The black haired girl eyed me like I was insane.
Escaping Mary Geoise? The Holy Land of the World Government? Home of the ‘Gods’ that had ruled the World for Seven Hundred Years? From her look, she considered that a pipe dream. Impossible for anyone without providence and a series of miracles on their side.
Good thing I didn’t give a Shit about that.
I continued to stare straight at her, which unnerved her, as I said, “Yes. It’s not that hard once you know how. Nothing is as poisonous as thinking you are unassailable, unbeatable, and flawless. As much as God’s Knights and the Gorōsei try to make sure security is as tight as possible, the rot of the World Nobles seeps into all levels of Mary Geoise. Only an attack or something similar will change that fact. Even then, I bet it would be only a surface level change.”.
The more I talked the more incredulous she looked. It could be what I said, or it could be that I summoned Clones to free me from my restraints.
Born from years of continuous rebellion, as well as quite a few corpses, I was bound standing up with Sea Stone chains being taut as possible, leaving me almost spread eagle, with the collar and its chain serving as a crux to not let me slump forward. It was made to be as painful as possible.
One of the first things I learned to do when I was dumped here was the ability to lockpick all kinds of locks with my Mana, and now only it took a few moments to take them off.
As I threw off my shackles and approached the door to my cell, the girl turned suspicious of me, “If it is that easy for you, why are you still here?”, she bitingly asked.
A very good question, one that needed context to answer, which I did as I opened the door to my Cell, “I made a mistake a long time ago, which has simply grown since then. But you’ll need context to understand it. Do you know about a power called Haki?”.
The girl narrowed her eyes at me from the wall she laid sprawled on, still not letting go of her paranoia. I can’t blame her, since she and her sisters were in a very vulnerable position, naked and chained with Sea Stone, “Yes.”.
I raised an eyebrow at her as I fiddled with the lock on her cell door, “Is that so? Well then, have you wondered what happens with slaves that display their Haki, or if there are Gladiators that use it?”.
She furrowed her brows at that question, “No.”.
As I entered her cell, I explained the situation to her, “There are no Gladiators that can use Haki, or they never have or will show they can, even in the pain of death. It is the same for other slaves. Because any and all that show such power are directly sent to be under the direct jurisdiction of God’s Knights. One of the more consistently brutal death sentences for slaves in this ‘Holy’ Land. Furthermore, even only Kenbun-Shoku Haki users are sniffed out quickly by the Knights because they constantly scan with their own Kenbun-Shoku for anything Haki related phenomenon, as well as directly observing for people that show the slightest hint of it in their actions and reactions, particularly Gladiators.”.
As I sat next to her, and started working on her Shackles, she considered what I was saying, and not saying, before answering, “So, you are saying that a Knight is suspicious of you? And that leaving this hell would prompt them to look for you?”.
“Worse, if I was a simple Haki user that escaped, I most likely would get a bounty or something like that, but I am really weird, to the point that I have roused the suspicious of the higher echelons of the Celestial Dragons.”, I stated as I took one of her shackles, and started working on the other.
She looked at me, trying to deduce what was weird about me, so I said, “What do you think that Bastard meant by leaving you in this cell, in front of mine?”.
The Girl lowered her face while biting her lip, scared of what had been implied, “That the rumors of you being a cannibal were true.”.
I nodded at that, “Jalmack has never been particularly good at feeding me, or his other Slaves. He is among the Bastards that have the highest number of slaves dying from starvation. It can never be quantified correctly if he or someone else is the worst because they are bad at keeping records regarding their slaves.”.
The Girl raised her head to inspect me again, her expression growing confused, “What?...But…But you don’t seem starved…You look great…you don’t even have any scars…wait…what are you?”, the girl asked as she focused on my body.
Good, she was starting to understand why me simply disappearing or ‘dying’ like I did with my ‘victims’ wouldn’t be enough. In the eight years I have been here, I had been strangled, electrocuted, my limbs torqued, or stretched, cut up, along with many other types of torture. The thing that caught the attention of the God’s Knights was that I always fully recovered physically and mentally, consequences stemming from the options I bought, Undying, Health I, and Sustenance.
But even that would have flown under their radar if it wasn’t for when they felt my Mana. I was starting on the training needed to expand my reserves on the first opportunity I got, which was enough for one of them to come looking for me from the disturbance my Mana caused when pumped into the air. They never confirm that it was me then, but from that batch of slaves, I was the only one that was weird, not to mention the only one left alive after six years.
