"Haa, did she just say Pirate Royale?" Asked Trenza with a sigh as she looked up at Scar, who was frowning while looking up at the projected image of Mirage.
"Unfortunately, yes; I'm also assuming the arena below us will be where we fight." Said Scar with a nod as he and Trenza looked down below at the large arena that was surrounded by infested waters.
"Haha, why do you two sound so worried? Even if we are forced to fight everyone here, I'm confident we can easily take everyone!" Remarked Grand with a boisterous laugh as he patted Scar's back while looking at the two, causing them both to sigh.
"That's not really the problem, Grand; the problem is, do you think Madam Mirage or whatever her name is will just set us free if we win this battle royale? Because I have a feeling that won't be the case." Said Trenza, folding her arms while looking at Grand, whose face stiffened a little as he stopped laughing.
"Also, I know with the three of us together, we're capable of exceptional feats, but who is to say among what seems to be over 100 pirates that one or more of them aren't stronger than us? Maybe one of them is like Father and Freyja, a Devil Fruit user; that'll make things several times harder for us." Stated Scar as he glanced at the two, his words causing Grand to think seriously about their situation.
"Eh, when you put it like that, I guess our circumstance isn't that great, but at least on the bright side, there doesn't seem to be a Devil Fruit user among the people present; we've got that going for us." Commented Grand with a thoughtful expression as he looked at Scar and Trenza, though his words only deepened Scar's frown.
"That's much more worrying; I'd rather there be a Devil Fruit user that I know about than me hoping on the chance there isn't one. Anyways, be quiet; she looks like she's about to speak." Replied Scar with a shake of his head as the three focused back on Mirage, who opened her mouth to speak, only for someone to rudely interrupt.
"Release us this instant, you Old Hag; I've been stuck in here for two whole days! Also, where the fuck is my gold." Yelled a fairly large man locked inside a cage not too far away from Scar's cell with roughly twelve other people sitting with him as he stood up angrily and pointed toward Mirage.
"Ah, yes, who are you again? With so many people, It's always hard to keep track." Said Mirage rather nicely as she took a sip of tea and glanced at the man in the carriage, causing him to display an arrogant expression.
"Heh, it's too late to save yourself; maybe if you were a cute child, but seeing as you're an old hag, your death is assured for keeping I, Bill B. Cosby, behind bars." Stated the man with an angry yet arrogant face as he glared at Mirage, who nodded in response.
"Bill B. Cosby, ah, yes, I see, I've got your wanted poster right here; 16,000,000 Beri's for, oh my, you actually did those things to those poor little girls?" Remarked Mirage with a raised eyebrow as she read off what one could only assume was a wanted poster before widening her eyes in disgust.
"Hehe, what can I say? I like my women, real young!" Said Cosby pridefully, though his words caused many surrounding pirates from other carriages to give him looks of disgust as well.
"Tch, disgusting; even if I end up dying here, I'm taking that bastard with me."
"Urgh, I don't even want to think what that disgusting old man did."
"Revolting, even as a pirate, one must have a moral code; that's too far."
"Tsk, we're killers and thieves, not monsters."
"Hmph, shut up, you lot, don't tell me how to live-" Said Cosby angrily as he glared at the surrounding pirates also locked in cages; before he could finish speaking, a gunshot was heard, and by the time it happened, Cosby was already collapsing onto the ground with a hole through the side of his head.
"You beat me to it, Trenza." Muttered Scar with a smirk as he lowered the blade he was about to throw before holstering it.
Feeling much better about myself now that the monster in human skin was dead, I sighed in relief and holstered Sunaipu before focusing on the lady, who seemed to be giving me a look of appreciation.
"I thank you for that, you lady." Said Mirage with a nod, causing Trenza to display a flattering smile in return.
"You're much welcome, so how about displaying your gratitude by freeing us?" Asked Trenza with her big, beautiful eyes, though all she got in return was a curt no before Mirage ignored them, causing her to click her tongue in defeat.
"Anyways, as I was saying before, I was rudely interrupted by that monster. I've decided you all will be participating in a Battle Royal that I like to call Pirate Royale. I'll go over the rules briefly: firstly, there will be only one winner; secondly, to win, you must be the last remaining person alive; lastly, falling into the water counts as you dying because, well, you will be eaten alive by my pet shark." Stated Mirage with a soft smile as she pressed a button, causing a small part of the ceiling to open, dropping the body of a dead deer.
Watching the corpse fall into the water, it didn't even make it below the arena before a large shadow underneath the water appeared, followed by a massive creature eating the deer whole before it submerged itself under the water.
"Um, that wasn't a Sea King, was it?" Asked Trenza in fear with a forced smile, remembering the time she was almost eaten alive by a Sea King, which, ironically enough, didn't happen that long ago.
"No, it shouldn't be. It was large, but Sea Kings are far larger; I suppose it could be a baby Sea King, but Captain has said Sea Kings are very protective of their young, so I doubt it." Said Scar with a slight frown as he looked down at the water before glancing at Trenza.
"Hmm, if I could drag it onto land, I might be able to beat it." Muttered Grand seriously as he rubbed his chin while also looking intensely at the water, though Scar and Trenza opted to ignore him.
"Now then, let the games begin!" Yelled Mirage with a smile as she glanced at Pill, who was off-screen sitting at a control table, prompting him to push multiple buttons.
With Mirage's words, along with a loud noise, we started to see several cages being transferred above the arena before lowering themselves; eventually, our cage started moving as well, though there wasn't much we could do to stop our predicament.
"Ugh, why is Captain, Freyja, or Father still not here!?" Remarked Trenza with a groan as she looked back at the hole they dropped from.
"I don't know, but it must be something keeping them preoccupied; besides, you can't expect them to always bail you out of trouble, Trenza; you're a grown woman. Besides, aren't you the Marksmen of the Frenzy Pirates?" Stated Scar lightly while tapping Trenza's shoulder before smirking, successfully easing her worries.
"I know; besides, I'm not that worried; from what I can see, the only thing that would be a problem was that massive sea creature; everyone else looks like your average pirate, not like we're much different." Said Trenza with a shake of her head as she lightly smiled before frowning once more when she felt the cage touch the arena floors.
When the Cage touched the ground, the roof was lifted, allowing the iron bars to fall to the ground, freeing us, though really, we just moved from one cage to another; this one was just much bigger. Looking around, I eyed everyone else, only to notice several men lecherously staring at me, a weird feeling since hardly any men dared to do so back in Briss Kingdom, and Freyja was present stealing the limelight, so I was always overlooked.
'I don't mind the attention, but I wish it weren't by a bunch of men who wish to force themselves onto me.' Thought Trenza with a sigh, her worries coming to fruition as she unholstered both pistols and prepared to kill everyone looking at her.
While I unholstered my pistols, Scar unsheathed his dagger and held it firmly as he positioned himself to my right; Grand punched his gauntlet-covered fists together as he stood to my left. With the three of us standing in a triangle, we just stood still and didn't make a move like everyone else, as if we were all waiting for something to trigger the start of the battle.
"Die Bastard!" Yelled a random pirate who finally made the first move as he swung his axe at a random person, chopping his arm off.
With that man's yelling, everyone suddenly started fighting; though it was all chaotic, at least back on Centaurea, there was some semblance of order amongst the war, but not here; everyone was out for themselves. Thankfully, we were placed near the edge, so we didn't have to worry about someone sneaking from behind us, but I noticed a small chunk of pirates heading right for us; I couldn't tell whether it was so they could have their way with me, or because Grand's large imposing figure was seen as a threat.
'Probably a bit of both.' Mused Trenza as she started shooting at only the people nearing them while letting everyone else brawl it out.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 189: Awakening?) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 70: Freaky Alexander(R18)) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 116: Boredom Defeats Frenzy) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]