Chapter 83: First Contact

While making their way towards Crocodile's location, Thomas transmuted the explosives of one more pillar before deciding to conserve his strength. He likely wouldn't be fighting against Crocodile directly, but he needed a fair amount of Mana for what he had in mind.

Fortunately, while Crocodile wasn't the only member of Baroque Works in the underground waterway, most of the Officer Agents were at Rainbase, serving as a kind of decoy. Everyone else was too weak to even buy time, so Thomas's group went largely undisturbed until they reached a flooded chamber occupied by several massive alligators with banana-like growths on their heads. Each was over ten meters tall and well over five times that in length, so even though he had the EMIYA Card installed, Thomas felt a little nervous entering a room filled with creatures whose individual teeth were nearly as large as he was.

Putting Thomas on the spot, Caenis asked, "Want me to save the smallest one for you, or should I just kill them all and be done with it?"

Recalling how Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were able to defeat Bananawani on their own, Thomas shook his head and replied, "I should be fine..." before materializing a black longbow. EMIYA's D-Rank Strength probably wasn't enough to penetrate the thick hide of a Bananawani, but his arrows were more than capable. He could use Projection Magecraft to reproduce and modify Noble Phantasms into arrows, turning legendary weapons such as the Caladbolg into powerful projectiles capable of 'nuking' enemies from several kilometers away.

Adopting a teasing smile, Caenis remarked, "Just try not to shoot me in the back," before brandishing her spear and charging forward fast enough to part the water. In the very next moment, one of the Bananawani that had been trying to encircle them had half of its head blown off, the force behind the blow so immense that everything from its durable hide down to its bones was practically vaporized.

Seemingly surprised by how weak her prey was, Caenis paused for a moment before bursting out laughing. The remaining Bananawani could have used that as an opportunity to attack, but those closest to her had frozen in fear while those further away focused on getting as far away as possible.

To cut off the retreat of those closer to Caenis, Thomas leaped into the air and began sniping those further away. By targetting the base of the banana-like protrusions on their head, he was able to pierce their brains with arrows whose tips exploded after a delay. As a result, each arrow he loosed resulted in a death, as, despite their size, the Bananawani weren't nearly as durable as expected.

Refusing to let Thomas steal all the glory, Caenis swept her spear to the side, causing the water surrounding her to turn into a 'blade' that cut off the heads of every nearby Bananawani. With another sweep, she created a swirling vortex that expanded rapidly, pushing away and dicing up the corpses surrounding her.

Seeing Caenis manipulate the water within the chamber, Robin's dark blue eyes gleamed with expectation. Before, she still harbored doubts about Thomas's and Caenis's ability to defeat Crocodile. Now, she was almost certain they could pull it off. After all, once he got wet, Crocodile's power decreased tremendously...

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After clearing the room filled with Bananawani, it wasn't long before Thomas, Caenis, and Robin reached the chamber containing Crocodile, seated atop a throne-like chair with Cobra pinned to a pillar behind him.

Seeing the condition of his 'father-in-law,' Thomas's expression darkened despite feeling relieved that Vivi wasn't present. He knew Cobra suffered a similar fate in the anime and manga, but it was better if she didn't have to witness such things...

Mirroring Thomas's expression was Crocodile, who, despite sitting down, was taller than most people standing. His actual height was 253cm, and his expression, hardened by a life of crime and accented by stitching that ran horizontally across his face, gave the impression of a ruthless tyrant that killed as easily as he breathed.

Without rising from his throne-like chair, Crocodile almost sounded bored as he remarked, "Good job, Ms. All Sunday. You guided them here, just as I ordered..."

Maintaining her usual smile, Robin calmly replied, "Indeed. Unfortunately, the Princess separated from our group to return to the palace and order an evacuation."

"Hmmm..."

Directing his gaze to Thomas and Caenis, Crocodile was about to taunt them before noticing the former was muttering something with his eyes closed.

"...unknown to Death, nor known to Life. I have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet, these hands will never hold anything..."

Realizing that Thomas was 'chanting,' the pupils of Crocodile's eyes contracted as he shouted, "You punk...!" in an enraged tone. At the same time, he rose to his feet, discarding the fur-lined coat he usually wore to reveal a muscular frame and a left arm bearing a large gold-alloy hook in place of a hand.

While Crocodile's speed was nothing to scoff at, he barely managed to rise to his full height before Caenis's spear pierced through his chest and caused his entire upper body to disperse into a flowery explosion of sand. A typical Logia user would have been killed on the spot, but Crocodile had mastered his Devil Fruit to the extreme, instinctually dispersing his body the moment he sensed danger.

Using the time Caenis had bought him, Thomas opened his eyes to reveal glowing pupils, his voice echoing through the chamber as he said, "So, as I pray...Unlimited Blade Works...!"

Following the conclusion of Thomas's chant, a fiery circle spread out from his feet, spreading through the chamber in the blink of an eye. By the time Crocodile had reformed his upper body, a fierce grimace on his face, they were no longer in the underground waterway. Instead, they were in a fiery landscape dominated by countless swords. There were clouds in the sky, but the features that stood out the most were the massive gears that floated and spun aimlessly in the distance, their size dwarfing mountains.

Before Crocodile could speak or ask questions, Thomas firmly asserted, "Unless you surrender now, this place shall be your graveyard..."

