Gedatsu: Prepare for judgement criminals...You have no choice but to receive it.
Shura: Select a gate...select from four ordeals.
Satori: For you...there can be no turning back
Ohm: You may choose your own trial...but we will decide your Fate.
Swamp...String...Balls...Iron
"Choose your path criminals!"
Chapter 26: The Devil's New Victim.
Where we last left our rescue team, they came across four extending paths which lead to four different trials.
"So which one should we choose?" Cure Papaya asked, observing the four entrances.
"Let's go with the one with the spheres!" Luffy called out. "That seems fun!"
"It's not supposed to be fun you idiot!" Kuroko scolded. "This is a trial punishment!"
"I agree...but spheres seem a bit less dangerous to me," Usopp replied.
"Swamps seem harmless desu," Kirika stated. Usopp pictured himself sinking in a murky swamp.
"Definitely not the swamp," Usopp shivered after that disturbing image.
"How about iron?" Luffy asked.
Usopp imagined themselves being chased by giant anvil spears and blades. "NO THANK YOU!"
"Fine, string it is," Kirika pouted.
Again, Usopp pictured everyone walking on a tightrope over an endless abyss. "T-That seems much scarier than the other two."
"Wow…" Kirika said with deadpanned. "You're even scared of string?"
Sanji sighed, annoyed. "We don't have time to debate about this."
"I think the sphere one sounds the least threatening to me," Minori suggested.
"Alright, sphere it is!" Luffy announced.
"You better not be thinking about us being chased by a giant ball," Kuroko glanced at Usopp who had a thought bubble forming, but the sniper quickly swats it away.
"Okay… I guess I'll trust Luffy's instincts this time," Usopp stated.
"Then it's decided," Sanji said. He pressed on the petal as the Little Crow moved into the ball trial tunnel. "Just don't let your guard down, everyone. Remember these are God's island, anything can happen."
"Hey driver, would you mind not closing your eyes while driving?" Kuroko asked playfully.
"WAH!" Usopp yelled after opening his eyes. "It's still dark with them open!"
Luffy was silent for a bit before answering. "I wonder if this is like one of those games."
"What do you mean?" Kirika asked.
"I mean that one of the doors has a prize on the other side," Luffy explained. "But if we pick the wrong one…"
"Game over," Papaya finished.
"DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE~!" Usopp comically snapped at Papaya and then turned to Luffy. "AND WHY DO YOU TELL US NOW!?"
"If we do pick the wrong one...would we fall off of Sky Island?" Kirika asked, nervously.
Luffy thought about it. "Maybe…"
"SCREW THAT!" Usopp yelled. "HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING THAT STUPID! WE'RE A THOUSAND METERS FROM HERE TO THE BLUE SEA! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES OUR EYES FLASH BEFORE OUR EYES FROM THAT FALL! EVEN FALLING HAS TO HAVE A LIMIT!"
"That's being a bit of a stretch," Kuroko rolled her eyes at his overreaction. "Nothing like that is gonna happen. If that was the punishment, there would be no choice of pi…!"
Upon exiting the tunnel, they were greeted by a steep drop off the Milky Road. Seeing this, all of them froze, their jaws wide with comical horror (even Cure Papaya) as they began falling.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The fall only lasted a minute as the Little Crow landed on the sea clouds with a splash. This gave the others some time to catch their breath and calm themselves down.
Kirika was the first one to speak, still a bit stunned from the fall. "W-we're alive!?"
"It feels like...I was bungee jumping," Cure Papaya wheezed in exhaustion.
"I-I-thought we were really falling ten thousand meters downward!" Usopp whimpering.
"I need to realize that in this world...anything can happen," Kuroko said, looking a bit freaked out.
"YOU JUST HAD TO MAKE US SOME DUMBASS STORY TO SCARE US DIDN'T YOU!" Sanji comically snapped while kicking Luffy's head.
"Wow! I thought I was gonna die!" Luffy laughed nonchalantly.
Inside a large tree with a cave inside it lies the Headquarters of Luminous Tail. The tree cave contained an underground campground with four tunnels on each end. Simon sat down on a stump thinking about Erza's appearance.
"Um, Simon…" Simon's thoughts were interrupted when Yozura walked towards him. "...M-My mantra felt both of my clones were beaten by the Blue Sea people. Dimanu is chasing two of them, and Todd and Terra are returning back with three injured girls."
