Sean opened his right hand, and a cascade of bullets clattered onto the ground.
Saint Charlos was truly terrified now. All his guards were dead, and his gun had proven useless. All he had left by his side were a few slave mounts and four female slaves.
Right, there was still an Admiral!
But that man seemed to be busy protecting his father and Shalria. What was he supposed to do?
Just then, a squad of Marines came rushing over. They had been stationed nearby and had immediately raced toward the scene after hearing a series of gunshots.
"Captain, it's Saint Charlos! Those on the ground... hiss, they must be Saint Charlos's guards. This is a disaster!"
"Quick! Find out who has the nerve to attack a Celestial Dragon!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Over twenty Marines sprinted forward. An attack on a Celestial Dragon was no small matter. If one were killed here, every single Marine in the Sabaody Archipelago branch could be implicated and executed.
Which cursed soul had dared to cause such a catastrophe?
Within moments, the squad arrived at Charlos's side. Seeing that the Celestial Dragon was unharmed, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. As long as Charlos was alive, things hadn't reached the absolute worst-case scenario.
"Saint Charlos, what happened?"
"You bastards! What are you Marines trying to do? Are you attacking us Celestial Dragons?!"
'What? We're attacking a Celestial Dragon? Where is this even coming from...'
As he shouted, Charlos raised his golden pistol and pulled the trigger on the Marine who had spoken to him. However, he had forgotten one crucial detail: he had already fired every single bullet.
The Marine nearly jumped out of his skin. The soldiers of the Sabaody branch saw Celestial Dragons frequently; these people killed on a whim, often for no reason at all. To have one point a gun at his head and pull the trigger felt like staring into the abyss. It was as if he had just taken a trip to the gates of hell and back.
'No way. If I survive this, I'm submitting a transfer request to another branch the moment I get back. The Sabaody branch is no place for a human being!'
Unable to kill the Marine, Charlos paused, momentarily stunned.
"You lot, get over there! Kill that man!"
"Yes, Saint Charlos!"
The Marines responded in unison and looked in the direction Charlos was pointing.
They froze.
A Marine officer's coat... a Vice Admiral's rank?
"Captain... when we ran into the 7th Squad earlier, some of them mentioned that Vice Admiral Sean had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago. Could it be...?"
"Stop talking nonsense. There is only one Vice Admiral in the entire world under the age of twenty."
"Then what do we do? Saint Charlos wants us to..."
"Do you honestly think twenty of us can take down a Vice Admiral?" the squad leader snapped, glaring at his subordinate.
Internally, however, the captain had a thought he didn't dare voice. On one side was a kill order from Saint Charlos, and the target was Sean Campbell—the current star Vice Admiral of the Marine.
What kind of joke was this?
"Move! Let's go ask Vice Admiral Sean what exactly is going on here."
"Yes, Captain!"
Hearing this, the men felt their captain was the only sane person left and immediately followed him.
"Vice Admiral Sean!" The captain came to a halt in front of Sean and snapped a sharp salute.
"Hm. You all arrived quite quickly."
"Well... we were just in the next block and rushed over when we heard the gunfire. May I ask what happened here?"
"What happened? Someone attempted to slaughter innocent civilians, and I simply stopped them."
The squad leader felt a massive headache coming on. He believed Sean's words one hundred percent. The Marines stationed at Sabaody knew the character of the Celestial Dragons better than anyone. Murdering civilians was a common occurrence; they had grown numb to it.
So, Vice Admiral Sean really had attacked a Celestial Dragon?
This was a nightmare. Once the Celestial Dragons were involved, the World Government didn't care about the cause or who was right and wrong. Even a Vice Admiral likely wouldn't have a good end—at best, he'd be thrown into Impel Down; at worst, he'd be captured as a slave for the Celestial Dragons.
He was the rising star of the Marine. What a waste...
Seeing the pitying expressions on the Marines' faces, Sean simply shook his head. 'Marine Justice' was nothing but bullshit. He began walking toward Charlos.
The squad leader panicked. 'Vice Admiral Sean isn't planning to keep going, is he? Is he thinking that since he's already in deep, he might as well go all the way and kill the Celestial Dragon?'
If a Celestial Dragon died here, the problem would become catastrophic. They might all be dragged down and killed with him.
"What are you standing around for?! Get over there and stop him! If a Celestial Dragon dies here, we're all going to the grave!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The Marines snapped back to their senses and rushed toward Sean. While they certainly lacked the strength to overpower him, they hoped they could at least block his path and persuade him.
Meanwhile, the captain pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed frantically.
