"De–de–devil?!"
Usopp and Chopper both shrieked in a perfect, high-pitched harmony that probably could have shattered glass.
Lucian's grin widened, the expression more predatory than friendly as he decided to lean into the theatrics. He focused, and with a slow, deliberate motion, he unfolded his wings. The dark, leathery membranes stretched out behind him, silhouetted against the roaring bonfire, looked more like the wings of a fallen dragon than a bat's.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Zoro's hand blurred as he reached for his sword. The metallic singing of the blade leaving its scabbard rang out through the clearing. Sanji stepped forward half a pace, his weight shifting to the balls of his feet as he flicked his cigarette away, his blue eyes losing their playful shimmer. Even Nami screamed and dove headfirst behind Robin, clutching the archaeologist's arm as if it were a life preserver.
Luffy, however, didn't flinch. He leaned forward so far that he nearly fell off his log, his eyes transforming into literal stars.
"SO COOL!" he yelled, his voice echoing across the ruins. "Hey! Can you breathe fire? Do you have a tail? Join my crew!"
Smack.
"Not cool at all, you idiot!" Nami shouted, her hand vibrating from the force of the slap she delivered to the back of Luffy's head.
Usopp somehow produced a large wooden cross from the depths of his bag. He brandished it with shaking hands, thrusting it toward Lucian's face as if it were a physical shield.
"E–evil begone! Return to the darkness from whence you came! The Great Captain Usopp commands you!"
Lucian actually flinched, his wings twitching reflexively. He waited for the burning sensation, the holy rejection that usually accompanied such symbols in the Underworld. He waited for his skin to blister or for the sharp agony. In his world, a cross was a weapon that struck at the very core of a Devil's existence, they were the weapons humans used against not just devils but creatures of darkness.
Yet he blinked. Nothing happened.
He reached out a finger and poked the edge of the wooden cross. It was just wood. No Pain, No holy energy, no divine strike, it was just a cross made of sticks tied together.
'Huh. He tilted his head, genuinely intrigued. 'Guess since this isn't my world, the symbols of the Church don't have a conceptual hook into my nature, no god to put the power behind the symbol'. It was a fascinating revelation.
Still, it was fascinating to see the cross being used like this when he was sure that the 'Son of God' had never been born on this planet, yet here it was being used as a symbol to ward off evil. He was curious how that worked, but shook his head, it's best to leave that for another time.
He decided that was a philosophical rabbit hole for another day.
"Please, please, there's really no need for the timber," Lucian said, his voice smooth and reassuring as he tucked his wings back into his spine. "I am but a humble devil. A traveler."
That earned him several looks of pure, unadulterated disbelief. Zoro didn't sheathe his sword, and Sanji kept his lighter ready, his eyes scanning for any opening.
"So… you're not here to steal our souls and turn us into mindless slaves of the abyss?" Chopper asked, peeking out from behind a barrel with one teary eye, his blue nose twitching with every sniffle.
"Perish the thought. I'd never," Lucian said, placing a hand over his heart. "I prefer much cleaner transactions."
"You're just a kid," Nami said suddenly, her fear being rapidly replaced by her natural skepticism. She stepped out from behind Robin, eyeing his small stature and the BBQ sauce still on his cheek. To her, he looked less like a lord of hell and more like a brat who had lost his way to a costume party.
Lucian glanced down at his youthful hands, then chuckled. "Hmm. I suppose I do look like one, don't I? Appearances can be deceiving. People trust a child more than a withered old man, even if the child is the one holding the knife." He didn't bother confirming his age; he was a teenager, but his experiences already made him feel centuries old.
"Anyway," he continued, waving a dismissive hand as if brushing away the tension. "As I said, I've come to lend a hand. Consider me a merchant of opportunity."
"Help us with what?" Zoro asked flatly. His eye was narrowed. He didn't trust people who smiled that much without a reason.
Lucian turned his full attention toward Luffy. He let his expression soften into something sharper. "I've heard the whispers. The boy who wants to be King of the Pirates. I thought I might provide the leverage you need to actually reach that throne before someone else takes it."
"No thanks," Luffy replied instantly, without even a second of hesitation. He jammed a massive hunk of meat into his mouth and started chewing, the grease flying as he spoke.
Lucian didn't look surprised. He had watched the anime, he knew Luffy was someone who, in a sense, preferred the journey, the adventure than the actual ending and would prefer to do it on his own.
"Oh? Are you sure? Sure, you are surviving here, but The New World is a graveyard for dreams, Monkey D. Luffy. Many have sat where you sit now, confident, strong, surrounded by friends, only to end up as nameless skeletons at the bottom of the sea because they lacked the right eyes to see the path."
"I'm gonna be King," Luffy said around a mouthful of food. "I don't need a 'shortcut.' Shortcuts are boring."
"What type of help?" Nami asked, her eyes lighting up with the possibility of an advantage, or perhaps something else. She ignored Luffy's refusal entirely.
Lucian ignored her for a moment, keeping his eyes locked on the Captain. "You're the captain, Monkey D. Luffy. Are you sure you don't want to know? There is knowledge you lack, knowledge that is mandatory for survival."
Luffy paused his chewing, his dark eyes meeting Lucian's mismatched ones. The atmosphere shifted, and the air became heavy.
Nami frowned, stepping closer. "What are you talking about? Secrets? We've made it this far just fine! We beat Crocodile! We beat Enel!"
Lucian finally turned to her, his smile thin and knowing. "You've made it to the Sky. That's impressive. But the journey to the King's throne isn't a straight line. If simply sailing to the last island were enough, the world would be crawling with Pirate Kings. There are locks on that final door, locks you don't even have the keys for yet. You don't even know what the door looks like."
