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The Strongest Frost Loli (202)
🕑 Added 2025-03-06 17:00:15 +0000 UTCChapter 202 - Sea of Flames
Aisa who was tending to the village's plants nearby, was the first to notice.
An unfamiliar "voice" was approaching. Moreover, only a minimal number of warriors were present at this moment. It was different from the enemy that Wiper and the others had fought yesterday, likely the foe that Genbou, who hadn't returned, had battled.
Sensing the village was in danger, she ran back from the fields, breaking into a cold sweat as she burst into the chief's house.
"Chief!!"
"What is it, Aisa? You're in such a state. Has something happened?"
"Someone's coming! An unfamiliar 'voice' is approaching—"
"I see. I thought it was strange how well our movements were being tracked. There was someone who could use Observation Haki innately."
Gently, delicately, as if touching a fragile object.
Slender, sharp fingers, reminiscent of a beast's claws, touched Aisa's neck.
Towering over the petite Aisa, she drew her close, their eyes met as Aisa looked up.
In a daze, Aisa murmured, "Wh-Why...?!"
"Did you think you were the only one who could use Observation Haki? It's something that can be acquired with talent and sufficient training. Immature Haki like yours is easily deceived, like twisting a child's arm. Well, it's understandable that you wouldn't know, living on this island that has cut itself off from the outside world."
"...Who are you?" the chief demanded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alpha Maraptonoka. I had considered various methods of negotiation, but—it's too troublesome, so I'll be direct. Tell me everything you know about 'Ohara'."
Maraptonoka, still smiling, questioned the chief while keeping her hand on Aisa's neck.
The chief frowned at the question.
"'Ohara'? What's that?"
"Oh? Could it be you don't know? You don't even know the name of the island next to yours... You really have cut off all contact, haven't you?"
"The island next door... the one where the sky people migrated? It's not that we have no contact at all, but I've never bothered to know the island's name."
"I see. You wouldn't be troubled by not knowing the name of an island, would you?"
There was no sign that the chief was lying. Maraptonoka had thought he might panic if she showed him she could easily snap a child's neck, slightly extending her claws to draw a thin line of blood—but he seemed unexpectedly bold, his expression unchanging.
He must have been a warrior in his past. Despite his aged body, his eyes held a strong emotion.
"What do you want to know about that island?"
"Everything—though that would be troubling, wouldn't it? Let's take it one question at a time."
Maraptonoka, still holding Aisa's neck, directed her gaze towards the chief and began her questioning.
How long had it been there? How did that island and the one they were on come to be in the sky? What was being done on the other island? What was the relationship between the Shandians and the sky people?
One by one, she carefully asked her questions, nodding at the chief's answers and checking for consistency.
If there were any points of doubt, she immediately inquired, and if the chief didn't know, she would set it aside and move on to the next question.
And so, Maraptonoka obtained the necessary information about the neighboring island, "Ohara."
"...18 years ago, by defeating Octavia of the 'Reverberation', the 'Twilight Witch' Kanata conquered Skypiea. The 'Upper Yard', which had originally existed, was returned to you, and the sky people, who had originally enjoyed the blessings of the earth, migrated to 'Ohara'... That's the gist of it, is it not?"
"What do you intend to do with this information? Besides, this is something you could easily find out by going to that island. There's no point in asking us."
"Oh no, it would be quite troublesome for me to go there. You've been a great help."
Maraptonoka smiled amiably and thanked the chief, but her hand remained on Aisa's neck.
She hadn't yet asked the most important question.
"Then, for my final question. Does the name Nico Olvia ring any bells?"
"Nico...? No, I'm afraid I don't know that name."
"...I see."
Maraptonoka said only that, and released Aisa.
It wasn't the answer she had hoped for, but she had obtained sufficient information. From here on, it was information that could only be obtained by actually setting foot on "Ohara."
She had to somehow infiltrate or lure out the defensive forces.
As she watched Aisa move closer to the chief and hide behind him, Maraptonoka felt a gun being pressed against the back of her head.
