- The King in Yellow - Male Reader x One Piece

Chapter 10: The Slug

[Main Hall, The Count's Fort...]

Dahl's small body was kicked through the enormous double doors that separated the main hall and the Count's throne room. The unconscious body tumbled and snapped against the stone-brick floor, blood pouring from wounds and scrapes across his face. If he hadn't been killed during the initial assault then the priest was certainly dead now, his old, frail body unable to match the swordsman's raw, unbridled strength. The enormous chamber sat silent, rows of columns upon columns stretched on for a long while, each with a small torch that flickered and swayed against the tense atmosphere. 

At the back of the room was the Count himself, sitting atop an ornate throne. Even if he wasn't a king in name he effectively served as one. This must have been where Kind Bulldog had once ruled, and the Kuma after him before his turn towards the World Government. "Impressive that you made it this far." He called out. "Well done, Golden Swordsman." [Y/N] glared back at him with his one visible eye, his slab of metal slung over his shoulder, and he held it there with little trouble. 

"Come now and test me. Let's see just how far human power will go!" The Count dared, and he held out his arm, gesturing for him to come closer...

[Y/N] accepted the challenge, his heavy footsteps stomping through the quiet chamber. Each step he took his hatred for the fat lord only grew, greater and greater by the second. The Count didn't even move a muscle. 

Eventually, he found himself before the throne, a few small steps separating them both. [Y/N] ascended the first, and then the second, leaving only one left for him to surmount. The Count remained still, not even breaking a sweat, despite the swordsman's blade being in range...

There was something wrong, [Y/N] was no idiot. This was a trap of some sort, and he knew it even before the sudden attack was made, an image flashing through his mind. In an instant his gaze shifted towards the floor and he smashed his sword down only to be met with a monstrous fleshy mass of tendrils bursting out, attempting to slay him immediately. He stabbed deep and blood began flooding the floor, and yet it didn't stop rising and it crashed forward, crashing into the swordsman.

However, he was prepared, and most of the damage was absorbed into the slab. He was only forced back a few feet, but he refused to falter, standing tall...

"Nicely countered." The Count acknowledged him. Even if this swordsman was a pest, and a menace, kudos had to be given to his strength and skill alone. He was simply a mere human attempting to meddle in forces far greater than he could even fathom, even with his legendary heritage. Combatting someone hand-picked by the Five Elders themselves to carry out their wishes and interests in the South Blue was no easy feat. The Count was just as strong as any of the Warlords, perhaps even stronger, the abilities given to him from the Beherit ensured that. 

And yet, there was only so much a normal person could get in their world.

A man could swing a blade as hard as they possibly could, but even still, no sword, even the mightiest blade , could cut through the overwhelming authority of the World Government.

It was the Count's duty to make sure rowdy, revenge-driven upstarts like the one before him didn't get too full of themselves, and learned their position in the world, amongst the dirt. 

He came from the dirt, and so too would he return to it.

The thriving mass of squirming tentacles ripped itself free from the stone stairs and loomed above the swordsman, wriggling and flexing in an increasingly grotesque fashion. It cast a large shadow over him, consuming his own in its sheer size. [Y/N] took a step back, trying to gauge the full scope of the monstrosity. "I must apologise. I was underestimating you. You haven't even unleashed your willpower yet. How shameful of me..."