C45 : Another Havoc Bringer

• [New World] {Year : 21.7} •

After finding Kumiko, Ryu suddenly said he needed to go somewhere so both of the women waited on Zunesha. The Minks stood along with Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi near them, most of them saying good-byes. Rin noticed the adorable little rabbit Mink looking at her with a basket of carrots in it.

The little white-furred rabbit Mink ran towards her and said. "You have to come back and give me more carrots!"

In her logic, if someone gave someone else a carrot, they would have to repay them the double of it eventually. As such, she put as much as she could into this basket of hers and gave it to Rin, forcing her to promise her the double amount of it in future.

Rin smiled and patted her little white fur head. "You little rascal, you can just tell me to come back again."

"No! I'm serious, you have to give me more carrots!" The little white-furred rabbit Mink then adopted a thinking pose before adding. "You can get me carrots from outside, if it's any good!"

"..." Rin threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes. Both of them continued to talk for a bit before Kumiko approached Rin.

"Young miss, it is time." She briefly glanced at the basket of carrots. Kumiko didn't bother to think any further about it as she added. "Ryu said he would come to where we are after his business elsewhere is finished."

"Okay." Rin lightly nodded and left with Kumiko. She waved the little rabbit Mink a 'good bye' when she was at it.

Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi followed along with them. They patiently walked at their pace and sometimes both of them would bicker while throwing out profanities.

When they arrived at the spot where Ryu would come and grab them, they quietly waited.

…

Elsewhere in New World...

Redness covered the sky as it hovered over a single large island. The island appeared menacing with black mist emitting out. The skeletons littered all over it, showing that there used to be human residents until their death and stripped of flesh. The cause of their untimely death...

*Screeech!*

A horrific scream came and more similar to it continued the scream, only weaker.

*screech!*

On the island were countless ant-like beings, crawling over the ground and skeletons. Most of them had humans' flesh on their fangs. They appeared to be controlled and disciplined as a larger ant-like being appeared. It looked around with its large beady eyes before screaming out a command.

*Screeech!*

The smaller ant-like beings promptly moved orderly and began to carry differing materials in their limbs, as if to build something grand and large. The large ant-like being simply continued to look around with its beady eyes. It had an order from an powerful being to do this, along with other large ant-like beings like it.

Far away, at a Marine Base...

"Reporting!" A Marine Officer saluted to the in-charge person in front of him. He seemed out of it when he continued. "One of the islands we were based on has fallen to unknown large ant-like beings! They... they ruthlessly came and killed everything in their sights, we could not have escaped if not for my comrades' sacrifices!"

"...Ant-like beings? I am sorry to hear about your comrades' death, however, what do you mean ant-like beings?" The in-charge person sternly demanded. He sharply looked at the Marine Officer in front of him and asked once again. "Do you mean to say that those insects we've trampled onto as children long ago, suddenly grew large and has begun their vengeance against us?"

Although it was something that he made up on spot, the Marine Officer hesitated. "It is possible, sir! Those invaders resembles as those little ants we all used to step on when we were children."

"..." The in-charge man was left speechless at this. He only joked in his usual morbid way, but to think it'd become a actual possibility... "Erm. Alright, I will report this to Fleet Admiral. Make sure you go to the health center to check if you are not inflicted with any dangerous substances."

"...Yes, sir!" The Marine Officer turned away and walked to the exit. After taking a step outside the room, he turned and said. "I would like to be notified if we are going against those invaders. I swore that I would avenge my comrades... sir."

He didn't bother to listen for any responses as he exited. The in-charge man bristled but shook his head. He understood that the man was in process of moving on. Unfortunately, this happened a lot for Marines against Pirates, so it wasn't a uncommon sight to see.

He sighed and stood up. The in-charge man straightened out his clothes before walking out of it to brief the others. He also prepared himself for the ridiculing eyes that would probably come when the topic of ant-like beings appears.

At a another island in New World...

"Sh*t! What the f*ck is with those damned monsters?!" A middle-aged man wearing bloodied ragged clothes ran with several other people, most of them also having bloodied clothes. They had fear-stricken looks as they complained.

"Shut up!" One of them hissed in low tone. They didn't want to be found by those monsters. "Do you think that they'd just pass by us? We have to prepare ourselves to either run or defend."

"I'm definitely running away." The middle-aged man rolled his eyes. How could he even defend himself from those large ant-like beings? "Didn't you all see those legs? They're too sharp, so we'd just lose our arms if we try to defend ourselves. You guys should run too."

"...Alright." A young man with blue hair clicked his tongue before sighing. "Then we have to sacrifice someone to distract them from us."

"Bah!" The middle-aged man snorted with ridiculing eyes directed at him. Did he not see how organized the ant-like beings were? "They aren't that stupid. They'll just split into two groups and chase both of us, idiot!"