"I see..." Simon nodded. "Thank you for informing me."
"HEY~!" Jayden and Akita appeared walking down the underground room. Jayden was carrying both Awatsuki and the flailing Jackal behind his back. "We're back with a girl and an odd looking thing."
"I told you he's a demon!" Yozura pouted at Jayden.
"Jayden, that's not how you handle an injured girl," Yozura informed with a pouty expression.
"Well you take care of her. She almost got the end of Gedatsu's jet dial," Jayden said, casually tossing Awatsuki at Yozura who quickly caught her.
"He looks like a feisty one," Simon said observing him. "Hold on, let me create a cage to put him in."
Simon's bulky body steamed up as he sunk his hand into his stomach. This caused the demon's jaws to drop in shock.
"I always love this part," Jayden whispered to Yozura. Simon left his hands inside for a minute before pulling out a big iron cage.
"W-What the hell is he?" Jackal stuttered.
"That's Simon's amazing Devil Fruit," Jayden stated dramatically. "The Smell Smell fruit~!"
"It's Smelt Smelt Jayden…" Akita corrected. "His body turns into a furnace to melt metal in and use it to create some cool stuff."
"Rubber, wind, blooming, human, metal, and now this?" Jackal groaned. "Devil Fruits are fucken annoying."
"Where should I put him?" Jayden asked after placing Jackal in the cage. Jackal's eyes widened when he felt his butt frying from the iron bars.
"H-HOT~!" Jackal yelped in pain.
"Put him beside the girl," Simon answered. "Akita will start treating her wounds."
"R-Right~!" Akita nodded. Jayden grabbed the cage and walked into another tunnel with the two girls following behind.
Once he was alone, he sighed a bit. Simon's memory of how he ended up here after death was a bit hazy, but he remembers waking up on this Island protecting these people...after their leader was killed by Eneru.
"I'm telling yah, nothing beats my sister in a maid outfit!" Tsuchimikado gloated.
"Not even a cat girl?" Juvia asked.
"Nah, that's something that Misaka will wear!"
"I look hot in any outfit!" Kinoko boasted.
"C-Can we please change the topic?" Wendy pleaded.
She along with Tsuchimikado, Kinoko, Lucy, Erza, Zoro and Juvia were walking along the Upper Yard forest. Nothing exciting had happened to them so Tsuchimikado decided to talk about swimsuits.
"Aww what's the matter, Wendy? You know my sister has the same chest size as you," Tsuchimikado said.
"Do you think Gray will like me in a two-piece swimsuit?" Juvia asked Tsuchimikado.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Lucy groaned.
"You know Happy has been telling me how you try to seduce villains which fails," Tsuchimikado commented. "Which is surprising since blondes are much better at flirting than the others."
"They don't always fail!" Lucy comically snapped.
"Except when they do," Kinoko giggled.
"Despite that advantage," Tsuchimikado clenched his fist. "Kamiya still attracts all the ladies."
While they continued talking, Wendy noticed Erza not interfering with the conversation. Ever since they were walking, Erza hasn't said a word which made the Sky Dragon Slayer a bit worried for her. She was about to ask her, however was interrupted by a massive boom noise startling everyone.
"What was that?" Juvia asked. Zoro and Erza quickly got into a fighting stance while Lucy brought out her keys.
Suddenly on the left side, Shervan, carrying the unconscious Shirabe, flew into their line of sight. The second he spotted the small group he quickly flew towards them.
"Shirabe, Shervan~!" Lucy cried out, noticing their condition. "What happened to you two?!"
Before he could reply, Zoro quickly drew out two of his swords and brought in a cross shape to block a certain prism stone dragon claw.
"Who the hell are you?!" Zoro declared grunting.
"Cool~! More Sea Dwellers for me to hunt~!" Dimanu announced with glee. He quickly jumps back to avoid Erza's sword thrust from the side.
"D-Don't let me eat your swords," Shervan warned. "H-He's a dragon slayer l-like Gajeel~!"
"D-Dragon Slayer?" Lucy questioned in awe.
"Were you the one who was responsible for their condition?" Erza asked.
"You mean knocking the buzzsaw girl in the face, and pummeling the Delta boy into submission?" He asked casually. "Then yes."
