Orion was running and jumping from roof to roof, when he was a single roof to go… he saw that the next roof needed to jump at least 3 floors upwards and 10 meters horizontally to get to the last roof before he reaches the Exchange Circle.
He stopped a bit and hesitated, but then shook his head. "This is nothing, Lys is in danger." He went back a few steps, ran at full speed and held his branch in his hand and leaped the distance. He closed his eyes mid jump, until he could feel ground beneath his feet.
He has successfully made the jump, and now he was a few steps away from his friend. He ran to the rear end of the building, until he could see exactly what was happening at the Exchange Circle. His eyes popped wide open when he saw the man who he saw portrayed on the wanted paper, he could see what was happening.
"The bastard that nearly killed Lysander is sitting down, does he really think his boss can kill Lys without breaking a sweat? And look at that bastard, how could he!? He's smoking in a situation like this? This is disrespectful, he must pay."
Orion then leaped from the rooftop of the building, aiming straight for Eron. 'He must die, he's too dangerous,' he was aiming to hit him straight with the Titan's Timber branch on the head. Then while he was still in the air and ready to strike, he sees the man who came into Lysander's house (Bakken) getting in the way.
Before the collision, he headed straight for the neck. But Bakken moved his head to the side, allowing for the branch to hit his shoulder directly where it's joined with his left arm.
The wind generated from the impact of the branch and Bakken's arm could be similar to the gusts of wind felt in a strong storm, potentially reaching speeds that could be hazardous. And right in the middle of the dust, there stood Orion with his branch dripping liquid.
After the gust of wind settled, people could now truly see what had transpired at that moment… they just didn't want to believe their eyes, how could this be?
"Is that, Orion? How is the kid that strong?"
"Ohh, if it's him then I'm not worried. I always knew he was troublesome, I wonder what Lysander sees in that boy"
Some of the villagers started agreeing that Orion was an anomaly, but he didn't care about anything at all. Orion stood tall, his chest heaving from the exertion. His eyes were locked onto Bakken, who was clutching his shoulder, with a grimace of pain etched onto his face.
The branch in Orion's hand was still dripping with liquid, but the remnants of the impact clearly show that it was dripping with Bakken's blood.
Eron, who was now sitting nonchalantly after Bakken pushed him, was now on his feet, his eyes wide with surprise. He quickly extinguished his cigarette with his feet as he stood up, his gaze never leaving Orion.
"You...you're just a kid," he stammered, but he was clearly taken aback by the strength Orion had displayed. The villagers were in an uproar. Some were shocked, others were fearful, but a single old man was looking at Orion with newfound respect.
"I always knew that boy was something special hahahaha," one of the older villagers muttered, nodding his head in approval.
But amidst the chaos, Orion only had one thought in his mind and it was his friend Lysander. He turned his gaze towards his friend, his heart pounding in his chest. He had done what most could not do to protect Lys, but was it enough?
Meanwhile, Bakken was slowly getting up, his face twisted in anger. "You'll pay for this, you brat," he growled, his eyes promising retribution.
Orion jumped back a few steps and tightened his grip on the branch, ready for whatever Bakken had to throw at him. He knew he had just stirred up a hornet's nest, but he didn't care. As long as Lys was safe, he was ready to face anything.
And so, the Exchange Circle, which was once a place of trade and laughter, had turned into a battlefield. And at the center of it all was, 'The corsairs, or that 15-year-old boy named Orion?' The villagers didn't know what to call of this, so the weak hearted starting running away.
Lucy went running and to Lysander's knee, "Please Lys, let's run away. Bwaaa." Lysander however was focusing on Eron, and didn't want to lose sight of him. "Lys, just what have you done you idiot? You're bleeding, get your head out your ass and fight for real right now." Orion then turned his gaze towards Eron.
"And you, Eron Eimer. The man with 30 000ℵ bounty, you're the one reasonable for…"
"…Ori, focus on your opponent. Lucy, it would be best if you run away from here right now. And as for you, you are mine."
As Lysander was preparing to dash towards Eron, he heard him talk. But he was not the same as he was before, so he grew wary and stepped back a little.
"Thathathatha, you kid with a branch. I see you are well informed, and that's too much… I'll kill you alongside your friend, and everyone around here. Thathathatha, Bakken you should find someone to heal your arm, it looks broken."
"Now, as for you kid. You've been all bark and no bite this whole time, what is up with that? Thathatha."
It was at this moment, Eron felt his blood moving at an incredible speed. His anger boiled over as his mond repeatedly made him witnessed Orion's audacity.
During his 2 years as a captain of a corsair crew, he had never encountered such defiance, especially from a mere teenager. The injury inflicted on Bakken by a boy nearly half his age, his trusted right-hand man, only fueled his rage.
Eron felt a surge of power coursing through him, igniting his resolve to kill these little kids in front of him and everyone who saw this humiliation. He had to retaliate, to show that he was not to be trifled with.
Orion started charging at Eron's direction, "Lys, we have to attack him now before whatever he's doing activates. Hurry." As he started running, Bakken held him by his foot and he fell to the ground. "Damn it, get off me bastard." He started to kick Bakken on the face, "Whatever you're doing, I am not letting go of this foot. Whatever captain is doing right now, it spells victory for us. Hahahaha, you lose little brats."
Orion tried his hardest to kick, but he was getting nowhere. He even used his branch, but it knocked Bakken out cold. His grip? Ohh he was still holding onto Orion's feet, he wasn't letting go.
Lysander pushed away whatever he was feeling, and he ran straight towards Eron. Eron was unresponsive, engulfed by his own rage.
Lysander was now in range, and ready to hit Eron where it will really hurt. But exactly in that moment of fury, he activated a technique he never knew he had: Kemuri Juu.
Lysander saw smoke coming from Eron, and it started to fill up the whole Exchange Circle. As Lysander was about to hit Eron, the fist went through him as if he was made of smoke.
PHEW! PHEW! PHEW!
Right after hitting the fake Eron, Lysander heard the sound of gunshots. The first one hit him, but it hit nothing vital. But he managed to evade the second and the third bullet, immediately after evading he ran full speed to attack at the direction the bullets came from. But to no avail, and immediately after he missed Eron. Gunshots sounded again, and this pattern repeated itself a couple of times.
Lysander was getting furious as he was hitting nothing, and he also couldn't see anything happening around him. "Come at me head on, you cowards. Are you so scared to face me!?"
PHEW! PHEW! PHEW!
Lysander now was getting tired and fatigue was getting to him, and he had about 5 open wounds now. And they were all dripping blood, if he doesn't hurry up and finish this now then he might eventually die from too much blood loss.
"Let's see how defiant you brats are when you can't even see or touch me, thathathatha. But I can do everything while I'm in here, thathathatha! Thathathatha!" Eron was feeling ecstatic, for he has never in his life felt like this before.
Lysander and Orion could hear everything Eron said, but there was more than one Eron. And they were all talking at the same time, it was close to impossible even trying to locate him, so nevermind hitting him.
Kemuri Juu is a technique that allows Eron to manipulate smoke and create illusions. When activated, it envelops the area in a thick, swirling mist that obscures vision and confuses his opponents.
…
The royal guards were now so close to Bloem that they could hear people's screams from their position. They didn't know what was going on on the island, but the time remaining until they dock was 9 minutes.