20 The Dusk Arrives (2/2)

"Ugh, I wish I brought my pencils and papers. I didn't think it would take this long from Nanimonai Island to Long Ring Long Islands," I shouted in frustration.

It's not that I was bored because the ocean of Grand Line was filled with bizarre as I just encountered a wave that was shaped in heart (which I avoided by flying directly above it while carrying the boat) but there was no one to share this enjoyment of mine with anyone.

I was lonely and my hobbies would provide a distraction but I didn't bring a tool for it. Otherwise, I would draw King Cobra's face or literally anything. Luckily for me, I've perfectly captured his young face in my memory. Which means I can draw his face in the future.

[Master. As a result of countless experiments and stimulation in the past 14 days, I have developed an ability I believe would be useful for you.]

"New ability!?" I exclaimed, my eyes widening with excitement, and letting out a light akin to the sparkling stars amid the night.

[Yes. Like this.] The AI said in a blank tone and after a while, I thought nothing happened until I found my purse emptied.

"My Golden Apples!! Where did it go?" I panicked as if I just lost my purse and smartphone.

In the next moment, a golden object appeared in front of me, out of nothing, reflecting the light of the sunlight. 

'What kind of sorcery is this,' said Hereru inside me.

Unable to understand what just happened, I decided to finish the Golden Apples instead of storing them, fearing they might disappear again.

[In short, these past 14 days I have been analyzing the structure of this world's space and formed an ability to store stuff in the Storage Dimension so that the inserted stuff won't decay inside the Storage Dimension.]

"???" I squinted my eyes with my lips sticking close in confusion. I couldn't understand a single thing the AI just said.

'Storage Dimension? Structure of this world's space?'

[Basically, each universe has different space structures like humans' fingerprints. While this doesn't affect a living being, throwing inanimate objects into a space of a foreign universe would cause it to deteriorate until it was reduced to not even atom remains. Therefore I had to~ blah blah blah and why a prototype like mys is special~ blah blah blah] 

My head started to emit steam as my blood cells overworked themselves to support the decaying brain cells.

[Master... Simply saying, I can store anything. (up to ~5 cubic meters)]

"Oh, that is handy!! Then store this boat!" I used my hands to gesture that I understood what he said and called the AI to quicken my journey.

Upon carrying myself with feathers, the boat disappeared without a trace, as I ordered the AI to do. Then it was transferred to the Storage Dimension made by the AI. 

[Without Master's overwhelmingly bad sense of direction, I would have completed this process within 5 days...] Behind me the AI complained while I was running toward the destined island.

"Hehe, not at all~" Feeling complimented, I turned red and rubbed my hair embarrassedly.

The AI's silence uttered, 'I'm not complimenting you.'

In the end, the AI's silent cry went unnoticed as I ran toward the Long Ring Long Island's direction with the AI's help. 

When I'm tired I would summon the boat to rest. When I'm filled with energy, I would store the boat inside.

Feeling the usefulness of the Storage Dimension, I told AI to continue expanding it as much as he can in the future.

Another desire bore from my loneliness, I told the AI to be 'more human-like' receiving sarcasm from him of my intention to directly challenge the first laws of machines to be made.

Which of course, went unnoticed by me.

I, a child, didn't have the capability nor the willingness to understand AI's sarcasm. It was in my personality to be optimistic. 

I ran faster toward the Long Ring Long Island, wanting to see the two already. Of course, I got tired much faster, rendering my effort useless.

Such peaceful time passed in the blink of an eye as 10 days had passed since I departed from Arabasta, at the edge of horizons, the empty land entered my eyes.

As confirmed by AI, the Island I was looking at was the Long Ring Long Land.

"Ban!! Stella!! I can't wait to meet you gu-" I eagerly parted my mouth in anticipation.

However in that moment...

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

An explosion akin to great illuminations irradiated the heavens, earth, and ocean.

A deafening roar reverberated through the air like a thunderclap. The shockwave from the colossal explosion disrupted the air in every direction.

Eventually, the violent gust rushed past me, delivering a sense of gut feeling that something bad was going to happen.

