Chapter 21: The Law of Conservation of Mana

The sound of Kid crashing into rocks and trees in a distance was the most amazing thing Law had heard next to Luffy's voice ever since he'd regained consciousness. Now if only he could stop hurting long enough to respond, that would be nice.

"Law!" Luffy was already next to him and Law could only hope that his groan was understood properly as "I'm so glad you're here". He couldn't even open his eyes to look at his demon boyfriend but that was all right. What's important was that Law was right to trust his demon to come for him. And now he was here.

On the other hand, Luffy had no time to worry about anything else that didn't involve getting Law to safety. His lean arms immediately and protectively scooped up his human and he leapt up to start jumping from one tree to another. Making sure to keep moving in high places was important. It lessened the chances of an attack from above as well as allowed Luffy see as much as he could of the hazy forest. After all, there were many things to be worried about.

Kid's pack was undoubtedly still chasing after them. Unfortunately, Luffy had spent too much of his mana trying to find his human while staying away from werewolves and escaping every time they caught up to him. The smears of dirt and blood on his face were a testament to how difficult it was to outrun a pack of hunting wolves. He had even lost his entire shirt and his precious pair of shoes from the skirmishes in the alleys and empty rooftops. It was no surprise that Kid had brought Law to Punk Hazard. This was their kind of terrain after all.

But outrunning the wolves was just one of their concerns as long as they were in the mountain's thick fog. This part of Punk Hazard was never a safe place to be because hunting demons lurked in the mist. They are either on the prowl for lost mortals or are up and about looking to kill for entertainment. Whichever the case, running around with a human as mana-rich as Law was like begging to be pounced upon.

Now escaping anything wasn't Luffy's specialty. In fact, he hated running away. His style was to stand his ground and fight. But doing that now would put Law in danger. Luffy was in no shape to be fighting a pack of werewolves or driving off any other potential predators. Fleeing was the only option they had. Law's safety was Luffy's top priority so his first order of business had to be to get them out of Punk Hazard's mist area and start their way out of the mountain from there.

Law groaned in his arms, making the demon worry about his condition.

"Munchkin. Sunshine. Law." Luffy wanted so much to kiss his forehead but he had other things to prioritize. The human's only response was to whimper again and then cough thanks to his broken ribs.

"You're hurt!" Luffy anxiously stopped to land on a random tree branch, contemplating if he should locate Sabo's human or take Law to a human hospital instead. "I need t—What's this?"

Luffy's fingers hooked around the metal choker that Law was wearing.

"A collar." The incubus answered his own question, both horrified and vexed. The fact that it had small studs, engraved inscriptions, and even mana-laden stones made it obvious that it served a purpose other than being an accessory.

"Who put this on you?!" Luffy looked at his human who was obviously having breathing difficulties. "Was it that red-headed mutt?!"

Law nodded weakly.

"That filthy dog!" With one grunt, the collar shattered under Luffy's angry fingers.

A gush of air filled Law's lungs as soon as the rest of the choker left his neck. The man's eyes widened in surprise as he found himself taking one swig of breath after another, something he didn't know he needed until now. He wasn't even sure where the soothing wave travelling in his veins was coming from but he welcomed its circulation into his body despite it sending him into a coughing fit. It was like something was rushing into his system, cleaning up the pain and the injury albeit slowly.

Luffy's senses were too heightened to miss that. The way Law's mana had immediately surged out of his body like water bursting from a dam was something the demon didn't expect. Law's presence was so strong that Luffy had to fight the urge to sink his teeth into his neck and drown in his essence. Had his human always had this much mana? Had he always smelled this fragrant? Had the toxicity of his atmosphere always sang to him so much?

But even more surprising than the tone of Law's aura itself was how that very life essence proceeded to borrow Luffy's regenerative ability to heal himself.

Like it was almost instinct.

Now borrowing abilities between bonded entities wasn't anything new. In fact, Luffy's ability to daywalk and his beating heart were both borrowed from Law. However, the difference between him and his human was that Luffy had been working with mana since the day he awakened. Law had only been exposed to Luffy for at least a week. How on earth was he doing all this mana manipulation without being aware of it!?

Was it possible for Law to be a warlock?

Luffy shook his head.

No. He couldn't be. He knew too little to be one. Humans became warlocks through years of rigorous training to be able to understand the world and control their mana at will. It was their organized and applied knowledge that made them so fucking scary. There was no such thing as an untrained, unaware warlock!

"Luffy..." Law was oblivious that he had mumbled that.

"Ssh. You'll be okay." Luffy whispered lowly, finally dropping a soft kiss on Law's head before proceeding to dash away.

Luffy wanted to smack himself. He had no time or effort to spare trying to understand what Law was doing. So what if he could heal himself by borrowing Luffy's ability? Wasn't that a good thing? At least he wouldn't have to worry about his human being in a near-death state in his arms. Ah, that collar must've done something to turn Law into this. Why else would his mana erupt so protectively like it had just done!? That stupid werewolf must have tried to control his human or something!