While I never tried to train my mana reserves again, merely develop some simple and small spells for lockpicking and healing, having the suspicion of the God’s Knight delayed all kinds of training I could do. I couldn’t do Mana training, Martial Arts training, Haki training, most SKILLS training, and I couldn’t even complete the Bene Gesserit out of fear of one of the Knights getting curious on why I develop such methods or experience. Even now, I couldn’t fake my death with my clones because the body would eventually dissipate in three days regardless of my wishes when they weren’t within a certain amount of distance from me.
I was basically stuck until I could create a decoy, which would take about one more year.
I focused back on the girl as I unlocked her other shackle, at the same time one of my clones arrived with fine clothes and food for me and the sisters, “I am your ticket out of here.”, I stood up as my clone handed out the rags, “And we have a limited window to make it stick.”
*Spellblade*
The black haired girl followed my lead as I took her out of the Blood Arena.
Darkness had swallowed Mary Geoise, letting its true nature ‘shine’ through. It also served as a shroud that hid my activities, helped very much by the fact that I moved through the giant holes of perception that existed here.
Places like the corridor the girl and I were walking on. Only a faint light lit our way through the darkness.
The girl nervously looked around, sure that a Guard would pop out of the shadows.
I turned my head to tell her, “If you keep swiveling your head like that, it will unscrew itself from your neck.”.
The girl hoofed at my remark, “If you are so confident about this, then tell me, where are the Guards?”
I chuckled at that, “The Celestial Dragons have all types of Deviants in their ranks. Some have very particular tastes. Some of those tastes can only be sated here, with Gladiators. This is one of the passages that are used for discretion. Even better for us, when such World Nobles traverse any of these passages, they always have unique lanterns to light their way, making it very easy to evade them and create a semi-reliable schedule of their individual coming and going.”
The girl frowned at that, “If they are trying to be discreet, why do they have something so identifiable? And why would the Guards not be present here?”.
I quietly let out a Chuckle at that, “I already told why. It is the same reason why I am able to smuggle slaves out. Hubris is an insidious poison, make sure to never drink from it. And that also leads into the answer of the first question. The Celestial Bastards think they have privacy, and that if they want something not to be known, it will be so. They never realize that the only ones that are allowed to have secrets are the God Knight’s and the Gorōsei. And even among that upper echelon, they must have some sort of unifying figure that keeps them in check. They act too in tune for it to be otherwise. Probably the oldest one. Regardless, the Deviants don’t realize that those lanterns serve to mark their coming and goings, lulled into a false sense of anonymity by there being no Guards here.”.
The girl kept frowning, probably trying to think how to poke holes into my story, “So that is how you operate then? Using their own Hubris against them to pass through the cracks.”
I motioned for her to stop as I listened to the world. After a moment I heard no human movements, I answered, “Yes. That’s how all stealth and infiltration work. You look for the weak spots in awareness and security. Most of the time, errors that let you exploit such holes are born from human stupidity and/or hubris. For example, the Guards here are paradoxically the laxest because all the slaves that inhabit the Blood Arena are more tightly bound than others, lulling into thinking that a Gladiator won’t be able to escape because they can’t break their chains. Though, the Guards only get serious when they are stationed at Pangaea Castle and the Celestial Dragon Gates, which are the hardest places to sneak through. So there’s not that much of a difference in the Guards lack of vigilance in different posts that are not those locations.”, I open my eyes to look out of the opening, and saw no unusual lights or silhouettes in the shadows, “Now, we are going to one of the warehouses close to the Bondolas that operate in the Paradise side. That means we will sneak through the wall that surrounds the Domain. Going through the Gates is a pain in the ass even for me, much less a complete newbie like you. Time is also of the essence, since the ship that will take you to the Sabaody Archipelago departs at dawn, so we need to move fast. Any questions?”
The girl furrowed her brow, “Yes. Why couldn’t we wait for my Sisters to wake? And what type of payment are you expecting?” She tightened her grip on the cloak I gave, probably thinking of what I would ask of her.
I turn my head to look in the eyes, my own unwavering, “I need no payment, for this is the right thing to do. It’s also why I haven’t asked for your name, or given you mine. This is merely a kindness shared between strangers that has no expectations or conditions.”, I turned my head to look out once again, “As for your sisters, I will lead them out once they have eaten. But I cannot stress enough that there can be no delay in our actions, for we must take all the advantages we can take. You were already awake, so you could be on your way to the warehouse.”.
