Chaos erupted across the warship.
Flames rained down relentlessly, and soldiers who failed to dodge in time were engulfed one after another. Screams of agony echoed across the deck, overlapping into a nightmarish chorus.
Amid the smoke and fire, Spandine stood frozen in place, his face as dark as a storm about to break. His teeth were clenched so tightly they creaked, and his eyes were locked on the scene before him, every glance sharp and venomous. His hands curled into fists without him realizing it, knuckles bleaching white as his nails dug deep into his palms. He felt nothing.
What flooded his chest instead was an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, surging like a tidal wave and drowning him in despair.
He had never imagined that the weapons he relied on, weapons powerful enough to terrify any enemy in past battles, would be reduced to children's toys in front of Eli Winters and his companions. Not only had they failed to deal damage, they had been completely humiliated.
The contrast was unbearable.
That crushing sense of defeat pierced his heart like a thorn, twisting with every beat.
Spandine stood there like a hollowed-out statue, his spirit seemingly torn away. Gloom clung to him like a suffocating cloud. Time itself seemed to slow, each passing second stretching into torture.
Then, slowly, his eyes sharpened again.
They burned with the ferocity of a cornered beast.
No matter what, he would avenge his son.
Spandam was everything to him. His only hope. His continuation in this brutal world. Now that hope was gone, his world had collapsed. Fear no longer had any place in his heart. What remained was only madness and hatred, unrestrained and absolute.
Around him, soldiers screamed as they burned. Spandine did not even glance at them.
He strode straight toward the adjutant who was still desperately organizing rescue efforts. The man was drenched in sweat, panic and exhaustion written across his face.
Spandine seized him by the collar with one hand and lifted him clean off the deck.
The adjutant's legs kicked helplessly in the air as terror flooded his face.
"Go give the order," Spandine roared, eyes bloodshot. "Tell the captains of three warships to advance at full speed. Ram the enemy ship. I want them to pay, no matter the cost!"
The adjutant trembled violently, mind completely blank. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Only after Spandine snarled again did he snap back to reality, nodding frantically before stumbling toward the command room.
Inside Seven Rivers City, Rulthius and the others who were still searching for Franky froze when they heard the distant thunder of cannon fire.
"What the hell is going on?" someone muttered.
"Damn it," Rulthius cursed through clenched teeth. "Spandine is definitely hiding something from us. If he ruins the mission Saint Skardell assigned, I'll kill him myself."
"What should we do now, boss?" a CP0 agent asked.
Rulthius looked toward the city outskirts where the cannons continued to roar, hatred flickering in his eyes. "Let's go. I want to see what that idiot is really doing."
Without hesitation, the group sprinted toward the battlefield.
Back aboard the Angel's Judgment, the enemy's bombardment had finally ceased. Big Pan, Klee, Doty, and Simon returned to the deck.
"Boss, those shells were nasty," Big Pan grumbled. "I almost got caught off guard."
"They've used up all their tricks," Felina said coldly.
"They're coming straight for us," Fiona added suddenly.
Everyone looked ahead. Three warships were charging directly toward them, flames extinguished but thick smoke still pouring from their decks.
"What are they trying to do?" Chiyo asked, gripping her rolling pin in confusion.
"Who cares," Big Pan said, twirling the Coiling Dragon Staff. "They came. We knock them down."
As they spoke, Spandine's warship came to a halt not far from the Angel's Judgment.
Spandine stood on the battered bow, glaring at Eli with hatred burning in his eyes.
"Eli Winters!" he shouted. "You killed my son. Today, you and everyone with you will be buried with him!"
"I didn't kill your son," Eli replied calmly. "You're mistaken."
"You think denying it will save you?" Spandine sneered. "Kneel and beg, and maybe I'll spare your companions."
"It really wasn't me," Eli said seriously.
"He really got it wrong," Big Pan added earnestly. "I saw who killed his kid."
"That's right," Felina said, nodding. "Sir, our captain wasn't the one."
Seeing their unwavering expressions, doubt crept into Spandine's eyes.
"If it wasn't you," he growled, "then who killed my son?"
"It was me."
Robin stepped forward at last.
Her gaze locked onto Spandine, the man who had haunted her nightmares for years. The shadow she had fled from again and again now stood before her.
This time, she was no longer afraid.
"You," Spandine spat, instantly convinced they had been mocking him. He yanked out his pistol and fired wildly at Robin.
The specially made bullets never reached her. Klee's reinforced bubble wall stopped them cold, the bubbles now far tougher after he mastered Haki.
"Spandine," Robin said, her voice icy. "You don't recognize me?"
"I don't care who you are!" Spandine roared. "You killed my son. All of you will die!"