"A dog." Luffy sounded like he was talking to no one in particular but the outrage in his voice was impossible to miss. "A dog dared to collar my human."

"Woof!"

Law's eyelids flew open as soon as he heard Kid's mocking voice right next to them. And true enough, there he was, right above Law's head and dashing right next to Luffy. The incubus growled loudly, spinning mid-jump and sending a heavy kick towards the red-headed werewolf who blocked with thick crossed arms. Using the momentum of his kick, Luffy propelled himself towards the opposite direction in an attempt to launch himself and land on a nearby tree but the blonde masked werewolf came was now coming with claws from above.

Luffy cursed loudly.

"Don't worry about me…!" He could hear Law say.

Luffy not worrying about Law in this situation? As if that were possible.

With another curse drowned in incoherent yelling, Luffy had no choice but to block the attack using his legs. Long, vicious claws tore at his skin with streaks of red spilling out as the force sent him hurtling towards the ground.

"Grit your teeth!" Luffy's words were barely audible even to himself but Law's head moved in what felt like a nod before ducking to hide his face against Luffy's shoulder. The incubus pulled his knees up, took a deep breath and projected a kick against another tree trunk to send them speeding up again. Luffy landed on a thick tree branch and was hoping to get a few seconds of rest when a white-haired werewolf covered in stitches landed at the same time, on the same branch.

"Holy shit!" Law actually sounded more disgusted than surprised.

Luffy's instinct was to elbow the motherfucker in the face except his hands were full carrying Law. And that split-second of contemplation was all the enemy needed to open his mouth and lunge with a bite at the demon and his human. Sensing that it would be too late to counterattack, Luffy's next option was to shift so that his shoulder would catch the enemy's vicious fangs but the human in his arms decided to do something about it.

"No, you don't!" Law's words almost sounded like a feral growl as his knuckles lodged themselves right in the white-haired monster's eye socket, making the creature howl and yelp in pain. That was Luffy's cue to kick him off the tree branch before speeding off again.

"I'm sorry I spaced out." The demon wasn't sure how to feel about his human punching a werewolf. Sure, he looked pretty cool but he'd rather not have Law touching dangerous creatures like that again.

"Eyes are always vulnerable for any living thing." Law mumbled like that was the appropriate reply as he carefully looked at his right hand opening and closing its fingers. This arm was uselessly broken just a while ago. Now he could move it just fine. It quickly reminded him of his injured shoulder the night he had ensnared Luffy and how it seemed perfectly fine when he got home. He'd have to discuss it with Luffy later after they got themselves out of thi—

"Gotcha!" Kid again.

Luffy's sudden yell of pain made Law go "Fuck!" as the red-haired werewolf's fingers grabbed the demon by the head, forcefully dragging him down. Luffy held onto his human so tightly, panicking as to how to retaliate in this angle without putting Law in such a compromising position. His unconsciously heavy grip hurt enough for Law to be too confused to do anything but shout, "Stop hurting my demon, you vermillion asshole!"

Without so much as a warning, a large dome-shaped film started forming from where the three of them were, claiming territory so fast that it sent both Luffy and Kid to recoil the hell away from each other in an attempt to get out of the spherical range.

The werewolf landed on a tree nearby, screaming angrily.

"How dare you claim territory in neutral grounds!"

And that was enough to tell Luffy that the dome wasn't Kid's work. The incubus looked down at his human who was still glaring daggers at the redhead, fingers tightly trying to bury themselves onto Luffy's shoulder that he was clutching onto. The man was threatened. Whatever he was doing now, he was doing it unaware. How, though? Luffy quickly made a scan of the area. The space of the territory was still growing and the wolves below had scurried around in alarm. Who wouldn't be? This range was insane! But what was Law to do with it?

There was no time to find out the answer. Not when the tree that Kid was standing on was being uprooted by a foreign, invisible force. It flew into the air, the mist billowing around with the trunk's violent movements as rocks, ground, grass, and plants swiveled all around them, hovering violently within the space encompassed by the blue film that had seemingly stopped growing.

Luffy landed on a thick branch nearby but then even that started to shake.

"What the fuck's happening!?" Law looked around in shock, trying to adjust himself in Luffy's hold.

"I don't…!" Luffy wasn't sure what to tell his human. Calm down? You're doing this? Feign innocence?

"Doesn't matter!" Law shook his head as he tapped Luffy's jaw. "Let's get out while they're lost in this chaos."

Right. That was a better course of action.

