"Are you coming down yourself, or... do I have to come up and invite you?"
Yas's voice, so flat it held not a trace of emotion, reached the ears of King, the Pteranodon high in the sky, with perfect clarity.
Gulp.
King instinctively swallowed. A chill from the deepest reaches of his soul crawled frantically up his spine like maggots clinging to bone, making even his enormous beastly body shudder violently.
Come down?
Was he kidding?!
He had seen with his own eyes how that monster had pulverized that idiot Jack's entire skull from the inside with a single casual kick!
That was Jack the Drought! The monster among their All-Stars renowned for sheer strength and endurance!
If even he could not withstand a kick from that man, King's own body would fare no better if he went down!
Run!
I have to run now!
That thought instantly consumed King's entire mind like wildly growing weeds!
He could no longer spare a thought for Queen, who lay on the ground struggling to recover after being pierced by a finger, nor for Captain Rocks's or Boss Kaido's orders!
Before the overwhelming terror of death, all honor, loyalty, and missions seemed so pale and laughable!
"You damned monster! Just you wait!"
King let out a frenzied roar, fierce on the outside but fearful within, as though bolstering his courage to flee.
His enormous leathery wings, which blotted out the sky, beat fiercely. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned into a streak of black light and fled frantically toward the distant horizon at a speed far beyond his previous limit!
He believed that as long as he flew high and fast enough, the Pteranodon's unparalleled aerial dominance and maneuverability would ensure that no one in this world could catch him!
"Trying to run?"