"Get ready. I'm starting!"
Aeridar gave a casual smile and stood up unhurriedly.
"I've been ready, Captain!" Mina's stunning face lit up with a grin, a blood-red glint flickering in her beautiful eyes.
Pop.
Aeridar gave a small nod and vanished from the bell tower, leaving behind nothing but a faint ripple in the air.
In the next heartbeat, Aeridar materialized high above the inner keep of Griffinfort. He cast a deep, piercing gaze at the roof of the grand hall as if looking straight through the people inside. He let out a sharp shout and threw a devastating punch.
"Impact Wave!!!"
Vroom…
The air shrieked. The immense force of his fist and impact energy compressed the atmosphere, creating a visible, violent shockwave that erupted in a massive ring.
BOOM… BOOM!
The crushing force leveled the entire hall instantly. A surge of air kicked up a geyser of dust, and the roar was deafening. Debris rained down like shrapnel; guards nearby were caught in the blast, their heads crushed and skulls shattered as they were buried under the collapsing masonry.
Standing amidst the air, Aeridar looked down with a sinister grin at the chaotic mess of guards below. They scurried blindly like ignorant beasts caught in a natural disaster.
Before long, Aeridar saw figures emerging from the ruins, shoving aside shattered bricks and stone to stand back up. Among them were Mondos Bank of the Church of the Night, a knight radiating powerful vitality, Leog, and several mercenary leaders Aeridar recognized.
Soon, the crowd below spotted Aeridar in the sky. Shock and panic spread like wildfire.
"Well, well... what's wrong with you all? I heard you wanted to resist me?"
"Heh heh heh heh…"
Aeridar bared his teeth, looking down at the crowd with a mocking, playful gaze. His arrogant laughter echoed across the fortress.
"So this is the rumored 'Golden Ring' Aeridar! This aura... he's dangerously powerful!"
The moment Leog laid eyes on Aeridar, his hair stood on end. He felt as if he had encountered his natural predator, a sense of overwhelming crisis akin to a child facing a tiger it couldn't possibly defeat.
Clang…
Bank drew his famous blade, Kurokawa, and pointed the tip toward Aeridar in the sky. "Coming here all by yourself... you really look down on us!"
"Look down on you?" Aeridar's brow arched. "And what if I do?"
"You bastard!"
Furious, Bank kicked off the ground and launched himself into the air like a great roc soaring upward, heading straight for Aeridar.
"Hardening: Soaring Slash!!!"
Mid-air, Bank gripped his sword with both hands. The pitch-black blade shimmered with a faint light as he unleashed a desperate, violent aura. He swung forward; the edge of the blade moved like black lightning, tearing the air apart with a razor-sharp gust of wind that seemed capable of severing anything in its path.
"Good! Armament Hardening: Bear Pillar!"
Aeridar's eyes brightened. He raised his right arm, which instantly swelled and turned into a jet-black iron limb with a metallic sheen.
CLANG—!
The pitch-black fist collided with the blade, producing a sound like a giant bell being struck, a roar so loud it was nearly deafening. The collision of immense forces created a terrifying shockwave that rippled outward, turning into a visible white ring of air.
"Now, get back down there!"
As they locked in a contest of strength, Aeridar let out a sudden roar, and a surge of massive power erupted from him.
"Damn it!"
Bank's eyes widened. The force was irresistible. Lacking any footing in mid-air, he could only watch as Aeridar's fist batted aside his longsword and slammed directly into his chest.
BAM!
Swoosh…
Bank's chest flared with agonizing pain. He spat out a mouthful of blood and shot downward like a black shadow, crashing violently into the earth.
The ground buckled and rose; thick cracks spider-webbed in every direction as a pillar of dust rose ten meters into the air.
"Bank!" Leog cried out in shock. This was the Church's strongest Heresy Executioner, and he couldn't even withstand a single move?
"Sss—"
"M-monster!"
The mercenary leaders gasped, horrified. This was a great pirate with a bounty exceeding 700 million Berries!
Rumble…
The sound of shifting rubble echoed as Bank, half-buried in debris, crawled out of the crater. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he leaned on his sword. His face was pale as he looked toward the sky, his voice raspy. "Such power... it's barely human!"
Aeridar grinned and pointed a finger at Bank. "The time before last, I wasn't home and you slipped away. At Valanfort, I wasn't paying attention and you ran again. This time... I'm definitely going to slaughter you!"
Swoosh—
The words had barely left his mouth when Aeridar dived down, aiming straight for Bank's head.
BOOM—!
The earth shuddered. The ground instantly collapsed and recessed, forming a crater over ten meters in diameter with dense cracks spreading outward.
"Missed." Aeridar frowned slightly, slowly pulling his arm out of the ground.
Whirr…
Suddenly, the wind howled as three maces, carrying a fierce gale, swung toward Aeridar's head.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Aeridar's expression didn't flicker. An intense repulsive force erupted from him as the center, covering all directions. The dust and bricks beneath his feet were blasted outward.
CRASH—!
Leog's face twisted in shock as he was instantly repelled, crashing into a decorative rock garden dozens of meters away.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Under the massive impact, the meter-high rock garden exploded. Countless fragments of stone shot out like high-velocity bullets, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland.
"Anyone else want to try?" Aeridar looked around, his question dripping with ill intent.
"Aeridar-sama, I had no idea we were to be enemies of the Chris Pirates! I'm leaving immediately!"
"This is a misunderstanding! I was tricked into coming; I never accepted their contract!"
"I'm leaving! Right now!"
Faced with Aeridar's overwhelming power, many mercenary leaders lost their nerve. Several started pleading for mercy, preparing to flee on the spot.
"These cowards..."
Bank was nearly spitting blood from rage seeing the mercenaries fold. But he knew that without them, the Church of the Night and the Noble Council would surely fall; there would be no "resisting the Chris Pirates."
Wiping the blood from his lip, Bank shouted persuasively, "You idiots! He's all alone right now! If we join forces and kill him, we'll be famous across the world!"
In an instant, many eyes lit up. Minds began to race. Even those who had just begged for mercy shut their mouths and began to size Aeridar up.
"Interesting!"
Aeridar bared his teeth in a grin. Looking at the mercenary leaders who were clearly tempted, he said contemptuously, "You think a pack of rabble can do it? Fine. I actually brought a small island from across the sea just to carry all the treasure I've plundered!"
"If you can drive me back... I'll give all that treasure to you!"