Inside the chat group
Hancock's plea for help made the chat fall silent for a beat.
Fubuki: "Help? Are you in danger?"
As an S-Class hero in the Hero Association, she was especially sensitive to the word "help."
Sakurajima Mai: "Don't panic yet. Get the details. Where is the newcomer? What happened?"
But Hancock didn't answer right away.
Because the cell door was yanked open violently.
Torchlight surged in, so bright it stabbed her eyes.
A bloated Celestial Dragon—Saint Charlos—dragged his feet as he walked in.
Under the bubble helmet, his face split into a nauseating grin.
"Let me see my new pets."
His gaze swept over Sandersonia and Marigold, now half-snake.
"Tsk tsk. Still too ugly."
Then he looked at Hancock.
"Oh? You didn't change much."
He leaned closer, almost pressing his face up to the bars.
"But you're not bad-looking… From now on, you'll be my exclusive maid."
As he spoke, he waved at his guards.
"Drag her out, wash her clean, put her in something decent. I'm throwing a banquet tonight—have her pour the drinks."
Hancock's face went deathly pale.
A maid?
Pouring drinks?
She could practically see what came next.
She'd heard far too many horrifying rumors about what Celestial Dragons did to slaves.
"N-no…"
She stumbled back on instinct, her spine hitting the ice-cold stone wall.
Sandersonia and Marigold tried to shield her.
But their snake tails were shackled in iron chains, and all they could do was hiss in furious protest.
Saint Charlos frowned.
"So loud."
He raised the gun in his hand and aimed it at Sandersonia.
"Disobedient pets don't deserve to live."
The moment his finger started to squeeze the trigger—Hancock's mind detonated.
No!
Don't hurt my sister!
Under that overwhelming surge of emotion, the light screen in front of her flickered wildly.
And then, an ability she hadn't even known she had—triggered on its own.
…
Inside the chat group.
Every online member witnessed something shocking.
Next to Hancock's ID, a real-time live window suddenly popped up.
It was blurry, but clear enough to make out—an oppressive cell, iron bars, torchlight.
A fat man in a bubble helmet holding a gun.
Two half-human, half-snake girls chained in place.
And a black-haired girl curled in the corner, terrified out of her mind.
Misaka Mikoto: "What is this? A new feature? Newbie live-streaming in real time?!"
Tohru: "Waaah! Are those people… bullying the newcomer?!"
Busujima Saeko: "The one with the gun… that helmet… some kind of aristocrat?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Since when did the chat group have this ability?"
The group instantly exploded into chaos.
And in the footage, Saint Charlos's finger was slowly tightening on the trigger.
Hancock's voice pushed into the chat through sheer will.
It was a desperate, hysterical scream.
Hancock: "DON'T—!!"
Rei Ao narrowed his eyes.
He recognized that bubble helmet.
A Celestial Dragon—the filthiest privileged class in the pirate world.
And that black-haired girl was Hancock, still young.
"This is even earlier than I expected."
He muttered, his fingers sliding quickly across the light screen.
Rei Ao: "@Hancock, start a trade. I can save you."
The instruction was short and direct.
In the Mary Geoise cell,
Hancock saw the message.
She froze.
Lower your head and close your eyes?
Why?
But the muzzle was already pressed toward her sister's forehead.
There was no time to hesitate.
She clenched her teeth and followed the instruction—
She ducked her head hard and squeezed her eyes shut.
[Ding! Trade initiated!]
[Trade target]: Hancock
[Trade request]: Save her and her sisters.
[Trade conditions]: "Love-Love Fruit ability", "Unlimited rights to use the body"
Almost at the exact same instant—
A blinding white light erupted in the cell without warning.
Not torchlight. Not lightning.
It was a pure, extreme white—as if it meant to cleanse everything in existence.
"Wha—"
Saint Charlos's shriek was swallowed by the radiance.
All the guards raised their arms to shield their eyes.
And at the very peak of that light—
A figure appeared silently in front of Hancock.
Rei Ao stepped out of a spatial corridor, boots landing on the freezing stone floor.
He glanced around.
Dark. Damp. Air thick with rot.
A typical slave prison.
Then he looked forward—
Young Hancock with her head lowered, still trembling.
Two serpent-transformed sisters chained in iron.
And a Celestial Dragon holding a gun.
"So it really is this scene."
He said softly, voice calm—like he was commenting on the weather.
But his eyes were already colder than ice.
The white light slowly faded.
Saint Charlos blinked, adjusted to the dimness, and saw Rei Ao.
"Y-you—who are you?!"
He screeched, swinging the gun toward Rei Ao.
"G-guards! Guards! There's an assassin!"
The guards outside surged in—blades drawn, rifles cocked.
In an instant, Rei Ao was surrounded.
He didn't even glance at them.
He simply reached out and rested a hand gently on Hancock's head.
"You can open your eyes now."
His voice was warm, completely out of place amid the killing intent.
Hancock trembled as she opened her eyes.
What she saw was a young, handsome face—and a pair of eyes deep as the night sky, yet reflecting a gentle light.
"Y-you…"
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Rei Ao gave her a faint smile.
Then he turned to Saint Charlos.
"I'll give you two choices."
He held up two fingers.
His tone was so relaxed, it sounded like he was ordering off a menu.
"One: kill yourself. I don't want to dirty my hands."
"Two: I make you wish you were dead."
Saint Charlos stared, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"D-do you know who I am?!"
"I'm world nobility! A Celestial Dragon!"
"Touch me and a Navy Admiral will flatten this place immediately!"
Rei Ao sighed.
"Then you're choosing option two."
The moment the words fell—
"Y-you—"
Saint Charlos's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He tried to pull the trigger, tried to shout orders.
But everything was too slow.
Rei Ao merely extended one finger and tapped lightly.
A crisp cracking sound rang out.
The special bubble helmet—made to stop ordinary bullets—shattered like glass.
Woom.
An invisible shockwave rippled outward.
Saint Charlos's fat body looked like it had been smashed by an unseen sledgehammer.
He rocketed backward, crashing straight through the cell's stone wall.
He tumbled more than ten meters down the corridor, smashed a railing, and finally slammed into the opposite wall—embedded in it.
The whole thing took less than a second.
The guards froze where they stood.
They didn't even see what happened.
All they saw was their master flying away, a hole blown through the wall—
And the man who had appeared out of nowhere slowly drawing his finger back.