24 How to train your Dragon
(A/N: Last chapter for the week. Sundays are my day off from writting, so I'll see you all Monday! Much love <3).< strong>
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Kasper's knuckles shone white as his fist clenched around the hilt of his sword. This wasn't some petty tyrant lording over his subjects. This was a systematic deprivation of basic human rights, a barbarity that turned his stomach. Sure, he was from a different era, a time so advanced it might as well be another world to these people. But a man didn't forget his roots that easily.
He met Robin's gaze, his voice a low growl laced with murderous intent. "This is going to get messy. Real messy. You stay clear. If you see any stragglers, anyone on their own, and you think you can take them, do it. Now."
Robin felt the world shrink around them, suffocating under the weight of Kasper's rage. It wasn't just the situation, though it was horrific enough. It was the raw, murderous aura radiating from Kasper, so thick it felt like he could almost taste it. The air crackled with a tension that screamed impending violence. This wasn't the calm, calculating person Robin had come to know. This was a man on the verge of a primal rampage, and Robin couldn't help but feel a sliver of fear snake its way up her spine.
The bulbous Celestial Dragon, a grotesquely fat caricature of a powerful beast, strutted through the marketplace with his chin held high. He surveyed the crowd with the disdainful air of a giant stomping on ants. Clearly, he hadn't come here to trade or negotiate. He was on the hunt, looking for a new plaything.
His bloodshot eyes scanned the throng, finally landing on a vision that sparked a primal fire in his loins. A beautiful woman, shrouded in a mask and thick clothing that defied the sweltering heat, couldn't hide the unmistakable feminine allure that clung to her like a second skin. Even beneath the layers, her curves were undeniable. Robin.
The Dragon's face flushed a deep crimson, mirroring the simmering lust behind his predatory gaze. He resembled nothing more than a rutting beast as he let out a guttural bellow, pointing a thick, sausage-fingered hand at Robin. "You!" he roared, completely oblivious to the man standing protectively at her side. Tunnel vision, fueled by base desires, had consumed him. "Come here, woman! Be mine!" The sound of his voice, dripping with a sickening entitlement, echoed across the marketplace, momentarily silencing the bustling crowd.
Robin, still reeling from the suffocating aura of Kasper's murderous rage, barely registered the first booming voice that called out to her. Then, the words slammed into her, shattering her daze.
"How impudent!" the voice roared. "Ignoring a great Celestial Dragon when they are lowering themselves to talk to you!"
Robin's head snapped towards the source of the outrage. There, a grotesque man stood bellowing, his bulbous form straining against the ostentatious finery adorning him. Disgust curdled in Robin's stomach as she recognized the glint of pure entitlement in his bloodshot eyes.
"Guards!" the Dragon boomed further, his voice dripping with a sickening sense of superiority. "Get here and bring her to me kneeling!"
Before Robin could even react, figures clad in the insignia of the World Government surged through the crowd, their expressions devoid of any humanity – mere extensions of the Dragon's depraved will.
The world blurred as Robin flinched back, bracing for the approaching guards. But in a heartbeat, the scene before her shifted. A flicker at the corner of her eye, and then Kasper was gone.
In his place, a whirlwind of rage materialized. Kasper materialized right before the charging guards, his body a blur of controlled fury. His hand, faster than Robin could comprehend, shot out, fingers wrapping around the necks of both men with a vice-like grip. The air sang with the raw power emanating from him, his body vibrating like a taut string.
"Scum," he growled, the word laced with venom. "The lot of you. Dogs to these so-called 'Dragons' who never deserved to be born."
His voice was a low rumble, but the murderous intent behind it was unmistakable. Before Robin could even blink, a sickening crack echoed through the marketplace. With a sickening twist, Kasper's grip crushed the windpipes of the guards. Their bodies went limp, lifeless dolls tossed aside with a casual flick of his wrist.
Kasper pivoted, his gaze a laser beam boring into the grotesque form of the Celestial Dragon. The air hung heavy, thick with the aftermath of violence and the rising storm of Kasper's fury.
"And you," he spat, his voice laced with ice, "I wonder what you ate to lead to such a fat fucking state. Were you born a blimp, or did years of entitled indulgence inflate you to this monstrous size?"
