256 Bellamy

There was a short recess after Block C's conclusion in order to repair the damage that Don Chinjao did to the arena. Since that was the case, Cherry went off to explore the colosseum further. Perhaps she would find a proper entrance to the underground facility besides the trap that lied in wait inside the medical room, which undoubtedly led to a holding cell or something.

She could just tunnel through the walls, of course, but there was no need to reveal herself if it wasn't necessary. It was something of a game to her to see how far she could here without exposing herself, and to see whether Doflamingo and his ilk could work out who she really was on their own.

"Hm? You're still here?" Nightmare asked, causing the person she spoke to to nearly jump out of his skin in surprise.

"You-! You're the one who beat Roronoa Zoro…" Bellamy stated the obvious.

The spring man seemed on edge for some reason, and seeing that he was an acquaintance of Luffy's apparently, Cherry decided she could spare a minute to ask about his woes even though he was an enemy, strictly speaking.

"Are you taking your loss pretty hard? I heard that you were going to get an officer's position if you won." Nightmare asked.

"I'm taking it fine. There are other chances to rise in the ranks, so leave me be." Bellamy said dismissively. His gaze turned to Luffy who had returned from the arena to the waiting area, his eyes holding a strange mixture of hesitance, resolution, and guilt.

'That look isn't suspicious at all…' Cherry thought to herself. 'Is he targeting Luffy? I suppose killing Luffy would be a suitable task to perform in exchange for an officer's position on Doflamingo's crew. Unfortunately for you, that isn't going to happen with or without my intervention.'

Luffy wandered off, likely in search of food after all that physical exertion, and Bellamy followed behind stealthily. This was proof enough that Cherry's thoughts were right on the mark and so she followed behind him as well.

'What are you waiting for? Still hesitating?' Cherry wondered, watching Bellamy lurk behind Luffy and missing a few chances to attack him in private. Cherry sensed someone else approaching and concealed herself even more. It was a blond teenage boy wearing high heels, and she could tell he was at least half fishman from his vital energy signature.

"Yo, Bellamy! Have you killed Straw Hat yet? He looks awfully alive and well for a dead man? Could it be that you still haven't done him in yet?" the half fishman said mockingly.

"Dellinger… I was just going to do it now, what do you want?" Bellamy said, clearly nervous in the presence of the boy.

"Really? Well, I was just looking for you since the young master said you're an eyesore and that it'd be better if I just finished you off now. Whoopsie! Wasn't supposed to tell you that~!" Dellinger said, clearly relishing in the look of confused anguish on Bellamy's face.

"What-?!" Bellamy exclaimed in a whisper before receiving a kick to the head.

Luffy had already gotten a fair bit of distance from them, and thus noticed none of this occurring.

Bellamy was thrown backward from the force of the blow, but admirably kept on his feet. That wouldn't be the case for long, however, as Dellinger was already rushing forward to deliver more punishment. In his disbelieving shock, Bellamy was hardly trying to defend himself at all, so this experience was likely to be a very bad one for him.

"Kyahahahaha!" Dellinger cackled in sadistic delight as he pursued his prey.

He lifted his leg high in the air with the intention of dropping it down hard on Bellamy's half-bowed head.

*CRACK*

The sound of a foot connecting hard against a skull was heard clearly in the large halls of the colosseum, but it was not Dellinger's foot that connected with Bellamy's head. Rather, it was Nightmare's foot that connected with Dellinger's head in a ferocious roundhouse to the side of his head, carrying it sideways and implanting it into the wall of the colosseum with disturbing ease.

Bellamy recovered from his daze to see Dellinger's limp form hanging from his head that was embedded in stone and Nightmare casually standing before him as if she hadn't even noticed Dellinger was there, let alone defeated him in a single blow.

"I thought you were up to no good, but assassinating one of the competitors wasn't what I expected." Nightmare lied. "It seems that you're just an expendable pawn to them. It's hard to imagine why they'd lead you around by the nose like that, but then I suppose with Doflamingo, the cruelty is the whole point."