---

Half a day ago, Ban and Mistella arrived at Long Ring Long Land.

With the help of Eternal Log and a normal sense of direction, unlike a certain someone, they didn't detour from their original destination, thus arriving faster even without the help of flight.

"As expected, they're not here," Ban muttered to himself, while Mistella had gone off to play with the abnormally long animals on this island.

Between 9~10 years ago, when Ban had just escaped the 2nd Research Institute along with Mistella, they drifted to this island where they met with kind people who provided them with food and places to stay. 

However, as he didn't want to bother them with his and especially Mistella's identity, he declined their goodwill of staying with them and sought a place 'that wasn't recorded on the map' which was Nanimonai Island.

During his stay in Long Ring Long Land, the residents of that place explained that once a year, the tide that covered the grounds would lower and reveal the entire island which is actually a 'donut-shaped' island.

Using this, they would travel to different lands every 3 years. 

This is why no matter how long Ban searched for them in this land, he wouldn't find them, and it would take another 30 years for them to arrive in this same land.

Fortunately, the villagers were kind enough to tell Ban the method to extract seeds from the plants in Long Ring Long Land, and they were brimmed with life force that could easily feed the two but an anomaly called Heylail arrived on their island and ate everything.

"Grandpa!! I will help you out," said Mistella as she carried and put the abnormally long seeds in the basket. Then, she will carry that basket to the ship and put the seeds ship storage before returning to Ban for more.

Despite always being hostile in Heylail's presence, Mistella transformed into a normal adorable obedient daughter when he was not around. 

Ban however didn't complain about Heylail's existence like he did at first because with his existence, Mistella became more expressive.

"Thank you, Stella," Ban expressed his gratitude tenderly, his way of addressing her influenced by Heylail.

"...I didn't think of it when we first came but this island is really magical, I wonder why is everything so long..." (Mi)Stella narrowed her eyes adorably and changed the topics.

"If I recall correctly..., oh, this is just one of the chit-chats with the villagers so don't take it seriously, but apparently this island was the aftermath of the god's battle against the evil to free this world."

"People called that god by many names, The Sun God... Warrior of Liberations, anyway wherever he descended, it is said that he would bring a smile and freedom to everyone," Ban explained what he heard from the villager's small talk.

In contrast, Mistella's face twisted into one of disdain. "This story is full of bullshit! If he really did exist, slaves wouldn't exist and we wouldn't have been captured by the government to be experimented with!!" 

"Mayb-..." Just as Mistella and Ban were on the verge of finishing the fifth batch of the seeds and fruits, Ban narrowed his eyes, his words left unfinished.

Then, he reached out his hand toward Mistella, pulling her back.

In the original position she was in, a sinkhole the size of a thumb materialized in the land. Eventually, the distant sound of gunshots reached their ears.

*BANG*

The shooter far away from the land, above the warship reached for the Den Den Mushi...

[Soru!!]

<Karate Style: Soaring Drum!!> 

A cold voice sounded from above the warship where the shooter shot from. In the blink of an eye, Ban crossed hundreds of meters from land to the shore.

Perfectly erasing his momentum, he directly dropped from above, rotating forward at rapid speed. Each rotation reverberated the sound of the drum, as the compressed air ripple spread on two sides.

"Shit!! Take holds to anything you can!!" The person who was holding the Den Den Mushi shouted to everyone.

Then, the warship which contained a tiny amount of seastone on its bottom, split in half easily upon contact with Ban's leg.

""AHHHH"" Some members wearing the marine's uniform were launched into the ocean from the impact of the warship breaking in two.

The commander gave no regard as he continued his contact with the other side through Den Den Mushi

"This is Vice-Admiral, Mosa speaking. I have found the escapee of the 2nd Research Institute at Long Ring Long Land. Requesting for reinforcements."

[What!! Capture them alive at any cos-] the voice spoke in a great hurry but before it could finish itself, it was cut mid-sentence.

"The Slumbering Frost asides, no way in hell am I keeping you alive, Ban!!" Mosa crushed the handset of Den Den Mushi in fury.

"...Long time no see, Mosa. I see, you're still playing Justice, then!!" Ban said rather irritated.

