One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

Almost at the same time when the young man snapped his fingers, a strange scene suddenly descended upon the people who were immersed in comfort, like a storm sweeping across the calm sea.

"Hey! Look! The sacred tree, the sacred tree looks a little strange!"

"Is it because Lord Senuno answered our prayers that it became so red?!"

"I always... I always feel like something is not right!"

Amid the crowd's exclamations, the towering ancient tree, which was originally lush and green and exuded an aura of mystery and majesty, seemed to be pulled by something and began to tremble violently. A strange blood-red light flowed on its surface, like the screams and wails of countless resentful spirits, or the whispers of demons from the depths of hell.

With each tremor of the giant tree, the light spread rapidly to the outside of the trunk at a speed visible to the naked eye, and became increasingly dense. In just a few seconds, the entire giant tree that reached the clouds was shrouded in this thick and enchanting blood-red, as if it was soaked in blood, looking indescribably terrifying.

Standing in the center of the high platform, Pan witnessed the sudden change of the ancient tree. He looked at the countless red leaves falling in the wind with an expression of disbelief. Although the arm holding up the giant tripod remained motionless, his heart was already filled with turbulent waves.

——What's going on? Could it be that the old tree has started to wither ahead of time? According to my investigation, this phenomenon will occur at least eleven months later, and it has never happened before...

——Wait, a figure appeared near the ancient tree? Could it be?!

Instantly, the emotion called fear quickly occupied his mind. He had no time to think any more and shouted at the people who had not yet come to their senses: "Everyone, run! Don't look back, get away from the sacred tree as far as possible! The sacrifice is over! This is the order of the clan leader!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the rich red light wrapped around the outside of the giant tree seemed to have self-awareness and turned into bursts of dark red fog that drifted in all directions. The people participating in the sacrifice were unable to react in time and were submerged in the overwhelming fog in the blink of an eye.

"Cough, cough! What is this?! It smells so stinky of blood!"

"Damn it! My body...can't move! My head is so dizzy! I can't think!"

"Could it be that the sacred tree is angry at us for accepting outsiders, so it sent down a punishment from heaven?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?! God Senuno would never do that... Oh no! Fire! The fire is starting!"

Noisy, panicked and frightened cries rang out continuously throughout the square. Everyone tried to cover their noses to resist the erosion of the red fog, but to no avail. One by one, they fell to the ground with painful expressions on their faces.

The torches tightly held in their hands fell to the ground one after another due to the loss of force points. The fierce flames immediately spread along the grass leaves across the entire grassland, engulfing those people who had lost the power to resist in the raging fire. Thick smoke rose up, and the flames illuminated the quiet night sky red, reflecting the light of the blood moon, forming a miserable and terrifying picture.

The smell of blood and smoke in the air mixed together, choking Marianna to cough violently, and her chest was so stuffy that she couldn't breathe smoothly. She tried hard to raise her right hand, but found that her arms had already lost consciousness. Her whole body felt like it was filled with lead, and she fell forward with a "thump". The thick fog that invaded her nasal cavity quickly spread to her whole body, causing her brain to feel extremely dizzy, and she gradually couldn't think normally.

She had experienced countless storms and waves in her life, and had nearly fallen into the bloody mouths of sea kings or encountered horrific waves many times, but none of them made her feel as palpitating as at this moment.

In the mind whose consciousness was gradually becoming blurred, only one thought remained.

——Rachel, Pan, how are you? Please don't be in trouble! We must have fallen into someone's trap. Although this red mist, no, blood mist, is not lethal, it can paralyze people and make them lose resistance completely. The enemy is waiting for this opportunity! We must find a way to inform Uno, maybe he has encountered something too!

She wanted to shout these words out loud, but found that she could not make any sound no matter what, as if her tongue was paralyzed. She could only endure the rolling heat waves and used her last bit of strength to move her head to the right. She found that her daughter was also lying on the ground, looking at her with horror, without any scars on her body. She felt a little relieved, but she still had no idea how to solve the current dilemma.

——Damn it! My body is totally out of control! Fortunately, I was able to put the Divine Cauldron back on the platform at the critical moment, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous!

Pan lay straight on the platform. Although he was stronger than ordinary people, he could not exert much strength in his whole body. He could only move towards the edge of the platform little by little. With every move, his anxiety increased.

——Calm down. Even if you are a careless man, you are still the leader of the entire tribe. Think carefully about the current situation. The enemy must be hiding nearby. If you are a little careless, you will encounter unexpected events. The most urgent task is to prioritize the safety of everyone——

Before he could finish his thought, he heard a loud "boom" and was suddenly hit hard on the back. The pain spread throughout his body like a tide and he could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood. It was the burning cauldron that hit him hard on the back!

Rachel and Marianna suddenly saw this tragic scene, and they felt dizzy and their heads went blank, as if the world had completely collapsed at this moment.

The next moment, their pupils shrank into needles, fine beads of sweat oozed out of their foreheads, and their lips trembled uncontrollably, as if they had seen the most terrifying and dangerous creature in the world on that high platform.

——Well...there's no worse time than now!

Pan was pinned down by a giant cauldron weighing more than a thousand pounds. Not only was his spine broken into dozens of pieces, but his flesh was also burned by the flames pouring down from the inside of the cauldron. His internal organs were crushed beyond all shape. It was hard to describe his current appearance.

