Chapter 45: Plunged in Darkness.

Edam's group were currently at Grove 65 so they still had a long way to go before reaching Grove 13.

Moreover Garp decided to take the longuest route instead because he want to see if there were anything "interesting" happening in the other Groves or so.

In fact they could have already reach the Grove's area 20 in which Grove 13 was by traversing directly from Grove 70-79 to Grove 20 as it was just beside it but Garp chose otherwise.

They then took the other route by going first at Grove's area 50 then Grove's area 40 and then 30 before reaching Grove's area 20.

They then traveled through Grove's area 60 where they were greeted by every high graded marines they came across, most of them mainly wanting to pay their respect to those two legends. One a Hero and the other a Teacher.

To the public eyes Garp position has always been higher and more important than Zephyr's own position even though the latter was an ex-admiral, compared to Garp who The Hero it paled in comparison after all... but those thoughts were only reserved to the public...

For every high graded marine's people, Zephyr was akin to their own father who has teach them since they were young about everything, martial arts, use of Haki, or even just some basic knowledges.

The amount of respect they felt for him was sometimes even greater than the respect they felt for Garp and even Sengoku their fleet-admiral.

...

After a long walk they finally arrive in a crowded street area surrounded by multiples restaurants buildings of different kind of sizes.

Along with the restaurants buildings there were even foods stalls at every corner with the stall vendors shouting out how much their foods were the best they could possibly find.

No need to say that Edam's eyes illuminate instantly as he rushed to one of the many stall to buy a dozen of skewers that he shared with everyone as he ate cheerfully his skewers.

They continued to walked but after taking about ten steps his nose picked up a delicious smell of something being fried making him gulp down, he took a good look at it and then...

He bought a huge portions of french fries...and ate it with his skewers happily as he walked forward again.

However after he took ten steps again his sharp nose picked up something and bought some pancakes.

He took ten steps again and...

This scenario repeated itself again and again for a good amount of time as Garp and Zephyr sighed...

Food... the most powerful ennemy that Edam ever had to fight against untill now... no victory so far and no victory in sight either... his nemesis indeed...

"...Oy Edam stop it, we have to go somewhere remember ?" In the end the old men had to call him out to bring him on the right way as he was currently buying some chipolata sausages.

"Oh yeah right, sorry gramps..." Edam apologize to his gramps and turned to the vendor and said.

"Thank you...30 berry was it ?" He looked in his pouch for the right amount.

"Yep, 30 indeed " He took the money and bid farewell to him as he then served another client.

"Haaa... sorry but it seems so delicious, can't help it." Edam scratched his head in embarrassment as he let out cheeky smile.

He offered them some sausages in apology as they continued on.

...

On the way, they came across several memorable places such as, a tourist area where souvenir stands and shops filled the streets, situated in Grove's area 40-49, after that they reach the most famous place...

The Sabaody Park ! Situated in Grove's area 30-39, a place filled with bubbles attractions where kids and adults come when they are depressed because everything in their life has gone wrong, like thoroughly wrong... OR just when they wanted to have a good time with family... as simple as that.

As such Edam who was in a hell of a good mood from eating all those different typical snacks decided to go with the girls to enjoyed the attractions.

He did asked Garp and Zephyr to come with them to have some fun but the two geezers refused outright with the bullshit excuse that they were too olds for this shit and that their hearts couldn't support this or so...

Edam "..."

As such it was only Edam and the girls who at first didn't want to, saying that he would wasted his money by bringing them with him and that he should just go himself alone to avoid that but, Edam then replied in a serious and pouting tone that...

"What's the point in having fun alone ?" He had a deadpan look on his face.

"But we-..." They were interrupted before they finished.

"...Well if none of you come with me, then I'm not going anymore..." He said with a bit of disappointment as he began to eat his french fries "munch, munch" sound while turning around to leave.

However his leaving figure, even though he didn't want to, seemed to radiate a gloomy sense of loneliness as it easily managed to strike them really hard in the feelings, especially a certain someone who took hold of her courage with two hands and suddenly said.

"W, wait ! I, I'll come with you then..." Hancock said stuttering a bit as she bit down on her lower lip.

"Sis...?"The two younger sisters looked at her clearly stunned. She was the one to say that they owe him too much and shouldn't burden him again but as of now every of her actions said otherwise.

At the sound of her voice he stopped dead in his track and turned around abruptly with a happy and genuine smile as he then came in front of her to grab her hand to her own surprise while her face turned for the hundred of time a deep red as she let out a cute "Eh ?"

"Wha-..." But instead of replying right away Edam just smiled and pulled her along while then saying.

"Then let's go quick... !" The two of them were then gone to buy the tickets, hand in hand, drawing out a rather cute scene of two black haired kids buying their tickets to have fun on the rides.

When they came back however, Edam had still bought five tickets and said calmly while shrugging his shoulders "Well they can't get refunded so..." as he extent his hand with three tickets in front of Stella, Mariegold and Sandersonia making them accept it though with a bit reluctance.

"Hehe..." Edam laughed a bit seeing their expressions.

...

Minutes later after they had finished and had laughed a lot, especially Edam who was laughing non stop at the girls faces when the bubbles roller coaster descend down at full speed.

It was so funny to see their faces being plastered with something else than melancholy, sadness, and wariness or so he thought.

Although none of them cried out a single time he still saw their faces sweat a bit when the time came to descend.

