November 20, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion used Geppo and approached the pirates assaulting Julia at high speed.
The head of the man, who was riding her with an obscene smile, fell to the ground, detached from his body.
The pirates around him looked at him in surprise, preparing to quickly eliminate him and continue their entertainment. However, a great flame violently descended from the sky
Orion grabbed Julia and, using Geppo, managed to escape the gigantic fireball's attack area, which consumed the miserable pirates who were unable to escape.
"AAAgghh!" The pirates' screams of pain echoed.
Orion descended beside Doll, with Julia in his arms. The girl was in shock and, although conscious, unresponsive.
"Damn child! How dare you ruin my happy moment?!" Blake screamed, engulfed in flames and looking completely furious.
"Can you walk?" Orion asked Doll, still staring at the pirate who gave him a sense of danger.
Doll nodded quickly as she approached Julia to hug her. The sight of the two naked and battered girls was heartbreaking.
"Run away from here with Julia. I'll take care of stopping these pirates," Orion said firmly.
Doll saw her friend's seriousness and didn't doubt his word. She picked Julia up and ran in the direction of the mansion. It was now too dangerous to go find his friend's father, so she decided to return to the underground shelter, where they could at least barricade themselves for a while.
Vince, who had been standing to the side watching his captain with envy, saw that Doll was trying to flee and moved to chase her.
However, Orion wouldn't allow it.
He took a rock from his pocket and threw it at full speed at Vince, who smirked upon seeing it, saying
"What is this, kid? Do you think this is one of your play fights with your friends? Hahaha—"
His laughter stopped abruptly, and his eyes widened as he witnessed the strange scene before him.
The small rock had expanded into half a gigantic ship, which was now falling on him like a mountain.
The ship, of course, was the same one Ina had sliced in two with her ability. He had shapeshifted it into a small rock using "Art Coating", and once he threw it at Vince, he undid the transformation, causing it to return to its original massive form.
The ship slammed into the pirate, who spat out a mouthful of blood and ended up buried under tons of wood like an insect crushed by a rock. Even if he didn't die from this attack, his body would be completely mangled.
"Scarlet Blaze" Blake stared at the strange sequence in astonishment, and felt that the weird boy in front of him was dangerous.
Immediately, he transformed his entire body into flames and began launching countless fireballs, like a relentless rain.
Orion knew he couldn't take the attack directly, because his body wouldn't be able to withstand it. Even though he had the buffs from his two passive skills, "Strong Body" and "Steel Skin," an attack consisting of a rain of fire wasn't something he could withstand.
Furthermore, his body hadn't fully recovered from the battle he'd had with the pirates a few days prior, so it was best to avoid taking damage whenever possible.
With this in mind, he used Geppo to move away from the impact zone, but Blake followed him tirelessly, and soon he was unable to dodge his attacks.
Two fireballs hit him squarely, and he felt his skin being slowly burned. He could only imagine the pain he would have felt if he hadn't had his passive abilities to assist him.
"Hahaha! I'm going to burn you to a crisp, you damn brat!" Blake shouted, emboldened, seeing that his attacks were working.
Orion took a small rock from his pocket and threw it with great power at Blake, who immediately recalled the scene where Vince had been crushed by the large ship, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.
Seeing the small rock approaching, he laughed and said
"You want to use the same trick on me? Don't you know you can't crush me? I'm fire!!!"
"I know that," Orion's voice sounded behind Blake.
In truth, the rock had only been a distraction. He didn't have the possibility of repeating that attack, because he could only use his "Art Coating" ability on one object at a time; he couldn't afford to prepare an arsenal of giant projectiles in advance.
However, he didn't need to. All he needed was to get close to Blake. If he could get close enough to him, he would have a chance to subdue him.
Blake was startled to hear the strange boy's voice behind him, and he immediately covered his entire body in flames, ready to incinerate Orion with a powerful attack.
Meanwhile, Orion extended his hand, and before Blake's surprised gaze, grabbed him by the neck.
Blake's neck stopped being a flame and returned to normal upon contact with Orion's hand.
Then, he punched him with all his might, and his fist made contact with his face, producing a thunderous sound that echoed throughout the surroundings.
It was the same situation that had occurred when Orion first arrived on the battlefield, only this time he held on tightly, unwilling to let Blake escape his grasp
Orion didn't stop, and before Blake could regain his composure, he punched him again and again.
The image of the little boy, holding the pirate by the neck with one hand and repeatedly punching him with the other, was brutal, but also bizarre.
Blake finally understood why he had been beaten in the first place during Orion's first appearance.
