Post by BlacKitten on Dec 26, 2017 12:19:22 GMT -5
It was two hours before midnight when a small ghastly cloud phased across the half-lit moon, blocking its lunar rays from reaching the earth below. Just moments ago, there were two scraggy, dirty men standing at the entrance to a giant tunnel; each armed with a rifle held in both hands. Their eyes saw nothing but pitch black in the far distance, and their neighboring colleague appeared nothing more than a vague silhouette. But now, they were reduced to mere bodies that laid flat on the ground right outside the tunnel to their hideout.
There existed a single train track that ran down the rough terrain of the abandoned mine, narrow enough to have a small cart to travel across. The tunnel had a circumference of over thrice an average man’s height. Several dozen meters deep, dim lighting of pale yellow lit the area, casting shadows across the crevices and jagged formations along the fused walls and ceiling. A gang of riffraff hang out in this area, sitting along the edges as they waited for time to pass by. Relaxed and carefree, some had their heads rest against their palms; they expected nothing but boredom to come. Day after day and night after night, not a single soul dared to trespass here and made it out alive. Not even the marine forces that established their base on this very island had the guts to deal with them. Such was the balance between crime and justice where one could not overcome the other. Despite the pirates’ secretive and shady means of conduct, the navy knew all about their hideout, yet they didn’t have the nerve to mess with them upfront. Every single squad of soldiers that they have sent in the past had never been seen again. Their hideout was considered to be the most dangerous place throughout the island, riddled with a myriad of diverse pirates from different crews that have banded together to operate their illegal business.
“Could you believe it!? A marine lieutenant tried to come here all on her own,” a hooligan initiated trivial talk to his fellow comrades.
“Hah-ha! I heard she got taken down by Toxic Rose. I wonder what’s going to happen to her.”
“Whatever it is, she deserves it for being stupid enough for coming here all by herself. This is why we have natural selection – to weed out idiots like her.”
“Damn! If it were any other of the captains, that girl would be dead already. But, Toxic Rose is the type to break her opponent down physically and mentally. She’d probably torture that marine girl into submission.”
“She might get some useful top-secret intel that the marines possess.”
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, every single one of them was swept away by a powerful gust of air, hurling them deeper into the tunnel. Bodies tumbled across like ragdolls; they felt as if an invisible wall had just crashed and bulldozed them away. Screams and cries were muffled by the rush of wind that blew them away.
Alarmed by the scattering of bodies that flew into the scene, the pirates that were stationed at the deeper region of the tunnel readied their weapons. Blades were withdrawn from their scabbards, and safety locks of firearms were clicked. With the duty to guard this tunnel, they automatically assumed an enemy attack, yet in their minds still doubted the likelihood of that happening.
“Hey! What’s going on?” One of the standing pirates spoke towards the general mass of groaning bodies that writhed on the ground. Suddenly, a single pair of footsteps echoed, sounding like a single individual approaching right around the corner. The pirates prepared as the shadow of the walking figure was first to appear. All the action took place within the next second as a streak of violet and black flashed before their eyes. Blurred afterimages of an enigmatic entity flickered within their field of vision, granting them no time whatsoever to make a move of their own. They couldn’t tell where the enemy is for their pupils would always be one step behind.
A strange, alienating mixture of pain and numbness flooded throughout their bodies which were soon slammed against either the walls as they were all struck by an invisible force. Time seemed to have slowed down as they fell into a deep slumber right before thumping against the hard, cold ground.
The tunnel steeped ever so slightly down until a massive gate could be seen up ahead. The entrance was closed shut, taking on the form of twin wooden doors that comes together at the top as an arch, reinforced by steel bordering frames.
BOOM!
An explosive force had erupted forth as the gates were ripped off its hinges before flying and skipping across the floor in multitude of chunks and pieces. A shower of debris rained down as a murky grey smoke expanded out from the point of destruction.
Within the underground fort renown as Hannai, pirates from various crews were gathered here. Altogether, they were a force that rivaled even the marines on this island in terms of numbers. Criminals of all sorts throughout the massive, spacious area dwelled within this giant subterranean cavern with the ceiling reaching hundreds of feet high. Eyes darted towards the source of the thunderous sound that echoed throughout to the enclosed space. The gates to their private illegal business were destroyed, and the one responsible behind this took the form as a lone shadow standing idly within the fading silver smoke.
The very thought of someone barging in here was completely outrageous and downright suicidal. Already, someone attempted to intrude their fortress earlier today, and now someone else dared to make the same mistake. The humanoid figure calmly stepped out of the smoke, striding onwards without a shred of fear or hesitance. He stood at an average height with normal humanly body proportions. There was absolutely nothing spectacular about him in terms of size. His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of a tightly-covering hood, and most of his body was cladded with light armory of a pale shade of dark violet. He wore forearm and shin guards as well as metal covering his groin, outer thighs, torso, and shoulders. His attire consisted of a high collar that protected his neck and dark-cyan undershirt and pants which are subtly noticeable between the gaps of his protective gear.
The intruder walked with eerily silent steps as if he was nothing more than a moving mirage. His hands were kept within his side pockets as he strode in nonchalantly.
“What are you fools waiting for? Take him down! Don’t let him take another step forward,” An authoritative tone echoed out as a single pointer finger aimed straight at the foreign figure in the distance.
An obedient swarm of men immediately charged forth, brandishing their melee weapons. Their faces wore expressions of savage beasts, showing their canine fangs. Like a pack of wolves, they partly encircled and attacked from several angles. Blades whooshed through emptiness, slashing at thin air as their hooded target vanished at the instant of nearly being struck. Clueless eyes darted around aimlessly; none of them could pinpoint the intruder. He seemed to have just disappeared!