"F*ck! I'm just trying to suggest things to calm ourselves!" The young man was exasperated with this old man. There were children and people with weak heart around, and they were frantic.

*clatter*

"..." They all collectively became silent as they heard repetitive steps of a group from distance.

*screech*

They didn't hesitate to move to a better hiding spot in the shadows as they tried to slam their bodies together, uncaring of how weird they'd look. Soon, shadows of ant-like beings appeared and they felt their breaths hitch into a pause for few seconds.

The middle-aged man glanced at the young man with blue hair. His eyes signaled something and the blue-haired young man shook his head. He shrugged.

As they continued to hide from the large ant-like beings, several other islands in New World were being conquered and former residents in those islands were eradicated before the large ant-like beings took over.

…

With Ryu...

He appeared above countless white clouds, resembling that of a cloud sea. Ryu looked around, quickly going towards his target. His clothes fluttered harshly as the air brushed against his body.

"To think it could do this..." Ryu curiously looked at the target, a black cloud. It emitted random sparks of energies of its own, scaring anyone away from it.

The black cloud was a living being. The cloud was simply its cover like a fur or skin. However, it wasn't supposed to be this big and strong. The reason for this was because it obtained an contract with a devil — in another words, it ate a Devil Fruit. It was slowly changing into a mutant of its race and devil combined since it comprehended what happened when it ate. An Awakening.

To be able to Awaken their Devil Fruit meant that they were beginning to understand what its power and the devil who possessed the power really was. It also meant that they began their steps into becoming a Devil like its origins. Upon reaching Full Awakening, they would become half-Devil and half-whatever race they were, permanently. If they desired to, they could even forsake their original race and become a full Devil at certain price(s).

Ryu looked over the black cloud and saw many other miniature clouds of its same race, but they appeared to be shivering and were slowly moving away from the large and frightening black cloud. They understood that one of its own kins just ate something dangerous and were becoming half-devil. Devils in the past were known to have lost their sanity and rationality before going on rampage to destroy. But half-devils would only often lose such in moments but regain their clarity afterwards. There were still few rare Devils who retained their sanity and rationality, which would probably be handed over to the beings whom has contracted with them through Devil Fruits if they ever decided to become a full-fledged Devil.

The black cloud suddenly shifted and began to transform into a humanoid-shape. Its body slowly showed and revealed to be a female while her skin was blackish and showed different tattoos. She appeared confused and looked around before grinning in a way that a villain would. She opened her mouth but Ryu didn't understand a single thing.

The now half-devil woman suddenly bolted towards its own former kins and began to open her shark-toothed mouth widely. The other clouds pulsed together and shivered loudly, slowly being absorbed into that same wide shark-toothed mouth of hers.

Ryu immediately moved and brought forth his Sword Aura, commanding several invisible swords to cleave the half-devil woman into pieces.

The half-devil woman sensed this and swiftly stopped her actions while dodging those invisible swords. This surprised him because he hadn't met anyone else who could sense them aside from Kan, the Havoc Bringer. The half-devil woman scowled at him while speaking.

Unfortunately for her, Ryu didn't care and continued to attack her. He felt that this being was dangerous, her original race and becoming half-devil only amplified her power. This meant that she could bring mayhem to humanity.

The half-devil woman clicked her tongue and swung her arms together. She rapidly summoned several grotesque spears from her body which sped towards him. Ryu easily dodged and continued to stay in the air, several invisible swords being his foothold. This frustrated the half-devil woman as she screamed out at Ryu, swearing in her language.

Because her voice was already irritating, her scream was twice the annoyance it had on Ryu's hearing. Due to this, he became annoyed and disappeared, then reappeared right in front of her. After that, he grabbed the half-devil woman's throat, gripping it tightly. He wouldn't have been this ruthless if not for the fact that this half-devil woman did not care about her own kins and intended to use them to further increase her power.

The little clouds around were staying away and did nothing to help her. They understood that they would have died if not for this human who stopped her. Their race were simply neutral, only changing if anything happened to their own race. However, this half-devil woman didn't hesitate to eliminate them for the sake of gaining more power, so clearly, they weren't going to be fools to help her out.

"Are you not going to transform to save yourself?" Ryu stared down the half-devil woman's sky blue eyes. He knew that this woman could still transform into a full-fledged devil since she somehow attained Full Awakening.

The half-devil woman merely scowled at him. Since she wasn't going to transform into a full Devil, Ryu shrugged and placed his other available hand onto her.

"Then die." He was about to move his hand to slice her downwards when she abruptly punched him in the face. She didn't stop there and continued to punch him anywhere, even to the point her hands deformed and crushed itself due to his body cultivation being at its current peak possible.

