Liam Ross froze on the spot.
Then, his expression darkened like a pot of soy sauce left to burn.
Seriously, system? That was brutal.
What do you mean "the little brother can't turn into an element"?
In a flash, an image appeared in his mind so vivid and horrifying that it made him shudder.
He imagined himself mid-battle, roaring with heroic vigor, "Elemental Form!"
Only for his body to dissolve into elemental energy... except for one glaringly human part left exposed.
If his opponent was a woman, she'd probably faint in embarrassment.
If it was a man, they'd flee in psychological defeat.
Just picturing it made Liam's face twitch. That image was going to haunt him forever.
But he didn't have time to dwell on the system's cruel joke. The battlefield was chaos everyone's attention locked on the clash at the center. Nobody cared about one unremarkable marine slipping away.
Perfect.
He adjusted his collar, quietly slipping out of the line of sight. After all, before any hero makes a grand entrance, they've got to look the part.
What's the point of saving the day if you don't have style?
Back on the main battlefield, the air crackled with tension.
The moment Eustace's attack shattered King Moriah's skull, Vice Admiral Spider's face twisted in fury.
"You dare kill him in front of me?!" he roared, his leg slicing through the air with a blinding slash of light.
"Shave Tempest Kick!"
The attack hit Eustace square in the back, sending him hurtling like a cannonball into a pile of shattered stone.
The royal soldiers and ministers of the Kingdom of Liria stood frozen, staring at the headless corpse of their king.
Their ruler gone.
Despair flooded their faces.
Meanwhile, the rebel soldiers stared in disbelief before bursting into thunderous cheers.
"Moriah's dead!"
"The tyrant is gone!"
"We've won! Long live freedom!"
The roar of celebration rolled across the courtyard, shaking the air itself.
Vice Admiral Spider's jaw tightened. Anger burned in his eyes, but beneath it, a flicker of resignation.
Yes, Eustace had humiliated him by killing the king right in front of him but the mission came first.
His orders were simple: eliminate the rebel leader. The fate of the kingdom wasn't his concern. The World Government would handle the rest.
Dust settled.
Eustace staggered to his feet, clutching his bleeding chest. His body swayed like a broken mast in a storm.
Spider's gaze was cold, his voice even colder. "Eustace, leader of the Liria Rebellion. You stand accused of treason, inciting civil unrest, and the murder of King Moriah the Third. By the authority of the World Government sentence: death."
Eustace smirked, blood dripping down his chin. "Heh... what a joke."
Spider lifted his blade high, sunlight gleaming off its edge. The surrounding rebels fell silent.
A few brave men twitched as if to rush forward but their comrades held them back. They knew what would happen if they defied a Vice Admiral.
The blade glimmered like fire in the light. Spider's eyes flashed with crimson resolve.
Then he struck.
But before the blade could fall
A blur ripped through the air.
Clang!
A single kick, coated in obsidian-black Armament Haki, smashed against the blade, deflecting it with a burst of sparks.
Everyone froze.
As the light dimmed, a figure stood between Eustace and Spider a man wearing a Marine coat and a grinning mask that hid his face.
The crowd murmured.
"That mask… looks familiar."
"Yeah, I've seen it before somewhere…"
"Wait don't tell me…"
Even Spider's face tightened.
"Why do you look so unhappy to see me?" the masked man said, voice distorted and hoarse from the voice modulator.
Spider's mouth twitched. "Liam Ross… what's the meaning of this?"
The Vice Admiral's mind screamed. Of all people, it had to be him the nightmare who once fought two Admirals at once and punched Akainu in the face before walking away.
And now he'd appeared out of nowhere, right when Spider was about to finish his mission.
"Relax," Liam said with a casual shrug. "I'm just passing through. You believe me?"
Spider's expression darkened.
Passing through?
Who the hell "passes through" a battlefield to block an execution?
"Fine, fine," Liam sighed. "No point pretending. I'll come clean. I'm here to save him."
He pointed at Eustace, who blinked in disbelief.
"Me?"
Liam nodded solemnly. "Yeah, you. I came all this way just to help you fulfill your final wish."
Eustace stared at him like he'd been struck dumb. Final wish? How does he even know about that?
He managed to stammer, "Mister Ross… how did you "
Liam waved him off. "Details. Don't sweat it."
Then he turned to Spider, his tone dropping into the calm confidence of a man who didn't need to prove anything.
"So here's the deal. Give me some face and let me take him. Or…" He cracked his knuckles. "…we can see whose fists hit harder."
Spider's expression twisted.
Liam Ross the man who terrified half the Grand Line was now standing in front of him, offering a choice that wasn't really a choice.
If he refused, he'd get crushed. But if he agreed, he'd have to explain to the higher-ups why he let a condemned rebel go free.
A lose-lose situation.
Liam saw the hesitation and smirked. "Come on, man. Be reasonable. Look at him he's half-dead already. What's the harm in letting me take a corpse off your hands? Besides, if you refuse…" His grin widened. "…I might lose my temper."
Spider's jaw clenched so tight it creaked. He glanced at the barely-breathing Eustace and sighed internally. The man was as good as dead anyway.
Fine. He'd give him that much.
But not without keeping his pride.
"Want to take him?" Spider said, straightening his back. "Beat me first."
The challenge hung in the air.
Liam sighed and shook his head. "You people really don't like easy solutions, do you?"
He stepped forward, fist glowing with black Haki.
"Fine. You asked for it."
The punch didn't even land. The sheer pressure from the swing blasted Spider off his feet.
"AAAAHHHH!"
The Vice Admiral screamed as he was flung across the courtyard like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the dirt with a thunderous boom.
When the dust settled, he pointed weakly at Liam, his voice trembling. "Y-you… Liam Ross… the Navy won't forget this…"
Then his eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold.
Silence.
Every soldier rebel and royal alike stared at Liam.
Liam stared back.
"…What?" he muttered under his breath.
Even he didn't expect it to be that easy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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