Goddess of the Dark Night, Are You Sick in the Head?

Trembling, the captain of the guards asked Hoffman timidly, "My lord, what should we do now?"

"Right now, you should tremble less."

Hoffman adjusted his bow tie and gave the captain an icy glance. "Otherwise, I'll kill you here for offending a Celestial Dragon!"

"Y-yes... I understand!"

The captain's voice was utterly despairing. Beneath his full helmet, his face was covered in snot and tears. He clutched his spear tightly with both hands, struggling to steady his shaking legs for fear of disturbing Lu Ye, who was lying atop his helmet.

Lu Ye looked everyone over a few more times, then quickly lost interest. He sprang away, hopping after Jinbao.

A plump golden rat with glossy fur was clearly far more appetizing than guards in hard iron armor.

With the [Strongman] trait activated, Lu Ye's greater strength gave him greater mobility, letting him climb and leap across almost any terrain.

Along the way, he kept punching a path through, smashing vases, tearing apart wooden furniture, even punching holes in the walls or sending guards who got in his way flying with a single punch.

The lavish bedchamber was instantly filled with dust, visibly turning into a ruin.

Jinbao whimpered in distress, crying as he fled and narrowly escaping danger several times.

"Stop chasing me... Big shot, you said you'd have me covered, but did you mean cover me with your stomach? I failed my flying class!"

A moment later, a man arrived outside the bedchamber. His hair was fiery red, with the tips pointing forward in the shape of a crescent moon. He was tall and slender, with a cold, stern face, and the presence he unwittingly exuded was sharper than the long sword at his waist.

The Celestial Dragons crowded in the courtyard, who had come to watch the commotion, made way for him and nodded in greeting.

Even among Celestial Dragons, some were more exalted than others.

Bang!

An armored guard crashed through the doors and flew backward like a rag!

The man raised a hand and backhanded the guard aside in an instant, as if swatting a fly.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped his hand, then turned to look at the terrifying fist print denting the armor on the guard's chest. He looked toward the dark bedchamber, and a meaningful smile curled his lips.

"How many years has it been? Interesting new blood has been born among us again..."

"Hungry!"

A terrifying roar came from inside the bedchamber, sending a wave of air surging outward!

The next second, Lu Ye shot out of the dust, pitch-black all over. Baring his teeth and claws, he lunged straight for the man's face!

The man raised an arm slightly and easily neutralized Lu Ye's charge with one hand, gripping him firmly in his palm.

Three tall figures flickered into view and knelt on one knee behind the man. "Lord Saint Garling!" they said in unison.

They were the three agents Hoffman, Flora, and Evan.

"Hungry... hungry!"

Lu Ye struggled with all his might, opening his mouth to bite the man's fingers.

But neither his strength, which was enough to punch through walls, nor the terrifying bite force granted by [Strongman] could do the man the slightest harm.

Once they saw Lu Ye's condition clearly, the Celestial Dragons watching immediately cried out in alarm.

"What kind of monster has the Donquixote Family given birth to?!"

"It's mad blood, the kind only found in lowly commoners!"

"It's an insult to our noble Celestial Dragon bloodline! Cast him out of the Holy Land! We can't let this go!"

"Doffy, hee hee... Doffy!"

Perched on the back of a burly slave, Charlos sniffled as he watched Doffy's face darken, then chuckled gleefully.

"You actually survived a fight with a monster like that? How impressive!"

A vein bulged on Doffy's forehead as he viciously seized Charlos by the collar.

"This is no time for jokes! Charlos, if you dare call him a monster again, believe it or not, I'll kill you right now!"

Charlos muttered a couple of words and fell silent.

"Silence!"

The red-haired man raised his fist, signaling everyone to quiet down. Studying the black beast struggling in his palm, he frowned slightly.

"Armament Haki. No wonder he could damage iron armor, but can a body his age withstand it?"

Armament Haki drew the most refined power from the body itself. Ordinary people could master the technique through rigorous training.

Those with astonishing talent might also unleash it inadvertently.

But the human body was like a mineral deposit: the power it contained had its limits, especially when the body was weak.

Lu Ye's current condition was like a small bucket fitted with a huge tap. All his potential was being forcibly squeezed out and squandered in the most extravagant fashion.

If he couldn't stop, the full-body Armament Haki coating that was draining his life force would be an express ticket to death.

"Longinus!"

Liana pushed her way through the crowd and hurried to the red-haired man's side. The moment she looked at her youngest son, tears streamed down her face.

The little fellow, who had been full of life just hours ago, was now nothing but skin and bones, mindlessly biting the man's fingers like a beast.

"Garling, please save Longinus!"

Liana pressed a hand to her chest, her voice choked with sobs.

Garling glanced at Liana, a smile rising to his lips. "Liana, you haven't disgraced your family name. You gave birth to something interesting, and the family will reward your contribution."

Liana shuddered, her face turning extremely pale, but she forced herself to speak. "Please, Garling."

"I can only try. If he can't learn to retract his Haki... such talent. Tsk, it really would be a shame if he died..."

Garling stared at Lu Ye, and a flash of red suddenly flickered in his eyes.

Hum-

A powerful pressure erupted outward from him in all directions.

Conqueror's Haki!

The One Piece world's monkey detector, the dividing line for top-tier powerhouses!

Thanks to Garling's deliberate control, the vision of those caught in its reach merely went dark before clearing again in an instant.

Lu Ye, who bore the brunt of it, rolled his eyes and fell unconscious.

At the same time, the pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly receded from the top of his head like an ebbing tide.

"It worked!"

Garling smiled. "Once he was forcibly rendered unconscious, his body cut off the supply of Haki. Liana, take him back and make sure..."

