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Behind them, the black war-armor form of B.I.B. drifted silently, passing over the fresh footprints they left in the snow…
Creak. Creak.
Through the biting wind, Liam and Robin walked on, snow-laden trees rising on either side. They admired the wintry scenery as they made their way toward the nearest town of this snowbound country.
"That's a Hiking Bear," Robin murmured, spotting a white bear trudging along with a wooden staff. With her vast knowledge, she recognized it instantly. "They're harmless, but you're expected to bow politely when you cross paths."
She inclined herself slightly. The bear returned the bow with solemn courtesy before continuing on its way.
Liam didn't move. "And if I don't?"
Nothing happened. The bear simply walked off.
"…It didn't attack me?" Liam tilted his head.
Robin pinched his cheek with a smile. "You really are like a child. Don't tell me you were planning to eat it?"
"If it had attacked me," he smirked, "then maybe."
Their laughter carried on the cold wind as they descended the mountain path, the snowy forest thinning ahead.
But B.I.B.'s narrow eyes glowed again, watching from behind. Far in the distance, a huge figure was running toward them through the blizzard.
Robin frowned. Strange. Who would be out here, alone, in such weather?
The figure drew closer. He wasn't just walking, he was fleeing.
Liam didn't break stride, but his eyes narrowed, tracking the man's approach.
Closer still. Even through the storm, his features became clear.
Robin's eyes widened. A Zoan Devil Fruit user?
His entire body was covered in thick animal fur, especially a mane around his neck. His face was missing eyebrows, his nose was long and animalistic, too animalistic.
And his nose was blue.
"Huff… huff…" The towering beast-man barreled forward, only to stop short when he spotted Liam and Robin walking calmly through the storm. His eyes went wide, not with human surprise, but with animal panic. He looked at them with raw fear. Blood trickled from his forehead. Beneath the matted fur, Robin could see more wounds.
'Being chased?' Robin wondered.
The blue-nosed giant panted raggedly, fists clenched tight, eyes locked on the two strangers in his path. Trembling with wariness, he backed into the snow as though expecting them to strike.
Creak.
Liam stopped in his tracks. His breath misted in the frozen air.
"Oi," he said evenly."Reindeer."
"...A deer?" A question mark practically popped above Robin's head.
The blue-nosed creature bristled, its shaggy mane standing on end as it let out a guttural, animalistic growl,
"wuuuuhhh…"
Liam beckoned with a casual wave. "Come here."
"RAAAGHHHHH!!!"
Blood dripping down its head, the blue-nosed beast roared as though provoked, raising its fist and lunging straight for Liam.
Bang!
The massive fist slammed squarely into Liam's face.
The creature froze, eyes widening. He hadn't dodged?!
Robin tilted her head curiously.
From beneath that shaggy fist, bigger than a cooking pot, Liam's voice rang out, calm and almost teasing: "Put some strength into it. What, didn't eat breakfast, younger brother?"
"...?!"
The beast's pupils shrank in disbelief. His punch had landed flush, yet the human's face was as unyielding as stone. Not even a tremor.
Liam slowly raised a hand, fingers prying between the beast's clenched knuckles. With an effortless twist, he bent one of the creature's thick fingers back.
"ÁO ÁO ÁO!!" The beast howled in pain.
"If you want to go around throwing punches, at least train that strength of yours. Otherwise, you'll just embarrass yourself."
Still gripping the monster's fist, Liam casually lifted the massive arm with one hand, flipping the giant back and forth as though it weighed nothing. The creature's cries grew high-pitched and panicked, "wū wa, wū wa!"
THUD!
The beast crashed into the snow, face-first.
"Stand up."
That unshakable human voice ordered him again. "What are you howling for? Think that's going to scare me?"
The blue-nosed creature raised its head from the snow pit, just enough to see the human's boots standing before him.
"That expression… it's almost pitiful," the woman beside him remarked softly.
Pitiful…? She means me?
The creature's chest tightened. Hot tears spilled down his cheeks, pattering onto the snow, leaving tiny melted holes, pa da, pa da.
"Uhhh… uuuuhhh…"
Overwhelmed, the giant collapsed fully into the snow, sobbing openly. The sound was strange, childish, high-pitched, and completely at odds with his hulking, furred frame.
But then, his wailing warped. It shifted, cutting off into a series of sharp, plaintive cries… the unmistakable calls of a reindeer.
At some point, the figure in black armor had appeared beside him. Its left arm, etched with blue flame-like patterns, sank into the beast's back and withdrew with something glowing in hand: a small triangular chip radiating white light.
"This is…" Robin's breath caught.
Before her eyes, the towering beast shrank rapidly. Flesh, fur, and muscle all compressed, until in the middle of that enormous humanoid-shaped pit lay only… a tiny reindeer, lying flat on its belly.
"A deer?" she murmured. Suddenly, she understood Liam's first words.
It wasn't a human who ate a Zoan Fruit… It was a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit.
Robin crouched down, gently resting her hand on the little reindeer's head.
Its fur was soft, warm… but trembling faintly.
The reindeer kicked its legs and, with some effort, climbed to its feet.
It turned, glancing around the enormous snow crater its other form had made. Robin noticed instantly, its eyes were different now. Still bright, still cute… but missing something. A light that had been there before, when it was still a towering beast. Something she couldn't quite name, but it was gone.
"Chyu… chyu…"
The blue-nosed reindeer chirped softly, its pink tongue lapping at the salty tears it had left in the snow.
Then it looked up, and caught sight of Liam and Robin. Startled, it sprang back.
But unlike before, its gaze no longer carried that wary, wounded mix of fear and defiance. It was simply the wide-eyed look of a frightened animal. Even though the nose was still blue, the complicated emotions it once held had vanished. Robin was sure of it.
This was just… a deer.
"Chyu…"
After tilting its head to study them for a moment, the little reindeer thought no further. It turned, hooves kicking up snow as it bolted into the forest, leaving behind only a trail of tiny hoofprints leading into the deep, white mountains.
"That was…" Robin frowned, memory sparking. She had studied the Devil Fruit encyclopedia. After a moment, it clicked. "The Human-Human Fruit?"
A reindeer that had eaten the Human-Human Fruit.
She turned her head just in time to see a shadow, like a drifting ghost, slip soundlessly across the snow, following the trail of hoofprints into the forest., , , Liam let out a slow breath and turned back. Robin was staring at him, which made him raise a brow and touch his cheek.
"What? Don't tell me… did I get even more handsome?"
Robin blinked, then mischievously squeezed his cheeks, looking at him from both sides before laughing. "...A little."
Liam chuckled, dipped his head to kiss her smooth forehead, and without warning, hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"Come on. It's freezing. Let's get to town, find something hot to drink, and warm up first."
The tall girl, a good 1.8 meters in height, looked suddenly petite and light perched on the shoulders of his towering 2.4-meter frame.
The two of them walked on. Before long, the snowy mountain was behind them. Soon, the outline of a human town appeared in the distance.
But before they could enter, a group of villagers emerged, armed with knives and muskets.
Through the storm, the villagers squinted at the approaching figures, raising their weapons.
"What is that?"
"A snow monster?!"
"No… wait… those are people!"
(End Of This Chapter)