"Kai-Kairoseki," he said with effort, as the punches continued to rain down on him.
That's right, Orion still couldn't use Haki, so it would have been impossible for him to face a Logia user like Blake without an ace up his sleeve.
And that ace up his sleeve was something he'd obtained from the system store for 10,000 SP: Kairoseki Gauntlets!
When Orion arrived on the island, the first thing he did was leave Ina hidden in a remote location, and then he entered the city as quickly as he could.
The moment he took a step inside Beru City, a system notification sounded in his mind.
*Ding*
*You have entered a battlefield. It is possible to start a "combat dungeon" (difficulty level: very high)*
*A Named Character is involved in the battle as a central element; the "combat dungeon" will be transformed into a quest*
*New quest available. Mission 10 - Broken Doll*
Mission 10 - Broken Doll
Description: The city of Beru has been besieged and invaded by enemies. The young girl will lose everything before her eyes and be destroyed by the world.
Objective (1): Prevent Doll from suffering the following tragedies: the death of her friend Julia, the death of her parents, and the rape at the hands of "Scarlet Blaze" Blake.
Objective (2): Defeat Blake's pirates and free South Blue from their reign of terror.
Rewards (1): Doll's Favorability Boost, Random Special Ability, SP.
Rewards (2): Devil Fruit, Random Combat Ability, SP.
Rewards (3): ??
(This is a compound mission. Completing one of the objectives will guarantee the corresponding reward, regardless of the success of the other objective. If you complete both objectives, you will receive a third special reward as a bonus.)
Once Orion read the system information, he used the "Bounty Hunter" function on the screen, which allowed him to search for criminals with bounties in the area. If this was a pirate attack, the probability of encountering someone with a bounty was very high.
Orion's face changed when he saw the search results.
On this island, there were 11 people with bounties, and all of them were quite high.
Clearly, the pirates attacking the city were no ordinary pirates.
Orion focused his attention on the information about the three highest bounties: "Double Face" Vince, with a bounty of 55 million Berry, "Six Fingers" Boris with a bounty of 57 million, and the captain of this pirate gang, "Scarlet Blaze" Blake, with a bounty of 88 million!
Orion looked at the list of crimes committed by these pirates, as well as the information known to the authorities about them.
This is how he learned that Blake possessed the powers of a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Mera Mera no Mi.
Orion had knowledge of Devil Fruits, thanks to the teachings of his master Roger, and knew he couldn't defeat Blake if he wasn't able to use Haki. He simply wouldn't be able to touch him, much less harm him.
For this reason, he used an item he had been saving for some time: the Wish Coupon.
This coupon allowed him to refresh the items on sale in the shop, adding one item he desired if it was available.
After using the coupon, a pair of Kairoseki Gauntlets appeared in the shop, and he spent almost all his SP to purchase them. He only had 1,220 SP left after the purchase, but he was content. With this new weapon in his arsenal, he would be able to take on Blake in a direct confrontation!
Now, his investment had paid off, and Blake was being single-handedly beaten by him.
The only downside was that his close-quarters combat level wasn't that high, and he didn't know any powerful techniques. He could only attack violently, trying to give his opponent no chance to recover.
Just as Orion was enthusiastically beating Blake, thinking victory was possible, he felt someone sneak up on him, trying to attack him by surprise.
Orion had no choice but to let go of Blake, and the blade of a sword slashed through the air, right where his arm had been a moment before.
He looked at the man who had suddenly appeared, and his expression turned solemn.
It was Vince, who was completely covered in blood and in a terrible state, but still had enough energy to move and launch a dangerous attack like the one he had just had.
However, what worried him most was the fact that he had survived being crushed by the ship. In his mind, there was a possible reason for this, though he didn't want to think that was the answer, because if so, things would get much more complicated.
What he was thinking was that Vince was capable of using Armament Haki! Even if it was in a rudimentary way.
"Damn kid, you're quite slippery! But it's better this way, I'm going to have fun cutting you to pieces!" Vince said as he lunged forward again to attack Orion.
Orion had no choice but to draw his cutlass and repel the attack from the pirate, who was far superior in level to any pirate he had faced so far.
"Thirty-six styles, Roaring Dragon Sword!"
Orion used one of his attacks, but Vince managed to stop it with a simple swing of his sword. Then the pirate unexpectedly threw a dagger, aiming directly for one of Orion's eyes. Orion raised his hand just in time, stopping the dagger with his Kairoseki gauntlet.
One more second and he would have been blinded.
Orion's back broke out in sweat, and his muscles tensed. He couldn't lose focus if he wanted to stay alive.
