"Slaves." Muttered Trenza quietly as she looked at Kane while Scar and Grand fought against powerful opponents to her side.
Slaves; it's not a term I'm fond of hearing, and Kane didn't need to elaborate when speaking about who they became slaves to, as I could already imagine it was the World Government, more accurately, the celestial dragons. I've had the opportunity to lay eyes upon celestial dragons on the few times they've visited Briss Kingdom, and not once have I ever gotten a good feeling about them as they walked through the streets with malnourished and beaten slaves while treating everyone else like inferior beings.
However, while I feel that way, Father has warned us to always stay out of their sight and avoid confronting them, and so I did, along with Scar and Grand.
'Heh, though with our Captain, we won't be able to do that, not to mention he's probably already on their radar.' Mused Trenza with a wry smile as she shook her head and gently placed her hand atop Kane's shoulder, comforting him.
"Haa, I feel sorry for what you've been through, Kane, though if you don't mind me asking, how did you escape? From my knowledge, the World Government doesn't take kindly to escaped slaves." Asked Trenza gently with a soft smile, her friendly aura calming Kane.
"S-Shortly after leaving Jetuka island, once my fellow people and I were detained at the bottom of the ship, there was a mighty storm, and along with that mighty storm came our savoir." Replied Kane somewhat calmly as he looked up toward the ceiling while raising his hand.
"Savoir? That's not what I was expecting; who's actually bold enough to attack a ship belonging to the World Government?" Questioned Trenza in surprise as she looked at Kane, not even realizing how ironic she sounded.
"Yes, our Savoir, in our darkest hour, while all other gods ignored our pleas for help, he answered our calls, Nikka, the Sun God! With but a single one of his soldiers, he destroyed our ship and set us free!" Stated Kane with fervor while practically yelling, though his statement confused Trenza.
"Nikka, The Sun God? I've heard and read about a few gods, but I've never heard about him." Remarked Trenza with a raised eyebrow as she also looked to the ceiling, seemingly trying to locate this supposed Sun God.
"One of the older slaves had told me about him, saying that one day, Nikka the Sun Goa shall appear and free us; he was not lying, as not even two hours later, the Sun's Angel appeared and set us free." Declared Kane happily as he dropped to his knees and bowed while Trenza just calmly watched everything.
"Eh, that's cool and all, but who is this Sun's Angel? Is he the one who freed you?" Asked Trenza as she reached down and attempted to lift him, though it proved futile, his body refusing to budge.
"Yes, and I was lucky enough to witness his majestic appearance; he towered over your average man and sported four large, white, feathered wings while wielding a large golden axe. Unfortunately, the Sun's Angel shone far too brightly that my mortal eyes could only view him for but a split second; any longer, and I would've turned blind." Replied Kane with a fanatical grin while tears streamed down his face, unnerving Trenza a little.
"So, what-" Said Trenza, though she was cut off by Kane, who continued speaking.
"The Sun's Angel freed us with but a single slash of his mighty axe, creating a large arc of flames that melted anything it touched in mere seconds; not even the seawater was spared, boiling without even touching his body!" Added Kane, trembling in zeal as he thought about the might of the Sun's Angel.
'Hmm, it sounds more like a devil fruit ability than an actual angel; anyways, I'll tell Captain about it when we meet. I'm sure he'll be interested in someone who dares to attack a ship belonging to the World Government.' Mused Trenza as she looked at Kane before turning around and watching her Brothers fight, only for the arena to tremble slightly.
Feeling the arena tremble for a third time, I wasn't worried as I wasn't standing on the perimeter, but I widened my eyes when I remembered Kane's existence; looking at him, despite the shaking, he didn't seem to be taking any action to move, causing me to groan in annoyance. With swift movements, I reached forward and grabbed him before yanking his body backward with all of my might, flinging off the floor just in time as part of the arena sunk into the water below.
"Haa, that was close." Muttered Trenza as he sighed in relief before walking over to Kane sprawled on the ground, surprised by how far she managed to throw him.
