2 Chapter 2: Mission [Edited]
Coming out of the bookstore was an old-looking man with white hair and a beard.
Rayleigh had just come out of the new store and discovered that it was a bookstore.
He didn't expect to encounter someone whose existence he couldn't determine, whether they were human or not. However, he knew that the owner of the bookstore was strong enough to kill him.
He was holding a book that he had borrowed from the bookstore. His heart was pounding fast, and he was sweating just being close to this book.
His earlier experience had been a nightmare for him. The monster that had appeared in front of him still frightened him even though it was over.
The owner seemed to have done that as a warning to Shakuyaku and him, telling them not to spy on his place.
'I should warn Shakuyaku about this mysterious owner and the monster I saw earlier!' Rayleigh thought as he ran fast towards Shakuyaku's bar. His speed was fast enough to bend the air in front of him.
Minutes later, Rayleigh arrived at Shakuyaku's bar and immediately opened the door. He looked at Shakuyaku, who was smoking a cigarette.
"What did you find out, Rayleigh?" Shakuyaku asked, putting the cigarette away. She noticed that Rayleigh was not himself right now.
"What happened to you?" she asked, seeing sweat all over Rayleigh's head. He seemed to be scared of something.
Rayleigh also noticed that he wasn't his normal self. He immediately calmed himself down and hid the book behind his back.
He didn't want to show her the book as he still didn't know what it would do to Shakuyaku once he show it to her.
"The new store owner... we shouldn't get involved with someone like him anymore. He's too dangerous," Rayleigh said. Even though he was a strong pirate before and still had some strength to rival an admiral, he had to admit that his instincts were telling him to run away from the bookstore owner.
He felt ashamed of himself. He didn't know why he was scared of something like this when he had fought many battles before and put his life in danger many times.
'Somebody made Rayleigh feel like this?' Shakuyaku thought. She started to wonder how strong the owner of that store was to make Rayleigh consider him dangerous.
"Can you tell me more?" Shakuyaku asked. She was certain that whoever the owner of that store was, she needed to know how strong he was and who he was.
...
-[2 Days Later]-
Grove 1, slave market.
Many slaves were being transported inside the market, chained together.
One of them was named Amelia. Although her clothes looked ragged, many could still see how beautiful she was. She had green hair that made her stand out among the other slaves, and she had beautiful, smooth skin.
Amelia was not really a slave, but a member of the revolutionary army. Her mission here was to observe and wait for others to free the slaves.
She could free herself if she wanted to, but the problem was that she had heard that a celestial dragon was inside the slave market at the moment.
She also knew that many members of CP were secretly guarding that celestial dragon, so she had to keep herself from appearing suspicious, as it would disrupt their plan of freeing the slaves.
Although they hadn't initially planned to free the slaves here, a fallen princess of a country was being sold today, and they couldn't let that happen.
She received information that the princess's family is secretly supporting the revolutionary army and providing them with weapons to aid their cause.
Their mission was to locate the princess and, in the process, free as many slaves as possible.
"Move faster!" shouted a man, pushing a weak male slave forward. The slave struggled to walk faster.
They entered the slave market, and Amelia could see slaves of different races. It pained her to witness such suffering.
'I promise I will free all of you,' she thought, determined to fulfill her mission.
Amelia finally arrived at the assigned cell. She noticed that the other slaves seemed emotionless, as if they had accepted their fates.
Being a former slave herself, Amelia didn't want others to experience what she had been through. She approached a crying little girl in the corner.
"Hey, what's your name?" Amelia asked.
"Jane *sniff*," the girl, Jane, replied.
"Don't cry anymore, Jane. You'll be free from here soon," Amelia said, trying to comfort her.
"Really? But they said I would be a slave forever until I die?" Jane said as she slowly turn her head upwards to look at Amelia.
"Don't worry about that. My team members will come here soon and free all of us, so you can be free again, Jane," Amelia whispered. She didn't want the guards to overhear, as it could jeopardize their mission.
"Yay!" Jane exclaimed, hugging Amelia. Though she wasn't sure if she could trust this "big sister," she wanted to believe her.
Unbeknownst to Amelia, a fellow slave had overheard their conversation and smiled.
...
Night fell before the planned attack by the revolutionary army.
Inside one of the slave cells, all the slaves were sleeping. Suddenly, a male slave opened his eyes.
