October 16, 1501, Age of the Sea Circle
After his first night exploring the Domain of the Gods, Orion's life had settled into a new routine. With the help of his ability "Un Fleur," he was able to perceive what was happening inside the mansion of Figarland Vespasian, ensuring that the three Kuja sisters did not suffer a tragic fate.
To achieve this, Orion simply created an ear with his ability and, after placing it inside a small box he crafted using his Art Coating—so as not to frighten the three girls too much by suddenly handing them a human ear—he was able to listen to everything that happened in the place and intervene if necessary.
Thanks to the medicine Orion had administered to Vespasian, the Celestial Dragon experienced something similar to a hangover with memory loss, waking up only in the afternoon of the following day. This ensured that the man was not in the "mood" to try anything with the three Kuja during the day, and once night fell, Orion simply repeated the process, keeping him in a constant state of "hangover."
Fortunately for Orion, Vespasian was usually in such a condition daily, and it had been this way for years, so Orion's actions in drugging him did not raise suspicion among the other Celestial Dragons.
To begin with, the other Celestial Dragons despised Vespasian and avoided him as though he were the plague, so they cared little about his condition. Over the last few days, Orion had managed to gather some information on the matter, coming to understand the situation somewhat.
Apparently, Vespasian had been recognized as a prodigy since childhood, but ultimately failed to secure a place among the God Knights due to the simple fact that someone else in his family possessed even greater talent than his own: Garling.
Garling was Vespasian's older brother, and he was a monster even more gifted than him. Although Vespasian's talent would have earned him a position of power in any other noble family of the place, he had the misfortune of being born in the same era as Garling, who crushed him without ever allowing him to raise his head.
For a proud genius belonging to the gods who ruled the world, such "humiliation" was worse than death, and after years of futile struggle to win the battle against his older brother for the position of highest status within the family, Vespasian simply gave up, drowning in his frustration.
Once his ambition faded, his mind shattered completely, and he fell into a madness that lasted many years. To soothe his tormented mind, he took refuge in alcohol and drugs, and it was not unusual to see him wandering around Mary Geoise like a zombie, capable of committing any act of madness at any given moment.
It was for this reason that the other Celestial Dragons, who were accustomed to arrogance and to ignoring consequences, did not dare make an enemy of Vespasian. After all, few things were more terrifying to powerful people than a lunatic. Lunatics did not measure consequences, and for that reason they could act with impunity, creating great problems for others, and this was the case even in the sacred land of Mary Geoise.
Even so, if Vespasian had been a normal Celestial Dragon, the others would not have been so afraid of confronting him. The problem was that he was Garling's brother, and Garling held an extremely high position in this place. Furthermore, Garling was known for his extreme arrogance and low tolerance.
If the other Celestial Dragons ever decided to teach Vespasian a lesson, or even eliminate him, Garling would personally deal with that person in the cruelest way possible, and wipe out their entire family. This was not because Garling felt any brotherly affection for Vespasian, but simply because he considered it an insult to his pride if anyone laid a hand on someone from his family, as that meant they were not showing enough respect to him as the head of the Figarland.
For Garling, his brother Vespasian was nothing more than insignificant trash, but even the trash in his possession had to be respected by others—such was the pride of the most powerful of the God Knights.
This entire dynamic had allowed Vespasian to act freely in Mary Geoise, which eventually led him to acquire the three Kuja sisters without opposition, and at the same time allowed Orion to act without raising suspicion.
Of course, the fear of provoking Vespasian did not extend to all Celestial Dragons, but only to those of lower standing. If another of the God Knights had been present at the auction, the pathetic man who spent his days drunk would never have managed to obtain the three girls, although he would have still kept his head, since the other God Knights did not want to engage in a life-or-death struggle with Figarland Garling over something so trivial.
Perhaps the only exception was Saint Sommers, who had offended Garling in the same way in the past, although he no longer dared to do so openly in the present.
During Orion's first encounter with the three Kuja in the Figarland mansion, he had instructed them that they must lie and pretend they had been abused by Vespasian. This was to avoid raising suspicion, and also to test whether in this way the drunken man might lose interest in the three girls.
The result had not been entirely satisfactory, since Vespasian's interest bordered on obsession and had not diminished in the slightest, though at the very least Orion's actions had succeeded in deceiving the Celestial Dragon's mind and protecting the girls.
That night, Orion had torn the girls' clothes in a suggestive way and, using the knowledge provided by his "Espionage" ability, had applied makeup to make them look as though they had truly been violated.
He then only needed to "implant" the false memories into Vespasian's mind through suggestion, which was not at all difficult, since the Celestial Dragon's state of mind was extremely permeable due to the effects of the drug administered by Orion.