"Why did you do that…?" Bellamy asked, not understanding why she would help him.

"A whim, I suppose," Nightmare said. "Oh, he's already awake. Tough one isn't he?"

True enough, Dellinger was already stirring awake and started to pry himself out of the wall. Nightmare was surprisingly ruthless and promptly pummeled him further into the wall, the sounds of several bones breaking clearly heard over the sound of crumbling stone. Bellamy gulped in fear.

Dellinger didn't stir at all when Nightmare finished with him, so she turned back to Bellamy and shook the blood off of her hands. The ease at which the blood slid off of her skin was unnerving, given the usually sticky nature of blood. This caused Bellamy to connect some dots in his mind.

"Are you with Cipher Pol? You used some of the Rokushiki techniques in your match too, and that cold blooded efficiency… you're definitely an assassin by trade, aren't you?" Bellamy muttered aloud.

"Are you sure you want to know the answer to that question? I might have to kill you for knowing too much…" Nightmare smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

Bellamy shook his head swiftly.

He didn't like his chances of getting out of here alive if he associated with Cipher Pol, but then Doflamingo was also trying to kill him apparently. So this secret government agent might be his best shot at leaving Dressrosa alive.

"Why don't you tell me about Doflamingo's operation here. We're certain that there are things going on here that we aren't aware of, so I want to know everything you know. If you cooperate without forcing me to use any 'advanced' interrogation methods, then maybe there will even be something in it for you." Nightmare spoke.

Bellamy quickly wracked his brain over his options, but he was well and truly stuck. He could get out of the colosseum, as he knew his way around unlike most who entered it who were trapped inside, but once out it was unlikely he could get out to sea with his head still on his shoulders.

So he spilled the beans, every single bean in his possession. Nightmare nodded along attentively, asking questions here and there that he answered to the best of his ability.

"Why did you even want to be an officer when he's treated you so poorly?" Nightmare strangely asked a personal question that he couldn't imagine was important to her mission at all.

"... I respect him. Doflamingo is going to be the man at the top of the world, and I wanted to be there along for the ride." Bellamy said, tearing up.

"You don't have a very good judge of character, huh?" Nightmare said unsympathetically.

Bellamy was going to refute that judgment, but decided that bad mouthing a woman who could kill him without even trying was a bad idea. Once he had a moment to think about it though, she was right about him. "I suppose I am a bad judge of character. I even thought Straw Hat was a weak willed fool the first time I met him. That led me to antagonize him and ultimately get my ass kicked, which was the first failure that made me lose Doflamingo's faith."

"Doflamingo isn't the man you think he is. He isn't the kind of man who's interested in being great. Being great is just a means to an end for him." Nightmare said.

Bellamy looked confused so Nightmare continued to explain. "Doflamingo wants to see the world burn, fool. There are always men like that in every generation, but most don't get as far as he has. He has no interest in being an emperor or being king of the pirates or being king of a nation or even world domination. Destruction is his one and only desire and purpose."

Cherry had been certain of that point ever since she first saw him at Marineford, despite how little she had seen of the man. He delighted in chaos and death, and he had the power to do whatever he wished with very few who had the power to stop him. She had no idea why the world government made such a man a Shichibukai, it didn't make much sense to her by any metric she could think of.

Bellamy thought back to many moments he had interacted with Doflamingo. A lot of little things he hadn't paid attention to before suddenly stood out to him, and he knew that her assessment of him must be true. Doflamingo barely even tried to hide his true self, it made Bellamy feel foolish for not noticing earlier.

"Let's finish up already so I can go home." Señor Pink's voice was heard from the speakers in the arena.

"Can you get out of the colosseum on your own?" Nightmare asked Bellamy.

"Yeah…" He answered unenthusiastically.

"Go ahead and leave, then. If you want help leaving Dressrosa, then hide somewhere until we contact you." Nightmare said, walking away from him without receiving an answer. "Oh, and if you tell anyone about me, you're dead."

Bellamy nodded his head in a jerky motion to show he understood. Nightmare nodded more casually and left him to his own devices.