"Thunder God... Enel!"
"Gulp... Another monster has appeared!"
"Is this... is this really the end for us today?"
Many recognized Enel, and a wave of utter despair washed over their eyes. One monster had already turned the ground into a carpet of corpses; now that a second had arrived, some simply stopped fighting, waiting for death to claim them.
Mondos Bank crawled out of a crater, his face a mask of blood. He stared blankly at Enel's towering form and muttered bitterly, "I guess today really is going to be my funeral."
"Hahahaha! 'Goddess of Night' above, I, Bank, offer you a sacrifice, either the enemy or myself! Hahahaha!" Bank suddenly burst into a crazed laughter, his expression twisting into pure madness.
"Tch... you've got a sturdy body, I'll give you that," Aeridar remarked. He sent a dozen men flying with a casual shockwave before glancing at the blood-drenched Bank. In his mind, his estimation of the Hard-Hard Fruit's potential rose by several notches.
Boom!
Bank stomped the ground with a ferocious force, shattering the earth beneath him as he launched himself forward like a cannonball.
"Face your execution, Enel!" Bank let out a primal, frenzied roar, swinging his blade through the air toward the God of Skypiea.
"You piece of trash... who gave you permission to speak a God's name?! Thunder Roar Cannon!!"
Enel let out a low, furious growl. His massive Amaru form erupted with blinding lightning, creating a surge of electromagnetic force that yanked several steel blades from the surrounding debris.
Zzzt— Zzzt—
The intense heat of the lightning melted the swords instantly, molding them into a glowing, red-hot iron sphere the size of a football. With a flick of his wrist, the molten sphere turned into a streak of azure light, searing through the air with such heat that the atmosphere itself warped.
Screee—!
The high-pitched whistle of the projectile's flight only reached the ears after it had already passed.
"Hardening: Single Stroke Slash!!!"
Bank didn't even attempt to dodge. Bellowing like a madman, a faint sheen of light flared across his black blade, Kurokawa, as he slashed directly at the oncoming azure streak.
Clang—!
Sparks erupted in the void, followed by the crisp ring of metal on metal. A violent shockwave burst forth, creating a visible ripple in the air that kicked up a localized sandstorm.
Thud! Thud!
The molten iron sphere, sliced perfectly in two, slammed into the ground behind him.
Having cleaved through Enel's projectile, Bank followed up with a horizontal sweep, sending a massive flying slash whistling outward.
Slice—!
Enel's colossal body was bisected, his upper half thrown toward the sky. However, the wound emitted only the crackle and hiss of electricity.
"Troublesome Logia types!" Bank's brow furrowed. He hadn't yet mastered the ability to coat his flying slashes with Armament Haki. Though he had cut through the opponent's form, he hadn't dealt a shred of actual damage.
"You bastard... you dare rend my 'Body'?! 200 Million Volts: Spear of the Thunder God!!!"
Hovering in mid-air, the decapitated upper half of Enel was livid. His lower half exploded into a violent discharge of lightning that was instantly compressed into a viscous, liquid-like plasma, forming a solid, three-meter-long bolt of lightning that looked as real as forged steel.
Zip—!
The spear shot out with unstoppable momentum. The air seemed to be punctured, rippling with white sonic booms and jagged winds as it sought to impale Bank.
"Not good!"
Bank's instincts screamed; every hair on his body stood on end as a heart-chilling sense of danger overtook him. He threw himself to the side. At that exact moment, the spear of lightning grazed past him and slammed into the earth nearly a hundred meters behind him.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of lightning followed. The solidified spear detonated in a world-shaking explosion. A dome of terrifying electrical energy expanded instantly, vaporizing everything within a dozens-of-meters radius and continuing to grow.
"No—!" Bank's eyes went wide with terror as he watched the rapidly expanding dome of lightning swallow him whole.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go overboard!"
Aeridar watched as the dome expanded past a hundred meters and neared his position. He quickly kicked off the ground and took to the sky.
Rumble—!
The earth shook violently, the thunderous roar of the explosion deafening any other sound. A hurricane-like shockwave swept outward, tossing bricks, beams, and debris like autumn leaves, cloaking the entire battlefield in a darkness of rising dust.
"Enel... he's just like the Captain, always doing too much," Mina sighed from the air, watching the carnage in the Inner Keep from a safe distance.
Eventually, the tremors subsided. As the dust settled, a massive crater over three hundred meters in diameter gaped in the center of the Inner Keep. The scorched earth was still glowing hot, and nearly two hundred charred, unrecognizable corpses lay scattered within, a truly gruesome sight.
"Yah-ha-ha-ha!" Enel pulled back the lightning surrounding him and landed on the scorched ground, laughing triumphantly at his handiwork.
Step.
Aeridar drifted down from the sky, landing beside Enel with an annoyed expression. "You bastard, you're a real loose cannon, aren't you?"
Hearing this, Enel snapped back indignantly, "Hey, hey, Captain! You're the last person who should be lecturing me about that!"
On the edge of the crater, a blackened Leog struggled to his feet, gasping for air, his body covered in charred wounds. Near the center of the pit, another blackened figure used a sword as a crutch to slowly stand up.
"Hey... what's with this guy? He still has the strength to stand?" Enel's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the figure.
"His mastery over his fruit is quite impressive," Aeridar recognized the silhouette. He felt a surge of secret delight, whispering to himself: "The Paramecia Hard-Hard Fruit... this ability is definitely worth 'recycling.'"
Even though Enel's spear hadn't scored a direct hit on Bank, being at the heart of that explosion was enough damage to destroy ten Marine Pacifistas.
"You take care of the survivors on the edges. This one is mine," Aeridar commanded with a wave of his hand before charging forward.
"Tch," Enel clicked his tongue but didn't argue. He gripped his golden trident and vanished in a bolt of lightning.
In the crater, Aeridar stood before Bank and growled, "Tell me, where is Malha?"
"Heh... why don't you guess?" Bank blearily looked up, his eyelids heavy, and tried one more time to swing his sword at Aeridar.
"Too weak to even swing a blade, yet you're still talking tough. If you won't talk, I'm sure there's someone in your Church who will," Aeridar narrowed his eyes. He stepped to the side, easily dodging the sluggish strike.
"Hmph. Stay down!"
As Bank stumbled, Aeridar let out a cold snort and delivered a lightning-fast knife-hand strike to the side of Bank's neck.
Thump.
Bank's body stiffened, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped into the dirt, unconscious.
On the other side of the ruins, Enel, wreathed in lightning, drove his golden trident through survivor after survivor. Though Leog tried to resist, he was too heavily wounded to even tap into his Haki. He was no match for a God; within two moves, Enel's trident had pierced his chest.
With that, the high nobles of the Council, the negotiators of the Church of the Night, and the vast majority of the mercenaries lay dead in the ruins of the Inner Keep. The last bastion of resistance in the castle had been extinguished.
A few skilled fighters had managed to flee, but Aeridar and Enel no longer cared. If they ran and never looked back, fine, but if they tried to cause more trouble, the two wouldn't mind swatting a few more flies.