After his plan worked on the first night, Orion continued using it during the following days, thus establishing his new routine.
During the day, Orion was mostly doing slave work in the mansion of the Celestial Dragon who had purchased him—work which, in his opinion, was not very different from the chores he had done in his past life during adolescence, when he cleaned his neighbors' gardens.
Of course, the situation was by no means the same overall, because in his past life he had not had to worry about being tortured at someone else's whim. Being a slave in Mary Geoise meant that sooner or later he would face a horrible, traumatizing experience.
Every slave who ended up in this place, sooner or later, had to face the vile nature of the Celestial Dragons, though it was not something that always happened immediately. For high-value slaves, it certainly happened right away, since the Celestial Dragons' attention was particularly drawn to them, forcing those unfortunate people into the company of the depraved nobles of the World Government and making them suffer the consequences.
Such had been the case, for example, with the three Kuja girls, and with so many other "high-value" slaves in the last auction. However, for ordinary slaves like Orion, the situation was not so dire at the beginning, as the Celestial Dragons paid them little attention.
After all, the Celestial Dragons' time was limited, and they preferred to spend it tormenting the more interesting slaves. The sheer number of slaves in Mary Geoise was staggeringly high, which meant that some of the more fortunate ones could live relatively peaceful lives for a time.
Even so, sooner or later terror arrived. Perhaps one day they crossed paths with a Celestial Dragon in a foul mood, or they did their work poorly, or simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever the reason, even those slaves who generally lived in relative peace would eventually have to experience the horror brought by the depraved Celestial Dragons.
For now, however, Orion had considerable leeway to move without problems, and he had hardly interacted at all with the Celestial Dragon who had bought him. The only time he had interacted with him had been upon his arrival at the mansion, when the loathsome man had personally branded him with the mark of slavery.
This was a widespread custom among the Celestial Dragons, who delighted in branding their property as a way of asserting ownership over the lives of the unfortunate slaves brought to them.
Naturally, Orion would never allow himself to be marked with the Celestial Dragon's Hoof Mark, so he had to use a little trick to get out of it.
Using his "Un Fleur" ability—which had lately become incredibly useful thanks to the improvements granted by consuming the Maxi Maxi no Mi—Orion created an extra arm, which received the slavery brand while he concealed his real arm.
Although he had to endure the pain of his skin burning, he ensured that the indelible mark would not remain permanently on his body, since when he dissolved the appendage created with his special ability, the mark disappeared with it, leaving no trace. After that, all he had to do was alter his appearance again with his "Distorted Future" ability, artificially adding the brand to his arm.
The other slaves, however, had not been as fortunate in escaping the slavery mark as Orion had. Even the three Kuja and Fisher Tiger had been branded without any chance to resist.
Fisher Tiger—this was the name Orion had learned after interacting directly with the salmon-skinned Fish-man. Over the past few days, Orion had not only kept an eye on the three Kuja, but also on this Fish-man, for his aura revealed that he was not an ordinary person.
Orion had infiltrated the mansion where Fisher Tiger was kept, intending to speak with him on the second night, but to his surprise, the unfortunate Fish-man was being brutally tortured by the Celestial Dragon who had purchased him, though for the depraved man it was nothing more than an experiment to test the endurance of the fish he had acquired.
Unlike the situation with Figarland Vespasian, Orion chose not to intervene this time, and this was because the Celestial Dragon was not alone during his torture sessions, but instead had a large retinue with him, which included CP0 agents.
Orion could not simply appear and eliminate everyone present—first because he did not have the power to do so, and second because his identity would be revealed and he would have no choice but to flee Mary Geoise.
For that reason, Orion could only apologize silently to Fisher Tiger in his mind for his weakness, and he simply thought of ways to compensate him later. Although Orion believed the three Kuja sisters were the most important piece in the current mission, he was also keeping an eye on Fisher Tiger, as well as on the other slaves in Mary Geoise.
Even though he had not found other slaves as remarkable as them, Orion was drawing up plans in his mind regarding the slaves. He knew that if he tried to rescue them all, he would most likely fail, as there were far too many powerful enemies in this place, but he at least wanted to try to help as many as he could.
It was not until the third night that Orion managed to establish contact with Fisher Tiger, since the Celestial Dragon had taken a break after torturing him for days. Careful not to leave any visible traces, Orion treated Fisher Tiger's wounds and introduced himself under his pseudonym: Kairos.
Although Fisher Tiger initially showed hostility toward him because of his condition as a human, he quickly restrained his emotions when he saw Orion tending his wounds, though the hatred in his eyes clearly remained.