The half-devil woman's sky blue eyes showed a deranged look as she grinned maliciously at him while Ryu's grip on her throat tightened. She spoke, and this time, it was clear and understandable for him. "Human, your race is doomed to be extinct! Just die already!"

"Oh, so you can talk in human's language." Ryu calmly spoke while she was beating the hella out of him. He didn't even feel any pain, it simply felt like mere pushes of a little child.

Eventually, her hands were unable to be used as she growled. "You-"

At that moment, the half-devil woman suddenly looked fearful as she sensed something extremely dangerous rapidly approaching their location. The little clouds that had been hovering slightly away also shivered heavily and ran away in groups.

"Let go of me this instant!" The half-devil woman demanded. Her eyes kept darting at a spot and to Ryu repeatedly, growing more afraid and angry.

Ryu had already sensed that being approaching them, but did nothing and kept his grip on her throat tightly. He then slowly smiled. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?! There's a f*cking Havoc Bringer approaching us!" The half-devil woman cursed in her language afterwards. Vulgarities after vulgarities were spouted in her language, but Ryu did not understand and did not care either.

"So?" Ryu pointedly looked at her. "I've fought a Havoc Bringer stronger than this one. Why would I be afraid of it?"

This was when the half-devil woman finally allowed fear of Ryu to show. "Lies! You're just a mere human!"

"...Who is holding your throat..." Ryu then grinned sadistically. He slowly pushed his fingers into the back of her throat. She began to choke and sputter out.

It was when the Havoc Bringer's lightning shot at his arm that was holding the half-devil woman.

"Let go of it!" The Havoc Bringer angrily glared at him. He had blue scales all over his back and stopped when they approached his chest. On his chest was a lightning mark from his neck to the waist. He also donned a small set of horns on his head with two strange ears literally on top.

"Who's she to you?" Ryu glanced at him, annoyed. He could've just instantly killed the half-devil woman, yet he didn't. "Your little girlfriend? Though, I'm sure she didn't have any humanoid body... hmm, I wonder how that works?"

"A new recruit." The blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer maliciously smirked at the puny human whom must be so weaker than his whole race, disregarding his irritation attempt. "I shall give you ten breaths to escape if you let go of her. Think of it as a mercy so do not beg for mercy the next time you see me, little human."

Ryu's green eyes shifted and he became bored.

"A-AAH-!"

*squish*

Her throat bursted from the pressure Ryu's grip had. However, this didn't mean that she died. The blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer became ashen-faced at this, the little human was simply disregarding him. "You dared to?!"

"What? Disappointed that she's weaker than a mere human?" Ryu responded with a answer that was off the point which ticked the Havoc Bringer further.

The blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer took a deep breath before scowling. "Indeed. I thought she would at least have some use as a deliverer of poisons, but it seems that she would die before she even takes several steps into the base of our opponents..."

"...Oh, nice to know." Ryu nodded with a calm attitude and closed his eyes to give the effect of a adult playing along with a little child's fantasy.

The half-devil woman feared this human a lot more than the Havoc Bringer now. She could not voice it out as her way of verbally communicating was destroyed. Her eyes pleaded for mercy and hoped that she somehow could recover as she looked at Ryu's green eyes.

"Forget it." He said. Turning his head to the Havoc Bringer slightly away from them, Ryu chuckled. "You still don't intend to let me go whatever the result. Why bother?"

"What do you mean, human?" The blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer became annoyed as he looked at the human. "Do you not know what a Havoc Bringer can do to a large continent?"

"I've met Kan and took him down... You aren't any stronger than him either."

"..."

There was only one Kan that the blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer knew of. The traitor who sided with twenty humans who somehow were overwhelmingly strong but Kan gave a deal and they took it. Clearly, Kan could have dealt with the twenty humans but didn't because he would lose at the same time. Even as a traitor, Kan was well-known among his race as one of the strongest ten Havoc Bringer.

The fact that this little human so casually mentioned Kan and spoke as if he was an insect... not even the blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer would do such thing with confidence. In false bravado, the Havoc Bringer spoke. "So you know of the traitor. I find it difficult to believe you about the fact that Kan was handled easily by your hands."

Of course, there were always doubts unless they personally saw it. That or they heard it from a trusted person.

"How about I show you?" Ryu just continued to smile. His hand that used to grip the half-devil woman's throat now pointed at her forehead directly. With a thought...

'Desolation.'

...the half-devil woman dispersed into ashes as she resisted, then even ashes disappeared. It was an complete eradication of her existence. Not even her soul existed.

"..." The blue-scaled and lightning-marked Havoc Bringer clenched his jaws and tightened his fists to the point they were paling the blue color. That show of power was an absolute frightening sight to experience. Just a point of his finger could eradicate his existence, so it was completely understandable for him to be afraid now. "What are you?"

"Hmm?" Ryu tilted his head and laughed as he answered. "I am..."