"...If you had said this just before the fight started, I would have seriously considered your suggestion, but not now."
Bazel slowly straightened his somewhat hunched back.
The largely shattered crimson-gold scales gradually retracted into his skin, and the restless earth calmed in that moment.
The poisonous mist was soon carried away by the wind.
Frequent coughs came from Bazel's mouth.
Staring at the blood clots in his palm, Bazel knew he had reached his limit.
The Gear 2: Blazing Molten Body already tested the body's endurance, and on top of that, he truly was no match for Rayleigh in his current state.
Although it was only half an hour of clashing, his current physical strength simply couldn't compare to the monsters of the sea.
Bazel knew he was still young and he had plenty of time to temper his body.
But fighting is like life itself.
Enemies and life itself will never wait for you to be ready before they attack. Without the conviction to face the gate of hell without fear, he would inevitably become a complete failure one day.
Ten Phantom Serpent Spirits slithered out from various places, coiling around their master's feet.
They raised their heads, their opened eyes as if nurturing a sun within.
Blinding spots of light emerged from the depths of their pitch-black pupils.
"I am…"
Another few mouthfuls of blood sprayed out. Bazel didn't care in the slightest, instead he chuckled darkly, "My favorite thing is watching the world gradually transform into the shape I want to see, according to my plans."
"I love plans. I hate unexpected surprises outside of plans."
"But life itself is an accident. We come into this world by accident, and leave it by accident."
"We bring nothing when we come, and after death, we can take nothing with us except memories."
"Our souls are like this world's battery charge. We die, the charge is restored. When we want to walk this world again, the charge is consumed again."
"Over and over."
Rayleigh frowned deeply, staring at Bazel, "What are you trying to say? No, what are you trying to do?"
"Even if I fail, I don't want to lose in such an ugly manner."
Bazel took several deep breaths, as if steeling his resolve. The smile hanging on the corner of his mouth suddenly gained a hint of madness.
"I am unwilling to become a mere background character of this era."
"If I fail, then it just proves that I am only this much after all."
"A me like that, even if I keep living, would definitely lack the ability to change this world."
"The weak are not worthy of changing the world!!"
Bazel took a deep breath. One by one, the Phantom Serpent Spirits were inhaled into his body.
Seven...
His previous limit.
Bazel's wide-open eyes were full of crimson blood vessels.
The eighth!
Thump! Thump!!
The earth pulsed in time with Bazel's heartbeat!
"Not enough... It's still not enough!!"
Conqueror's Haki erupted!
An aura dozens of times more ferocious than before burst out from Bazel's body, spreading indiscriminately outwards.
The altered Haki, carrying a fierce gale, swept through the area!
It was only at this moment that Rayleigh's expression finally turned grave.
And precisely because of this outburst, Kaido, who was fighting not far away, paled drastically.
Forgetting his entanglement with Roger, he turned his head sharply to look towards Bazel.
"Bazel!!!"
"Kaido-san, I... I've decided to force the growth."
Bazel grabbed the ninth Phantom Serpent Spirit. Ignoring his splitting skin, he slurped the serpent spirit into his mouth like it was a snack.
The ninth one, soul ingested!
Thump~
Thump~~
The intervals between the heartbeats grew longer, but the intensity of each beat rapidly increased.
Bazel hung his head low, eyes slightly closed, the blood flowing from his mouth filling the shallow pit at his feet.
"..."
"Bazel!! Hey, don't you dare joke around with me!"
Sensing Bazel's life force beginning to fade, Kaido smashed Roger away with his kanabo and roared towards the man.
"You bastard! Didn't you say you were going to change this world together with me?! Dying like this doesn't suit you, you damn bastard!!"
Not far away, the battle between King and Gaban was also forced to stop.
"Is that kid crazy? That move shouldn't be something he can use now, right?"
Gaban wiped the blood from his forehead and asked quietly, "Aren't you going to stop him?"
King shook his head. His injuries weren't severe, and the innate stats of the Lunarian race meant he rarely suffered heavy wounds.
Although he hadn't landed many effective attacks either, compared to Bazel, the injuries he had sustained couldn't even be called wounds.
"No one can stop Bazel once he's decided something. And I believe he won't die."
"A man not easily erased by the sea... how could he possibly die in a place like this!"
Even so, King's fists were clenched tight, the slight trembling frequency noticed by Gaban.
But he didn't choose to mock him at this moment.
Believing in their comrade, yet fearing their death… it wasn't something to be ashamed of.
If Rayleigh or Roger were to die one day, Gaban believed he would definitely cry his eyes out.
"Hey, open your eyes, you damn bastard!"
Kaido's roar resounded through the sky.
"Don't lose to something like this! You're my brother!!"
The long-lost sound of a heartbeat resounded once more.
In that moment, Roger raised an eyebrow, the smile vanishing from his face, his expression becoming even graver than when he was fighting Kaido.
"Rayleigh, that guy's awake, no! That monster... is awake!"
Boom…!!!
A blood-red pressure shot through the clouds!
This immense aura swept past Grove 16, spreading indiscriminately towards the nearby districts.
One by one, humans and fish-men alike rolled their eyes back, fainting and collapsing.
"The aura of a wild beast." Roger sheathed his sword, "Your First Mate has changed. Now he truly deserved to be called a ferocious beast."
"This kind of aura is definitely not something a human can possess, Kaido!"
Hearing this, Kaido grinned fearlessly, "I don't care about any of that! So what if he's a ferocious beast? Even if he truly becomes a monster, he's still my brother!"
"Gear 3..."
Bazel's fingers twitched, clenching into a fist a few seconds later!
"Setting Sun Body."
His lowered head rose, his eyes completely bloodshot, the golden vertical pupil at the center as conspicuous as the setting sun!
"Hahahahaha!!"
He laughed maniacally, his left hand covering his face. The scales regrowing on his body showed a golden-red hue like that of twilight.
"Come on!"
"Round three!!"
Bang!!
The ground was stomped into a crater several meters deep by the tremendous force.
Bazel, who had been standing there, vanished, turning into a lingering streak of light.
Rayleigh, who had long been on high alert, subconsciously raised his sword to block the fist that suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"Second Style: Blazing Sun."
Bang…!!
Fierce flames erupted from the surface of the fist, bypassing the blade to strike directly at the enemy's body.
"!!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Rayleigh first pulled back his sword and retreated a step, then raised his knee in an upward thrust.
It met the enemy's identical knee strike.
Bazel's eyes now were full of brutality and mockery. Without a second thought, his left hand struck directly at the opponent's sword-wielding right wrist.
His right hand was coiled in two types of Haki.
Third Style: God Hunter!
A punch slammed into the enemy's blocking left arm, pushing it with full force towards the opponent's chest, then transformed from a fist into a claw.
Sharp fingertips plunged straight into the enemy's body!
"You!?" Rayleigh finally understood what the other intended to do, his expression shifting slightly.
"You can't run, prey."
Third Style: Twilight Spear Kai!
His left fist shot out at extreme speed, completely disregarding the enemy's blade descending in a counterattack.
Pfft~
His left arm was severed at the elbow. Bazel jumped back several steps, his face devoid of any expression twisted in pain.
Instead, it was filled with pleasure.
"One left hand for your right hand, heh..."
The bleeding wound on his left arm closed in an instant, but Bazel seemed dissatisfied. His sharp right claw plunged into the flesh and tore forcefully.
The flesh was flung away, revealing a bone spur with a slanted edge.
"Now, I have a sword too."
Reflected in his pupils was Bazel's pleased, nodding, lunatic expression. Rayleigh pulled the severed hand stuck in his right shoulder, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly.
"Not bad. But your turn is over, right? It's my turn now."
Taking the sword in his left hand, Rayleigh tried to move his right arm, only to find the familiar limb now weak and limp.
"This is a truly terrible situation. To have my right hand injured by you. But it doesn't matter."
Swish--!!
Ding!
The Haki-coated bone spur blocked the tip of the attacking blade.
A raised knee strike was intercepted by the enemy in the same manner.
A punch thrown with his right fist was deftly neutralized by the enemy's swinging Armament Haki-coated right arm.
The blade disengaged from the bone spur and swung down hard.
The expression on Rayleigh's face became somewhat similar to Bazel's.
It was the madness of being completely immersed in the joy of battle.
Pfft!
The sound of overlapping blades piercing flesh rang out.
Ignoring his injury, Bazel lunged forward, pushing against the enemy's blade. The left bone spur successfully pierced Rayleigh's right chest.
Rayleigh (Lunatic State): "Die, Bazel!"
Bazel (Lunatic State): "Die, Rayleigh!!"
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