Charlos writhed on the ground in pain, his nose broken and blood mingling with the tears streaming down his face. His privileged, pampered body had never experienced such pain before, and he screamed and filed in front of the cage, uo prehend the situation.

  Through his agony, Charlos struggled to grasp what had just happened. He was a Celestial Dragon—untouchable! Yet someone had dared to y a hand on him. He couldn't believe it; not even his father had ever hit him.

  Overwhelmed by the sudden violence, he hadn't even seen who had kicked him. Still clutg his broken nose, he screamed in a shrill voice, "Who dares hit me? I'm a Celestial Dragon! Kill him! Kill him now!"

  But despite his orders, none of his servants moved a muscle. They exged wary gheir gazes shifting to the figure standing before them. While Charros might not have reized who attacked him, his servants certainly did. They were all too aware of who Donquixote Cudius was—a Celestial Dragon unlike any other, with status and power that made him untouchable even among his kind.

  Cudius was not just aial Dragon; he per-rank member of the Donquixote family, one of the most powerful in Mariejois. Anyone foolish enough to challenge him would be digging their own grave.

  Cudius, hearing Charlos's pitiful demands for retaliation, chuckled coldly as he picked up an iron bar from the broken cage. He flexed his shoulders and called out with a sardonic smile, "You want to kill me, huh? Who do you think you are? You, a lower-ranked Celestial Dragon, dare to threaten me, Donquixote Cudius, head of the Donquixote family? You must be out of your mind!"

  Cudius's voice turned harder as he tinued, "If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll think you get away with anything. Maybe tomorrow, you'll even try pulling stunts in front of the Five Elders. Someone has to set you straight."

  With that, he strode toward Charlos, dragging the iron rod across the stone floor with a screech that sent shivers down the spines of everyone present. Even Tesoro, atg from the now-broken cage, was stuhe se was surreal. Moments ago, he had been on the brink of despair, and now, here was someone who seemed to be a powerful Celestial Dragon, ing to his rescue and attag another.

  Cudius's approaapped Tesoro out of his daze. He wasted no time in scrambling out of the cage and pulling Stel into a protective embrace. "Are you okay, Stel?" he asked urgently, his voice shaking.

  "I'm fiesoro," Stel said, ging to him as tears of relief streamed down her face. The nightmare they had endured was shifting, though her of them could quite believe what was happening.

  Meanwhile, Charlos, who nnized Cudius, was stri with terror. The stories about Cudius were infamous in Mariejois. Years ago, he had spped another Celestial Dragon in public at the Sabaody Archipego and fao sequeo make matters worse, Charlos remembered mog that i at the time. He hought he would be at the receiving end of this notorious man's fury.

  Desperate and panig, Charros babbled, "Cudius, don't e any closer! I'm a Celestial Dragon too!"

  "Celestial Dragon, my foot!" Cudius scoffed. "I'm ashamed to even share that title with trash like you!" He lifted the iron rod and brought it down with a resounding thud.

  A chorus of gasps erupted from the onlookers as Charros's pained screams echoed throughout the area. The gathered crowd included many servants and even some fellow Celestial Dragons, among them ne, who had only just parted ways with Cudius earlier.

  Fights amoial Dragons were rare but not unheard of, usually once or twice a year. Most disputes were limited to shouting matches or, at most, pulling hair. But this? This was brutal. Blood had been drawn, and one of their own was beien like a criminal.

  "Unbelievable... is this really happening?" whispered one of the bystanders.

  "Is this what a real man looks like?" nelu's eyes shone as she watched Cudius wield the iron rod, dispatg his version of justice. pared to the disheveled, foul-smellihat was Charlos, Cudius looked like a hero—a striking, charismatic figure who was now even more dazzling in her eyes.

  Some of the other Celestial Dragons started cheering Cudius on, their disgust for Charlos outweighing any sympathy they might have had. His antics, especially involving his notorious ck of hygiene, had long made him a nuisance.

  "Good job, Cudius! Teach him a lesson!" one of them called out.

  "Yeah, make him pay for sullying nity!" another jeered.

  Cudius paused his beating for a moment, smirking at the encement from his peers. He raised a hand in aowledgment and called back, "Don't worry! I'll make sure he learns that hygiene and basic decy are mandatory for Celestial Dragons!"

  The crowd erupted into ughter and appuse, except for those too terrified to react.

  Charlos could barely move now, his body bruised and swollen, his fa unreizable mask of pain. His cries had dwio weak whimpers. Cudius knew when to stop; he wasn't ied in killing Charlos. That would bring plications, even if the Five Elders were ined to protect him. Murdering another Celestial Dragon would carry sequehat even Cudius preferred to avoid.

  After one final strike, Cudius let the iron rod fall to the ground with a g. He looked down at the pitiful form of Charlos and addressed the stunned servants. "Well? What are you standing around for? Take your master a him out of here. He's polluting the atmosphere."

  The servants rushed forward, trembling as they carefully lifted Charlos, who whimpered pitifully. A few of them made tentative moves toward Stel, intending to retrieve the property of their master.

  "Touch her and you'll regret it," Cudius warned, his voice icy. "You think I'd gh the trouble of beating your boss just to let you take her back? She's mine now."

  The servants looked between each other, fear in their eyes. No one dared challenge Cudius. Relutly, they backed away.

  Cudius then turo Tesoro, who was holding Stel tightly. He caught sight of the sve mert nearby, atg the se with wide, terrified eyes. "And this man," Cudius said, gesturing to Tesoro, "is mioo. Name your price."

  The mert, still shaking, stammered, "N-no, Yhness. I wouldn't dream of asking for payment. sider it a humble gift to Yhness."

  A small smile touched Cudius's lips. "Good answer." He pulled a jade bracelet from his wrist and tossed it to the mert. "Take this as a token of my appreciation."

  The mert scrambled to catch the bracelet, bowiedly. "Thank you, Yhness! Thank you for yenerosity!" He k, forehead toug the ground, uo tain his gratitude.

  ***

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