"You may be cute, and I commend you for beating the girl," Kinoko said quietly. Her eyes filled with rage. "But no one lays a finger on my soon to be husband and gets away with it~!"
"You're still going on with that?!" Lucy comically retorted.
"Pixel Make: Boomerang~!" Kinoko summoned a large pixel looking boomerang and hurled it towards Dimanu who swerved his body to avoid it.
"Requip~!" Erza transformed into her Flight Armor. She then lunged at Dimanu closing the gap. "Sonic Claw~!"
Dimanu didn't have time to dodge and was slash in every direction with tremendous speed, ripping the remaining of his shirt. Despite the onslaught, he wasn't phased by the attacks, and swung his stone coated fist, landing a hit to her jaw. Erza slid back a bit stunned that he was able to punch her. "He's strong."
The pixel boomerang returned back from behind Dimanu but he easily backhanded with his arm breaking it in half. "Is that all you guys got? Because I'm still itching for a serious fight."
"Are all Dragon Slayers this competitive?" Zoro asked with a sweatdrop.
"Not most of them," Wendy replied, while healing Shirabe.
Dimanu and Erza were about to charge at each other. However Dimanu quickly jumped back to avoid an incoming ice saucer from above. Just as he landed, an iron pillar from the side slammed into his face, launching him into a tree.
"Wait, are those?" Erza realized and noticed Gray, Chris, Misaka, jumping down from the branches. Gajeel and Princess appeared from the side. This was followed by Cure Coral, Misaka. Cure Honey, Marie and Accelerator were with the others.
"Gray, and Gajeel~!" Lucy called out happily.
"Gray my darling~!" Juvia swooned.
However the reunion was cut short when a dark gray stone pillar shot out towards Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer quickly brought his arms to block it but was shoved back and crashed into a tree.
"Not bad," Dimanu declared, still on his feet. "But not what I'm looking for."
"What's with this guy?" Gray asked, as he got into his Ice Make stance.
"Don't underestimate him," Erza warned as she prepared to attack as well.
Dimanu grinned as he charged towards them. Gray, Chris, and Juvia unleash long range attacks of ice lance, red arrows and water slicer, hoping to bombarded him. But Dimanu easily avoids them by zigzagging. Marie met up with him halfway, and landed a punch into his face.
Normally no human would be able to survive an armed gear attack, and Marie was skilled in hand in hand combat. Yet she felt something off with the punch. Unfortunately, Dimanu easily brushes it off and counters it with a roundhouse kick to her side. Marie felt a bit of her armor crack from the force as she launched to the side.
After Dimanu dealt with Marie, he then countered Gajeel's fist with his own. "So you're a Dragon Slayer who uses iron? Talk about a rip off," Gajeel taunted.
"I don't use iron," Dimanu corrected, while morphing his left arm in his dragon-like claw. "My element is the bane of Devil fruits everywhere."
"Well see about that," Gajeel morphed his left arm into a jagged iron blade. "Iron Dragon Sword~!"
The mineral claw and the iron sword clashed the moment they connected, causing a miniature two held their ground, until the claw shoved the sword to the ground. "Prism Stone Dragon: Lance~!" He swung his leg morphing into an iron pole and struck Gajeel the cheek drilling him into the ground. He immediately turned around to find Cure Princess coming towards him with her hands glowing.
"Princess Twin Magnum Fists!" Cure Princess forms two blue giant fists and fires it at Dimanu.
"Two can play that game! Prism Stone Dragon: Titan Fist!" A magical circle formed on Dimanu's right fist causing it to grow 2x bigger coated in dark gray stone. He then fires it at the two giant blue fists, easily overpowering them and coming towards Princess.
"AH~! P-Princess Shield!" Panicking, she quickly formed a giant heart-shaped shield. The giant prism stone fist connected to the shield, however, Princess found herself being pushed back and was hurtled towards a tree before disappearing.
"Now who's ne-huh?" Dimanu stopped when he felt a stream of water wrapped around his waist along with a fiery whip. He noticed Juvia with his left arm and Lucy with her Eon whip.
"NOW~!" Lucy and Juvia pulled the Dragon Slayer forward while rearing their fists back. Once close enough the two girl's slammed their fist into Dimanu's face, launching him in the air as Lucy and Juvia both release him.