That made Luffy's straw hat cast a shadow over his eyes. He didn't seem to like the implication of being 'stuck,' or having his freedom curtailed by missing keys.
"Like what?" Sanji asked, his voice low and dangerous. He was protective of his crew's autonomy.
Lucian wagged a finger at him, refusing a free sample. "Sorry, no can do. Information is my stock-in-trade, and information is never free. Besides, your captain hasn't even agreed to the meeting yet. A merchant doesn't open his bag for someone who won't even look at the price tag."
"So it's money you want," Nami said, her hand instinctively moving toward her wallet, her business sense tingling.
Lucian shook his head slowly, his eyes glowing with a faint, infernal light. "No. I have no use for your Berries or your gold. I can pull gold from the air if I so desire. It is a mere metal to me." He gestured vaguely, a golden ripple appearing momentarily behind him, a golden stone shimmering into existence before vanishing, of course he was lying through his teeth, but she didn't need to know that.
"You said this is something we need to know," Robin spoke up, her voice calm but piercing. "But wouldn't we find these things out eventually, just by continuing our journey? Experience is a teacher that charges no fee but time. We are patient."
Lucian nodded, conceding the point with a respectful tilt of his head. "Yes, you're right. You're a bright crew. You have a navigator who sees the wind and an archaeologist who can guide you well. You'd eventually stumble upon the truth even without my help. The sea eventually gives up its secrets."
The crew began to relax, a few smiles returning to their faces, until Lucian continued, his voice dropping an octave, becoming cold and heavy like an iron tomb.
"But in the New World, the 'fee' for that lesson is rarely just time. Most crews learn the requirements for the King's throne only after losing a member. Or two. Or all of them. History is written by the survivors, but the sea is filled with the ghosts of those who were 'almost' ready, those who thought they had time to learn the hard way. They learned the secret, yes, but they learned it as they were sinking."
Silence fell over the campfire. Even the crackling of the wood seemed to dim, the flames huddling together. Usopp, Nami, and Chopper all went pale, their imaginations running wild with Lucian's dark omens. The jolly atmosphere of the party had evaporated, replaced by a cold dose of reality.
"W–we're going to die?!" Usopp stammered, his cross now useless in his lap.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Lucian shrugged, taking a casual sip of his sake. "The sea is a fickle mistress, and she loves to eat the unprepared. But the question remains, is your captain willing to risk your lives just to keep the adventure 'pure'? Are you willing to walk into a slaughterhouse just because you didn't want to read the sign on the door?"
He looked directly at Luffy. The boy's face was uncharacteristically serious. Zoro and Sanji had stopped eating entirely, they didn't like being used as bargaining chips, but they knew the kid was hitting Luffy where it hurt, his love for his crew.
"Luffy…" Nami whispered, her eyes wide with a fear that wasn't just for herself, but for all of them.
Luffy stared at Lucian for a long minute, his hat shadowing his face. Then, a wide, trademark grin broke across his face, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Fine! Tell us! If it keeps everyone safe, I'll listen! I don't want anyone to die!"
The relief from Usopp and the others was palpable, they practically slumped over in joy, the tension snapping like a broken guitar string.
Lucian couldn't help but smile at that. Had Luffy said he didn't want to hear, he was sure the others would have followed him because they trust him, but at the same time, Luffy was ready to give up the surprise of a journey, something he didn't want to do just for his friends, that was something.
Lucian raised a single finger, his smile returning to its professional, merchant-like curve. "First, the deal."
"What do you want?" Zoro asked, his voice like grinding stones. He still didn't trust the kid's "nothing much."
"Don't be so tense, swordsman. It's nothing that will cost you your strength or your dignity," Lucian said lightly. "I want a 'copy' of something from each of you. Is that acceptable?"
"You want something from us?" Nami said skeptically.
He nodded, "Yes, just a copy of something from each of you, so you don't have to worry about losing anything at all," Lucian said with a smile.
"And what is it you want?" Robin asked.
"Does it really matter if you won't lose anything?" he said.
The crew looked at each other, confused by the strange request. After a silent conversation of glances, Zoro's skepticism meeting Luffy's impulsiveness, Luffy gave a sharp nod. "Okay! Deal!"
"Excellent. A wise choice." Lucian clapped his hands together, and for a moment. "Then listen carefully, Straw Hats. There are two things one needs to be aware of if you want to reach the throne of the pirate king."
"First, the Poneglyphs."
Robin jolted as if she had been struck by lightning, her hands gripping her knees. "The Poneglyphs?"
"Wait, those big square rocks that Robin was looking for?" Usopp asked.
"Not just any of them," Lucian corrected, his tone becoming instructional. "There are many stones scattered across the world, telling stories of the past. But only four matter for the throne. The Road Poneglyphs. They are deep red, the color of dried blood. Together, they act as a map to the final island, Laugh Tale. You saw a blue one in Alabasta, had that been a Road Poneglyph, and you had walked away, your journey would have dragged on for who knows how long. I'm telling you this so that when you see the red, you don't just walk past it. You take it. Or at least, make sure Miss Robin takes a copy since she's one of the only few people in the world who can read them. Congratulations on getting her on your crew, by the way."
He said, making them smile at that.
Luffy's grin widened. He liked the idea of a secret map. It made the adventure feel real.
"And the second thing?" Sanji asked, his cigarette forgotten. "The one that gets people killed?"
"Haki," Lucian said seriously.
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