'10 years ago... you were the first one to react to my escape... 30 years ago, you were the first one to report to the government to get me caught...'

'Mosa, you're a hopeless fool swallowed by your inferiority complex...'

"Heh, how was the life as a guinea pig? Do you miss it yet?" Mosa provoked Ban before pointing his gunpoint towards him. 

Ban brushed off his remark, scanning his surroundings with a cool gaze. Then he readied himself for his next move while suppressing the pain that attacked his heart.

<Karate Style: Dark Thunderclap> 

The darkness enveloped Ban as he extended his arm, its inky depth pulled everything. The gravity, the atmosphere, and even the light itself couldn't escape the darkness' reach 

Then...

*Clap*

A faint sound echoed from the heart of the darkness. 

*BOOM* 

Suddenly, the darkness that was holding everything tightly released its embrace, erupting into an explosion as the resulting shockwave caused the zephyr to scatter in all directions, violently taking the weak soldiers high up. 

'...' From within the dispersing darkness was the eyes of sadness, reminiscing the past of his former friend.

Even that sadness of his was concealed by the immense darkness around him. "You want to capture my daughter? You'll have to go through me—over my dead body!"

The darkness scattered. 

***

1470, 30 years ago.

"Oh the absurdity of Logia Devil Fruits, how is this supposed to be fair, and to get it on my first mission..." Ban cursed his luck against the lights that were twinkling everywhere. 

In contrast to harmless illumination, however, destruction followed every time the yellowish-twink trailed the lights. 

"It's harsh when the technique you've been practicing your entire life is completely useless..." Ban complained at the fact that his [Ghost Thrust] completely went by his opponent's light body without resistance.

Despite the uselessness of his technique, however, he didn't question the limit of his Karate Style and blamed his own body.

"How is our Seastone, fellas?" Ban asked the people around.

Although this was his first time on a mission and no way was he someone in a position to order people around, Ban had saved them countless times and earned their respect.

"Only one seastone handcuffs, Ban. That crafty bastard made sure to destroy our warship first probably anticipating we have some seastone," someone answered.

"Aight, let's brainstorm now, how do we stop this bastard?" Ban suggested and hurried them up as during this time, the light person was destroying the town.

"I observed that while this guy's fruit ability is strong, the user itself isn't much better. He relies heavily on using long-range attacks, then runs away with light flight when we get closer. During his light flight is also his most vulnerable moment as he doesn't seem to react particularly well to his own movement," Mosa said.

"As expected of the smartest of our batches," Ban praised Mosa 

"Quit it. Both of you and Garp are just too stupid. Back to the point, I noticed that he can't change his trajectory mid-light flight, but he tends to ricochet from a surface that reflects light like glasses. We can use this and his incompetency," Mosa said and explained his plan.

.

.

.

"With that being said, mayor, could you bring as many glasses as you can?" Ban called out to the worried mayor.

"C-can you really save everyone with that kind of plan?" The mayor asked in disbelief.

In response, Ban widened his smile, showing his bare teeth. "Believe in us." 

The mayor's expression changed to that of ease as if Ban's sincere smiles saved him as the mayor returned with nods.

Mosa then turned back to complete the preparation.

---

"The light has blinded you, Botarto," Ban shouted from below Botarto taking his attention.

"I don't know what are you talking about. Die from a lighting beam," Botarto pointed his finger at Ban, and a yellow light in a bolt pattern was launched at tremendous speed.

"If you have that kind of strength, why not use it for the good? Why use it for your own benefit? The benefits obtained through violence are always a short-term benefit accompanied by karma," 

"You're not too late!! Surrender yourself to Marines!" Ban called while dodging the lightning beams rushing toward his way.

It was truly an unfair world as Ban had to torment his body every single day to finally attain his physical ability right now but even then, his technique was incomplete.

Yet, for Botarto, he just had to take a bite of Light Light Fruit, and he gained the physique of light itself.

However, the effort didn't betray as the torment Ban's body received became an instinct for the battle, and with a look, he could predict the estimated moment Botarto launched his attacks.