Shervan observed Dimanu carefully and noticed something was off. "GET OUT OF THE WAY~! HE'S GOING TO ROAR~!"
The two girls were startled by his outburst which gave Dimanu enough time to charge up his cheeks. "Prism Stone Dragon Roar~!"
Lucy and Juvia didn't have a chance to move as Dimanu launched a massive funnel of stone shards in their direction.
"Ice Make: Wall~!" Gray unleashed a tall wall in front of everyone. The roar attacked didn't stop however, only breaking the ice wall easily. "Crap!"
"Pixel Make: Castle Wall~!" Kinoko unleashed a larger gray pixel like wall with two castle towers on each side. Unlike Gray's ice wall, the castle wall was able to stop the funnel for a bit. However it was slowly starting to break through the force.
"Damn it," Kinoko gritted her teeth as she felt the funnel was pushing through her wall. "I can't hold on much longer!"
"Honey Ribbon Spiral~!"
As soon as he heard that voice, Dimanu felt his waist being bound by a yellow ribbon from behind. 'Oh no yah don't~!' Dimanu grabbed the ribbon and yanked it. He was hoping to aim his roar at the figure as soon as he spotted them. However, to his surprise, on the other end was just the baton itself. 'Crap...that was a decoy! Then…!'
The boy never got a chance to react as Cure Honey came at him from above and planted her fist into his right cheek interrupting his roar attack and launched him down to earth. Kinoko finally collapsed to her knees causing the castle wall to vanish.
"Nice job Cure Honey~!" Lucy called out with a thumbs up.
"I didn't know she was the type to punch someone," Tsuchimikado commented. "Lucky bastard Kamiya...You have a hidden Yandere in your harem."
"Amazing how you focus on dumb stuff in dire situations," Chris deadpan.
"Well this is interesting," Everyone quickly got alarmed when Dimanu emerged from the dust cloud rubbing his chin. "It seems like half of the cast is here. I guess my plan to get you to fight seriously will have to wait another time."
"Geeze! How tough is this guy?" Lucy whined a bit.
"The fact that he was able to withstand everything we throw at him, isn't an opponent we should take lightly," Erza said seriously.
"Well, he can't take all of us though," Cure Princess announced.
"He just did or did you forget," Accelerator reminded her.
"I don't see you helping out, so shut up!" Princess barked back.
"He may be strong," Marie admitted as she stood. "But he's outnumbered. If we work together, we can beat him."
"Yeah," Misaka declared with sparks flying. She pounded her fist together.
"That kid's getting a spanking for ripping off my moves," Gajeel growled as he stood up.
"You will pay dearly for harming two of my comrades," Erza declared as she brought her sword out in front. Kinoko, Juvia and Gray were prepared to launch an attack, while Chris aimed her arrow. The three Pretty Cures, Honey, Coral and Princess prepared to fight as well. Accelerator slowly brought his hand in his black collar as a precaution.
Despite the tension and the one against a whole army scenario, one would retreat and or be scared out of their minds. Dimanu however only responded with a loud sigh, looking disappointed. "That was...SO CHEESY~!"
They stared at him with a dumbfounded expression on their faces.
"W-What?" Wendy spoke, breaking the awkward silence.
"Sorry, it's just hard to take you seriously with corny lines like that," Dimanu replied, shaking his head. "I mean I get it that you value friendship and all but seriously? 'You will pay dearly for harming my comrades' or 'He may be strong, but with the power of teamwork will prevail' That's just so cheesy that I would rather die than eat it~!"
"Okay...I'm a bit lost here," Gray asked dumbfounded.
"Me too," Coral admitted, a bit unsure.
"Now don't get me wrong, I value my comrades far better than the Priests do. But that doesn't stop me from cringing to death by those lines," Dimanu complained. "What's worse, it came from the two perverted armor chicks."
"...
…
…P-Perverted?!" Erza and Marie yelled their cheeks red in anger, shock and embarrassment.
"He's right about the speech though," Zoro nodded in agreement. "It was kind of corny."
"Tell me about it," Accelerator agreed. "I feel like I'm watching a dumb magical girl series."
"YOU TWO SHUT UP~!" Princess comically snapped.
"Anyway water under the bridge," Dimanu said cheerfully. "But before we continue our duel, may I get the name of the person who recently punched me? The one who distracted me with the ribbon baton thing."