He really had fun on it with everything going well but if there was one that he had to complain about then it would be...

The noise...

There were too much noise on it...

Even without counting the four girls who didn't yelled out, there were still a lot of other people on it who didn't care if the underworld were to heard them... and so shouted to their heart's content.

Although he had kept his enhanced sense in "standby", Edam still had some sharps ears to begin with even before his "awakening".

He just couldn't not listen to it and worst he couldn't really complain about it, after all it was an attraction to make people feel some thrilling sensation so... yeah yelling out was a must...

Anyway after enjoying their fun time they joined Garp and Z and continued on.

However on the side, an interesting event was currently taking place.

A lot of men dressed in black suit were surrounding a certain someone completely covered in white adorned with several jewels of the highest quality.

This was of course a celestial dragon who was walking leisurely with this annoying and arrogant faces of theirs.

In front of the world noble, a guy in an official suit was holding a folder as he kept shouting the names of several peoples repeatedly.

"...Groogy, Kikou, Zaggy, if you hear me your master has come to take you back, come here..." The speaker was saying this at loud with a huge and hypocrites smile.

Hancock, Sandersonia, and Mariegold's faces paled in an instant when they heard that but when Edam saw that, he said in a calm voice.

"Hey come on, we have to go home right ?" A faint but soothing smile present.

Before their gloomy complexion expand further than that it vanished into thin air as they followed him closely.

...

And after traveling a long.... lonnnng way, they finally reach their said destination... Grove 13.

They had first arrive on a sort of lowland with a lot of gigantic Yarukiman Mangrove's roots in the area, that were going in all kind of direction while still being connected to the ground.

Overall the atmosphere was very jovial and fresh.

As they walked through this pleasant Mangroves forest, Zephyr suddenly said.

"There at the top of this root... it should be this bar..." He pointed out toward the top of a root where a small and a little bit worn out building could be seen and at the foot of the root was a long stairs of about a hundred of steps leading up there.

When Edam looked at it his face turned weird as he said "Uh Grandpa...are you sure...?" he seemed to struggle to say something else.

"Hum...?"

He could already see the weird name of the bar as his eyes twitch and blinked a pale yellow color. "Uh... I mean the name sounded like a...joke-..."

"-Nope...! He's there, I can sense his "ominous" presence, Bwahaha..." Garp's eyes turned sharp and confident and suddenly said with a grinning expression.

Zephyr looked at him from the corner of his eyes, then at the bar and said. "Hum...he certainly already sense us too, we should get going..."

"Okay..." Not really caring about the guy his old grandpas were talking about Edam said calmly as he then walked up stairs with the girls following behind him.

While even further behind the two old men were looking at him with a mysterious and faint smile on their faces.

...

Edam's P.O.V

It was with a lot of enthusiasm that I went forward and walked up the stairs to meet the people that would help Hancock and her sisters...

However never would I have imagined that it would be so difficult to do so...

When I took the first step, the very first steps... the atmosphere around me seemed to change...it was subtils and nearly unnoticeable but I still managed to sense it.

My tail's fur stood up on its own right away as a proof, and while it may be not a real proof I still trust it a lot.

The second step now I felt it clearly, the air changed thoroughly, to be replaced by a near visible sense of oppression...

Not caring about it I took another one, the oppression was even stronger.

The fourth one, a change happened once again, it was now... cold...like freezing cold... the space around was plunged into a freezing hell...

In fact I've never felt so cold in my life...

And then every next steps that I took felt so heavy... as if at every steps that I took the massive weight of a whole mountain would be add on my back again and again...mixed in with this feeling of oppression and coldness.

Every fibers, reasons and logics of my entire being were screaming to not continue and to get out of here at this instant, right away ! Telling me... No Yelling at me that the Owner...no... the King of this place didn't allowed me the access to it yet, that his test wasn't finished yet.

A Supreme King was looking down at me sitting on his throne wondering what I could possibly be doing in his Kingdom, It was the image painted in my head at this moment.

But the weirdest was that I was not afraid at all on the contrary my blood seemed to boiled like an erupting volcano, becoming hotter and hotter at every seconds that passed, outraged that someone was actually looking down on "him".

After a certain amount of time had passed my forehead was sweating profusely like a fountain as my mind was becoming hazier and hazier too, threatening to fall unconscious at any moment.

But unknowingly an excited smile made its way on my face as my fighting spirit was ignited while my eyes turned pale-yellow.

Biting on my lips till it bleed I walked forward again.

After taking about fifty steps, just as I was struggling with all my strenght to take another one, I felt the atmosphere, the air, the nature, the space and every other things around me make an abrupt paused frozen for like two seconds or so before something heavier fell down and seemed to plunged the area into blackness...

Yes...Darkness, every things had turned dark in an instant...though it was all black weirdly enough, I could see in this Veil of Darkness a hand forming out of nowhere coming straight toward me slowly... so slowly that I could have escaped escaped from its clutched in normal time...but I couldn't... I was rooted on the spot, while only my eyes could move.

My eyes were wide open as I looked at this black colored hand approaching me threateningly as if the King of Hell was claiming my life right here, right now.

But just as it was about to touched me, I felt a hand on my shoulder...

With this simple touch, the Veil of Darkness was dispersed into thin air while I kept looking at the front with a frowning face in a daze for a good minute.

Looking at the side at the owner of this hand, it was in fact Grandpa Zephyr's hand...who was looking at me with a faint smiling face.

End of P.O.V