“W-What!?” The golden-haired Skypian lurched back with a startled visage. Without a trace of sound or movement, the armored figure stood square on, being only a few meters away and standing in a daring manner; his hands remained in his side pockets. Without any guard up, he was leaving himself wide open to be attacked, yet there was an aura of confidence brimming from his actions alone. Just now, he had somehow managed to bypass the mob of armed men, crossed tens of meters in distance, and entered within close range of the pirate captain, Olimpo Scates. His gesture seemed to suggest that the other pirates were too far beneath him to be worth his time and effort and that it’d be more worthwhile to take on the stronger ones first.
For the time being, Olimpo did not sense any hostility from him.
Without any telegraphed gestures or visible motion, the mysterious combatant suddenly held a vertical outstretched fist with the middle knuckle of the index finger notably extruded out with the thumb tucked behind.
“Kuh!” The Skypian lurched and grimaced as he felt a sharp, penetrating pain striking him dead center in his solar plexus. He couldn’t visually pick up the enemy’s movements at all; the attack happened in an instant. The fist didn’t even connect; it was out of range. Yet, somehow, he was struck with pinpoint accuracy. There was something very deceptive about his adversary as he struggled to grasp the enemy’s attack range.
A fist was soon shot straight for his face, causing him to react, but a sharp blow struck him in the chin from below. “NGH!” His teeth forcefully clenched as his jaw was shut closed by the upper cut; his entire body was then heaved off the ground by a few inches.
He used a feint!?
As fast as the first punch was, it was purposely slowed down to be visible, leading the second punch to be the true attack. While his body hovered ever so slightly off the earth, a snapping side kick launched him into the vast distance. The Skypian flew dozens of meters before crashing through a stone-brick wall. Only then did the mob of pirates honed in their attention towards the intruder. Their faces and bodies were frozen stiff at the sight of a captain being hurled away within a few heartbeats. Jaws were lowered; eyes were gawking.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” A slender man on a rooftop cackled out loud like a hyena. “You’re pathetic, Olimpo Scates. Is that bounty of yours just for show?” Both his arms and legs were extraordinarily longer than a normal human; his arms in particular possessed an additional set of elbow joints as well.
The crowd of pirates down below all looked up and spoke his name in unison, “Lancelot Blackburne!”
In a leap, the longlimb human sprung himself towards the intruder, rocketing forth like a comet, “What do we have here?” Flipping himself once in midair, he repositioned himself to extend his leg outward, using the momentum to carry the power of his flying kick. His opponent stood his ground and faced him upfront, but up until the last moment, he pivoted on one foot, rotating around to opposition in a ghostly manner with minimal motion. Flying right past his opponent, Lancelot landed onto the ground as his boots slid across the rough terrain, creating two trails marked behind him. He turned around and immediately reengaged towards the face-concealed foe with a barrage of whip like punches. “HA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA!”
Like a pair of serpents, the intruder’s arms blurred almost completely out of sight as his deflected the rapid series of punches that rained forth from a multitude of angles. None of Lancelot’s assaults were landing. Each hit felt so close to land its mark, yet each one deviated off course just enough to slip past the target. “You’re not bad at all! Huh?” The pirate redirected his attention the sudden bright light from his peripheral vision.
From the side, a conical stream of orange-red flames roared straight for the both of them, causing the two fighters to disengage and leap back from one another as a wall of fire flew between them.
A smirk grew on the Lancelot’s expression, knowing full well who released that fiery assault. “Hey! Olimpo, you’re still alive?” The longlimb teased at the now grumpy Skypian.
“Shut up!” The tall blond-haired man with small white wings on his back stepped out of the rubbles from the large gaping hole of a crumpling wall. From the palm of his hand, the source of the fire dissipated into hot wavering air, revealing a colorful rusty-shaded shell in his possession. “This guy... is a dead man! He’s got some nerve humiliating me like that.” His temper rose; veins bulged from his temples.
A completely new face then entered the scene. “Now, now... no need to get your tempers up high,” a middle-aged man with short-groomed black hair and a mustache stepped into the scene. He wore a formal black suit and leather shoes and held a calm demeanor despite the tense atmosphere. With an ordinary-looking wooden cane held in his left hand, he slowly pulled the handle, revealing a long thin blade hidden inside. “This intruder of ours clearly isn’t an ordinary fella. Now then, why don’t we...”
CLASH!
“Ngh...” Pushed back, the wielder of the cane-sword parried against a sudden flash of black that crashed against the edge of his blade. Only a split second later did the butler mentally register the elongated, sharp black claws grown out of the user’s fingertips, “You won’t even let me finish my sentence, ay?”
A second swipe from other hand slashed through the air like lightning, forcing the older fighter to be on the defense as he parries with an adjustment of the sword’s angle. “My, my... What a troublesome fighter you are.”
“Master, allow me to assist you,” a brunette in a maid uniform suddenly popped out from the side, approaching the clawed enemy towards mid-distance before swinging her hand out to throw three chrome-colored dining knives that have been sharpened to pierce more than just food.
With a raised arm, the tips of the knives simply bounced off the metal guard around the enemy’s forearm. In an instant, the claw-bearing menace lunged forth, thrusting his elbow straight into the woman’s solar plexus.
“AHHH!” The maid cried out as she was knocked off her feet and hurled straight into a nearby wall behind her. The crash left a shallow crater with a network of crevices on the grey stone surface.
The long blade-like claws instantly retracted back into ordinary pair of hands.
“Alice!” Meanwhile, the butler man called out the name of his underling from a sense of concern. His eyes grew stern towards the nimble fighter, “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you not to hit a lady?” He rushed forth, wielding his rapier-like sword to thrust onward. His opponent intercepted his intent by simultaneously slipping past the blade while unleashing a punch that did not even physically connect. A sharp spear of air shot out from each of their attack, showcasing the force behind their execution.
“Kuh...,” The elderly one reluctantly coughed out blood from his mouth, staining his white undershirt. He couldn’t see it at all – his opponent’s attack. The physical punch never connected, yet there was a sharp blow with needle-like precision that struck him in the heart. In that instance, he realized that the enemy’s attire wasn’t just for show and that he was up against a legitimate, skilled assassin.