"Those gloves are interesting, once I'm done with you, I'll keep them!" Vince said with a smile.
Orion used Geppo and launched himself into the air, then swooped down using another of his techniques.
"Thirty-six styles, Moonfall Sword!"
Vince never stopped smiling, and his sword made contact with Orion's.
*Clang*
Orion's sword was cut in two by the pirate's attack, which continued its path and slashed at his shoulder, piercing the defenses of his "Steel Skin."
A jet of blood gushed from his wound, and Orion quickly retreated using Geppo.
He pressed his wound to staunch the flow of blood and looked at his cutlass, which had been sliced in two. Now he could finally be sure, Vince was capable of using Armament Haki.
Suddenly, a fireball struck him in the back, and he felt the sting of his skin burning.
"Damn kid! I'm going to fuck you up!" Blake shouted. He had gotten back to his feet and could freely use his powers again, now that he wasn't being suppressed by kairoseki.
Things weren't looking good for Orion. In front of him were two powerful enemies, which he wasn't capable of facing with his current power, but he still wouldn't back down.
Not because he was a suicidal moron who couldn't weigh the pros and cons, but simply because if he didn't confront these pirates, Doll would be in danger.
It didn't matter the mission, or the rewards of the system, he simply didn't want Doll to suffer at the hands of these damn pirates.
He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain coursing through his body, and unsheathed his cutlass sword, "Ace," which he had camouflaged again.
Blake transformed into a large fire tornado, which filled much of the sky above the battlefield. In this way, Orion's Geppo ability would lose its aerial advantage, while Vince threw two daggers trying to blind him.
"Kamusari!"
The daggers were successfully repelled by Orion, but Vince appeared in front of him, brandishing his sword. Orion was able to repel the attack once more, thanks to the high quality of his supreme-grade cutlass, but he was on the brink; one misstep could mean the end.
Blake descended from the sky, falling like a waterfall of fire upon Orion, who immediately used Geppo, and moved as far away as he could from the point of impact.
The fire reached him anyway, burning much of his body.
"Hey Captain! Be careful, I'm here too!" said Vince, who had almost been burned by Blake's attack.
"Stop complaining and eliminate that damn kid," Blake said irritably.
Orion stood up with difficulty, with an annoying ringing in his ears that made it hard to hear the things around him, and his eyes were covered with blood oozing from a cut on his forehead.
His current state was truly pitiful, and he might not be able to hold out much longer, yet he remained steadfast. His spirit was calm, and he was focused on the battle with all his might.
Vince and Blake attacked again.
Seeing the boy in such a miserable state, they sensed the end of the battle had arrived, and launched their attacks simultaneously, confident of victory.
Blake launched six spears of fire, traveling at incredible speeds, and Vince launched two more daggers as he prepared to finish Orion off with a slash of his sword.
However, the scene the pirates had hoped for didn't happen. Orion wasn't pierced by the multiple attacks. Instead, he dodged them completely!
At that moment, Orion felt very strange.
Logically, his senses should be failing due to his injuries, and he shouldn't be able to perceive the pirates' attacks. However, this wasn't the case. He was experiencing a kind of "enlightened state." He could clearly perceive everything happening around him, and he even thought he was able to predict the moves his enemies would make next!
He shifted his body slightly, relying on this strange perception, and none of the enemy's attacks connected. Then, before the astonished gaze of the two pirates, he dodged Vince's sword and, with a fluid movement, attacked the weak point of his defense.
It wasn't a flashy attack, nor even a very powerful one, but the pirate fell to the ground, bleeding to death.
Blake stopped, afraid to approach the cursed boy, who was in a strange state. His eyes were unfocused, but he was able to dodge his attacks; it didn't make any sense!
A notification sounded in Orion's mind, but he couldn't see it. The energy he had available had reached its limit. His battered body couldn't hold on any longer, and he collapsed, fainting in front of the incredulous Blake, who immediately reacted and began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Hahahahaha! Damn kid, you've finally fallen!"
Blake transformed into fire, ready to eliminate Orion once and for all, but at that moment, a figure fell from the sky, blocking his path.
Blake saw the Nanashaku Jitte with its tip made of Kairoseki, and couldn't help but curse.
"Fuck! Why does everyone have Kairoseki weapons now?!"
Captain Vargas, who had fallen from the sky, looked at the boy covered in wounds, unconscious on the ground, and said,
"Phew, looks like I got here just in time!"
He then looked at Blake and said with an aggressive glare,
"Are you ready to be punished for your crimes, "Scarlet Blaze" Blake?"