章 32: The Knights of God

"Hurry up and board the ships, we have to get out of here right now!"

"Yes, boss!"

The slaves rushed into Fisher Tiger's ship as the chaos wrecked the land and the blood of the world's nobles spilt the streets in retribution. It was a night that would never be forgotten by them and yet, it would be erased from history as to protect the dignity of the world nobles.

*CLAANG!!*

There was enough vengeance but it was time to go. There were many influential individuals fighting in the vicinity and their strikes alone caused unprecedented destruction. If they remained any further they'd all die and the sacrifice would be for nothing.

All of the slaves shivered in fright when the two individuals fighting with the sword came closer to them than they hoped.

*WHOOOSHH!*

A powerful slash imbued with 4th Will created a green line on the soil and the whole field collapsed, sliding down the field and leaving every single individual here astonished and frightened.

'What sort of ridiculous power is this!?'

For Mihawk this fight was painful, it was difficult for her to enjoy herself against this foe who not only was a traitor but it was also a person she had previously respected as a close relative to her family. She loved to cross swords for dignity, not for vengeance... but tonight bloodthirst was her only fuel.

And lord it was unleashed, throwing Leonidas into an immediate disadvantage as he struggled to protect his pathetic life.

The Kuja sisters boarded the ship before it fell off the cliff, in Hancock's arms there was a blonde little girl bruised all over, they had found her crawling and looking for the way out. They helped countless slaves find their way.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!*

Another explosion, this time created by red lightning, thrashed the side of the ship they had found, Shanks was fighting against an individual with equally crimson hair and yet the man's sword was serene while Shanks struggled both of their conquerors Hakis destroyed this land that was already determined to be forfeited.

"Quickly leave, Tiger!" Shanks yelled while fighting his own opponent. Their conqueror Haki threatened to reduce the whole operation to failure if all of those boarding the ship just passed out.

*BOOOOMMM!!*

A sonic boom was heard in the distance and this time -although to Mihawk's disappointment- Dragon arrived, but he was being chased by something and covered in blood.

*FiUUSHH!!*

A gigantic black-like arrow was shooting in the skies and chasing after him with an energy that Mihawk felt was beyond endangering, the energy was so devastating that made the opponents she and Shanks were facing, look like infants.

It was the 4th Haki!

'Someone else has awakened it in Marie Geoise!?'.

...

"*cough!* I have seen what I needed to see. Akagami, Mihawk. I'm off!"

Dragon was coughing blood all over, they didn't know what happened but he was in a rush to leave. The arrow impacted against the ground and destroyed several buildings while chasing after him. He merely used his power to make the wind levitate the ship filled to the brim with slaves before taking them down the red line into the paradise side.

That man was fleeing for his life and they could tell.

"What is that arrow?" She asked Leonidas whose response was lacklustre at best.

"You don't need to know".

Leonidas Dorotialis was drenched in blood, just like Mihawk. Their battlefield had long become a wasteland and the man was in his last breath... he knew he couldn't win this fight not when she had stepped over the threshold of the Conqueror Haki and her mastery of this ability was this high as well.

"It is the one that sits on the throne, right?" Mihawk remarked, Yoru was ready to slice the life away from the fool.

!!!

"You know too much!".

"Originally, Knights of God were formed from the strongest in the twenty families to protect the land of Marie Geoise from unpredicted threats. But with how powerful you all are, there had to be a spearhead-"

*CLAANG!*

The purple-haired man grits his teeth, intending to shut her up with his sword. But he was unable to. She blocked his strike with Yoru's handle coated in Haki. A burst of purple aura destroyed everything behind her, but she remained unscathed.

*WHOOOSH!*

A gnashing green slice split his chest in two and showers of blood left his mouth.

"I'll kill you and take your spot, Leonidas… just like how you backstabbed by father back then".

She approached the man whose knees gave away and groaned in defeat, she whispered in his ears, "You're nothing but a shame as a swordsman. Infringing a wound on my father's back just to deceitfully take the spot that belonged to your best friend. I'll make sure history never knows about you or the pathetic Dorotialis Family whose name you have polluted with greed".

Each word was more poisonous than the previous one, fiercely engraving themselves in the man's heart, in her, he could remember those days she was but a little kid learning how to use the sword from her father and even him.

What remained now was a ruthless woman whose yellow eyes shone like the moon.

If Veyron had seen this version of her, he'd be peeved. It was nothing like her heartwarming yet disciplining self. This was a ruthless version of her that craved vengeance and blood.

She took the man's sword with delicacy.

"One of the twelve supreme swords, Kokutou Twilight, the dowry of the long lost Dorotialis Family; Undeserving of your filthy hands. You have profaned this sword's legacy by wielding it for so long with your disgusting fingers, traitor. It is asking me to be destroyed and forgotten, lest its glorious name is at any point in history associated with you again".

*SNAP!*

With a strike of her Sword Intent, the sword was sliced in two and the marginal energy it emitted as one of the most powerful swords, died off. Along with it, Leonidas' heart snapped as well. For a swordsman, a sword was like their very heart and for this man who had spent nearly three hundred years with this sword.

The moment it snapped was the moment he died.

"A pity I can't harvest your devil fruit, I would have gifted it to my son".

With only one last look of disgust, she turned around never to see that corpse again. The flesh started to decay so fast it was visible to the naked eye and just like that, the 2nd Knight of God, a man with a strength capable of effortlessly defeating an admiral, perished.

Mihawk looked to the side where Shanks and another man were duelling with equal intensity. However, this duel to the death caused nothing but amusement to her as their swords were bereft of killing intent.

"Can you two stop feigning? It is disgusting... There is nobody else here"

She waved her sword around to allow them to see the whole region of Marie Geoise completely obliterated with no living person among them. Celestial Dragons, slaves... red blood was shed here, regardless of the faction.

The slaves had already fallen down the cliff taken away by Monkey D. Dragon.

"…"

Shanks and the red-haired man both regarded one another before sheathing their swords. In the man's eyes, there was pride when fighting against Shanks, but he didn't show it outwardly.

"I don't know what you intended to do but if a stunt like this repeats. I won't show mercy" The man expressed towards Shanks ruthlessly, his gaze then turned to Mihawk.

"Mihawk".

"…" The woman flinched for a moment, not due to fear but realising what words he was going to say, words she always wanted to hear and yet... she felt empty at this moment.

"You're henceforth the strongest swordsman alive. I order you to take the spot as the 2nd Knight of God back to your Dracule Family, you can choose whether you live in Marie Geoise or with the peasants, that much freedom I shall give you".

She clenched her hands, 'I don't feel like the strongest yet'.

Not until she defeated her son after he reached his maximum power, 'But I will hold this title in the meantime and then, we can fight for it, son'.

With not much of a choice, she nodded, "I choose to live in the Grandline".

The man nodded in confirmation although a little disappointed at her choice, "Very well. Once you and Shanks find the Gomu Gomu no Mi, you shall leave his crew and become a warlord of the seas. Stand by for my future orders".

"Yes" She didn't kneel down, after defeating Leonidas, the only man who could possibly rival her father with the sword, She didn't believe there was anyone that could kill her in this world, not even the man in front of her.

"What if I choose not to give you that fruit" Shanks spoke suddenly, pissed off that this man seemed to always take things for granted as if they had to do everything he said just because of some foolish sense of responsibility towards their ancestors.

"Would you disobey your dear father, Shanks?"

"You are not my father! My father is…"

"Who? Gol D. Roger?" The man spoke with ridicule and Shanks' flinched. That was indeed the man he thought resembled his father the most, at least... he did more than the man standing right in front.

"…"

"Foolish. You will give me the fruit if you know what's good for you. I'm in charge of the region henceforth, hurry up and leave before I call the rest of the knights".

It was obvious to the two of them that even within the Knights of God, this man had his own agenda. Mihawk and Shanks both nodded before jumping down the red line, leaving a man standing there and sighing.

'Things were a lot easier hundreds of years ago. Parenthood is such a hassle'.

The next second he had vanished, leaving behind a wrecked city that would soon be repaired and filled with new life as today's events were forgotten from history after a small scandal that would last a week or two at most until they found another set of news worth making viral.

Such was the life of the God's Knights leader, Saint Fingarland Garling the protector of the throne.