Under normal circumstances, even a strong man like Pan would have fainted on the spot. However, he had no time to pay attention to the pain in his body. He just raised his bloodshot eyes and stared at the young man standing in front of him, grinning at him strangely.

“Hehe! You’ve been squashed into a meat patty, but you’re still staring at me with such an unpleasant look?”

The man swaggered to Pan, who was unable to move, and took off the weapon on his back, revealing a giant sickle that was gleaming with eerie blood. He pressed the sharp, cold tip of the blade against Pan's forehead and said with a smug smile, "I heard that you were the leader of the Wicca tribe, known for your extraordinary strength, so I had high hopes for you. But you turned out to be nothing special. You made me travel thousands of miles to come to this remote and desolate place!"

As he spoke, the young man inadvertently exerted a little force with his hand, and the sharp tip of the knife pierced into the opponent's forehead. A trickle of blood oozed out, flowed down Pan's cheek and fell onto his eyeball, turning his vision into a blurry red.

But even so, Pan's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't even frown. If he could still squeeze out a little strength, he would risk his life to punch the man in front of him who threatened the safety of the entire clan to the ground.

"However, your vitality is unexpectedly strong. My kick alone is more than enough to kill a sea king. There's no point in just killing you like this."

The young man seemed to be talking to himself. He supported his knees with his hands and slowly squatted down. His gray eyes rolled around, and a cruel smile suddenly appeared on his pale face. "Why not just do this? I'll kill all the guys in front of you in the order that you find most unbearable. When you're the only one left, I'm sure your expression will be different from now, right?"

Pan was completely stunned, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. If the enemy was only targeting him, he would not be afraid even if he died. But if they were to attack his people or even his loved ones, it would be far more painful for him than thousands of tortures!

Looking at Pan's face that was gradually becoming panicked and angry, the boy seemed not to notice and said leisurely: "How is it? Aren't the game rules I customized interesting? For humans like you who value boring emotions, it should become an unforgettable memory until death, right? But please be patient, I will at least leave some people alive, after all..."

A scarlet light flashed in his eyes, and the smug look on the corners of his mouth became even more intense. "It would be too boring if I broke all the toys at once. I have to spend time enjoying them slowly to experience the pleasure, right?"

Hearing this, Pan could no longer bear it. He didn't know where he got the strength from, but stretched out his right hand and firmly grasped the boy's left leg. His nails dug deep into the flesh, and he yelled hysterically at that disgusting face: "If you dare to hurt them in the slightest, I will let you taste the pain that is more terrible than death—"

Halfway through his words, his voice suddenly turned into a heart-wrenching scream. It turned out that Pan's entire right palm was chopped off by the boy's giant sickle!

"Tsk! You still have the strength to do this even when you are about to die!"

The young man grabbed the severed hand that was like a pair of pliers and pulled it several times before pulling it off. He lowered his head and looked at the five small holes on his calf that were bleeding. Instead of being angry, his face showed a strange expression of joy and contempt. "Just lie here and enjoy the wonderful sight of your loved ones dying one after another in front of you."

As he spoke, the five bloody wounds on his calves healed quickly, visible to the naked eye, and in an instant, they were back to normal without a trace. In the midst of Pan's astonishment, he disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

The next moment, the young man reappeared in the burning square. He squinted his eyes and scanned the pairs of frightened eyes. Finally, he landed on the mother in the corner, who was desperately using her body to protect her daughter from the flames. His eyes revealed a fierce look that only a beast would emit when it locked onto its prey: "I seem to have heard from that skinny guy that they are the wife and daughter of the idiot with horns. They look pretty..."

He couldn't help but lick the corner of his lips with his tongue, swung the giant sickle and strode towards the two people. The mother suddenly saw the culprit of all this gradually approaching her, and subconsciously pressed close to her daughter's body that was trembling with extreme fear. Since her limbs could not even move slightly, she could only stare at the boy with her beautiful eyes, at the ball-shaped hairstyle on his head and the giant glass cover on the outside of his head.

Mariana knew who the man was almost the moment she saw his true face. The cruel acts she witnessed on the bubble-filled island that day still lingered in her mind.

At this moment, she had no time to think about why the world's nobles who could enjoy all the privileges would show up on this remote island. She only knew that she had to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother.

Protect Rachel!

However......

Rachel's eyes widened in horror as she watched her mother fall down after being hit in the neck by a scarlet knife. A stream of blood gushed out from her wound and splashed onto her face. She turned pale with fright and her whole body trembled.

She wanted to scream but no sound came out, she wanted to lift her fingers but she couldn't, she could only watch helplessly as the evil man who hurt her mother walked towards her step by step with a hideous smile on his face.

"Humans are really stupid creatures who try to protect others without even considering their own situation!"

The young man licked the blood on the tip of the knife, ignoring the faint groaning coming from his feet. He looked up at the flames that were rapidly shooting up from the roots of the giant tree, holding his forehead and muttering as if to himself, "Ah, it seems that I have done something extremely sinful. I destroyed something that has been guarded by people for generations without authorization, and ruined the most important sacrificial ceremony for others. As for those poor creatures who were powerless to resist, as well as the elderly, women and children..."