54 Don't go dying on me, You still have a debt to pay
|Robin's POV:|
...
It all began that fateful day.
The day when the World Government destroyed my home, and the day when everyone I loved sacrificed their own lives so that I could continue living.
Since then, I have continued living in the same way again and again... Being betrayed, and betraying others. All for the sake of achieving the dream of those that sacrificed their lives for me.
To uncover history, and discover what happened in the Void Century. A dream that, for some reason, seemed to be hated by the world itself.
A dream that no matter where I went, only seemed to bring hatred and danger toward me. Even if the only thing I wanted was simply to know a part of history.
People called me a demon, people called me a monster, people called me a cursed child.
However, I didn't really care about that. All that I cared about was to fulfill the archeologists' last wish and uncovering the history that the world wanted to hide so much.
That was the only thing that I cared about... And it was also because of that, that I managed to survive for this long... It's because of that... that I managed to live to this day.
The day, when my objective of so many years finally got accomplished.
'I'm finally here...'
For the first time in my entire life, I had finally arrived in front of a Poneglyph. The main reason why I had survived until this day, and the main reason why everyone had given up their lives on that tragic day...
-Step-
-Step-
-Step-
Even now, It felt slightly unbelievable for me that I had actually managed to find the Poneglyph. Something that only seemed like a distant future when I was still a child learning how to survive in these harsh seas...
'But I finally did it...'
Touching the hard and cold surface of the stone with thousands of engravings on it, I couldn't help but widen my eyes a bit.
The shocking feeling of finally accomplishing the mission to which I devoted my entire life enveloped my whole body at that moment. Unable to believe that I had finally done it, even if my eyes said otherwise.
However, knowing that I didn't spend several years of my life looking for this Poneglyph only to simply stand in front of it and admire its enigmatic appearance, I shook my head to shrug off those distracting thoughts and took a step forward, ready to begin reading the contents engraved in its cold surface.
And just like that, sitting on the cold floor with an expectant look on my face, I began reading each and every symbol engraved in it.
...
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|A few minutes later...|
...
"Hah..."
As I finished reading everything, I couldn't help but let out a short laugh of disbelief.
Not having the strength to continue sitting, I just threw myself backward and fell to the floor of the tomb with a blank look on my face as I glanced at the ceiling in the distance. Unable to believe what I had just read.
Not because the contents of the Poneglyph had been shocking. No, instead, it was because its contents were exactly what I feared they would be.
"Information about the ancestral weapon Pluton... Why did it have to be that kind of information...?"
Still in a state of shock, I muttered that in a low voice, as I glanced at the empty air with a frown on my face.
'20 years... I have been living like this for 20 years... And the only clue that I managed to get after all this time turned out to be a failure...'
Not knowing what to think of what I had just read, I raised my hand into the air and looked at it with a blank expression.
For the first time in many years, I noticed that my hand, which was once the hand of a young girl who was separated from her family, had become that of a woman who had grown cold and unfeeling toward the suffering of others...
I had not noticed how much I had changed, as I had been constantly surviving and adapting to my surroundings. Changing constantly from what I used to be...
However, now that I had achieved my purpose, it felt as if the passage of time had become a hundred times more clear to me.
'So much time has passed already... And yet, in the end, I still failed'
How, in the end, all those years of constant effort became worthless.
Dropping my hand without minding the pain that came when it hit the ground, I continued to stare at the ceiling with an empty stare, before then I closed my eyes and let out an exhausted sigh.
'I'm tired... Living this way seems to have exhausted me more than I expected...'
To live with no one to trust, to live completely alone... It seemed to have tired me out mentally.
'I said that I didn't care about what others called me?'
"Hmph"
Snorting at that thought, I smiled softly as I corrected that thought.
'Maybe I actually cared a bit about that... But since I had to continue living alone, I just made an excuse and convinced myself that I didn't care... So that I could continue walking forward to my objective'
-Sigh...-
Sighing at that thought, I opened my eyes and then glanced at the stone block in front of me.
It had taken several years away from me as I continued looking for it, and now, it had also taken my hopes and only chance to achieve my dream.
Was I too greedy? I wondered.
Maybe I should just have left history untouched, as the World Government said. That way, maybe I would be living a good life right now.
Maybe I should have run away that day when the other archeologists told me to do so. Perhaps, that way the price in my head would have never been issued if I had hidden among the survivors.
Maybe I should have encouraged Saul to leave the island when finished building that raft, instead of making a sad face as I did when he said he was leaving. That way, he would have probably left the island before the Buster Call, and he would have not died in my instead.
Maybe, if I hadn't done any of those things, my life would be vastly different from right now...
...
