It looked like a fairly prosperous fishing village.
You could tell from the neatly laid cobblestone paths, the two- and three-story European-style houses, the abundant fresh catch stacked outside the doors, and the fishing gear casually strewn about.
Life here probably used to be peaceful the kind of peace where if someone at the far end of the village so much as sneezed, people at the front would hear about it and turn it into teatime gossip.
But now, all that tranquility was gone.
A black flag bearing a grinning skull fluttered over the village square.
All around, the air was filled with screams, cries for mercy, and the savage roars that had caused them.
Blood ran freely along the stone streets, soaking into the cracks and carrying the stench of death.
It came from the villagers lying motionless on the ground, their faces twisted in agony or frozen in their final, terrified expressions.
The fishing village was under siege by pirates.
Ethan Chen stood frozen at his doorstep, a bag of snacks still in hand. He had just returned from the convenience store and pushed open his front door when the nightmare unfolded before his eyes.
Did I open the door the wrong way?
After a brief moment of stunned silence, he scanned his surroundings, and it dawned on him this wasn't his world anymore.
Thrown straight into chaos the moment he arrived? That's just cruel.
Unfortunately, his conspicuous appearance hadn't gone unnoticed. A scrawny pirate not far away had spotted him.
Ethan had a tall, athletic build, but his clean-cut features clearly hadn't seen much hardship.
An easy target.
The pirate grinned, spun his bloodied blade with a flourish, and began to approach.
Ethan backed up slowly. He understood exactly what this meant.
This could get him killed.
His back hit a wall. The pirate kept coming. There was nowhere left to run.
Was he supposed to give up now and die in the opening act? Hope for a miracle? Or take his fate into his own hands?
His fingers brushed against something beside him.
A fishing spear.
That was the answer.
Better to fight for survival than sit and wait for death.
His adrenaline spiked. His vision turned red.
In that moment, the roles of predator and prey reversed.
Muscles tensed, veins bulging in his arms, he stepped forward in a deep lunge and thrust with the spear.
There's truth in the saying: the longer the weapon, the greater the advantage. Spears outmatch short blades. That's just physics.
Just like in certain countries where so-called sword masters carry blades so absurdly long they're basically keeping everyone at arm's length.
Swap a spear for a fishing harpoon, and the principle still holds.
Especially in a fight to the death. A strong young man wielding a long weapon had no reason to lose to a wiry thug with a short blade.
He couldn't afford to lose.
It might've been a clash of blades, or a sweeping blow meant to shatter the pirate's legs, or maybe just a desperate thrust with everything he had.
When Ethan finally came back to his senses, the spear was already lodged in the pirate's throat.
Blood sprayed from the man's mouth. His eyes bulged.
Dangling from the end of the harpoon, legs shattered, he looked like nothing more than a gutted fish.
Ethan released the spear and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Kill or be killed. That's the rule.
It was a fight he won, not by chance, but because his strength truly gave him the edge.
All that training hadn't been for nothing.
But there was one problem.
This pirate wasn't alone.
The others had noticed their comrade's death. Yet there was no grief or outrage only mocking laughter at his expense.
These pirates weren't bound by loyalty. They were just a loose band of men chasing profit.
One guy dies? He just wasn't good enough. Easy to replace.
One of them, apparently a mid-ranking leader, grinned and called out, "Hey kid, wanna join our crew?"
Some might say survival comes first. That you need to live before you can fight. Better to swallow your pride and strike back when the time is right.
But others would rather die than side with the wicked like those who, even under torture, never betrayed their cause.
There's no right or wrong in that choice. Only what you can live with.
Ethan chose the latter.
Watching these pirates slaughter innocent villagers disgusted him to the core.
In response to the so-called olive branch, he raised his middle finger.
"What a shame," the pirate sneered.
Then, without hesitation, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
A flash of muzzle fire.
This time, it was really over.
Time seemed to slow. Ethan could see every detail on the bullet's rough metal surface as it streaked toward him.
Then came the voice, sudden and calm, ringing inside his head:
"Sailing Companion Summoning System has been activated. Binding in progress... Binding complete. Host has completed the beginner task: 'Eliminate an enemy.' One summoning attempt earned. Use now?"
Hope surged through him.
"Use it," Ethan answered without thinking.
"Summoning... Congratulations. You have summoned: YoRHa Combat-Type Android 2B."
"Detecting signs of human life below. Updating mission priority: locating human presence takes precedence."
"Roger."
The flying unit banked sharply, its mission changing from exterminating hostile machines to seeking out human life.
It broke through enemy lines. Then, suddenly, the sky cleared. 2B looked down.
Ruins of a fishing village. Scattered corpses. A mark human.
"Human detected. Updating mission priority: protecting human life takes precedence."
"Understood."
2B glanced at the data on the support pod, then, without hesitation, leapt from the craft.
"Glory to mankind."
Her voice was a whisper. With it, time resumed its flow.
A gleam of silver light cut the air. The bullet split in two and clattered harmlessly to the ground.
From Ethan's perspective, all he saw was a flutter of black skirts, rising like clouds drifting apart before the moon. A pale, radiant disc appeared for an instant serene, glowing softly like moonlight.
Then the skirt fell, and the moon vanished behind the clouds once more.
For a brief moment, Ethan's mind was still stuck on that perfect crescent.
No wonder the poet Li Bai saw the moon and thought of home.
2B glanced back to check on him. Once assured he was safe, she turned her attention to the stunned pirates.
Did she really just cut a speeding bullet in half with a sword?
"Warning. Multiple hostile signatures detected. Classification: humanoid."
That came from the support pod hovering over 2B's shoulder just a sleek, metallic rectangular box with two mechanical arms.
"Obvious enough," 2B said flatly. She drew her blade without another word.
The greatsword Virtuous Contract gleamed as she vanished into a blur.
It was a harvest.
Like a reaper walking through fields of wheat, she cut the pirates down one after another.
They barely had time to react before falling lifeless to the ground.
Just as they had butchered the unarmed villagers, now they were slaughtered in turn.
Cold. Merciless.
A killing machine.
Fear gripped their hearts. Once their leader fell, panic spread, and they broke ranks to flee.
But they weren't soldiers. Just thugs opportunistic, cowardly scum.
The moment they realized the enemy couldn't be beaten, their courage vanished.
"Don't you dare run!"
A roar shook the air. A massive spiked club swept through the fleeing pirates like a scythe through weeds. Their bodies flew like ragdolls, blood spraying through the air.
Standing in the road was a mountain of a man, over three meters tall, muscles bulging, a grotesque scar slashed across his face.
The captain of the Scarface Pirates.
"A woman got you all pissin' yourselves? You worthless maggots just cost me a ten-million-berry reputation!"
Roaring, he charged at 2B, club raised high and swinging down with deadly force.
That blow had crushed countless Navy soldiers and pretenders before. It was his signature move, and it had earned him a bounty of ten million berries.
But just as it came crashing down, his eyes widened in disbelief.
2B blurred into four afterimages, leaping in every direction. Time slowed once more.
And the blade fell.
A thin red line split his head, tracing a line straight down through his face, neck, chest, and torso.
He collapsed with a thud, now just a pile of lifeless meat.
With their captain gone, the remaining pirates fell apart completely. They didn't even have the courage to flee anymore. One by one, they dropped to the ground, trembling.
2B turned her gaze to Ethan, as if asking for instructions.
Should she finish them? These creatures who, moments ago, radiated such violent intent?
She was created for humanity.
And she would obey.