"Who are you? It looked like you were holding Aisa hostage."
"Stop, Laki! You're no match for her!!"
"I just had a few questions I wanted to ask. This was the easiest way to get answers, don't you think?"
"...!"
Laki frowned at Maraptonoka's words and put her finger on the trigger.
"You're one of those guys who invaded yesterday, aren't you? Shouldn't you get them to take you back?"
"That's impossible."
"Can't you see the gun pointed at you?"
"I can see it, but to think you would try to threaten me with such a toy. Don't you think you're underestimating me a little too much?"
Laki's gaze sharpened. Her finger was already on the trigger; all it would take was a single moment for the bullet to be fired.
But Maraptonoka didn't seem to care at all.
"You can pull the trigger, you know? If you can, that is."
Maraptonoka narrowed her eyes, her smile turned wicked as she provoked Laki.
The chief tried to stop her, but he couldn't move, concerned about Aisa hiding behind him.
"Stop, Laki! I'll have this woman leave immediately. You've heard what you wanted, haven't you?"
"Yes. I have no further use for this village."
But that didn't mean she had no use for them.
If she caused trouble somewhere beyond Komurasaki's Observation Haki range, forcing Komurasaki herself to intervene, "Ohara" would be left undefended.
The other forces were, in Maraptonoka's eyes, negligible. If she could defeat Komurasaki head-on, that would be fine too, and if she could lure her away while something revealed Nico Olvia's whereabouts, the operation would be a success.
Robin's whereabouts were known. If Olvia's location could also be found, all the better.
She could sell this information for a high price.
"If the chief had known Nico Olvia's whereabouts, things would have been quick, but that doesn't seem to be the case... I have no use for the village, but there seems to be a very strong person on 'Ohara', and I was hoping you could serve as bait to lure her out."
With a cheerful smile, Maraptonoka blew a whistle—Piii!—as a signal.
Immediately, flames, burning like magma, engulfed the village.
"Wh—!?"
"It's easier to attract attention if you're a little flashy, don't you think?"
"You...!!!"
Laki, driven by momentum, pulled the trigger and shot Maraptonoka in the head—but despite the bullet hitting her directly, Maraptonoka was completely unharmed.
Her toughness was far beyond that of a human.
Laki pulled the trigger repeatedly, but Maraptonoka didn't even bother to dodge, taking the hits head-on.
"...Are you finished? Well, an old-fashioned gun like that has little power. Even the latest models wouldn't work on me."
"You... What on earth are you!?"
"My name is Alpha Maraptonoka. I'm a merchant who deals in anything—weapons, slaves, anything."
It wasn't her specialty, but the extermination of humans was also her job.
She rarely took on jobs that were just a hassle, but this time she had taken on the job with a certain enthusiasm, as it combined her hobby and her profit.
"The death of humans is also like this. As long as an appropriate amount is offered, it's my policy to see it through."
Of course, assassinating those at the peak of human power, like the Four Emperors, was near impossible. In such cases, it was this woman's policy to explain the reasons and refuse.
That was why she always kept track of the movements of the four individuals known as the Four Emperors—and in addition, Kanata—and had made sure they were in the "New World" before venturing to Skypiea.
She had nothing to fear from the executives of "Twilight".
She was a monster, created as the "strongest creature". The few who surpassed her were exceptions.
"You monster...!!"
"Call me what you will. No matter what you say, it's easy enough to wipe out a village like this."
"Run, Laki! Get the villagers to safety!!"
"But, Chief!!"
"I'll stop this woman!"
The chief grabbed a spear that was in the room and charged at Maraptonoka.
She stopped the spearhead with her fingertips, then smashed through the wall of the house and threw him outside.
The villagers were in a panic amidst the burning village, and the damage was only spreading. Through it all, a single figure walked leisurely towards them.
A boy with dark skin, black wings, and white hair, larger than the average human—Martin.
"I did as you asked, but will this really lure them out? You said the enemy's Observation Haki couldn't reach this far, right?"
