Intruders!
SLAP!
A meaty slap echoed through the opulent chamber, shattering the fragile illusion of peace Saint Rosward had desperately tried to cobble together after his son's tantrum. Saint Shalria, usually a picture of aloof nobility, loomed over a cowering guard, her face a thundercloud.
"Useless!" she spat, venom dripping from her honeyed voice. "He's actually escaped…!" Her hand shot out, gesturing towards the visual transponder snail on the table. It displayed Luffy's unconscious form being whisked away by Trafalgar Law's submarine, Jimbei lending a crucial hand. A fishman! Everything that had infuriated her in recent weeks seemed to be linked to those blasted fish-folk!
The guard, already beaten down by the constant barrage of her anger, could only stammer apologies. Even the news of Ace's death couldn't soothe the inferno burning in her gut.
"More slaves!"
Charlos roared, interrupting the tense exchange. That mermaid, Camie, might be out of reach, but there were plenty of others!
Saint Rosward, ever the indulgent father, readily agreed.
"Of course, my dear Charles. You deserve a compensation after that ordeal."
He turned to his manager, a man whose handsome facade was etched with nervousness. "Anything new at the market?"
The manager cleared his throat, mentally cataloguing the recent influx of people drawn to Sabaody by the Marineford spectacle.
"Indeed, Saint Rosward. A veritable menagerie of races has arrived at the slave houses."
A flicker of worry crossed his mind, a fleeting memory of the Straw Hat pirates' rampage. He dismissed it quickly.
Luffy was a freak, an anomaly! The rest of the world knew their place. They wouldn't dare defy the Celestial Dragons.
As he elaborated on the available "merchandise," a sudden commotion erupted from outside.
The ever-efficient manager excused himself and rushed out, barking orders. "Silence! The esteemed nobles within—"
His words died in his throat. His eyes bulged in terror.
The few Marines and guards stationed outside the mansion were suspended mid-air, faces contorted in a horrifying tableau of terror and disbelief. Their weapons, useless scraps of metal, clattered to the ground.
In the center of the scene stood a figure, the very air warping around him, distorting his image in a shimmering heat haze.
Each step seemed to exert an invisible pressure, crushing the earth beneath his feet and sending tremors through the surrounding structures. Debris rained down from the ornate balconies as windows shattered under the sheer force of his presence.
Beside him stood a woman, her beauty a stark contrast to the raw power emanating from her companion.
She was a vision of sin, clad in a revealing outfit that shimmered as she winked at the manager.
The manager's heart lurched with a primal thrill, then plummeted with the weight of fear as his eyes landed back on the man.
Despite his terror, he attempted to salvage the situation.
Puffing himself up with the borrowed authority of the Celestial Dragons, he bellowed, "Do you have even the slightest clue where you are? This is the residence of the Celestial Dragons, the gods of this world! Kneel and accept your punishment!"
His outburst was met with a deafening silence, broken only by the groaning of the mansion under the invisible pressure.
Then, with a flick of an unseen hand, an invisible fist connected with the manager's gut, sending him hurtling through the air to crash against the mansion's main gate, which splintered under the impact.
"Impossible… he… he dares invade the Celestial Dragons' residence!?" The manager's last thought, laced with disbelief, was cut short as the impact took his life.
The commotion brought the three Celestial Dragons out onto the balcony, their faces a mask of arrogance and disbelief.
"Who dares disrupt our peace?" Rosward roared, his voice laced with fury. He spotted the manager's body and his eyes turned red. That man was one of his most competent! Where would he find another?! He turned to the source of his trouble, vowing to have the intruder boiled alive! Only that could compensate for such an egregious sin!
"Kill him! Eliminate him and leave his body as a reminder to those who defy us!" Charlos shrieked, his usual bravado laced with a hint of terror. He realized, to his horror, that there was no one to accept his command. The guards and marines were helpless, floating like grotesque marionettes.
"T-The slaves! Command the slaves to kill him!" Charlos sputtered.
Even as he issued the frantic order, the resin bubble surrounding his head burst with a sickening pop. Charlos, his eyes watering, clawed at the empty space where the bubble had been.
Now he was breathing the same air as those filthy commoners!
"Y-you…"
He started to bellow, but a suffocating pressure descended upon him, stealing his breath. His back buckled, his face contorted in pain as he crumpled to his knees, a strangled cry escaping his lips. Snot and sweat dripped down his face, his once-obese body trembling with fear.
Rosward's face contorted into a mask of fury. His own son, a Celestial Dragon, was reduced to a whimpering mess on the ground! The audacity of this commoner!
"You dare attack a Celestial Dragon!" he bellowed, his voice shaking with rage. "You will pay dearly for this transgression! Your entire bloodline will be eradicated!"
But even as he threatened, the suffocating pressure descended upon him as well. The world seemed to bend under its weight, making it difficult to breathe, to think. The bubble around his head shattered, but it hardly mattered as his lungs refused to function.
Shalria, the only one to remain standing, felt a cold dread creep into her heart. Unlike her brother and father, she held her tongue. An instinct, primal and raw, warned her that any further defiance would only lead to her own subjugation.
However, her eyes, blazing with a mixture of hatred and defiance, locked with Magnus's. This was far from over. She, a descendant of the world's supposed creators, wouldn't kneel to a mere commoner. Not without a fight.
***
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