To dodge the light, Ban moved sideways, jumped upward, kicked the air to propel himself even a few centimeters, and even then he still got hit by Botarto's rapid unleashes of beams.

"Arghh!!" Ban held his leg in pain.

From his view, he could see his Marine allies getting closer to Botarto with a mirror in their hands. 

"With that injured leg, you can't use that weird move you did before," Botarto pointed his finger to Ban's leg 

"This... is... only an injury!!" Ban shouted angrily as he bent his leg and then banged his injured leg with his fist multiple times suppressing the pain. 

<Soru!! > 

Ban's body instantly blinked forward.

Botarto in turn, became scared and turned into light and flew backward.

However, behind him, was a mirror which he ricocheted at lightning speed.

Before confirming Ban's use of Soru, everyone had prepared themselves and surrounded Botarto with a mirror, so Botarto in light form infinitely bounced off the glasses around him.

Without a moment of pause, Mosa jumped over the marine holding glasses with Seastone handcuffs in his hand, and the light that was untouchable until now began materializing, caught by the curse of sea.

Botarto's hand was cuffed by a Seastone cuff and this panicked him further, causing him to launch [Light Explosion] within the first second of being cuffed out of panic

This panic of his turned out to be a good move as [Light Explosion] shattered the glasses around him and launched everyone holding the mirror flying back.

Ban who was once far away from everyone, used his second Soru causing the bleeding to get worse, and appeared in front of Mosa in an attempt to block [Light Explosion] from hitting Mosa.

Regardless of his effort, everyone was knocked back, some even heavily injured and permanently blinded, Mosa had lost consciousness.

Ban being the closest person when [Light Explosion] activated, took the most damage as he was knocked back far enough and coincidentally landed at the spot where the mayor was observing the fight with an apologetic expression.

Looking at the battered Ban, he muttered in a small voice, "I am sorry, young marines..."

"Don't be... run away, right now... we... we can't win against that guy..." Ban said while coughing in pain.

"I was hiding a thing from you. This is a Devil Fruit, I don't know what it does, but I am ashamed to hide this from you guys as an excuse to sell it for the town's budget. Please, let me atone for my mistake," the mayor had completely shaken off his hesitancy, he brought the Devil Fruit close to Ban.

"Mayor... Yeah, I told you to believe in me, if I can't even keep a single promise, I can dream of spreading my Karate Style and completely erasing discrimination in my afterlife!!" Determination filled Ban as he couldn't remember what happened after he ate the Devil Fruit.

All he could remember was, him grabbing the light with the immense darkness welling from his hand and the words of Mosa before he fell unconscious.

.

.

.

"Why is it always you! You who had no power nor the talent to compete against Garp, why won't you give up! Why can you make the people follow, and even respect you with that meager power of yours!? Why is it always you who gets the good stuff..." Mosa was shouting while Ban 

It was a fit of jealousy directed at 'someone within the reach yet better than him' unlike Garp.

"How should I know tha..." Unable to finish his sentence, Ban let his body fall into a nearby puddle with a splash.

The following week when Ban woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar white room. Strange machines filled the space outside, while the wall leading to the outside was adorned with glass panels to be seen from outside like a zoo animal.

Upon getting to the place, he didn't panic but calmly digested the information from the sounds that escaped from outside and entered his room.

He had learned now that he was 'Test Subject 578' and was brought here after being reported by Mosa about the power of Dark Dark Fruit which is capable of completely nullifying the power of devil fruits.

Instead of being rewarded for saving land, he was now a test subject. 

"God damn it!!" Ban violently hit the wall with his fist which turned red. He wanted to curse his life but complaining didn't help anything further in this instance. He could only endure the pain his body was in.

The test subject committed to him was about testing his Devil Fruit.

How much beating his body can take, the limit of damage/pain his Dark Dark Fruit can absorb before the main body collapses, and the way to bypass the damage absorptions of Dark Dark Fruit which remained undiscovered.

A few years passed but he hadn't given up, albeit he started to become anxious due to the time wasted inside the research institute and the fact that his body had long since passed its peak.

