Tensura Pirates Adventres! - Interlude

No Redemption

The Stardom Pirates had been divided into multiple groups after the Paramount War and had embarked on a journey to finish their respective missions. Luminous and Guy had stayed behind with Reyleigh, Luffy, and Ace to train them to become stronger during the time skip. Diablo, Ramiris, and Veldora had been sent on another secret mission, gathering information crucial to the crew. Leon, Dino, and Milim had ventured south-west, following the trail of Leon's lost sword, in hopes of recovering it and restoring the full power of their strongest swordsman. But it seems like they had encountered a little problem along the way. 

"Milim is in trouble! Call Leon immediately."

<Yes, Master. Establishing connection to Leon via Super Transponder snail... Connection established.>

"Hey, Leon! What the hell is happening over there?"

{Ah, it's Rimuru. Listen here. No matter how hard I try, I can't find my sword anywhere! I am beginning to think it must have been sunk in the middle of-}

"Oi! Stop talking non-sense. Tell me what's happening with Milim?"

{Ah you mean her? Milim has just gone berserk and challenged Kaido to a death match. Anyways, as I was saying, my sword-}

"Wait, what!? Why are you guys fighting Kaido all of a sudden? Didn't you just sail out to find your sword in peace?"

{Yes, and that's what I am doing. But as I said, this damn island doesn't seem to have a clue. We have almost reached the end of the Grand Line, and will have to cross over to the calm best to pursue it further. That's-}

"Why didn't you stop her?"

{Huh? You mean Milim? You think I can stop her once she gets like this?}

"I bet you didn't even try..."

{I didn't want to waste my energy. As I said, we would need to cross over to the calm belt and -}

"Go and help her! She is in trouble."

{-take over navigation- Wait what? How do you know?}

"I can feel it. Now get over there and drag her ass back before something goes wrong."

{Ugh, that's gonna be a pain. But it's a good opportunity to make Milim owe me. Fine, I will bail her out. Is there anything else?}

"Nah, just help Milim out. We are just two months into the time skip and you lot already fell in trouble. Milim still hasn't mastered Conqueror's haki. It won't go well for her to face Kaido directly right now."

{What can I say? Anyway, talk to you later.}

'I didn't think they would fight an emperor behind my back. But then again, it's Milim. Hey Ciel, how large do you think the gap between Milim and Kaido must be?'

<Yes, Milim has already mastered Advanced Armament Haki and can also utilize observation haki well. Combined with the mastery of her awakened devil fruit power, she should be able to handle Kaido pretty well even without mastering Conqueror's haki.>

'But she will still lose a long drawn-out battle, huh?'

<That is most likely the case. But we can't say anything for certain. After all, haki is always mastered amid a life-and-death situation.>

'You mean Milim could have actually won?'

<All I am saying is that the possibility isn't zero.>

'Right. I should not forget what world we are in right now. Anyways, I hope the spy team's doing well. They haven't contacted us in the last week at all.'

I looked out the window, onto the spot where had first met someone special. A sudden surge of nostalgia and reminiscence traversed my mind, and I was lost in deep thought. 

'I wonder what he must be up to back in Tempest,' I said, almost to myself. 'Ciel, you successfully transported his soul to Tempest, right?' 

A lone silence swallowed the area as if I had been standing in the middle of a deserted ocean, floating under the vast, empty night sky. I waited for a reply that never came. 

'Ciel? Hello?' 

And still nothing. 

'Are you still there? Ciel? Say something!'

Another solitary silence answered my half-desperate cry. 

'What's happening? Why aren't you replying?'

As I wondered, bruised and bewildered, something else that didn't make sense became apparent. The hands of the slime clock, a gift from the islanders that hung happily on the wall over my bed, were now rotating in reverse. 

I immediately ran towards the window, breaking it apart and diving outside on the dusty ground. 'Ah, this seems like trouble.' 

There stood an elf, a dwarf, a long-legged, a double splintered, and the other residents of the island, walking about in their place, unmoved from their spot. 

'I didn't know dreams in this avatar could feel so realistic.'

They walked like unconscious dolls, upon closer inspection, as if stuck in an infinite pause and rewind.

'But is this really a dream? Or are we under attack?'

I wondered, igniting a black flame on my palm and unleashing a bolt of lightning to the sky with the other. 'At least my devil fruit power is still working fine. Alright then, whoever it is, I am ready to face them.' 

I winged high up into the sky, taking in a full 360 view of Star Tempest, trying to find out where the anomaly began, or where the devil fruit user must be hiding if there is one. 

"I don't know who you are or how you managed to infiltrate my nation," I shouted at the top of my lungs. "But if you come out and surrender, I promise not to take away your life." I gave the enemy a last chance, although I had a strong feeling that my warning would fall on deaf ears. One... two... three... nothing happened. 

"Alright then, whatever happens now is not my-"

Suddenly, a bursting sound popped up right underneath me. I immediately descended, and the horrible scene choked my heart. 

There stood the member of the long-legged tribe, or what was left of him, walking in its place just like he had been a few moments ago. Only the upper half of his torso was missing. 

That's it. Now you have crossed the line. You have killed a member of my nation, an innocent soul who had just escaped hell itself, wishing for a place to finally live in peace.

"I hope you are prepared, for now, there is no redemption."

Author's note: Hope you liked this chapter. Do share your opinion in the comments and upvote. Thx for reading.