Anton slowly pulled himself to his feet, looking at the figure approaching him. Needless to say, he was somewhat surprised to see a woman approaching him. Dressed in fine clothing, approaching him in heels, Anton would have first mistaken her for one of the nobles aboard the ship. However, her stern glare, and the two swords hanging from her hips, said otherwise. After all, nothing said that women couldn't be pirates, and in a crew called the "Aristocrat Pirates", it would make sense for its female members to be dressed as well as the men. Though there was something in the way she carried herself. While the other pirates he had faced (with the exception of Lestalt), were merely dressed the part, this woman here carried herself with poise and confidence that radiated authority.

Spoiler:

"I must admit," she spoke, her tone level, yet hard, "When I heard Lestalt had been defeated by one man, I didn't quite believe it. But seeing you here, causing so much damage, I regret not stepping in sooner."

Anton stood upright, sword in hand as he stared at this woman before him. "I would assume you're the one in charge of this crew?" The woman shook her head. "Incorrect, though I cannot blame you for thinking that." She drew her blades slowly, the sound of them leaving their scabbards lingering in the air. "I am Maria, first mate of the Aristocrat Pirates. And I will be the one to end this little game."

As she pointed his sword at him, Anton stepped away from the ship's railing, holding his sword before him. "This does have to end." Anton spoke up, "I can't let this madness continue." Maria tilted her head, regarding the red haired marine. "Willing to risk your life to save these people. A shame. We could have used someone of your resolve." Anton slowly shook his head. "Like I ever would have joined your crew." Maria's eyes narrowed, "Indeed."

Both man and woman shot towards eachother, swords ready to strike.

Almost immediately, one could tell the battle was not going well for Anton. While he considered himself fairly handy with his sword, it was clear that Maria was far more adapt at swordsmanship. Not to mention she possessed a second blade, forcing him to have to watch out for both of them, lest he end up with one of them between his ribs. The result was Anton being forced purely on the defensive, forced to keep backing away and blocking her blows. Maria knew this, as she continued to press the offensive. As she made a lunge to thrust at him, Anton dove to the side, rolling away from her as her blades nicked his coat.

"Strange..." she murmured, as Anton sprung back to her feet. Unlike the marine, who was on edge and ready to defend himself, she seemed completely relaxed. "When they told me Lestalt had been defeated, they said it was because of a, what did they say, a grasshopper man?" She looked over at him, her gaze steely, "I know a zoan type when I hear it, and clearly it gives you the strength to survive. So tell me, why aren't you using your Devil Fruit powers now?" Anton was about to respond but paused. Why wasn't he using his hybrid form? The toughened exoskeleton would prove useful here, as well as the extra arms and his strengthened legs. So why wasn't he using it?

Because she's a beautiful woman, despite being a pirate, and you can't bring yourself to go all out on her.

Maria's eyes narrowed and for a moment, Anton thought she had perhaps read his mind. Instead, she held her blades before her. "I don't know your reasons for holding back, but I will not tolerate this insult. You will fight me with everything you have or die!" She shot forward, her swords ready to impale him. Anton leapt to the side, resulting in one of the blades burying themselves in the ship's mast. Anton quickly backed away, sword in hand as Maria released her sword, holding onto her second one and glaring at him fiercely. She was right. Anton had to fight her with more than what he was doing now, or this as going to end badly for him. And to do so, he would need to get over his deeply ingrained need to hold back against women.

Dammit mother, dammit father! Why did you have to raise me so well!?

Though losing access to one of her blades made the fight a little bit easier for Anton, Maria was still proving to be a very challenging opponent, that and Anton's own reservations about fighting a woman were making this fight difficult for him, keeping him on the defensive. Maria knew this, and to be honest, the thought of it was getting to her. It was clear in her strikes, as well as her growls and grunts that she was getting frustrated.

"Dammit, why wont you fight me!?" she snarled, swinging harder and faster, "You defeated our quartermaster, fought my men, ruined our ship, and yet you wont try to fight back against me!?" she swung as hard as she could, managing to knock the sword out of Anton's hand and sending it flying. "You. Are. PATHETIC!"

Before Anton could move out of the way, Maria shot forward, spearing her sword straight into his shoulder. Everything seemed to freeze for a second, Maria glaring up at Anton, his face twisted in pain. Blood slowly traveled down the blade, dripping onto the floor.

Maybe Anton was pathetic. Hell, he couldn't bring himself to attack a female pirate, and look at what was happening. Was this what had happened last time?