'Purupurupuru...'
"This is Bastille!"
"Vice Admiral Bastille, this is Holin, Captain of the second squad of the 5th Division! Saint Charlos has been attacked at GR-13; his guards are all dead!"
"And Saint Charlos?"
"He is alive and uninjured, but the attacker is currently approaching him, and we are unable to stop him!"
"Dammit! What do you mean 'unable to stop him'? Protect Saint Charlos with your lives! Now, who is the attacker?"
"Reporting... it is Vice Admiral Sean!"
"Say that again!"
"It is Vice Admiral Sean!"
Bastille was stunned into silence for three full seconds.
"I'm coming immediately. Until I arrive, you must ensure Saint Charlos remains safe, even if it costs every one of your lives! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Bastille!!"
After hanging up, Bastille didn't even waste time opening the window; he smashed straight through it and began racing toward the scene using a continuous stream of Soru. As he traveled, he didn't forget to call Akainu. After all, Akainu was currently within the Sabaody Archipelago.
Back at the scene, twenty-some Marines had formed a human wall in front of Sean, pleading with him.
"Vice Admiral Sean, please stop!"
"That's right! There's still a chance to fix this, but if you actually kill a Celestial Dragon, there's no turning back!"
"Vice Admiral, even if you don't care about yourself, please think of your comrades and the civilians of the Sabaody Archipelago! If you do this, a Buster Call will likely be triggered!!"
"We beg of you, please stop!"
Sean's footsteps came to a halt.
The Marines all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The persuasion... was finally working.
However, in the next moment, Sean suddenly dropped to one knee in front of the woman Saint Charlos had taken a fancy to.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
The woman shook her head, her eyes remaining vacant. She knew all too well that while the appearance of a Marine Vice Admiral might save her from becoming a slave for the time being, her fate would return to the same grim reality the moment he left. She was merely a commoner; what power did she have to resist such a destiny?
Furthermore, she suspected that this Vice Admiral might find himself in danger just for intervening.
"Don't worry. The Celestial Dragons can't touch me!" Sean said with confidence.
He had every reason to be certain. Even if the theory he was trying to verify turned out to be wrong and the worst-case scenario occurred, he was confident that if he chose to run, even the Admirals wouldn't be able to catch him. At worst, he could simply use the foundations of the 16th Branch to establish a truly righteous Marine of his own.
"Really?" the woman asked, looking at him in disbelief.
Those were the Celestial Dragons. Who in this world wasn't afraid of them? Yet, looking at Sean's expression, for some reason, she believed him.
But the spark of hope in her eyes quickly faded.
"It's useless. Even if you aren't afraid of them, once you leave this place, I'll still be trapped in that fate..."
"I see. In that case, just come with me when the time comes. Bring your husband along, too. I'll arrange some logistics work for you both; you should have no problem making a living."
"I..."
The woman's heart stirred. It was indeed a viable solution. But just as she was about to agree, an unbelievable voice rang out from behind her.
"She's just my fiancée! Whatever she does has nothing to do with me!"
"If you want to leave, leave by yourself! Don't drag me down with you!!"
The woman was utterly stunned. Even Sean froze for a moment.
Then, considering how distorted this world was... well, perhaps such a reaction from a man was "normal."
Even if it was "normal," Sean still held utter contempt for such a man. Even if she was only a fiancée... even if the man had been too terrified to speak up when she was first seized by the Celestial Dragons—Sean could have forgiven that.
But the words he had just spoken? Sean couldn't stomach that.
'Do you even qualify as a man?'
He was on the verge of unleashing a scathing verbal assault on the man. But when he turned to look, he saw the man prostrate on the ground, trembling uncontrollably as if he were naked in the middle of a frozen wasteland.
Sean sighed softly and swallowed his insults. He looked back at the woman sitting on the ground.
"And you?"
"I'll go with you!" the woman declared, glancing at her fiancé before gritting her teeth.
'''
At the same time, at Marine Headquarters.
Sengoku held the Den Den Mushi, completely stunned.
"Bastille, say that again. Who attacked a Celestial Dragon?"
"Reporting to the Fleet Admiral: it was Vice Admiral Sean. I am currently rushing to the scene and have already notified Admiral Akainu to head there as well, though I am unsure if they can arrive in time to stop him!"
Attacking a Celestial Dragon?
How on earth did that brat Sean manage to stir up such a disaster?
Sengoku realized that once someone became entangled with the Celestial Dragons, even he might not have the authority to protect the boy.
This was beyond reckless!
Things had truly become a huge mess!