I didn’t turn around again, but I heard her breath grow haggard, “We tried to kill you…we would have killed you…and we can’t help you back…how’s this shared kindness?”.
“This and that are two different things. And who says you need to share kindness just with me? Simply remember to show compassion when you can, and how you can to others. There’s enough brutality, cruelty, and misery being dish out that we do not need to add to it.”.
I then motion her to be quieten, then we set out, the shadow swallowing us to cover our tracks.
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*Spellblade*
I looked at the two girls that ate the food I brought them. Even if the sooner they left, the better the chances we would have of not encountering complications, I did not hurry them. This was one the few precious times they would be able to eat until they reached the Sabaody Archipelago.
I did want to though, because even if they were desperately hungry, they couldn’t take their eyes off the corpse that lay on the wall, or the two clones chained next to it.
The corpse was intentionally disturbing to look at, with all of its skin flayed off, as well some of its muscle structure missing.
I sighed, “Paid no mind to it. While disappearing slaves is nothing new or rare in this Hell, the less suspicion I can make of where you ‘went’, the less I have to deal with when I take the next batch out of here.”.
Both sisters turned towards me as I talked, when the green haired one asked, “So, it is a lie that you eat others, when in truth you smuggle them out. I can’t decide if it is genius or insane.”.
“It’s necessary. The only recurring fighters of the Blood Arena are victors. A long time ago, I tried to not kill my adversary. He was much like you. Not Gladiator, but a Devil Fruit user thrown into the field to win against me. I handedly won against him, but refused to kill him. Eventually, the Guards came into the Field and subdued him and me, where I learned he ate the Slow Slow Fruit. Then, they started torturing him while forcing him to use his powers on himself, to make his torment last even longer than it should. They made his death take the whole afternoon, when he should have died in an hour.” I intoned emotionlessly, as it did not affect me.
But it did. His death was one of the few that haunted me, because while I was not responsible for it, I was to blame for what had happened. It was from that event that I learned that I had to make sure my opponents died right then and there, or make Jalmack and the other Celestial Bastards think that they would ‘die’ at my hands in our cells.
The sisters had stopped eating as I told my story, shivering from their own nightmarish memories.
I shook my head in an attempt to rid myself of the memory and focus on them, “Gather all the strength you can, your journey will be perilous, so don’t waste time in thinking on unnecessary things.”, I chided them.
As they started eating again, they looked more determined to leave this Hellhole.
Their sister had a similar look when I told the same explanation, and wondered if they would also take the gift I was going to offer them, “If you truly mean to avoid such a fate, I have something for you.”.
Both sisters turned to me when I stated that, wondering what I was offering. As they did, one of my clones entered the cell with two bracelets. Sea Stone bracelets. The snake girls slightly recoiled at the sight while I explained, “As Devil Fruit users, you have a weakness to anything that has a connection to the Sea. But there are different effects they inflict. For example, being submerged in water doesn’t stop you from using your powers, but does completely immobilize you. Sea Stone doesn’t stop you from moving, but does cancel your powers while snapping stamina, meaning to the untrained, there’s no difference. There lies the detail. The Untrained. If you train while wearing this, you’ll have much greater stamina and physical prowess when you take them off. Along with the bonus that if Sea Stone is ever used on you, you will not go down from a touch.”
The sisters moved closer to my clone to grab the bracelets, though the green haired sister asked, “Just one bracelet of Sea Stone is enough for that type of training?”.
“Well, I don’t get that many Devil Fruit users to test if being in contact with Sea Stone had a multiplied or exponential effect, but I do know that the more Sea Stone is in contact with a Devil Fruit user, the more effective it is in draining stamina. The Guards apply this concept with Jitte they use, having ones that have different amounts of Sea Stone on their tips, with a rare few having about one third of Sea Stone in their tips for particularly stubborn Devil Fruit Gladiators.”, I explained further.
The sisters contemplated what I said, then grabbed the bracelets, stowing them into the pockets of the cloaks I gave them.
I nodded at that, “Good, finish eating. The sooner you are in the warehouse, the better.”.
*Spellblade*
The warehouse was an old and stately building that hid its decrepit innards. Mold and rot ever present in it, making it one of the less used buildings.
The girl and her sisters looked at me from where they sat, a bit away from the other seven slaves.
I was sitting down on the floor, my eyes closed as I steadied my breathing, concentrating on what I was about to do. I also dismissed all unnecessary clones, to better focus my available energies.
