"HAHAHAHA..."
Lancelot let out a maniacal laugh.
He turned to Smoker, his eyes shining with a little too much excitement.
"Hey, I've got an idea! How about we just... kill everyone here? Pirates, civilians, everyone. Then we can just tell HQ we got here too late, and Krieg had already massacred the town. Whoops!"
He paused, his crazy grin getting wider.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!"
Smoker's eyes bugged out.
Even Akainu, the "Absolute Justice" nutjob, would probably think that was a bit much!
Swish—
But Lancelot was already moving again.
He charged straight for the pirate with the lamp on his head and the poor civilian he was holding.
"STOP!"
Both Krieg and Smoker shouted at the same time.
They were done with Lancelot's team-killing.
Lancelot just ignored them and went faster.
Everyone watched in horror as Lancelot closed the distance, his sword thrusting forward...
"I SAID STOP!"
This time, Smoker was ready.
His lower body turned to smoke, and he lunged, slamming his special Seastone-tipped jitte right into Frost Demon.
The blade was blocked.
The townsman was safe.
"Phew..."
The civilian and the pirate advisor (Lamp Head) both let out a huge sigh of relief.
They really thought they were dead.
Lamp Head, in particular, felt his heart slam back into his chest.
His expression got... complicated.
He never, ever thought a pirate like him would be saved by a Marine.
What a weird day.
"Tsk tsk!"
But Lancelot totally saw this coming.
As Smoker blocked him, he just... twisted his sword.
Then, to Smoker's total shock—
He plunged it into another nearby townsman, stabbing straight through him and into the pirate holding him from behind.
Everyone watching felt their eyes pop.
It was official.
This Marine wasn't a hero.
A psycho who was enjoying this.
Thud—
Lancelot finished the combo with a palm strike to the dead civilian's head, sending both bodies flying.
Finally, he slowly turned to Smoker, just radiating pure "I'm-gonna-kill-your-dog" energy.
"When I decide to kill someone, Captain, not even you can stop me."
"Now... who's next?"
With that, he lazily pointed Frost Demon at another townsman.
The man just collapsed in fear.
The pirate holding him actually yelped and jumped away from the hostage.
The pirate didn't want to be part of that kebab.
Seeing this, Lancelot couldn't help but grin.
But now, his smile just looked like a promise of more murder.
Cold sweat was pouring down everyone's back.
But this time, he didn't attack. He just... moved his sword, aiming at another townsman.
"Ahhh!"
The civilian screamed.
The pirate holding him didn't even think.
He shoved the hostage away and scrambled back ten feet.
And Lancelot just kept... pointing... moving his sword from one hostage to the next...
Every civilian he pointed at turned white.
And every pirate instinctively backed away from their own hostage, terrified of getting Lancelot's attention.
And just like that, a giant, empty space opened up between all the pirates and all the civilians.
"Ah, this..."
Smoker's eyes flickered.
He'd hunted pirates for a long time.
He immediately saw what Lancelot was really doing.
He knew this was their one and only chance.
"Not good..."
At the same moment, Lamp Head saw it too.
His face went pale.
He turned to Krieg and yelled, "Captain—"
Lancelot's eyes narrowed.
'Oh no you don't.'
How could he let this guy spoil his masterpiece?
"You talk too much. Iai—Ice Seal Slash!"
Swish...
Lancelot sheathed his sword, then drew it again in a blur.
He vanished.
When he reappeared, he was standing behind Lamp Head, slowly putting Frost Demon away.
Lamp Head's... head... just... slid off his neck.
Lancelot had beheaded him in one shot.
Now, Lancelot turned around slowly.
His blade was put away, but every single pirate took a step back.
They were clearing a path for him.
Lancelot walked over to the body.
He bent down, grabbed the severed head by the hair, and just... held it.
But he didn't stop walking, he kept going until he was standing right in front of Krieg.
Blood dripped from the head onto the ground. Lancelot looked like the Grim Reaper, and it was terrifying.
His gaze swept over everyone.
This time, his sword was in its sheath, but every pirate who met his eyes...
'Retreated.'
In their minds, this Marine was way, way more ruthless than any pirate.
Even Krieg, the self-proclaimed ruler of the East Blue, felt his heart stutter.
He'd never felt this close to death before.
"White Smoke Bomb!"
The second Lancelot's psycho-act had separated the pirates from the hostages, Smoker made his move.
His body exploded into a huge cloud of smoke, pushing the civilians away and building a wall between them and the pirates.
No more hostages.
"Oh, crap."
Krieg finally realized what had happened.
The tables had turned.
So he did the only smart thing a coward could do.
He turned and fled.
He didn't even yell for his crew.
He just ran.
He needed them to be a distraction.
Pearl, the "Iron Wall," reacted fast and ran after him.
But was Lancelot just going to let them go?
With a powerful leap, he shot over Smoker's smoke wall and chased after them.
The fleeing Krieg and Pearl both looked back and went pale.
Gritting his teeth, Pearl stopped. Lancelot was way too fast for them.
"Captain, run! I'll hold him off!"
Krieg's shadow paused... for about half a second... before he ran even faster.
"Tch..."
Lancelot's face was full of disgust.
Pearl and Gin... both super loyal to Krieg.
And what about Krieg?
He didn't give a damn about them.
What a waste of good minions.
But Lancelot's blade was still fast, still ruthless, and he had no plans on going easy on Pearl.
Then he—