The battlefield was collapsing into madness.
Bullet's steel colossus towered over the burning sea, its massive fist crushing a Marine battleship into splinters. The berserk giant roared like a beast possessed, his makeshift club scattering Vice Admirals and shattering towers as if he were a living earthquake.
The Buster Call thundered on, ships spitting fire, Marines screaming, and yet the monsters of Level Six rampaged unchecked.
Magnus raised Shusui, black lightning flaring as his voice split through the chaos, sharper than cannon fire.
"BULLET! GIANT! ENOUGH! FALL BACK TO ME!"
The steel titan froze mid-strike, its crimson eyes flicking toward Magnus's figure wreathed in lightning. Inside, Bullet snarled, but Magnus's command was not one to be ignored.
"WHAT?!" Bullet's voice bellowed from within the iron monster. "We've got the whole damn fleet to crush!"
Magnus's answer was cold, final."Our escape ride is here."
The berserk giant roared in confusion, veins bulging as his fury warred with instinct. But Magnus's gaze locked on him, sharp and unyielding, carrying the weight of a will that bent monsters to heel. Slowly, the giant staggered back toward Magnus's side, his massive chest heaving with wild breaths.
Magnus stood at the center of the storm, his cloak of black lightning snapping in the gale. He looked at Bullet, at the giant, the rouge marine and then at the sea where legends drew closer with every wave.
"Boarding time," he said, his voice calm amidst the panic. "Follow me if you want to live long enough to fight again."
And as the sea trembled with the roar of Elbaf, the monsters of Level Six gathered at their captain's back.
---
The horn of the Giants still echoed across the waves when the Vice Admirals moved.
"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
Like titans falling from the heavens, they struck the ruined surface of Impel Down.
Their cloaks snapped in the firestorm, their bodies wreathed in Armament Haki so dense it shimmered like obsidian.
They formed a wall between Magnus and the sea, weapons drawn, their killing intent like a blade pressed to every throat on the battlefield.
Magnus slowed his step, Shusui humming in his grip. The black blade pulsed with his will as sparks of lightning crawling across its edge. His crew bristled behind him with the rogue Marine spinning his spear into a guard, the giant snarling like a beast still straining against his leash, and Bullet's iron colossus shaking the ground as it crouched low and eager to smash.
The Vice Admirals raised their voices as one, their fury shaking the battlefield.
"MAGNUS! BY THE JUSTICE OF THE WORLD GOVERNMENT STOP THIS MADNESS!
Magnus exhaled once, slow and measured. The weight of their haki pressed against him like a crushing tide and yet… a smile cut across his face.
"Justice you say" he said, his voice a low growl."You think paper decrees and blind obedience can stop us?"
Shusui sang as he raised it, black lightning exploding from his frame. His eyes gleamed like storm-forged steel.
"Then watch as justice breaks."
The clash erupted.
A Vice Admiral lunged first, blade crashing down in a strike that split the ground like an earthquake. Shusui intercepted, black lightning colliding with obsidian haki, the impact hurling shockwaves across the burning ruins.
Bullet roared from within his steel colossus, hurling a mountain of metal into two more Vice Admirals. They carved through it with blades of haki but the distraction let Bullet's fist slam into their guard sending them flying like rag dolls across the stone.
The giant charged mast-club swinging.
One Vice Admiral met him head-on, fists coated in haki as he stopped the club mid-swing. The collision cracked the very air, both titans bellowing in fury.
Through it all, the rogue Marine stayed fixed to Magnus's side. His spear darted in perfect rhythm, cutting down blades and bullets that slipped through. His movements were precise, efficient as his loyalty is absolute.
"Forward, Captain!" he roared, parrying a slash aimed for Magnus's spine. "I'll carve you the path!"
Magnus nodded once, his cloak of lightning flaring as he surged ahead, Shusui cleaving through another Vice Admiral's defense in a spray of sparks and blood.
And then—
Another horn blast. Louder and Closer.
The sea itself seemed to split as the ships of Dorry and Brogy pulled alongside Impel Down. The giants themselves stepped to the railings, their voices booming across the battlefield.
"GEGYAGYAGYAGYA!" Dorry laughed, his sword dripping with seawater as he pointed it at the burning fortress. "Brogy! I see our cargo fighting through the ants!"
"GABABABABABABA!" Brogy bellowed back, slamming his axe against the railing. "Then let's fetch them, before the sea swallows this toy box whole!"
Their crews roared in unison, Elbaf warriors bracing ropes and boarding planks thick enough to carry giants.
Magnus's eyes sharpened. He cleaved through another attack, blood spraying across the stone, and shouted above the chaos:
"Bullet! Giant! Marine! FALL IN NOW!"
His voice cracked like thunder. Even Bullet, laughing like a madman inside his iron beast, turned toward him. The giant snarled, but Magnus's glare held him like chains. The rogue Marine was already moving, covering Magnus's flank as they advanced.
Together, they smashed through the last wall of Vice Admirals. Steel shrieked, haki shattered, blood flew until the path to the sea finally opened.
And there, looming above the ruins, were the massive ladders and ropes of the Giant Warrior Pirates, swaying like bridges to salvation.
"Boarding time," Magnus commanded, his voice calm amidst the carnage.
And with fire and blood still raining around them, the monsters of Level Six leapt onto the ships of legends.