“Before you go, there’s one more thing to do.”, I open my eyes to look at all them, “The captains I have co-opted all are greedy fellows, so even if they are part of the fleet that feeds Mary Geoise, they are always looking for other ways to make money. This only makes them predictable, not friends or allies. I cannot stress this enough, do not trust them. After they drop you off in the Marine Sector of the Sabaody Archipelago, make sure they and their crews aren’t following you.” I stress specific words, because they were important, “This also means that they are cowards at heart, and don’t, as well as won’t, go against the World Government.”
At this, everyone grew tense, getting what I was implying, “Yes, that means that they will check for the Brand.”.
All the slaves started shivering at that, probably thinking they would be one step from being found all the time. I would obliterate that fear, “Meaning that I need to remove that mark from you.”
All of them goggled at that, their expressions flummoxed, “Everyone, make a line. Show me your back to get rid of this Chain from your heart.”
No one immediately stepped forward, skeptical that I would be able to remove such a mark.
I looked at the hesitating slaves, “Is Absolute Freedom something worth achieving?”, I asked them. They looked confused when they heard my question. After all, all of them were taking an incredible risk for their freedom, “Let me tell you, Absolute Freedom is not something worth attaining. We all have things that bind us to things beyond ourselves. Like lines in the sand that you will not cross that prevent us from doing things, or precious things that propel us to act in ways we would have never considered possible. These are the Ties of Life, proof that you are truly alive, the boundaries of a person. But what most don't realize is that they can choose these Chains, one way or another. It is your choice. Not someone else. So, don’t let someone else's actions limit you from living.". I finished firmly, trying to encourage these broken people to leave behind the burden hoisted unto them.
Eventually, the black haired girl stepped forward. She was tense, and biting her lip quite strongly, hoping but not believing I could do it. She ended up sitting in front of me without her cloak and shirt, grabbing her hair to show me her back. There, a burn scar laid. A circle with three triangles on its top, and one on the bottom.
The Hoof of the Flying Dragon.
On that spot, I put my glowing hand on. Slowly, under my touch, it disappeared.
As it did, I felt as the girl started sobbing, since she hushed her crying. Her sisters moved quickly to comfort her, though their eyes never left my hand.
Other slaves went before they did, all of them had tears streaming down their eyes. Eventually, there were only four left. The Sisters, and a couple, a green haired man and an even more covered up blonde that lean on him.
While the sisters simply waited for their sister to calm down, I left the man and his woman last because the woman was on death’s door. Healing her would be very difficult for me, and it wouldn’t be very comprehensive. Both because my Mana reserves were pathetic, and because the woman was abused too much. From my talk with the man, it appeared that the Bastard that bought them did it to destroy a gentle soul, and he nearly succeeded. It was providence that I was able to save both of them. Still, the woman would be scared physically and mentally all her life.
Eventually, the three others acquiesced to my touch, leaving only the blonde.
When it was her turn, she made it a point to look at me and smile, regardless of how weak or scared she was. As I healed her, I understood what the man meant when he said the Bastard that ‘owned’ them was trying to kill something beautiful. What they hated the most was people that never yielded to the cruelty they mistaken as superiority.
When I lifted my hand from the woman, the weeping man hugged her, determined to never let her go again. As I haggardly watched them, I said, “I wasn’t able to cure or heal most of her wounds or ailments, but she now has enough strength to survive the journey. You’ll need to find a doctor in Sabaody to do a complete check of her health to help and draft a plan for her recovery.”, I took a deep breath as I stood up, “For that you and everyone else will need money.”, I said as I moved to a couple of barrels.
As I struggled to open the barrel, the group looked at me, wondering what else I would pull out of my ass. Without the lid, they saw that inside each barrel were five packs, filled with clothes, provisions, and money. I handed out the packs so that they could be passed around. When everyone had one, I spoke out, “This should help on your first steps forward.”, I met the eyes of each one of them as I continued, “It is not much, but it will be enough for you to stay afloat a few weeks in Sabaody.", then I moved to a small crate on the side, “Medicine and Treatments are something everyone needs, so paradoxically, it is one the most expensive things out there.”, from the crate, I pulled out two briefcases, one small and the other medium sized. I then handed out the small one to the green haired man, who started crying again, “In here, there should be enough for the first year of her recovery. From there, you are on your own.”.
The black haired girl, who had recovered her complexion, asked from her corner, “How did you get all of this.”.
