Water 7, Commercial Street, inside a lamb shop.
Upon hearing the commotion outside, Sephiroth's action of counting money immediately paused. He re-tucked the banknotes into the inner pocket of his suit, preparing to go outside and see what was happening.
However…
He had only taken two steps when three figures burst into the lamb shop. They held pistols in their hands, Sabers at their waists, and looked menacing.
"Hand over all the meat and money in the shop!"
"Brother Bass, there's a beautiful woman here!"
Among the three, a bald man pointed his pistol at Lilith, who was standing beside Sephiroth.
"Hehehe! Not bad! Not bad!
To think I'd run into such a beautiful woman. I'll go first, and after I'm done, it'll be your two's turn."
Andrew Bass was a two-meter tall, powerfully built man with a buzz cut and a heavily scarred face. He was a cyclops wearing a black eye patch over his left eye.
He was the combat captain of the Watson Pirates, with a bounty of 9.6 million Berries. Acts of burning, killing, and looting were as common to him as eating and drinking.
"Please spare my sister! You can take anything you want from the shop."
The golden-haired youth's body trembled slightly, but he still bravely stepped forward, standing before the three men. He clutched the kitchen knife in his hand tightly.
If everything in the shop were stolen, he would suffer a huge loss, but for his sister, it was all worth it…
Bang! Bang!
Andrew Bass sneered, raising his pistol and firing two shots at the golden-haired youth. One shot hit his chest, and the other hit his forehead, instantly taking his life.
Thud!
The golden-haired youth's body slumped powerlessly to the ground.
"Are you telling me what to do?
What a clueless idiot. You have no right to negotiate with me! …Pah!"
With that, the one-eyed man spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the golden-haired youth's corpse, landing right on his face.
"Brother!!!"
Everything happened too fast, too suddenly. After the golden-haired girl recovered from her shock, she wanted to rush towards the corpse.
But…
"Don't be foolish, run!"
Sephiroth, recovering from his astonishment, quickly extended his right hand, grabbed the golden-haired girl, dragged her to the back door of the shop, and slammed the back door shut.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As he closed the door, three gunshots rang out in succession…
Three blood blossoms instantly burst open on Sephiroth's back; the three pirates had each shot him once.
Seeing Sephiroth's hand still pressed against the door, Andrew Bass grinned, his sinister smile becoming even more ferocious:
"Another fool! He deserved to die!"
However…
The next moment.
Under the astonished gaze of the three men, Sephiroth's body rapidly transformed: his ears became slender, his height increased to two meters, and a pair of fleshy wings grew from his back.
"Roar!"
Sephiroth let out a beast-like growl, his eyes filled with kill intent.
Turn, draw Saber, charge—it was almost a single, fluid motion!
At this sight, the three pirates all looked horrified. Only Andrew Bass barely reacted, subconsciously firing a shot at the youth.
Bang!
Since he didn't aim at all, his accuracy was terrible, practically tracing the human body. He didn't even hit a single hair on Sephiroth; the bullet struck the shop wall directly.
Sephiroth quickly rounded the counter filled with goods and forcefully swung the Saber in his hand.
Swish!
A flash of red blade light, and one of the pirates was instantly beheaded, blood splattering everywhere.
Even a few drops sprayed onto his cheek, warm and with a faint metallic smell…
Sephiroth, having personally beheaded a man at close range, felt no fear or panic.
For a surgeon, blood, severed limbs, and the like were commonplace; he had seen far more terrifying scenes…
On the contrary, after personally killing this scumbag, he felt a sense of excitement and satisfaction.
The tragic death of their companion instantly sobered up the two pirates. They quickly raised their pistols, aimed at Sephiroth, and pulled the triggers, while their legs rapidly retreated towards the outside of the shop.
Bang! Bang!
The youth, transformed into a vampire, had a surge in physical prowess. Relying on his foresight, he quickly dodged sideways while continuing to advance.
But…
One of the bullets still grazed his left arm, leaving a bloody mark.
However…
In contrast, after dodging, he stomped forward, sweeping his Autumn Leaf Blade horizontally, instantly slitting the throat of the other pirate.
Andrew Bass cursed under his breath, switching to hold the gun with his left hand, while his right hand drew the Saber from his waist and quickly slashed diagonally towards Sephiroth.
Under the one-eyed man's shocked gaze, his slash directly split Sephiroth's head into two.
Screech, screech, screech…!
Several black bats flapped their wings and flew out from the youth's head.
When Sephiroth took a direct hit from the Saber, the movements of his hands did not stop at all. He swung his Saber, cutting off Andrew Bass's neck with one strike.
Thud!
The headless body fell heavily to the ground, the one-eyed head's face filled with astonishment.
He couldn't understand how the youth could split his head into black bats, dodging his fatal strike.
At this moment, the entire commercial street was in chaos. Over forty pirates, in groups of three to five, armed with weapons, rushed into various shops to loot. Gunshots, screams, and pleas for mercy were incessant.
Sephiroth frowned, looking towards the waterway, at the two-masted sailboat docked by the shore. His heart was filled with questions.
A black skull flag hung from the mast of this sailboat, clearly indicating it was a pirate ship.
Commercial Street was located near the central area of Water 7. Normally, a pirate ship sailing in so brazenly shouldn't have gone unnoticed…
Bang!
Just as Sephiroth was still wondering, accompanied by a gunshot, a blood blossom suddenly burst open on his left chest.
His eyes looked straight ahead, but nowhere within his line of sight did he see the person who had fired in his direction.
Could it be a sniper…?
Suddenly!
A strong sense of alarm rose in his heart, and he instinctively tilted his head.
Bang!
The next moment.
A burning pain immediately shot through his left ear. Even though he had deliberately dodged that last shot, the bullet still pierced his left ear…