"Take me to her," Bege said coldly. At the same time, the invisible force binding Spandine vanished, and he fell from the air. He bit back a cry of pain, scrambled to his feet, and, trembling, began to lead the way, bowing and scraping.
They had just stepped out of the office when figures appeared in the hallway. It was all the members of CP9, including the returning Rob Lucci.
"Save me! Save me!" Spandine cried out with joy, as if he had seen his saviors. He rushed toward Lucci and the others, only to slam headfirst into a hardened wall of space, his nose breaking and blood gushing out.
One of his arms then twisted into a grotesque shape, like a wrung-out towel. His scream was comparable to that of a pig being slaughtered.
"In my domain, you cannot escape," Bege said nonchalantly.
"Kill him!" Lucci's face twisted into a snarl. He was the first to charge, and the other CP9 members followed close behind, rushing at Bege.
Lucci's Soru was the fastest. With a few quick steps, he was at Bege's side, his finger jabbing forward.
"Flying Finger Pistol!"
A razor-sharp air bullet shot from his fingertip, hurtling toward its target.
Bege didn't move. The incoming Finger Pistol stopped dead in the air in front of him, as if it had hit an incredibly tough wall, and then exploded.
Lucci's expression changed. He rapidly fired a barrage of Finger Pistols, but all of them were stopped a meter away from Bege.
"Tempest Kick: Flocking Eagles!"
The other CP9 members all attacked, unleashing a dozen powerful Finger Pistols, Tempest Kicks, and other slashes at Bege.
But none of their attacks could even touch his body.
"How is this possible?" one of the CP9 members said, his face filled with disbelief.
"My turn. A bunch of trash," Bege said, his face impassive. He raised a single finger and pointed it slightly downwards. An immense weight, as if a mountain had fallen on them, instantly slammed all the CP9 members to the ground, shattering the floor beneath them.
They all coughed up blood. The weaker ones fainted instantly.
Only one person was still struggling: Rob Lucci. He roared, forcing himself to bear the pressure, and shakily got to his feet. He even managed to take a difficult step toward Bege.
"Not bad. It would be a shame to kill you," Bege said. He had, of course, recognized this famous character from the original story. He had always liked him and felt a bit of reluctance to kill him. "Rob Lucci, become one of my men."
"Impossible," Lucci said, his expression firm. Dark Justice was his creed. Even if it was dark, it was still justice. He would never allow himself to associate with evil. Even in death, he would not betray his beliefs.
"A pity," Bege said, shaking his head. He pointed his finger downwards again. The bodies of the CP9 members were crushed one by one. Some tried to use Iron Body, but it only delayed their deaths. Under the immense spatial pressure, their Iron Body shattered, and they died one after another, their blood splattering all over the floor.
Lucci slammed into the ground with a sound like iron striking stone. He had used Iron Body at the last moment. The floor beneath him cracked and then shattered with a loud boom, and he fell through to the level below.
"Clever," Bege said, shaking his head gently. "It would be too much of a waste to kill you, so I'll spare your life." The moment Lucci had hit the floor, Bege had seen his trick. As he fell, he had added extra force with his knee, causing the floor to break.
Bege could have easily hardened the space to prevent him from falling, but he chose not to. In his heart, he didn't want Lucci to die so soon.
"There's no one left to save you now. Lead the way," Bege said, looking coldly at Spandine.
Spandine trembled, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow. He nodded and bowed, leading Bege on.
They left the Tower of Justice. All the soldiers they encountered along the way were killed by Bege, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.
Spandine led him to the prison on Enies Lobby. The area outside was littered with bodies, all of them covered in black burn marks. It seemed Enel or Wiper had already been here.
Bege entered the prison. It was filled with people from various races: Longarm, Longleg, even Minks and Fish-Men. Most of them were women, all beautiful and well-figured.
These prisoners had all been secretly detained by Spandine and the other high-ranking officials of Enies Lobby. They were all intended as gifts for the Celestial Dragons.
"Godfather, I found Jessica," Wiper suddenly appeared. He was holding the hand of a little girl who was dressed like a doll. She was frightened and kept her head down.
Because she was meant to be a slave for the Celestial Dragons, Jessica had not been harmed. In fact, she had been dressed up very prettily.
Bege rushed over and knelt on the ground, looking at the little girl. She was terrified, her hands clenched tightly, not daring to cry or make a sound.
"She looks... just like Taylor," Bege said, looking at the little girl's face. He couldn't help but think of Taylor's face and voice, and for a moment, tears welled up in his eyes.
"Do you know my sister?" Jessica asked, her face a mixture of surprise, joy, and hope.
Bege stroked Jessica's head, forcing a smile. "I do. Of course, I do. Your name is Jessica, right? Taylor asked me to come and take you home."
"Really? My sister asked you to save me?" Jessica said, hugging Bege's arm, her expression excited.
"Yes. I'm taking you home now," Bege said, nodding heavily as he took Jessica's soft little hand in his.
"Big Brother, can you save them too?" Jessica asked, gently tugging on Bege's hand. "They're good people, just like me."
Bege smiled and stroked her little head. "Our Jessica is so kind."
Jessica blushed at the praise and shyly lowered her head.
"Alright, Big Brother will take them with us," Bege said with a smile.
"Thank you, Big Brother," Jessica said, looking up with a sweet smile.
"Did you all hear that? Open the cages and let everyone out," Wiper ordered, and his men moved to open all the cells, releasing all the prisoners.
Bege had no intention of wasting words on these people. Whether they wanted to or not, he was taking them all. These women were all stunningly beautiful. Even if he had no use for them himself, his men could.
His external space opened up, enveloping everyone. They rapidly shrank and flew toward Bege. The castle gate in his body opened, and they all flew inside.
"Big Brother, why did they all go into your body?" Jessica asked curiously.
"There's a big castle inside my body, Big Brother," Bege said gently. "They're all inside my castle. I'm going to send you in there now. You can go inside and get some rest, okay?"
"Okay, Big Brother," Jessica said, nodding obediently.
Bege sent Jessica into his body-castle. The moment she was inside, his expression turned ferocious.
"Now that Jessica has been found," he snarled, "it's time to destroy this island and make the Marines and the World Government pay back some of the interest."