Along with that explosive boom, a speck of light grew brighter and brighter, drawing ever closer.
Hearing that familiar sound, Aequus finally let go of the anxiety gripping his heart.
An unprecedented sense of relief washed over him.
In a few flashes, that light reached the spot beneath the falling Christa.
The pirate aiming his blade at Christa had no idea what had happened before he was smashed into a spray of blood and flesh.
Christa had been distraught and terrified, a chill settling in her heart.
But what caught her was neither the hard ground nor an enemy's sharp blade.
Instead, she landed in a warm embrace.
She adored that embrace and instinctively wanted to nuzzle into it, but she simply had no strength left.
So she let out a few soft whimpers instead.
Then streams of warmth flowed from that embrace into her body.
Christa's strength gradually returned, and her wounds healed at an unbelievable speed.
"Big brother Randall."
Christa called out softly, then buried her head in Randall's chest, utterly at ease.
"Boss, you're finally here."
Aequus gave an awkward smile and plopped down on the ground.
"What happened to you guys? Admiral Akainu, something's wrong with you."
Randall looked in surprise at Akainu, who was struggling to hold off the pirates around him.
Seeing Randall arrive, Akainu felt both embarrassed and shocked, followed by a trace of joy.
He was embarrassed because, as Randall's senior, he had ended up in such a sorry state.
Had he simply been outmatched, Akainu would have had nothing to say.
But the problem was that someone had played him dirty.
That made the embarrassment all the worse.
His shock came from the fact that Randall had not only returned, but returned so quickly—and he was completely unscathed, without even the