"That was me," Honey answered as she stepped forward.
"So it's you huh?" Dimanu crossed his arms while eyeing Cure Honey. He then chuckled. "I have to say...that punch you pulled was really painful~!"
"Why is he smiling about being punched?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not kidding," Dimanu continued. "Between the two dual ax kick, metal head's pillar, Pervert#1 haymacker, and water woman and Miss Fanservice Hourglass's double punches, your punch finally broke the streak."
"H-Hey~! Who are you calling a Fanservice Hourglass!?" Lucy yelled at him.
"And why am I pervert#1?!" Marie yelled out as well.
"Isn't that obvious?" Dimanu tilted his head innocently. "You two look like you're going to seduce someone at a stripper joint. Also," He glanced at Erza. "Pervert#2 did just change outfits in front of everyone without a care in the world."
"PFT~! HAHAH~!" Tsuchimikado couldn't help but burst out laughing. "T-This is hilarious~! Erza a stripper?!"
"W-Why are you laughing!?" Princess exclaimed looking annoyed. "Did you forget that this kid is dangerous?!"
"Dangerous yes, but he's not wrong," Accelerator joined in, enjoying the moment. "Half of you women love to show too much skin. It feels like you're joining in on Gray's stripping habit."
"Gray...causing girls to strip?" Juvia said hollowed expressions while gazing at Lucy menically.
"Why are you looking at me like it's my fault!?" Lucy cried out in fear.
"And I don't force girls to strip?!" Gray added comically.
"Not everyone likes disgusting hourglass figures you know~!" Kinoko announced. She grabbed Shervan's left arm and placed it on her chest. "Flat chest is the way to go! You don't have useless jugs holding you back~!"
"She's right," Tsuchimikado chuckled. "Maids outfits are better with a flat chest than cat costumes."
"R-Really?" Wendy and Coral whispered, staring at their chest.
"Hell yeah," Kinoko grinned proudly. "I accept my wonderful sexy body!" She glanced at Misaka. "...Unlike some of us."
"Hey, I accept my body~!" Misaka snapped blushing a bit. Shervan, Chris, Princess, Honey, Zoro, and Gajeel, were the only ones not interested in their odd conversation.
"What is even happening?" Chris asked with a sweatdrop.
"Talking about pointless crap," Zoro answered, while shaking his head.
"Um excuse me!" Dimanu called out, getting their attention. "If you guys are done with your comedy routine, I still have something to say."
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAUSED IT~!" Gajeel, Chris and Zoro barked at him with shark teeth.
"As I was saying…" He dramatically points to Cure Honey. "You are the first person in the Blue Sea world that was able to land a good hit and I can tell that you're strong~! Not as strong as Delta Sky or the other Octadic Slayers, but strong enough to take me down."
"The Oct- what now?" Gray repeatedly confused.
"Octadic Slayers!" Dimanu announced dramatically. "Kids like me and Shervan who were developed by Crimson Blood to become the ultimate power houses of this world~!"
Hearing the name, caused some of them to tense up. "You're telling me you're the same as Shervan?!" Marie asked.
"Pretty much," Dimanu nodded. "I was created to go toe to toe against Devil fruit users after all."
Suddenly, a thick mist was forming in the area, startling everyone minus Dimanu who grinned. "Well I love to fight you all, but there's my ride. Till we meet again, Shervan and Honey~!"
Before anyone could react, the mist surrounded Dimanu and then cleared up with him gone. Gray was the first one to speak. "...What was that about?"
"I don't know but I'm glad that it's over," Princess sighed in relief. "That kid was insane."
"Tell me about it," Lucy said, looking tired. "That brat has the nerve to call me Hourglass woman."
"Get over it...Hourglass," Accelerator retorted.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Lucy yelled comically.
"There's something off about the boy," Marie mumbled looking at her fist. "When I punched him, I felt like I hit a rock or something."
"Yeah I felt it when my sword made contact," Zoro declared seriously. 'This is the same sensation when I fought against Mr 1.'
"Did he tell you any reason why he attacked you two?" Erza asked Shervan.
"D-Dimanu, just wanted to see what we could do," Shervan replied, looking away. "He didn't sound like he was trying to kill us."
"Still to think he was able to take out Shirabe," Chris said, eying her.