“Sniping Fist,” the intruder whispered in a detached, low tone. His right extended arm suddenly blurred into an a barrage of precise blows, and in a heartbeat later, pressure points in the arms, legs, and centerline were all struck.
Clatter!
The narrow sword fell onto the ground, and soon, the butler dropped onto his knees and collapsed altogether.
“Oi...,” Lancelot gulped in disbelief. “Hey... Charles..., you’re not actually down, right? Hey! Say something!”
“Humph, that old fool let his guard down the moment that maid of hers got hurt,” said the blond Skypian.
“Damn it!” The longlimb human immediately dashed onwards towards the idly standing fighter whose back is turned towards him. This situation should have been over already. With a clear opening to exploit, Lancelot Blackburne jabbed with his right fist towards the intruder’s blind spot.
Without the least amount of motion possible, the masked target merely tilted his head slightly to the right as a fist slipped right past the left side of his face. His head then tilted to the left along with a subtle shift of the weight towards his left foot, and the second punch whooshed past his skull from the other side.
Impossible! Does he have eyes at the back of his head!?
For both consecutive attacks to have missed just like that, this clearly was no coincidence. This intruder must have some foreign, otherworldly ability to be able to sense him without eyesight.
Swiveling on his leading foot, Lancelot whipped out a roundhouse kick, aiming for a swift blow towards the temple, yet despite the speed and power behind his technique, his leg was halted to a stop in an instant. His brows tensed up as his ankle was trapped into a vice-like grip by the opponent’s crossing arm. With the turn of the enemy’s stance and waist, the intruder swung his arm around along with the entire physical body of the longlimb fighter.
The world went spinning around him as a strong breeze of wind blew against his hair. After being swung three-sixty in a circle, he was sent flying straight into the front entrance of a building, smashing through the wooden door, “Arugh!”
“Flame Dial!” Immediately, Olimpo unleashed another massive stream of orange-red flames that originates from the palm of his hand. The swift assassin dashed to the side in evasion even as the trajectory of the fire started following him with the sweeping motion of the Skypian’s arm.
In a roundabout approach, the intruder bolted straight for the man with the small portable flamethrower, ready to engage him in a close-quarter combat.
“Humph!” With a smug, condescending look on his face, Olimpo outstretched another arm as soon as the output of the flames halted. “Flash Dial!” Closing his eyes and partly looking away, he released a blindly bright flash of white light illuminated the entire vicinity of the city block.
Seconds later as the light died down, the masked figure was left paralyzed with his arms crossed in front of his face. It was in that instance a loop made out of rope was dropped over his head before shrinking down and binding against his waist. From the sidelines, a young blonde girl stood confidently with a cowgirl’s hat, a brown corset, shorts, and heavy brown boots. In her hands, she wielded nothing more spectacular than a long coiled up ropes that formed her lasso. Rooting herself to the earth, she pulled as hard as she could in order to tautly bind the target and hinder his movements. “Gotcha! You sure are a fast one! He’s all yours, partner!” Her blue eyes shifted their gaze towards the man standing up at the rooftop.
Dressed in a cowboy-like attire, the gunslinger pulled out both of his pistols and aimed both barreled straight at the ensnared target down below, “Roger that! You just keep him nice and still for me.”
BANG! BANG!
Two rounds of bullets were shot, and two small explosions erupted on the other side of the target.
“Eh!? Hey! What are you playing at? This is not time to be fooling around,” the cowgirl scolded. That perfect opportunity that she had just set up to snipe the enemy down was now ruined.
“... I’m not fooling around..., this fella... just deflected my bullets with his forearm,” the pirate known as Trenton Routledge, also known as the Silver Shot, responded to his right-hand girl. “Tsk... Did he regain his vision right at the last moment?”
“You! Woman!” Olimpo pointed straight at the blonde girl with the constraining lasso.
“You might want to let go of that rope right about now.”
“Eh!? Why?”
“REJECT DIAL!” The Skypian planted his palm straight against the core of the armored fighter before unleashing a destructive energy from the most powerful dial of all. In an instant, the intruder could no longer be seen as his body was hurled away in the vast distance like a jet stream, crashing through several buildings that crumbled under its own weight.
“EEK!” The cowgirl widened her eyes in shock. Had she still held onto her rope, she would have been carried along with that powerful pulse of energy.
“Tch...,” Olimpo gritted his teeth while gripping onto his right shoulder. Using the Reject Dial was commonly used as a last resort. The consequence was that the user would risk killing himself by the sheer amount of backlashing force. As of now, his right arm was completely busted, now limping by his side and screaming in numbing pain.
“A Reject Dial? Isn’t that your trump card?” The gunslinger questioned the extent of how far his comrade had to go. “I didn’t think you’d use that so early on in the fight. Wasn’t that a bit overkill?” He sheathed his pistols by the sides of his belt; with a blast like that the enemy was already taken care of.
“You underestimate him. He took down Charles Vane in an instant and threw Lancelot as if he was a ragdoll. Both of them have bounties over fifty million as well. We’re all top-tier pirates here, and we’re being treated like ants.”
The ground suddenly shook from heavy lumbering steps of a large brutish man with bulky mechanical arms. Leaving out the door of a building, he had to bend down just to lower his head and make his exit. “What’s all the commotion about?” He snarled viciously before straightening himself up, standing over eight feet in height.
“Sorry, Bezio. You just missed out on all the fun. The intruder had just got taken down,” the cowboy informed.
“An intruder?” The cyborg narrowed his eyes, mesmerized at the very thought of someone barging in here on their turf with so many pirate crews gathered in one place.
Meanwhile, several city blocks away in the underground fortress of Hannai, a crowd of pirates gazed in awe at the wreckage of the last building that someone had just crashed into. Smoke and debris lingered thickly in the air, obscuring their vision from what was inside the massive gaping hole. They all stared at the endless expansion of colored air, and within that white smog, a grey figure darkened into a black shadow.