Luffy nodded and sped away. It was amazing how Law's voice went from shaky to levelled in a matter of seconds. Luffy had already gone and focused on how everything was inexplicably swirling around them in mid-air and he would've stayed gaping at the sudden havoc had Law not instructed him to flee. The dome had not dissipated and Luffy worried how much mana Law was spending on it. For a very inexperienced human, the consequences of irresponsible mana manipulation could be severe. Law could die.

"The collar's off!" Luffy could hear Kid shout from a good distance amidst the sounds of another tree being pulled out of the ground. "All of you! Get out of here!"

"But you—!"

"Shut the hell up! Killer, get out of his range! All of you! That's an order!"

"We're not leaving you!" Luffy recognized the voice belonging to the one with the striped mask. "You need his heart before the moon's peak ends or this'll be all for naught!"

And then there was a chorus of growling and roaring, followed by the distinct sound of aggressive movement, which could only mean that the pack was chasing them.

"You idiots!" Kid's holler was drowned by the spine-tingling howling of his pack.

"They're so fucking into this." Law grumbled, trying to look into the mist and seeing silhouettes speeding among the trees. "How do you kill werewolves? Silver bullets?"

"Seriously, where do you even get these ideas?" Luffy almost sounded pissed but not really. He looked back again. They were out of the dome's range. It wasn't growing anymore and it wasn't following Law either. In fact, it appears to be fading.

"I just…" Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. You stab their heart? They're humans, too."

"Well, shit." Law clicked his tongue.

"Are you scared?"

"Of course, I am." The man grumbled immediately, sighing and brushing away the hair that was whipping against the side of his face. "But if I showed them that, they're going to think you're useless and won't be scared of you anymore."

Oh. So Law thought the pack of wolves were scared of an incubus?

"Besides, he said the collar shackled my mana." Law had talked over the low, curious sound that Luffy had responded with. "Now it's off, I can be a better battery to you now, can't I?"

It would probably impress Luffy forever how smart of a man Law was. His presence of mind was almost unbelievable in that he could make the best out the worst situations while being able to piece together the little details to paint a bigger picture. But he was partly off on this one. The werewolves weren't wary of Luffy at all. They were threatened by Law or, more accurately, by the warlock that they thought Law was. Luffy was only a factor. Even if a warlock lost his familiar, it was common sense to assume that he still had a virtually endless stash of tricks up his sleeve. An ensnared demon would only be one of them.

Luffy felt like a total moron for not having this discussion with Law. If the man had more information in his head then maybe he could've figured out something for this situation if not prevented it altogether. But, no. Luffy was just too fucking dumb to have assumed that everything would be fine. He was so happy he was with Law, he had completely overlooked what that entailed for the both of them. Such a careless knucklehead!

"I'm sorry." Law's murmur made Luffy gasp and glance at the human he was carrying. "I wish I could be of some better use."

"What are you talking about?!" Luffy snarled more angry at himself than at Law's words. "I promised to take care of you! I should be—"

The loud sound of clinking metal reached Luffy's ears before he could finish that sentence. His head whizzed to look behind him and was met with thick iron chains shooting at them like angry tentacles. Law's collar was the first thing that flashed in his head, making him decide that his priority was to keep Law away from these things no matter what. Luffy quickly pushed Law's head towards his chest and ducked below a large tree branch up ahead. One of the chains coiled over it quickly and shattered it almost at the same time. More chains pursued, speeding through the mist like they were endless in length. Did they belong to the wolves? This was the first time he'd heard wolves using equipment. What kind of pack was this?

Luffy weaved through the trees, going up and down branches, trying as much as possible not to decrease altitude. The chains kept at them along with the animalistic howling from a distance. Shattered rocks and splintered wood flew about them as the mist danced around like playful forest ghosts. Luffy wasn't sure how long he could keep this distance from their predators without getting caught.

CLINK-CLINK-CLINK!

And that was the sound that made Luffy curse the entire concept of thinking.

The chains had caught up with him sooner than he thought. Metal links angrily wrapped around his ankle as if to clash with his bones and sever the foot from the leg. But Luffy's limbs weren't his primary concern. It was Law.

"Luffy!" The man had no idea what was the shortest way to tell him not to do anything stupid like sacrificing himself to the wolves. Whatever combination of words sounding less ominous than "don't leave me" escaped him as Luffy quickly tried to set him down a tree branch too late. The demon's arms fumbled and Law fell as he watched his demon get yanked back and away from him by the chain around his thin ankle. Law couldn't even process how his own body was free-falling, how the thick branches snapped as he broke his fall. The hungry, aggressive growling in the distance reached his ears and all he could do was try to find Luffy's voice in all of that uproar for some sign that he was still there, still fighting, still alive.

A strong arm around his torso made himself slightly more aware of his surroundings. Law felt himself flying like a useless twig being carried around. Long blonde hair whipped at his face and Law had to move his head away to keep it from poking his eyes as he looked up to see who had him. The masked member of the pack was carrying him. Law was being taken back to the wolves, wasn't he? He was fine with that. That's where Luffy was.