He turned and barked an order. "Open fire. Kill them all!"
The soldiers raised their rifles. The bullets were laced with powdered Seastone, capable of harming Devil Fruit users. Spandine had paid dearly for them.
It made no difference.
Eli and the others did not even move.
Fiona glanced at the soldiers.
In that instant, her Conqueror's Haki erupted.
A terrifying pressure swept across the deck. Soldiers collapsed in waves, unconscious before they even understood what had happened. Only a handful of officers with stronger wills remained standing, though terror had already hollowed them out.
"What kind of monsters are we fighting?" a major whispered, shaking.
"I'm done. I'm not dying here."
"Run. Run!"
The last traces of resistance shattered.
Spandine, a veteran CP agent, was not affected by Fiona's newly awakened Haki. But as he stared at his fallen men, his vision darkened.
Without them, how could he take revenge?
Before he could think further, Eli and the others stepped onto his warship using Moonwalk.
Spandine retreated instinctively, drawing his long blade, eyes full of fear.
"You really think you can beat us?" Eli asked with a mocking smile.
To be fair, Spandine was strong, easily at the level of a Navy vice admiral. But in front of Eli's group, it was nowhere near enough.
"Don't get cocky," Spandine snarled. "Iceberg is still my hostage. And I still have people in Seven Rivers City. If I die, the city dies with me."
His voice was fierce, but hollow.
"What an idiot," Big Pan scoffed. "The hostage was rescued ages ago."
"I saved Iceberg already," Eli said lightly. "As for the ones you planted in the city, I think they're arriving right about now."
As if on cue, six powerful presences appeared in the sky above the warship.
"Three vice admirals and three rear admirals," Eli said, surprised. "So you did come prepared. Still, this feels… lacking."
"Lord Eli," Rulthius said stiffly, forcing himself forward. "We have no intention of becoming your enemies. Please allow us to take this man and leave."
"Let you go?" Eli smiled exaggeratedly, eyes cold. "Are you serious?"
He raised his right hand slowly, fingers curling inward.
An invisible pressure descended like the weight of the abyss.
Rulthius and the others screamed silently as they activated their Armament Haki. Black sheen covered their bodies, muscles tensed to the limit.
It was useless.
Their defenses shattered like paper.
Bones cracked. Blood burst into the air.
In moments, five of them were reduced to drifting clouds of crimson mist.
Only one remained, the weakest of them all, trembling and broken, collapsing onto the deck.
Eli spared him not out of mercy.
Through the Eye of Judgment, every one of those men burned red with unforgivable罪. He would have killed them all without hesitation.
He needed a messenger.
Using spatial power, Eli pulled the survivor in front of him.
"Go back and tell whoever sent you this," Eli said calmly. "Tom and the Pluton blueprints are with me now. If they want them, they can come themselves."
His eyes sharpened.
"If they harm a single innocent person, I will erase Mariejois from this world. Do you understand?"
The man nodded numbly, mind completely shattered.
Eli frowned and slapped him midair.
The CP0 agent snapped back to awareness, terror flooding his face.
Eli repeated himself.
The man nodded violently, afraid even a moment's delay would cost him his life.
"Get lost," Eli said, waving a hand.
The survivor fled with Moonwalk, flying away as if terrified Eli might change his mind.
Eli watched him go, frowning. "He's not planning to fly all the way back, is he?"
He shook his head and turned toward Spandine, who was standing there in a daze.
Bored now, Eli lost all interest.
"Robin," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Go."
Robin nodded and walked toward Spandine.
Spandine, still reeling from Eli's display, saw her approaching alone and felt a flicker of twisted excitement. If he captured her, maybe he still had a chance.
He was wrong.
Since joining Eli, Robin had trained relentlessly. She had awakened both Observation and Armament Haki, and with her Devil Fruit ability, she was more than enough.
After more than half an hour of battle, Spandine lay broken on the deck, all four limbs twisted beyond repair.
"I never thought you'd still be alive," he coughed, blood spilling from his mouth. "An Ohara survivor."
Robin stood over him, wounded but unmoving, her eyes filled with cold resolve.
"You think killing me is revenge?" Spandine laughed weakly, coughing blood. "Ohara was destroyed by the World Government. I was just an executor. You can never get revenge."
Rage flashed in Robin's eyes as she moved to snap his neck.
At that instant, a surge of energy burst from Spandine's body. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he slammed a hidden button on his chest.
"Let's die together!" he screamed.
Everything happened too fast.
Eli remained calm.
He pointed at Spandine and spoke softly.
"Time, rewind."
Reality reversed.
In Spandine's stunned gaze, Robin's hands closed around his neck.
And twisted.