"Hmph"
Snorting in disdain at myself after letting my thoughts run wild, I looked back towards the ceiling and closed my eyes.
-Rumble...-
Even if I wanted the past to change, now that I had failed for the last time, mourning wasn't going to change anything no matter how much I did it.
The past is something we can't fix, after all.
-Rumble...-
And by now, I had made too many mistakes... Which was also why I ended up like this. Cornered without clues about the other Poneglyphs and with my only hope crushed after discovering that the one in front of me only spoke about the ancient weapons.
In a way, it seemed as if God was playing on me some kind of joke.
No, it was as if the world itself was playing a joke on me... One that continued to make my life more and more miserable the more I tried.
And honestly... I think I have reached my limit.
-Rumble...-
'I give up... All I wanted was to know about the history, but there are way too many enemies for me to achieve that dream...'
Feeling a tear flow down from my eyes to the side of my face, I let out a long sigh.
It was then, however, that suddenly the entire place started shaking violently, and made me open my eyes to look around.
-Rumble...!-
-Creaaaaaaaack...!!-
Soon, several cracks appeared all around. Spreading through the floor, walls, and ceiling. Making it obvious that if I didn't get out of there now, I would probably get crushed under all the rubble that would fall on me once the whole place started crumbling apart.
However, even knowing that, I didn't move from the floor, instead, I just continued to look at the ceiling as the cracks continued getting larger and larger with each second that passed. Not wanting to move, even if my life was at stake at the moment.
I had grown too weary from this life... And I no longer wanted to continue playing this sick game that my life had been.
And this place, the room in which my last hope was crushed without mercy, was probably a very appropriate place for me to die.
-Rumble...!-
-Craaaack...!!-
-Bam!!-
Suddenly, an enormous boulder fell next to me, making me let out a short laugh in response.
I didn't really know why I laughed, but soon, I turned to look back toward the ceiling, and my face, which was as expressionless as it had been since this kind of life began, suddenly began to distort.
-Craaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!-
-Bam!!-
-Bam!!!-
-Bom!!-
As the ceiling began collapsing, tears started falling from my face as I remembered the faces of everyone in Ohara.
'I'm sorry everyone... This is as far as I can go...'
Then, seeing a boulder falling upon me, I closed my eyes and awaited for everything to end.
-Crack!-
-Swooosh!-
-Bam!!-
However, as I suddenly heard a heavy impact above me, I opened my eyes with confusion, before I saw the man which had become my new boss a week ago standing on top of me with his fist high into the air as if he had punched something.
His face looked weirded out as he glared at me, and the words that came out of his mouth soon after we stared at each other for a while...
"What's the f*ck wrong with you out of nowhere...?"
... Were really not gentle in the slightest.
...
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|A few minutes ago, on Farid's side|
...
"How can only one man wield so much power... This doesn't make any sense...!"
"Even with our numbers, it seems as if the one with the advantage here is him!"
"Look, even the Tsumegeri are exhausted...! Not even with all of them combined is that man yielding!"
"Just who is he?!"
"Even Chaka-Sama and Pell-Sama are having trouble handling him... Where did that monster come from?!"
Several murmurs filled the Tomb of the Kings at that moment. Most of them were filled in disbelief in awe at the sight of only one man facing the entire manpower of a country as if it was an easy matter.
A man with a cow mask, and a dark cloak that covered the rest of his body.
"Huff... Puff... I already knew that he was strong from the time that we met when he dared to threaten Cobra-sama's life. After all, he took down a Shichibukai alone... However, never in my wildest dreams did I expect him to be actually such a monster..."
Panting heavily as he grabbed his left arm tightly in order to suppress the pain there, Chaka could be seen in his Hybrid form, which was that of a Jackal and a human, talking with anger in his voice as he looked at the man in front of him as if he was seeing at a terrifying existence.
"Well, it was to be expected... The Shichibukai are people who have so much strength and influence that it's more convenient for the World Government to use them rather than to face them... For someone to take one down on his own, it's to be expected that his strength will be something completely absurd... It's our fault for underestimating the power of a Shichibukai..."
Saying that as he panted heavily as well, Pell could be seen holding his sword with difficulty while he smiled wryly at the difference in strength between the man in front of them and the Royal Army.
The fight had only lasted two or three minutes. However, even in that short amount of time, most of the Royal Guard were already lying unconscious on the ground, with only a few of them managing to still stand despite the many bruises on their bodies.
And even then, most of those that were still on their feet were looking at the man in front of them with horror and fear, as if they were looking at a walking disaster rather than a person. Completely fear-struck and unable to fight.
