Watching Trenza bang her head against the golden door while grunting in pain, I couldn't help but frown; I had no idea or even an inkling as to what had happened with her. It wasn't Enel, Sebas, and I would've noticed, nor did someone attack her mind while somehow evading my senses; after all, Sebas was literally right behind her when she collapsed in pain.
Seeing Trenza in such pain without being able to link it to a cause angered me more than it should've as I grabbed Naga-sa, raising it into the air while coiling it in lightning.
"Sebas, take Trenza and back away." Declared Diddy with a slightly livid expression as he glanced at Sebas, who swiftly nodded, floating Trenza in the air while gazing at his bo-staff, which was pulsing in destructive intent.
Once Sebas and Trenza were a distance away, I tightly gripped Naga-sa before using all of my strength to swing down toward the golden door, timing my swing with the pulsing of my heart to increase my might further. When the attack landed, a massive surge of lighting exploded into the air while the entire structure trembled as the tip of my bo-staff struck the golden doors, which had cracks strewn across their body before they were suddenly blasted apart, unable to resist my power.
Once the door was destroyed, a decent-sized room was revealed, and at the center was a golden pedestal; though, I didn't concern myself with what was atop the pedestal as I turned back and looked at Trenza and Sebas, who had come floating back.
"Tch, it didn't work." Muttered Diddy with a click of his tongue as he swung his bo-staff at the ground, creating a significant dent within the golden floor while slight arcs of lightning emerged.
"Sebas, you should be able to stop the pain, right?" Asked Diddy with a scowl as he looked at Trenza writhing in pain on the ground before looking at Sebas, who was doing his best to soothe her.
"Yes, I can, but it's only a temporary solution; we'll only be getting rid of the pain, not what's actually causing the pain; besides, without the pain, we'll have no idea where the source originated from. However, even if none of that matters, if we don't find a solution fast, the pain will continue to accumulate, and when I finally retract my mind, she'll be bombarded with all the accumulated pain in one go; if it were you, Mael, or Freyja, it wouldn't have mattered, you three are a glutton for punishment, but not Trenza, her mind could be permanently damaged if she received such a massive amount of pain in one go." Declared Sebas with a pained expression as he nodded, doing his best to soothe Trenza while searching through her mind, trying to find the source of pain, though his attempts were futile.
Grunting in annoyance, raising Naga-sa into the air again, I gripped it tightly before taking a deep breath, calming myself as I lowered my bo-staff back onto the ground while leaning against it, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
'Tsk, if Sebas can't find what's wrong with her, then what will I be able to do?' Mused Diddy with a slight frown as he crossed his arms, glaring at Trenza writhing about on the ground while grabbing her head and shutting her eyes.
'Maybe I can try my, haki?' Pondered Diddy in uncertainty as he furrowed his brows while looking at Trenza before shaking his head and closing his eyes.
I had no idea if my theory would work, and it was more of a long shot than anything, but I decided I might as well, so I closed my eyes and held my nose shut as I focused on my surroundings; following that, I slowly began to see everything through my instincts, or also known as observation haki, something I'm quite inept in, but it was an improvement from when I first used it.
Focusing on Trenza, although I hoped to see something, all I got was nothing worth noting; from what I could see, she looked exactly the same. I could sense her life force more clearly, and I could even read her intentions, something I hadn't noticed the first time I used observation haki, but other than that, I was utterly blind regarding the reason behind her pain. Opening my eyes, I released a frustrated growl as I slammed my fist into the golden wall, denting it in the process, before looking at Sebas.
"Sebas, can you transfer the pain to me?" Asked Diddy, his words greatly surprising Sebas as he squinted his eyes and skeptically looked at Diddy.
"Captain, is that really you? The Captain I know would never be so concerned about our safety." Remarked Sebas with a wary frown as he floated Trenza behind him and lifted destroyed pieces of the golden door, aiming them at Diddy, who suddenly raised his finger at him, firing a shigan that scraped Sebas's check.
"Now isn't the time for games, Sebas; answer my question, or I'll rip your skull open and find the answer myself." Stated Diddy seriously as he stared daggers at Sebas, who was bleeding from his cheek where the shigan scraped him, prompting him to drop everything while gently setting Trenza down.
"That's the Captain I know and love, ready to kill me at a moment's notice. However, I don't know; the idea of transferring someone's pain to another has never crossed my mind, no pun intended. By all accounts, if I can transfer thoughts and images, I should be able to transfer other emotions, theoretically, at least." Replied Sebas solemnly as he forcefully held Trenza still before placing his hand atop her head, only to suddenly grab his head in while Trenza momentarily calmed down.
"Y-Yes, it's possible; just be ready to receive the pain, Captain." Added Sebas, wincing in pain while Trenza returned to writhing about as he glanced at Diddy, who merely grunted before extending his tail toward him.
Once Sebas grabbed my tail, he then placed his hand atop Trenza's head, and shortly after, I suddenly felt an excruciating sensation in my head and eyes; dropping Naga-sa, I squatted down and held my head while doing my best to suppress my growls of pain that was threatening to leak out.
"How are you doing, Captain?" Asked Sebas in concern as he slowly removed his hand from Diddy's tail while keeping the mental link between Trenza and Diddy, using his mind as a medium for the pain to transfer.
"I'm in extreme pain; how do you think I'm doing!?" Exclaimed Diddy in slight anger as he turned and glared at Sebas with his beastly eyes while holding his head.
Hearing Trenza move, I glanced at her and saw her eyelids flutter, which caused me to release a loud growl of agony before standing up and holding Naga-sa, just in time for Trenza to be startled awake by my growl.
"CAPTAIN I'M SORRY!" Yelled Trenza in fear as she sprung to life while breathing heavily, only to sigh in relief when she noticed Diddy calmly looking at her.
"Haa, it was just a nightmare, thank goodness." Muttered Trenza as she rubbed her head before standing up and looking around.
"So, what happened to me? I remember being in a whole bunch of pain, and then it suddenly stopped; did someone figure out what was wrong with me?" Asked Trenza curiously as she looked between Sebas and Diddy, prompting the former to shake his head and open his mouth, only for a swing from Naga-sa to just barely miss him
"Yes, we figured it out." Stated Diddy as he violently slammed Naga-sa right in front of Sebas while squinting at him, causing him to cough awkwardly while nodding in agreement.
"Y-Yes, thanks to Captain's amazing senses, we discovered what was wrong; apparently, a l-leech had entered through your ear and inside your skull, though he managed to lure it out before killing it." Declared Sebas with a forced smile as he quickly created a believable lie, which Trenza didn't bother questioning and just shivered in disgust.
"R-Remind me never to visit a swamp again." Muttered Trenza in pure disgust before running toward Diddy and hugging him, causing him to growl in annoyance.
"Release me, or next time, I'll allow the leech to eat your brain." Remarked Diddy while glaring at Trenza, who chuckled before eventually releasing him.
"Heh, you're really a tsundere. Do you know that, Captain?" Said Trenza with a faint smirk as she looked at Diddy, who simply bared his fangs at Trenza, who boldly stuck her finger in his mouth, before retracting it.
"See, Captain is most definitely a tsundere, Father." Added Trenza as she looked at Sebas, only for her to be suddenly swept off her feet by Diddy's tail.
"Hoho, no comment, Trenza." Remarked Sebas with a slight chuckle as he glanced at Trenza, grabbing her back while wincing in pain.
"Ugh, r-right on my back again." Muttered Trenza in pain as she slowly stood up while hunched over, grabbing her lower back.
Although it looked like it, I was very much still experiencing all of Trenza's pain; it wasn't pleasant by any means, it wasn't nearly as painful as when Sebas first invaded my mind, but it wasn't too far behind. I didn't know how long I was going to be able to keep this act up, but we needed to figure out what the hell was wrong with Trenza quickly.
'It's got something to do with those words; it has to be.' Mused Diddy as he winced when he saw Trenza look at a piece of the broken door, the pain intensifying.