"Pirates will always be pirates, filthy, reeking scum."
Even as he hurled insults at Aeridar, Lion was secretly panicking. Damn it... I miscalculated!
Animating objects didn't normally drain much stamina, but after that grueling battle, and his own serious injuries, his reserves were nearly empty.
And now? He'd just animated a massive metal black dragon.
The effort had drained him dry. His energy was down to barely ten percent, he didn't even have enough left to animate another wave of constructs to pin down Aeridar's forces.
But if he hadn't healed himself first, he'd already be at Aeridar's mercy. Now he was stuck, wounded, exhausted, and completely out of options. A tactical dead end.
Aeridar, of course, wasn't an idiot. He saw the pale face, the ragged breaths, the tremble in Lion's shoulders. It all spelled exhaustion. And yet, this was the same Lion who had just fled like a demon unleashed even while grievously wounded. That meant he had stamina before. So where did it all go?
"You nobles really think you're something, huh? Kingdom's been dead for centuries, and you still parade around like you're royalty. You're nothing but garbage, filthy and worthless trash."
Aeridar hurled the insult as he ran calculations in his head, estimating Lion's stamina drain. The fierce battle from earlier, the near-awakened healing surge, the explosive sprint… it all added up.
A smirk tugged at the corner of Aeridar's lips. He'd figured it out.
That glove, clearly embedded with some kind of tech, had devoured a Devil Fruit. But not a Zoan-type, since it didn't become a living thing.
That meant it was a Paramecia, a Superhuman-class Fruit that granted special abilities.
Now here's the thing: inanimate objects don't generate energy. So when the gauntlet activates its power to animate other objects, where does the energy come from?
Simple, Lion himself.
That means Lion was, for all intents and purposes, wielding the abilities of two Devil Fruits. The price? His stamina. The bigger the object he animated, the heavier the toll.
And now? He'd brought a full-sized metal black dragon to life.
No wonder the guy looked like he was about to keel over. All he could do was cling to the dragon's back, too weak to even dismount.
"You bastard…"
Lion's gaze turned murderous. His noble status had always been a source of pride, and Aeridar had just trampled on it like filth beneath his boot. The rage that surged within made him want to strike the man down then and there.
"You damn mongrel, crush him! Kill him!"
ROOAARR!
As soon as the words left his mouth, the metal black dragon let out a deafening bellow, its metallic wings sweeping outward with a rush of hurricane wind. Its massive frame surged forward, raising a claw to slam down on Aeridar with merciless force.
BOOM!
The steel dragon's talons crashed against the plaza, shattering stone and sending a tremor across the entire square.
"Shit! With a body that big, and made of metal? Even a giant wouldn't stand a chance!"
Aeridar leapt aside, eyes narrowing as the quake pulsed beneath his feet.
Whoosh—!
Another dragon claw came screaming down, razor-sharp and black as pitch, slicing the air with enough force to make standing upright a challenge.
THUD!
Aeridar met the strike with a flying uppercut, fist smashing into the descending claw. The impact exploded like muffled thunder, distorting the air around them. A powerful shockwave burst outward, nearly snuffing out the candlelight from the walls.
Aeridar twisted mid-air and landed with feline grace.
But the metal dragon… it stumbled. As though slammed by a hidden force, its body staggered backward, claws gouging trenches in the plaza tiles as the ground cracked beneath its weight.
"You idiot. I'm the one with the Impact-Impact Fruit, you really think an attack like that would work on me?"
Aeridar scoffed, slamming his foot into the earth with a mighty crack. The force launched him skyward like a cannonball.
Seeing him ascend, the black dragon responded with another colossal strike from above, talons falling like judgment from the skies.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM…
Up in midair, Aeridar stepped lightly across the sky, executing Geppo with practiced ease. With a blur of movement, he dodged each incoming attack and, in the blink of an eye, closed the distance to the Metallic Black Dragon's face.
"Armament Haki: Hardening."
His expression sharpened. A dark, steel-like sheen spread across his right leg as he whipped it around in a blisteringly fast arc, so fast it looked like a phantom limb.
The air screeched with the sound of cloth tearing as his Haki-coated whip kick slammed squarely into the dragon's skull.
DOOM!
A sound like a bell being struck thundered through the air. The impact's shockwave burst outward like a cyclone, howling as it tore through the plaza.
BOOM!
The Metallic Black Dragon reeled from the blow. Smashed in the head, its massive body toppled like a collapsing tower. The weight of its armor-plated frame struck the plaza with such force that stone tiles shattered on impact, spiderweb cracks spreading in all directions.
"You think this tin can's gonna beat me? Keep dreaming."
Aeridar twisted mid-air and landed in a smooth flip, sneering with contempt. "Now that you're here… you're not going anywhere."
"Damn it…!"
The man standing atop the dragon, 'Lion,' looked pale and grim. He didn't even have enough stamina left to activate his Devil Fruit. Zoan-types healed quickly, sure, but without a fully awakened form, his recovery was far from instantaneous.
ROARRR!
The Metallic Black Dragon, still seething from the whip kick, let out a furious howl. It surged to its feet and lunged forward, wings flaring, fangs bared as it dove at Aeridar.
Aeridar didn't even flinch.
His eyes rolled with boredom, and then, vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of the dragon's chest.
His fingers clenched into a fist, muscles tightening with power.
From more than a meter away, he punched the air.
Maximum Ring: Impact Wave!!!
WHOOOM!
The air itself buckled. In a thirty-meter radius, turbulent winds exploded outward. Pressure condensed into white shock-force, and in the next instant—
KA-BOOOOOOM!
A blinding white flare tore across the battlefield. The blast ripped through the plaza, annihilating the stone tiles beneath it, reducing them to dust in a tide of raw force.
The Metallic Black Dragon was hurled backwards like a ragdoll, its towering frame slamming into the wall behind with devastating force.
The impact shook the entire underground structure, the wall cratering beneath its weight. The 'Lion', still standing on the dragon's head, was caught full-force in the blast.
It was like getting hit by a warhammer. His bones cracked audibly. Blood gushed from his mouth.
Dust choked the air.
The plaza was wrecked.
Fissures split the floor and walls. Debris and powdered stone rained from the ceiling. For a moment, it felt like the whole underground arena was about to cave in.
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