Halfway through his sentence, Garling frowned again. A moment later, he chuckled. "Interesting..."

Lu Ye, who should have remained unconscious for at least several hours, had begun gnawing on his fingers again. The black Armament Haki on his body was spreading toward the top of his head, seemingly poised to cover him completely once more.

Hum-

Red light flickered in Garling's eyes as he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki again.

Lu Ye's eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious once more.

If time went back to the moment Garling first unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, this was how events unfolded from Lu Ye's perspective:

Reason, represented by the brain, fought fiercely with primal instinct, represented by the stomach, for control of the body. But reason collapsed at the first clash and was completely suppressed by savagery.

His remaining consciousness was like a lone boat lost on a vast sea, desperate and helpless, unable to find the far shore.

Suddenly, a mighty power descended from the heavens. An even stronger external force swept away his primal instinct in an instant, and reason briefly returned.

But immediately afterward, for the same reason as his primal instinct, it rapidly faded, gradually sinking into boundless darkness...

In plain English-Garling's Conqueror's Haki had knocked him out.

Just as Lu Ye thought he had found release, he suddenly heard a woman give a soft, surprised exclamation in the darkness.

Before Lu Ye could figure out what was happening, a slap struck him squarely across his true spirit...

Smack!

The lone boat that had sunk into the abyss was forcibly smacked back to the surface!

Before the brain's reason could even curse, the stomach's primal instinct had gleefully taken over the body...

Garling tried again, red light flickering in his eyes.

Everyone's vision went dark.

Lu Ye's eyes rolled back.

The woman gave another soft exclamation in the darkness, and...

She was fucking excited, damn it!

As his reason returned in fits and starts, Lu Ye jumped up and down, cursing word by word:

"Goddess of the Dark Night with [Insomnia], are you fucking sick in the head?! Sixth Master is unconscious, unconscious!"

The contest between Conqueror's Haki and the Goddess of the Dark Night continued for dozens of rounds. Lu Ye was forced back and forth between reality and dreams like a ping-pong ball, but the first to reach their limit were the Celestial Dragons who had come to watch.

Even though Garling deliberately controlled the direction and range of his Conqueror's Haki, their frail bodies, long accustomed to comfort and luxury, couldn't withstand dozens of aftershocks.

One after another, they foamed at the mouth and collapsed unconscious.

The CP Agents quickly carried their respective masters away from the scene.

Aila, the Donquixote Family's muscular, twin-tailed maid, stood in front of Doffy, Rosy, and Liana, who refused to leave. Her expression was pained, and clearly she couldn't hold out much longer either.

Garling looked at the stubborn black monster in his hand, stopped releasing his Conqueror's Haki, and let out a soft breath.

"He can't be saved! A body that can't sleep can't fall unconscious either. The Armament Haki he can't stop will take his life. He's been killed by a talent he couldn't control..."

Tears streamed down Liana's face as she staggered over, nearly falling to the ground. Fortunately, Aila and Sullivan, who had just arrived, caught her.

Doffy and Rosy both wore solemn expressions as they watched Lu Ye struggle in pain, their gazes complicated.

"Really... is there really nothing else you can do to save him?"

Liana pressed her lips tightly together, her face deathly pale.

"There's nothing more to be done. Prepare to collect his body..."

With that, Garling turned to Liana and raised an index finger, a faint smile on his lips as he said,

"I never realized that you and Homing had such excellent bloodlines.

I hear you want to leave the Holy Land. It doesn't matter...

Before that, have another child as soon as possible! The Knights are very interested in monsters like this."

Liana fell to her knees with a thud, covering her face with both hands, her body heaving.

Doffy stared at the tips of his shoes, his fists clenched white. He dared to tell Charlos that Longinus wasn't a monster, but before Garling, he couldn't even muster the courage to object.

Seeing the three baby bottles at Sullivan's waist, Jinbao scratched his head anxiously in the sky.

Without a local identity, no matter how loudly he shouted, the natives wouldn't hear him.

He could take a bottle directly, but if the supernatural sight of a bottle floating in midair made the natives aware of the Underworld's existence, that would seriously disrupt the balance. The reflection report Jinbao would have to write afterward could bury him alive.

"Little Lu Ye, I'm paying a huge price for you. Remember to return the favor!"

Jinbao gritted his teeth, backed up, and charged straight into Sullivan's lower back.

Bang!

Jinbao's plump body sent Sullivan stumbling. The three bottles fell and rolled to a stop in front of Liana, Doffy, and Rosy.

Sullivan turned and looked all around but saw no one. His scalp prickled with panic, but fortunately, in the present circumstances, no one held a minor steward's sudden loss of composure against him.

Uh... except for those three cold-blooded CP Agents. The looks they gave him were scarier than knives.

Rosy sucked on a finger and muttered, "Mother, does Longinus want some milk?"

Doffy tugged his arm, signaling him to keep quiet.

Liana picked up a bottle and held it to her chest, choking out, "Garling, if this child is about to die, let him have a little something to eat one last time. This is a mother's wish..."

Lu Ye was even more emaciated than before. His face had changed beyond recognition, his cheekbones protruding and his eye sockets sunken, like a little skeleton covered in human skin.

His Armament Haki had retracted and covered him again dozens of times, squeezing nearly every last bit of nourishment from his body.

His limbs hung limply, and even the red light in his eyes had grown somewhat unfocused.

"Do as you like, Liana. But... you owe the family a real monster. If possible, I hope to meet him a year from now."

Garling casually dropped the now-docile Lu Ye onto Liana's skirt, then turned and left with the three agents.

Liana wiped away her tears and brought the bottle to Lu Ye's mouth, smiling gently.

"Longinus, Mommy will always stay with you..."