HST: Chapter 292/293

Chapter 292: In Front

Right there on the yellow sand battlefield, mana surged through Caelan's body, and a temporary summoning array took shape.

Following Momonosuke's blood connection, Caelan sensed several spirits.

The two most closely connected were naturally Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Toki, who were blood relatives.

Oden's spirit was relatively strong, but Toki, who came from eight hundred years ago, was extremely weak, even weaker than the spirit of Robin's mother, Olvia, and on the verge of dissipating.

Caelan moved his fingers and stopped himself from pulling Toki's spirit first.

He glanced at Oden to the side, thoughtful.

Originally, he intended to summon Toki alone, but when he saw Oden, he could not help himself.

After all, he was a fighter below the Yonko level and could not be wasted.

Moreover, in front of Oden, together with Toki…

This would surely be exciting, and he had not tried husband-and-wife play, nor parent-and-child play.

"Then let us do both together."

Caelan chuckled, like the whisper of a devil.

To the Kozuki Family, he was no different from a devil.

He focused his mind, and vast magic power, like the deep sea, surged out of his body.

In an instant, a torrent of mana created a storm across the yellow sand battlefield.

Within the eye of the storm, where Caelan stood, all was calm.

Two spirits, a man and a woman, were forcibly drawn to him from somewhere in the Flower Capital by magic, then continued to solidify, nourished by mana.

Soon, two solid bodies appeared before him.

A big, simple-faced man with a round hat and a large bow at his back, and a green-haired woman who resembled Kozuki Hiyori and Komurasaki.

They were Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Toki.

Caelan considered for a moment, then inserted a few things into Toki's memory, namely the scenes of him with Kozuki Hiyori.

Soon, Oden and Toki opened their eyes, both a little confused.

They should have been dead. Why were they suddenly resurrected?

They looked around, bewildered, and saw Caelan watching with interest, as well as Momonosuke's miserable body.

They had been summoned through Momonosuke's blood connection, so they naturally noticed him first.

Their pupils suddenly dilated as they stared at the corpse.

They were certain. He looked exactly like Momonosuke, and the mysterious blood link confirmed it.

This corpse was their son, Momonosuke, the one who should have been sent to the future to save Wano!

"Momonosuke!!!"

Toki and Oden cried out in grief.

They had only just awakened from the chaos of death, only to see their son's body. The shock was too great.

This was their son, the Kozuki Family's last hope.

"Hello, nice to meet you."

Caelan greeted the two with a smile.

"It was you. You killed Momonosuke!?"

Oden glared at Caelan with murderous intent.

Toki said nothing, but stared at Caelan with shame and shock.

In her memory, this man had done whatever he pleased to a woman who looked like her, humiliating her utterly. The woman did not resist, trained to be extremely obedient.

Just thinking of those scenes made her blush and her heart pound.

Looking at Caelan's face now, all that came to mind was his naked figure.

What was going on? What was wrong with her memory?

"What did you do to me? What was that in my memory?"

"And did you kill Momonosuke?"

Toki shouted at Caelan.

"Momonosuke died by my hand, and the memories in your mind were implanted by me," Caelan said bluntly.

Caelan showed no remorse, and continued to provoke them. "I almost forgot. All the Kozuki samurai are dead. The Nine Red Scabbards are nearly all dead."

"What!?"

The two were furious.

Their loyal followers were slaughtered, their son, their hope, was dead, and their daughter had become the plaything of their enemy.

No matter who this man was, he had to die.

"Go to hell!"

Oden rushed at Caelan, his massive fist aimed at Caelan's face.

Toki did the same. Although she had no martial strength, her fury was the same.

"Hehe."

Caelan simply smiled, not even thinking of dodging, then ordered lightly, "In the name of the Command Seal, kneel."

Since he had brought these two out, he had naturally made preparations.

He had casually created hundreds of Command Seals used to control Heroic Spirits.

Thump.

In an instant, both of their bodies went out of control and crashed to their knees.

"What is happening?"

They did not understand. They knelt, confused.

They clearly wanted to kill Caelan, but could only kneel, their bodies ignoring their minds.

"You devil!"

Oden knelt and cursed Caelan.

Forcibly controlling their bodies was clearly a demonic method.

Only a devil would kill their brave and beloved son.

Caelan wagged a finger. "I am not a devil. I am Happy Superman."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Oden glared, not understanding what Caelan was saying.

"When you are happy, you are super," Caelan said with a smile. "You will know soon."

"In the name of the Command Seal, Kozuki Oden, turn around."

Caelan pointed at Oden and gave the order.

"Bastard!"

Oden felt another will in his body, forcing him to act.

Under that control, he turned and knelt with his back to Caelan.

Now it was Toki and Caelan facing each other, with Oden kneeling in front of them, back turned.

"This position is excellent."

