"W-What is that?"
"A monster... is it that same monster from before?"
Under the collective gaze of countless Mink warriors, a terrifying creature resembling a God of Fire manifested in the sky.
That pitch-black body, wreathed in incinerating flames, radiated such intense heat that the very air before them began to shimmer and warp. Rolling heatwaves lashed out; the great trees, still wet from the recent rain, began to hiss and smoke as the moisture was instantly vaporized. The atmosphere, which had only just cooled down, became stiflingly hot once more.
"Just what kind of ability user is he?" Inuarashi's voice was little more than a pained groan.
Shockwaves, flight, levitating a Poneglyph, pulling a thirty-centimeter red gourd out of a palm-sized pocket, and now this fire demon... just how many Devil Fruit powers did this man possess?!
"Wasn't it said he was a dual-ability user? This is way more than two!" Nekomamushi was nearing his breaking point. How were they supposed to fight a body like that? Get too close and your fur would ignite; touch him and you'd be roasted alive.
Above the Whale Forest.
"So hot... it's burning!"
Aeridar gritted his teeth. The sensation of heat was overwhelming. Even though Zhurong was doing his best to suppress the temperature directed inward, Aeridar was still a creature of flesh and blood. Any ordinary man would have been cooked through by now.
"Ten minutes. I can probably maintain this state for about ten minutes. Any longer and my body will suffer serious burns," Aeridar estimated, feeling his limits.
"Then we have to finish the battle within ten minutes, Master!" Zhurong's tiny face flickered upon the flame armor over Aeridar's chest.
"Let's take the challenge—toppling a whole nation in ten minutes! Heh-heh-heh..." Aeridar's lips curled. His expression was no longer just sinister; it was pure madness.
Subjugating a powerful nation of a warrior race in under ten minutes… was there anything more insane than that?
Pop~
Aeridar vanished abruptly from the air.
"Watch out! He's coming!"
Inuarashi saw Aeridar disappear and shouted a desperate warning.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a shockwave laced with fire exploded within the forest. Over a dozen warriors from the Guardians were sent flying. Some tumbled across the ground while others slammed into trees, coughing up blood, their bodies charred black.
"There he is!" a Mink warrior shrieked in terror.
The Minks turned their eyes to see a humanoid monster wreathed in flames standing in the middle of the woods, the scorching heat radiating from him like a sun.
"You Minks... give in to despair! Hahahaha!" Aeridar laughed manically. A staggering amount of killing intent surged through the area like a tidal wave, leaving countless warriors chilled to the bone despite the heat.
"Kill him!"
"Revenge!"
The Mink warriors roared, their collective spirit exploding as they forcibly bolstered their morale for one final stand.
BOOM!
Violent explosions rocked the Whale Forest. Flames shot into the sky as the searing heat descended once more.
Vast numbers of Mink warriors swarmed the central "Fire Demon." Even as they were blasted away or killed on the spot, more rushed forward to take their place, charging fearlessly into the maw of death.
Ten minutes later.
Flames licked the sky and thick black smoke spiraled into the heavens. A third of the Whale Forest had been reduced to a smoldering ruin. Wildfires still crackled through the undergrowth, and the occasional groan of a falling tree punctuated the silence.
One after another, Mink warriors lay scattered across the charred earth of the Whale Forest. Some were still breathing, while others had long since grown cold.
Broken weapons, blackened soil, burning timber, and a battlefield in total disarray, everything bore witness to the sheer brutality of the conflict.
"M-Monster..."
Inuarashi narrowed his eyes, catching one final glimpse of the man before him. His standing frame swayed twice before he finally collapsed face-first into the dirt with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of ash.
With charred fur, a body covered in wounds, and a snapped longsword still gripped in his hand, the Ruler of Day, Duke Inuarashi, had fought until the very end.
Not far away, the Ruler of Night and Guardian of the Whale Forest, Nekomamushi, had already fallen. His fur was equally scorched, his body battered, and his double-headed trident was twisted like a pretzel, discarded against a nearby tree.
"Monster? Is that a compliment? Heh-heh-heh..."
A perverse laugh rang out. Aeridar's cold gaze pierced through the fading flames, looking down at the fallen Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, and the decimated ranks of the Musketeer Squad and the Guardians.
The two "Rulers" of this country and the vast majority of its warriors had been defeated. Aside from ordinary civilians with some fighting ability and a handful of stragglers, the nation was effectively stripped of its military power.
A ball of fire flew off Aeridar's body, floating in mid-air.
The next moment, Aeridar's frame rapidly shrank. The black Armament Haki receded, revealing skin that had turned bright pink from the high temperatures. He was shrouded in a thick veil of white steam as his body heat bled off into the air.
"Master, these guys have tenacious life force. A lot of these 'Beast-men' are actually still alive!" Zhurong flew over, leaning in to inspect the fallen Inuarashi.
"If they survived my attacks, so be it. The goal has been achieved regardless." Aeridar looked around with indifference. Given his overwhelming strength, he knew that for the survivors, he had left behind a psychological shadow that would never fade.
"Master, are we still going to the place of those five old geezers?" Zhurong turned to ask.
Aeridar shook his body, vibrating away the sweat covering his skin. He looked up at the red Poneglyph floating in the sky and said deeply, "Of course. The core data of the Brain Domain Experiments is of the utmost importance. The human brain is the most complex part of the body. To achieve true evolution, there is no way to bypass the mind!"
"Brain domain? The brain? Experiments? Evolution?" Zhurong wrinkled his tiny face and shook his head. "I don't get it!"
"Heh... I always wondered how Doflamingo got his hands on that data so easily back then. It turns out the most critical files were kept under lock and key; he just got the leftovers!" Aeridar chuckled to himself before continuing under his breath, "Without the Op-Op Fruit to perform the Perpetual Youth Surgery, hmph... it seems those guys have been conducting their own research in the shadows. I wonder what solution Vegapunk, the man said to possess wisdom 500 years ahead of humanity, has come up with for them?"
"Vegapunk... I've heard that name! Several doctors back at the base mentioned him!" Zhurong chirped happily, pleased to have recognized a name.
"Let's go. This place has become boring."
Aeridar waved his hand and produced the red gourd. Zhurong obediently flew inside.
With a surge of power, Aeridar took to the sky. The blood-red Poneglyph drifted along with him as he soared into the clouds, leaving behind a nation broken and scarred.
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