Ben and the girls walked towards the ruins to the north.
"Thank you Kaya, Emeraude and Vivi for helping them out," Ben said.
"It was nothing," Kaya replied.
"Just a few bandages here and there," Emeraude added.
Vivi nodded. She did not like to see people hurt. "That was a good idea my love," Alvida said.
"It gave us some favourable points," Mikita added.
"But we caused the injuries," Robin pointed out.
"They started it," Marianne said.
"Either way, we got what we wanted," Ben said.
"Captain is very smart," Saphir said.
Rubis sighed.
"Also, about it being uncontrollable, that was not true," Ben said.
The girls looked at him. "The quest says it can be controlled but we would need to complete it all before you go after it," Ben said.
"Pervert," Kaya said.
"You had your turn," Nojiko said.
"It was for the crew," Kaya said back. She had a smile on her face.
"So who is remaining on it?" Mikita asked.
"Honey and Robin," Ben replied.
"Yes, I am happy to help," Honey said. She smiled, she was going to be with Ben again.
"Anything for you Captain," Robin said. She smiled. However, her smile was mischievous. There was something behind it. Ben swallowed his spit.
"We also need to beat everyone on that quest," Ben added.
"Is it just Simon Pirates remaining?" Zala asked.
"That and the guardians," Ben replied.
"They are going to be annoying," Kaya said.
"We know their weak point and if work together we can beat them quickly," Ben said.
"That is true," Kaya replied.
"I can use my devil fruit a bit now so I can help more," Vivi promptly said. She smiled and looked proud.
"Maybe next time," Nojiko said. She added, "We need to show Ben first."
"I want to be the special guy that sees it first," Ben added. They both knew Vivi`s power was something else so they did not want to find out in an actual battle.
"Okay," Vivi replied. She thought of her lover seeing it first. She was getting excited.
They continued walking until they saw the ruins. It was a burial ground adorned with the echoes of civilisations long forgotten. Marking the entrance was a worn arch, standing like a sentinel with tales etched in its stones. Carved symbols tell stories of lives lived and journeys embraced. The burial ground, beneath the vast sky, is a tapestry of weathered tombstones and fragments of ceremonial structures. Faded murals, once vibrant with ochre and sienna, depict scenes of a life well-lived and the sacred transition beyond. Nature, ever resilient, weaves its way through the cracks, adding a touch of green to the ancient canvas. As shadows play beneath the arch, it's as if the past and present are engaged in a timeless dance.
"This place is a bit creepy," Marianne commented.
"It is a burial ground," Mikita said.
"That means the undead will raise and eat us all," Robin said.
"Ea us all," Honey said in shock. Marianne tried to say something but it was not coherent. They both held each other and looked at Ben.
"They go for cute and pretty girls first," Zala added. Robin and Zala giggled.
"Pretty as well," Saphir meekly said. She looked a bit worried. Rubis and Emeraude sighed.
"They are both joking, we are not fighting zombies yet," Ben said.
"Yet?" Kaya question.
"On a ship as big as an island, there is a warlord named Gecko Moria who has the ability to control shadows. He can bring back corpses with his power, however salt can defeat them," Ben explained.
"I heard of him when we were with Baroque Works," Mikita said.
"There were rumours that he challenged one of the four emperors and his entire crew was killed in the battle,," Zala added.
"That is true, Kaido killed his crew. He is a shell of his former self ," Ben said.
He added, "We are going to beat Kaido." Ben sounded sure.
"Right now my love?" Alvida questioned. She trusted Ben but she was not sure whether they could challenge an emperor of the sea.
"No, we need time to train, it will be two years before we can face them," Ben said.
"I will give more details later when we are back on the Miss Love Duck," Ben added. The girls all nodded. They were a bit worried about facing a force that strong but with Ben with them they knew they could. They also thought, two years with Ben training.
They kept walking deeper in the burial grounds until they spotted a cave entrance.
"This looks like the place," Saphir said.
"Still creepy," Honey commented. Marianne nodded.
"Well, you can stay here if you want, we should be quick," Ben suggested.
"No," all the girls shouted back. They wanted to stay with Ben as much as possible.
"Okay, let's go," Ben said.
They entered the cave and saw there were stairs. "Stairs?" Vivi asked.
"It looks like this is no ordinary cave," Robin said. She looked at the walls and they looked like they were built by expert men. They were pillars supporting the structure.
"This may be a tomb of some sort," Zala added.
"We should be careful," Mikita said.
"Let's carry on," Ben said.They headed down the stairs. It was getting darker and darker. The girls held each other and huddled behind Ben who was leading the group.
Ben got to the bottom of the stairs where he saw torches on the ground. They were turned on. Ben smiled. His luck just got better. He picked up one of the torches, off the ground and saw a body on the ground. He looked around and saw multiple bodies.
The girls gasped. "These are Niphtal`s men," Rubis commented. She noted that they were all wearing overalls.
"They must have found the treasure guardian," Saphir added.
"Just like before," Ben said.
"They are not strong enough to take it on," Zala added.
"Cruel, to send your fellow crew into battle like this," Vivi said.
"Girls pick-up the torches and let's use them," Ben ordered. They nodded and walked around and picked up the torches. Ben walked around and found something shiny. He shone the torch light towards the object and saw a silver card next to the body. Ben picked up the card. It looked like an access card of some sort.
"What do you have there Captain?" Nojiko asked. She saw him pick up an object.
"Looks like an access card, it may come handy," Ben said.
"Ben, here," Honey shouted. Ben and the other girls rushed towards Honey. They saw a room and a pile of bodies. In front of them at the back of the room was the monster. It had a white spherical torsos with two mechanical arms. It had a red neck that was long and cable-like. The head looked like a bird with a large beak. On top of their heads and hands they possessed orange coloured gemstone-like hemispheres. The monster was red.
"It does not look friendly," Kaya said.
"It never does," Nojiko added.
"Quicxic," Vivi said as she read the name on its circular body.
It looked at Ben and the girls. He glared at them. It fired a tornado towards them. The tornado came hurling towards them. They all jumped out of the way.
"Nojiko use your lightning to stun him. Robin then hold him in place. Vivi, Kaya, Zala, Saphir go for his right arm. Marianne, Mikita, Honey and Rubis go for his left arm. Alvida, Emeraude and myself will hit him directly," Ben ordered. The girls nodded.
"Marianne catch," Mikita said as she threw the Yellow Gun at her. Marianne caught the gun and nodded.
"Cloud Surge," Nojiko said as she created dense storm clouds around Quicxic. He saw the clouds and looked around. "Lightning Barrage," Nojiko added as the storm clouds darkened further and a lightning bolt hit Quicxic. Then another lightning bolt hit. Nojiko launched multiple lightning bolts stunning Quicxic.
Robin crossed her arms. She smiled. "Ochenta Fleur," Robin said as she sprouted eighty arms over Quicxic`s body in various places. "Hold," Robin added as she bound her arms and immobilised it.
Vivi took her Gero Gero gun out. She aimed it Quicxic right arm and fired at it. The frog shaped bullet hit his arms. There was an explosion. At the same time Kaya transformed into her beast form. She opened her mouth. She charged her golden beam and fired it at his right hand. "Angel HyperBeam," she said. The gold beam travelled across the room and hit Quicxic hand. A small explosion was seen. There was black smoke. It was still surrounded by the clouds.
Zala and Saphir ran towards Quicxic. "Stinger Finger," Zala said as she turned her fingers into long spikes.
"Bleu Formidable," Saphir said as she took her spear out. Both Zala and Saphir hit the right arm at the same time. After being hit by Kaya and Vivi, the arms were weakened and this was the final blow. The arm had sparks and came off. Zala, Saphir, Vivi and Kaya smiled.
At that same time, Marianne, Mikita, Honey and Rubis prepared their attack. Marianne took the Yellow Gun from Mikita. She aimed it Quicxic left and fired her dice shaped bullet at it. The bullet hit his left arm and created an explosion.
"Double Air Blast," Honey said as she raised her two hands forward. A torrent of purple liquid fired from both her hands. It travelled across the room and hit Quicxic left arm. There were sparks from its hand. The lighting bolt did damage.
Mikita ran towards Quicxic. She jumped in the air. "Meteor Strike," she said as she increased her weight dramatically. She accelerated her descent like a falling meteor. She then impacted Quicxic left arm. The arm moved. It was critically damaged. Mikita leaped backwards.
Rubis came running up. Rubis took her spear out. The tip of the spear had a nozzle head connected to a trigger. Rubis smiled as she knew Emeraude and she worked on this modification. "Rouge Devasting," Rubis said. She put 100% of her strength in the attack. She thrusted the spear forward and hit its arm. The left arm took the attack and broke off. Robin took her arms off. Quicxic limped around. It looked badly damaged.
"Good job girls, now let's finish it," Ben said, looking at Alvida and Emeraude. He transformed into his hybrid form. He raised his hand in the air and started to form a spear-shaped projection of dark energy. "Demon Abyssal Lance," Ben said as he hurled it at high speed towards Quicxic.
"Slipstream Cannon," Alvida said. She started spinning her body rapidly, which generated a powerful current of air. Alvida compressed the air and fired it as a powerful projectile towards Quicxic. Ben and Alvida`s attack combined and hit Quicxic sphere body. It was a direct hit and punctured and ruptured multiple internal wires and organs. There were sparks everywhere.
Emeraude came running up. She took her spear out. "Vert Thrust," Emeraude said. She swung her spear down with all her strength. She slashed its sphere body. The sparks got wilder. Emeraude jumped back. Quicxic body had a spasm and exploded.
"We did it," Vivi shouted.
"Yes we did," Nojiko added.
"That was a bit easy," Marianne said.
"Because we worked together," Mikita said. The girls all started jumping up and down and high fiving each other. Alvida jumped and hugged Ben. She kissed Ben.
Ben smiled. "We did," Ben announced.
Emeraude walked to the back of the room where she saw the orb on a large block of concentrate. She picked it up and smiled. She ran back with an orb in her hand.
"Captain, I got it," Emeraude said.
"It is pink," Honey said.
"My favourite colour," Alvida said.
Ben laughed. "Good job Emeraude," Ben said.
"Okay, everyone, you all did amazing. Let us head back to the ship," Ben added. The girls nodded and cheered.
"Should we not see Ko?" Mikita asked.
"It will be rude not to Captain," Robin replied.
"Okay, I will go and see him," Ben said.
"I will come along as well," Vivi volunteered.
"I will too," Marianne added.
"Okay, that will be fine, three should be a good number," Ben said.