That's where Luffy was being torn into little pieces.

They were still in mid-air when Law caught sight of it. His demon was in the middle of a pack of what seemed to be twenty—had they really been this many?—fucking twenty angry wolves taking turns slashing at him. They prowled in a ring, jumping in and out, eyes glowing yellow, baring fangs viciously, and Law would've given anything for the blood on their claws to not have been Luffy's. Except it was. No amount of denial could tell Law's mind that the red streaks on their limbs belonged to anyone but his beloved demon who was in the middle of the savage ring of death. He was up but staggering on two feet, eyes as crimson as he could get them and hissing like a severely wounded animal.

He was wounded. He was bleeding. He was injured. He was in pain. He was in every state Law couldn't imagine him to be in and yet now he was.

"Luffy!" Law yelled, pushing against his captor who only tightened his grip around his body. The man grunted angrily, wanting to punch this thick fucking werewolf in the eye but couldn't. Stupid mask. Helmet. Face cover. Whatever. Law's attention was caught by the bulging veins on his captor's thick muscular neck. Maybe if he pressed really hard—

"Don't even think about it." The voice that came from the mask startled Law for a bit as they landed on the ground. "I'm going to snap both your arms if you try anything. We only need you alive, not moving."

And then the werewolf looked up to the moon.

"The moon's still peaked."

Law had no idea what that meant and truthfully, he didn't really care. Watching his demon get bloodied was more painful from ground level. The wolves moved around him like whizzing shadows, growling and snarling amidst the sounds of slashing and punching in tune with Luffy's own hisses of futile retaliation and pain. He had bared his fangs and his eyes were still full of fight but nothing about him looked dominant or scary. Luffy wasn't a threat at all.

"Luffy!" Law struggled against the thick, hairy forearms that held him. His demon immediately turned to the direction of his voice. For a split-second, their eyes met and Law hadn't even gotten a read on what Luffy was trying to tell him before a blur of dark red lunged at the demon, leaving four bloody streaks across his face and that was just… unacceptable.

"Luuuuuuuffyyyyyyyyy!" Law's voice had gone hoarse over the short duration of saying his name with all his strength, uselessly kicking under Killer's arm. The werewolf didn't even flinch.

And then there it was again, that blue dome-shaped film started growing without Law knowing it.

"Killer!" Kid's distinct voice was the last thing Law heard before a heavy punch rattled his brain. Killer's large knuckles pounded him once on the jaw, sending his head bouncing back and forth on his neck like a bobble-head toy.

The dome dissipated.

"Law!" Luffy sounded beyond angry, Law thought as the taste of blood returned to his mouth. "Don't you da—Argh!"

He got hit again. Luffy had taken another hit thanks to being distracted by his fucking useless crying human. Law wanted to bury himself somewhere if that meant they'd leave Luffy alone. And then Killer slammed Law onto the ground chest first, ridding him of all the air in his system. The human gasped painfully, grass and earth sticking to his face. Even this god-forsaken forest was trying to ridicule him.

"I have no use for you."

Seriously? Why was his uncle's words echoing in his head right now!?

Killer forced both of Law's tattooed arms behind him and held onto his wrists with just one large hand. Law squirmed but even before he completely got the sound out, Killer heavily kneed him in the shoulder, making a loud roar of pain tear uncontrollably out from Law's throat. He could hear Luffy say his name again and, good lord, Law wanted to stop screaming already. It was distracting to his demon.

"You have to be better than these people, son."

Oh, dear Uncle Doffy's voice was severely unwelcome now that Law's mouth tasted like blood and earth. His eyes were blurry thanks to the tears that he'd only noticed just now. It was very annoying how all he could do was cry against his will when all his options had run out.

"You have to be stronger than them."

"Just bring him down already." Killer said above him almost impatiently. Law lifted his head heavily to take a look at what's happening.

Luffy's entire face was painted the same shade of painful crimson down to his neck that it was impossible for Law to tell where the bleeding started. One of his eyes had swollen closed. There were long criss-crossed claw marks across his chest and shoulders. His pants had been torn. His feet were also red. Wait, had one of his arms stopped working, too?

Luffy coughed out blood—god, Law was starting to hate red—and then there was one, two, three slashes before he started wobbling, threatening to fall forward face first.

He wasn't dead, was he?

"Luffy!" Law yelled, hoping so hard for his voice to reach him and push him up. Luffy fell to one knee, shaking his head. Droplets of blood whisked from his hair.

"Luf—Lu—!"

Law started choking as he felt his chest tighten painfully. His lungs hurt, too, and refused to properly distribute air to his system. Damn it, body, this wasn't the time to be malfunctioning!

"I need you to take deep breaths for me now, son. Can you do that?"

