Shalria was frantically slapping the statue of her maid Fiona.
Seeing this, Hancock kindly reminded her,
"If you keep slapping like that and crack it, she really will die."
"Eh?"
Hearing that, Shalria's hand froze midair.
In truth, Hancock's words were completely unnecessary. With Shalria's strength, even if she slapped at it for a year, the statue wouldn't show a single crack.
Shalria turned to glare at Hancock, snapping angrily,
"Was this your doing? Release her right now, or I'll tell Kaito! He's the Fleet Admiral of the Marines!"
Hancock arched a brow, raising her proud chest as she looked down on Shalria.
"Why would Kaito-sama listen to you? I am Kaito-sama's..."
Halfway through, Hancock suddenly stopped speaking. Her eyes went blank as she stared at the doorway. At some point, Kaito had appeared there, watching the two of them with a helpless expression.
Noticing Hancock looking over, Kaito gave her a small smile and said,
"Hancock, remove the petrification from Fiona."
Naturally, Hancock obeyed Kaito without hesitation. She nodded sweetly, then glanced at Fiona. From her eyes burst pink beams in the shape of hearts.
Struck by the rays, Fiona's petrification was undone. But her mind was still stuck in that last moment of stone. She murmured dreamily,
"So beautiful..."
Shalria angrily twisted Fiona's ear, scolding,
"Can't you have some self-respect? You were almost killed by her just now!"
Hancock immediately mocked,
"I never intended to kill her. But she almost died in your hands!"
"You—!"
"Enough!"
Kaito shot them both a sharp look. At once, the two women fell silent. Hancock thought he was angry, and hurriedly rushed to his side, clinging to his arm.
"It was my fault... I made Kaito-sama upset..."
Not to be outdone, Shalria also moved up beside Kaito and hugged his other arm. She pouted but said nothing.
Kaito wasn't truly angry—just scaring them a little.
"Alright. Now you two have met. Shalria, this is Hancock. She's one of us."
"Oh..."
Kaito instructed the maids to prepare some food, then led the two women into the hall.
After settling onto the sofa, Kaito smiled at Hancock and said,
"Hancock, your timing is perfect. I've prepared a gift for you."
He opened the Door-Door space, and from it floated out a black rectangular object.
Hancock looked curiously at the coffin-like object and asked,
"Kaito-sama, this is...?"
With a mysterious smile, Kaito waved his hand, dispersing the black coffin to reveal Lizville inside, her head still fixed to her backside.
Shock spread across Hancock's face, and her whole body began to tremble.
Even though many years had passed, she recognized her instantly—the Celestial Dragon who had once bought her as a slave.
In that instant, terror and hatred filled Hancock's heart. Her overwhelming emotions caused her long black hair to rise and twist into nine black serpents, all of them locking onto Lizville with murderous intent.
Lizville hadn't eaten in days. Having been trapped in the coffin for so long, her spirit was on the verge of collapse.
The moment she saw Kaito, she screamed like a madwoman,
"I'll kill you! Not just you—everyone connected to you will die!"
Before Kaito or Hancock could react, Shalria suddenly rushed forward.
Smack!
She slapped Lizville hard across her swollen face and said coldly,
"You want to kill Kaito? Do you even know what you are? I belong to Kaito too—so why don't you kill me first?"
That slap had nearly all of Shalria's strength behind it, knocking out two of Lizville's teeth. Lizville stared at her with bulging little eyes, utterly shocked.
"Shalria! So you're determined to betray the Celestial Dragons!?"
"Hmph! You think you can lecture me on what I should do? Just being of the same blood as you makes me sick! Go to hell!"
She then kicked Lizville's bloated face several more times. But Shalria's body was naturally frail, and she hadn't eaten much today—after only a few kicks, she was left panting.
Hancock, meanwhile, was completely dumbfounded. Even the nine little snakes atop her head wore blank expressions, making the scene oddly comical.
What was she witnessing?
A Celestial Dragon beating another Celestial Dragon to death!
The sight shattered everything Hancock thought she knew. The fear in her heart toward Lizville faded by more than half.
Exhausted, Shalria flopped into Kaito's arms, acting spoiled.
"I'm tired! Kaito, give me a massage~"
Kaito doted on her, rubbing the little cowlick that had sprouted on her head ever since she stopped wearing her tall hairstyle. No matter how much she pressed it down, it would always pop back up.
Just then, the maids brought in food. Shalria, truly starving, drooled openly at the feast.
Kaito couldn't help but laugh, nudging her gently.
"Hungry, right? Go eat."
Shalria felt embarrassed. Burying her face against Kaito's chest, she rubbed against him and mumbled,
"I'm not hungry! I want to eat with you!"
"Go on ahead. I'll join you after I deal with this one. It won't take long. Be good."
"Mm..."
Her stomach was already protesting loudly. Blushing, Shalria finally pulled away, avoiding Kaito's gaze as she dashed to the dining table.
Watching her devour food at the table, Hancock hesitated before asking,
"She really is a Celestial Dragon?"
"As real as they come."
Lizville's hatred toward Shalria now rivaled her hatred toward Kaito. She spat venomously,
"She's the disgrace of the Celestial Dragons! I'll never forgive her!"
In a sense, Lizville was a true Celestial Dragon—retaining even in her pitiful state that same extreme arrogance and stupidity.
Kaito snapped his fingers. Lizville's mouth vanished instantly, relocated to the Marine Headquarters' public latrine.
A stench beyond imagination assaulted her senses, turning her face purple. She could no longer utter a sound.
Kaito chuckled and said to Hancock,
"I've made some modifications to her body. She'll live for another seven or eight days at least. The rest of her time... I'll leave to you."
Tears welled in Hancock's eyes. She threw her arms around Kaito and wept uncontrollably.
Shalria, startled, accidentally swallowed her dumpling whole. Coughing, she gulped down several mouthfuls of water before patting her chest and muttering,
"What the heck! Can't you let me eat in peace?"