“!!!” They were suddenly taken aback by an impending sense of trepidation; all of them instinctively drew out their weapons as a wave of bloodlust washed over them. The mysterious man who stepped out of the clearing smog staggered with each and every step, visibly disoriented from the blast he just received. It definitely wasn’t normal for a human to be able to stand from that force. This must be some sort of monster that had taken on human form. As he finally straightened himself up, his arms floated from either side in a smooth continuous motion, rising up as his palms converged towards his center before sinking down along with his deep exhale through the nose. It appeared to a simple breathing technique, allowing him to regain his sense of balance and focus.
A torn rope remained dangling off of his waist with numerous fibrous strands sticking out; a sharp tug was all it took to rip the lasso off of his body.
Tick!
With a giant bazooka resting on his right shoulder, a man, aiming amongst the mob of pirates, pulled the trigger and fired with a backlash that shook him back. His eyes barely caught the glimpse of a motion blur from the target’s right arm, and a split second later, an explosion erupted forty-five degrees away from the intended trajectory. “EH!?” The man widened his eyes and gaped in shock. There was virtually no shaking in his arms when he fired that shot; there was no way he could have missed – not by that much at least.
“What just happened?” The surroundings pirates witnessed the action sequence, completely baffled as to why the single enemy remained standing unscathed.
“Good grief,” the pirate captain Trenton Routledge stood at the rooftop of the building opposite to where the intruder crashed through earlier. “Not only are you still alive, but you don’t seem to have taken as much damage as I would have guessed. At the very last moment, you leaped back and crossed your arms right before the Reject Dial activated. Isn’t that right? Your reflexes are quite scary indeed.” Even though he noted that reaction from before, he still didn’t expect the enemy to have survived the blast this well.
The hooded figure angled his head upwards, acknowledging the presence of the gunslinger and the keen eyes that this cowboy possessed. The spoken words were all true, but they were missing a critical aspect. At the very last moment, he coated his forearms with Busoshoku Haki which enhanced the defenses of his guard.
“What business do you have with coming here?” He asked authoritatively. Almost no one could barge in here uninvited and expect to live, yet this single soul caused enough damage to put their reputation at stake.
“I am looking for someone, and I know she’s here.”
Trenton paused for a moment, surprised to actually hear the man speak actual words. “Oh, you mean that marine girl? And what makes you think that she’d still be alive?”
The hooded figure remained silent for a short while. “If she’s dead, then I’ll just kill every single pirate here,” he stated his answer rather simply.
“Hah!? You intend to wage war on all of us just by yourself? How ludicrous,” he lowered his head, knowing full well of two impatient men who are eager to get in on the action.
From both flanks of the intruder, a large silhouette on each side rocketed forth to attack.
“METEOR SMASH!” Amatore Bezio launched forth his massive, bulky cyborg arm that radiated out steaming heat and static sparks. His arm rumbled like an engine gathering up power.
“IRON CRUSH!” A large towering man swung around an oversized mallet with a chrome-colored head and metal shaft that’s wielded by both hands. Veins bulged from his arms, ready to unleash all of his might in a single swing.
In the pincer formation, the two powerhouses unleashed their attacks from opposite sides of the motionless figure of a much smaller stature. In an instance, both of their strikes landed and came to a sudden, unexpected complete halt. Their forces crashed up against a pair of black organic wall. The impacts made it seem as if they struck at an iron surface, yet there was some elasticity which acted as a shock absorber.
“Ludicrous, huh?” He said calmly with his hands in his pockets; all in the meantime, a pair of giant thickened bat wings had sprouted from his shoulder sockets and quickly shielded him from both flanks.
“A Devil Fruit user!?” The cowboy on the rooftop looked astonished by the sudden revelation. He watched the hybrid of man and bat swat his wings outwards, shoving the two towering brutes off their feet. The full wingspan must have been over seven meters across, and in addition, the lithe, armored foe now bared black hook-shaped claws on both hands and feet, granting him a more beastly appearance. “But..., you’re nothing more than a Zoan-Type, the weakest of them all.” The reveal of a cursed power was nothing to be concerned about.
A sudden gust of wind filled with muffled screams bulldozed the mob of fodder pirates straight into a gathering of wooden crates that snapped in unison as juices of fruits squelched out. With just a casual flap of his wings, the menace had cleared away an opening in front of him before ascending up into the air and gathering up the attention from numerous sets of eyes throughout the underground fortress.
BANG!
The gunslinger on the rooftop fired at the demonic target which soon vanished from his field of vision. A chill ran up his spine as a subtle breeze blew past him. He was able to visually keep up with the intruder before, but now he couldn’t make out his movements at all. This must have been the result of the physical enhancement of his Devil Fruit power.
He’s faster than before!
The winged monster was decelerating right behind his back with a fluid and smooth turn of his body. Just as the gunslinger turned around with his pistols swinging across, a barrage of consecutive hits battered him throughout his upper body; each strike aimed precisely at his vital points. It was as if he was standing at pointblank range in front of a Gatling gun that fired out rubber bullets. He immediately lost control over his arms that was mixed with both pain and numbness. His twin pistols fell out of his hands as his body swayed back all on its own.
SWISH!
The longlimb human -Lancelot Blackburne- sliced his leg straight across, yet despite being attacked from behind, the zoan-user lurched to the side by dropping his weight onto one leg and lowering his stance. The pirate’s kick had whistled over the target’s head. As soon as he landed back down, he immediately sprung forth, releasing a continuous onslaught of punches and kicks. His armored foe had his wings folded up, taking on a compact and narrow stance. Pale shades of violet flickered side to side in a blur of afterimages of evasive maneuvers.
“Damn you! Hold still!” He growled. None of his attacks were landing. Each of them came close to hitting, yet they kept on missing by the breadth of a hair. “GAH!” Without warning, a sudden wall of force shoved him off the rooftop. The condensed form of air swatted him away as if he was just a fly.
A large shadow loomed over the speedster from above. The intruder leaped away as a massive cyborg arm smashed straight down into the surface of the flat rooftop, releasing a wave of tremor that vibrated throughout the structure. An expanding crater formed beneath the point of impact, forming root-like cracks and fissures until the entire surface caved in.
“Greetings, I shall be your next opponent!” Amatore Bezio watched the chaos unfold with an elated grin on his face. Destruction was such a beautiful scene. The two of them plummeted while standing on some falling platform of debris. The entire building was collapsing on top of itself. Simultaneously, the two of them propelled off of their foothold and dashed straight towards each other for a massive collision of raw power.
“METEOR SMASH!” The large brutish warrior roared.
The intruder coated his right hand with a concentrated coating of black which camouflaged with his already black hand.
Busoshoku: Koka!
The two punches clashed against one another, releasing a shockwave that blew away the falling debris around them. Wavering heat and violet static electricity radiated out from the point of collision as the colossal forces neutralized one another.
“That Bezio guy is out of control!” Olimpo looked onward from a distance. “If those two keep fighting each other, the entire city block is going to be demolished.”
“But still...,” murmured the man with the oversized mallet, “I can’t believe his opponent is holding his own against him. That Zoan-user is definitely not normal.”
“...,” While standing safely at a distance, the assassin gave a brief glance at his own hand that subtly shook after impact.
My haki isn’t strong enough. The punch from his metallic arm hurts.
“How interesting; had it been anyone else, all of the bones in your arm should have been turned to powder.”
He’s pretty strong; I should eliminate him quickly before he becomes a threat.
In a blink of an eye, the winged combatant had seemingly teleported up close to the brutish cyborg. There was no sound of his footsteps or even the faintest whistle of air when he approached him. His movements were invisibly fast. He stood motionlessly like an empty shell of armory with no one inside.
A metal hand clenched, immediately swinging across the afterimage of the apprehension. Bezio felt two gentle fingers placed along the side of his head, touching directly onto his temples. His peripheral vision noticed a large shadow looming over him before a split second later when all the muscles in his face and upper body convulsed as dazzling lights of mystic violet flashed before his eyes. “AURRHHHHH! AURHHGHHH! AUGHHHH!”
Ghost-like steps carried the agile warrior to walk away from behind the man’s back as the mighty pirate captain tipped forward like a falling corpse. “Guuuhhhh...,” his front foot soon stomped the ground, reestablishing his balance. Wheezing and sweating like mad, his bloodshot eyes turned to look at his opponent whose back is turned to him. Crankily, he lunged forth like a barbarian, causing his right arm to rumble like the sound of an engine being turned on. His limb glowed hot red with statics sparkling out.
“I intended to fry your brain, but you’re a lot tougher than I thought,” the assassin said coldheartedly.
“METEOR...”
Razor Form...
From fast to slow, the assassin gracefully pivoted away from behind the man’s back with his arms and wings moving along with his waist, acting like the spinning blades of a high-speed blender.
“KUH!” Once again, Bezio lost sight of his opponent, but he had no doubt in his mind that the menace was standing at his blind-spot. His giant right metal arm spun in the air, dislocated from its shoulder socket, leaving him gushing out fluids. Several clean slash marks were carved deep into the flesh of his chest and abdomen, gradually soaking his attire in the expanding stains of blood. The enemy’s elongated claws acted as blades; his hands, feet, and wings might as well be embellished with sharp daggers.
Thump! The mechanical arm crashed into the rubbles, and at the same time, the one-armed man collapsed into a pool of crimson.
A symphony of frightened voices panicked throughout the vicinity. One of their mightiest fighters had been taken down right before their very eyes, and the main threat at hand had now revealed a deadly-looking form. A regular Zoan-user could enter just three primarily forms, yet it was as if this bat-human could access additional ones.
“Tsk... noisy pieces of trash,” the assassin blitzed like a wind of death breezing by a crowd of lowlife riffraff. Even the edges his wings sliced like blades. Merciless slashes squelched into flesh and bones, leaving behind a bloody scene of half-dead bodies that cried and screamed in pain and agony. The fact that they remained alive made it all the more terrifying; it only meant that this monster wasn’t even desperate enough to kill any of them despite being drastically outnumbered. Here, the monster walked in a den home to other monsters, yet he had proven to wield to power to slay them all.
This situation became quite dire and serious for the pirates. They were not up against someone who cared about arresting them or simply wanted to partake in a street fight. This man did not play games; he meant business. His no-nonsense approach and superior combative prowess only meant as a warning. Unless they took him seriously and use every resource in their arsenal, their entire forces may very well be wiped out by a single fighter.
The sounds of frightened screams of screams echoed in the distance, approaching closer and closer with each passing second. A mob of warriors made a run for it, heading towards the direction of the Zoan-user who looked onward at the giant multi-headed beast that was chasing them.
A young scruffy man yelled from the sidelines before his feet slowly carried him away, “A Hydru!? Why is something like that doing here!?” The most dangerous creature on Athens Island was now rampaging on their turf. The seven-headed serpent was one of the three main types of creatures that roamed the labyrinth.
“Fufufu..., now then... we can eliminate the intruder by using our most formidable genetically modified specimen,” a middle-aged skinny man stood at the peak of a tall building, watching the chaos unfold. With two fingers, he pressed the center of his glasses to secure it in place. There were many such monsters at their disposal, but if pirate captains were not enough, then sending any other beasts would have been a waste.
The ginormous black serpent slithered down the city with its body taking up nearly the entire width the street itself. Its seven heads were raised as high as the multistory buildings themselves; the sheer length of its body took up several dozens of meters. Each snake head acted on its own accord, opening its jaw wide to reveal its venomous fangs and forked tongue before biting down onto a pirate within their reach.
“It doesn’t matter how much you damage the Hydru,” the mad scientist chuckled sinisterly. “With the genetic trait of a starfish mixed in, it possesses high-speed regeneration. Blades, spears, claws, and fangs, none of that would work on it.” If anyone thought that cutting off its head would kill it, then they would be dead wrong. Any head that gets sliced off would result in two more heads taking its place; it truly did mimicked the mythology of a the renown hydra.