It was Cora-san's voice in his head this time but he couldn't pay attention to that when Luffy had fallen to the ground face first. Unmoving.

"Lu—!"

"Enough."

Killer slammed Law's head right back down on the ground before he could call out to his demon one more time.

"Luffy…" Law grumbled at the earth, tasting his own tears as he shook helplessly against the large beast holding onto him. Why? Why was he so fucking useless? Why was everything so much bigger than him?

Law squeezed his eyes shut. This wasn't the time to brood about things he couldn't change. He had to focus on what he had. Which was what? A body he couldn't move? Mana that he couldn't control? What!?

"Why did my mana do that? It wasn't my intention to tie you up at all…"

Oh.

"It does what you tell it to do whether subconsciously or not."

Law felt a really, really small spark of hope.

He had a mind that was still functioning. It was his strongest suit. And if Law had learned anything from his studies and being with Luffy, it was that the human brain played a major role in controlling everything.

"Luffy!" Law shouted with all he had. Whether or not his demon reacted to that, he wasn't sure. His only option right now was to stay focused and keep talking.

"You won't do anything to hurt me, would you?"

If thoughts and words were all he had to work with then he was going to reach Luffy with it and stay with him up until the very bitter end. Or die trying.

"You can't lose!"

He had to trust their bond.

"You can't die!"

"Then your mana won't either."

Wishes were all he had. Words were all he could work with. This bond was all he could bet on.

"It does what you tell it to do whether subconsciously or not."

And perhaps Law was going out on a limb with what he was doing but it was his only option, as risky and possibly imaginary as it might be. It was the only card that was left for him to play.

"I'm ordering you to win…!" His heart was tightening and his head felt like it was swelling, threatening to burst. "You need to win! No matter what the cost!"

Law made sure to stress the last sentence as his last ditch effort to tell his mind, his body, his mana, fuck it, he'd even tell the universe that he meant it if he had to. If some god was out there listening, he had to know that Law was praying that he meant for Luffy to stop getting hurt no matter what the cost.

His heart beat solidly and loudly once and a small part of Law told him that could've been the last of his heartbeat, the final audible mark of his life before the god of death himself made a deal with him.

But it wasn't.

To say that Law's mana gushed out from his body was an understatement. The man's life essence had exploded with enough force to knock Killer tumbling away and enough magnitude for Law to actually start glowing violently. All around them was a frenzy. Tree trunks shook, branches splintered, leaves flew about, and rocks were in the air. The ground rumbled as if trying to join the chaos above it and the mist swirled like a visual manifestation of cackling laughter. The human's eyes had gone white and the scream that was erupting from him was continuously loud and powerful. He couldn't stop his own voice even if he tried.

Law wasn't sure if he was conscious anymore. This feeling of etherealness was something he had no recollection of encountering before. The tattoos on his skin started glowing. His mana was responding! Law wasn't sure how he knew but he was fucking sure that this angry golden light was a manifestation of his mana. And it was something Luffy needed desperately. Law had no idea how to control his own energy but to think and beg and pray to please, please, reach Luffy.

The light streamed like a beautiful luminescent golden bridge from Law's body straight towards Luffy's unconscious one lying facedown on the ground. The wolves backed away from both the demon and his human. When Law's mana started sweeping the area in search of possible threats, the pack quickly hid behind the thick trees and rocks to protect themselves from both detection and the whirling debris that were flying in the air.

"Get out of here!" Kid yelled as he leaned back on a massive rock. "All of you!"

"We're not leaving you!" Someone shouted back from somewhere.

Kid looked back at their supposed prey.

The blood on Luffy's skin dried up and disappeared. The wounds and fractures on his body quickly healed. And then the markings on his skin slowly returned, outlined with a trace of golden light that slowly transitioned into a beautiful shade of steaming, angry red.

"Kid!" Killer yelled from behind a tree next to the alpha wolf who fidgeted, momentarily lost at the spectacle unraveling itself before him. "He's transferring mana to the demon! Take the Trafalgar and go!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Kid frowned. "I can take him on! He's only an incubus!"

"That's not the point!" Killer swiped his large hand frustratedly across his mask. "If the warlock keeps on doing this, his body's going to break and he's going to die! A dead warlock's heart means nothing!"

Kid kept frowning but said nothing.

"You're the only one that can withstand touching the Trafalgar at this point!" Killer swatted away a large tree branch that flew his way. "Take him far away from his range to stop the transfer. We'll keep the demon busy. Take the warlock and eat him while the moon's still peaked!"

Kid and Killer looked behind them where pandemonium still raged on. Luffy was starting to get up but Law's tethering had not stopped one bit. If anything, it kept on going furiously as if he was trying to turn Luffy into an entirely different creature. Multiple wounds split open all over the human's body, streaks of blood staining his skin as the energy inside him tore at his flesh to get out of and reach his demon with the sole intent of saving him.

"Stop." Luffy's spoke softly. "Stop it, Law. You're going to hurt yourself."

Law could hear him but he was so drowned in his own energy that even his own mind refused to form words properly. His only focus was to give his demon energy. It was the last thought he had, the last wish he threw out.

No matter what the cost.

And Luffy felt that thought clearly. There were no words but their connection was too perfect for him to miss Law's intentions.

"You're only going to stop when I win then." Luffy mumbled as he looked at the markings on his hands and arms. It almost felt like a long while since he'd worn these. His skin glowed in a powerful but eerie shade of red. His body felt so incredibly hot and scorching that steam started to form around him. Despite having an insane appetite for mana, he had never felt this supremely powerful in his entire life.

The marks hadn't left Law's body either, which meant the contract was still in effect and that the demon's tattoos had only temporarily returned. It felt strangely satisfying to Luffy that they were both wearing the same marks on their bodies.

"I'll win for you. I'll deal with the dogs." The demon spoke levelly. "And then we'll go home."

A chorus of mighty roars came from behind Luffy as the werewolves emerged from their hiding places all at the same time. Luffy turned quickly to see a wave of yellow eyes, claws, and fangs towards him.

Good. He didn't have to find them.

Luffy lowered his stance, legs apart and feet firmly planted on the ground. Placing one hand on his knee to brace for impact, Luffy drove his knuckles to the earth, yelling loudly as a wave of mana erupted from the point of impact. The ground around him shook and the space reverberated from the pressure as an angry force pushed everything into the air—soil, rocks, leaves, grass, twigs, branches, werewolves.

"Focus on the demon!" Killer managed to grab onto a large mass of tree trunk that was flying around and jumped to the next rock that whizzed his way. There was a roar of affirmation that Luffy only responded to by clicking his tongue and glaring at them.

The whole pack converged like an angry tidal wave at the small demon. Luffy couldn't give two shits. In an instant, he was gone, leaving nothing but a whiff of steam where he used to be standing. Huh? Where did he go? Was he invisible? Or was he only too fast?

A split second later, an animalistic roar of defeat shattered Killer's train of thought. One wolf had fallen. It was followed by a buzzing sound before another wolf fell injured, whimpering in pain. And then another. And another. And still, another. Luffy appeared and disappeared quickly with each one, a trail of steam being the only remaining witness to how he'd knocked the wolves unconscious.

Killer cursed loudly, yelling at everyone to scatter and keep moving. How were they the ones being hunted? It was a single incubus! Everyone knew that incubi weren't designed to fight!

So how!?

"That Trafalgar is so fucking annoying!" Killer grunted in frustration. And maybe he shouldn't have done that. There was a quick rustling sound behind him, followed by a demon's low, predatory whisper.

"I heard that."

Punk Hazard's mist and Luffy's mana steam danced with one another in a rhythmic flow of red and white.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Holy shit, it was too fast, too powerful. Killer didn't even know which part of him was broken and how but his body felt terribly, terribly injured. As the blonde werewolf started to freefall, he discreetly turned to where the human had been lying and found the spot empty.

Good. At least they had that going for them.

"Mother!"

Law wasn't sure if this dream was a memory.

"Mother!"

Why was he calling out like this? He'd never met his mother.

His small hands reached out for a wooden door handle and pushed it open to run inside a small wooden cottage. There were two large but thin pillows on the floor near two low stools across a small fireplace. His little feet turned to his right where he found the dining room and the kitchen merged into one area. A woman stood with her back to him, seemingly cooking judging by how she seemed to be stirring.

"Mother!" Law could feel a large stuffed animal under his arm as he ran towards the dark-haired woman.

"He's here!" Law could hear himself say again as he tugged at her skirts. She turned to him slowly but for some reason, Law could not see her face. It was his mother, though. He knew. Her smile was so warm despite this being the first time he's seen it. His heart skipped a beat.

"Who is?" She asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Father!" Law had squealed so excitedly. His mother gasped and both of them turned towards the door where a tall blonde man stood. Law couldn't see his face but his clothes told him that this man was financially better off than him and his mother.

Didn't his father die or disappear before he was born?

"Father's home!" His small childish voice giggled happily as he ran to the door and into the man's waiting arms. "Father's home!"

Everything felt right but Law had no recollection of this at all.

Being thrown onto the ground violently wasn't how anyone would want to be woken up but Law had little to no choice in this matter. Tired and confused, he immediately gasped for air but seemed to find none despite nothing blocking his nose or mouth. Law's hand immediately clutched his chest when the sound of his angrily beating heart eventually reached his consciousness. He was trembling and disoriented, panting desperately for oxygen as he writhed on the ground.

"You…!" Kid's angry voice managed to shoot through Law's jumbled state of mind. He sounded angry but Law couldn't bring himself to care. Finding air was more important to him. The man turned to lie on his side but Kid kicked him right in the midsection so he was lying on his back. That broke his ribs again and Law could only open his mouth in a silent scream of pain.

