Bab 50: Chapter 50: The Invisible Threat
The crew had barely caught their breath after Perona's ghostly ambush, but there was no time to relax. The corridors of Thriller Bark seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, each turn more disorienting than the last. The fog that hung in the air made it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead, and the eerie creaks of the ship echoed all around them.
"We're getting closer," Vulcan muttered, glancing at the walls around him. "This place just keeps getting weirder."
Smoker exhaled a plume of smoke, his expression grim. "I don't like it. Something's off."
Brook's bony fingers tapped his sword hilt as he floated beside them, humming a cheerful tune. "Ah, yes! It's always quietest before something terrible happens! Yohohoho!"
Hina sighed. "Hina thinks that's not a comforting thought."
But just as the crew prepared to move forward, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor, followed by a low, rumbling chuckle.
"What now?" Vulcan growled, his naginata already in hand.
Suddenly, Smoker was shoved forward by an unseen force, and before anyone could react, he was thrown across the room, crashing into a stack of barrels.
"What the—?!" Smoker grunted, picking himself up, his eyes blazing with anger. "Who hit me?!"
The answer came in the form of laughter, deep and amused. "Ah, you didn't see me coming, did you?"
Vulcan's eyes narrowed. "Great. Another ghost?"
"Oh, no," the voice replied, still laughing. "I'm far worse than a ghost."
Before Vulcan could respond, he was hit by an invisible punch to the gut, sending him stumbling backward. "Oof! What—?!"
Hina raised her hands, ready to summon her Cage-Cage abilities, but before she could, she was lifted off the ground by an unseen force. "Hina—?!"
"Someone grab me! I'm floating!"
Brook, still grinning despite the chaos, tilted his head. "Ah, this must be Absalom, the master of invisibility! He can make himself, and anything he touches, completely vanish! Yohohoho!"
"Invisibility?!" Vulcan groaned, clutching his stomach. "Just great. Like we weren't dealing with enough tricks already."
A loud crash echoed through the room as one of the recruits was knocked to the ground by another invisible force. The crew scrambled to their feet, but Absalom's unseen attacks kept coming. Every time they thought they had a handle on the situation, another punch or kick came from nowhere.
"Where is this guy?!" one of the recruits shouted, swinging wildly at the air.
"Oh, come now," Absalom's voice teased, still invisible. "You're making this too easy. I can do this all day."
Vulcan gritted his teeth, his mind racing. They needed a way to expose Absalom, or he'd just keep picking them off one by one.
Smoker, now on his feet, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "If we can't see him, we'll have to smoke him out."
Without waiting for confirmation, Smoker transformed into his smoke form, flooding the room with a thick cloud. The smoke billowed out in every direction, curling through the hallways and covering the entire area.
"I can't see anything!" one of the recruits shouted.
"That's the idea!" Smoker growled. "If he moves through the smoke, we'll see it shift!"
For a few seconds, there was silence, the room now thick with smoke. The crew stood ready, waiting for any sign of movement. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Vulcan spotted it—a swirl in the smoke, moving against the current.
"There!" Vulcan shouted, lunging forward with his naginata.
The blade sliced through the air, but it only caught the edge of something invisible. Absalom grunted in surprise, narrowly dodging the attack, but now that they knew where he was, the crew had a target.
"Gotcha now!" Vulcan grinned.
"Not quite," Absalom's voice taunted, though it was clear he was less confident now. He tried to dash away, but Brook was already in position.
"Ah, an invisible man! How exciting!" Brook said cheerfully. "But even the unseen must have a shadow! Yohohoho!"
In a single graceful motion, Brook swung his sword, aiming for the disturbance in the smoke. The blade connected, and though it didn't fully hit its target, it grazed Absalom's leg, causing him to yelp in pain.
"There he is!" Smoker growled, rushing toward the now-visible blood droplets in the air.
Absalom cursed under his breath, still invisible but clearly injured. "You're more persistent than I thought… But I'm not done yet!"
Without warning, the entire floor rumbled, and Absalom lifted a huge crate from the corner of the room—still invisible—and hurled it toward the crew.
"Look out!" Hina shouted.
The crew scattered as the crate smashed into the wall, splintering into pieces. But even as they dodged, Vulcan grinned. He could see the trail of blood that Absalom had left behind, faint as it was.
"You're bleeding, buddy!" Vulcan called out, his tone mocking. "You might be invisible, but you're not untouchable."
Absalom's voice wavered slightly, but he kept up his bravado. "I've dealt with worse. You'll never catch me!"
"Oh? Let's test that," Vulcan said, his grin widening.
With a burst of Soru, Vulcan zipped forward, following the trail of blood through the smoke. He swung his naginata in quick, precise strikes, each one aimed at where the disturbance in the smoke was most noticeable. Each attack pushed Absalom further back, forcing him into a defensive position.
"Ah, it's a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Brook chimed in, still twirling his sword. "Watching an invisible man scramble for safety! Yohohoho!"
Hina, now back on her feet, narrowed her eyes. "Hina will trap him."
With a flick of her wrist, she summoned iron bars from the ground, aiming for the general area where Absalom was retreating. The bars shot up, and though Absalom tried to dodge, one of them caught his leg, tripping him.
"Gotcha!" Vulcan said, closing in.
But just as Vulcan prepared to deliver the finishing blow, Absalom, now visibly panicking, activated his invisibility again, disappearing entirely.
"Damn it!" Vulcan cursed, glancing around.
But Brook, always quick on his feet, had an idea. He raised his hand dramatically. "Ah, allow me to lend a hand, Vulcan-kun!"
With a flourish, Brook threw his sword into the air, letting it spin wildly before catching it again. "Let us use the power of music to reveal the hidden! Yohohoho!"
Brook began to play a fast, energetic tune on his sword-cane, the sound reverberating through the room. The vibrations caused the smoke to shift and ripple, making it easier to see where Absalom was moving.
"There!" Brook called, pointing to where the smoke was disturbing the rhythm of his song.
Vulcan wasted no time. He darted toward the disturbance and brought his naginata down in a powerful strike. This time, the blade found its mark.
Absalom reappeared, clutching his bleeding side, his face contorted in pain and shock. "You... How?!"
"Simple," Vulcan said, grinning as he pressed the blade to Absalom's chest. "You can't hide forever. Now, you're coming with us."
Absalom glared at him but didn't have the strength to fight back. He slumped to the floor, defeated.
"Hina will take him," Hina said, summoning her iron bars to bind Absalom securely. "Hina thinks he won't be a problem anymore."
The recruits, who had been cautiously watching from the sidelines, finally let out a collective breath of relief. One of them wiped the sweat from his brow. "We... we actually caught him."
Smoker crossed his arms, his usual scowl back in place. "Took long enough."
Brook sheathed his sword with a flourish and gave a polite bow. "Ah, it was a pleasure, everyone! I do enjoy a good chase. Yohohoho!"
Vulcan chuckled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Not bad, Brook. I didn't think a song would help catch an invisible man, but here we are."
Brook gave him a wink. "Ah, music can solve many problems, my dear Vulcan. Even the invisible ones!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone