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"You... killed him..."
The naked and scarred woman stared at the Celestial Dragons lying in pools of blood. Her voice trembled and her face turned ashen at the sight of the spreading blood. It all seemed so unreal to her, as if she were dreaming.
"You... killed the Celestial Dragons..."
She murmured over and over, reaching out to touch the flowing blood on the ground, feeling its warmth.
The corner of her mouth began to curl into a smile, little by little.
"You killed him..."
The smile slowly turned maniacal.
"Hahahahaha! You killed him!!!"
"He's finally dead!!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The woman laughed heartily, yet bloody tears started streaming down her face.
"He's finally dead... woo woo woo..."
Overcome with emotion, she broke down crying.
Darren watched the woman, who was both laughing and crying with a crazed expression, and his eyes involuntarily drooped.
"You're free," he said.
"Free?"
A bitter look crossed the woman's face as she turned her back to Darren, revealing the bloody imprint of "Flying Dragon's Hoof."
"For me, how can there be freedom in this world?"
She looked up and smiled at Darren, a calm and relieved expression on her face.
"Thank you, Lord Marine."
She struggled to rise, knelt on the ground, and bowed her head deeply to Darren in sincere gratitude.
"I have no reason to live. Everyone I cherished has died by his hand."
"Please, do what you must."
Darren looked at her intently, seeing the strong desire for death in her eyes. He couldn't fathom the pain she endured under Shields Saint's torment.
"I understand," he said softly.
"Then, farewell."
With those words, Darren turned and walked out of the cabin without hesitation.
The woman knelt there, watching Darren's figure disappear, and wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes conveyed determination, her numbing pain replaced by a bright, warm smile, reminiscent of a flower blooming resiliently on a cliff.
"Thank you, truly... Master Marine."
"If I survive, it would only cause you trouble..."
With a faint smile, she picked up the golden pistol from the ground and fired two shots at the corpse of the Celestial Dragons.
"Dad, Mom, I'm coming to join you."
She smiled serenely, then pointed the muzzle at her temple, saving the last bullet for herself.
Boom!
The sound of a gunshot and the thud of a body echoed behind him, but Darren kept walking. He couldn't force someone determined to die to find the will to live. Previously the woman had no choice, but now, in her final moments, she had the freedom to choose her own fate.
Suppressing his emotions, Darren quickly headed toward the cabin where slaves were kept on the official ship. The locked hatch was flung open with ease. The stench of mold and dampness assaulted his senses as he stepped inside, the dim light from an oil lamp flickering in the murky air.
Lia, huddled in the corner of a cage, initially panicked at the sound of footsteps. But upon seeing Darren, her scared expression turned to surprise.
With a wave of his hand, the steel cage twisted and fell apart, and the shackles binding the young girl also broke free.
"Brother Marine!" she cried out joyfully as the gag fell from her mouth, and she rushed toward Darren, clinging tightly to his leg.
Darren rubbed his head and smiled, "Let's go, I'll take you home." Lia's eyes turned red, and she nodded heavily. Together, they walked out of the cabin, hand in hand.
However, when Lia saw the bodies hanging from the ship's deck, her face turned pale. She glanced back into the cabin, where the horrid, ugly Celestial Dragons lay in a pool of blood. In horror, Lia let go of Darren's hand and stepped back.
She then gritted her teeth and slammed into the mast. Darren quickly reached out, grabbing her clothes and lifting her up like a kitten. "What are you doing?" he asked with a frown.
The little girl, crying, said, "I can't survive, can I? If I do, I'll cause a lot of trouble for Brother Marine."
Darren sighed, thinking of how her father had acted, and felt a sense of helplessness. It was as if the father and daughter shared a tragic fate.
Holding the little girl, Darren said with conviction, "Since you've survived, let's live well. Your father is waiting for you to come home. I've taken your money, so I must protect you."
"But... the money I... paid... is very little..." the little girl said, slightly embarrassed.
Darren smiled and replied, "It's enough."
A metal skateboard floated over. Darren stepped onto it, and together they rose into the sky. Hovering over the bloody World Government official ship, Darren raised his hand, his fingers reaching out as if to grasp something from afar. The ship's metal hull responded, compressing, collapsing, and twisting under the power of his strange magnetic field. Explosions erupted, setting the ship ablaze like a giant fireball.
The intense shock wave caused the little girl to bury her face into the Rear Admiral's chest for safety. As the official ship sank, the World Government flag burned away in the flames, with black smoke billowing into the sky.
Lightning and thunder crackled through the thick clouds, signaling the approaching storm. In the wavering, twisted firelight, Darren saw faces flickering as if in a dream. Gion on the street with a blank look and a rose in his hand; Kake punching a wall in anger; a man kneeling with a pile of coins, begging; a woman laughing as she took her life with a golden pistol; the ugly, grinning face of a Celestial Dragon. These faces, these images, shimmered in the fiery light.
As Darren exhaled, the suffocation in his heart dissipated. A storm of emotions surged within him, indescribable and overwhelming.
A pale thunderbolt tore through the sky, illuminating the world and heralding an all-consuming storm. Suspended high, with his cloak dancing like a dragon, Rear Admiral Marine's aura soared in response to the tempest.
In that moment, a new realization dawned on Darren. His Conqueror's Haki, the spirit of a king, had awakened.