The black Spark mark faded from the shop owner's neck as Rowan turned to face the Celestial Dragon.
Samit kept pulling the trigger, the golden pistol clicking empty as not a single shot had landed. By now, the civilians forced to kneel had already fled in panic, shouting as they scattered in all directions.
"Someone attacked a Celestial Dragon!"
"An admiral is coming!"
"Run, leave the island!"
"No one saw us, just get out of this area!"
Amid the chaos, Rowan simply looked at Samit.
"I remember that gun. It's been a long time, fifteen years. You know what, I've missed you."
Even with Kuzan's face, Rowan's expression twisted with something far more terrifying, his body trembling slightly.
"So lucky. My first hunt, and I found the one I wanted most. For fifteen years, not a single day passed without thinking about you."
Fear finally appeared on Samit's face.
"Don't come closer! You filthy human!"
Rowan walked forward step by step, as memories buried deep surged back to the surface.
A one-year-old infant, unable to speak, crying helplessly.
But he had awareness. He understood everything. He felt his mother's blood soaking into the cloth around him, saw his father charge forward only to be caught and shot repeatedly, the bullet tearing through his eye.
If he had been an ordinary child, perhaps those memories would have faded with time. But he was not.
God Valley. Three weeks of slaughter disguised as a game. A so-called field trip where lives became points.
Everyone he had known in that one short year, his grandparents who brought him food, his aunt who made his clothes, his uncle who saved money for the family, all reduced to numbers in the mouths of these monsters.
Rowan bent down and picked up the dagger, a cold light flashing as Samit's right arm was severed instantly.
A scream tore through the air as the Celestial Dragon rolled on the ground in agony, his voice trembling with both pain and disbelief.
"You dare! An admiral will kill you!"
"Even if your soul can still be tortured after death, I don't want you to die that easily, pig."
The dagger, coated in Armament Haki, moved again, taking the other arm. Blood soaked the red carpet as Rowan looked down at him.
"You don't remember me, do you? It's been fifteen years. But God Valley, you should remember that name. I am a survivor of that place, someone who crawled back from hell."
Another strike followed, pinning him down completely as the pain overwhelmed him, forcing him unconscious.
Rowan shattered the bubble helmet and poured water over him, waking him again. He screamed, passed out, woke again, and soon a foul stench spread as his body lost control under the endless torment.
Again and again it repeated until there was nothing left of dignity, only broken screams.
Rowan crouched down, not killing him yet, slicing flesh piece by piece with calm precision.
"Since escaping God Valley, you all became my targets. Not just you, the Five Elders, Im, from that day onward, you became the reason I exist in this world."
"I will kill you all, drag you down from your altar, let your souls burn and disappear. That has been my will for fifteen years."
"I am not a good person. The fear and pain I felt back then must be returned tenfold, a hundredfold, only then can I feel at peace."
"I even worried that after killing a few Celestial Dragons, you would stop coming down and stay up there. That would be disappointing."
"But I got lucky. My first move, and I found you."
He paused slightly, then muttered, "They're fast."
The dagger pierced straight through Samit's throat, ending the screams instantly.
Rowan slowly stood up. "Death is not the end for you. It's only the beginning. I've waited fifteen years. We'll meet again soon."
At that moment, a beam of light shot across the sky and slammed into the ground with explosive force, but Rowan's figure had already vanished. Sixteen tri-pronged kunai had been placed around the area beforehand, allowing him to move instantly.
He reappeared at a distance, looking toward the golden light.
"Borsalino. As expected, you're the fastest. Sengoku should be right behind you."
Borsalino froze for a moment, then his gaze shifted to the corpse.
The mutilated body of a Celestial Dragon lay before him, and even someone like him felt a rare moment of tension. This was no ordinary death, this was execution, humiliation, and complete defiance.
And the face of the culprit was Kuzan.
Golden light condensed into a blade as Borsalino moved instantly, no longer carrying his usual laziness. The situation was far too serious.
This man could not be allowed to live.
----------
Advance 30 Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic