A Siren's Journey (One Piece! Various X Reader)

[55] - Warship Island Arc ~ 8

🏴‍☠️️Ch.55: Leaving Lost Island! Cross the Red Line!🏴‍☠️️

Apis cowers behind me at the sight of the mercenary.

"You don't know when to quit." Luffy remarks lightly.

"Quiet, fool! You might have stopped me temporarily, but you'll never defeat me." From his heightened perch, Eric has a clear view of the numerous dragons littering the newly resurfaced bit of island. But with his point of view on its beauty is for all the wrong reasons. "My, my! What a most exquisite view! It's positively radiating with potential."

🌀Remind me again how this guy isn't dead after Grandpa Ryu swatted him like a fly?🌀 Ahio deadpans at the way the curly-topped mercenary is practically drooling at the sight of all the dragon's.

💥Mercenary resilience at its worst.💥 Trigger remarks, feeling a vein ready to burst just listening to the lilac-haired maniac.

"The Dragonite completely surrounds us! It's everywhere! It's beautiful!"

"So what?" Nami interrupts the mercenary's rantings. "Break open every dragon fossil on the island; It won't yield your precious elixir!"

Eric's cruel smirk grows wider across hi ugly mug. "Well then, I'll just improvise. Maybe instead of wasting my time with old fossils, I'll just use some of the fresh supply right in front of me." He eyes the groups of adult dragons dotting on their newly hatched young. "Surely, you must realize that fighting me would be an exhausting lesson in futility. Let's keep things simple and split the treasure."

Luffy and I glance at each other. "No, thanks." We reply plainly.

"Fools!" Eric snaps. "You're turning your back on eternal life?!"

"Yup!"

"Pretty much."

"What's wrong with you two?! There's no one who'd pass up the chance to stave off dying! Don't let the fact that you have Devil Fruit powers or the ability to play around with water lull you into illusions that you can somehow cheat death without the Elixir of Immortality! Even you have to be afraid of dying!"

Luffy just continues to smile up at the mercenary.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Zoro smirks. "Luffy'll die smiling if he accomplished what he set out to do. And no doubt Siren's faced down death more time than she cares to admit."

"Yup-yup! Been there, done that!" I smirk, showing off my sharp, pearly whites to peak out from the shadows of my hood.

"So, back off."

"Very well. I can accept that you dragon lovers won't share in the Elixir of Immortality. But you shall still bear witness as I rip the Dragonite from their bodies." He raises his sharp-nailed hand.

"No, don't!" Apis runs past everyone, right at Eric, before they could even get a chance to stop her.

"Stop right there!" Eric bellows, ready to swipe his hand in a fierce demonstration of his Sickle-Sickle Fruit powers. With a slash motion of his hand, a blade of wind is shot towards Apis.

"Apis!" Usopp tackles the girl out of the way of the attack just in time. The wind blade barely goes over the sniper's head, cutting deep into the bedrock.

"Why did you do that?" Apis gasps.

"He'll rip you to shreds!" Usopp argues.

The girl frowns stubbornly, aiming a glare at the curl-haired mercenary-for-hire. "I don't care what happens to me; I have to protect the Dragons Nest! Even if it costs me my life!" She begins to tears, but her voice holds strong. "I can't let men like him destroy it. I WON'T LET YOU HURT THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!!" She shouts to the heavens.