The Celestial Dragon's shrill screams rang throughout the entire World Government ship.
Inside the cabin, the woman—covered in lash marks and lying in a pool of blood—stared blankly at the shrieking "god," her mind completely empty.
This Marine... had actually injured a Celestial Dragon.
No!
He was trying to kill a Celestial Dragon!!
Was he insane!?
Or did he have a death wish!?
Any act that offended a Celestial Dragon, no matter who committed it, would bring down the World Government's furious retaliation. They might even send a Marine Admiral.
This was a forbidden line that no one on the seas could cross.
"You're too noisy."
Darren frowned and waved a hand, looking somewhat impatient.
At his gesture, two steel rods rose from the cabin floor and shot out with a whoosh, piercing Saint Childers's feet like blades and pinning them to the wall.
Blood poured from his pierced hands and feet, dripping to the floor. Within seconds, it had gathered into a horrifying pool.
"Arghhh!!"
"You're dead, Darren!!"
The unbearable pain made Saint Childers scream again. He nearly passed out from the agony.
He was a Celestial Dragon, born atop the highest peak in the world. He was a "god," a descendant of the creators.
He had been pampered since birth. He had never suffered an injury like this—not even a bump or a bruise.
"I thought the blood of a lofty god would be golden... I didn't expect it to be no different from an ordinary person's. Looks like Celestial Dragons aren't gods after all."
Darren smiled.
Saint Childers's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at him.
That wretched smile again!
False, mocking, as if he didn't even take him—a god—seriously.
That was exactly why Saint Childers couldn't stand Darren.
What he hated most was that he couldn't see the familiar fear in Darren's eyes.
The fear that lowly, filthy commoners were supposed to show when they looked at the Celestial Dragons. It filled him with boundless rage.
"Do you think the World Government won't retaliate for this? Do you think you can get away?"
Saint Childers gasped for breath, growling like a beast.
"Retaliate?"
Darren laughed.
"Who would know I did it? For one thing..."
He pointed at the mountains of gold and silver treasures piled inside the cabin.
"At least, everyone on Batia Island will think that I, a disgrace to the North Blue Marines, gave a huge sum of money to curry favor with the great Saint Childers."
"Who would believe a Marine would dare attack a Celestial Dragon?"
At Darren's words, Saint Childers's pupils contracted.
He fought off the dizziness from losing so much blood and gritted his teeth.
"Darren, I don't understand. Why did you attack me...?"
Then he seemed to realize something.
"Is it because of that little girl?"
Darren's silence confirmed the answer.
"Just because of a commoner!?"
He looked utterly incredulous.
"She's nothing but a lowly commoner!! Why go this far!?"
Darren gazed quietly at the snarling Celestial Dragon before him. The blood on the floor had already spread beneath his military boots.
"She's not just a commoner."
He spoke suddenly.
"She's a commoner under my jurisdiction."
Saint Childers roared:
"Why should you care whether a commoner lives or dies!?"
"Besides, don't think I don't know what kind of man you are!"
"Everyone in the North Blue knows you support Mafia forces and squeeze money out of lowly commoners!"
"In the end, you're no better than me!!"
Darren suddenly laughed.
He crooked a finger.
The steel wrapped around Saint Childers's right arm suddenly tightened and twisted.
Crack!
A blood-soaked severed arm shot into the air.
"Arghhh!!"
Saint Childers convulsed with pain. Yellow urine began seeping from the crotch of his luxurious silk robe.
"You're right. I'm no good man. That's why I came."
Darren's voice was calm.
"If I were a good man, I probably wouldn't have dared come."
"Of course... I didn't want to come, either. I wanted even less to deal with disgusting Celestial Dragons like you. I just wanted to live quietly and build up the North Blue Fleet."
"But I took that father and daughter's money."
"Took... their money?"
Saint Childers panted frantically, his eyeballs nearly bulging from their sockets as the pain overwhelmed him. "How much did you take from them? I'm a Celestial Dragon. I have all the money in the world..."
"If you let me go, I'll give you as much as you want!! No, not just money. I can give you anything!"
"Women—not just human women. I can get you women from other races, too, as many as you want..."
"Power? I can have you promoted to Marine Vice Admiral right away!"
"I can give you anything you want..."
Darren sighed.
"Can you give me anything I want?"
The Celestial Dragon panted weakly, a hint of delight flashing in his eyes as he nodded with a smile.
"That's right. Just say the word! Ask for anything. Anything at all."