His mind began to flash back to the last time he fought a woman. The pirate Melissa Devaroux, the snow woman. She had completely and utterly destroyed him, not even seeing him worth killing. He could remember it clearly. The pain, shame and humiliation he felt afterwards. It had taken a beating from his superior, Captain Stelbourg, to snap him out of it. Had he been holding back then? Would holding back now help anyone?

No.

Maria was shocked when suddenly Anton lashed out with a kick, knocking her back and causing her to release her sword. With wide eyes, she watched as Anton reached up, gripping the katana embedded in his shoulder and pulled it free with a his from pain. "You're right," Anton spoke, his voice oddly calm, "I was being pathetic wasn't I?" He looked straight into her eyes, trying to hold back tears of pain, "I wont make that mistake again."

A small smile appeared on Maria's beautiful face as she moved over to the mast. "Good to see you're finally getting serious." she gripped her sword sword, pulling it free from the mast and holding it before her, "Now, come at me with all your might!"

Anton didn't say a word as he charged towards her.

The sound of swords clashing rang out as Maria and Anton resumed their battle. However, this time things were different. Unlike before, both combatants were pushing for the offensive, forcing one on the defensive before they took back control of the fight. However, with this new surge of aggression, Anton was still on the losing end, being forced back more often than not. Maria was still the superior swordsman, and even with her skills somewhat diminished by losing one of her blades (which Anton was actually wielding), she still had the edge. This could also explain why Anton wasn't doing so well as well. He was used to wielding his heavier blade, not the lighter, smaller katana that Maria wielded.

Maria was once again pushing him back, forcing him back against the ship's mast. When Anton's back pressed against the wood, Maria brought her blade back, intending to aim for his head. However, Anton ducked as the blade swung overhead, slicing through the wooden mast. Anton suddenly lunged forward, tackling her down and knocking the sword from her hand. The two rolled across the deck before Maria managed to throw the marine off of him. Quickly she glanced around, before rolling over to the nearest sword she could find, Anton's. Both fighters were back on their feet, Maria wielding his, and Anton wielding hers.

Both swordmen charged at eachother, ready to deliver the final strike. However, while Anton wasn't as used to wielding a lighter weapon than he was used to, Maria definitely wasn't used to wielding the massive blade Anton was used to. And that was what made all the difference.

Both fighters shot past eachother, swinging their blades. Everything seemed to pause for a moment, both fighters frozen in place, their weapons outstretched.

A dark patch started to form on Maria's midsection, and with a groan of pain, she fell to her knees.

Panting heavily, Anton slowly turned to see the first mate of the Aristocrat Pirates on her knees, clutching her bleeding abdomen. "It's over," he said, his voice holding no hint of surperiority or mocking, "I've won." Through clenched teeth, Maria tried to rise to her feet, looking back at her opponent. His sword lay at her side, having dropped it when she fell. She didn't have much use for it anymore. A pained smile appeared on her face. "Not yet," she replied, "You may have won this fight, but there's still our captain. As long as he's standing, there's no hope for you or the people of this ship." Anton's eyes narrowed. "And where may I find this captain of yours?"

"Why, right here actually."

Both people turned and looked in the direction of the voice, as a man stepped out from the ship's cabin. A young man with blonde hair, dressed, just like the rest of his crew, as a nobleman.

Spoiler:

"My captain!" Maria spoke up, here eyes wide with surprise, but also hope. The man didn't seem to pay much attention to her, looking around at the ship. "My my, such destruction here. Maria, just what happened here?" Maria turned to glare at Anton. "It was him my lord. He's the one who defeated Lestalt, and wrecked your ship." She had probably expected him to scowl or something, but instead the man let out a small chuckle. "Dear Maria, do you think I care about this ship? The whole point of this was to acquire that beautiful ship for myself. I don't care what happens to this old things?"

He slowly turned, looking down at her. There was something very wrong. Something about the look in his eyes. "And now, you've gone and humiliated yourself, in order to try and protect this piece of trash? You've proven just as useless as the rest of those failures." Maria gasped as he extended his hand, and before either she or Anton could react, a thick, purple gas spewed out, surrounding Maria's head. The woman fall back, clutching at her throat, gasping for air as tears ran down her eyes. "Lord...Cornetto..." Cornetto merely sneered. "And you know how I hate useless things."

And all the while, Anton could only stand there in shock and horror as Maria choked to death on the vile poison.


"The Battle Lady" Maria, defeated.

To be concluded in "The Cursed Baron"