Caelan nodded in satisfaction and walked up to Toki.

The green-haired beauty glared at him with eyes full of hatred.

That mixture of humiliation and rage was even sharper than Hiyori's.

At the same time, it inspired an even greater urge to conquer.

"What are you going to do!?"

Toki asked in anger and fear as she saw Caelan's gaze grow colder.

"Ah! Damn you!"

"Let her go. Come at me!"

Oden roared to the sky, grief and fury overwhelming him.

"Be quiet."

Caelan commanded, savoring the moment.

"Mmm!"

Oden could only shut his mouth against his will, tears streaming down his face.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 293: Timeline

An hour later, the clouds and fog cleared.
While holding the blushing Kozuki Toki, Caelan walked to Kozuki Oden's side.

Toki naturally resisted, but under Caelan's control, she was forced to comply even against her will, helplessly surrendering to the arms of her enemy.

Oden's face turned blue and red with fury. He had endured an hour of unbearable humiliation.

He was breathing heavily through his nose, glaring at Caelan with rage, but under the influence of the previous Command Spell, he couldn't even utter a curse.

"You know what? She's very moist."
Caelan took a sip of Toki's cheek, his tone intoxicated.

Toki turned her head away, filled with shame and anger, not daring to meet her husband's eyes.

"Mmmm!"

Oden's eyes widened, trembling with rage and excitement that he could barely contain.
If he were still in his human body, he would have fainted from anger by now. "Very moist?"

Caelan looked at their expressions with satisfaction.

However, once the "scene" was over, Oden no longer had any use.

Caelan waved his hand, and Oden's spirit dissipated like the wind. Before fading, his eyes even showed a trace of relief.

"What did you do to him?"
Toki asked in horror, watching Oden vanish.
Just moments ago, she still had someone familiar beside her. Now, only she and Caelan remained. Did that mean…

"I just let him sleep. When I need him to fight, I'll summon him again." Caelan smiled as he spoke.

It was impossible for Oden to ever be free again.

Moments ago, Caelan had absorbed Oden's spirit, leaving only his mark within the Reality Marble, as if he had truly died.

After all, keeping him around all the time was too bothersome.

"You play with souls like toys, you devil!"
Toki's voice trembled as she stared at Caelan in fear.

He could resurrect and control souls at will. In his hands, a person's very spirit was nothing more than a toy to twist and flatten as he pleased.

Which hell had failed to keep this demon sealed away?

"Devil? I like that name." Caelan accepted it with a faint smile, showing no shame. "Now, tell me how Momonosuke and the others traveled through time. Why did they arrive two years earlier?"

"They even told you that?" Toki was slightly surprised, then sneered. "I'm the user of the Time-Time Fruit. I sent them here to save Wano Country and this world!"

"Momonosuke is the key to saving the world. Without him, the world will be doomed!"
After saying that, she looked at Caelan, expecting to see shock or regret on his face.

"Tsk." Caelan scoffed at her words.

Momonosuke being the key to saving the world was simply because he could command Zunesha, and because Wano's Ancient Weapon, Pluton, might be linked to him.

But Caelan didn't care about either.

He could command Zunesha himself with Riding (A), or if not, he could simply give up the Azure Dragon mount. He wasn't afraid of any of the three Ancient Weapons. None could stand against his God Slayer.

"Just wait and see. You'll die when the end of the world comes!" Toki shouted firmly.

"Really? Maybe." Caelan replied disdainfully. "Until then, you and Hiyori will serve me."

"You!" Toki glared at Caelan furiously.
He actually wanted both her and Hiyori to serve him. The thought filled her with unbearable shame.

"Now, tell me why they appeared two years earlier." Caelan's voice turned deep. "In the name of the Command Seal, tell the truth."

Under the compulsion of the Command Seal, Toki was forced to comply. "They didn't appear two years early, but three years early," she said.

"I can't go past August of the Sea Calendar Year 1519. I can't send anyone to a time later than that."

"At first, I thought my power had weakened, but I can easily send people to any time before August 1519 of the Sea Calendar."
"I don't know what happened then. It's as if everything beyond that time was completely cut off."

According to the prophecy, 1522 was the true Great Era, when Momonosuke would lead Wano Country to greatness once again.
But even she didn't know why her Time-Time Fruit had failed.

"August 1519 of the Sea Calendar?"
Caelan touched his chin, frowning slightly.
He was familiar with that date. It was the month when he had first traveled through time.

It seemed that Momonosuke and the others arriving two years early was caused by his own arrival.

He gradually understood that it might be due to him and the system creating a "sacred timeline" in this world.

He wasn't flattering himself, but he believed the system held that kind of authority.
The time after his and the system's arrival had become a timeline that could not be crossed or altered. From that point on, the world's time could only flow forward naturally.

(To be continued.)