Chapter 441: It's Exciting in the Dark
After Ian and his five companions were all sucked into the Dark Passage, Teach finally stopped the expansion of the dark tunnel and slowly withdrew the shadows.
As the shadows receded, everything within a five-hundred-meter radius was left barren. The houses and ships at the port location had all been sucked in along with them.
Fortunately, from the very beginning of the battle, the people nearby had sensed something was wrong and had fled far away to hide, so there were no other casualties.
The only ones left at the scene were the members of the Blackbeard Pirates.
The swaying shadows still lingered behind Teach's back. Laffitte walked over to him, still shaken, and said, "I thought we were done for this time, but thankfully, Captain, you're the most reliable as always..."
At this point, Laffitte looked a complete mess. When Ian had struck him with a Flame Descent Slash, his clothes had been burned to shreds, leaving only a single scrap to cover his last line of defense. Even so, his body was covered in burn marks from the flames, and he walked unsteadily.
Van Augur also came over, looking no better. Ian's Black Dragon Wave had been chasing him earlier. His hat had been burned off, his hair smelled of burnt yellow, and clutching his Thousand-Land Long Gun, he said, "It seems fate didn't want us to part ways here..."
"Cough, cough!" Doc Q coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and said, "Looks like luck is on our side..."
However, Teach remained silent, his expression serious.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Burgess asked as he walked over.
Teach suddenly spoke up: "This move has a weakness... The things absorbed must eventually be released! So, I don't know if they died 'inside' or not... If they come out and are still alive, then..."
Yes, this was why Teach's Dark Passage was called a 'passage.' The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit allowed him to create a gravitational space similar to a black hole, but this space could not permanently store objects. Strictly speaking, Teach used his own body as a channel for the absorbed things to pass through, so they had to be released eventually.
As for what it was like inside the Dark Passage, even Teach himself didn't know. He only knew that when the absorbed things were released, they were already crushed and destroyed.
If it were ordinary people, Teach might not be too worried, but the strength Ian had shown made him uncertain. He didn't know if Ian could survive inside the Dark Passage.
After hearing Teach's words, Van Augur and the others exchanged glances. Then Laffitte asked Teach, "So, Captain, how long can you hold out without releasing them?"
"I don't know either!" Teach said irritably. "Maintaining this state drains my stamina rapidly..."
"Cough, cough!" Doc Q coughed and said, "There's no other way, Captain. Hold out as long as you can, but we need to prepare for both outcomes..."
…………………………
Darkness. Everywhere was an endless darkness.
After being sucked in, Ian found he couldn't see anything. Everything around him was a void of black. Even when he put his hand in front of his eyes, he couldn't see his own fingers.
It was a world without any light, yet strangely, Ian found he could still breathe.
So, after getting over the initial panic of being unable to see, Ian finally came to his senses.
Then, the next second, he immediately thought of a way to deal with the darkness.
He activated his Psychic Power, expanding his Psychic Field to its maximum.
Finally, Ian could perceive the things around him.
He found himself in a strange space. This space had no detectable boundaries, at least not within the range of his Psychic Field.
And in this space, besides Ian himself, there were many other things.
An object entered Ian's Psychic Field, and he quickly discerned its shape, realizing it was a ship's mast.
As his Psychic Field continued to expand, more and more objects came into his perception. Most of them were the buildings and ships from the port that had been sucked in along with Ian. These things were now spinning rapidly under a tremendous force, constantly colliding and crushing against each other.
Ian realized that he, too, was spinning along with this vortex-like force. Because his body was relatively small, he hadn't been hit by anything yet.
But Ian knew this wouldn't last long. He could feel the force in the vortex growing stronger, meaning he was being pulled toward the center. Once there, everything would be packed together, making it impossible to dodge. He might end up crushed into pulp by the constant impacts and pressure.
Just then, a human-shaped object entered Ian's perception. He realized it was one of his companions, so he immediately controlled his body to move toward it.
Moving in this strange, alien space wasn't easy. It felt like being in zero gravity—a slight push would send you flying a long distance.
Fortunately, Ian had spent a lot of time with Fujitora and was used to his gravity-manipulation abilities, so he quickly adapted. Using a passing stone as leverage, he kicked off and slid over to the person, grabbing them and pulling them into his arms.
What he held was a soft body. Ian immediately realized it was either Reiju or Robin. But since he couldn't see, he didn't know which one.
The person he held struggled at first but then calmed down.
Ian tried to speak but found he couldn't make a sound. It seemed the other person couldn't either.
Left with no choice, Ian reached out and touched the person's body to identify them.
First, he touched a pair of smooth, long legs. But both Reiju and Robin had long legs, so he still couldn't be sure. He continued upward until he reached the chest, where he grasped a large, soft mound.
He squeezed it, measuring with his hand. Hmm... about a G cup. It was Reiju!
He was sure because he had estimated before: Robin was an I cup. Reiju was slightly smaller than that...
Ian had no choice but to use this method to identify who he was holding. Of course, the consequence was a slap across the face from Reiju.
Ian wasn't angry. He grabbed Reiju's hand and placed it on his head. When Reiju felt the shape of his hat, she knew it was him, so she stopped resisting and let him hold her by the waist.
Having found one companion, he still needed to find the others. Robin, Matthew, and Dorry didn't know Observation Haki yet, so they couldn't find anyone in this pitch-black space. Ian had to do it himself.
As for Ace, Ian wasn't worried. Ace knew Haki too, but he specialized in Conqueror's Haki, not Observation Haki, so he might not be as skilled as Ian in using it.
However, just as Ian was about to move again, he suddenly felt dizzy, and his body trembled involuntarily.
It was the poison from Doc Q earlier!
Ian hadn't expected Doc Q's poison gas to be so potent. He had already used Twin Heaven Return Shield to treat himself, but the downside was that healing took some time. He had been sucked into Teach's Dark Passage right after, causing him to subconsciously stop using his ability.
He thought he hadn't inhaled too much poison and that a bit of treatment would be enough, but the poison flared up again at this critical moment.
This poison wouldn't kill Ian, of course. Poison's toxicity depends on the dosage. That one breath of poison gas, though strong, wasn't enough to kill him.
But it still made him feel terrible, and now he had to hurry to save the others. The timing of the poison's recurrence was infuriating.
Reiju, held in Ian's arms, naturally noticed his abnormal state. She was smart and immediately guessed the reason.
So, the next second, Reiju suddenly reached out, wrapped her arms around Ian's neck, and leaned in.
Then, her soft, warm lips pressed against his...
(Sanqi Chinese Net)
Emergency Situation
I was writing last night when I suddenly got a stomachache, and it got worse and worse. I couldn't hold on, so I rushed to the hospital for a check-up. I thought it was appendicitis (I haven't had my appendix removed yet), but after an ultrasound, they said it was a kidney stone! And the stone had moved out and gotten stuck in my ureter, causing the pain. It's driving me crazy, so I've been at the hospital all day yesterday and today getting IV pain relief.
Because it was an emergency, I didn't have time to explain the situation to everyone yesterday. I'm letting you know now.
I'm feeling much better now, but the doctor said this is caused by prolonged sitting—an occupational hazard. He told me to drink more water and exercise more.
I'll be back to updating tomorrow... Sigh, I'm falling further and further behind on chapters. Such is the life of a part-time author...
(Sanqi Chinese Net)