Orimo was shoved forward with a brutal kick to his spine—
He stumbled, collapsed on his knees, his chains clattering against the stone platform.
His face wrapped in bandages, only his eyes remained exposed… hollow, lifeless, yet burning with something faint—rage? fear? dignity?
The guard who kicked him sneered.
"Oi. What are you looking at?"
Uruma Nithel stepped forward, arms behind his back.
"Move him to the execution stage."
And so Orimo was dragged toward the towering scaffold, where polished navy blades glimmered under the morning sun—waiting to take his head.
The broadcast went live.
Crowds around the world watched in silence as Orimo Kuzan—Devil Reincarnate—was brought to the platform of death.
A guard saluted.
"All is set."
Uruma smirked.
"Good."
But then another guard burst in, trembling.
"S-Sir— I can see ships approaching!"
Uruma's eye twitched. "What? Who is it?"
The guard swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his temple.
"It's… Ashveil Pirates, led by Ashveil Kenny.
And… Ember Pirates, Captain Dravon Solmere."
He paused, voice cracking.
"And Morgan Tarek… with a 20,000-man fleet."
A chill shot through the room.
Uruma's face went pale.
"That's… an all-out war. SHOOT THE CANNONS!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Navy roared to life, firing volley after volley toward the incoming ships.
Smoke filled the sky. The ground trembled.
Ember Pirates – Dravon Solmere
"Cannons incoming!" a man shouted.
Dravon stepped forward onto the bow of his ship, sword in hand—
Crimson energy ignited around him, swirling like fire caught in a storm.
ZZNGH!
He swung once.
Just once.
And the cannonballs split in midair—shredded into dust before they could even approach.
"That's easy," he muttered, eyes blazing with murderous calm.
The war for Orimo Kuzan…
Had begun.