The Hotaru king rose slowly from his throne.
"Do you have any idea what you have done today?"
His hand was still shaking, but his voice had found some steadiness. He looked at the three of them standing in his courtroom — the white-haired giant, the man with the rifle, and the small boy in the spotted hat and drew himself up.
"You have attacked a World Government member state. You have assaulted our military. Destroyed our gates." He pointed at Lucien. "There is no corner of this world where you will be able to hide. Every Marine branch, every bounty hunter worth their name, every allied kingdom will be coming for you before this day is out."
Lucien let him finish.
"We are not here for Hotaru," he said. "We are not here for you, your queen, your soldiers, or your kingdom. We want the Flevance king. Hand him over, and we walk out. You never see us again."
"That is not —"
"That is the only offer you are getting."
The Hotaru king looked at his queen. Then there were soldiers around the walls of the courtroom. Twelve of them, hands already moving to weapons. He gave a small nod.
They came forward all at once.
Lucien moved before the first one reached him. He caught the nearest soldier by the arm mid-swing and used him to knock the two behind him clean off their feet. A spear came in at his midsection. He stepped past it and broke the shaft over his knee. Another soldier tried to get around behind him and ran directly into Idris, who put him on the ground with one precise strike to the back of the knee and stepped over him without breaking stride.
It was done in under a minute.
Lucien stood in the middle of the courtroom with twelve soldiers around him on the floor and looked back at the Hotaru king, who had not moved from his throne.
"The Flevance king," he said. "Last time."
The Flevance royals had been edging toward a side door during the fight. The Flevance king was in the middle of them. Heavyset, expensive clothes, face completely drained of colour.
Lucien crossed the room in four strides.
He reached into the group and grabbed the king by the collar. The others scattered instantly. The king grabbed at Lucien's arm with both hands, which did nothing at all. Lucien walked him back across the courtroom floor and switched to dragging him by his hair because it was more convenient.
He stopped in front of Law and forced the king down to his knees.
The king looked up.
A small boy. White spotted hat. Skin marked with the same white patches that had killed an entire kingdom. The king did not recognise him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Law looked down at him and was quiet for a moment.
"My father was Doctor Trafalgar Rocco," he said. "He worked in Flevance his entire life. He spent years trying to help people. He found out the truth about the Amber Lead and came to you asking for answers and help."
The king said nothing.
"You had him arrested," Law continued. "You had him executed. You had my mother executed with him. You left your people to die and ran. And you burned the hospital with my sister still inside it."
He said all of it the same way. One thing after another. No shake in his voice. No pause for the king to respond.
The king's eyes moved over the boy's face. The spotted skin. The hat. Something was pulling at the back of his memory. Rocco. The doctors. The day the arrests were made. He started to put it together slowly, the way people do when they are hoping they are wrong about what they are realising.
He opened his mouth.
Law shot him before the words came out.
The sound filled the entire courtroom.
The king went down and did not move.
Law lowered the pistol. He stood there looking at the body on the floor in front of him. His face had not changed since they walked through the door.
He held the pistol out, and Idris took it back without a word.
The silence lasted about two seconds.
Then the boots. Coming from the corridors below and from outside the walls. A lot of them, organised, moving fast, someone already shouting orders in the direction of the port.
"Marines," said Idris.
He was already moving.
Lucien picked Law up without asking. Tucked him against his chest with one arm. Law did not resist. He was still looking back at the body as Lucien turned toward the far wall.
There was a large arched window at the end of the courtroom. Below it, two floors down, was the castle grounds.
Lucien ran.
Three steps, and he went straight through the window.
The glass came apart around them. The ground came up fast. Lucien hit it hard, both legs taking the impact, keeping Law clear of it entirely. He felt it in his knees and didn't stop moving.
He straightened up.
Marines had already reached the perimeter. A lot of them, spreading out to cut the exits, weapons raised. Someone was screaming orders toward the port, specifically, which meant they had already thought about the boat.
Idris landed beside him. He had found something to climb down rather than jumping, which was the kind of thing Idris would do, and Lucien did not have time to acknowledge.
"Port," said Lucien.
"Port," said Idris.
Lucien pulled Law higher against his chest and ran. Law's arm came around his neck and held on. Neither of them said anything.
The Marines at the perimeter saw them and started moving to cut them off.
Lucien ran faster.
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1 Chapter For Every 50 Power Stones. Please Do Support.