A faint vibration came from Georniva's soaked inner pocket.
Yuro crouched slowly, pulling out the strange wooden device.
Its surface felt unnatural, far too refined for this world.
"What is this thing…" Yuro muttered, turning it carefully.
The device buzzed again, glowing faintly within his grip.
Without understanding, he pressed a random section.
A voice suddenly came through, calm yet carrying authority.
"Georniva… Is the work done?"
Yuro answered instantly without hesitation or second thought.
"Yes."
Silence followed, sharp and filled with quiet suspicion.
"…Good. Meet me at Windshine Town."
Yuro smirked slightly, playing along without effort.
"I'll be there."
Another pause followed, heavier and far more observant.
"…Your voice isn't familiar."
Yuro's expression didn't change even slightly.
"Georniva is dead."
The voice broke instantly, panic leaking through composure.
"What? No—who are—"
The call cut abruptly before anything else could follow.
Yuro stared briefly, then threw it into the ocean.
The waves swallowed it instantly without resistance or trace.
Yuro stepped deeper into the lower deck corridors slowly.
The air grew heavier with each step forward he took.
A foul scent reached him before the room revealed itself.
Burnt meat mixed horribly with rotting, metallic blood.
He stopped before a large reinforced metal door ahead.
Deep scratches covered its surface from the inside outward.
Something had been trapped there, or something escaped violently.
Yuro pushed the door open, hinges screaming under pressure.
The kitchen revealed itself under dim, flickering yellow lights.
The floor was covered with broken utensils and dark stains.
Large iron stoves burned faintly, still radiating disturbing heat.
Chains hung loosely from hooks, swaying slightly without wind.
The entire room felt alive in the worst possible way.
A heavy dragging sound echoed across the metal floor slowly.
Something massive shifted within the shadows ahead of him.
A distorted figure stepped forward into the dim light.
Its body was swollen, stitched, unnaturally reinforced beyond reason.
Muscles twisted like armor beneath layers of rotting flesh.
Chef Anderson stood before him, breathing like a broken machine.
Yuro tightened his grip slightly around the katana's handle.
"…So this is the kitchen's king."
Anderson lunged forward without hesitation or any visible thought.
The metal floor dented deeply under its monstrous strength.
Yuro sidestepped quickly, narrowly avoiding the crushing impact.
A second strike followed instantly, heavier and significantly faster.
Yuro blocked this time, sliding back across the steel surface.
"…You're annoying."
Anderson continued without pause, without strategy, only destruction.
Its movements were crude, yet overwhelming in raw physical force.
Yuro stepped forward instead of retreating from the pressure.
Their clash echoed violently across the entire kitchen walls.
Hanging tools and chains rattled violently from the shockwaves.
Yuro shifted angles constantly, testing every possible weak point.
Neck joints, shoulder gaps, spine alignment, none worked cleanly.
The skin resisted like reinforced steel under each precise strike.
"…Tch."
Above the kitchen, Shiro moved silently through a broken vent.
He didn't jump into the fight immediately or recklessly.
Instead, he observed every movement carefully from above.
Timing, rhythm, patterns, he analyzed everything in silence.
Yuro baited a heavy downward strike deliberately from Anderson.
At the last moment, he sidestepped cleanly without hesitation.
Anderson's fist slammed deep into the metal counter surface.
For a brief moment, its arm remained stuck in place.
Shiro acted instantly, kicking a hanging rack downward forcefully.
Heavy iron crashed onto Anderson's shoulder with sharp impact.
The creature staggered slightly, its balance disrupted just enough.
Yuro noticed instantly and adjusted without wasting any time.
He dashed forward, aiming directly at the exposed neck joint.
The katana pierced through the gap with brutal precision.
The blade sank deeper as Yuro forced it further inward.
Anderson roared violently, thrashing in desperate resistance and rage.
Yuro held firmly, refusing to release his grip or pressure.
"Die."
He twisted the blade sharply, severing the internal connection completely.
The massive body froze for a brief, unnatural moment.
Then it collapsed heavily onto the metal floor below.
Silence returned, heavier and more suffocating than before.
Yuro pulled his blade out slowly, breathing steady again.
He glanced upward, noticing Shiro watching from above calmly.
"…You interfered."
Shiro dropped down lightly, landing a few steps away.
"You were wasting time."
A short silence formed between them without immediate response.
Yuro turned away slightly, sheathing his katana halfway.
"…Don't slow me down again."
Not anger anymore, but not full trust either.
Something had shifted slightly between them during that fight.
A violent impact suddenly shattered the kitchen wall beside them.
Light flooded inward as debris scattered across the floor.
The next room revealed itself through the broken opening.
The dining hall stretched wide, filled with shattered luxury furniture.
Long tables lay broken, glass scattered across polished flooring.
Massive chandeliers hung above, swaying under subtle vibrations.
Zombies stood across the hall in complete unnatural stillness.
They didn't attack, didn't move, didn't react at all.
They waited.
The air pressure shifted unnaturally across the entire ship.
A deep step echoed faintly from the upper deck above.
Then another followed, heavier, more oppressive than before.
Water began rising along the broken edges of the hall.
Not flooding wildly, but climbing upward against natural flow.
The ocean itself seemed to respond to something approaching.
Yuro's eyes narrowed, sensing the shift immediately.
"…So it's finally here."
The zombies turned together toward a single direction silently.
Not reacting, not thinking, only obeying something unseen.
The ceiling above cracked slowly under overwhelming pressure building.
Wood splintered as the upper deck began to give way.
A figure stood above, unmoving yet completely overwhelming.
The ocean surged behind him like a living entity.
Water bent unnaturally, shaping itself around his presence.
Finally, he had arrived.
Captain Sujo De Alvaro stood silently above them both.
Yuro smirked, that familiar fire returning within his eyes.
"It's showtime, huh?"
Sujo didn't respond, didn't speak, didn't waste any moment.
The instant his gaze locked onto Yuro's position below—
He moved.
And everything changed.