"Madness."
"Ugliness."
"Darkness."
Walking behind Arthur, Galahad spoke softly.
"My lord Arthur… on them, I see only endless darkness. Their souls have long been devoured by it. I can no longer find even a glimmer of light within."
It was clear where they were.
Arthur and Galahad had reached the deepest part of God Valley—
a massive coliseum, filled with roaring cheers that shook the air.
They didn't need to look far to understand what it meant.
Those cheers… were for the slaves' deaths.
Just hearing them was enough for Galahad to feel it—
The madness, the greed, the inhumanity.
It made even this holy knight fall silent.
...
"Light?"
Arthur chuckled quietly.
"Heh… there's no light left in these creatures. They are the darkness. In truth, there's nothing darker in this world than them."
He shook his head, weary.
The Celestial Dragons—if they could still find light, it would be a cosmic joke.
If humanity had ever been inherently good, then the Celestial Dragons were proof of its corruption. They had long since lost their humanity.
—
"Gurararara!"
A deep laugh echoed. Edward Newgate walked up beside Arthur.
"Oh?" Arthur's tone lifted slightly.
"Edward, has Captain Rocks made his move already?"
"Yeah," Edward answered gravely.
"I think Captain Rocks plans to slaughter them all himself."
Arthur sighed.
"As expected of Captain Rocks—madness and arrogance, even at death's door."
"You noticed?" Edward raised an eyebrow.
Arthur replied calmly,
"Galahad saw it first. Captain Rocks' soul is nearing its limit. At most, ten hours remain."
"What?!"
Edward glanced at Galahad, who stood behind Arthur with an unreadable, tranquil expression.
To see the limit of a person's soul—now that was extraordinary. Likely a supreme form of Observation Haki, beyond anything most had ever achieved.
He had guessed correctly.
Armament Haki was straightforward, but Conqueror's and Observation Haki… those two realms were infinite.
Even now, no one truly knew if anyone had ever reached their absolute limit.
—
"Jihahahaha!!"
A coarse laugh broke out. Shiki appeared, grinning savagely.
"What a disgusting stench! These filthy Celestial Dragons make me sick! I feel like slicing every last one of them to pieces!"
One after another, Ochoku, Silver Axe, John, Linlin, and Kaido arrived.
No one needed to say a word—they all knew why they were here.
Rocks D. Xebec was out there holding back the entire world by himself.
He wasn't doing it for glory.
In his final hours, Rocks had chosen to burn everything—to give his crew one last chance to grow, to truly stand on their own.
Perhaps it was insanity.
But at this point, there was no reason to question his motives.
It was the choice of a dying king.
"Then…" Arthur said lightly, eyes narrowing.
"Let's begin."
"Yeah."
In an instant, everyone vanished—
each racing to claim their share of Celestial Dragon treasure.
---
As Arthur and Galahad strode deeper, Arthur spoke quietly, his voice calm but heavy with meaning.
"The Celestial Dragons—descendants of the twenty kings who created the World Government.
The so-called World Nobles, rulers of the world… Symbols of authority itself."
Galahad listened silently, then murmured,
"My king, compared to ordinary nobles, these creatures are far more revolting."
Arthur smirked.
"Funny thing to hear from one of the Round Table knights, a noble yourself, no?"
Galahad shook his head.
"Titles mean nothing to me. My only loyalty is to you, my king."
"Your will, your existence—nothing else holds value. I would rather return to Heaven itself than serve another."
Indeed—
Even when offered the Holy Grail and the right to become a king himself, Galahad had refused.
When Arthur died, Galahad had abandoned the world, ascending as a being of Heaven—an angel.
A knight without desire, without corruption—pure beyond measure.
The Knight of the Holy Grail.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Then, Galahad… bear witness to my future. Watch as I rise to the pinnacle of this world.
Until that day, I forbid you to die—
By the name of Arthur Pendragon, this is my command."
"By your command, my king."
Galahad dropped to one knee, performing the perfect knight's salute.
His gaze overflowed with reverence.
He had once found the Holy Grail, but lost his king.
Now he had found both again—and he would never let go.
He would follow, step by step.
To witness what he had missed in the past.
—
"You lowly vermin! Filthy mongrel! You're nothing but a slave by birth!"
A whip cracked.
