"Leave the rest to me."
Just a few simple words—yet they flowed into the female doctor's heart like a warm current. She exhaled softly, all the tension draining from her body, and leaned weakly back into her husband's arms.
Dr. Trafalgar quickly caught her, steadying her trembling frame.
Unlike his wife, who was overcome with relief, he quickly regained his composure after the initial surprise. Now, as he looked at the lone figure floating quietly in the moonlight, a faint unease stirred in his chest.
Something felt off…
Where's the Marine's main fleet?
Did Mr. Nao come here alone?
Does he intend to stop this war by himself? But… is this for real? That's the combined army of five nations.
A full three hundred and fifty thousand people!
Even if he were a high-ranking officer, no amount of words would sway five greedy kings.
And if he meant to stop them by force—without troops, without ships—how could a single man possibly…
—Huh?
Dr. Trafalgar's pupils suddenly contracted.
Because at that very moment—
Nao slowly turned his head. His calm eyes lifted slightly as he gazed toward the advancing troops pouring over the border.
Just one glance.
No shouting. No movement. No visible attack.
And yet—
The entire area around the royal capital of Flevance seemed to freeze.
As though someone had pressed pause on time itself, everything fell into utter stillness.
The charging soldiers froze mid-stride, their rifles half-raised, mouths still open in silent battle cries.
Even the cold night wind that had been sweeping across the plains… stopped moving altogether.
What's going on?
What... what exactly happened?
Dr. Trafalgar's eyes went wide, disbelief flooding through him. Was this some kind of illusion?
He instinctively wiped the dust from his glasses, trying to see more clearly.
But when he looked up again—
The sight before him made his scalp prickle and his heart almost stop. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
Thud!
The first rows of soldiers—those wearing biohazard suits—collapsed stiffly to the ground, their flamethrowers clattering uselessly beside them.
Then the sight spread—like a plague of invisible death—sweeping outward at blinding speed.
One after another, soldiers toppled like wheat in a storm.
Hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands—
Within just a few breaths of time, across the hundred-kilometer stretch of Flevances' border—
The five nations' entire combined army—
Three hundred and fifty thousand men—
All fell to the ground without exception.
The sounds of marching, of gunfire, of shouting and screaming—noisy and chaotic just seconds before—
vanished completely.
The White City beneath the night sky returned to utter silence.
Only the faint crackle of flames from a few burning wooden houses near the border broke the stillness—soft, distant, and unreal.
Dr. Trafalgar's jaw dropped wide enough to fit two ostrich eggs.
"Th-this… I… you—"
Normally calm, composed, and sharp-minded, Dr. Trafalgar's thoughts were completely blank in the face of what he had just witnessed.
He tried desperately to form words, to make sense of what he was seeing—
but his brain refused to cooperate, and after several seconds of stammering, he couldn't even string together a coherent sentence.
…
Meanwhile, throughout the city—especially among the remaining Flevances soldiers stationed near the border—
the reaction was nearly identical.
None of them had seen Nao's figure clearly, nor did they know what had just happened by the bell tower.
They had simply been bracing themselves, gritting their teeth, ready to fight to the death against the oncoming enemy.
Then, suddenly—
the cold night wind around them… stopped moving.
And the enemy soldiers charging straight toward them—froze mid-stride, motionless, as if someone had cast a mass paralysis spell across the entire battlefield.
Before anyone could process what was happening—
the next scene unfolded before their eyes, leaving them utterly speechless.
"What's going on?"
"What… what happened?"
Confusion rippled through the ranks.
Some stared blankly, dumbfounded; others timidly crouched to check the fallen enemy soldiers' breathing.
A few, terrified by the eerie silence, scrambled backward on hands and knees, clutching their crosses and muttering frantic prayers for God's protection.
But soon—
Someone looked up. Their eyes scanned the cityscape—and then, they saw it:
The lone figure standing upon the church's bell tower, bathed in silver moonlight.
"Look—look over there!"
"It's Vice Admiral Nao from the Marine!"
Excited, trembling voices broke out among the soldiers and townsfolk alike.
One after another, more and more people turned their gaze upward—
and in that instant, they finally understood what had just happened.
"My God… it was… it was Mr. Nao who saved us!"
"In an instant… hundreds of thousands of people just collapsed—my god, how did he even do that…"
As the shock began to fade, many of the survivors could no longer contain their relief and exhilaration.
They began clapping, cheering, and hugging each other—none of them knew exactly how Mr. Nao had done it,
but there was one thing they all understood perfectly well—
They were saved. Flevances was saved.
…
At the top of the ruined bell tower of the church,
Dr. Trafalgar finally snapped out of his daze. He rubbed his eyes—and realized that Nao, who had been standing nearby just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
Looking far into the distance, he caught sight of a streak of brilliant blue lightning shooting toward the mountains beyond the border.
That must be… the temporary palace where the enemy kings were staying, right?
After knocking out three hundred and fifty thousand soldiers in one move,
Mr. Nao had gone straight there—to confront those monarchs personally?
Was he going to hold them accountable… or negotiate peace?
Dr. Trafalgar wasn't sure. He was still pondering this when a faint, weak laugh rose from the woman resting in his arms.
"Well?"
"I told you before, didn't I? If Mr. Nao came here, Flevances would be saved. You didn't believe me…"
Dr. Trafalgar gave a bitter smile. Had he really not believed her back then?
No—he had just been drowning in endless exhaustion and despair.
When his wife had placed all her hopes on a distant, newspaper-famous hero,
it had seemed so naïve… so painfully unrealistic.
"The threat of war might be gone," he murmured, frowning deeply again as a new worry crept into his thoughts.
"But the Amber Lead disease problem isn't solved yet. Who knows if Mr. Nao can withstand the pressure from the World Government and quickly arrange for our citizens to receive treatment outside…"
"We can talk about that later."
Despite her exhaustion, the female doctor's lips curved into a soft smile.
She reached up, smoothing the furrows on her husband's brow, and pointed toward the horizon.
"At least the night's finally over. Can't you be happy for just a moment? Don't be so gloomy."
Looking in the direction his wife pointed, Dr. Trafalgar noticed that beyond the distant horizon, a ray of dawn light pierced the dark night sky. The sun was rising, the long night was about to end.
"Look, see, it's almost dawn…"
—————
It's almost dawn.
Law gritted his teeth hard, carrying Lami on his back as he trudged at the rear of the group.
His small, pale face was drenched in sweat; his vision blurred, his mind foggy.
No…
I can't fall here. Keep going, Law.
Just a little farther… one last stretch.
He screamed it in his heart.
No matter what, he had to get Lami out of here alive!
Then, suddenly—
The group in front of him stopped.
Law, too dazed to react in time, almost stumbled into the person ahead of him.
What's going on?
He lifted his head blankly—and was momentarily blinded by a dazzling red light in the distance.
Tears welled up in his eyes from the glare; he blinked hard several times before finally realizing—
That red light… came from the sun, rising from the edge of the sea.
The sound of waves drifted faintly from afar.
As their eyes moved downward, they could just make out a white Marine ship anchored by the shore.
"We've reached the sea."
The nun at the front turned back, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Everyone… that's the Marine's evacuation ship! We're saved!"
"That's wonderful!"
"There really is an evacuation ship! The Marines haven't abandoned us!"
The children, exhausted after a sleepless night, burst into tears of joy. Their laughter and cheers filled the air as they hugged one another in relief.
Law, caught up in the wave of celebration, gently touched his little sister's forehead and let a small smile spread across his face. Then, as he looked more closely toward the distant ship—
He froze.
"Si… Sister…"
The nun, still clutching the cross at her chest, whispered a trembling prayer through her tears.
"The merciful Lord, who watches over all, never forsakes His faithful children…"
She didn't hear him.
"Sister Teresa!"
"Hm?"
She opened her eyes at last, confused by the panic on Law's pale face.
"What is it?"
"They're dead… all of them are dead!"
Law pointed past her, his arm shaking violently, voice breaking with terror.
"There's no one on that ship— the Marines that came to save us… they're all dead!"
"What—?"
The nun turned sharply, disbelief written all over her face. She stared hard at the ship—
—and in the next instant, it was as if a thunderclap exploded inside her mind. Her weary, tear-streaked face went deathly white
There, by the shore—
The white Marine ship, bathed in the soft glow of dawn, was a ruin. From the top of its mast to the decks below, it was scorched black as though struck by lightning. The sails hung in tatters, and across the deck and railings lay the twisted, motionless bodies of Marines, sprawled in silence.