"Don't worry, leave everything to me," Honey stated as her baton turned into a microphone. She then sang a soothing melody causing everyone around her to glow a faint light. All of their scratches marks and bruises fading away.
"My injuries," Shervan whispered in awe. He and Wendy stare in shock to find him along with Shirabe's visible injuries vanishing from Honey's song.
Cure Princess sighed lazily. "I love it when Honey heals us like that~! It feels so nice~!"
"First Wendy and now her? Chopper seems to be lagging a bit on being a doctor," Zoro scoffed. "Anyway, I think we should have a talk with the God of this island. I expect this god would do something flashier than separating us with a clone George."
"Well let's go ask this destructive God to make things flashier for you," Misaka said sarcastically.
"I don't think the clones along with Dimanu were a part of Eneru's forces," Erza stated.
"Yeah," Accelerator replied. "It's pointless to trap us while going to the altar, only for them to separate us."
"Anyway, I'm betting Luffy and others are probably heading there now too, and you know what they say. If you get lost you should stay where you are right?" Zoro stated.
"That should be implied to you!" Chris snapped.
"So while you guys were fighting another imposter, and that kid, the rest of us were talking about how blondes are the best at flirting," Tsuchimikado boasted.
"Well not all blondes," Kinoko turned to Lucy.
"W-Why are you looking at me when saying that!?" Lucy comically exclaimed.
"Not again," Marie facepalmed.
"Hold on!" Princess called out. "What do you mean blondes are good at flirting?"
"Well you saw it first hand," Tsuchimikado answered with a sly grin on his face. "The Dimanu kid has a crush on Honey."
…
…
…
"W-WHAT!?" Misaka, Princess, Coral, and Lucy exclaimed.
"..." Cure Honey just stared speechless by Tsuchimikado words.
"Wait, you think the kid has a crush on Honey?" Gray questioned.
"The way he complimented Honey's punch was showing signs of a masochist," Tsuchimikado explained.
"That's ridiculous," Misaka grumbled. "What kind of person falls in love with someone who abuses…" Misaka stopped herself when a certain teleporter popped into her mind. "...Nevermind."
"If you guys are finished analyzing Honey's love life, then we can get onto important matters," Zoro mumbled, getting everyone's attention. "They're supposed to be a god right? Well I wanna meet him face to face."
"You want to meet God?" Juvia asked in shock.
"And what, may I ask, are you going to do once you find him?" Erza asked sternly.
Zoro grinned. "It depends...if he behaves himself or not."
"Zoro you're so cool and brave!" Kinoko awed.
"Don't forget stupid," Misaka scoffed.
"What about the priests Nami mentioned!?" Princess questioned. "Are you gonna beat them all up too?"
"By the time I'm done with him, this God will bow down before me!" Zoro answered.
"Yeah, like that's going to happen when you wander to who knows where," Chris scoffed with a smirk. "I'll blast that God out of the sky no problem, and he'll bow before me."
Gajeel chuckled. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"
"You can't even beat a clone of me, and you want to go and take on a God? Pathetic… " Accelerator added.
"You guys will end up fighting each other before you fight this Eneru guy," Marie sweetdrop by their rivalry.
"You know, I'm thinking that Honey here could get God to love her by punching him," Tsuchimikado joked.
"...!" Honey stood still speechless, but noticed Accelerator, Chris, Misaka, Zoro and Gajeel all glared at her with a rivalry aura. Juvia held onto Gray while Kinoko did the same thing to Shervan. Both girls give out a jealous vibe.
"I-I wouldn't do something like that," Honey said, feeling the aura intensify. 'Now I understand how Touma feels.'
"...Ugh my head hurts…!" Cynthia groaned as she stirred a bit. She held her head when a rush of pain enveloped at her head. Once she opened her eyes she found herself staring at her bandaged arm. "...Huh? Where am I?"
She sat up from the bed she was laying in and scanned the room. The floor, walls, ceiling and even the bed were made of iron. Cynthia realized that she wasn't the only one in the room as she saw Hibiki, Manatsu, and Awatsuki were sleeping on separate beds with a few bandages.
Cynthia winced as she stood up. She recalled the fight she had with Koura and Shizuka causing her to grimace a bit. 'Who were those two?'
"GHAY~!" Cynthia jumped when she heard a scream coming from the outside room. She quickly ran out of the room to discover an awkward scene.
