Chapter 85: Deicide Begins!
Blue lightning flashed through the dark forest, illuminating Enel's cold face. The Divine Soldier, charred black, collapsed to the ground, face filled with incomprehension and unwillingness.
Enel didn't spare the Divine Soldier another glance. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sounds of the entire island, then, in a moment, transformed back into lightning, darting through the shadowy forest...
Early the next morning, at the altar in God's Land, Upper Yard...
Sunlight filtered through the dense green leaves, dappling the ground with patches of light amidst the tree shadows. A gentle breeze blew, carrying the fragrance of earth.
Reiner woke up in the crow's nest, recalling the undead that had kept watch through the night. Around the base, more figures lay scattered haphazardly – those who had attempted a night raid.
He lit a cigarette, sitting on the crow's nest railing, one hand propping up his face, enjoying the warm morning sun on his skin.
Creak~
"Morning, Reiner."
"Nami, ah. Good morning."
Nami emerged from the first-floor cabin, which was used for storage; the entrance to the girls' dormitory was further down inside.
Nami walked up the nearby stairs to the entrance of the second-floor living area and smiled.
"Nice weather today, huh? Would you like some tea?"
"Mm, brew me a cup of dried tangerine peel tea, thanks," Reiner replied, then turned back to bask in the sun.
Despite being in a battlefield, the group was as leisurely as if on vacation. With strength, one can be fearless anywhere. Without strength, one is timid even hiding at home.
Soon, the others gradually emerged. Sanji began making breakfast. Luffy, upon waking, immediately started climbing around nearby, searching for various insects to catch.
After breakfast, Gan Fall arrived at the Going Merry, riding Pierre. The group also prepared to leave this spot.
"Then I, Zoro, and Sanji will go to the entrance of the Ordeals to challenge the Priests," Usopp declared, armed to the teeth from armor to cannons. His legs trembled slightly as he added to Reiner, "Ahem, Reiner, could you lend me Blue Ogre and Red Ogre again? Not that I'm scared... just in case, you know... ahem, you understand."
"You're overthinking it. And I have some good news for you, Usopp."
Reiner took a sip of his tangerine peel tea and said, "When the Ordeal starts, it's every man for himself. Zoro and Sanji won't be able to help you."
"Nani!" Usopp's face instantly turned ashen. "Oh no! I've contracted a strange disease! As long as I..."
"Alright, stop it. You're embarrassing me," Zoro and Sanji directly grabbed Usopp's arms and lifted him away.
"All that confident boasting last night... don't chicken out now, Usopp!"
"Waaah~~"
Luffy rode off on a dinosaur summoned by Reiner to hunt for rhinoceros beetles. Reiner figured he'd run into enemies eventually just by wandering around; maybe he'd even come back having defeated Enel.
"Well then, I'll be off too," Robin slung a shoulder bag on and jumped off the ship. "I'm quite interested in the ruins here. Thought I'd go look around."
"Then we'll just stay and guard the ship!" Chopper leaped onto Reiner's shoulder, waving. "Goodbye! Smooth sailing, everyone!"
"I wanted to go out too," Reiner thought, somewhat exasperated.
Nami, from behind, clung tightly to his arm, saying discontentedly, "No! If you go too, we... ahem... what about the Going Merry!?"
"Ai, alright then." Reiner scratched his head, conceding. This primeval forest isn't that much fun anyway, and Enel will show up sooner or later.
Besides...
Reiner looked back at the Going Merry. The chicken wings on its sides had been removed due to breakage, including the snakeskin chicken head.
From the East Blue all the way here, the Merry was now covered in 'scars' from head to stern – rust-spotted iron nails, broken wooden planks everywhere.
Every time they docked, Reiner specifically left undead to guard the ship. Although they all cherished the Merry greatly, wear and tear during voyages was unavoidable. Fortunately, though the keel and overall structure had some damage, they were still intact.
"Ai~~" Reiner sighed, watching the others leave one by one until only he, Nami, and Chopper remained on the ship.
"Reiner, what do we do next?" Chopper looked up at him with his round eyes.
"Don't move. Don't do anything."
"Eh? Just stand here like this?"
"Mm. Just stand here like this."
Reiner stated coolly. Nami's arm was tightly linked with his, nestled between two soft mounds. He felt the warmth from her arm and said, "No need to do anything. Just staying like this is good."
Nami looked puzzled for a moment, then suddenly realized something, a flush of anger rising on her face.
Bang!
"Bastard!" A dark cloud formed over Nami's head as she raised a smoking fist.
"Are you okay, Reiner?" Chopper poked at Reiner, who was lying face down on the deck, smoke curling from the top of his head.
"Still... still alive..."
Reiner pushed himself up, rubbed his head, and leaned back against the deck railing, staring boredly at the sky.
Nami also came over, looking puzzled. "The number of attackers seems much lower today, doesn't it? Compared to yesterday when one or two would pop up every so often, no one has come at all today."
"Their numbers have probably thinned. After fighting for a day, casualties are inevitable."
