Impel Down was a place of eternal darkness, situated as it was in the lightless depths of the ocean. However, the cage standing before Diarmuid and his party was brightly lit.
Calling it a "cage" was actually a bit of a stretch; it was more like a peculiar, large house, enclosed by a perimeter of iron bars—the bare minimum required for incarceration. Even more absurd was the fact that these bars did not reach the ceiling. They were purely symbolic; if the occupant truly wished to climb out, it looked as though it would be effortless.
This was where Nico Olvia was kept.
A look of surprise crossed Diarmuid's face. This was his first time visiting and seeing where Olvia was imprisoned. Although Robin had often told him that the staff at Impel Down took good care of her, he hadn't expected the treatment to be this favorable.
Robin, by contrast, acted as if this were the most natural thing in the world. She knew that as long as she was alive and serving in the Marines, her mother would never do anything to cause her embarrassment.
In the first half of her life, Olvia had lived for Ohara, lived for its history, and had only ever neglected Robin. Conversely, Robin had spent the last decade and a half working tirelessly for Olvia's sake. No matter how stubborn Olvia might be, she wasn't about to sabotage her daughter's efforts. Thus, despite the "cage" being so rudimentary, Olvia had never once attempted to escape in over ten years. Besides, she possessed no combat strength; even if she climbed over those bars, where would she go? Did she really think she could find her way out of the true Impel Down?
"Mom!" Robin called out into the enclosure, removing her sunglasses.
Before long, a woman who still appeared quite graceful hurried out, her steps frantic as if she were in a great rush. It was indeed Olvia. More than ten years had passed, yet she remained beautiful. Living in the depths of Impel Down away from the sun had left her skin exceptionally pale. Being a "prisoner" had clearly not entailed much hardship; despite being nearly forty, she looked as though she were only in her early thirties.
Her face lit up upon seeing Robin, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Robin..."
Then, she noticed the details. Robin had come specifically wearing her Marine Justice coat, and the rank insignia on her shoulders were those of a Vice Admiral of Headquarters. This sight caused a twinge of both bitterness and pride in Olvia's heart.
She didn't harbor any hidden agendas. By now, although Diarmuid still suspected her of being stubborn, Olvia had long since set aside her hatred for what happened to Ohara. The only thing she still clung to was her obsession with history.
In that moment, a certain phrase flickered through Diarmuid's mind: "Ohara was merely trying to preserve the voices from the past." He had forgotten who said it. So many years had passed that he had already made his own internal peace with the rights and wrongs of the Ohara incident. He didn't want to dwell on it, but that sentence, the "original intent of Ohara", still resonated deeply within him.
Olvia's only remaining attachment to Ohara was indeed to preserve those voices. As for revenge, not only was she powerless to seek it, but seeing her daughter rise to the rank of Vice Admiral made it impossible for her to say anything further. She didn't want to drag Robin back into the vortex of hatred, a terrifying place capable of swallowing anyone whole. Robin had worked hard enough for her sake; for the rest of her life, Olvia hoped her daughter would live for herself.
The mother and daughter shared a tearful embrace, but it lasted only a few minutes. Olvia then looked toward Diarmuid, her gaze complex.
Years ago, Saul had defected from Marine Headquarters to save her, only for them to be captured by Diarmuid shortly after hitting the open sea. That had been her first and only meeting with him. She couldn't say she knew him at all, other than hearing his name constantly from Robin's lips. Yet, despite only meeting him once, Diarmuid's face was seared into her memory.
Make no mistake, this wasn't some pathological Stockholm Syndrome; she simply wanted to remember the face of the man responsible.
Watching him now, Olvia was surprised to find that Diarmuid, who was theoretically around the same age as her, looked just as young as he did back then. He had even grown a beard, presumably to make himself look more mature. At a glance, he looked like a man in his late twenties—full of vitality, yet steady and composed.
There had been countless times in the past when Olvia had vowed that if she ever saw this bastard again, she would give him a piece of her mind! However, now that he was standing before her, her feelings were a tangled mess.
This was the man who had caused her over a decade of imprisonment. This was the man who had personally destroyed Ohara. Yet, this was also the man who had saved her only hope, her daughter Nico Robin. Despite the deep-seated grievances between them, this man had raised her daughter, trained her into an exceptional Marine, and placed her in a high-ranking position as a Vice Admiral.
Olvia didn't know that Diarmuid's actions were partially driven by the fondness and appreciation he felt for the character from his past life's stories. To her, Diarmuid was a bafflingly complex Admiral: iron-blooded and unreasonable, he had ruthlessly executed the Buster Call and annihilated Ohara. But if she set aside his duty as a Marine and judged him simply as a "human," he possessed certain qualities that even she found touching.
The words she had prepared to scream, calling him a cold-blooded monster, remained stuck in her throat.
