Inside the auction house, the air was so thick with tension it felt as if it could drip water.
The heavy mahogany doors were now the only barrier, and every impact from outside felt like a massive hammer slamming against the hearts of everyone within.
"Thud!"
Dust rustled down from the carved dome, falling into the wine glasses of pampered aristocrats.
No one bothered to wipe it away.
The hall was packed. Arrogant pirate captains, jewel-bedecked wealthy merchants, and even a few slaves waiting to be auctioned were all huddled together.
Status lost its meaning here; fear became the only passport.
"Hold it! Everyone hold the line!"
The auction house's guard captain was drenched in sweat, directing a dozen subordinates to move heavy mahogany crates to block the door.
"Those are tributes prepared for the Celestial Dragons! You can't move them!" a fat merchant screamed, lunging forward to hug a crate tightly.
"Get lost!"
The guard captain kicked the fat man in the stomach, sending him rolling away like a ball.
"You're about to lose your life and you're still worried about money? Those monsters outside eat people without leaving a bone!"
The fat man clutched his stomach and retched on the floor, but he didn't dare utter another word.
The roars outside grew louder, and the sound of nails scratching against the wooden boards was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
In the VIP box on the second floor.
The general manager of Iron Fang Island, an outer cadre of the Donquixote Family "Abacus" Roger was trembling as he held a golden Den Den Mushi.
His hands shook so violently that he nearly dropped the receiver several times.
"Bulu bulu... bulu bulu..."
The Den Den Mushi's unique ringing echoed in the dead silent room, every second feeling as long as a century.
Roger stared fixedly at the door. Through the one-way glass, he could see the desperate faces in the hall below.
Pick up... Young Master... Finally, the Den Den Mushi's eyes opened. Its previously dull expression instantly became arrogant and unruly, a cocky smirk hanging on its lips.
"Fuffuffuffu... Roger? Calling me at this time, has this quarter's revenue exceeded the target?"
That unique laugh came from the receiver, carrying a chilling sense of pressure.
When Roger heard this voice, tears almost fell, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.
"Young Master! Something's happened! Iron Fang Island... Iron Fang Island is finished!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and the laughter stopped abruptly.
"Straighten your tongue and speak. What do you mean by finished?"
Doflamingo's voice turned cold, and a bone-chilling killing intent could be felt even through the phone line.
"Monsters... they're all monsters!"
Roger spoke incoherently, leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window and pointing at the streets outside where flames soared into the sky.
"Buck... that Bone-Smasher Buck turned into a three-meter-tall giant! And the dead... the dead have come back to life! They bite people on sight, and those bitten also turn into monsters!"
"Even Galen... Galen was eaten! Now the outside is full of these things, maybe thousands of them! They're ramming the auction house door!"
On the other side of the call, by the palace pool in Dressrosa.
Doflamingo, draped in his pink feather coat, swirled a wine glass. His brow furrowed slightly, and a vein on his temple throbbed.
Zombies? Giants?
This kind of plot, which sounded like a third-rate horror novel, was actually happening on his territory?
"That useless Moria?" Doflamingo immediately thought of that shadow-manipulating bastard, his fellow Shichibukai.
"No... it's not Moria!" Roger wailed. "It's a pervert in a red spandex suit! Calls himself Deadpool! He says Moria is just playing house!"
"Red spandex suit?"
Doflamingo searched his mind but had no recollection of such a character.
"Young Master! Send someone to save us! The auction house can't hold out! There's three billion Berries in cash and goods here!"
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion interrupted Roger's lament.
The entire auction house shook violently. The crystal chandelier overhead crashed into the center of the hall, glass shards flying everywhere and causing a wave of screams.
Roger looked down in terror.
That incredibly sturdy mahogany door, claimed to be able to withstand cannonballs, was now bulging in the middle, wood splinters flying.
A huge claw covered in black bone spikes forced its way through the half-meter-thick door panel and reached inside.
"Roar"
A low, muffled growl filtered through the hole into the hall, making hearts skip a beat.
"Aaaah! They're in! They're coming in!"
The crowd in the hall completely broke down. Some pulled out guns and fired wildly at the door, while others tried to run upstairs, trampling each other.
"Young Master! Help!"
Roger screamed hysterically into the Den Den Mushi, tears and snot streaming down his face from fear.
Just then, a hand wearing a red glove abruptly snatched the Den Den Mushi from his hand.
Roger's screams stopped instantly as he turned his head stiffly.
A weirdo in a red and black spandex suit had appeared in his box at some unknown point, playfully fiddling with the golden Den Den Mushi.
"Hi, neighbor." Deadpool waved at him, his tone as relaxed as if they'd met on the street. "Long-distance calls are expensive; you shouldn't waste them on meaningless nonsense."
Roger's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He wanted to scream, but found his throat seemingly blocked.
Because he saw that behind this weirdo, a blood-red monster with an exposed brain was hanging upside down from the shattered skylight, its long tongue almost licking his face.
On the other end of the line, Doflamingo's face was already as dark as a storm.
He heard the explosion, the screams, and Roger's final, distorted cry for help.
"Roger? Answer me!"
"Tsk tsk, I'm afraid he's a bit busy to take your call right now."
A new, mocking voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Doflamingo's eyebrow twitched.
"Who are you?"
"Me?" Deadpool cleared his throat, imitating a broadcaster's voice. "I'm the Boy Scout here to bring you some warmth. Also, just a friendly reminder: your property is undergoing a forced demolition. The compensation plan is... well, letting them die quickly."
"Fuffuffu... what an interesting piece of trash." There was no longer any mirth in Doflamingo's laughter, only cold killing intent. "Do you know who you are talking to?"
"Of course. Heavenly Yaksha, Joker, former Celestial Dragon Donquixote Doflamingo." Deadpool counted them off on his fingers, then changed his tone.
"But I still prefer calling you the Pink Flamingo. Man, your fashion sense is really terrible. Loafers with a feather coat? Are you some kind of 'delinquent youth'? And those damn sunglasses my god, you don't have beady eyes, do you?"
Below, the carnage was underway.
Buck swung his massive bone claws, each sweep turning a dozen guards and their weapons into meat paste.
The screams became the perfect background music for this call.
"Hear that?" Deadpool held the Den Den Mushi near the window. "That's your subordinates singing for me. What a beautiful symphony."
"I will kill you." Doflamingo's voice sounded like it came from hell.
"That would be great! That bitch Lady Death has rejected me so many times already." Deadpool laughed exaggeratedly, doubling over in mirth.
Without waiting for Doflamingo's response, he threw the Den Den Mushi onto the floor.
He raised his foot.
Squelch.
The snail shell shattered, and along with the signal transmitter inside, it turned into scrap.
[Ding! Detected Doflamingo generating anger and killing intent. Astonishment Points +1000!]
[Ding! Detected the fall of Iron Fang Island. Achievement 'Dead City Creator' unlocked. Astonishment Points +2000!]
[Current Astonishment Point Balance: 6500 points.]