Chapter 79: A New Crew Member.

"Join you? This world? What world?"

Esdeath was visibly confused. "This world" and "your world" left her uncertain. Were they different worlds?

"That's right. This world is no longer your world," Vane replied with a calm but firm tone. "This is the world of pirates—more magnificent and thrilling than the dull world you came from."

"Pirate world?" Esdeath frowned, puzzled, but no further explanation came.

As soon as Vane finished speaking, the space to his right rippled like water. A weapon slowly emerged.

A blade—glowing with fire.

"That sword… it's extraordinary," Esdeath commented, intrigued.

"Of course," Vane said coolly. "Everything in the forest is reduced to ash when I draw this. The blade burns like a living flame."

Before he even drew the Blade of Fire, he chanted a low incantation. The instant the weapon left its sheath, intense flames engulfed it, heating the air in an instant.

The temperature surged. Esdeath instinctively leapt back five meters. A rare moment of alarm appeared in her eyes.

She didn't retreat because she was weak—she retreated because her instincts screamed danger. This blade wasn't just hot. It was alive. It made her wary, even afraid.

"Don't worry. I summoned you from another world. I don't intend to harm you," Vane said.

He closed his eyes, breathing slowly as he connected his soul to the blade. It was as if they shared blood, a bond deeper than magic.

The move he was preparing, Burning the City, wasn't even the strongest technique available to the blade's true master. That honor belonged to Flames of Hell, a devastating Shikai ability capable of summoning dozens of sky-piercing flame pillars that explode simultaneously. Its destructive radius could reach over 100 kilometers, incinerating everything into scorched earth.

But Vane wasn't strong enough to wield that yet.

He wasn't Yamamoto. Not even close. If he attempted it recklessly, it would be like handing a bomb to a child. The power would falter, the flames weaker than they should be.

Still… he had to try.

Esdeath stood ready. Her sharp gaze never wavered. Vane's clothes and hair suddenly began to flutter without wind, as if a massive force was radiating outward.

It came from all directions—crushing, wild, unstoppable.

"So strong!" Esdeath gasped. Her heart raced. But her lips curled into a smile.

This was what she lived for.

Vane swung the blade to his right.

Far off on the horizon, the sea suddenly bulged upward. As if something massive had surged from the depths. Dozens of swells rose like dunes, ocean water spilling from their peaks.

"What's that?" Esdeath narrowed her eyes, anticipation in her voice.

Three seconds later, explosions erupted one after another. The ocean surface burst open. From within the sea, massive pillars of fire shot skyward—flames soaring like mountains.

Dozens of fire columns blazed into the sky. The blue heavens turned red in an instant. The air ignited. Clouds burned away in seconds.

Even from thousands of meters away, Esdeath felt the intense heat.

The sky and sea turned red—like hell itself had arrived.

"What terrifying heat… if this continues, everyone here will be evaporated!" Esdeath whispered, her voice dry, her throat parched.

Sweat rolled down her face. The ice beneath her feet melted at a visible speed. White steam hissed upward, then vanished just as quickly under the blazing heat.

The seawater near the fire pillars boiled. The once-cold ocean bubbled, steaming like a massive cauldron. The vapor was so thick it looked like fog, but it didn't rise far before being torn apart by the heat.

She wondered—Could even the sea be evaporated by this?

Yes. If the flames burned high enough, not even the ocean could extinguish them.

There were still flames raging beneath the water's surface. The sea couldn't cool them. Instead, it boiled from the inside.

"What kind of monstrous power is this?" Esdeath's heart pounded. This went beyond shock. It sparked desire.

A yearning for this power.

"Want to join me?" Vane's voice rose through the firestorm. "In this world—or in the future, others—with monsters who wield powers even greater than this?"

He plunged the Blade of Fire into the ice beneath his feet. Instantly, the inferno began to fade. Dozens of flame pillars receded into the sea. The sky, however, remained stained red.

It looked like sunset, but it wasn't.

The sky had been scorched.

Even now, the residual heat kept the ocean boiling. If Vane dove into the water now, he would find the fish cooked alive—massive Sea Kings roasted by the temperature alone. Some escaped in time. The rest… did not.

This was no metaphor. It was a real sea of fire. A temperature approaching the surface of the sun. Thousands of degrees. The ocean turned into soup.

"Join you?" Esdeath asked, blinking through the heat haze. "Become your subordinate? Swear loyalty?"

"Yes," Vane said without hesitation. "You once served your empire. Serve me instead. Someone with real potential."

"Potential?" she echoed. "I saw your potential just now."

She couldn't hide her awe. No Teigu in her world had produced this level of power.

Another world… another system entirely.

"What do you think of my potential?" Vane stepped closer, stopping just one meter in front of her.

"Terrifying," she admitted.

"Then come with me. I want to become the king of this world. And you'll help me."

"King of the world?" Esdeath's eyes widened. The idea had never even crossed her mind before.

"Yes," Vane said confidently. "The King of the World."

She stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her lips.

"I'm joining."

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