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Suddenly, King felt the world plunge into utter darkness.
But it wasn't the kind of pitch-black void where one couldn't see their own hand, like a moonless night or the dim glow of dawn. No, this was different, like peering through obsidian glass, where all but the faintest traces of light were swallowed whole.
"Black Prison Thunder Realm... Could it be?!"
A chilling realization struck him, but there was no time to hesitate. Ignoring the risk of exposing his back, King bolted toward the fading edge of his vision.
Bang!
He had barely taken a step when a jet-black thunderbolt erupted from the void. Faster than any lightning strike he had ever encountered, so fast it defied all logic.
It wasn't as though it had been launched at him; it was as if the thunderbolt had simply existed there, waiting for him to collide with it.
"Guhh!!!"
His chest scorched black, King was flung backward, a mouthful of blood bursting from his lips.
An overwhelming pressure closed in from all sides. It felt like he had been dragged into the crushing depths of the ocean, the weight of an abyss bearing down on him.
Suspended in the center of the Black Prison, King sensed something and looked upward.
"This is..."
"Ah, yes! Just as you thought."
A voice rang out from the empty void. Rowen emerged, gazing down at King with a calm, almost amused expression. Slowly, he spread his arms wide.
"This is my domain."
"The world of thunder!"
At the First Stage of Awakening, Logia users could only spread their influence in vast quantities, gradually eroding the natural world, altering climates permanently.
At the Second Stage, they could rapidly merge their element with surrounding materials, like Doflamingo's Ito Ito no Mi (String-String Fruit), reshaping entire landscapes in a matter of moments.
At the Third Stage…
King's breath hitched. He watched in horror as his clothing began to break apart, crumbling into nothingness. Even with his body wrapped in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), the ominous energy gnawed at him, devouring him bit by bit.
"You should be grateful," Rowen remarked casually. "If you weren't an Awakened Zoan user, your instincts and Devil Fruit's unique energy would've failed you already. You'd have been reduced to dust the instant you stepped in."
Rowen stood motionless, making no effort to attack. He didn't need to.
Once trapped inside the Black Prison Thunder Realm, King's fate was already sealed.
This was no mere battlefield. It was a world unto itself, one that existed parallel to reality yet defied all natural laws. A space that had been stripped of everything necessary for conventional climates to form, leaving behind only raw, unrelenting thunder.
Ordinarily, when a Logia reshaped the weather, it still obeyed fundamental principles.
The first two stages could be understood as the sheer outpouring of elemental force altering the terrain and, by extension, the atmosphere.
But this… This was the power to manifest the impossible.
Here, Rowen had replaced everything, oxygen, water, even the invisible microorganisms of the air, with pure thunder.
If he willed it, he could erase every trace of matter within this space in an instant, breaking everything down into fundamental energy.
This was the power of the Third Stage, "Assimilation." A force so absolute that it disregarded logic, rewriting existence itself.
King had no means of resistance.
If Rowen willed it, he wouldn't even be able to take a single step.
The only way to fight back was to wield an equal level of Assimilation and pit it against the thunder's dominance.
But King was a Zoan User.
A warrior bound by the primal instinct to fight with body and spirit.
Zoan users had no means to rival Logia's absolute control.
Thus, within this space, only two fates awaited him.
Either he endured the eternal agony of resisting the thunder's corrosion, trapped in ceaseless torment, never eating, never sleeping, never knowing rest…
Or, he succumbed. His body torn apart to its most fundamental components, until nothing remained of him but scattered particles of thunder, consumed by the storm itself.
Chī la!
The thunder, weaving seamlessly through the air, pierced through King's Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) defense. His dark uniform crackled and sizzled, breaking apart into fragments before vanishing into the ether.
Observing King's scorched body, veins bulging and glowing red, Rowen raised an eyebrow. "Is this the price of wielding the 'demonic blade' Blazing Concubine?"
Monstrous blades are infamous across the seas, not just for their overwhelming power, but for the curses they bear.
The most notorious among them is undoubtedly the Kitetsu series, three blades, each said to carry the curse of a "miserable death," striking fear into any who dare wield them.
Then there's the infamous Seven Star Sword, which slowly devours the wielder's sanity, reducing them to a mindless puppet enslaved by the blade's will.
The former Impel Down Warden, "Shiryu of the Rain," once wielded Thunderain, a monstrous blade that grew stronger with every kill.
Even a mere child could become an unstoppable demon through endless slaughter, but at the cost of their own identity, until, inevitably, they too were slain.
For centuries, monstrous blades have passed from hand to hand, their wielders meeting countless fates.
Yet the blades remain eternal.
It's both laughable and terrifying.
This twisted allure of death is the essence of monstrous blades.
Despite his burned and battered state, King remained unfazed. His usually stoic face, terrifying even in normal circumstances, didn't waver as he calmly replied, "Yes. The Blazing Concubine absorbs the fat of those it kills, storing it within its flames. Why would I, its wielder, be an exception?"
"The day I first drew this blade, I nearly burned to death. That is the curse of the Blazing Concubine."
"It buries its power within me. If I were to abandon it, or be defeated, its flames would erupt, consuming me in an inferno, leaving nothing but ashes."
"So I must never lose!"
"I trained like a madman, pushing myself beyond my limits. Anyone who dared stand in my way, I killed them. And in the end, I was left with no choice but to set sail... I kept killing, and by the time I came to my senses, I had become one of the Three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates. Feared across the seas... Isn't it ridiculous?"
King suddenly lowered his head. "Everything I've done... it's all because I'm afraid of death. I am a coward."
He feared death so much that he endured the agony of being burned alive. That same fear drove him to torment and slaughter his enemies mercilessly.
It had to be said...
"Your life truly is a tragic one."
"Heh, I figured I wouldn't hear anything good."
King let out a bitter, exhausted chuckle before lifting his head. His gaze, still burning with intensity, locked onto Rowen.
"But I have one last question for you, Soryu (Azure Dragon)!"
"Speak."
"This technique... You didn't need to use it, did you?"
King's eyes held no fear as he met Rowen's gaze. "I can tell. This move, this entire domain, you created it specifically to deal with Zoan users like us!"
"You've weaponized the greatest strength of Logia, to counter the greatest weakness of Zoan."
Rowen's expression darkened slightly.
"Even now... you remain loyal to Kaido, don't you?"
Realization struck him, and after a brief pause, Rowen nodded firmly.
"That's right."
"Because I don't know if I can kill Kaido. In terms of raw power, I may be unmatched. But I'd be a fool to underestimate the monsters of this world! So I forged this technique... If a boulder cannot be crushed, then it must be cast aside, removed from the battlefield entirely."
"You will never succeed, Soryu (Azure Dragon)!" King declared with unwavering conviction. "Kaido's defense is beyond anything you Marines could ever comprehend!"
"Just wait!"
"The era of pirates is far from over!"
"Kaido's ambition will turn this world, ruled by Imu, upside down!"
Shua...
Hua la la...!
As King's final words echoed, his body began to disintegrate. The Black Prison Thunder Realm itself was a manifestation of Raigo, the divine black sphere of judgment. The fact that he had survived this long within it was a testament to the incredible endurance of an Awakened Zoan user.
But now, with the last breath leaving his lungs, King could hold on no longer.
His body crumbled to dust.
Silence fell over the boundless Black Prison, and Rowen narrowed his eyes, his expression grave.
"So it's true... Kaido knows about Imu's existence."
(End of Chapter)
PS-"For every 200 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-0)!"