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The Bartender at the End of the Universe
Ch 209: Piracy Really Doesn't Pay

Ch 209: Piracy Really Doesn't Pay

"Kinda handsy, aren't ya?" A portly pirate prodded as he pranced around Azrail.

The strange pirate had a small mouth for a left hand that had rows of sharp teeth, with a long, forked tongue that kept daring out from between the teeth. He had a black, silk eyepatch with gold filigree all over it, and golden teeth throughout his half-rotted smile. All in all, he looked greasy and unkempt, but was wearing very fine clothes with gold implemented in almost all of them in various ways.

Azrail shook his head. "I am only trying to help you."

"Help me? Ha! Same way ya helped him I reckon?" The pirate laughed as he pointed towards a hydra that had been beheaded over twenty times.

Azrail kept his eyes trained on the pirate. "Ah, so blind to your own suffering. I'm honestly surprised you can't see it. In your case it's so blatantly obvious. I'd think even a blind mouse would be able to see it."

"Well, I don't have the best sight around ya see," The pirate smirked as he pointed at his eyepatch. "But that does come with some benefits now and then."

As the pirate stepped closer to Azrail, the frail man reached his hand out for the dirty throat. But the pirate ducked out of the way and threw a punch towards Azrail's stomach.

Just before it could hit him, Azrail's other hand blocked it. The pirate smirked, and a small gun popped out from his jacket, and fired at Azrail.

"Too bad keeping ya from grabbing me neck won't be too difficult." The pirate gloated as thick smoke from the black powder gun obscured the two of them and singed their nose hair.

As the smoke cleared, Azrail was holding the pirate's hand up, and it seemed like he had used that to block the bullet. He looked at the pirate with sadness in his eyes.

"You're so blind you can't even see that this fight has already been decided." Azrail said.

The pirate's right hand opened its mouth and tried to bite through Azrail's neck. In a flash, Azrail thrust up with his hand, and struck the pirate's arm with his wrist. There was a loud crunch, and the pirate's arm went limp.

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'AAARRGGHHH!" The Pirate howled in pain as he tried to pull back.

But Azrail still held his regular looking hand. The old man looked the pirate right in his eyes as he raised his hand and slapped his palm against the pirate's arm.

CRUNCH!

Azrail let go of the Pirate, and the greasy man stumbled backwards as his two arms hung limp at his sides.

"Did you actually think all I was capable of was freeing your soul? No being here stands a chance against me." Azrail said before he pointed at the pirates broken arms. "That was just a small taste of what I'm capable of. I've mastered more than just my own body. I have mastered the physical and spiritual worlds completely."

Azrail took a step forward. The pirate grit his teeth as he glared at the ground. "Neat trick. Too bad I've got a few tricks of me own!"

The pirate moved his body back and forth to swing his arms around, until they spun up near his face. The forked tongue from his toothy hand flicked up his eyepatch. Underneath was a blue void in the hole where his eye had been. It seemed to stretch back beyond his skull and into eternity.

But it was only visible for a brief moment, before it started to suck in everything around it. Like a black hole, it tried to consume everything in its path.

"Hah! Try and beat me endless blue! Not even the greatest frigate can keep afloat when confronted with this." The pirate grinned as he stared at Azrail. "Might as well give in boyo. Yer done."

Azrail shook his head. "You think this party trick of yours means something to me?" The wind picked up more and more around Azrail. With each second, it threatened to swallow him whole.

Despite the increasing winds, he took a step forward. Then another, and another. The wind seemed to have no real effect on him other than whipping his robe around. The pirate was shocked as Azrail walked right up to him. Carefully, he raised his right hand up with his fingers and thumb all bunched together like a claw.

The pirate let out an ear-piercing scream as Azrai dug his fingers into the flesh around his missing eye.

Pop

With a satisfying pop, Azrail plucked out the black holed from within the pirate's eye socket. He closed his hand around it, and slowly pressed his closed fist against his forehead as he closed his eyes and let out a small breath.

When he opened his eyes again, he opened his hand to reveal a glass eye with what looked like a blue whirlpool spinning inside it. He looked up at the astonished pirate and offered the object to him.

"Do you want it back?" he asked.

"Wha...what are ye?" The pirate asked. "Another beast from beyond the stars?"

Azrail gently placed the glass eye back into the pirate's eye socket, and then flipped down the eyepatch over it. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm nothing more than a simple man. I just serve a purpose greater than myself."

He took a moment while the pirate was still in shock to straighten his gilded clothes. "Now, are you ready to be released?"

The pirate took a moment to understand what Azrail was asking. He frowned and jumped back. "Even if ye are powerful. I can't just give up."

Azrail shook his head. "Very well. After all, what is a little more suffering in this wisp of smoke you call life."

A few moments later, the pirate was lying on the ground with his limbs splayed out in various unnatural states. Various traps, weapons, and tools were sticking out of his jacket, and scattered on the floor around them.

Azrail walked up to the pirate and knelt down beside him. Slowly he put his hands around his throat. The pirate tried to object, but it Azrail had even broken all the bones in his face, and his jaw hung upon uselessly as the pirate's tongue thrashed around in protest.

"Rest now. Your work here is done." Azrail said softly as smoke started to rise up from where his hands touched the pirate's flesh.

An arrow flew towards Azrail's head as he knelt there, but Azrail kicked up with his leg and knocked the projectile off course.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Azrail said. "I just need to finish this first."