Crack!
The black spear smashed the black crystal.
And because it was covered in armed power, it pierced through Caesar's hand as well.
Clang!
The spear tip went into the ground, pinning Caesar's hand to it.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Caesar immediately screamed, his whole body twitching on the ground, but he couldn't pull out the black spear.
"I was wrong, let me go, let me go!"
Caesar was afraid of death and being discovered by the World Government.
After all, his cooperation with Doflamingo was approved by the World Government, but on the surface, it was still "illegal."
Caesar, who had worked for the World Government for many years, knew their way of doing things very well.
Useless pieces are just thrown away!
The Crystal Demon virus experiment had already failed. If he was caught by the World Government now, he would be the one to take the blame for the Aden Kingdom incident!
Not just him, the Donquixote family and even the Four Seas Alliance wouldn't escape!
Who told the World Government to be the "World Government"?
So Caesar wanted to run.
But the spear covered in armed power pierced his hand, leaving him stuck on the ground, unable to move!
"Mr. Rowan, let's talk, please let me go first!"
Rowan ignored Caesar's pleas.
He twisted his neck, making a series of cracking sounds, and then walked forward.
At the end of the square, the main person behind the incident in Aden Kingdom on the surface – Donquixote Doflamingo – was standing there.
"Hmm..."
Rowan stroked his chin, staring at Doflamingo's eyes behind his red sunglasses.
Doflamingo then grinned, showing a crazy smile.
"Fuffuffuffu, Ryan Rowan, Golden Dawn, Four Seas Alliance..."
One term after another came out of his mouth.
"Good, very good."
Doflamingo pushed up his sunglasses and said with a smile, "The source of the Crystal Demon virus has been destroyed by you. Now you can leave."
"Leave?"
Rowan smiled and asked, "Why leave?"
"Oh, perhaps I wasn't being very accurate."
Doflamingo leaned forward and changed his tone with a cold smile, "Now, you can run away."
Rowan smiled even more happily and continued to ask, "Why run away?"
"Hmm, perhaps I still haven't made myself clear."
Doflamingo grinned, pointed a finger at Rowan, and then pointed at himself.
"You, me, and everyone else in this country who wants to live, all have to run away."
Doflamingo paused and explained with a smile:
"Because the people from the World Government are almost here."
…
Chaos.
Like being soaked in cold seawater.
Drifting with the waves.
This was Hiluluk's first feeling after being infected with the Crystal Demon virus.
After using his last bit of awareness to leave behind the message "I only heard one voice," Hiluluk's consciousness became completely chaotic.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Suddenly—
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the chaotic waves in front of Hiluluk's eyes shattered like glass.
His consciousness felt a sharp pain, and then he "surfaced," and the scene in front of him gradually changed from illusion to reality.
"I..."
He opened his mouth and managed to utter one word.
Then, he heard that familiar and reassuring curse in his ear.
"You quack, haven't you died yet!"
It was Kureha.
Hiluluk's old rival and old friend.
Hearing this, Hiluluk smiled wryly and explained, "I couldn't help it. But at least I'm alive. Did you save me?"
"I just helped relieve your symptoms."
Kureha shook her head, "My vaccine and antidote still need a few hours to develop, but you regained consciousness ahead of time. The emperor must have done something."
"It's Mr. Rowan..."
Hiluluk sighed, "Oh, I'm really sorry. It's supposed to be a doctor's job, but I had to trouble him."
"Being too modest can get you punched!"
Kureha glanced at Hiluluk, "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have discovered the properties of this virus so quickly."
"Ah ha ha ha, I'm even more embarrassed now that you say that!"
Hiluluk scratched his head, laughing.
Suddenly, he noticed that something seemed wrong.
His hair... felt so hard!
That was the hair he took care of every day! Did the virus cause him to lose his hair?
Looking at Hiluluk, who was panicking, Kureha sighed helplessly and took a mirror out of her bag and handed it to him.
Hiluluk took the mirror and saw what had happened.
Although he had regained consciousness, his body surface was still covered in armor-like crystals. About three-fifths of his face was covered by a crystal helmet. He still looked like a demon!
"This is..."
"The obvious symptoms of the infection seem to be irreversible."
Kureha frowned. As a doctor, she couldn't provide a solution, which made her feel annoyed.
"The source of the infection has been destroyed. These crystals no longer have any way to spread, but their 'individual activity' still exists."
"In simple terms, these crystals growing on your bodies cannot be removed."
"Even if you cut them off in surgery, either you will die, or these crystals will grow back to their current state."
"But these crystals will no longer take your lives. That's a blessing in disguise, I guess."
After Kureha said this, she expected to see Hiluluk looking worried, but to her surprise, Hiluluk laughed out loud.
"Hey, hey, what's going on!"
Hiluluk pointed at his appearance and grinned, "I'm going to stay handsome like this forever? This crystal armor isn't bad compared to Mr. Rowan's!"
"And look!"
Hiluluk knocked on his chest, making a crisp and hard sound.
"Now, I'm probably not even afraid of cannon fire!"
"When I go to treat them in the future, I won't be afraid of them hitting me with sticks anymore!"
"Oh right, there's also that bastard Wapol. Do you think I can knock him over with one punch now? I feel like I have endless strength!"
"..."
Hiluluk's attitude surprised Kureha, but she quickly adapted.
Yes, this was that quack, always being cheerful and optimistic no matter where or when.
Kureha smiled wryly and suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right, I should probably tell you something."
"What?"
Hiluluk was still admiring his handsome new appearance, in a great mood.
"The fatal disease in your body seems to have been replaced by crystals."
Kureha shrugged, "In other words, your terminal illness has been 'cured' by this virus."
Hiluluk: "..."
"...Huh?"
"Huh?!"
…
Aden Kingdom, palace square.
Doflamingo's smile became more and more sinister and crazy.
He slowly said:
"This time, the World Government lost the secret fight."
"But the World Government doesn't really like to 'lose'."
"If they lose, they'll make the people who know 'they lost' – disappear."
Doflamingo lowered his voice and said, word by word:
"You, me, the others... none of us can escape..."
But, unexpectedly, Rowan didn't immediately turn around to prepare for a fight, nor did he start fighting Doflamingo.
Instead, he scratched his head, looking a little helpless.
"Listen to what people are saying, will you? I already said it to Caesar a minute ago."
Rowan leaned in, staring at Doflamingo, and repeated:
"Don't underestimate – 'people,' and don't underestimate 'life' itself..."
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