The only ones that were still able to battle were the Tsumeguri (Elite of the Royal guard), and both Chaka and Pell, who even in their hybrid forms were having a problem fighting the man in front of them.
However, that didn't mean that the six of them were weak. No, in fact, the whole area was destroyed beyond recognition, and it had all been because of the fierce clash between the man and the Elites of the Royal Guard.
In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise in at any moment the whole floor collapsed because of the damage that their fierce fight had caused. After all, below them was the Poneglyph room, and if the floor received too much damage, it surely would collapse eventually. Making all of them fall to their deaths.
"Are you done trying?"
Saying so while he rotated his arm in the air as if stretching out a bit, the man looked at the top fighters of Arabasta's army and shook his head briefly in disappointment.
"Come on, just let me and that lady do our business here, and we will leave soon after. Stop sending more of your men to the infirmary"
"You...!!"
Gnashing his teeth at the man's comment, Chaka grabbed tightly the sword in his hand, before he then prepared to jump at the man once again. However, before he was able to, a hand appeared in front of him and stopped him from lunging at the man.
"Pell? Don't tell me you really believe that bastard's words?!"
Identifying the hand that stopped him as Pell's, Chaka looked at his companion with a furious expression, before then a confused expression appeared on his face when he saw Pell shake his head in denial.
Then, taking a step forward, Pell approached calmly the man in front of him with squinted eyes, before he then stopped completely and asked him something as he pointed his swords directly at him.
"Tell me... Have we met before?"
Hearing so, the man's body shook briefly, before he then landed his piercing gaze on Pell. Making both of them stare at each other intensely in silence for a few seconds.
However, as if tired of that, soon the man closed his eyes before he then shrugged his shoulders and spoke in a carefree voice.
"Who knows?"
Saying that, suddenly the man stopped moving, before he then looked down and narrowed his eyes behind the mask.
"What is this chick doing?"
Shaking his head in exasperation, the man then turned to look at both of the Royal Guards with an apologetic look as he spoke to them.
"We will have to leave the chattering for later... For now, I have something else to deal with"
-Boooom!!!-
Saying so, the man suddenly stomped on the ground with a terrifying strength and created a hole in the ground in which he jumped. Disappearing from the sight of the Royal guards, and leaving them speechless.
-Rumble...-
Soon, however, they felt as if the whole floor was collapsing, and immediately ordered their men to retreat. Telling them to carry the unconscious with them, and not look back.
...
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|Back to the present...|
...
"What the f*ck it's wrong with you out of nowhere?"
Seeing Farid standing on top of her with his fist raised high, Robin could help but widen her eyes in surprise and confusion.
She had thought that everything was over already. However, in one second, her life had been saved and she didn't even have time to react.
'How did he get here so fast?' Was what she thought at that moment.
However, not wanting to leave her frustration and despair behind, soon she narrowed her eyes and spoke to him in a stern tone as she began struggling to push him away from her.
"Leave me here, I no longer have any reason to live...!"
"Huuuuh...?!"
Hearing her, Farid furrowed his eyebrows from behind the mask, before he then let out an angry growl and approached his face to hers as his tone became severe.
"You don't have any reason to live, you say? I'm your boss Nico Robin, and as your boss, I am allowed to choose whether you die or not!"
-Rustle!-
"Huh, hey wait, who do you think you are?! Let me down!"
Ignoring her angry yells, Farid picked her body up and placed it on his shoulder before he began running towards the exit as he ignored the punches that hit him from time to time.
Then, as both of them reached the exterior after Farid ran at an enormous speed, Farid then let Robin down, as she stood up and looked at him with an upset expression.
"You..."
However, before she had the chance to say anything, Farid moved his hand forward and signaled her to stop talking.
"Shut it. You signed a contract, and the specifications said that you couldn't die until you had paid me back for everything that I've done so far!"
"There was never such a contract. What are you talking about?!"
...
Hearing her, Farid looked to the side, before he then scratched the side of his face as he muttered in a low voice.
"Well, it was more of a tacit contract..."
"..."
Looking at him speechlessly, Robin was about to say something, but Farid spoke first as he pointed all around him.
"Anyway. Look around you! Do you know how much of a criminal I have become because of you?! (Obviously wasn't one before...) And yet, you think you can die so easily?!"
Saying that, Farid then began walking towards Nico Robin, and stopped just a few centimeters away from her.
"You still have a debt to pay. Until then, don't go dying on me"
"Are you serious...?"
...
-To be continued-
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(A/N: Ma man is quite the strict boss... Anyway, sorry for the wait, I'm done with university (Finally) so updates should begin being more consistent from now on (Probably). Also, merry Christmas guys (It was yesterday, though).)