A Celestial Dragon screamed as he struck a kneeling giant slave.
Swish!
A blade flashed.
The Celestial Dragon's head flew cleanly off his shoulders.
The giant slave blinked, stunned—the pain was gone.
When he looked up, he saw the noble's severed head rolling on the ground.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, trembling, about to cry out—
"Shh."
Arthur placed a finger to his lips.
"Stay silent."
"If these worms hear us, they'll be a nuisance to chase down later."
He crushed the explosive collar around the slave's neck with a flick of his fingers.
His internal destruction technique of Armament Haki made it effortless.
"You're free now," Arthur said gently.
"Oh—and a word of advice."
"The Marines and the Rocks Pirates are still fighting outside. Wait until it's over before you leave."
"Farewell, stranger."
He turned to go.
The giant fell to his knees, shaking.
Freedom. After all these years.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"W-Wait! Please—your name! What is your name, my lord?"
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Arthur Pendragon. Farewell."
He waved without looking back.
The giant slammed his fist to his chest, roaring from the depths of his soul:
"Lord Arthur Pendragon!
By the name of Elbaf, I swear—
I will return to your side one day!
Even if only as a soldier, I will serve you faithfully!"
He left, tears and resolve mixing together.
He would return to Elbaf, settle his affairs, and then…
Find the man who had given him freedom.
---
Clap… clap… clap…
Arthur entered the coliseum.
Inside, chaos reigned.
The Celestial Dragons were being hunted down.
Edward, Shiki, Ochoku, John, Silver Axe, Linlin, Kaido—
None of them showed mercy.
As they slaughtered, they looted—
mountains of treasure piled high, like the heart of a golden city.
Though it looked like a coliseum, at its core it was a fortress—filled with palaces that served as the Celestial Dragons' private mansions.
Arthur began storing treasures into the stomach of the Red Dragon—
his inner dimensional space.
Gold and silver coins, mountains of jewels, rare artifacts, even Devil Fruits glimmering with swirling patterns.
To the Celestial Dragons, gold meant nothing.
Their true wealth was in rarity—rare treasures, rare fruits, rare slaves.
And there were plenty of the latter.
Giantfolk, Longarms, Longlegs, Three-Eyes...
Every known race of the sea was here, imprisoned like trophies.
Seven or eight thousand souls—fewer than on the Red Line, but still a horrifying number.
Arthur freed them all, one by one.
He expected no gratitude.
Reputation was the only reward he needed.
His name, Arthur Pendragon, would spread across the seas.
After all—
He intended to rebuild Britannia, the White Cliffs Kingdom, someday.
A name known far and wide would be a foundation stronger than any gold.
...
Hours passed.
For three straight hours, they slaughtered and plundered.
By the end, every Celestial Dragon in God Valley lay dead, and their treasures were gathered into impossible heaps.
"Gurararara!"
Edward's booming laugh echoed.
"Now this is something! What a haul!
I never imagined these bastards had this much treasure!"
Even for him, the sight was overwhelming.
Gold, weapons, fruits, technology—more wealth than nations possessed.
Arthur smiled lightly.
"An impressive sum, indeed.
But what interests me more is… how many of them died?"
Edward snorted.
"Those trash? I must've killed a couple thousand myself.
If I had to guess… maybe seven or eight thousand in total?
Disgusting, huh? That so many of these vermin existed."
Arthur shook his head.
"Not just seven or eight thousand. There were far more.
Only these were the ones abandoned on God Valley—
the Celestial Dragons the Five Elders chose to discard."
"Hmm?"
Edward frowned. He wasn't stupid—
and in that instant, it all clicked.
The Rocks Pirates.
The Marines.
The Celestial Dragons.
It was all orchestrated.
The Five Elders had planned everything—
using them all as pawns.
"Gurararara…"
Whitebeard laughed bitterly.
"So that's how it is. We thought we were shaking the world—but to them, we were never even on the board."
Arthur replied calmly,
"The World Government has lasted eight hundred years."
"To think our single pirate crew could topple it—that would be a joke."
Ten years of struggle cannot compare to three generations of legacy.
That had always been Arthur's philosophy.
Unless one was blessed by the wind itself,
most men needed generations of effort to rise.
That was the unchanging truth of this world.
----------------------------///
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