"You... killed him..."
The naked, bruised woman stared in horror at the Celestial Dragon lying in a pool of blood. Her body trembled as she looked at the blood spreading across the floor, her face pale with shock.
Everything before her felt unreal, like a dream.
"You... killed a Celestial Dragon..."
She repeated it again and again under her breath, reaching out to touch the blood seeping toward her, feeling its warm texture.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"You killed him..."
The smile twisted into something manic.
"Hahahahahaha!!! You killed him!!!"
"He's finally dead!!!"
"Hahahahahaha..."
She burst into wild laughter, even as blood-tinged tears welled up in her eyes.
"He's finally dead... sob..."
Her voice broke. Then came the flood of sobs.
Daren looked at the woman—laughing, crying, her expression crazed and distorted—and lowered his gaze.
"You're free," he said.
"Free?"
A bitter smile crept across her face. She slowly turned her body, revealing her bare back to Daren.
Branded into her skin was the glaring red mark of the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon."
"For someone like me, where in this world is there freedom?"
She raised her head and smiled at Daren.
There was a calm in her smile—perhaps even a sense of release.
"Thank you, Marine-sama."
She struggled to her feet, then dropped to her knees and bowed her head deeply to Daren.
"I have no reason left to live. Everyone I ever cared about was killed by him."
"Please... go do what you must."
Daren stared at her.
In her eyes, he saw an unwavering resolve to die.
He didn't know what she had endured, or how long she had suffered under Saint Xildes.
But he had always lived by one rule—
If you haven't experienced someone's pain yourself, don't judge their life.
"I understand."
"Then, farewell."
With those words, Daren turned and walked out of the cabin without hesitation.
The woman remained kneeling, watching the Marine Captain's figure disappear into the distance. She wiped the tears from her face.
Her eyes were no longer vacant or numb.
A soft, radiant smile slowly bloomed on her bloodstained face—
Like a flower blooming tenaciously on the edge of a cliff.
"Thank you... truly... Marine-sama."
"If I were to survive, it would only trouble you further..."
She smiled faintly.
Then, slowly picked up the golden pistol from the ground.
Bang! Bang!
Gritting her teeth, she fired two shots into the corpse of the Celestial Dragon.
"Father, Mother... I'm coming to join you."
Her smile was gentle, almost peaceful.
She raised the barrel to her temple.
The final bullet was meant for herself.
...
Bang!
A gunshot rang out behind him, followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor, but Daren didn't slow his pace.
He wasn't a saint.
He couldn't force someone who had chosen death to find the will to live.
Before, she had no choice.
Now, at least, she had the freedom to choose death.
Suppressing the churn of emotion inside, Daren strode toward the cabin of the official ship where the slaves were held.
The locked cabin door blasted off its hinges.
No one stood in his way as he stepped inside.
The air was thick with the stench of rot and damp. A dim yellow oil lamp flickered in the murky atmosphere.
Curled up in the corner of a cage, Lia flinched at the noise. Panic flashed across her small face, but the moment she saw who it was, fear gave way to joy.
Daren waved his hand.
The steel cage instantly collapsed, twisting and crumpling in on itself. The shackles on the little girl's body snapped and fell away.
"Marine brother!!"
The gag slipped from her mouth as she cried out, stumbling forward and throwing herself into Daren's leg, clinging tightly.
Daren ruffled her hair with a smile.
"Let's go. I'll take you home."
Lia nodded hard, her eyes red.
Hand in hand, they walked out of the cabin.
...
But when Lia stepped onto the deck and saw the bodies strung up in steel, her face went deathly pale.
She instinctively turned toward the cabin.
The grotesque, monstrous Celestial Dragon lay lifeless in a pool of blood.
Lia released Daren's hand and took two terrified steps back.
Then suddenly, she gritted her teeth and flung herself toward the mast!
Daren reached out and caught her by the collar, lifting her up like a kitten.
"What are you doing?" he asked with a frown.
The little girl's voice quivered through her tears.
"I'm not allowed to live, am I?"
"If I do, I'll bring a lot of trouble for Marine brother…"
Daren froze for a second, then let out a quiet sigh.
He remembered how her father had tried to smash his head against the wall earlier. The resemblance between them was undeniable.
He scooped her up and said firmly,
"You survived. That means you live."
"Your father's waiting for you to come home."
"I took your money. That means it's my duty to protect you."
The little girl blinked, a little embarrassed.
"But... but the money I gave you... it wasn't much…"
Daren smiled.
"It's enough."
A metal hoverboard drifted toward them. He stepped onto it and began to rise into the sky.
Hovering high above, Daren cradled the grimy little girl in one arm. He looked down at the blood-soaked World Government ship below. Raising his hand, he spread his fingers and made a distant grabbing motion.
Rumble...
Clang, crackle!
Drawn by the metal hull of the ship, the entire vessel began to compress, crumple, and twist under a strange magnetic force.
With a thunderous boom, the ship's gunpowder and cannons exploded. A massive fireball erupted skyward, engulfing the ship in flames.
The blast's heat and shockwave surged upward. Instinctively, Lia buried her face in the Marine Captain's chest—like it was the safest place in the world.
The ship slowly sank, and the World Government's flag—symbol of supreme power—was reduced to ashes in the blaze.
Black smoke curled toward the heavens.
From the heavy clouds above came flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder. A long-brewing storm was finally arriving.
In the flickering, distorted firelight...
Daren saw faces—faint, shifting, like a dream.
He saw Gion on the street, eyes vacant, clutching a rose.
He saw Tokikake slamming his fists into a wall.
He saw the man kneeling before him, offering a pile of coins in desperate plea.
He saw the woman, smiling as she lifted the golden pistol to end her life.
He saw the twisted, grinning face of the Celestial Dragon...
One face after another. One memory after another. Surfacing in the roaring blaze.
Daren exhaled a long breath.
The suffocating frustration in his chest... finally dissipated.
And in its place, a surge of emotion and strength welled up within him—too powerful to hold back.
Crack!!
A blinding white bolt of lightning split the dark sky, illuminating the entire world.
Then came the storm, fierce and unrelenting.
Wind howled. Clouds surged.
Suspended in the air, the Marine Captain's aura rose higher and higher. His wide cloak billowed behind him like a rampaging dragon.
A tremendous, domineering force exploded from his body—echoing the storm around him.
The world trembled.
At that moment...
In Daren's awareness, a new "item" quietly appeared.
Conqueror's Haki: 20
The aura of a king... awakened.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake