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Chapter 15: Red Line
"...Huh...?"
When I came to, I was lying dead center on a plush, velvet carpet in a massive, immaculate room. Gold trimmings lined the ceiling, and a grand chandelier cast a sickeningly warm light over the opulent furnishings.
Wondering where I was, I tried to stand up, but...
"Ow...!!"
A sharp, burning pain shot through my left leg as it completely gave out beneath my weight. I collapsed back onto the carpet, clutching my thigh. My fingers came away stained with wet, warm blood.
"Oh, are you awake?"
"!!"
I looked in the direction of the voice and saw him. The Celestial Dragon, Saint Bomiol, was lounging on a lavish velvet sofa, swirling a glass of expensive wine in his hand.
The memories rushed back in a horrifying wave. Right, I... I was shot on the Bondola right after unlocking the collar and letting Rozuo escape. He had pointed his golden pistol at me, his finger had twitched, and then... white-hot agony in my leg.
"Did you think you were dead?" Bomiol sneered, taking a leisurely sip of his wine. "Like I'd let you die that easily! You let one of the mermaids in my precious collection escape... Do you have any idea how much that okama cost me? I'll just have to torture you enough to make up for the loss."
"U... guh..." I gritted my teeth, trying to crawl backward away from him.
"I no longer need you as a wife! You're damaged goods!" he spat, tossing his wine glass aside. It shattered against the marble floor. "I'm going to torture you over and over again, and then I'll grant you a miserable, screaming death!"
"...!!"
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. If this was going to happen, I would rather have been shot through the heart and died painlessly...
"Muffuffu~ First, look behind you!"
"...Eh?"
My leg hurt too much to shift my entire body, so I only turned my head to look behind me.
There, filling up an entire wall of the sprawling basement, was a massive, dimly lit aquarium. It was reinforced with thick glass and decorated with fake coral reefs. Inside, swimming aimlessly with hollow, despairing eyes, were a large number of merfolk and Fish-Men. They were treated like mere ornamental fish.
"This is my prized Slave Aquarium!" Bomiol boasted proudly. "You're going to go in there right now."
"!!"
"After you struggle and suffer in that tank, gasping for air as your lungs burn, I'll pull you out and you'll receive a hundred lashes from my whip. I'm going to whip you until your skin tears and your bones show, so look forward to it."
"U-Uwa..." I trembled, my breath hitching in my throat.
"And then, for the grand finale... this."
With that, the Celestial Dragon reached into his coat and pulled out a bizarre, palm-sized fruit. It was an unnatural purple color, covered entirely in strange, dizzying swirl patterns.
That couldn't be...
"It's a Devil Fruit~" he sang cheerfully.
"N-No way... the Huge Huge Fruit...?"
"I don't know what kind of Devil Fruit it is, and I don't care. It's just one I bought a long time ago and forgot I had left collecting dust in my warehouse."
"..."
"Muffuffu~ Do you know the rumor, little missy? It's said that if someone who already has a power eats a second Devil Fruit, their body will violently explode from the inside out, and they will die instantly. You're already a Devil Fruit user, aren't you?"
"!!"
"After I torture you to my heart's content, I'll force-feed you this at the very end to finish the job! I can't wait to see how your pretty little body explodes~ ♪ It'll be a beautiful mess of red!"
He is completely insane. I couldn't help but think that. There was no reasoning with a monster like this.
"Now then~ let's start with a dive into the tank! Since Devil Fruit users sink like hammers in the water, it'll be a real treat to see you struggle and suffer at the bottom."
"A-Ah... s-stop..."
I desperately wanted to run, to shift into my rabbit form and bound away, but the paralyzing pain in my wounded left leg kept me pinned to the floor.
As I thrashed around, trying to drag myself toward the heavy oak doors, Bomiol casually strolled over and violently kicked my wounded leg.
"AGHAAAAAAAHH!!!!" I screamed, my vision flashing white.
"Now, don't dawdle! Jump into the tank yourself! Go!"
He kicked me in the stomach, sending me rolling across the floor like a discarded ragdoll. It hurts! It hurts! Stop! If you're going to kill me, just kill me already...!
"Here goes, one more hit!"
The Celestial Dragon laughed, swinging his heavy leather boot back for another devastating blow. I curled into a ball, instinctively squeezing my eyes shut and bracing for the impact.
And then—
"SHOOOOOOT!!!"
"GUBEHAAAAH!!?"
A tremendous shockwave rattled the room. The Celestial Dragon didn't hit me. Instead, a sickening crunch echoed through the basement, and Bomiol was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into a marble pillar.
"You bastard... what the hell do you think you're doing... to my little sister...!!"
I opened my eyes, gasping for air.
"Big brother...!!"
Standing right there, his tiny fists clenched tightly, radiating an aura of pure, unadulterated fury, was the person I loved most in the world.
—————
After hearing the frantic, tearful explanation from Rozuo—the bald, overweight, okama Firefly Squid Mermaid who had washed ashore gasping for breath—I didn't waste a single second. I immediately blasted out of the Sabaody Archipelago, leaving a trail of dust in my wake, and headed straight for Mary Geoise.
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise was located at the very top of the sheer, towering cliffs of the Red Line. It was essentially an impenetrable fortress in the clouds. As for how I planned to get up there as a twenty-centimeter dwarf... flying was my only option.
"Tontatta Combat: Tail Copter!! Let's goooo!!"
I spun my fluffy tail like a high-speed rotor and took to the sky. Eight years ago, my Tail Copter was only good enough to slow my descent and prevent me from becoming a pancake, but after years of rigorous training, it allowed me to genuinely achieve flight.
It was incredibly exhausting, taxing my muscles to their absolute limit, so I couldn't keep it up for long periods of time.
I flew with my tail, ascending through the thick clouds, and when my tail cramped from the strain, I dug my fingers into the sheer red rock of the cliff face and climbed with my arms. When my arms screamed in protest, I pushed off the wall, switched back to my tail, and flew some more.
By repeating that grueling, agonizing climbing process, fighting against the biting winds and the sheer vertical drop below, I eventually managed to heave myself over the edge and reach the summit of the Red Line.
"Pant... pant... I made it... Hang in there, Esune...!"
The first time I came to Mary Geoise, I ran away with everything I had, terrified of the world's absolute rulers. But this time, I was charging in at full speed, my blood boiling. That said, I was obviously still sneaking around the manicured lawns and marble pathways to avoid detection by the heavy Marine patrols.
Where's Esune? Where did they take her...? There are hundreds of mansions here... I have no idea... Damn it!
I need to sharpen my five senses! I have to find her even if I can't see her! Do your best, eyes! Ears! Presence-detecting abilities! Give me Observation Haki, give me anything!
If I don't hurry, that sick Celestial Dragon will...
"...!! This way!!"
Something inside me suddenly clicked—a faint, almost imperceptible tug in my gut.
I couldn't explain it well with words, but I could somehow sense Esune's familiar presence and pinpoint her general location amidst the sprawling city.
It's over there...
I darted toward a massive, gated mansion situated on the main street. I didn't care about stealth anymore. I gathered my strength, kicked down the heavy, reinforced door, and barged inside.
"Uoh!? It's huge! And luxurious! This place probably cost more to build than the Royal Palace in Dressrosa!"
Wait, that doesn't matter right now! Esune's presence is... slightly lower than here. In the basement!
I spotted a grand, spiraling staircase leading down. Sprinting down the steps at full speed, I emerged into a massive, cavernous aquarium room.
There were a bunch of merfolk trapped inside a giant glass tank, but my eyes immediately locked onto the scene playing out in front of it. A bloodied, sobbing Esune was curled up on the floor, and that vile Celestial Dragon, Saint Bomiol, was standing over her.
"Now, don't dawdle! Jump into the tank yourself! Go!"
The moment the Celestial Dragon pulled his leg back to kick Esune, my vision went red. I broke into a dead sprint.
"SHOOOOOOT!!!"
"GUBEHAAAAH!!?"
In a flash of speed, I leapt out directly in front of Esune and drove my heel into the Celestial Dragon's face with all my might, kicking him away from the tank.
Anger was boiling up inside me, a scorching heat that demanded violence.
"You bastard... what the hell do you think you're doing... to my little sister...!!"
"Big brother...!!" Esune cried out, her voice cracking.
Keeping a strict eye on the crumpled Celestial Dragon, I briefly glanced over at Esune. A dark stain of blood soaked her pant leg. Was she shot in the leg...? The poor thing... I should have killed him six years ago.
When I snapped my attention back to the front, the Celestial Dragon was groggily picking himself up, blood pouring from his broken nose and staining his pristine white clothes.
Tough bastard...
"Y-Y-Y-You...! You're the dwarf from back then!?" Bomiol shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Where do you think you are, and who do you think I am!?"
"...We're in Mary Geoise, and you're a Celestial Dragon, a pathetic excuse for a human being," I growled, taking a step forward.
"That's right! The most noble blood in this world flows through my veins! A lowly Commoner like you has no right to raise a hand against me! Prostrate yourself! That's an order! Apologize to me as you die!"
"..."
"? Why aren't you prostrating!? I told you to apologize while you die! Can't you hear me!?"
Is he an absolute idiot or what...?
As if I'd ever listen. Just how entitled does he think he is? Does he truly believe the universe bends to his every word?
If anything, he's the one who should be apologizing. Doing something like this to Esune...
"Was having your balls grabbed and twisted six years ago not enough of a lesson for you?" I threatened, lowering my center of gravity. "Want me to actually crush them this time...!?"
"Hii!? W-Wait! Admiral Aokiji is currently visiting this land!" Bomiol panicked, scrambling backward. "If anything happens to me, he'll fly right over and kill you instantly! You'll be frozen solid!"
"I'll kill you before he even gets the call...!"
"L-Look at this!"
"Huh?"
The Celestial Dragon pressed his back against the wall and placed his hand on a heavy red lever—or switch—in the corner of the room.
What's that? A light switch? An alarm?
"This is the Drain Switch for the aquarium!" Bomiol cackled, his confidence returning. "If I pull this lever, all the water in the tank behind you will instantly flood into this room! The heavy steel exits will lock automatically! What do you think will happen then, you filthy dwarf? This basement will quickly fill with water, and you two will drown like rats! Muffuffu~!"
"...!!!"
This is... incredibly bad...
Esune is a Devil Fruit user... If she gets caught in a sudden water trap like that, she won't even be able to tread water. She'll definitely die. And obviously, I'd die pretty quickly without oxygen too.
"Now then, you just sit quietly right there until Aokiji arrives to execute you..." Bomiol sneered, his hand resting firmly on the lever.
If Admiral Aokiji showed up, we'd be completely doomed.
I miraculously managed to escape from Kizaru before during the Summit War, but that was pure luck. I highly doubt things would go so smoothly a second time against a man who could freeze the ocean itself.
This is bad... It's a complete stalemate. It's checkmate...
"Big brother..." Esune whispered from behind me, her voice weak.
"It's okay, Esune. Don't worry... I'll protect you..." I didn't take my eyes off Bomiol.
"Please... run away..."
"...Huh?" I blinked, glancing back at her.
"If it's just you, big brother, you're fast enough... I know you can escape... Please leave me behind and go."
"..."
"I wanted to help you, so I was looking for the Huge Huge Fruit all by myself in the Lawless Zone, but I got tricked and captured... I ruined everything. I'm the worst, aren't I...?" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"..."
"I wanted to help you find your happiness... I didn't want to cause you any trouble... So please, big brother, just leave me behind and run right n—Ow!?"
I delivered a swift, firm chop to the top of Esune's head.
"Listen here, Esune... If you really want to help me find happiness... then you need to become happy first."
"Eh..." She rubbed her head, looking up at me with wide, tearful eyes.
"If this is a world where you can't be happy, where you're dead or enslaved, then I can't be happy either! Don't make me say such embarrassing, cheesy lines out loud!! So don't you ever say 'leave me behind' again! We're leaving together, got it!?"
"...!! ...Y-Yes..." She wiped her eyes, nodding vigorously.
"Good girl...!"
Alright, I managed to stop Esune from going down some incomprehensible path of tragic self-sacrifice, but the tactical situation still hadn't improved one bit.
If the Celestial Dragon pulled that switch, we'd be done for. If Aokiji arrived, we'd be done for. What should I do...!?
"...Aokiji, what are you doing... hurry up and get here... hurry up...!" Bomiol muttered to himself, sweating profusely.
The Celestial Dragon seemed irritated that his personal attack dog was taking so long. He kept his hand resting on the switch, staring at us warily, unwilling to make the first move.
He probably didn't want to pull that switch if he didn't have to. It'd be a disaster if all the water in his prized collection tank drained out, ruining the room and potentially killing his mermaids.
Alright, what do I do...
Think, think... I need a way out of this situation...
Isn't there anything in this room...? Anything at all that I can use as a weapon or a distraction...
"Hm? ...What's this?"
While scanning the room for an escape plan, my eyes caught sight of a bizarre, swirl-patterned "something" lying on the floor just behind me and to the side.
"Ah, that's... a Devil Fruit the Celestial Dragon brought out," Esune explained quietly. "He was going to force me to eat it."
"A Devil Fruit...?"
"Yes. Whether it's the Huge Huge Fruit or not... I don't know..."
"Yeah. It's not the Huge Huge Fruit."
I had studied the Huge Huge Fruit's exact shape, color, and stem structure in the encyclopedia endlessly. I remembered it perfectly. So this purple, swirl-covered thing lying there wasn't it. I didn't know what kind of fruit it was, but I knew that much for a fact.
However, even if it wasn't the Huge Huge Fruit...
The only absolute certainty was that eating this would grant me some kind of "special power"...
If I ate this right now... maybe the power it granted would give me a way to escape this predicament. Maybe I could break the tank without triggering the lockdown, or freeze the water, or blast a hole in the ceiling.
But if I do that... my ultimate dream of eating the Huge Huge Fruit... will never come true...!!
A single person could only eat one Devil Fruit. That's what the encyclopedia said, and that's what everyone in the world knew as an ironclad law.
So if I swallowed my pride and ate this mystery fruit right now, my dream of becoming a normal-sized human would be closed off forever...
Guh, this isn't the time to be thinking about my selfish dreams... If I don't eat it, Esune and I are both going to die anyway...!
I stared at the Devil Fruit lying on the floor.
I stealthily extended my tail and picked it up, wrapping the fur tightly around it. Good, based on our positioning and Bomiol's panicked focus, he didn't notice.
All that was left was the courage to eat it. After hesitating repeatedly, cursing my own terrible luck, I slowly brought the Devil Fruit toward my mouth...
"Ngh...! Where is Aokiji!? Making me wait like this is incredibly rude...! After I kill these two pests, I'm going to make Aokiji suffer as well...! Honestly, just what do these people think a Descendant of the Creators is... I am a god!"
...!!
I stopped. My eyes widened as an incredibly stupid, incredibly brilliant idea popped into my head.
I found it. A breakthrough that didn't require me to sacrifice my dream and eat the Devil Fruit! This was the only way...!
Keeping the Devil Fruit completely hidden in my tail, I dropped down to my knees, pressed my hands to the floor, and bowed my head low in a perfect, flawless Japanese Dogeza toward the Celestial Dragon.
"...I am truly... sorry..."
"Huh?" Bomiol blinked, thoroughly confused.
"Eh!?" Esune gasped behind me.
Both the Celestial Dragon and Esune let out cries of sheer bewilderment simultaneously.
"...I am truly sorry. Celestial Dragon-sama..." I pitched my voice to sound as pathetic and trembling as possible. "I have only just now realized my own monumental foolishness. To commit such a disrespectful, heinous act against a true Descendant of the Creators... I was out of my mind."
"...?? T-That's right!" Bomiol puffed out his chest, his arrogance instantly overriding his wariness. "You're just a lowly Commoner! Yet you dared to raise a hand against me! Do you understand just how grave a sin that is!?"
"Yes... That is exactly why I ask... Celestial Dragon-sama... would you please grant me the honor of killing me yourself?"
"Huh...?"
"I don't believe my pathetic death could possibly erase the sin of raising a hand against your divine person... but at the very least, please deliver my rightful punishment with your own holy hands...! I am unworthy to even breathe your air!"
Slowly standing up, I raised both my hands high in the air to emphasize that I was completely defenseless, and I began to walk toward the Celestial Dragon.
"Hah?"
The Celestial Dragon looked bewildered for a split second, eyeing me suspiciously, but that expression quickly shifted into a sickening, twisted smirk of absolute superiority.
"O-Ooh! I see, I see! You've finally come to understand my absolute greatness! You know your place as trash! Then, as you wish... I will crush you beneath my foot like the bug you are and kill you!"
Bomiol let go of the lever, took a step forward, raised his heavy boot, and brought it down toward my head with a cruel laugh.
The moment his foot descended—
"Like hell I meant any of that, you arrogant dumbass!!" I roared, my eyes snapping open with lethal intent.
"Muguh!?"
I whipped my tail forward with blinding speed and shoved the Devil Fruit straight into the Celestial Dragon's gaping mouth.
"Your ultimate weakness is your sheer arrogance! Believing without a single doubt that everything in this world will immediately bow down and go your way!"
"Mugo, mogaga...!!" Bomiol gagged, his eyes bulging out of his skull as the large fruit lodged in his throat.
"Swallow it, you piece of shit!!"
"...!! Gu... gulp!!"
I leaped into the air and kicked the Devil Fruit stuffed in his mouth with all my Tontatta strength, forcing it straight down his throat and into his stomach.
"Cough! Gag!? I-I swallowed it... It tastes like garbage... You bastard! W-What the hell did you just do!! I won't let you get away with this!!" Bomiol shrieked, clutching his stomach and hacking violently.
"Tontatta Combat..." I muttered, grabbing him tightly by the lapels of his pristine white coat.
"Eh?"
"Japanese Tomoe Nage!!"
"Uooooooohh!!?"
Using his own momentum against him, I dropped onto my back, planted my feet squarely in his gut, and hurled the heavy Celestial Dragon backward with everything I had. I aimed right for the center of the massive aquarium.
CRASH!!
The Celestial Dragon slammed directly into the thick aquarium glass. The impact shattered the reinforced panel entirely.
A deafening roar of rushing water echoed through the basement as a massive torrent of water, panicked merfolk, and thrashing Fish-Men spilled out into the room like a tidal wave.
"Esune! Turn into a rabbit! And hold on to me! Hurry!"
"Y-Yes! Big brother!"
I scooped up Esune, who had instantly transformed into her tiny rabbit form, and dashed toward the heavy oak doors—the only exit in the room.
He hadn't pulled the switch, so the emergency lockdown wasn't engaged. The doors burst open easily. We could escape normally!
"Gobo!? Gabo! Gababaa...!!"
Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw the Celestial Dragon flailing helplessly in the rising, knee-deep floodwater pouring from the shattered tank.
"It hurts...! I can't move...!? S-Somebody... h-help me...! Gobo, ovo...!? Glub glub... d-die..."
He was sinking like a stone. He was a Devil Fruit user now, after all. The sea hated him. It would be entirely impossible for him to swim, stand, or save himself from drowning in his own prized aquarium.
I brought my hands together in a quick prayer as I sprinted up the stairs.
Amen... couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
As I offered that brief, sarcastic prayer...
"Hey, you! You just threw a Celestial Dragon! That's amazing!"
"And you even shattered that tough aquarium glass!"
"Thanks to you, we were able to get out of that cramped tank! Thank you so much!"
"Uwaaah! I always believed help would come someday! I never gave up hope!"
"It's the Second Fisher Tiger-sama!!"
Ah, right...
Because the massive tank broke, the dozens of Fish-Men and merfolk trapped inside were all washed out into the room alongside the water.
Now, the fish-people were running right alongside me as I sprinted up the grand staircase.
Since merfolk had fish tails and couldn't run on dry land, the burly Fish-Men were carrying them safely in their arms. Just like I was carrying Esune right now. It was a chaotic, beautiful stampede.
"Alright, might as well make it a party!" I yelled back at them. "Are you guys gonna escape Mary Geoise with us!?"
"...We'd love to, but Chibi-bro..." a massive shark Fish-Man called out, his face grim.
"Who are you calling Chibi-bro!?"
"We've all been forced to wear slave collars... Look." He pointed to the heavy metal band around his neck. "Unless we take these off, we can't escape Mary Geoise... If we try to run past the gates, they'll explode and blow our heads off."
"What did you saaaay!?" I skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs.
They were forced to wear such dangerous, lethal collars. Then... what do we do...
I can't just... abandon them here. The Marines would slaughter them. First things first, I need to find where Bomiol kept the Collar Keys...
"I-I have them! The keys for the slaves' collars! I have them!"
Esune suddenly shifted back into her human form, leaning heavily on the wall for support.
"Eh!? A-Are you serious, Esune!?"
"Yes! I snatched them off him in the Bondola to free Rozuo-san. If they're the same type of collar Rozuo-san was wearing, these keys should unlock all of them!"
With that, Esune pulled a heavy, jingling bundle of keys from her pocket.
"Well done! You're a genius, Esune!" I cheered.
After securing the area on the first floor of the lavish mansion, we rapidly began testing the keys and unlocking the heavy collars of the Fish-Men and merfolk who had followed us up from the basement.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The heavy metal bands fell to the marble floor one by one.
"Uwaaah!! The collar... my collar is really off...!" a mermaid wept, rubbing her bruised neck.
"I can't believe it... I thought I'd die here. It's like a dream...!"
"Thank you...! Thank you both...!"
"Thank you so much...!"
Tears of joy and desperate sobs filled the mansion hall.
"Save your thanks until we've actually escaped Mary Geoise and hit the ocean!" I ordered, pointing toward the main entrance. "For now, we need to run before Admiral Aokiji gets here and freezes us all!!"
""""YEAAAAAH!!!!""""
A total of over fifty freed slaves... together with the powerful Fish-Man army, we burst out of the mansion doors. We charged through the pristine streets of Mary Geoise like a runaway train, roaring with the fury of years of oppression, easily plowing through any passing Celestial Dragons and guards in our path.
We were Team Line. (Self-proclaimed).
"Run, run, ruuuun!! Don't let anyone fall behind!! The cliffs are just ahead!" I shouted, leading the charge.
And just as we finally saw the massive gates marking the exit to the Holy Land...
The air suddenly grew violently, unnaturally cold. My breath plumed into white mist.
"...Ice Age!!"
"!!?"
The stone ground we were running on instantly frosted over, turning into a slick, solid sheet of ice. The sheer cold bit through my clothes in a second.
What the hell!?
"My, my, my... You've caused quite the outrageous incident..." a lazy, chilling voice echoed through the frozen plaza. "...'Invisible Phantom Thief'... didn't you?"
When I turned around...
There stood a towering man who had to be at least three meters tall. He wore a crisp white Marine Admiral coat draped over his shoulders and a sleep mask resting lazily on his forehead, and he sported thick lips. He exhaled a cloud of freezing vapor.
The moment they saw his figure, the charging Fish-Men froze in their tracks, the hope draining from their faces. Someone screamed in pure terror.
"A-Admiral... Aokiji...!!"
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