The girl named Oguri Cap landed beside him and pressed a hand against her companion's thick arm.
Her ears flattened backward in a guarded posture.
"Don't you understand yet?"
Her voice was cold, like a blade steeped in night dew.
"Those slave traders back then all had the same tattoo on the backs of their necks-a clover entwined with chains."
The girl's fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of her collar. "When we were forced aboard the ship, someone was humming in the hold.
"The tune was... exactly like that man's laugh just now."
Rody's pupils contracted.
He remembered those days and nights of captivity: the rusty smell of iron cages, the salty tang of seawater, and a figure who was always watching them through the bars.
Back then, he had thought it was a curious crewman. Looking back now, that gaze had been more like someone assessing the quality of merchandise.
"Heh do do..."
The laughter rang out again, this time with undisguised delight.
"Clever girl."
Breed adjusted the brim of his hat. "Too bad you figured it out too late."
The rare beast's wings stirred up currents of air, sweeping up the leaves scattered across the ground.
The leaves spiraled upward, turning into tiny flecks of silver light beneath the moon.
Pica still did not move.
Blood streamed down his calves, spreading dark stains across the soil.
The children clinging to him bit tirelessly, like wound-up **.
His gaze passed over those furry heads toward the man in the night sky.
"The Pet-Pet Fruit..."
Rossi finally murmured the words.
The memory became perfectly clear: an outdated wanted poster, with a blurry photograph printed in the corner.
The epithet was "Lord of the Cage."
And the description of his power was only a single short line-"Can make anyone wearing a