Jackal, who was encased in a metal cage with his teeth grabbing Aikito's skirt. The girl was lying on her stomach as if she had face planted to the ground.
"What are you doing…?" Cynthia asked, glaring at the demon. Insisting that she punch him for sexual harassment, she first wanted to figure out what was going on.
"Oh it's the Omega brat," Jackal scowled, not phased by her glare. "This idiot tried to drag me to you guys, but ended up tripping and knocking herself out...dumbass."
"So...why are you pulling down her skirt?" Cynthia questioned.
"I was trying to wake her up," Jackal answered with a deadpan look.
"That's not how you wake up someone~!" Cynthia comically snapped.
"Whoa~! You guys are full of energy~!" Startled, Cynthia quickly turned to find a tall man towering behind her. He had short brown hair wearing a white shirt and gray shorts.
"Wah~!" Cynthia squeaked as she jumped back. "Who are you? Where are we?"
"My name is Eguchi Jefferson~!" He introduced cheerfully. "And you, my friend, are in the friendly underground shelter of Luminous Tail~!"
"Underground shelter?" Cynthia stared at him oddly. "So we're below the Upper Yard?"
"That's right," Eguchi nodded. "Todd and Terra brought you here after Shizuka and Koura escaped."
"Right, I remember," Cynthia trailed off, recalling the beatdown she and Hibiki received. "Are you guys Skypians too?"
"Not necessarily," He replied while grabbing the cage and lifting it with one arm. "We actually have never been down to the Blue Sea in a long time. All because we're one of Eneru's top hit lists. "
"I guess we aren't the only ones huh?" Cynthia said, remembering how they were also taken to the Upper Yard due to the giant lobster. The two went into the room where she woke up from. "What happened to Awatsuki though?"
"One of my colleagues was able to save her before Gedatsu could kill her," Eguchi replied. "Those guys aren't pushovers you know. Especially since Shizuka and Kouta joined in."
"Kouta…" Cynthia frowned, rubbing her bandage arm.
"Well, I better get Aikito to her room…" Eguchi said as he placed the cage in between Hibiki and Summer's bed. "She's been working so hard treating all of you...Especially Jackal."
"Really?" Cynthia raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah she's been rather talkative to him a lot," He answered. He was about to walk off, but stopped and turned his head. "By the way, Simon wants to speak to you. If you follow the tunnel to the right, you will find his room."
"Okay," Cynthia nodded slowly as Eguchi disappeared. She turned to Jackal. "So what were you talking to her about?"
"That's none of your business brat," Jackal answered harshly.
"Fine then," Cynthia replied. She turned around with her hands behind her head. "I'll just tell Erza that you've been assaulting a little girl."
Hearing that got Jackal's fur on edge. He glared at Cynthia. "F-Fine, I'll talk! But you better not fucken tell anyone else!"
"It depends," Cynthia sat on her bed, waiting for Jackal to speak.
"W-Well...that brat you saw isn't a human," Jackal quietly announced.
"Isn't a human?" Cynthia said confused for a bit, but she realized what he meant. "Y-You mean she's a demon like you?"
"No she ate one of those devil fruits," Jackal sarcastically answered. "Of course she's a demon! You think a demon like me couldn't sniff out his own kind?"
"Well that's true," Cynthia said flashbacking when she was inside Tartaros with Sora. "But why are you making it a secret?"
"Because…" Jackal paused a bit before continuing. "Her scent is the same as Mard Geer."
"Mard Geer...I think I heard that name before…" Cynthia mumbled with her hand on her chin.
"You better meet that Simon guy," Jackal mumbled. "That's all I'm saying about this subject. If you tell anyone else...I'll kill you."
"Yeah Yeah," Cynthia rolled her eyes not fazed by his threat. She headed out of the room and followed the tunnel on her right. Once she got to an open area Cynthia realized that it was the exit out of the underground shelter and Simon was at the center of it.
"Oh hello," Simon greeted formally. "It's nice to see a friend of Erza."
"...Friend of Erza...?!" Cynthia's eyes widened. "Wait, you know her?!"
"Yes, you may think of me as suspicious, but I knew Erza when she was a kid," Simon replied calmly. "My name is Simon and what's your name?"
"C-Cynthia," She hesitated, still a bit surprised.