"It's the day after yesterday. They're probably keeping a close watch, and a huge fire like this will force them to move. I'll take care of things here, so you do as planned."
"Yeah. I hope it goes well."
With that, Martin disappeared somewhere, and Maraptonoka turned back to the chief, as if regaining her composure.
His strength, long since retired from battle and aged, was nothing to speak of.
Still, the fighting spirit in his eyes hadn't faded, perhaps out of his responsibility as the village chief. Or perhaps it was the pride of a man protecting something important.
"I don't dislike it. If this were a different situation, I might even keep you as a pet. But, unfortunately. It seems we weren't meant to be this time."
She pulled a gun from her pocket, aimed it at the chief, and put her finger on the trigger.
Laki tried to stop her, striking with her empty gun, but she was too late.
Aisa screamed in protest, but it was meaningless.
—However, just before she pulled the trigger, a shadow attacked from above.
"Charge, Fuzzaaa!!!"
"Kukakakaka!!"
A sudden descent from directly above.
It was an attack that seemed to disregard safety entirely, causing even Maraptonoka to widen her eyes in surprise. She grabbed the spear that was about to be thrust into her and stopped it.
But she couldn't stop the momentum completely, and Shura, who had released the spear, jumped off the bird Fuzza and brought his hand towards Maraptonoka's face.
"Impact!!"
The impact emanating from his palm caused Maraptonoka to lose her balance and fall, and in that time, Shura retrieved his spear and created distance.
Fuzza had flown just above the ground the moment Shura had jumped, avoiding a crash, and landed next to Shura.
"Are you the bastard who's been running wild in 'Upper Yard' since yesterday?"
"...Strictly speaking, it's my companion, but you're not far off."
"I see. But despite landing a solid hit, you're unharmed."
Maraptonoka had risen to her feet without a scratch. At best, she had only gotten a little dirty. Even so, the average warrior would have taken some damage.
To take an Impact and still be in that condition meant that she was at least in the upper ranks of "Twilight".
She was a bit too much for Shura to handle.
"Troublesome..."
"I'm fine, more importantly, the villagers—"
"Shut up! That's being taken care of! I can't take my eyes off this guy right now!!"
"Yes, if you take your eyes off me, I'll cut off your heads one by one. If that's what you want, go ahead and do as you please."
Shura clicked his tongue and readied his spear.
Fuzza grabbed the chief with its legs and flew off to safety. Laki saw this, picked up Aisa, and hurried to escape the village before it was completely engulfed in flames.
Seeing them off, Maraptonoka asked Shura curiously, "I thought you understood Martin's strength, if not mine, after yesterday... Are you being looked down upon, to be sent a person of your caliber?"
"Shut up. It's an emergency, so I rushed here."
Martin's level of strength could be held off for a while by Shura and the others. Maraptonoka's existence was completely unexpected.
Ohm, Satori, and Gedatsu were busy evacuating people from the huge fire, and sending in forces recklessly would only result in losses.
Therefore, he had no choice but to become a sacrificial pawn and buy time.
(If I can lure her into Komurasaki-sama's range, that would be good, but with this fire, it'll be difficult...)
(She moved easily enough when shot at from outside, but she doesn't want to come in... Is she specialized in long-range attacks? Her strength doesn't feel like it's at that level, though... Or is there a reason she can't come in?)
Shura, unaware of Maraptonoka's circumstances, was trying to somehow lure her into Komurasaki's range for an attack.
Maraptonoka, unaware of Komurasaki's circumstances, was wondering why Komurasaki wasn't coming in person.
In any case, both of them were hindered by the other's presence.
(It can't be helped. I should try to bait her a little more, I suppose.)
(I'll stop this thing here, even if it kills me. That's all I can do!!)
Shura readied his spear, and Maraptonoka, wanting to finish things quickly, held a gun in one hand.
Surrounded by a sea of flames with no escape route, Shura was about to engage in a desperate battle.
