Chapter 4: The Mask [Edited]

'Good one, kid!' Rayleigh said inwardly.

As a former pirate, killing isn't something that matters to him. Back when he was still a pirate, he usually saw many murder, much bloodier than this.

Days later...

Rayleigh continued to watch Guts life.

He also knew why Guts was forced. It was because of the man who took him when he was a baby.

Guts was sold by him to the man. Rayleigh felt bad for the kid, he really treated Gambino as a father like figure.

Though he couldn't do anything about it, after all this was only a story.

Rayleigh continued to watch Guts adventures over the years.

He saw many things that happened to the unlucky boy.

He never seen Guts become happy even once. He felt like the boy was not wanted by this world.

Guts was always unlucky, always losing someone, including the love of his life.

Rayleigh watched the scene unfold in front of him. Casca, Guts only love, was being taken away not far from from him.

"Guts, get up!' Rayleigh, who had seen Guts' whole life, felt like he was the boy himself.

He had been inside this world for decades now with nothing to see exept Guts adventure, of course, he would be attached towards the boy.

'Noooooo!' Rayleigh panicked, but sadly, he couldn't do anything.

Years later...

Rayleigh was now in a depressing state, looking as if he had been tortured for many years. His eyes had a big dark circle around it and his expression was indifferent.

He continued to watch, even though he didn't want to.

Guts was now sitting alone in a house with a massive dark sword beside him.

Rayleigh sat on the floor in front of Guts, who was also sitting on the floor, devoid of any emotion.

Rayleigh didn't say anything but just sat there with the same expression as Guts; no emotion.

"Thank you," Guts said.

Tears started falling from Rayleigh's eyes as he heard those words.

"Thank you for being with me since I was a kid." Guts made a rare bright smile, peace could be seen on his expression.

Rayleigh was happy. Happy to see Guts smile after years of watching him.

"I hope that we can meet each other again," Rayleigh said, knowing this was it.

The End.

The End of the Story.

That was the first and last time Rayleigh and Guts talked, as Rayleigh was suddenly transported back to his original world.

'Huh? Why is he suddenly crying?' Azrael thought, noticing Rayleigh's tears falling from his eyes for no reason.

Rayleigh wiped the tears from his eyes and looked towards Azrael.

"Thank you. Thank you for letting me borrow this book," Rayleigh said with pure happiness in his tone.

'He probably got sad because of remembering his child. Poor man,' Azrael signed.

"Sure, Mr. Rayleigh, anything for a friend," Azrael said.

Rayleigh then left Azrael's bookstore with full gratitude for Azrael and a new personality he didn't know but would change him.

...

-[Amelia POV]-

After my interaction with the man earlier, I started walking again. My legs were still a little shaky.

I walked forward, holding the book tightly in my left hand and hugging it. I wouldn't want to lose this book; it would probably make Mr. Azrael angry.

After ten minutes of walking, I was now far away from Mr. Azrael's store; I couldn't see the it anymore.

I'm walking normally, not wanting others to find anything suspicious about me.

The direction I was going to was where the other members of the Revolutionary Army would be having their meetup.

While walking towards the forest, I suddenly heard a voice shouting from behind me.

"Stop right there! Turn around!"

Did they find me this fast? No! I need to run!

I was about to run away when suddenly I noticed the book in my hand releasing black fog.

The fog immediately moved towards my face at lightning speed, I didn't have any time to react.

I didn't know what it was or what it did, but I didn't have much time to think about that. I had to run away from here.

I took a step and immediately started running.

"Catch that woman immediately!"

I heard a commanding voice behind me. I didn't turn around to see who and how many were chasing me right now but what i know is that, I'm done for once they catch me.

My priority right now was to survive and hide until the backup from HQ came here.

While running, I suddenly felt someone grabbed my legs, and I fell to the ground, hitting the ground with my face first.

Thankfully, it was a dirt ground. If it had been concrete, I would probably be injured my face badly.

"You slave! You think you'll get away from here."

I heard a voice, and suddenly someone turned my body around.

"Huh? You're not that slave. Why are you even running?" The man asked with puzzled face.

I felt confused about what was happening. Did they not recognize my face?

