"Have you made up your mind?"
After a while, Steel Blade couldn't help but ask again.
His tone had softened quite a bit this time.
Garen quietly glanced at his system interface—just a little more and his HP would be fully restored. With such a full health bar, it would be more than enough to support the risky move he was planning.
But Garen, being a bit of a perfectionist, decided to wait a couple more seconds for his HP to max out completely, so he didn't respond right away.
However, in the long silence of their standoff, all of Steel Blade's previous murderous aura had already faded away.
So, when Garen didn't answer immediately, Steel Blade started second-guessing himself:
Was I asking for too much? Did I scare him so badly with my conditions that he's about to start swinging instead of talking?
And so, this kidnapper who was supposed to be all fierce and menacing suddenly tried to be more amiable:
"Bro, I was just joking earlier—"
Before he could finish that sentence, Garen suddenly spoke.
"I've made up my mind."
Steel Blade's attempt at softening the mood was cut off instantly. All eyes turned toward Garen.
Strangely, in this life-or-death moment, Nami—who had already resigned herself to her fate—suddenly felt a faint, irrational glimmer of hope rise inside her.
But that faint hope was quickly extinguished.
Garen gently drove his greatsword into the ground and let out a soft chuckle.
"You're all mistaken. She's not my girl."
Steel Blade froze, and his goons were so shocked by the statement their knees nearly buckled.
"Just like that reporter over there, she's nothing more than a passerby to me."
Garen's expression was serious, and his tone was as calm and firm as if he were stating a universal truth. "Besides, I'm not some so-called righteous knight."
Nami's eyes dimmed instantly.
The young reporter had already mentally prepared himself for death.
But then—plot twist.
"I'm not a righteous knight... because I'm not yet worthy of that title!"
Garen's voice suddenly turned righteous and noble, his expression sincere like a squad leader from a propaganda poster.
"To protect the weak and the helpless—that's what a true knight should do."
"Huh?"
No one had time to react.
Garen gripped his sword hilt with one hand, dropped to one knee with dramatic flair, and said to Steel Blade in a calm but powerful voice:
"I accept your terms."
"But—you must guarantee their safe release!"
"Of course…"
Steel Blade instinctively responded, but then realized what he'd just agreed to. He stared in disbelief and asked, "Wait, what did you just say? You agree?"
"That's right."
Garen picked up the flintlock pistol from the ground with his free hand and pointed it at his own chest. "I accept."
"Garen?!"
Nami called his name in shock.
Her numb, lifeless heart jolted.
Not long ago, she had thought of that name as a fleeting presence in her life—nothing more than a passerby. But in this moment, the name was seared deep into her soul.
"Sir Knight!"
The young reporter was equally stunned, his voice filled with disbelief and emotion.
At that instant, Garen's tough, resolute face became the very embodiment of justice in his eyes.
Garen gave a relaxed smile. "Don't worry about me."
"If I die here, then so be it."
Nami had never paid much attention to how men looked, but her instincts told her—this kind of selfless knight might be a fool, but he was undeniably handsome.
"Wait!"
Nami couldn't hold back the stabbing pain in her chest and screamed desperately at Garen.
He smiled gently but said nothing.
And then—the gun went off.
The flintlock pistol was a high-quality weapon Steel Blade always carried on him, packing some serious firepower.
As the flash of light burst forth, everyone could clearly see the ruthless bullet tear into Garen's heart and exit through his back.
His armor was already soaked in blood from previous battles, so it was hard to tell just how much this shot bled him. But a shot straight through the heart was a guaranteed death sentence.
Garen winced in pain, clutched his chest tightly, and then collapsed to the ground—completely still.
"No way... he's dead?"
Steel Blade looked utterly stunned.
A few seconds later—"He's really dead?!"
He still couldn't believe what just happened.
His grip loosened, and the large blade he'd been holding to Nami's neck slipped from his hands.
Not that he needed it anymore.
The righteous knight had sacrificed his life to protect the weak. All the threats Steel Blade had been so worried about vanished the moment Garen fell.
The two pirate lackeys were also stunned by the abrupt turn of events. The shock made them loosen their grip on Nami as well.
But Nami didn't run.
Her gemstone-like eyes were now filled with darkness. She collapsed weakly like a balloon that had lost all its air.
In her eyes, the entire world had faded—leaving only Garen's blood-soaked, crimson corpse.
"Why?"
The words slipped from her lips like a whisper. "Why would you save me like this? I'm just..."
The scene brought Nami back to thoughts of Bell-mere—
Once again, she had been saved by someone like this.
But this time, the knight was even more "foolish." So foolish, it broke her heart.
Steel Blade slowly walked over and studied Garen's body carefully.
Then, using the large blade in his hand, he gave Garen a light poke.
The blade sliced into the vulnerable side of Garen's neck and severed a major artery—but Garen didn't react. He didn't even bleed.
A living person would never react like that.
"Ha... hahahahahaha…"
Steel Blade suddenly started laughing like a madman, his twisted face contorting even more.
"He actually killed himself? He really did?!"
"In this whole damn ocean—how could such a dumbass exist?!"
His laughter grew more intense, until tears he hadn't shed since he became a pirate began streaming down his face. "How?!"
He screamed wildly.
Driven by some mix of emotions he couldn't even understand himself, he couldn't help but stomp on Garen's body again. "How could there be such a dumbass!!"
Garen's "corpse" trembled slightly from the kick.
"Bastard!"
"Stop it!"
Two voices rang out in perfect sync.
It was the young reporter, shaking all over, and Nami, who was now crying uncontrollably.
"Shut the hell up!"
One of the pirate goons shouted crazily:
"That idiot's already dead! And you two can forget about getting out of here alive!"
The lackey was utterly arrogant, his ugly, heartless face practically dripping with malice.
But neither the nerdy-looking reporter nor the fragile-seeming Nami showed even a hint of fear.
Their bloodshot eyes stared daggers at the goon, their gazes so intense he was forced to retreat a step.
Embarrassed, the pirate's face turned red with anger. He shouted again, "What are you looking at?! You want me to—"
"You shut the hell up!"
Steel Blade suddenly roared at the lackey with explosive fury, making the thug flinch violently.
Then Steel Blade turned around and swung his sword, slamming it into the ground and shattering the stone tiles beneath.
"I'm not such a piece of shit—!"
"That I'd break a promise made with a dumbass like him!!"
Not a single lackey dared speak another word.
The scene fell into a silence completely unlike the tense atmosphere from before.
"Didn't expect that…"
A calm voice suddenly sounded in Steel Blade's ear.
"You rob, kill, destroy, and kidnap—you're as wicked as they come. And yet… you're still a man of your word."
Steel Blade's face flushed with embarrassment.
"What the—"
He instinctively tried to cover up his inner turmoil with his usual tough-guy act, but his voice abruptly stopped.
A greatsword pierced through his back and out his chest.
Blood sprayed everywhere. His flesh was mangled.
The blade was thick and wide—more than enough to send a pirate worth tens of millions to the afterlife in an instant.
"Sorry."
Garen gripped the sword tightly and said with a quiet, steady voice:
"But I'm also a man who keeps his word."
(End of Chapter)