"Igaram."
Vivi looked at Igaram, at his struggling, emaciated body, at his pained expression, and the floodgates of tears finally opened. Her tears, like a breached dam, rushed past the banks of her eyes, flowed down her cheeks, gathered beneath her chin, and then dripped like raindrops.
Unceasingly...
Unceasingly, they dripped.
Dripping onto this parched desert.
Vivi's despair mirrored the desolation of the desert, the despair of this nation.
She now deeply regretted her impulsive action.
Crocodile roared with laughter at the despair and regret in Vivi's eyes.
"Gulp, hahahaha!! My Princess, where did the courage to brandish your weapon at me just now go?"
His laughter abruptly stopped as he raised his foot and slowly walked towards Vivi.
As he walked, he spoke, "The weak must accept their fate. While I admire your courage, you must also be prepared to endure my wrath after wielding your weapon. I don't dislike impulsive youngsters like you, but ah!"
He took a puff of his cigarette and stood before Vivi, his shadow completely eclipsing her.
"Hoo~"
He lowered his head, exhaled smoke, and fixed his gaze on Vivi with overwhelming pressure. "But I intensely dislike those who don't know their place, who have no idea where they stand."
"Crocodile."
Vivi lifted her head, meeting Crocodile's indifferent gaze. She showed no fear; her eyes blazed with anger and hatred.
"Crocodile, though we may die here today, I believe that one day, you will pay for what you have done."
She now understood the vast difference between herself and Crocodile, but so what? Knowing the gap meant waiting to die?
That was clearly not her nature.
She glanced at Karoo, her eyes filled with apology.
It was her impulsiveness that led Karoo and Igaram to their deaths alongside her. She knew that unless a miracle, unless a god, intervened, no one could save them today.
"Gaa—!"
"Gaa—!"
"Ga ga ga!!"
Karoo trembled, turning its head to look at Vivi, its eyes filled with anxiety. It saw resolve in Vivi's eyes, and even more, a will to die.
Though it was a duck, it was a duck with human-like understanding.
Seeing its beloved master, who had been by its side since childhood, about to face death, and being utterly powerless to help, filled its heart with unease.
It bitterly resented its own weakness, being subdued with a single blow. Otherwise, they would have escaped by now.
Vivi cast one last look at Karoo, wiped away her tears, and slowly stood up.
She turned her body, looking up at Crocodile. She said nothing, instead pulling the Peacock Lock from her sleeve and putting it on her little fingers.
Then, with her hands at her sides, she shook her arms, and the Peacock Lock began to spin.
"Oh..."
Crocodile watched Vivi, his expression instantly darkening.
"Want to die sooner..."
Vivi didn't reply to Crocodile. She pushed off the sandy ground with her feet, leaning forward instantly, and then threw her hands forward.
"Peacock Spread!"
Crocodile paid no attention to the two spinning peacock feathers that shot towards him.
"Pfft."
With a grim face, he reached out and lunged for Vivi, letting the spinning peacock feathers slice through his body.
"Gaa—!"
Karoo watched Crocodile's hand inching closer to Vivi, struggling violently. But it was useless. The more it struggled, the more its dislocated joint, previously moved by Robin, ached and went numb, until finally, it could move no more.
"Gaa—!"
It rolled its eyes, staring at Vivi's back, and let out a desperate cry.
"Such touching loyalty between master and servant!"
Crocodile's body, cut by Vivi's Peacock Lock, healed rapidly. He glanced at Karoo behind Vivi, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
His outstretched hand reached Vivi and then, like a vise, clamped instantly around her neck.
"No matter how deep your feelings, you can only watch your master die. This... is the sorrow of the weak."
With that, Crocodile tightened his arm, lifting Vivi's entire body off the ground.
He turned his head, his gaze locking onto Vivi's, meeting her eyes filled with stubbornness and hatred.
"Hoo~"
Crocodile took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling slowly, the smoke drifting from the corner of his mouth.
"Unwilling?"
"Unwilling, but there's nothing to be done about it."
Crocodile retracted his arm, bringing Vivi closer to him. His indifferent pupils fixed on Vivi's eyes, and he sneered, "That's right, it was me who caused Alabasta's drought, me who used the Dancing Powder in Alubarna, and me who secretly supported the rebel army. In a short while, the people of this country, in utter despair, will join the rebel army, and then, in the trap I've set, they will engage in a thorough battle with the Kingdom's Royal Army."
"Do you know what this is?"
"Croc... odile."
Vivi's face flushed red, her entire body trembling with agitation. Her eyes were bloodshot, burning with fury as if they could spew fire.
She glared at Crocodile, gnashing her teeth and roaring, "Are you even human? How could you... how could you treat the countless citizens of this nation who idolized you as a hero, so cruelly!"
"Hero?"
"Gulp, hahahaha!! Hero?"
Crocodile seemed to have heard something incredibly amusing. He threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
"Hero, do you know how this hero came to be?"
"Why did I always arrive just in time whenever pirates attacked? Haven't you ever wondered?"
"Hahaha!!"
He lowered his head, looking at Vivi with utter mockery in his eyes.
"So foolishly adorable!"
"And another thing! Let me tell you a secret. I will continue to use the Dancing Powder in Alubarna. I want to make the people of this country completely break ties with their King, with your good father, and then, during the battle between the rebel army and the royal army, I will utterly destroy this country and make it my utopia. This... is my plan."
"Isn't it perfect? Gulp, hahahaha!!"
"Crocodile, Crocodile, Crocodile..."
Vivi was now so enraged that she could barely speak. She glared at Crocodile, her bloodshot pupils reflecting a boundless hatred.
Her lips moved, and she kept repeating Crocodile's name.
Her voice was like a vengeful spirit, filled with chilling coldness.
"Gulp, hahahaha!!"
Vivi's demeanor delighted Crocodile even further.
The corners of his mouth curled up as he laughed heartily, "I like your eyes, I like the look of you hating me intensely yet being utterly powerless. Don't worry, I'll soon send your father and most of the people of this country to accompany you, so you can continue to be a princess in the underworld, hahaha!!"
Saying this, he prepared to use his ability to end Vivi's life.
However, at that very moment, a clear bell sound echoed from the distant desert.
Dring!
Dring!
Dring!
Accompanying the bell was a light chuckle.
"Haha! Yo! Is this one of the Seven Warlords, Crocodile? Bullying a little girl, you've got some nerve!"
The voice was light, yet it reached the ears of everyone present with perfect clarity.