He had been pretending to sleep for hours, not wanting the member of revolutionary to notice anything.
He knew that Amelia was a member of the revolutionary army, as only they would have the audacity to plan such an attack.
He had pretended to sleep, aware that if Amelia noticed any suspicious behavior from him, he would be in trouble. The revolutionary army soldiers were all highly trained.
During this night, while Amelia was sleeping, he planned to inform the manager of the slave market about Amelia's presence.
"I will finally be free from this hell," he whispered, a grin forming on his face.
He slowly got up without making a sound and approached the cell bars.
Extending his hand outside, he waved, hoping the guards would notice him.
A guard approached the cell, his eyes filled with hostility.
"I have information for the manager. Let me speak to him," the slave said softly.
The guards were smart enough to detect that the slave was trying to keep his voice down, avoiding something.
The guard took out the key and opened the cell, but kept the chains on the slave.
Grabbing the slave's chains, the guard pushed him forward.
"You better provide valuable information, or else you're dead, you hear that?" the guard warned.
The slave gulped, his determination to be free from this place giving him courage. He believed that his information would be enough to convince the manager to set him free.
After a while, they finally reached the manager's room.
The manager was counting gold on his table when he suddenly stopped and looked at the male slave, his face twisted with disgust.
"What is a slave doing out of his cell?" the manager asked, repulsed by the sight of the slave in his room.
"Manager, this slave seems to have valuable information he wants you to hear," the guard explained, giving the slave a kick.
"Tell me, slave, what information do you have that you want me to hear personally?" the manager inquired.
"In exchange for that information, can I be freed from here?" the slave asked, hoping for his freedom.
'You disgusting slave, how dare you demand something from me,' the manager thought.
"Hmm, alright. Now, tell me, what is that information?" the manager asked, intrigued.
"It's about the revolutionary army... They're planning to attack this place tomorrow!" the slave said gleefully.
The manager's interest was immediately piqued. He knew that if he could provide such information to the World Government, he would be handsomely rewarded. However, he still had some doubts about the slave's claims.
"Where did you get this information?" the manager inquired.
"The new slave in my cell, the woman with green hair! She's a member of the revolutionary army!" the male slave exclaimed excitedly.
A manic smile crept across the manager's face. This information had the potential to bring him great rewards from the World Government.
"Take him out and kill him," the manager ordered the guard.
The guard promptly dragged the bewildered slave away. The slave, who had believed he would finally be free, now realized that the manager had deceived him.
"I thought you were going to set me free!? You liar!" the slave shouted as he was forcefully taken away.
"Lowly slave, how dare you!" the guard sneered, delivering a harsh kick to the slave's back.
The slave's hope had been shattered, and he deeply regretted his decision. He had sacrificed his only chance of escape by betraying the revolutionary army, but now he was filled with remorse.
In the manager's room, he summoned five strong guards and made his way toward Amelia's cell.
He relished the thought of capturing a member of the revolutionary army today.
After a while, they reached Amelia's cell and swiftly opened it, advancing toward her.
Amelia sensed the danger immediately.
She noticed the five imposing men surrounding her.
'What's going on?' she wondered. As the men launched their attacks, Amelia's well-honed training allowed her to deftly dodge their strikes. She countered by attacking the groin of one guard, causing him to double over, and then delivered a powerful kick to his head.
Amelia swiftly escaped from the cell and confronted the manager, who held the keys outside. She kicked him hard in the face, seizing the keys.
She ran to the left, following her memory of the layout, intent on reaching the outside.
Suddenly, a realization struck her.
"Jane! I need to save her," Amelia thought. She turned around and saw numerous guards giving chase.
With tears in her eyes, she made the difficult decision not to return. "I promise I will save you, Jane," Amelia whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
After some time, she finally made it out of the slave market. While running, she used the keys to free herself from the chains, allowing her to move faster.
She headed toward the spot where she had hidden her clothes.
Amelia glanced back to see if any guards were still pursuing her but found none. She quickly retrieved her clothes from the ground and changed.
Now dressed in a brown shirt, a black skirt, and black stockings, she decided to maintain a low profile for the time being. She knew that leaving the island would be nearly impossible due to heightened security measures.
Feeling hungry, she began searching for a place to eat.
While walking, she noticed a store with a unique style. Curiously, she observed that no one seemed to be entering the store.
Assuming it was a food store, she approached and opened the door.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you here for a long time."
