AgWorld Chapter 1139 1,138: What I want is simple. I want your daughter
Chapter 1139 1,138: What I want is simple. I want your daughter
The strings wrapped around King Riku III lost their power the instant Doflamingo died, dissolving into nothingness and vanishing into the air.
The longsword in the old king's hands clattered heavily to the ground.
He stood there in a daze, staring at his trembling hands smeared with blood. Then he looked down at the shallow cut on his neck, unable to process what had just happened.
A second ago, he'd been forced to slit his own throat in public—still bearing ten years of humiliation and disgrace.
And in the next breath, the strings were gone, and the devil who had destroyed his country and ruined his life was just… dead.
A crushing wave of relief, mixed with the numb unreality of surviving catastrophe, swallowed him whole.
Riku III's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The tears he'd been holding back finally burst free, pouring down his wrinkled cheeks and splashing in heavy drops onto the cold stone tiles.
He covered his face and let out a stifled, pained sob—like a child who had finally made it home.
The sticky slime binding Kyros also disappeared in that same instant, leaving no trace.
He froze as well.
Pain still screamed from his broken leg. His wounds were still bleeding. Yet he felt none of it—like his body had forgotten how to register anything but shock.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands—free again.
Then he looked up at the young man hovering silently in midair.
Then he turned to the roof—now nothing but smeared blood—and to the Donquixote officers pinned in craters on the ground, wailing nonstop.
His mind went blank.
The enemies who had driven him into a corner, who'd left him unable to resist at all… were just—crushed to death with a single hand?
He had never seen power like this.
No—this wasn't merely power anymore.
This was absolute control, something that stood above every rule of the world itself.
The first thing he did after he snapped out of it was stagger to the corner and pull Rebecca—an adult woman now, shaking violently with fear—tight into his arms.
He shielded her with his body as if he were protecting the most precious treasure in the world.
"Rebecca, don't be scared. It's okay now. Dad's here."
His voice was hoarse, trembling with the aftershock of survival, as he gently patted her back to calm her down.
Rebecca buried her face in his chest, her body still quivering as she sobbed softly.
She gripped his clothes tightly, as if the moment she let go, he might disappear.
After soothing her, Kyros hurried to Riku III, still collapsed on the ground.
He bent down and carefully helped the old king up.
Riku III was shaking from head to toe.
Once he was on his feet, he didn't even have the presence of mind to straighten his disheveled clothes.
The first thing he did was bow deeply to Rei Ao in midair.
So deeply his waist nearly touched the ground.
His whole body trembled, and his voice was filled with heartfelt gratitude, breaking with tears.
"Thank you for saving me, sir! This great mercy—Dressrosa will never forget it, not for all eternity! You are the savior of our entire nation!"
Kyros also set down his broken sword, held Rebecca close, and bowed deeply toward Rei Ao.
His back was straight, and his gratitude was utterly sincere.
"Thank you for saving this country—saving His Majesty, and saving me and my daughter. I, Kyros, will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life."
The surviving citizens around them finally came back to their senses from the world-shaking turn of events.
They looked at the pirates wailing on the ground, at the old king collapsed in exhaustion, and at the young man in the air.
And at last, it hit them—
They'd been saved.
Someone dropped to their knees first, slammed their forehead to the ground, and choked out, "Thank you, benefactor! Thank you for saving us!"
One. Two. Ten. A hundred…
More and more citizens fell to their knees, until the entire palace plaza was packed with kneeling bodies.
A roaring tide of thanks rose and fell, carried by the sea wind across all of Dressrosa.
"Thank you for saving our lives!"
"Thank you for saving Dressrosa!"
Rei Ao slowly descended.
His feet touched the plaza stones without making a sound.
His presence remained calm and unremarkable.
He listened to the thunderous gratitude, looked at the sea of kneeling people—and his face didn't change at all. Not a flicker, not a ripple in his eyes.
As if the one who had raised a hand, erased Doflamingo's crew, and saved an entire nation hadn't been him.
He only hooked his lips faintly, his gaze passing over Kyros and Riku III to settle on the woman in Kyros's arms—still quietly sobbing, only a pair of wet, wide eyes visible…
"No need."
His voice was light, not loud, yet it reached every ear in the plaza, pressing down over all the cries of thanks.
"I didn't help you for nothing."
The moment he said that, the sound of gratitude dropped sharply.
Everyone fell silent, eyes turning to Rei Ao in unison, waiting for what came next.
Kyros froze, a sudden, ominous feeling rising in his chest.
But he forced it down and spoke at once, solemn and resolute.
"What do you require, sir? If it's within our power, then even if it costs me my life, I will do it without hesitation!"
Riku III nodded rapidly as well, his face earnest as he bowed again.
"That's right! What do you want? Wealth? Status? A title?"
"All the gold and jewels in Dressrosa's treasury—you may take them all!"
"Even if you want the throne itself, I will abdicate immediately! Just say the word, and we won't argue!"
In their eyes, a man with power this terrifying could take anything with a mere gesture.
Since he had chosen to save the country, no request would be unreasonable.
But Rei Ao's eyes remained on Rebecca in Kyros's arms, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
He lifted his chin slightly and pointed at Kyros with a casual flick.
"What I want is simple."
"I want your daughter."
That single, casual sentence hit the entire plaza like a thunderbolt.
The plaza, noisy just a second ago, fell into a dead silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Everyone froze, the gratitude and excitement on their faces turning stiff in an instant.
The citizens looked at one another, unable to believe what they'd heard, their breathing unconsciously growing quiet.
The sincerity on Riku III's face congealed.
His mouth hung open as he stared at Rei Ao, unable to say a single word, his whole body locked in place.