The person on the Big Eater was, naturally, Lex.
He released his spiritual energy, transforming it into flames. As he clenched his five fingers, the flames spun and condensed, forming a giant fist.
Lex turned in mid-air, swung his arm, and punched downwards. The fist, condensed from flames, descended from the sky like the Fist of the Fire God, delivering judgment upon the pirates below!
This was Lex's personal Move, Fire Fist!
Seeing the giant flaming fist, 'Red-Haired' Zot was about to stop it, but at that moment, a raven made purely of flames appeared in his vision.
And in the blink of an eye, more and more appeared. Countless fiery ravens filled Zot's sight. These ravens, densely packed, flapped their wings and flew towards him with scorching heat.
Zot could only conjure a wall of flames to briefly block the flock of ravens, then quickly retreated to create distance. Only then did he condense a long whip of flames and calmly strike down the 'ravens' that had broken through the fire wall, one by one.
But in doing so, he couldn't spare a hand to stop Lex's Fire Fist, and Marco, who had rushed out of the Captain's Cabin, could only watch as the 'fist' broke the mast, ignited the sails, and crashed into the middle of the deck, creating a shockwave that sent the pirates on the ship sprawling.
The Big Eater first sank several feet into the water, then 'jumped' back up, followed by a crimson explosion. The deck, along with the midsection of the hull, was shattered, and streams of fire shot in all directions. Bodies and ship fragments either landed on the fore and aft decks or fell into the sea.
One strike.
This sailboat was almost broken in half by Lex's explosion. The upper deck and the cabins below were blown open with an astonishing gap. Seawater immediately flooded in, and the pirate ship began to sink while thick smoke rose.
Marco looked furiously at the figure in mid-air and roared, "Bastard!"
He grabbed a broken section of the mast nearby, held it with both hands, aimed at Lex, and with the power of a Zombie, easily threw the mast into the air like a javelin.
Flames erupted from Lex's feet, allowing him to easily dodge. In mid-air, he formed his hands into gun shapes, continuously firing small flames from his fingertips, sweeping like a machine gun, landing on Marco's body.
Marco didn't dodge or evade, he merely raised his hands to cover his eyes, letting Lex do as he pleased.
Lex didn't expect to harm Marco with the Fire Finger Gun; he was merely showcasing his abilities to Marco, paving the way for his upcoming 'performance.'
He took the opportunity to land on the deck, creating distance from Danitz. In between them, thick smoke rose, blocking their line of sight and thus creating a stage exclusively for Lex.
After enduring Lex's Fire Finger Gun, Marco glared at Lex and roared, "Who are you!"
Lex chuckled, "Without 'White Hat' Roch, you're like a Zombie without a brain, you don't even know me."
He cleared his throat, then called out, "Bishop, I've found Danitz."
Marco immediately remembered what happened the night before last.
At that time, in the interrogation room, he had heard this voice.
He had thought the Storm Church had come knocking and quickly retreated, but later realized that the Storm Church only appeared nearly an hour later.
He had been tricked!
Now, he finally knew who had been toying with him.
"It's you!"
"So it was you!"
"I remember now, you're that Hunter, Hunter Rayleigh!"
A raging inferno ignited in Marco's heart. He lost his reason and charged straight at Lex. He wanted to use the Zombie's strength in close-quarters combat; he wanted to personally dig out the heart of the man before him!
Seeing Marco charge, Lex was not surprised but rather pleased. He raised his hand, pointing Midnight Dream towards Marco, letting the ring appear in the other party's eyes.
Seeing Lex not dodge, nor release flames, but instead raise his hand.
Although Marco had lost his reason at this point, his extensive combat experience instinctively made him raise his hand to cover his eyes. This way, he couldn't see Midnight Dream.
Seeing this, Lex almost wanted to curse 'shit' like Danitz!
He had originally intended to provoke Marco through Provocation, making him recklessly approach him, creating an opportunity to use Midnight Dream.
Everything had gone smoothly until just now, but just as he was about to use Midnight Dream, Marco instinctively protected his head and face, preventing Lex's battle plan from continuing.
While Marco was instinctively shielding his vision, Lex quickly moved to create distance. He wasn't foolish enough to engage in close combat with a Zombie.
Fortunately, an excellent Hunter never prepares only one battle plan.
Marco, who had lunged at empty air, had also calmed down by this point. Once he calmed down, he had more options.
He spread his arms and made an upward-lifting motion. In an instant, a series of eerie sounds echoed around the deck, as if lingering resentful spirits and specters had been awakened, whimpering, sobbing, and screaming.
Subsequently, the pirates who had been lying on the deck, floating on the sea, and had just been killed by Lex, suddenly twitched. Then, these corpses raised their heads, their pupils a grayish-white, yet they stood up or climbed onto the deck.
Marco used the Zombie's ability to awaken the dead, pointing them towards Lex. The Zombies, like dogs seeing a meaty bone, ferociously pounced and bit.
Lex, relying on his Hunter's agility, moved flexibly, keeping his distance from the Zombies, and skillfully guided them into a line.
Then Lex raised his hand, and a long spear condensed from flames appeared in his hand, its tip glowing white and radiating high temperatures.
He threw the spear, successfully impaling the Zombies together, which then transformed into a pillar of fire, burning and melting several Zombies.
No sooner had he finished all this than Lex felt the surrounding temperature suddenly drop. Beautiful, dreamlike snowflakes began to fall from the sky. On the deck, transparent, crystal-clear ice silently spread, intending to freeze Lex!
Whoosh—
Flames suddenly rose in front of Lex. The flames surged forward like a tide, meeting the spreading ice, making sizzling sounds and producing a large amount of steam.
Using the cover of the mist, Lex drew out Devil May Cry, infused spiritual energy into the katana, and then pointed it forward.
On the deck, seeing the steam rising ahead, Marco knew his wish to freeze Lex had failed, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he ran forward. But at that moment, his eyes lit up, as if intense sunlight fell upon him, and then Marco let out a scream!
In mid-air, a pure, blazing, and magnificent pillar of light suddenly descended, landing on 'Big Eater' Marco, illuminating his skin, his eyes.
This was the Priest of Light's ability, Sacred Light!
In an instant, Marco's expression twisted, and his skin already showed clear signs of melting, like a candle thrown into a flame.
This was not surprising.
After all, Sacred Light restrains undead and defiled creatures and Beyonder, causing them immense harm!