Though the Straw Hat Pirates, God's Army, and the guerrillas clashed, the fighting didn't last long.
The Shandian guerrillas only launched a probing attack, traded a few blows with the priests, and withdrew, while the priests' biggest losses were Aum of the Ordeal of Balls, beaten by Luffy, and Shura, whom Charles sent flying.
Luffy's group linked up with Nami and the others who had scouted ahead, then all returned to the altar area and met Charles and Gan Fall.
When the Straw Hats first arrived at the White Sea, they happened to run into Gan Fall, and the whistle Chopper blew had been left by him.
From her preliminary surveying, Nami had concluded that Apayado was part of Jaya, and that the legendary City of Gold might be here.
Adventuring in a legendary place and meeting friends—naturally, for pirates, that called for a party.
So, paying no heed to the fact this was still Enel's turf, they lit a campfire and started celebrating.
Charles didn't join their wild dancing. He walked over to the Going Merry instead.
Compared to last time, the soul-waves coming from the Merry were clearer.
Rubbing the ship's hull, Charles said, "It's really hard on you, ferrying these troublemakers around."
Even without being a trained shipwright, he could tell she was covered in scars. Strangely, the soul-waves held no sadness; they carried happiness.
This child felt no negativity toward her inevitable end, but happiness for the journey that could end at any time.
If there was any dissatisfaction, it was only the regret of not being able to carry the Straw Hats all the way to the end.
This wasn't something "will" or "resolve" could describe. To Charles, the soul born of this ship shone a bit too brightly.
Sighing, a pink crystal appeared in his hand, and he pressed it to the hull.
Ripples spread where the crystal touched, and then the crystal sank into them.
The Merry seemed to glimmer for a heartbeat, and then it was as if nothing had happened.
Charles's Development Ability, Mystery, can trigger the gods' eighteen miracles: elemental transmutation, conceptual endowment, resurrection, immortality, and the like.
At its zenith, Mystery can create the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
Charles didn't know what level Fels's Mystery had been when he made one, but his current Mystery was certainly short of producing that thing even gods called taboo.
He'd been curious what he could manage, so he'd privately tried to make a Philosopher's Stone.
The best result only replenished life and nourished the soul—nothing like a tenth of the Stone's mythical powers.
Even such a defective Stone, though, could protect the Merry's newborn soul so it wouldn't fade when the hull was damaged.
It would be a shame for a soul that brilliant to vanish. If the Merry weren't a member of the Straw Hats, born from their mutual bonds, Charles would have loved to spirit her away.
But do good and ask no return. He felt no regrets, turned, and started to go.
As he turned, a child's "Thank you" sounded by his ear.
He didn't look back—just waved and walked lightly back into the feast.
Even knowing the next day might bring a grueling fight, everyone partied hard all night. Thanks to the robust constitution of people in this world, by sunrise everyone was alert and ready.
Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper prepared to go adventuring. Robin, fascinated by Shandora's ruins, went along.
Usopp and Sanji stayed to guard the Merry, and surprisingly Nami left the gold-hunting to Luffy and didn't go.
Likely she'd decided, after hearing from Gan Fall what kind of man Enel was, to wait until Luffy settled everything before venturing out.
The Straw Hats' "weak trio" could be cowards so long as no lines were crossed. But if it was about their comrades, each would take on a Yonko without blinking.
Charles and Stella certainly didn't go with them. They headed straight for the Golden Bell.
He was willing to get along with the Shandians because they hadn't given up fighting for four centuries, all to fulfill the promise of the great warrior Calgara to light Shandora's flame for his friend.
Shandora's "light" refers to the sound of an immense Golden Bell.
Even after four hundred years without a ring, its tone still lived on people's tongues.
In Shandora's legend, no matter how far you're lost, when the bell rings it points the way, like a beacon in the fog.
Calgara's gratitude to his friend, his guilt over being misunderstood, and his hope of reuniting again all live in the bell's sound.
When it rang four hundred years ago as the island was blasted up, the sky islanders heard it and passed it down as a "song," but that sound was also the Shandians' war horn.
Gan Fall believed that when the "song" rang again, the sky islanders and Shandians would find peace.
A treasure meaningful in every way—and no one knew where it was. No one except Charles.
He and Stella aimed for the giant vine that reached up to the higher cloud layer and flew toward it.
Before they'd fully cleared the clouds, they saw golden light dyeing them.
Bursting through the last layer, a sacred, breathtaking vision filled their eyes.
At the top of the vine stood a bell of pure gold, its pillars dozens of meters tall and also cast in gold.
The Golden Bell was covered in ancient patterns and reliefs, mottled with moss from long ages, yet still gleaming in the morning sun.
Even a former princess like Stella had never seen a bell so massive—and wholly of gold. She was struck speechless.
They touched down on the golden plinth and observed it up close.
At last Charles understood what "the weight of civilization" felt like—so heavy it made breathing tight.
He was just considering how to ring it when an irritating voice sounded.
"So Apayado had such a good thing, and I ought to thank you for finding it for me!"
Charles's brow ticked as lightning gathered into Enel.
He'd tracked them by reading electromagnetic waves with his fruit. Even Charles only sensed him when he appeared.
His face still wore that punchable look, and even as he spoke he was treating the bell as his property.
Charles exhaled. "You've got three seconds to disappear. Some things are beyond your reach."
A sneer curled Enel's mouth. "Don't tell me you think it's impressive that woman can wield flame. Humans can never match a god."
Charles shook his head. He hated frogs at the bottom of a well most of all.
The next second he was in front of Enel, fist crashing into his face.
The smug look twisted at once and Enel went skidding sideways through the air.
"A pathetically weak 'god.'"
Even as he offered that critique, Charles's real thought was: If this golden plinth weren't so pricey, I'd grab him by the ankle and smash him into it a few times for the theme.
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