While his technique got more refined and superior, his physical ability deteriorated due to the mental toll he took daily. This greatly saddened and filled him with anxiety.

A few years passed, and the government lost its patience, deciding to feed him a second Devil Fruit, which, resulted to the scientists' surprise.

The consequence of eating two Devil Fruits didn't occur to Ban's body.

The fruits fed to Ban couldn't be found anywhere in the world, but no one had its ability, even the person who swallowed the fruit itself. 

The only change brought to Ban was the weakening of his body. The more fruit given to him the weaker his body had become.

The government discarded this experiment due to the waste of resources.

However, Ban had hidden a fact from the government.

The Devil Fruits was inside his body.

Rather, it was 'stuck to his throat.' Not literally, but he was using the power of Dark Dark Fruit to keep away the power of Devil Fruits to reach his heart.

His heart, which was the source of power and curses where the Dark Dark Fruit resided.

The power/curses of Devil Fruits hadn't flowed down his heart and he had suppressed them at a throat-point which had consumed his stamina to the point of his life force. 

Should Ban lose his concentration and stop suppressing the Devil Fruit for even a second, may the accumulated Devil Fruits inside him mix together and form an extremely lethal explosion. 

During his time in the laboratory, Ban was conflicted between the decision to sacrifice himself to cause meager destruction for the World Government or keep living right now to search for a way to escape from this hell.

Time passed and in the blink of an eye, he had survived in this hell for twenty years. 

[Emergency. The 3rd Research Institute has received an attack by a single person. Immediate support is required.]

[I repeat...]

An alarm rang loudly and the entire structure gleamed in red. Ironically, it was also the first and only time when an opportunity presented itself to him.

He, who was well past his 40s.

It was all too late.

Ban fell to his knee. "Damn it... why now... MY BODY IS LONG BROKEN!! WON'T YOU EVEN LET ME DIE HERE!?" His face became messy, mixed with tears and snot.

"H...nggg!!!!" 

"Hm....phh!!!!" 

*CLUNG*

*CLUNG* 

What he saw past the glass panel was a tiny child who wouldn't even reach his knee desperately charging toward the door where it held back the dim light of hope.

As if given the courage by that tiny yet tenacious body of hers, he unconsciously stood up, that was right. Life wasn't all about dreams you lived alone. 

The tiny girl knew so little about life yet gave him tremendous hope.

'The generations will change. Although this old geezer has achieved nothing in his whole life, I can't die in nothing,' a devilish grin formed on Ban's face for the first time in so long.

***

1500, The Year That Started The Great Age of Pirates.

A single demon stood.

Behind the demon were hundreds of fallen men who couldn't slay the demon.

Yet, the demon looked behind him and showed the kindest smile to the little girl in tears. 

"Gran...dpa," the little girl called out to the bloodied demon.

"Leave this place at once, my daughter, I'm sure, he will find you," the demon looked at his 'daughter' warmly with his back facing countless battleships that had covered the ocean.

The demon turned its back toward the little girl, willingly becoming the sturdiest shield to protect her even if millions of arrows flew by.

"Thanks for staying with me. ****, ****. Although my life is insignificant and full of failure, meeting the two of you was my greatest fortune," the demon's voice was warm.

<Karate Style Forbidden Art: Reversal>

The shadow that had achieved nothing.

The shadow that had lived behind someone—reflected by the sheer light they radiated—its entire life.

The shadow who had willingly become someone's shadow to luminesce their flicker of light. 

For the first time in its life, it had cast off a tinge of light with the immense darkness it contained. 

'I see. So you have chosen this, my partner...'

'It would be great if my next host was someone like you.'

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The silhouette of the bloodied demon smiled in front of death, slowly dispersing into the greatest illumination it created.

The little girl turned her back on the cruelest light created by the demon with her tear-filled eyes as she ran away repeating "Grandpa."

"Oya, oya... It troubles me, if you ran away, after making so many sacrifices, you know~?" A twinkle of yellow light escaped from the grand explosion the demon had formed, as a carefree voice echoed from the mouth of Justice.

Despite the demon's utmost effort, Justice didn't allow the predecessor of a demon to get out of its grasp.

"...lail..."