73 Beaten and faithless

As the fog cleared, a broken silhouette could be seen kneeling on the broken ice, a broken hexagonal shield stood cracked in front of him. The corner had jagged cracks all over the erstwhile smooth block of ice.

Around him shards of ice lay fallen and a small line of blood flowed freely from his forehead. His coat stood tattered and torn, leaving huge gashes all over his shoulder and even his shirt stood tattered over his bare chest.

His breath dragged out of his chest bellowing through his teeth and his shaggy hair stood draped over his right eye as he regarded his fallen foe.

Angella panted in front of him, her rapier broken and her chin gashed by a stray shrapnel of ice. The hilt of her blade, the only part of it that remained intact was gripped in her hand as she gritted her teeth and coerced her feet forward.

A desolate expression glowered down on the kneeling ice man as she limped towards him, every step seemed to cause her great pain, but yet she pushed on. Routinely glancing at the smoking heath that was her home to remind her of her resolve.

Kuzan swallowed softly as he slowly rose to his feet. He could see it. She was weak, she had pushed herself too far and now only stood before him through pure resolve. It seemed to him that a single blow could down her. Yet, he felt scared.

He felt a nagging sensation at the back of his mind telling him this. If he took a step towards her, he would die.

The marine in him marshaled him forward. Raging at him to fight, roaring in his mind to push him forward and bellowing at him to take this vile pirate into his custody as his job dictated, yet he could not help but glance fruitfully behind him.

As he did he remembered his friend. His mind could not help but fill with bitterness as the fire in his mind began to quell. The burning justice that he once followed now no longer held any kindle to stand on, and so it was not surprising when he, gave up.

'Saul, you've won it seems….' he could not help but ruefully mutter in his mind as he looked at his foe.

"Heh, take pride in this pirate! You have done something that no one on this side of the great sea has ever done, you have bested a vice Admiral, someone who even the pirates of the new world could not possibly have done… So, you have won!

Meet me again in the fields of the new world for your revenge!" He called out through gritted teeth as he looked at her.

Angella moved on unfettered, as if she had not heard what he had just said.

Even the ship that had continuously been host to the sound of the ravages of battle had gone silent. The pirates that had boarded the white vessel long having finished their work now stared down at the battle impassively.

Kuzan was not a betting man, but he knew this, if he made a move now he would die.

"Marine, rejoice! If you did not have the power to cause some damage to the island behind you in your resistance then you would not be alive!" Lorean roared from the prow of the ship as he melancholically looked down at the despair of his crew mate.

By now a host of tears had begun to descend from her eyes as she bawled. The final wisps of her willpower long deserting her as she collapsed onto her knees. Snot began to fall from her nose as she mourned.

Kuzan regarded the fallen form of the women forlornly as he took a deep breath. "Not all of them are dead…One survived, a girl named Robin.." And with that he was gone, zooming across the icy road that he had constructed as he resolutely abandoned the men on the ship.

Angella looked on mutely as she gained some measure of hope in her dry well like eyes as she turned around to look at her captain, desperation rife in her brown eyes.

"Captain..?" was all she said, with barely a whisper.

"I will see whether I can find her, but don't get too hopeful. The meager information network I posses cannot hope to match against the might of the entire world at this point..Nonetheless I will try my best to find this girl. You have my word, so rest…" he said as he looked at her with kindness in his eyes.

With a final sob of sadness she crumpled down. Her mind could not stand the constant challenge it had faced to its worldview, so on the icy barren field on the ocean she went to sleep, leaving the rest to her crew members, she slept silently for the first time in close to two days....

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Kuzan mentally dueled with himself as he silently held the personal transponder snail. A mirthless and uncannily serious expression was left on his face as he looked down at the snail on his left hand. His right hand played with the ragged edge of his coat as he thought of his superior's face.

For so long he had held absolute faith in the words of the fleet Admiral and all the other higher ups even somewhat respecting the words of the five elder stars, but this had been too much for the icy vice admiral.

His unshakeable faith in his organization had been shaken, and within the course of a few days he had not only killed thousands of innocents but also his closest friend and an innumerable number of children.

With a resolute sigh he pulled against the cord of his snail and began to ring a number he had hoped never to put in since the days of his training.

With a raspy voice he called out as the ringing tone of the snail ceased. "Garp..?"