin froze for a moment. Then she suddenly realized what he was asking of her.
If she explained, she would have to reveal what had actually happened. And that was something she absolutely refused to do. There were others around. If they found out she was upset over losing a game and all the pounding she had received in those shameful positions, wouldn't that completely destroy her dignity and reputation?
"What's wrong, Linlin? Why the silence?" Zechs asked with a sly smile. He was confident. There was no way she would ever reveal it out loud.
Linlin seemed to realize it as well, and her expression darkened. "Forget it… I don't want your apology anymore. I've decided, I'll just kill you. You can repent for your actions in the underworld!"
With that, she stopped holding back. Haki coated her fist as she swung at him with full force.
'Damn… she's really not holding back now…'
[What did you expect after making her even angrier? Now deal with it,] Miss System remarked sarcastically, clearly enjoying her host's predicament.
'Don't distract me, Miss System,' Zechs replied inwardly, while outwardly weighing his options, whether to dodge again or face the attack head-on.
'Forget it. If I keep dodging her, she won't stop. Let's settle this with one clash.' With that decision made, he chose to meet her attack instead of evading it.
Although Zech didn't think he was stronger than her yet, or even her equal. But he was certain of one thing: he wouldn't lose.
He still had a way to end it without being defeated.
Instead of dodging, he coated his arm in Armament Haki and raised it to block.
Seeing this, Linlin smirked. "Haha… finally, you're not running anymore?" Her expression darkened as she continued, "Now you're dead, you bastard. Do you really think you're strong enough to take my attack?"
…
At the same time, not far from where Zechs and Linlin were about to clash, four Marine battleships were advancing at full speed.
On one of the ships, Admiral Kong had just picked up a banana and was about to enjoy it when a shout came from above.
"Admiral! I can see a pirate ship!" a Marine yelled from the crow's nest.
The lookout was a sailor who had eaten the Glare-Glare Fruit, which allowed him to see across vast distances beyond the scope of normal eyes. At that moment, he was using his ability to scan the horizon far ahead.
Hearing the report, Admiral Kong quickly peeled the banana and stuffed it into his mouth. With his cheeks full, he spoke in a muffled voice. "A piwate ship? Whoze ship iz it? Chawlotte Linlin's?"
The sailor was momentarily speechless at being questioned while Admiral Kong's mouth was stuffed with banana, but he understood the question and quickly gave his report.
"Charlotte Linlin's ship is there, sir—but it's not the only one. There's another pirate ship nearby. From what I can see… Charlotte Linlin is fighting someone."
After swallowing the banana, Kong asked at once, "Oh? Pirates fighting each other? Who's the other one?"
The lookout focused his gaze and, after getting a clearer view, immediately recognized the figure.
"It's Asmodeus Zechs… and his crew!"
"Oh?" Kong said, sounding mildly interested. "So Charlotte Linlin is fighting that Asmodeus Zechs, huh? Good. Let them wear each other down. We'll move in afterward and take advantage of the situation."
He casually picked up another banana and began peeling it.
In his view, there was no reason to expend unnecessary effort. It was far more efficient to let the two pirate crews exhaust themselves first, then eliminate both sides in one move. For someone who preferred to conserve his energy whenever possible, this was the ideal scenario.
"Prepare for engagement," he added. "Have two battleships break formation and circle around."
"Yes, Admiral!"
The crew immediately carried out the orders. Two of the four battleships slowly separated from the formation and began maneuvering to flank the area, moving to encircle the two pirate ships.
.
.
.
.
Okay... we didn't reach the goal, which was 150 PS... but... we got very close to it, which makes me very happy... so... I will shamelessly request the readers to make me happy again so that I can continue to write without getting demotivated... Please...!!!!!
The current PS goal is to reach 220 PS within 24 hours. Please help me reach it.
And don't forget to leave comments and reviews to keep me motivated.
Of course, if the readers wish, they can certainly read up to 20 advanced Chapters on p-a-t-r-e-o-n: Knockturn_Alley