The multi-headed serpent soon confronted the armored man with the leathery black wings of a bat. In comparison, the Zoan-user was heavily dwarfed in terms of size.
“Regeneration, huh?” The assassin repeated what he overhead despite the scientist being several city blocks away. “Why don’t you show me... your regeneration then?” Standing firm on the ground with the claws of his feet anchoring him in place, he crossed his arms before swiftly swiping his razor-sharp claws outwards, projecting two sets of five bladed arcs of air in the overall shape of an ‘X’.
A split-second later, all seven heads were severed into multitude of pieces. Heavy chunks of bloody meat crashed into the ground, reducing the nightmarish beast into nothing more than an oversized carcass.
“...,” the scientist lowered his jaw with his eyes popping out of their sockets, “W-W-W-WHAT!? HE KILLED IT IN JUST ONE HIT?” When all of the Hydru’s heads gets chopped off, then the monster would be killed instantly. Even though he knew of that flaw, he didn’t think they would be anyone capable of slicing all seven heads in one go. Such a feat would belong to a master swordsman, yet the adversary used nothing more than his claws.
“What are you fools standing around for?” Olimpo Scates barked at the massive crowd of minions. “He’s only one man! We have tens of thousands on our side. Take him down!”
Immediately, an army of pirates roared as they charged straight at the Zoan-user with weapons of all kinds. Warriors of all classes converged towards a single point where the true monster stood waiting. However, the first few dozens of them couldn’t even get close to him; a wall of compressed air was suddenly released from a mere flap of his wings, one strong enough to bulldoze them away and crash into other bodies.
The remaining fighters were still numerous as they courageously bolted straight for the winged devil from multiple sides. With several swift swipes, the assassin slashed across several bodies, constantly changing directions and pivoting to handle multiple adversaries at once. Even those who attacked him from behind were all slayed by the claws of his wings which swung back to attack. Blades clashed against his claws, ending up either deflected or broken into pieces. Blood splattered across the scene as bodies fell several at a time. The intruder could effortlessly handle several them at once with each limb handling a different opponent.
CRACK!
Joints were snapped.
SPRAY!
Arteries were sliced open, causing jets of blood to gush out. He could see the blood coursing within their veins; he could sense the subtle difference in heat to detect major blood vessels for him to cut with his bladed claws.
Every motion he made wasn’t wasted. One attack would have its momentum be carried on to the next attack, flowing from one to another. His entire body functioned as a single entity, yet they could attack at multiple directions at once –mostly due to his deadly wings as an additional set of limbs at his control. The precision and accuracy of his strikes were impeccable, aiming straight for the joints, pressure points, major blood vessels, or vital organs. His fighting style combined martial arts, assassination, and animalistic physiology into a single, concise package. He needed not wield any weapon for his forged, powerful body was already a lethal weapon. Even as hundreds were slain, he did not slow down or show any signs of fatigue. He kept moving with each motion seemingly to equate to at least one slain enemy.
More and more pirates began to hesitate; some even retreated. They began to realize how hopeless it was to take on this killing machine. This enemy showed no hesitation to take their lives. As the encircling fighters began sparser, several silhouettes dropped down from above. The longlimb human, the Skypian, the man with a giant iron mallet, a swordswoman with a katana, and an armored knight with a saber and shield, five pirate captains joined forces to attack in unison.
“Hail Barrage!” The longlimb bombarded forth a fury of blinding-fast punches.
“IRON CRUSH!” the giant iron mallet swung down.
“Impact Dial!” The Skypian outstretched a peach-colored shell on his palm.
“Shuriken Slash!” the swordswoman unleashed a spinning four-bladed air projectile.
“Gale Slash” The knight swung forth her double-edged sword, releasing an air slash.
So they’ve finally stopped underestimating me. Very well... I shall return the favor then.
The assassin blurred with a sudden rotational motion. He pivoted on one leg with his slanted wings splayed outwards. “Coiling Dragon,” he whispered as rising whirlwind was summoned by the sheer raw power of his rotating wings like the spinning blades of an electric fan. The twister quickly engulfed all five pirate captains along with countless of minor-ranked pirates into a violent grey storm of debris with countless of loose slashes sprinkled throughout the assault. As a myriad of bodies spun within the giant vortex, flesh were cut, weaponry and armor were either broken were shattered. Tiles of rooftops were ripped out and sucked into the monstrous phenomenon.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? A TORNADO!?” yelled an unfortunate pirate.
Screams were muffled by the rushing winds that blew them around in circles, carrying them further and further upwards. The Coiling Dragon was one of Pluto’s strongest techniques, yet its greatest potential of use was when being surrounded from large numbers of nearby foes.
Thirty seconds later, the whirlwind dwindled in strength and dispersed into a breeze. Countless bodies rained down from great heights, crashing into the ground while covered in blood and slash marks. The vast majority of them were unconscious; only the pirate captains managed to barely cling onto their consciousness. All of their attacks had been completely washed away by an even superior force.
The assassin was nowhere to be seen.
“Haah... Haah... Haah...,” Within an empty room, the intruder wheezed and panted, reduced to being on his hands and knees. The spike of energy from before was completely used up; his stamina was left drained. A while ago, he managed to pinpoint this room, knowing full well that it was deprived of other souls due to his excellent hearing and making it an ideal spot for him to rest and rejuvenate some of his strength. He used his last attack as a cover for his own escape. With an attack of that magnitude, he foresaw himself being exhausted. Fighting any longer without any breaks would have been unwise; he had to pace himself.
All of this was merely a simulation to him. The marine lieutenant, Himeko, was his superior in rank, but he knew nothing about her. He had spent his recent days as a soldier of the marine forces, and the very thought of her wouldn’t even show up in his mind. He didn’t give a damn about the abstract word known as ‘justice’; such an overused word had lost meaning to him a long time ago. However, when he learnt of her disappearance, he began tracking her down in secret; that was how he ended up here in the first place. He had no idea that there would be so many pirates here. There must have been dozens of pirate crews concentrated in this underground fortress.