Just as you'd expect from a Celestial Dragon.
"There is something I've been wanting."
Darren looked at Saint Childers and tilted his head. A ferocious grin slowly curled his lips.
"I want to kill you."
Saint Childers froze. But the next second, he burst into a wild laugh.
"Kill me... and you'll die too!"
"Darren, you didn't see this coming, did you!?"
"The World Government's ships are all equipped with hidden surveillance Den Den Mushi!!"
"At this very moment, the World Government has already seen what's happening here!!"
"You're dead!! Hahahahahaha!!"
He stared at Darren with a crazed look, trying to find shock and fear in the other man's eyes.
But he failed.
A smile.
The Marine Captain still wore that same infuriating smile.
A deep unease welled up inside Saint Childers, making his heart race.
"Saint Childers, compared to other Celestial Dragons, you're one of the clever ones."
Darren spoke with interest.
"I'll give you a chance."
Without making any apparent move, he released all the steel restraining Saint Childers.
The Celestial Dragon slid down the wall like a lump of mud, gasping for breath.
Darren took out a Military Den Den Mushi and casually tossed it over.
"Give it a try. See if you can get a signal."
Under the Marine Captain's faintly amused gaze, Saint Childers's heart gave a jolt.
He gritted his teeth and tried to make the Den Den Mushi call out.
One second,
two seconds,
three seconds...
The Military Den Den Mushi remained asleep.
No response.
All the color drained from Saint Childers's face, leaving it deathly pale.
The communications signal had been blocked.
"Impossible..."
His eyes unfocused as he murmured.
For a moment, it was as if his soul had been pulled out of his body. He sat there, dazed and numb.
"The Den Den Mushi's communications... They've all been blocked. How is that possible...?"
With the signal blocked, no one in the world would know what had happened aboard this government ship!
Saint Childers began to tremble all over. At last, deep despair filled his eyes.
Darren watched him silently, a phantom arc of electricity flickering between his fingers.
He wasn't an idiot who acted recklessly in a moment of passion.
From the moment Saint Childers had refused to listen and insisted on taking the little girl away, Darren had decided to kill the ugly swine.
So, while "capturing" the little girl, he had slipped his Vivre Card into her hand.
That way, he could learn Saint Childers's route.
And by taking over the security assignment, he had managed to obtain information on the CP members assigned to the escort mission.
That left only one final problem before he could kill Saint Childers.
Surveillance!
World Government ships were usually equipped with surveillance Den Den Mushi to ensure the Celestial Dragons' safety.
But that was meaningless against his ability.
With his Magnet-Magnet Fruit developed to its current level, he could create a magnetic field centered on himself, with a radius of about a hundred meters.
Within the magnetic field, Den Den Mushi signals would be completely blocked.
Its range was enough to cover the entire government ship!
He had gotten the idea from Doflamingo's Birdcage.
And that... was the greatest reason Darren dared to attack a Celestial Dragon!
"No!! Why!? If you knew I was stalling, why didn't you just kill me!?"
Saint Childers suddenly lifted his head and glared at Darren, howling in a frenzy.
He didn't understand.
This man clearly had more than enough strength to kill him with ease, and had seen through his intentions. So why hadn't he simply killed him?
Darren narrowed his eyes, a mocking smile curling his lips.
"Because killing you quickly and cleanly... would be far too kind."
As he spoke, the despair on the father and daughter's faces on Batia Island flashed through his mind.
"At least, before you die, I want you to taste... despair."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Darren slowly drew his pistol.
In the Celestial Dragon's despairing, lifeless gaze,
the gun's muzzle
pressed gently against his forehead.
"No!!"
For the first time, unprecedented fear spread across Saint Childers's eyes. He screamed in terror:
"I'm a Celestial Dragon! If you kill me..."
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
Darren pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The bullet pierced his forehead and exited through the back of his head, leaving a gaping hole.
A spray of red and white splattered across the cabin wall in a wide fan.
Saint Childers's body jerked. The light in his pupils faded rapidly.
"Damn it... You took their money... just because of... a commoner..."
He slowly toppled over.
His expression froze in place, a jumble of confusion, bewilderment, shock, and fear... All those emotions came together in an absurd yet vivid ukiyo-e.
He was dead.
Darren stood over the Celestial Dragon's corpse, looking down at him with calm detachment.
"You take the money, you do the job."
"That's the rule in the North Blue."
Thanks for any support. I'm deeply grateful.
Before you continue