Kasper's words dripped with disdain, each syllable a deliberate barb aimed at the Dragon's bloated ego. He took a measured step forward, then another, closing the distance between them with a predatory grace. Each deliberate stride resonated with a chilling finality.
He stopped a meter from the Dragon, their faces inches apart. The stench of sweat and unearned privilege wafted off the Dragon, a sickening counterpoint to the raw power radiating from Kasper.
The Dragon, however, remained blissfully oblivious. His arrogance, a thick fog, obscured any hint of rational thought. He puffed out his chest, a display as comical as it was pathetic.
"How dare you stand against me, insect?" he bellowed, his voice cracking with misplaced anger. "Get on the ground and beg for forgiveness! Offer me that woman, and perhaps I'll grant you the mercy of a swift death after I have you dismembered!"
*SNAP* *SCRACK*
With two lightning-fast kicks, Kasper targeted the Celestial Dragon's knee caps with ruthless precision. The sickening crunch of bone echoed through the marketplace as the Dragon's legs buckled beneath him, the impact sending him sprawling to the floor like a beached whale. A guttural scream tore from his throat, a sound filled with unimaginable pain, as his rotund form hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Kasper loomed over him, a vengeful angel. With a single, brutal motion, he shattered the Dragon's ornate helmet. Glass rained down as the Dragon's face, previously obscured by the gaudy headwear, was laid bare. A network of crimson lines marred his skin.
"This," Kasper growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, "is what happens when you mistake entitlement for power. This is a message for every bloated Dragon who thinks they can walk all over the world. See this face. Remember this pain. Because if I ever see another one of you—"
He reached down, a predator about to claim his prey. But his words trailed off, as his hand touched the cowering man.
{Break}
An unnatural silence descended upon the marketplace. No sickening crunch of bone, no final gasp – just a chilling stillness. Then, the Dragon's scream was replaced by a sound far worse – the wet tearing of flesh. The Dragon's skin erupted with crimson fissures, his body contorting in a silent scream of agony. Blood welled like a grotesque fountain from the cracks, painting the floor crimson.
Kasper loomed, his face a mask of cold fury. Where moments ago arrogance burned in the Dragon's eyes, now there was only hollow vacancy, a terrifying glimpse of a mind fracturing under the weight of unimaginable pain. The Dragon teetered between consciousness and oblivion, his once powerful form reduced to a mewling, twitching mess.
"This," Kasper rasped, his voice laced with a horrifying calm, "is a fate far worse than death. I haven't broken your bones. I've broken every nerve, every ligament, every fiber holding your useless body together. You will remain a grotesque parody of a ruler, a living monument to your own arrogance. Bedridden. Powerless. A perfect Celestial Dragon."
Kasper rose to his full height. He brushed at his clothes, a futile gesture against the grime that clung to him like a shroud. His gaze flicked towards the huddled mass of slaves, their eyes wide with a mixture of terror and a nascent hope.
"Stay where you are," he rumbled, his voice surprisingly gentle for a man who had just unleashed such devastating violence. "I'll help you. But when I'm done, run. Disappear. Don't let them take you back."
With those words, he strode towards the slaves. Reaching the first one, his hand hovered over the branded flesh, the mark of their enslavement.
{Break}
Then, a surge of unseen power crackled through the air. The Devil Fruit hummed within him, and with it, the branding began to fade. The cruel ink bled and dissolved, leaving behind only faint, angry scars as a testament to their suffering.
One by one, Kasper moved through the cowering group, each brand dissolving under his touch, a silent act of defiance against a corrupt system. Finally, he stood before Robin, his back to the crowd. The air around him still vibrated with the aftershocks of his rage, a dark cloud threatening to unleash another storm.
"We need to leave," he said, his voice low and urgent. "This fight will attract unwanted attention. An Admiral, most likely. I'd rather not fight near innocent people again."
Robin, still reeling from the raw display of power and cruelty she had witnessed, could only nod in mute agreement. Her eyes followed the trail of destruction Kasper had left in his wake – the broken guards, the whimpering Dragon, the newly freed slaves. This was a day she would never forget, a day that had irrevocably altered the course of their journey.
Turning away from the carnage, she fell into step beside Kasper. Together, they walked towards the docks, two figures silhouetted against the blood-red horizon, their path leading them away from the island.
