Whoosh!
A split second later, a brilliant green beam erupted like a peerless divine sword, piercing straight through the skull of one of the massive earthen lions.
The beam then swept upward and across like a hot knife through butter, slicing the surrounding stone-and-dirt beasts into fragmented pieces. Massive chunks of earth rained down from the sky.
"Pah! Cough!"
Malha crawled out from the debris, looking toward Aeridar with a grimace. "The powers of the Float-Float Fruit... another troublesome ability."
Zzzzzzt!
Suddenly, arcs of electricity flickered behind him. A right leg, condensed entirely from lightning, materialized and swept toward his back like a razor blade.
Before the blow could land, Malha dropped into a low crouch. The lightning leg whistled over his head, the resulting gale pinning the grass to the soil.
"Decomposition Blade!"
Malha surged upward, his palm coated in a dark, greenish glow. He twisted his waist and delivered a knife-hand strike toward Enel, who was just coalescing back into human form from the lightning.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
Enel remained unfazed. He swiped his hand across his golden staff, coating it in the jet-black sheen of Haki, and thrust it forward to block.
CLANG—!
The hand-blade struck the Haki-enhanced staff with a thunderous metallic ring. The shockwave rippled outward, creating a visible ring of distorted air.
Under the immense pressure, the ground beneath Enel's feet shattered into a web of fine cracks.
"What? He can decompose Haki too?!" Aeridar watched in horror. On the jet-black, metallic surface of the golden staff, the spot struck by Malha's palm had reverted to its original, bright gold color.
"Enel, get back! Impact Wave!"
Aeridar roared from the sky, throwing a punch through the air. Alerted, Enel instantly turned into a bolt of lightning and vanished from the spot.
Vroom—
The air compressed under the sheer force of the impact, unleashing a visible, circular shockwave.
"Dammit!"
Malha lacked Enel's speed. Seeing the shockwave bearing down on him, he crossed his arms over his chest to tank the hit.
BOOM!
The massive shockwave engulfed Malha, blasting him backward. The earth fractured beneath the force, sending tremors through the island. Dust billowed as trees were pulverized into splinters.
When the haze cleared, a trench hundreds of meters long and ten meters wide lay carved into the landscape.
"Cough!"
At the end of the crater, Malha felt every bone in his body aching. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Clang!
Parrying a strike from Oliver, Ryūkawa caught a glimpse of Malha being sent flying and couldn't help but complain: "Good grief! You told me to hold on, how about you hold on yourself?!"
"Distracted during our fight? You're underestimating me! Two-Sword Style: Garuda Slash!" Oliver growled. His muscles swelled as he swung with violent speed.
SKREE—!
Like the shriek of a monstrous bird, a massive, avian-shaped projectile of compressed air whistled toward Ryūkawa.
"Yohehehe~ truly, I can't relax for a second!" Ryūkawa laughed, but he didn't dare take the hit. He dove to the side.
BOOM!
A swathe of forest was launched into the sky. Hundreds of meters away, a jagged stone peak was lopped off at the waist. The upper half fell with a deafening crash, kicking up a wall of dust.
"Yohehehe~ It's only polite to return the favor! My turn, Oliver-sama!"
Ryūkawa's smile vanished. His aura shifted instantly, a piercing sword-intent soaring into the heavens.
"One-Sword Style: Absolute Dragon Strike!"
The snow-bright blade cut through the air, releasing a blinding flash. A terrifying slash streaked past.
ROAR—!
The world seemed to blur. The earth was cleaved open, and even the sea beyond the cliffs was split by a gargantuan, kilometer-long rift. Reefs, fish, sea kings... everything in its path was severed cleanly.
After a long moment, the ocean began to pour back into the abyss, the closing rift creating massive tidal waves that slammed into the canyon walls.
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Standing at the edge of the newly formed fissure, Oliver's eyes blazed with a manic light as he stared at Ryūkawa.
Over the years, he had improved, but the descendant of Ryuma had evolved even further than he anticipated. This was what a duel between swordsmen should be, an evenly matched struggle that pushed both to the limit.
Suddenly, the temperature plummeted. A faint red mist began to swirl around Oliver's body, and both of his famous blades glowed with a sinister crimson light.
"How... exaggerated."
Feeling the tide of thick, suffocating bloodlust, Ryūkawa's face turned solemn. There was a trace of shock in his eyes.
That red mist was materialized killing intent.
How many people must one kill to make their bloodlust take physical form? What kind of swordsmanship was this man practicing?
"Give me everything you've got! Let's enjoy this battle to the fullest!"
Oliver roared, stomping the ground and exploding forward. His twin blades swept out in crimson arcs.
"Interesting! You're a fascinating fellow! Yohehehe—!"
Ryūkawa felt a surge of predatory joy. Swordsmen of this caliber were rare; he wouldn't waste the opportunity. In a clash of masters, the outcome would be decided by skill, or death!
Inheriting the style of the Dragon-Slayer Ryuma, Ryūkawa's strikes were wide, powerful, and ferocious. He unleashed a barrage of wild slashes to meet the onslaught.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Two figures blurred and collided. The screech of three blades clashing filled the air, the metallic echoes vibrating in the ears of anyone nearby. Turbulent air currents tore the top layer of sod from the meadow.
Stray slashes carved the ground into a jigsaw of ruins, and even the canyon walls a hundred meters away began to crack.
"Honestly, they're all monsters. Aren't they worried about collapsing the entire cliffside?"
A few hundred meters up, Mina flapped her massive bat wings, watching the carnage below in awe.
The Chris had already been moved by Aeridar to an altitude of several thousand meters; otherwise, it would have been torn to shreds by the shockwaves. As for Malha's dozen or so subordinates, they had long since fled to a safe distance.
Suddenly, as Mina scanned the horizon, something caught her eye. She quickly pulled out a pair of binoculars.
Five black dots appeared on the sea line.
"The Marines!!!"
Mina cried out. Through the lenses, five Marine-issue battleships appeared on the ocean, their sails clearly bearing the Seagull emblem of the World Government.