With a ghastly look, Crocodile reached into his breast pocket, intending to retrieve the detonator and the snail-like Den Den Mushi that served as his deadman's switch. As he did, a ridiculing sneer developed across Caenis's face as she asked, "Looking for something~?"

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Failing to find what he was searching for, the look on Crocodile's face became even grimmer as he growled, "So, that was your aim. You forced me to disperse to secure the detonator..."

Maintaining a mocking smile, Caenis replied, "That was actually Plan B. Plan A was killing or crippling you before you had the chance to talk shit and monologue."

While gradually dispersing his body into sand, Crocodile looked behind him to confirm that Cobra and the team he had watching him hadn't been drawn into the strange space created by Thomas. The moment he did so, Caenis charged forward like a humanoid meteor, crashing through him as she shouted, "Where the fuck do you think you're looking...!?"

Having predicted Caenis's attack, Crocodile allowed his body to disperse while manipulating a tendril of sand to try and grasp her. He succeeded in doing so, but that ended up being a tremendous mistake as, the moment he grabbed her wrist, his body rematerialized as if he were in contact with seastone.

Grinning like a demon, Caenis grasped the stunned Crocodile's golden hook as she said, "Divine Cord of the Sea God, bitch," before tearing it off without mercy. Crocodile reinforced himself with Haki at the last moment, but Caenis's A-Rank Strength completely ignored his increased resilience, claiming the golden-alloy hook as a trophy before kicking him away with enough force to create multiple shockwaves.

Though he was able to disperse his body the moment he was no longer in contact with Caenis, Crocodile sustained several injuries as his sand came into contact with the blades populating the battlefield. Each contained at least a trace of Magical Energy, so he needed to protect himself with Haki to avoid being minced to pieces. Unfortunately, the moment he attempted to reform his body, Caenis was there waiting for him, a murderous grin on her face as she said, "Boo."

Before Crocodile could even think to respond, Caenis punched him in the face hard enough to make his features temporarily disappear. He tried to disperse at the last moment, but Caenis's speed drastically exceeded the reaction time of his stagnant Observation Haki. It had been decades since he trained seriously, and his Haki had stagnated due to a lack of powerful opponents.

After skipping like a stone across the terrain, Crocodile avoided Caenis's follow-up attack by flying into the air, reforming only the upper half of his body as he cursed, "Damn you..." in a gravelly tone.

Looking up at the severely bloodied man, the scorn in Caenis's expression and tone became even more prominent as she asked, "You think I can't hit you in the air?"

Before Crocodile could respond, Caenis materialized her red and black spear before throwing it like a streak of crimson light. Thomas had asked her to avoid killing Crocodile outright, but she would be damned if he was able to walk away.

Though Caenis's base spear lacked the seastone-like properties of her body, it was still packed with a tremendous amount of Magical Energy. Crocodile evaded to the side, but the spear tore through a section of the sand supporting his upper body, creating a large gash on his outer right thigh.

Realizing he couldn't compete with Caenis's speed in his current state, Crocodile materialized a silver card bearing the silhouette of a Lancer and the Roman Numeral III. He initially planned to hold out until Caenis's 'transformation' wore off, but her ability to counteract his Logia powers put him at a tremendous disadvantage.

"You're not the only ones with Install Cards...!" shouted Crocodile. Then, as Caenis reared back to toss her spear a second time, he held the card in front of him and shouted, "Include...!" causing a bright light to envelop his body.

Undaunted by Crocodile's attempts to transform, Caenis tossed her spear, this time intending to remove his leg. To Thomas's surprise, she actually succeeded, causing Crocodile's left leg to plummet to the ground as the light around him faded, revealing the grimacing man in a light green tunic, white trousers, and black riding boots. He also had on a black mantle and a metallic gauntlet covering his right arm down to his hand, within which sat a vaguely familiar black and gold spear.

Before Thomas could inform Caenis of who Crocodile had transformed into, she beat him to the punch, shouting, "Holy shit! Is that Hector!?" in an excited tone. As a Greek 'hero,' there was no way in hell she wouldn't recognize one of the most famous figures from the same period.

Gaining some of Hector's knowledge and insight, Crocodile's expression darkened even further as he muttered, "Caenis..." He couldn't recall any of the legends surrounding her, but the sense of 'familiarity' he gained made him aware that the power of Hector wasn't her match. At least not on his own.

Utilizing one of Hector's more niche Skills, a haze of glowing white energy enveloped Crocodile's body before erupting outward, similar to Thomas's use of Unlimited Blade Works. When the light faded, everyone was in their initial positions, Crocodile's leg and hand having returned to their original state, albeit at the cost of the Hector Card's stored energy.

Realizing that Crocodile had used the Hector Card simply to heal himself, the smile faded from Caenis's face. She had never gotten the opportunity to battle Hector before his death against Achilles, so her eyes turned red and her blood began to boil as she growled, "You cowardly sack of shit..."

Ignoring Caenis's remark, Crocodile met Thomas's gaze as he declared, "You made a big mistake by isolating us from the outside world. Now, I have no choice but to kill you..."

Without explaining what he was talking about, Crocodile pulled out a golden card bearing the silhouette of a Caster and the Roman Numeral VI. Caenis reacted by manifesting and throwing her spear, but this time it failed to find purchase. Instead, it impacted a wall of sand, reinforced by a magical barrier. Shortly after, Thomas understood exactly why Crocodile 'had' to kill them...

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(A/N: Caenis is a beast O_O...)

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