WHOOSH—!
Facing the surging sea of searing fire, Borsalino, a Logia-type user, was naturally unfazed.
But Malha couldn't ignore it. He didn't possess the body of a monster; he couldn't simply stand in such intense heat and emerge unscathed. He hurriedly utilized Geppo, kicking off the air to escape into the sky.
"Taking to the air in front of me? How bold," Aeridar sneered savagely, vanishing instantly from his spot.
Pop~
A faint ripple distorted the air.
"!!"
Borsalino's brow twitched.
BAM!
Malha felt his vision blur for a fraction of a second before a sharp, agonizing pain erupted in his abdomen. Just as he was about to be sent flying, he felt a crushing grip tighten around his throat. Air was cut off instantly; he had been caught mid-air.
"You maggot lurking in the shadows... you aren't escaping today!"
Aeridar gripped Malha's neck with a death grip, his voice low and lethal.
"Y-you... b-bastard..."
Malha's face turned a deep crimson. He struggled frantically, clawing at Aeridar's hand in a desperate attempt to break free.
"My, my... what frightening speed. But could I ask you to let him go? Aeridar-sama~"
Suddenly, accompanied by Borsalino's mocking drawl, a blinding flash appeared at Aeridar's side. A long sword of light slashed out silently and swiftly, aiming to cleave him in two.
CLANG—!
Aeridar moved with lightning reflexes, reaching out his free arm. His pitch-black hand caught the blade of light firmly. Sparks erupted in the air, and a powerful gust of wind rippled outward from the point of impact.
"So scary! Truly a monster~" Borsalino pursed his lips. He pointed his index finger at Aeridar, and countless light particles converged at the tip. A cross-shaped glint began to rotate slowly, shining with brilliant intensity.
SHOO—!
A dazzling laser beam shot straight for Aeridar's head.
"D-Die!"
At the same time, Malha, whose vision was fading as he neared suffocation, continued his desperate resistance. His right hand, glowing with a concentrated green light, slapped toward Aeridar.
Pop~
The air rippled again. Malha felt the pressure on his neck vanish; Aeridar was gone.
BOOM!
The golden laser struck the earth hundreds of meters away, triggering a massive explosion. Searing flames shot into the sky, obliterating everything within a hundred-meter radius. The resulting shockwave swept through the area like a gale.
THUD!
Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared behind Malha. Before Malha could even process what was happening, a dull thud echoed. A sharp pain lanced through his back, and he was sent hurtling downward like a black streak, slamming into the ground.
KABOOM—!
The sheer force of the impact carved a massive crater into the earth. Dust billowed and debris flew as cracks spider-webbed out from the center of the impact zone.
In mid-air, Aeridar, having just retracted his right leg, frowned and threw a punch forward.
CLANG!
His obsidian fist collided with a golden light sword. The sound of clashing metal rang out as the intense shockwave warped the surrounding air, creating a visible white ring of pressure that exploded outward.
"Such raw power... what a monster~"
Borsalino's eyelids twitched. The tremendous force vibrating through the Ama no Murakumo sword made his hands tremble.
"Yellow Monkey... you're getting to be a real nuisance."
Aeridar knit his brows, looking at Borsalino with a cold, displeased expression.
"I can't help it. Having to go all out against a monster like you is quite the headache," Borsalino said, scratching his head. "If you can still take out Malha while I'm protecting him, well... then there's nothing more I can do!"
Trading blows again, Borsalino realized that the man before him was no longer the person he had first met in Water 7. High-speed flight, instant teleportation, monstrous strength... every troublesome ability told Borsalino that this opponent had become a true "Monster."
The most irritating ability was the instant movement—short-range, flexible teleportation that even a Light-man found difficult to track and react to.
If it weren't for the direct orders from Sakazuki and the Gorosei to test this man's true strength, Borsalino would never have bothered with such a thankless task. It didn't suit his slippery personality at all.
"Oh? Then let's see just how well you can protect him!"
Aeridar's eyes narrowed, as if he had caught onto something.
"How scary~"
Borsalino muttered to himself, realizing he might have let something slip.
The next second, Aeridar vanished from the air and reappeared instantly on the ground below.
"Dammit!"
Borsalino cursed inwardly and transformed into a golden streak of light, diving downward.
Aeridar looked down at Malha, who was just struggling to his feet inside the crater. Hardening his palm with Armament Haki, he swung it down like a blade.
"Bastard! Decomposition Ray!!"
Seeing Aeridar suddenly in front of him, Malha pointed his finger desperately. A green glow flared, and a thumb-thick beam of green light shot out in a straight line.
Aeridar tilted his body, and the ray grazed his shoulder.
SQUELCH~
Blood sprayed. An arm fell to the ground.
"AARRGGHH—!"
Malha let out a blood-curdling scream, clutching the stump of his arm as thick blood poured through his fingers.
Just as Aeridar was about to deliver the finishing blow to end Malha's life, a vision flashed through his mind, causing him to vanish again.
Immediately after, a golden light-sword slashed through the space Aeridar had occupied, the sharp edge carving a deep fissure into the ground.
Simultaneously, Malha's eyes glowed with an intense green light. Two beams of energy shot from his eyes, remarkably similar to the ability of Scott Summers from the X-Men, though the color was different.
If Aeridar had stayed in that position, he would have been struck by Borsalino's sword and hit by the decomposition rays from Malha's eyes.
"White Snake!!"
As Aeridar reappeared, two snake-like plumes of white smoke surged toward him from his right.
Aeridar frowned and pressed his hand against the air to his side. "Impact Wall!!"
A burst of intense impact force compressed the air, forming three invisible barriers.
BAM!
The two smoke snakes collided with the air walls and burst, creating a massive shroud of white fog.
"This ability... Smoker?!"
Seeing the white smoke, Aeridar immediately knew who had arrived.
The smoke retracted as quickly as it had appeared. Standing dozens of meters to his right was a silver-haired man biting two cigars, looking utterly disgruntled. Beside him stood another man in a checkered coat, holding a simple green bamboo pole.
"'Demon Bamboo' Vergo! 'White Hunter' Smoker! The two titans of G-5!"
Aeridar recognized them immediately and gritted his teeth. "Kizaru... you actually pulled the main force of the G-5 branch here? Aren't you afraid of G-5 falling while they're gone?"
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