Even so, Orion was able to have a brief conversation with him and learn his name, although he obtained no further information. After that, Fisher Tiger's owner began another multi-day torture session, and Orion had not interacted again with the tragic Fish-man.
Now it was the night of the fifth day since he had arrived in the Domain of the Gods, and Orion was on his way to check on the three Kuja.
Ever since he had established contact with them on the first night, Orion had visited the girls without fail each night, partly to prevent them from suffering a tragedy at Vespasian's hands, but also to reassure them and show that he was always there to help.
After several days of interaction, the three girls no longer displayed the fear they had shown him on the first night, and even seemed glad each time he arrived. Even so, the two younger sisters still kept a cautious distance, and Orion had never heard them say more than two words to him in a row.
Instead, it was Hancock who took charge of interacting with Orion, and his familiarity with her had grown considerably in recent days. It should be said that in situations of high tension and stress, it was easier to form close bonds, since the girls were desperately searching for a hope to cling to, and Orion had begun to fill that role.
Orion was moving through the desolate streets of the Domain of the Gods, which at night were usually completely empty, as the Celestial Dragons seldom left their homes at all, and even less so at night. Still, Orion never let his guard down while moving during his nocturnal outings, since the slightest carelessness could lead to his discovery.
For that reason, he remained highly alert to his surroundings while moving forward with the use of his spatial abilities.
And it was precisely because he kept such a vigilant eye on his surroundings that he saw something that startled him so much it nearly caused his presence to be discovered. In the deserted streets of the Domain of the Gods, Orion saw something that had no place there, something he never would have expected to see: the green wind of the revolution.
Orion could never mistake this particular wind, for it was not something easily forgotten. He had been deeply struck by this ability the first time he had witnessed it years ago, and each time he saw it again, the image of the man capable of controlling the wind in the palm of his hand appeared in his mind like an indelible mark: the revolutionary leader Monkey D. Dragon.
Utterly shaken by the surprise, Orion lingered outside his Pocket Dimension longer than usual, which nearly caused him to be discovered by a watchman in the area. Although there were no God Knights patrolling the streets, there were indeed people guarding this place—foot soldiers who were elite agents of Cipher Pol.
Fortunately, Orion managed to regain his composure just in time, slipping back into the Pocket Dimension at full speed and avoiding being discovered by his enemies.
"Dragon?... What is he doing in a place like this?" Orion murmured, focusing on the direction where he had seen the wind shift strangely.
To a normal person, the wind controlled by Dragon would not have looked particularly unusual, but to Orion the difference from ordinary wind was apparent, and with the use of his Prism Eyes he could even see the gusts shimmering in a very peculiar shade of green.
That Monkey D. Dragon should be in the Domain of the Gods—the very place where his fiercest enemies resided—was something Orion could not comprehend. His mind immediately began racing down very dark paths, conjuring up all sorts of scenarios of betrayal, imagining that the stern revolutionary was playing a long game, mocking his passionate subordinates as he led them toward a certain and carefully planned defeat.
Orion immediately dismissed those absurd ideas, since Dragon was not that kind of person. Orion could not say Dragon was his friend in the strict sense of the word, but he was someone he respected, and that respect was not unfounded. The Dragon he knew would never ally himself with the Celestial Dragons.
But then… why was the revolutionary in the very heart of enemy territory? If he were identified, would he not be brutally executed? Did he have such a strong desire to die?
Even so, considering that Orion himself had been able to move around without much trouble thanks to the scarce surveillance in this place, he did not judge Dragon's recklessness too harshly, though his curiosity about Dragon's activities only grew stronger.
Although Orion usually tried not to meddle in other people's personal affairs—unless they involved him in some way—this time it was necessary to get to the bottom of the mystery, for the stability of the Revolutionary Army was at stake.
For Orion, aside from his personal power and that of his kingdom, the Revolutionary Army was another of the main pillars of his strength and influence in this world, and he could not allow it to be endangered by Dragon's actions.
Still, Orion did not intend to confront the revolutionary leader immediately. Instead, he decided to follow his trail quietly, to see where it ultimately led.
With the help of his Prism Eyes, Orion successfully managed to track Dragon, though as they drew closer and closer to the place he knew best in the Domain of the Gods, Orion's expression became increasingly strange.
At last, Orion reached the place he had been visiting every night since his arrival—and where he had been headed this very night as well: the Figarland mansion.
What was Dragon doing here? Orion wondered, and with great curiosity, he entered the mansion using his Space Door. He had a strong feeling he was about to discover something important.
...
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