Chapter 17: Blood Lotus Group
"Hahahaha, is this all you've got? Really not fun at all!"
In a world far away, in another universe, a silver-haired man with crimson eyes stood in front of a middle-aged man whose hands and feet were cut off. The expression on the silver-haired man's face was extremely twisted.
"Hey, who's the strongest here? Hurry up and call them out! You small fries are too weak."
The silver-haired man used his slender-looking arms to lift the entire middle-aged man up, his cold voice filled with displeasure.
However, the middle-aged man had long been overwhelmed by fear, his mind in a muddy mess as he repeatedly muttered "monster, monster..."
"Tsk, surrounded by fear huh? How boring. I remember that guy 'Blood' told me there were strong ones here to suppress things, but it turns out to just be a bunch of small fries. I'll slaughter him when I get back."
Seeing the middle-aged man's terrified expression, the silver-haired man's twisted face returned to normal. His expression grew even colder.
He casually threw the middle-aged man to the side before looking around at his surroundings.
The ground was covered in severed hands and feet. Fresh blood dyed the earth red. The surrounding walls had holes of varying sizes. Bathed under the eerie blood-colored moonlight, everything seemed bizarre.
Clap - Clap - Clap
"As expected of you, same as always. What's wrong? You don't seem very satisfied from your expression."
Suddenly, the sound of clapping rang out. Looking over, one could see a man with a gentleman's hairstyle dressed in a gray and white suit. His pure black eyes stared at the silver-haired man as he stood in a doorway.
"Oh? Isn't that obvious? That guy 'Blood' told me there were strong ones here, but there's only some small fries."
The silver-haired man only glanced at the newcomer before losing interest.
"That guy 'Blood'? Hmph, don't you know what kind of fickle and unpredictable personality he has? In other words, deceiving people is part of his malicious hobby."
The man in the suit walked to a spot 3 meters away from the silver-haired man, speaking elegantly as he did.
Hearing the man in the suit's words, the silver-haired man only clicked his tongue without saying anything.
"Forget it, no point arguing with you. I came today for proper business."
"What business?"
"The boss has ordered the extermination of the Demon God's inheritor."
"Demon God's inheritor? Who's that? Weakling? No interest."
"No, he might be quite strong. You wouldn't let such a chance slip by right? Also, the boss said whoever kills the inheritor will be granted a request from him."
"Any request?"
"Any."
"Interesting! Where's that guy? I'll go kill him right now!"
***
Pirate World, night time. At the top of a tall building, Zavia sat here gazing at the still objects below.
His hairstyle was no longer the classic slicked back. Instead it was casually down like Dante's, gently swaying in the night breeze.
"Sigh, although I didn't plan on taking it too seriously with him from the beginning, I didn't expect people to see me that way."
Sitting at the edge, Zavia murmured to himself. In his mind he recalled the duel with Ross from 3 days ago.
—3 days ago—
"Winner, Zavia!"
The moment the referee saw Ross lose consciousness, he instantly made a judgement.
The entire spectator stand immediately erupted into enthusiastic cheers. There were words of admiration, words of envy, but most were applause.
It seems Ross still had quite some face in the academy. Just defeating him earned Zavia so much applause.
Among the crowd was a bald Lieutenant with stubble on his face. This was Evan.
Currently Evan's face was extremely dark. His chest seemed to hold surging anger while feelings of humiliation flooded his mind.
Because the one who incited Ross to challenge Zavia while promising him certain victory over and over, was Evan himself. Although no one else knew this, the one who boasted to Ross before others was Evan.
Ross losing made Evan feel utterly humiliated. Recalling how he acted yesterday before so many students caused his face to burn painfully.
Standing before the collapsed Ross, Zavia looked at him with icy blue eyes, seemingly lost in thought about something. Only when the medic team came to carry Ross away on a stretcher did Zavia retract his gaze.
Expressionless, Zavia threw the wooden sword to a random student before striding towards the exit, preparing to leave this place. Suddenly, a voice called out to him.
"Hold on, don't rush off yet Zavia."
Looking towards the voice, Zavia saw it was Garp sitting at the top who had spoken. Currently Garp had his arms crossed, a grave expression as he looked at Zavia.
(What's going on? This old geezer Garp...)
Seeing Garp's grave expression, Zavia had an inexplicable sense of unease. Moving his line of sight to beside Garp, he discovered Sengoku and Zephyr had similarly serious expressions.
(Just what...happened?)
5 minutes later, Fleet Admiral's office. Zavia stood at the center spot with Sengoku sitting at his desk before him. To Sengoku's left on a sofa sat Garp and Zephyr.
At this time, Zavia was extremely calm internally...as if!
Encountering this kind of situation, even normal people would probably feel uneasy right? Just imagine, you're standing in a room surrounded by three muscle-bound old men clearly past middle age. Their expressions are serious as they look at you. One of them even has a certain black object.
"Zavia, are you hiding something from me?"
Suddenly, Garp sitting on the sofa spoke up gravely. His manner was exactly like an old father who knew his child did something wrong yet still asked knowingly.
However, this wasn't how Zavia interpreted things at all. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt his back door was unprotected. Still, facing these three 'big figures', he could only reveal a polite smile.
"Vice Admiral Garp, this subordinate has hidden nothing from you. If there is something, please enlighten this ignorant one."
"Hmph, so proper in etiquette."
Hearing Zavia's words, Garp disdained them greatly even digging his nose as he ridiculed.
"Forget it Garp. Don't mind the details. Zavia, answer us honestly. Do you have sadistic tendencies?"
Waving his hand at Garp to not mind such things, Sengoku crossed his fingers on both hands. The lenses on his glasses shone as he spoke in a low tone.
"???"
These words left Zavia completely dumbfounded.
What? Sadistic? Why would I have that? Who did I abuse? Why am I being falsely accused out of nowhere? How did you conclude I have sadistic tendencies? Just because I'm cold-hearted? That's not my fault!
...
As these thoughts and emotions roiled within, hearing Sengoku's words almost caused Zavia to blurt out what was on his mind. But he endured it.
"Uh... Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'm afraid I don't really understand what you mean."
"Don't say anymore Zavia. We understand. Isn't it because your family encountered the same maritime disaster as you yet only you survived, leaving you feeling sad? It's fine. Remember to tell Garp if you have any problems. Although he is a bit crude, he is a qualified mentor."
However, Sengoku didn't seem to hear Zavia's words at all. Instead he spoke heavily as if to advise Zavia. His manner was exactly like a doctor treating a patient.
"..."
Hearing this point, Zavia no longer wanted to explain anything. Since the other side insisted on thinking this way, there was nothing he could do. Mentally ill it is then.
***
After the recollection ended, Sengoku then gave Zavia mental counseling that lasted 2 hours. Garp left midway while Zephyr maintained a poker face the entire time, making Zavia feel somewhat "uneasy".
"Sigh, I knew the average IQ wasn't high in the Pirate World, even if the other party was a publicly recognized wise figure. When it comes to certain things, their IQ is still quite low."
Gazing at the town shrouded in moonlight, Zavia murmured to himself while occasionally recalling the mental torment from those 2 hours.
"Zavia, so you were here huh?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Zavia. He who was prepared to instantly draw Yamato and slash over paused for 1.28 seconds after careful consideration before abandoning the notion. Because the one who came was Garp.
"Old geezer, how did you know I was here? Speaking of which, shouldn't you be sleeping at this time? No problem?"
"Hmph! Brat, it's rare to see you concerned about others. Don't worry, I can still live another 10 years. As for your question, Sengoku said he could always see you here enjoying the scenery around this time."
Garp irritably retorted while walking to Zavia's side with his hands pocketed. His navy overcoat fluttered slightly in the wind as he gazed at the town below alongside Zavia.
"Hmph, just 10 years more? A human's lifespan truly is too short. Isn't that right, old geezer?"
"That's right, too short. Unknowingly I grew old."
For some reason, neither of them spoke another word as they quietly watched this beautiful scene.
***
In the depths of the universe, within an abyss, a certain bizarre town.
This town appeared extremely strange. Its color scheme was predominantly gray-black with constant wisps of white mist rising from it.
Bizarre noises constantly emerged from the town. Those voices seemed to combine wailing with resentment, making listeners feel extremely uncomfortable internally when hearing them.
Within a plaza inside this town, a man sat on a pile of small corpses drinking wine.
He didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the stench of decay coming from below. Instead he leisurely drank wine with a look of enjoyment on his face.
Beneath him was a group of creatures covered in tattered clothing with appearances that were neither human nor beast. They trembled, with hollow eyes displaying the emotion called fear.
"Hahahaha, what's wrong? Scared? If you guys had just obediently listened to me from the beginning, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
The man finished the last mouthful of wine from his bottle before casually tossing it aside. His crimson eyes stared at the creatures below.
"Ya ya hu ha xi..."
Hearing the man's sudden words frightened the creatures. They responded in a bizarre language.
"Hahahaha, regretting it now? Too late. I said it already back then. Our Blood Lotus Group only wanted abyssal stone. Yet you not only refused to listen but even attacked me instead. Your fate is obvious."
Although the language was bizarre, the man showed no signs of incomprehension. Instead he spoke extremely coldly. After saying this, the man moved his body, causing a long blade to appear in his hand.
"Since you refuse to cooperate, don't blame me for showing no mercy. Remember this. What our Blood Lotus Group wants, we have never failed to obtain."
The man slowly stood up. His icy words caused the creatures to scatter about in panic. But the man only revealed a cold sneer. The long blade in his hand slowly exited its sheath.
It wasn't long before the entire town echoed with wails of grief.
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