“It’s the same answer I already gave you. Hubris. Everyone that lives here has drunk deep and well from that poison. So long as I steal from places that they pay no real attention to, or expect slaves to reach, they don’t notice things that are gone. Such is the curse of having overwhelming overabundance while thinking no one will or can take it away from you. Realistically, I can’t take much, or too often, but what I do manage to requisition is more enough for my operations.”, I panned my gaze over the crowd present, and saw how physically and emotionally exhausted they were, “We still need to wait for a while, so rest and recover what strength you can.”.
I sat back down on the floor and closed my eyes, failing silent and unresponsive to let everyone focus on re-centering and recuperating themselves.
After a few hours, I opened my eyes, "It is time."
Dawn had yet not arrived, but the Bondolas never stopped working. We took one that was going down, I was acting as a worker of the Cargo hold, while everyone else hid within empty barrels and crates. Once down in the Red Port, I led everyone to the docks, giving out one final instruction as well, "If you can, don't talk with the crew. Don't consciously avoid them all the time, but simply don't engage with them. The less they have to be suspicious about, the easier it will be for everyone."
I found the captain directing his men on the loading of empty barrels and crates into his ship, and I saluted him as if I was meeting an old friend, "Good Morning you ass, long night?".
He turned to look and offered me his foreman, which I shook with the hand that wasn’t holding the medium sized briefcase, “You know we never rest while we dock here on the Red Port, you brat.”, he then looked at the group, “This is your new batch? You know the procedure.”.
I sigh, “You should know by now that I am not smuggling property of the World Nobles, but if it sets your heart at ease.”, after all, I never have considered people property, “They will show you their backs.”
I then motion for the group to follow me, the captain at my side, into one of the buildings. The insides were properly lit, “Alright, make a file line. We need to show this jerk you aren’t slaves.”, and one by one, they let me show the Captain they did wear the Symbol.
The Captain responded to that as everyone organized themselves, “You can’t blame us for checking, Brat. You even bring Fishmen for us to ferry. I never have known a World Noble with a Soul or a Heart, so better cover my hide.”
The first seven were checked quickly and without any hiccups, though the green haired man showed his unhappiness on his face when it was the blonde’s turn, since the scars on her mark earned a hum from the Captain. Only the trio of sisters were left, none enthused to show their back to the man. After a few minutes of whispering between the three, they acquiesce to the procedure.
The green and orange haired girls didn’t cause anything besides a remark on their beauty, but when the black haired girl removed her cloak, she got a very ‘emotional’ reaction from the Captain. Something that I was expecting, because whenever I directly looked at her, I felt a momentary and small pulse in three places before I crushed them with my self-control.
The Captain showed no such discipline, but before he could do more than have heart for eyes, I put a knife to his throat, killing whatever attraction he had for the girl. My message very much implied.
The girl quickly showed her back to the moron, and I swear I saw his three hearts shot out at the sight. I could only sigh at that, “This is not going to be a problem, right?”
“Well, maybe if sh…ow ow ow…never mind, I saw nothing stra…wait ow wait…what you mean something happen, I remember nothing.”
“Keep it that way. If I hear something from them, or nothing, I know some dock officials and higher that would be very interested in having a conversation with you after I explain a few things to them. Understood?”
And it wasn’t an idle threat. If I got a sniff of something going wrong, I already had established the seven Captains as my fall guys. Mainly because they were really greedy assholes, costing me 100 Million Berries per trip, making me spend nearly 800 Million Berries each week now. Since I started this three years ago, each Captain had almost made 7 Billion berries, and they were posed to make more as it had been four months ago that I got into the rhyme of smuggling 10 people each night, which meant more money. I wasn’t sure if this was sustainable in the long run, because Celestial Dragons weren’t that stupid, just ignorant, entitled, and lazy. Some of their staff were already suspicious of the disappearing stuff.
“Alright, alright, not a hair out of place for our dear customers.”, the Captain grumbled.
I looked at the group, the sisters and couple huddled into their own groups while the other five stood slightly apart, “Fair winds and following seas.”I nodded to them, and left there.
I quickly disappeared into the shadows of the docks. And from my veiled spot, I saw the group board the ship. I also saw the black haired girl look around, probably trying to find me. Ultimately, she and her sisters went down into the ship's hold. A few hours later the Ship left the dock.
As I watched it disappear on the Horizon, I closed my eyes and then opened them again to see the walls and bars of my cell in the Blood Arena. I had much to do after all, if I wanted to keep defying the Celestial Bastards.