Tap! Tap! Tap!
The footsteps were light, but in the dead silence, they seemed especially conspicuous.
"W-who's there?" the pirate at the front asked, trembling from head to toe.
It was not that he did not want to run; his legs had simply gone too weak to move!
"More have come..." Apophis stepped out of the dark room, his voice beneath the mask utterly indifferent. "Are you here to die?"
"We were just passing by! Just passing by!" the lead pirate shrieked, scrambling and crawling toward the exit.
They had no idea how strong he was, but the Masked Man's presence was simply too overwhelming. No matter how they looked at him, he did not seem like someone they could afford to provoke!
"So cool! So cool!" Hearts glittered in the little beggar's eyes as she completely forgot about the pirates.
Hiss! Hiss!
With a light flick of his fingertips, several streaks of sword energy tore apart the fleeing pirates.
Seeing Apophis look her way, the little beggar hurriedly said, "Great Swordsman, please do not look at my face... Huh?"
A faint ripple stirred in Apophis's placid eyes. "That masked brat from yesterday was actually Boa Hancock? That was my oversight."
"Lord Apophis is indeed so powerful! He can actually ignore my ability!" Hancock had clearly not eaten the fruit long ago and could not yet restrain her own charm.
"You are not afraid of me?"
"Aah! Lord Apophis spoke to me!" Hancock cried out excitedly before looking at him with worshipful eyes. "Of course I am not afraid. Lord Apophis, you are the best person in the world."
A good person? You must have some misunderstanding about me, Apophis.
Apophis took two steps forward and placed his right hand against Hancock's smooth forehead. Before long, he had grasped every