'Eh, have I always been that strong?' Pondered Trenza skeptically as she looked down at her arms, though she noticed no difference whatsoever, causing her to shake her head and forget about it.
"You okay, Kane?" Asked Trenza as she squatted down and poked Kane, who slowly reacted, though he no longer sounded so confident.
"Y-Yes, t-thank you f-for saving me." Said Kane timidly as he quickly stood up and gave Trenza a deep bow, to which she simply nodded in response.
"It's fine; I'm not just going to allow a kid to die on my watch." Declared Trenza confidently as she smirked and puffed out her chest in pride.
"Anyways, just stay by my side, and I'll keep you safe to the best of my abilities; once my Brothers defeat the remaining enemies, we'll get out of this hellhole and go kill that old bitch!" Added Trenza with a soft smile as she patted Kane's shoulder before displaying a wicked grin while grabbing Sunaipu.
"T-Thanks M-Miss T-Trenza." Said Kane meekly as he partially hid behind Trenza, only to display an evil smirk while reaching into his pocket.
___
___
Despite merely watching Scar and Grand fight from the sidelines, I felt just as nervous as them, if not more, wincing every time they took a blow while cheering every time they managed to injure their opponent. They've been fighting for around five minutes in total, so the arena has gotten considerably smaller, but it's still enough for them to comfortably fight without interfering with each other, though it won't be that way for long.
"And speak of the Devil." Muttered Trenza with a frown as she felt the arena tremble again, causing her and Kane, who was still hiding behind her, to quickly step forward, narrowly avoiding falling into the water below.
'Tch, dammit, we don't have much space; if I get any closer, I'm worried they may try to attack us instead.' Thought Trenza with furrowed brows as she glanced at the four fighting while standing alongside Kane on the edge of the arena.
"Hurry up, you two; there are only four minutes left, and don't forget we also have to figure out a way to escape from this place!" Yelled Trenza, her words causing Grand and Scar to glance at her before quickly focusing back on their opponents.
"Can't you-urgh-see we're a little busy, Trenza? Why don't you figure out a way to escape?" Replied Scar with a grunt of pain as he was clawed in the chest by the tribal man before dodging one of his attacks and retaliating by slicing the back of his arm.
"Tsk, you think I haven't already tried? I haven't been standing here doing nothing this entire time." Muttered Trenza with a grumble as she glared at Scar; nonetheless, she again started looking around, thinking of a plan.
While it's true I could assist Scar and Grand in their fights; I restrained myself; after that little fiasco at Centaurea, I knew they were both wanting to prove themselves, not just to Captain but mainly to themselves; especially Scar, he's been training his ass off these past couple of days. However, that didn't mean I wasn't going to provide any help; once I figured out how to escape, I was going to immediately assist, that's if they hadn't already beaten their opponents.
'Haa, what to do, what to do? There isn't anywhere to go! The shutes we fell down have been sealed off, same with where the transponder snail emerged from and where the deer corpse fell from.' Thought Trenza with a frown as she scrutinized every inch of the place with her impeccable eyes, yet to her dismay, she found nothing of use.
Closing my eyes in frustration, as I did so, I suddenly heard a loud roar, causing me to snap my eyes open, only to witness Grand violently punch the bloody and injured fish-man with such force that not only was he knocked unconscious, but he fell into the water below; though he wasn't even able to make it as the shark emerged and ate him.
"Haha, I've won!" Yelled Grand in exhaustion and a deep voice as he raised his wet hands in the air, celebrating his victory!
Sighing at Grand, I was about to approach him, but before I could, I heard a loud wail, only to turn and see Scar had used his dagger and sliced deeply into the tribal man's stomach as copious amounts of blood spilled.
"Hard fought battle." Said Scar with a slight smile as he kicked the dying man off the arena and into the shark's jaws.
"Heh, I would congratulate you two, but we still need to figure out how to escape this place so we can regroup with Captain, Freyja, and Father." Remarked Trenza with a grin as she approached them while giving them both a thumbs-up.
___
Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
___
___
Elven Legacy (Chapter 191: Collapse Of The Portal) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 72: The Power of [Rebirth]) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 119: Boin Archipelago) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]