"I understand your confusion," Simon chuckled. "You made the same face Erza did when she saw me. I wonder how Lucy, Gray, Happy, Natsu and Juvia would react."
"Whoa! Back up for a second~!" Cynthia announced. "You also know Natsu and the others too?"
Before Simon could continue, Jayden suddenly dashed into the room. "Sorry to bother your meeting Simon, but we've got a big situation!"
"Situation, what seems to be the problem?" Simon asked.
"T-The Devil Juice is missing~!" Jayden announced.
Simon's eyes widened in horror. "W-What?!"
"What's going on here?" Eguchi asked as he appeared behind Jayden.
"Eguchi, did you see a small bottle with a picture of a moon?" Jayden asked.
Eguchi thought before answering. "Oh you mean the medicine? I gave it to the blue-haired girl...Awatsuki was her name?"
Simon and Jayden stared at Eguchi with their jaws comically dropped. Cynthia just stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face. She had no idea what was going on between the three of them.
Cynthia's thoughts were interrupted by Jayden's angry voice. "THAT WASN'T THE MEDICINE DUMBASS! THAT WAS THE DEVIL JUICE~! YOU KNOW THE ONE THAT REGINA PREDICT TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE MOON~!?"
Eguchi's eyes widened in realization."...Oh...crap…"
"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!?" Jayden exclaimed comically.
"AH!~!"
Cynthia, Jayden, Eguchi and George quickly went back to the infirmary. Once they were there, Cynthia noticed Manatsu was up while Hibiki was still dead asleep. Yozura was also in the room with her eyes widened in shock. Cynthia soon reacted the same way once she witnessed the scene before her.
Awatsuki was floating in the air.
"A-Awatsuki?!" Cynthia gasped in horror.
"Please help me~!" Awatsuki gasped terrified.
"Cynthia~!" Manatsu cried out in a panic mode. "A-Awatsuki just turned into a ghost!?"
"Miss Maaya, please calm yourself down." Simon said calmly. "Concentrate your body and take deep breaths."
Awatsuki followed Simon's guidance and took a few deep breaths. After calming down her body lowered back down on the bed.
"Are you okay Awatsuki?" Cynthia expressed concern.
"I'm okay, for now…" She answered, catching her breath.
"Thank goodness, " Manatsu said with relief in her eyes. "For the second I thought the medicine turned her into a ghost."
"I'm sorry~! This is all my fault~!" Yozura sobbed.
"Don't blame yourself," Jayden said as he comforted her young companion. He then glares at Eguchi. "This idiot should've known not to use the bottle that said "DO NOT TOUCH!"
"Um, mind filling us in?" Cynthia asked impatiently.
"The bottle that Eguchi gave you...is a special bottle called a Devil Juice," Simon explained.
"Devil Juice~!" Manatsu gasped in horror. "You mean Awatsuki really is a ghost!?"
"He said devil juice not ghost juice," Cynthia sweatdropped.
"Devil Juice is concentrated and compressed from a legendary Devil Fruit," Simon concluded.
"A Devil Fruit drink?!" Manatsu 's jaws drop in shock.
"Y-You don't mean that…" Cynthia slowly turned to Awatsuki who stared in shock.
"I-I..." The esper stared at her hands with wide eyes. "...I have...Devil Fruit powers?"
Varvula: Be Prepared for Judgement Criminals as your hours are up in this world~!
Yang: Select the Toilet that you'll enter in...and not return~!
Gwen: Your fate will be decided on your choose...Fate worse than death.
Peace: And one trail will bring you hope and survival...with puppies and kittens~!
Gwen/Yang/Varvula: (Glared at Peace.) DANG IT PEACE YOU RUINED THE DRAMATIC ATMOSPHERE~!
Peace: (Looking flustered.) S-Sorry I thought it would be dramatic~!
Freddy: What are you guys even doing?
Yang: Isn't it obvious, we're doing our own dramatic, breathtaking speech like the four priest did in the intro~!
Gwen: That is until Peace spoil it with her puppies and kitten talk. (Fake gagging.)
Peace: W-Well it could be poisonous kittens, or fire breathing puppies. Y-You never know!
Raven: Next time of DELTA: The Ordeal of the Balls.
Sanya: Is there an Ordeal of Sleeping?
Shiho: Which kind, the nap? Or the eternal?
Freddy: Okay, that got dark so fast.