"True... I wonder if the others will be in danger," Nami couldn't help but worry, looking somewhat dejected. "If only Chopper and I were stronger... then we wouldn't have to hold you back every time, and you could go help Luffy and the others."
"You've got that very wrong. Chopper is much stronger than you," Reiner teased.
"Bastard! Complimenting me won't make me happy, you jerk~~" Chopper blushed, his expression one of pleased tsundere-ness.
"Besides," Reiner chuckled softly, ruffling her orange hair, "strength isn't the only thing that makes someone a nakama. Everyone has things they're good at. As long as everyone does their part, that's enough."
"Without you, we would have sunk, ship and all, long ago, let alone ridden the Knock Up Stream to Sky Island. You've already done a lot, Nami."
"Just as everyone trusts you, you need to trust everyone too. It doesn't matter if you're not strong in a fight. I'll protect you all."
"Mm... Thank you, Reiner," Nami smiled again. "After we defeat that God guy, we'll all return to the Grand Line together, and the Merry and I will lead everyone onward!"
Just as Nami finished speaking, Frieren suddenly rushed forward, standing protectively before them.
"Defeat me? Sounds interesting."
A mocking voice drifted from the sky, approaching from afar, laced with derision and amusement.
"Who's there!?" Nami cried out in alarm, just as she looked up.
Crackle! CRACKLE!
Several arcs of lightning flashed from the ship's railing opposite them. The next moment, several bolts of blue lightning descended from the sky, converging into one spot.
After the blinding light subsided, a shirtless man sat with crossed legs on the Going Merry's railing.
His loose, billowy pants, extremely long earlobes, and the four large drums attached to his back instantly told Reiner the identity of the newcomer.
Honestly, those four drums painted with the three-tomoe symbol are too cool; it's hard not to recognize them. Thinking this, Reiner couldn't help but glance at Frieren.
"Who are you!?" Nami frowned deeply, her gaze fixed intently on Enel.
"Who am I?" Enel looked down his nose at them coldly. "Naturally..."
"God!"
His gaze shifted to Reiner, assessing him with interest, then spoke coolly, "The one who got a hundred points. You defeated Shura, didn't you?"
"Not me. Her," Reiner replied innocently, pointing towards Frieren.
Enel looked doubtfully at Frieren, who was facing off against him. After a moment, he shifted his gaze back to Reiner and laughed.
"Ye-hahahaha! You're quite interesting. If I hadn't heard your voice during the fight with Shura yesterday, I might have actually been fooled by you."
As he spoke, Enel's eyes gradually turned cold. "So then... do you know the price for deceiving God?"
So it's true; against enemies with sufficiently trained Observation Haki, the connection between me and my undead is hard to hide.
Reiner couldn't help but think back to the battle in Alabasta, where Crocodile eventually charged straight for him in the end.
Ah well, it doesn't really matter. What he truly wanted to conceal was never his ability to summon undead, but the method of their creation – that terrifying snowballing potential was the real secret.
Summoning undead was just an extra layer of insurance on top of that.
"God!? He's Enel!?"
Upon hearing his identity, Nami instantly looked terrified, ducking behind Reiner and clutching his arm tightly. "Wait! He said all that stuff! It has nothing to do with me!"
"It doesn't matter," Enel looked coldly at Reiner.
"In light of your... outstanding qualities, I'll give you one chance. Beg for mercy and apologize to this God, and I won't kill you. I'll even grant you the opportunity to follow this God."
"Just apologize and you won't kill me?" Reiner's expression was strange. He stated decisively, "I'm sorry! I was wrong! Totally wrong!"
"Ye-hahahaha! You certainly know your place. Despite having decent strength, you're quite an interesting man," Enel threw his head back and laughed, seemingly pleased with the man's performance.
However, the next moment, his heart suddenly leaped in alarm!
A sudden sense of crisis rose up from nowhere, a chill uncontrollably shooting up his spine to the top of his head!
BANG—!
A gunshot exploded! A Seastone bullet shot from the muzzle, heading straight for Enel!
CLANG—!
Sparks flew in mid-air! At the critical moment, Enel, sensing the threat, subconsciously raised his golden staff.
When he saw it was a gun, he actually relaxed slightly, because bullets were useless against him.
But that initial subconscious action still allowed the Seastone bullet to be blocked. Enel's face couldn't help but flush with anger. "Mere Blue Sea scum dare to offend God!"
Lightning instantly materialized in Enel's hand, berserk blue arcs slithering like fine snakes. However, before he could make a move, a black shadow instantly attacked from his side.
Sand Python Burst!
A sand python as thick as a water bucket opened its maw, revealing ferocious fangs as it lunged towards Enel. Haki, like black ink, flowed over the snake's head as it smashed down fiercely!
BOOM!!!
Enel was slammed hard against a giant tree. The tree trunk, unable to withstand the heavy blow, began to crack, and after the fissures spread around it, started to topple to one side.
"Puwah—!" Enel looked pained, opening his mouth and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
"Where was I wrong!? Huh?" Reiner grinned mockingly. "And you call yourself God!? It's precisely Gods I'm here to beat down!!"
(End of this chapter)
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