"Kill him!"
The voice of the Celestial Dragon Saint Ari exploded in the duke's ears like thunder.
Startled and terrified, the duke raised his head and looked at the furious face of the Celestial Dragon riding atop the king's back.
Then he looked toward Norton.
Norton's expression was calm—yet beneath that calmness seemed to lurk the rumble of gathering thunder.
This is bad…
This is going to end terribly.
If a fight broke out between them, there was no telling what might happen. That was a Celestial Dragon—if anything happened to him, the entire kingdom might be destroyed as a result.
The duke swallowed hard, forcing down his fear as he shakily rose to his feet.
"Honored sir… please calm your anger…"
Saint Ari's gaze shifted to the duke.
"Hey. Who is this guy?" Ari kicked the king beneath him.
"He's a duke appointed by my late father, Saint Ari," the king replied with a flattering smile.
"So just one of your dogs, huh?" Ari sneered. "For a moment I thought he was one of the God's Knights, having the guts to tell me to calm down."
His expression suddenly turned frightening.
That foolish face now looked like a demon's.
"And who the hell do you think you are?!"
The duke staggered back in fright and nearly fell, but Funing quickly supported him.
Sensing Ari's anger, the king hurriedly spoke.
"My loyal subject, why aren't you apologizing to Saint Ari at once?!"
The duke swallowed again, immediately dropping to his knees. The courage he had gathered just moments ago collapsed under the Celestial Dragon's gaze.
"I meant no offense to the honored sir! None at all!" he repeated frantically.
"Father…" Funing raised her head and looked at him with worry.
She had never seen the duke so terrified before. In her mind, he had always been calm and dependable.
"Hm? Who's that?" Ari suddenly noticed Funing's strikingly beautiful face.
"She is the duke's daughter, Saint Ari," the king answered. "She's the one who built the White Pearl."
"Oh?" Ari's eyes lit up. "So she's that unlucky girl who keeps building cursed ships?"
"…Yes," the king said awkwardly, glancing at the duke.
"That makes her quite the collectible! And she's beautiful too!" Ari declared happily. "I've decided—she'll become my sixth wife!"
The duke's face changed drastically.
He jumped to his feet and pulled Funing behind him.
"No! Honored sir, you cannot do that!"
"This…" Even the king hesitated for a moment.
"Hm?" Ari kicked the king off his back. "Don't you want the qualification to attend the Reverie anymore?"
"Of course I do!" the king said immediately.
After all, he had sacrificed his dignity and played mount for the Celestial Dragon precisely to earn a seat at the Reverie.
"Then offer me both the White Pearl and this unlucky girl," Ari said casually. "Once I return to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, I'll immediately request approval from the Five Elders on your behalf."
"Really?!" The king was overjoyed.
Ignoring the duke's pleading expression, he said eagerly:
"Saint Ari, please take Funing with you! Becoming your wife is her honor!"
"No! Your Majesty! You can't do this! I absolutely refuse—" the duke shouted, stepping toward the king and the Celestial Dragon without realizing it.
Funing tried to pull him back—
But Nami grabbed her arm.
"Don't go over there!"
Funing froze for a moment, turning to look at Nami.
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
The duke collapsed to the ground.
But not from the bullet.
Norton crushed the bullet between his fingers and turned to the duke under the astonished gaze of the Celestial Dragon.
"I just saved your life again."
The duke's face was pale. Under the pressure of power and the threat of death, his mind had gone completely blank.
Funing lifted her skirt and hurried to his side, helping him up.
"Father! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" the duke whispered weakly, clutching her arm with trembling hands. "Run… Funing… escape to the sea!"
Only the sea lay beyond the reach of the Celestial Dragons' authority.
Seeing her father nearly driven mad with fear, Funing glared angrily at the Celestial Dragon.
"You ugly freak! I will never marry you! I hate you!"
The king's face darkened.
"Funing! Don't be rude! Marrying Saint Ari is your blessing! He's a Celestial Dragon—a World Noble!"
"You disappoint me, Your Majesty!" Funing stared coldly at the king. "I will never marry that ugly monster. And I will never hand the White Pearl over to you!"
Nami was secretly shocked.
She hadn't expected that beneath Funing's seemingly naive and gentle personality lay such courage.
Even the duke himself had never dared to rebuke a World Noble like that.
"Well said!" Norton applauded with a laugh.
"What did you say?!" Ari's face turned red with rage. "I've changed my mind! I'll kill all of you!"
"Mongola!"
"Yes, sir." The CP0 agent in the black chrysanthemum mask bowed slightly.
"Kill the silver-haired man and that duke! Leave the white-haired girl and the orange-haired woman alive—I'll torture them to death myself!" Ari snarled.
"Saint Ari," the CP0 agent said quietly, "executing a major noble of a kingdom could damage the reputation of the World Government if word spreads."
"Even you wanted to disobey me, Mongola?!" Ari panted angrily.
"No. What I mean is…"
The masked agent slowly turned his gaze toward the king.
"We simply kill everyone who witnessed this, to prevent any leaks."
The king trembled violently.
"I swear I won't say anything! Please deal with them however you wish!"
The CP0 agent withdrew his gaze.
"And what is your decision, Saint Ari?"
"So troublesome…" Ari waved his hand impatiently. "Fine. Kill them all! Kill every last one!"
He grinned cruelly.
"But remember, leave those two women alive. I want to torture them personally!"
Nami's face turned pale, and she hid behind Norton in fear.
The king's face turned even whiter.
He scrambled to his feet and tried to flee.
The CP0 agent in the black chrysanthemum mask suddenly vanished.
In the next instant—
The king's head fell to the ground.
He didn't even have time to scream.
The CP0 agent licked the blood from his fingers and gave a chilling smile.
"So this is what a king's blood tastes like."
The king's head rolled to a stop at the duke's feet.
The duke opened his mouth, but his mind was blank. His legs trembled so badly he could barely stand. When he looked at the Celestial Dragon and the CP0 agent, there was nothing left in his eyes except fear.
This situation had gone far beyond anything he could have imagined.
"Mongola, you psychopath," Saint Ari laughed. "All those excuses were just because you wanted to kill more people, weren't they?"
"Bringing you along really was the right decision. This is getting entertaining!"
The CP0 agent named Mongola was a notorious killer even within CP0.
This time, Ari had descended from the Holy Land without informing his family, so his entourage was small.
But with Mongola present, Ari had absolutely no worries about his safety.
Because Mongola was terrifyingly strong.
Ari didn't mind Mongola's cunning little tricks. Despite his cruelty, Mongola was extremely loyal—something everyone in Mary Geoise acknowledged.
The duke grabbed Funing's hand and ran for the exit.
"What do we do now?" Nami asked from behind Norton, peeking out with a pale face.
Seeing the king of an entire country killed before her eyes was the most shocking scene she had ever witnessed.
"What do we do?" Norton looked at Mongola, who was slowly approaching.
A wild smile spread across his face.
"What else?"
"We fight."
"Then I'm leaving first, Norton!" Nami had already run far away, waving goodbye as she shouted.