[Ten Days Later]
Creak!
The basement door opened again.
Gion held a tray in her hands and walked into the basement unhurriedly.
Because Rosse had been frequenting the basement these past days, the whole place had been cleaned up, with the walls and floor thoroughly scrubbed spotless.
The central cage no longer existed, replaced instead by handcuffs and shackles.
Moa's limbs were bound and stretched out in the shape of a cross. Since Rosse had left last time, no new fabric had been added here.
But under the maids' meticulous care, Moa's appearance had improved significantly. Her beautiful golden hair had regained its shine, and her skin had become supple once more.
The only thing different was Moa's expression.
Compared to before Drum Island, Moa now looked like someone who had been broken, her eyes dull and vacant, her mouth muttering endlessly.
"Dragon... Rosse... Dragon... Dragon..."
"Chanting their names, do you think that'll make them drop dead or something?", Gion placed the tray on a nearby rack, took out a syringe from it, and skillfully injected Moa's arm. The nutrient fluid flowed through the needle into Moa's body.
It wasn't that Moa refused to eat or drink. In the first few days, she did, but when a person becomes extremely thirsty, they always end up doing things against their will.
Since then, Moa had stopped resisting.
But Gion didn't enjoy the task of feeding people. If she happened to be the one in charge of Moa on a whim, she would just inject nutrients directly.
"What do you want...", Moa's eyes slowly regained clarity. She looked at Gion without a hint of emotional fluctuation.
She had been on Drum Island for ten days now. These ten days of experience had been nothing short of a nightmare for her.
At first, she thought Rosse's arrival was the nightmare.
But once Rosse and the others left, the surroundings would plunge into darkness, and loneliness would continuously consume her spirit.
To the point where she gradually began to feel that the real nightmare was actually when Rosse and the others weren't there.
Unconsciously, her heart had already begun to twist.
However, during these days, she hadn't been without encounters with kind people.
At the very least, the sunny girl who wiped her body and was willing to share her own past was a kind child. Moa liked spending time with her.
"I'm here to give you some news. He made that call right in front of you earlier, so Dragon surely knows you're here and can probably guess what you've gone through," Gion crossed her arms and looked at Moa with pity.
She could feel that when Dragon was mentioned, Moa's eyes no longer reflected hope.
But it wasn't quite hatred either. Maybe it was some resignation, some surrender to despair.
"Today's the tenth day, right..."
"Yes, the tenth day since you came to Drum Island. Rosse comes once a day, and either I or Stella come once a day," Gion nodded gently and looked at Moa's increasingly complex expression, her voice calm, "Time to get to the point. First piece of news: the Freedom Fighters has once again been attacked by Arlin. Can you guess how we found them?"
She pitied Moa's situation, but she wouldn't show sympathy.
Since she already knew what kind of villains the World Government was, choosing to go against the World Government meant she had to be ready for a fate like this.
Besides, a woman who couldn't even bring herself to commit suic*de didn't need her sympathy.
"Because of a mole, right...", Moa's voice was low. These days, she had nothing to do in the basement. In fact, she was practically immobile, so she had plenty of time to reflect.
The operation in the Sorbet Kingdom was only known to mid- and high-ranking members within the Freedom Fighters, yet the World Government had managed to catch them so quickly. It could only mean there was a problem from within.
"How much did the Freedom Fighters lose this time?"
"Almost total annihilation. Only a few escaped."
Moa lifted her head, a bitter smile on her face.
'Wiped out, huh...'
'There's no way to win. It's simply not possible to win.'
Every time Gion came, she would share some information with her.
Gion even showed her footage from the Heavens Hunt. That was when Moa realized what Rosse truly relied on.
She had been so naive that day, actually thinking she could capture that monster.
And Gion had clearly told her: the Heavens Hunt was just a game for the young Celestial Dragons.
Effortlessly wiping out the power of a member nation, it was nothing more than a pastime.
So even if the Freedom Fighters overthrew countless regions and gathered many people, what was the point?
Even if the entire Four Seas joined the Freedom Fighters, they would still be utterly crushed by the World Government.
"That Arlin, is he really like you said..."
"I can tell you with certainty, and I could even swear on my swordsmanship," Gion glanced at Moa and continued, "Arlin's strength is about the same as mine, and among the team he led, only two had the power of Vice Admirals. With Dragon's strength, he could have easily wiped them all out."
"THEN WHERE WAS DRAGON when the Freedom Fighters encountered Arlin? TELL ME!", Moa screamed, her eyes burning like fire, as if ready to ignite everything around her. Her teeth clenched so tightly her gums began to bleed, the scent of blood instantly filling her mouth, but she paid no attention. Completely consumed by rage, her body trembled violently from the emotion, as if she might break free of her chains at any moment.
"Dragon?", Upon hearing that name, a trace of mockery appeared on Gion's face, "Him? When the Freedom Fighters was being surrounded, he was in the Elbaph, demanding the technology left behind by Vegapunk. Maybe in his eyes, the Freedom Fighters isn't as important as that technology."
To be honest, Gion looked down on Dragon.
She was starting to agree with Rosse's assessment of Dragon.
With Dragon's overly cautious personality, even if he achieved something in the future, he would never be a decisive leader.
"I don't believe it... I don't believe it...", Tears slid down from Moa's eyes. The news that Dragon had appeared in the Elbaph completely shattered the last of her resolve.
Before this, she still held onto some hope, still tried to defend Dragon in her heart.
She thought that the reason Dragon didn't come to save her was because the Freedom Fighters was more important, this was a moment when they needed Dragon the most.
But now the Freedom Fighters was practically wiped out, and Dragon was still in the Elbaph asking for technology. This clearly meant he didn't care about the fate of his comrades, only his own vision and mission.
"He knew you wouldn't believe it, so he specially brought proof," Gion revealed an expression that said "I knew this would happen," picked up a Den Den Mushi from the tray, and began playing footage sent from the Elbaph.
In the footage, a figure was floating in midair, conversing with the King of the Elbaph, Harald.
Even though the image was a bit blurry, Moa recognized him at a glance, it was Dragon. There was no way it could've been someone impersonating him.
Just the floating ability and its effects alone weren't something anyone else could fake.
"Why... Why...", Moa stared at Dragon in the footage with a complicated expression. She didn't understand why Dragon had become like this.
Once upon a time, Dragon, founder of the Volunteer Army, used to speak with confidence and hope, painting a vision of the future world for them.
It was a world without nobles, without oppression, full of freedom, full of joy.
And because Dragon's ideals matched the long-buried wish in her heart, she had joined the Volunteer Army, then the Freedom Fighters, and eventually fell in love with Dragon.
But now all of those filters seemed to shatter in an instant.
'Why...'
'Why is the future you painted so completely different from your actions?'
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