Whatever the case, I decided to seize this opportunity to escape.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Marine. I just panicked because your face resembles my father, who used to beat me up," I forced myself to cry, though it was challenging. I felt like my brain was going to burst.

I kept wiping away my tears, trying to appear innocent.

"Sigh... Poor girl, you shouldn't have run like that. I almost thought you were that slave because of your hair."

Why would they chase someone based on their hair? Many people on this island have green hair! Well, I guess it's also my fault for running suspiciously. But who can blame me? I thought they had a detailed description of my face.

"Alright, don't do that again. You'll be in deep trouble if someone stronger than me is the one chasing you," the marine warned before quickly leaving with his comrades.

"Phew~"

It was strange that they didn't have a detailed description of my face.

I got up from the ground, dusted off my butt, and grabbed the book before running away.

I didn't want to risk walking around when the marines were already scouting the entire island.

After a while, I reached the forest where I was supposed to wait for the people from HQ.

I noticed a lake nearby. Since I hadn't eaten anything, as the bookstore wasn't a restaurant, I decided to drink water from the lake for now.

The water didn't taste good; It was salty

"Huh?"

I hadn't noticed it while drinking, but now I looked at my reflection in the water. This wasn't what my face looked like!

I touched my face carefully, trying to understand what was happening.

The change in my appearance didn't go away even after washing my face with the lake water.

"What's happening?" I asked myself, suddenly noticing a black fog coming out of the book.

I suddenly couldn't see anything as a black fog blocked my sight. I tried to remove the fog away using my hand, but it didn't dissipate until five seconds later.

Finally, I could see again.

I noticed my reflection in the water had returned to my original face.

I looked at the book Mr. Azrael had lent me. It seemed that this book and the black fog emanating from it were the reason for my sudden changed in appearance.

So it was true that the book he lend me has some kind of power on it.

"I should thank Mr. Azrael for this when I come back," I said as I grabbed the book and continued walking.

After walking for a while, I spotted a small cave not far away.

I entered the cave and observed the inside. It was a little dark, but I could still make out the surroundings. There were no animals or anything inside, which put me at ease.

'I should wait for them here' I thought as I walked onto a large stone and sat down.

I opened the book, planning to read it while waiting.

But I suddenly found myself transported to an unknown place.

Where is this? I asked myself.

Have I somehow passed out while reading the book?

I looked around and noticed many faces on the walls, surrounding me.

What was this place? It felt strange for a dream.

As I continue to looked around, I froze when I saw a person with a mask standing nearby.

The mask person turned around, and I suddenly unable to move. It was as if an invisible force was trapping my entire body.

The person began walking towards me.

What would he do to me? Would he ruthlessly remove my face, like the ones in the wall?

I started thinking about the various things that could happen to me once the mask person got closer.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't.

In a blink of an eye, the man was already in front of me, touching my face.

"What a beautiful face, young lady," he said.

Chills ran down my body upon hearing those words.

"Hmm... You don't have to panic, young lady. I can't harm anyone who has been lent a book by my creator," he assured me.

Creator? Was he talking about Mr. Azrael? Could he be a god?

As far as I knew, only gods possessed such powers.

"There's not much time left. I'll impart a little bit of my knowledge and power to you about impersonation. So, young lady, use my knowledge for whatever you like! Hahahaha," he laugh like a crazy maniac.

Was this man crazy?

After saying that, he covered my face with his hand, and suddenly, I was transported back to the real world.

"Are you okay?" I heard a familiar voice.

"Koala, it's you!" I exclaimed as I hugged her.

We hadn't seen each other in almost a year. She was talented, much like Sabo. And due to my own talents, I had been given a spy rank in the Revolutionary Army, so we didn't get to meet as often as we'd like because she had many big missions unlike me.

"I'm glad you're safe," Koala said to me.

I looked at the others, and there was Sabo and Zack. They smiled at me.

Minutes later...

"So, a slave overheard you?" Koala asked.

"That's just my guess, but it's likely, because I noticed a man missing from the cell," I replied.

"Well, let's talk about the plan now. It seems a Marine ship will be arriving at Sabaody Archipelago soon, with a vice admiral on board," Sabo informed us.