Ultimately, Olvia looked at Diarmuid with a complicated and sentimental gaze. "Admiral, thank you for looking after Robin all these years. I am truly grateful."
Diarmuid looked back at her, his own heart stirred. So many years had passed in the blink of an eye. The tragedy of Ohara still felt vivid in his mind, as if it had only happened a few years ago.
His stance had not changed: Ohara was guilty of a "primal sin." The scholars' arrogance, their reckless defiance, and their "eyes that saw no one" were the root causes of Ohara's destruction. He still believed it was foolish for Ohara to take it upon themselves to declare they were on the side of justice and study the Poneglyphs while in such a "weak state." Even at his current level of power, Diarmuid wouldn't dare suggest bringing Pluton out for a spin, let alone the scholars.
However, time changes everything. His once-unmoved heart felt a twinge of bitterness after hearing Olvia's gratitude. In the end, he had slaughtered those scholars. It wasn't regret or guilt, exactly, but rather a realization as a powerful man looking back that what he had done was "unnecessary", and it was merely that.
Then again, he reminded himself that he had at least led Sakazuki astray, ensuring the civilians of Ohara remained unharmed.
Diarmuid quickly regained his composure and nodded to Olvia. "I originally had many things I wanted to say to you. For instance, that Robin has a bright future and you shouldn't let the past hold her back. Or perhaps to advise you not to be so stubborn; whether it's Poneglyphs or Ancient Weapons, they are two sides of the same coin. Those without the strength or the right have no business touching them. But seeing you now, I feel these words are unnecessary. After so many years, you surely have your own thoughts. Nothing I say could change your mind anyway. Now that things have reached this point, I only have one somewhat hypocritical sentiment to share with you..."
Olvia's expression didn't change. She watched Diarmuid and said softly, "Please speak, Admiral."
"History repeats itself, but humanity cannot return to the past. Olvia, let it go," Diarmuid remarked with deep emotion.
Without waiting for a response from Robin or Olvia, he waved a hand. "Alright, I won't interrupt your reunion. Pack your things. Once I've finished my business, we'll all leave together. I'm going to see another old friend now."
Ignoring Olvia's complex stare, Diarmuid turned and left. Garp clicked his tongue in reflection, but he had nothing to say to Olvia. They weren't acquainted, and Rosinante was more important; after all, Sengoku's foster son was like a nephew to him. Garp had spent plenty of time with Rosinante when the boy was small.
"Wait for me, Diarmuid!" Garp turned and followed.
Magellan said nothing more, as he still had to lead the way for the Admiral and the Hero.
Soon, the group was gone, leaving only Robin and Olvia. Olvia pulled her gaze away from Diarmuid's retreating figure and looked at Robin. After a long silence, she suddenly asked, "Robin... that man... what kind of person is he, really?"
"The Admiral?" Robin blinked, wiping the tears from her eyes. After thinking for a long time, she finally shook her head. "I've never truly been able to understand what kind of person he is. You could call him 'just,' but sometimes he's a complete bastard. You could say he's driven by self-interest, but everything he does is for the Marines... If I had to describe him, I'd say he isn't a simple man. He is a very complex individual."
"A very complex individual, hmm?" Olvia murmured softly, then gave a self-deprecating smile. "People... we are all complex, Robin."
Like herself. Hadn't she changed over all these years?
Robin didn't intend to keep discussing Diarmuid with her mother. Instead, she said excitedly, "Mom, I've become a Vice Admiral of Headquarters, and I've already secured your pardon from the Fleet Admiral! Quick, let me help you pack. We're leaving together. We're leaving Impel Down!"
Olvia's heart was filled with conflicting emotions. Truthfully, she had actually developed a bit of an attachment to Impel Down, given that she had never been mistreated here. The thought of leaving brought a mix of anticipation and a strange sense of loss.
"Where will we go after we leave? What about Ohara? What's it... what's it like now?" Olvia asked hesitantly.
"Ohara... Ohara is long gone. But back then, the Admiral preserved all the books from the Tree of Knowledge... I've already thought it through. After we leave, I'll send you to stay with my friends. I imagine you wouldn't want to live in Marineford. I'll come to visit you whenever I have time off," Robin said eagerly.
Seeing that Robin didn't want to dwell on Ohara, Olvia didn't press the matter. As for the Tree of Knowledge, Robin had told her about it during a previous visit. She knew Diarmuid had gathered all the books and kept them in the Marineford residential area; he had even opened a massive library there.
"Your friends? Where?" Olvia asked curiously.
"Amazon Lily on Island of Women. I'm good friends with their Empress, Boa Hancock. We joined the Marines together..." Robin said with a smile.
Olvia nodded, offering no objection. However, after a period of silence, she asked somewhat sheepishly, "So... can I come back and visit later?"
"Visit where?" Robin asked, surprised.
"Impel Down..." Olvia said.
Robin: "???"
Are you out of your mind?!
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]