He didn’t care about that marine girl; yet knowing that she had been captured triggered a deeply rooted rage within him. Over three months ago, his little sister, Rebecca, was kidnapped by someone who originated from the New World. He was defeated by an assassin known as The Raven, who’s affiliated with a large criminal organization of the Underworld. He joined the marines in order to steal information about them while simultaneously sending coded messages to the Revolutionary Army every so often. Every single tearful night, he yearned to save her without knowing what sort of torment may be brought upon her. The parallelism of Himeko being captured by what appears to be an organization of pirates served as nothing more than a means for him to vent his rage. He pretended the pirates were his enemies and pretended that Himeko was his sister. All of this was just a simulation. In order to take back Rebecca, he may very well have to deal with an army of adversaries much like the situation he’s in now.
All he could smell was the blood from countless of slain men. His hands were coated in dark crimson. He could hear the chaos outside, the panicking voices, and the manhunt they’ve sent out in groups. He closed his eyes softly and pictured the face of one particular person in his mind, and soon, his stirred emotions became energy. Pushing himself off the floor, he stood upright. His breath became stable; his violet-hued eyes reopened with a new spark of vitality.
From one voice to the next, he explored and visited several streams of conversation that flowed into his pivoting ears. It was only a matter of time before he found some sort of lead.
...
Scented red candlesticks lined up along the perimeter of the room, standing on desks and small platforms attached to the walls. They gave off a spicy, herbal aroma in the air, and they were the only source of light in dim vacant room where the floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same grey stone.
A young woman remained shackled at the center of the room. Her body was left limp like a withered flower, having very little life left. Her wrists were locked in manacles with a single chain linking her constraints to the ceiling, leading her arms to be fully raised over her head.
“Oooo~! I just love seeing you weaken little by little,” the redhead pirate held up a syringe in her hand with a clear fluid filled up inside. Her lips trembled with excitement. Just how much longer would this marine girl last? What would happen if she injects this drug into her? Would she die? Or will she suffer a bit longer? She had been waiting for so long just so this girl could recover a bit of strength, and then she could drain it out of her all over again.
She took a moment to appreciate the helpless scene of the youth who had been kept captive in here throughout the whole day. The girl’s long, brown hair was let down with a few strands out of order. Her pale peach-colored robe was ragged, torn, and cut up. Her sleeves were ripped off.
“Now then...,” she licked her lips. “Let’s see how you’ll handle this one,” the sadistic woman swung her hand, ready to stab the girl in her bare arm. Her swift movement was then stopped shortly as a hand clutched her wrist.
CRACK!
A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the chamber. The redhead pirate felt the bone of her wrist snap in pain by the vice-like grip of the intruder that hid within her shadow. She didn’t even sense him enter the room. Admittedly, she tended to be zoned out when torturing others, but it was difficult to believe that she didn’t pick up a single footstep down the stairwell. This was supposed to be her personal private chamber; no one was supposed to be allowed in here, not even her own subordinates.
A sinister, cold voice spoke to her, “I take it that you’re Toxic Rose, Aileen Cotton.”
“Who the hell are you!?” She hissed viciously while tending to her broken joint. The syringe that she held in her grasp had been disarmed. A lithe armored man with leathery bat wings stood before her with a hood shadowing his true face. His inhuman appearance took her aback. Without any hesitation, the intruder swiftly stabbed the woman at the side of her arm, pressing with his thumb to squeeze every last drop of the substance into her.
“My name is Midnight,” he responded to her question with the codename that he wore as an agent of the Revolutionary Army. Once all of the fluid was visibly emptied out, he pulled out the needle just as swiftly as when it pierced into her bloodstream.
“W-What... have you done!?” Aileen staggered back before falling onto her buttocks. Never had she ever dreamt of her own drugs being used against her.
“You tell me because I don’t have the faintest idea what I just injected into you,” he said nonchalantly and tossed the empty syringe aside.
The redhead gaped in shock. She felt the immediate effects of her body feeling exponentially more sensitive than before. Her limbs were sluggish to respond, slowly losing their ability to listen to her commands. She clenched her teeth, staring furiously at the demonic being, “Midnight...? I’ll remember you..., you will pay dearly for this...”
With a quick extension of his wings, the Zoan-user released a gust of wind out to the side, blowing away every last flicker of light that the candles had to offer and leaving the room engulfed in pure darkness. Echolocation allowed him to see through the darkness; he was the only one in the room who wasn’t hindered by the lack of light. Through the echoes of his ultrasonic pulses, he could easily make out every nook and cranny of his surroundings. Claws slashes through the air, aimed to slice through the shackles that constrained the person of interest.
WHOOSH!
Chains clanged onto the cold hard floor. He carried the slender girl into his arms and left the room. He didn’t need to feel her pulse to know that she was still alive; he could already hear her breath.
After walking up the stairs and leaving the building, he was immediately greeted by gunshots from several rifles pointed straight at him. Several rounds were fired, yet he continued to stride onward. Both of his thick iron-hard wings overlapped in front of him, shielding him from the bullets while leaving his arms free to carry the marine girl. This special modified form of his was inspired by the technique known as Tekkai from the opponents he has faced in the past who knew the art of Rokushiki. The wings of a bat contained a network of muscles; all he had to do was enhance and tense them up. This wasn’t the first time he used it since his time in this underground city. The tradeoff was losing his ability to fly as long as he remained in this form.
“Damn it! Bullets don’t work on him?” cursed the sniper from afar.
“Stay back! You monster!” A pirate desperately pulled the trigger repeatedly despite having run out of ammunition.