"You horrible fucking…!" The red-haired werewolf snarled, stepping on Law's chest when the human attempted to turn on his side again. Killer and the rest of his pack was in danger after having risked everything for this stupid warlock's heart. The human had no business trying to find a shred of comfort in all of this.

"Luf—!" Gasping his demon's name was all Law could do as his chest heaved desperately, clinging onto whatever shred of oxygen his lungs could find. Kid grumbled and straddled him, sitting on Law's stomach as his strong legs on either side of his body pinned the human in place.

"L-Lu—!"

"Shut up!" Kid hollered at him, vicious fangs audible in his voice as he punched Law in the chest, making the man cough and wheeze. Law groaned, trying to lift his hand to at least clutch at his chest or claw at his throat but didn't even have enough strength to do so.

What happened? Was Luffy okay? Where was he? Where were they? Where was the rest of the pack?

The sound of his shirt being ripped open reached Law's ears and made him twitch uncontrollably as a measly sign of resistance.

"You'd better be worth all this trouble." Kid grumbled amidst the sound of his knuckles cracking. And just before Law could ponder on what he meant by that, Kid brought his hand down on Law's bare chest towards the side where his heart was, slender fingers arched in a claw-like manner trying to dig into Law's skin.

Where he found the strength to cry in pain, Law wouldn't know. Perhaps it was thanks to the insane burn that seared straight into Law's heart, his lungs, his throat, his bones. It was unfathomably harrowing how his body felt like it was being invaded by a colony of bugs travelling through his veins in search for something. Tattooed hands grabbed onto Kid's wrist as Law's adrenaline fueled every futile writhe and kick.

"Asshole…!" Kid clicked his tongue afterwards and twisted his hand like he was unscrewing a lid, dragging his long claws across Law's chest, leaving stripes of vivid red in its wake.

They said warlocks locked their hearts to protect themselves from predators and that this protection varied from one warlock to another. Known families and clans even had trademarks to keep attackers away. Trafalgars, for instance, smelled of danger to keep predators from even trying. And on that rare instance that some creature felt ballsy enough to attack, they would find an entire body laden with traps and poison. Kid wasn't really sure if he believed that but Killer always told him that it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with warlocks.

"Come on!" Kid practically yelled, baring his fangs again and Law wanted to ask him what the fuck for? He had no strength to fight and had said nothing at all. What was he so aggravated about!? Law could do nothing but lie there at this werewolf's mercy, wondering what had happened to his demon and was praying to all gods that please, at least Luffy should be okay. Please. Nothing else was left!

Until there was.

There was the sound of a twang at the back of Law's head like someone struck a chord on a harp.

"Yeah, come on!" Kid sounded like he had finally gotten what he had been waiting for.

A blast of wind swept through the area as a glowing orb of bright white light started to phase out of Law's chest and right into Kid's large hand. The werewolf growled and Law could feel the bigger male's weight shift on top of him to steady his position. Kid's free hand gripped the wrist of his other hand as if to brace for the glowing round sphere of light that was pushing out of Law's body. The red-haired werewolf grunted again, cursing three times in a span of a breath as the sphere phased halfway out of Law's chest, glowing more intensely with every passing second.

So the rumors were true. Warlocks did have mana locks. This one's looked like an illuminated white sphere surrounded by strange inscriptions and lines crisscrossing its spherical surface. It seemed to house a smaller flickering, beating light as it phased out of the human's body. The shadowy wisps that coiled around the sphere and seeped in like dark roots were probably the manifestation of the bond with his demon. Kid could tell because it greatly resembled the swirls on the human's skin.

Well, whatever the lock was about, Kid only had one job—to break it with all that he had and consume the human's heart. If this thing pushed out of Kid's control, it could trigger god-knows-what. It had to be put under control.

The sphere felt prickly under his fingers, pushing against his life essence in an attempt to destroy him from the inside. He had prepared for this, though. No one should mess with a warlock and not have a plan after all.

The bangles on Kid's wrist started clinking and the engraved inscriptions began to glow right when the werewolf expected them to. The mana lock fizzled under his touch, seemingly angry, but Kid did not give a shit. He'd put together an arsenal of equipment, reserved his mana, and consumed enough humans to stabilize the lycan curse all for the purpose of consuming this Trafalgar's heart.

So, yeah. He was absolutely going to break this mana lock. His pack had sacrificed too much for this. Failing was not an option.

On the other hand, Law didn't know what was happening but he knew that it hurt. His entire body could feel every little movement of Kid's fingers as if Law's heart was beating right on his palm. The werewolf hollered incoherently as sparks started flying out of the orb with the sound of angry clattering brass. Law tried to open his eyes and lift his head to see what was going on only to see Kid's angry determined yellow eyes, gnashed his teeth between his tightened jaw. The nerves on his forehead popped so much, Law could've sworn it would burst from pressure.

The light from Law's own chest was practically blinding so the man had to squint harder, struggling to make some sense out of what was happening but found himself drawing a blank. Kid's fingers squeezed the light globe harshly and Law could've sworn his heart stopped beating.

The man screamed again, his body thrashing uncontrollably, his voice hoarse, his eyes dry despite the feeling of tears streaming down his face. The pain was beyond a physical level and it shouldn't surprise him by now but it still did. It shocked him enough to start hearing his heartbeat in his skull like it was some sinister rhythm that singing of his impending death. Fuck. He was too tired to interpret any of that anymore. And that said a lot if Trafalgar Law couldn't even force himself to think.

Where else could he get the power to do anything at this point? Law could literally feel every drop of his strength surging towards his chest where Kid was trying to fight something. And then that same strength started to leave Law as if it had gotten tired, too.

Well, fuck.

"Lu—" Law coughed up blood. That wasn't always a good sign.

Was it still right for him to wait for Luffy? To hope that he was going to find him again? Over and over? Helpless little shit that he was?

Law ran a list of other options through his head and came up with nothing. Perhaps this was it. He was going to die here. Law's eyelids fell shut and the rest of his body shut down with it, causing him to miss whatever came next.

The already bright sphere started glowing brighter as the inscriptions on its surface started moving, spinning, rearranging themselves like it was preparing for war. Kid cursed at it again because it was all he could do as he tried to keep the mana lock under control but it was starting to get a little too much. The vicious clinking of his bangles told him he had to wrap it up and break the lock but how!? It didn't even feel like the energy was from the same person anymore! How was this possible?!

And then the inscriptions stopped moving. They had rearranged themselves in such a way that there were multiple prominent pairs of slit-like curves all over the sphere. Kid swallowed hard. He was telling himself to prepare for the worst when holy fuck, the exact inscriptions that he was wondering about—good lord, he thought they were just inscriptions—widened and turned into drawn eyes.

There were live eye drawings gaping through the spaces between his fingers!

"Holy sweet fucking shit!" Was the only thing Kid could say but he kept his grip on the sphere, determined not to lose concentration.

He'd heard warlocks were sneaky and that Trafalgars were boobytrapped but fuck, he didn't think it would be this creepy! The eyes were nothing like real ones and looked more like two connected curves with a glowing flat circle moving frantically in the middle as if trying to find something, someone, anything, anyone until then they all stopped in an instant. Kid held his breath.

The small eyes on the sphere moved all at the same time and stared at him.

That could not bode well for him.

One breath later, a dome of film immediately formed from the glowing sphere, encompassing both him and the unconscious human sprawled on the ground. This dome was highly similar to the one the Trafalgar was doing earlier except this one was heavier, stronger, and far more threatening. This clearly belonged to someone far more experienced. Kid was sternly telling himself not to let go of the sphere until a low and smooth male voice spoke.

"Silent."

"S-silent?" Kid parroted dumbly, glaring at the sphere that seemed to be judging him with its own eyes. The clinking of his bangles stopped, its own light dying down as if it had shut down and rid of its purpose.

Huh? Was it malfunctioning?

There was no time to wonder or be angry. Kid found this out the hard way as a thousand thin mana threads started shooting out of the sphere like it had been coiled around inside the entire time. At that point, Kid knew he had to release the mana sphere in favor of backing away from the human. The strings smelled of more danger than the dome itself.

But it was only possible to back away for such a short distance.

Outside the dome was nothing but an endless darkness where the forest of Punk Hazard used to be. Kid looked down to double check where he was standing. Beneath his feet was the grassy forest floor. Law was also still there. It seemed only the space within the isolated dome retained the original feel of Punk Hazard. Beyond it was nothing more but a deep, dark silence.

As dangerously horrible as the endless emptiness looked like, Kid knew it was the least of his problems. The strings kept flowing out of the sphere and started weaving itself into what resembled a cocoon...

...In the shape of a man?

"Fufufufufu…"

The rather curious laughter was from a male voice again but entirely different from the one that had spoken earlier. Kid's eyes widened as he watched the strings spin itself into what was starting to look more and more like a tall man with blonde hair.

"I didn't really think it would come to this." The voice was coming from the string human. "But here I am."

"What the fuck?" Kid took a few steps back until he realized he was at the edge of the dome.

Not good.

The werewolf watched the string until it finished weaving itself. Before him stood a tall blonde man donning a large pink feathered coat and red pointy shades, tilting his head as a wide grin swept over his face.

"Guess who's been a very, very bad dog."

AN: Whoop-dee-doo! Yasss, chapter 21! So just like last chapter, guys, please, please tell me what you think. Thank you!