"Uncle Ludo disappeared to draw away the Navy, Brother Avanisha perished with a group of pirates, Aunt Amile died at the hands of those CPs from the World Government...
What did we do wrong? From the day we were born, we have been part of the Lunarians Race. We did nothing, but ordinary people want to exchange us for bounties, and the World Government wants to use us for experiments to gain more power.
That pirate lasted less than fifteen minutes, yet Shaina and I endured similar ordeals for a full six months!"
King recounted his experiences, the disappearance of those names symbolizing the loss of loved ones, including his and Shaina's parents.
The torment brought by the endurance experiments was extremely painful, unknown substances coursing through his blood and into every corner of his body, each inch of skin echoing with excruciating pain. He even forgot how he managed to endure, with only one thought in his mind at the time, to survive.
He wanted revenge; he wanted to find a land where Lunarians could live freely.
These were things buried deep in his heart. He usually carried a heavy burden, always seeing familiar smiles and hateful faces in his dreams, which was why he looked at Queen with a fierce glare at that time.
He had no fondness for any of the research personnel in that institute, even if Queen's projects had little to do with them.
The flames behind him were burning, causing several cracks to appear on the ship's rail under his palm's pressure. In the sea breeze, the spray from the waves was carried into the air, with unknown water traces falling at King's feet, wetting the deck.
He had witnessed numerous betrayals and intrigues, had seen the horror of greed, and had experienced countless battles and escapes, all of which made it easy to overlook one issue, age.
At this time, King was only fourteen years old, a few months older than Shaina, who just had her fourteenth birthday a few months ago, celebrated in that institute filled with walls, lying on a cold experiment table.
They were just two half-grown children forced to bear things they shouldn't have had to bear.
"I'm sorry, Lord Arceus, for letting you listen to so much nonsense. I shouldn't be complaining about these things."
"It's nothing, having too many things in your heart isn't good either, but Shaina, come over, you've been listening for quite a while, haven't you?"
Arceus didn't turn around but spoke to the back with certainty, for even with most of his Plates gone, his body's perception remained sensitive.
"No, Lord Arceus, I just wanted to call King for dinner..."
"Then why are you crying? And Abel, your tears are already flowing."
"There aren't many ingredients, so I made some curry, and was just irritated by the onions." "It's seawater, Lord Arceus."
Both had their reasons to deny it all, but at the age of fourteen, having lost all their family, how could it not bring sadness when looked back upon.
"Shaina, Abel, listen well, blood for blood. Everything they owe the Lunarians Race must be repaid with both the principal and interest. I, in the name of Arceus, promise you will witness the glory of Lunarians burning once again on the Red Earth Continent."
People worship gods, and the god responds. Back then, he provided the Lunarians with power for his own purposes, and the Lunarians protected him until the last. Even with only King and Shaina remaining, they did not give up, and this effort deserves a promise.
The flames behind the two illuminated the deck, and at this moment, in the fire of the Lunarians, new flames were added, fueled by hope.
.....
Arceus acted like a psychologist, helping the two to vent their emotions, but the matter wasn't over yet. King's state made him feel something was off.
Childhood shadows sometimes couldn't be healed for a lifetime. What they experienced was even beyond shadows, having witnessed the darkness of the world at an age that should have been full of youth. It might lead to future darkness.
"Abel, what was with your expression after the interrogation just now?"
"Lord Arceus, I can't really describe the feeling, but afterward, I felt very comfortable...."
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it's evident that King had psychological shadows left by his experiences, and imposing his own pains onto others through interrogation could ease his internal pressure.
This could explain why in the normal timeline, Queen had a label for King as a "pervert who loves to torture others."
Without Arceus's assistance, Shaina would also have died in the institute. It's not particularly strange that King's heart twisted after losing all his clansmen.
King saw this behavior as a way to vent his emotions.
"It's okay to vent in moderation, but don't immerse yourself in that feeling. You should control your body, not let your body govern your conscience." After all, this world is a cruel one; a great saint can't survive here.
In other words, the miserable fate of captured enemies makes little difference. If it helps King vent his emotions, that's maximizing value, as long as he doesn't develop into feeling uncomfortable if he doesn't torture others.
"Go rest, you can talk to me about anything you want, it's about time, I'll go check how Kaidou and the others are doing."
...
After going through King's methods, Purilite confessed everything he knew like tipping out tofu from a bamboo tube.
The South Sea Navy Branch was indeed destroyed by John, and he indeed had been to the South Sea, but had left long ago.
Actually, the time the Navy Branch fell was earlier than reported in the newspapers, but his Fruit Ability put on a stage play that delayed the timing.
"I met Captain John at the Shampodi Islands. He valued my power and invited me to join his John Pirates and gave me this order.
He had me impersonate him here to recruit crew, attract the attention of the Navy and other pirates, while he went in search of the real treasure."
"Hey, theater idiot, we're not interested in your and John's experiences, what we want to know is, where exactly is John, understand?" Queen looked at him, having said all that without a useful word, couldn't help feeling a bit impatient.
"Want me to get that perverted kid back here to chat with you?"
"No, no, please! Right, Captain John gave me something, with it you can definitely find him, it's in the lining of my hat, a small piece of paper!"
Queen tore open his hat, finding a piece of paper drifting northward inside.
"Is this... John's Life Card? Brother Kaidou, it will be much easier to find John with this."
Blub Blub Blub Blub~
Blub Blub Blub Blub~
At that moment, a Radio Snail previously retrieved from him began ringing.