Silently, their target vanished without a trace. The Zoan-user used a technique known as Shadow Step, allowing him to relocate himself with silent speed. He hid from shadow to shadow between buildings; and eventually, he reached the exit – the same as the entrance he used to arrive here. Pirates, who have spotted him leave, no longer dared to attack him; they should consider it a blessing for that monster to finally leave them alone. Much of their forces had already been wiped out. If losing that marine officer was all it took to get rid of him, then that was a trade that would happily make now that they learned what kind of demon they had been up against. It wasn’t even a close battle. Their most elite pirate captains were all defeated.
None of them knew what was to come. Was their reputation now tarnished? That invader seemed to be neither a marine nor a pirate. The methods taken to rescue a marine officer did not resemble that of the navy that they were familiar with. They did not know who he was or what connection he had with the marine girl. Even more mysterious was the fact that such a strong and powerful fighter remained unknown to them all. They had never heard of any rumors in regards to a Zoan-user who was practically a one-man-army; whoever this monster was must have had laid dormant for quite a long time for there was no pirate or marine that they know of who even mildly resembled his way of fighting.
...
“Mmm...,” Slowly, Himeko opened her eyes; it felt like she had woken up from a nightmare. Her head was pulsing from a severe headache. Her body was running on roughly twenty percent of her usual energy. She found herself lying in bed in the medical center at the marine base; the interior designs of the room were all too familiar in her eyes.
“Welcome back, Lieutenant Himeko,” a soft voice greeted her from afar. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light and for the distant face to become recognizable.
“Plu-to?” She said softly and uncertainly. There was no mistaken it; those mysterious violet-colored eyes could only belong to one soldier that she knows. The boy had his back leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, being the only other person present in this room. He was a youth who stood at an average height with short black hair, wearing the standard marine attire consisted of a sleeveless white top, navy-blue pants, brown boots, and a white cap. To her recent recollection, he was a rookie who was an extremely talented individual, holding the rank of First Class Seaman Recruit despite having just joined the navy several days ago. He had been privately tutored by former Petty Officer Tsubaki Taighana. Ever since she saw him; she had her eyes locked onto him. There was something quite enigmatic about him. With his permission, she had him assigned as her own subordinate, but she had never treated him as someone beneath her. If anything, she viewed him almost as an equal. After all, she had briefly sparred with him before, and the boy was able to hold impressively well, seemingly taking on the role of testing her from a higher up level. Till this day, she couldn’t help but feel that he had been holding back. The boy never seemed too tire out or sweat from physical activities that would usually exhaust most lowly rank soldiers. She was of the opinion that he should at least be an officer, but other marines felt that he was too inexperienced as a soldier. She personally did a background check on him before, and rumor had it that this boy used to be a bounty hunter from North Blue, one who singlehandedly captured a pirate captain with a bounty over thirty million at the time. He, himself, even confirmed that to be fact, yet there was no solid proof or evidence to verify it. This whole system in the military seemed to be unfairly placing this boy at a very low rank than what he deserves.
“How much do you remember from last night?” The pragmatic individual went straight to the point.
“Huh?” She looked almost puzzled. Her mind was hazy, but she recalled being chained up and tortured. She remembered feeling helpless and accepted her death. She remembered being in Hannai, the forbidden place of Athens Island where no one should ever step foot in. But, none of that made any sense. She should have been dead. How did she end up here at the marine base? “How... did I... get here?”
“Beats me,” he expressed ignorance. “All I heard was that you went missing yesterday morning and you that were found unconscious on the ground right outside of the base. From there, you were brought inside, and the doctors found you in terrible shape. Do you not remember anything?”
Himeko remained silent, slowly digesting in what he was telling her. She couldn’t tell him. She’d get in trouble if her superiors learned of her reckless decisions last night. The fact that she was still alive and safe was a complete and utter miracle. “Midnight...,” she whispered.
“Hmm? Did someone happen at midnight?” Pluto asked inquisitively despite having his heart beating slightly faster when he heard his codename mentioned. Of all the things she could’ve remembered, that was the only word he’d wish she didn’t remember. Perhaps, she heard of subconsciously, but even then, she still lacked the necessary information to deduce what actually happened.
“Ah..., no... It’s nothing,” she shook her head. One thing was for sure. Someone must have rescued her last night. Based on what Pluto had just told her, it seemed that even the marines had no clue what happened to her. She was found lying outside of the marine base? Who could have done that? It couldn’t have been a marine soldier because they would have brought her directly inside to the facility rather than leaving her outside in the cold. “Hey... Pluto...,” she spoke softly while gazing down at her bed.
“Hmm?” He tilted his head.
“When I get better, may I spar with you again?” She asked in an eager tone.
“No thanks...,” he said bluntly while wielding a dull expression on his face.
“Huh? W-Why?” Himeko raised her head, astonished by the immediate denial. This subordinate of hers was so much different than the rest of them, making it difficult to figure him out.
“I don’t wanna get beaten up by you,” he grumbled. “Do you treat all of your lackeys as punching bags?” As always, he would play the same card as before when it comes to situations like this, and that was to downplay himself while allowing those around him to shine. It was such an effective tactic that would work on every prideful human.
“No, just you,” she answered casually.
“...,” His brows tensed, believing what she said to be true.
“Ha-ha-ha! I’m just kidding,” She giggled, feeling a bit cheered up. “But Pluto..., I think you ought to be promoted to at least an Ensign, don’t you think? Your talents are being wasted as your current rank.”
“Himeko, you know very well that I don’t care about ranks. I don’t care about status or fame; I don’t care about this entire hierarchal system. Each rank has its own merits and pitfalls. As a low-ranked soldier, I have fewer responsibilities to deal with, but I get assigned to mundane tasks. I suppose my life here has been rather... boring. So far, it has been nothing but useless training.”
“Is sparring with me useless training then?” She pouted, tying this conversation back to her first question.
“Ngh...,” he was left speechless at first as blatantly saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would hold negative consequences for him. “I think it’d be more worthwhile to actually do an actual mission. No amount of training can replace real life experience.”
“Ooo... well said,” she smiled. “I’ve been dying to find out... what the extent of your limit is.”
What a troublesome superior to have... her curiosity worries me.
