Chapter 489: All-Out War
The scorched earth was still smoking, the air thick with the mixed scent of blood and sulfur.
The once incomparably holy Mary Geoise was now nothing but blackened ruins and fractured earth.
The black pentagram array had long since dissipated, yet the oppressive pressure blanketing heaven and earth grew increasingly heavy—
An aura more suffocating than death itself was slowly surging from deep underground.
On that devastated battlefield, Saint Garling stood at the very center. His crescent-moon hair had long come undone, dancing wildly in the fierce gale.
Behind him were Saint Shanks and Saint Shamrock—
The two stood shoulder to shoulder, their expressions as cold as ice.
Further back, a full nine members of the God's Knights stood in a neat formation. Clad in ancient armor, golden holy crests gleamed upon their chests.
And in the shadows further beyond, the four Mythical Zoan Five Elders had fully revealed their beast forms—
—Saint Nusjuro, in his half-human skeletal horse form, gripping the Shodai Kitetsu, exuding a piercing chill;
—Saint Mars, his twin wings stained with blood, toxic flames and black mist flowing between his feathers;
—Saint Ju Peter, the King of Sandworms coiled like a mountain, his serpentine pupils flashing with golden light;
—Saint Warcury, the giant Fengxi boar covered entirely in heavy black armor, his four hooves stomping the ground, making the mountains and rivers rumble.
Their roars tore the sky asunder. The sea of clouds was shattered into vortexes, and lightning coursed through the air.
The entire world seemed to tremble under this power.
High in the sky, the wind pressure was like sharp blades. Garp wore a stern expression, his muscles taut, the Haki enveloping his body as heavy as a mountain range.
He didn't speak much. He simply raised his fist slowly, the pitch-black Armament Haki sparking with thunderous electric arcs across his arm.
The three brothers—Ace, Luffy, and Sabo—stood side by side. The auras around them were boiling, with flames, dragon breath, and wind pressure intertwining. Their battle intent burned like raging fire.
But at this moment, Roy did not move.
His gaze was not focused on the divine army before him, an army capable of destroying heaven and earth—
Instead, he looked past them, gazing further away at the scorched earth that had been smashed deep underground by the entire island and was now slowly rising.
CRACK—!
A bizarre cracking sound echoed from underground, as if tens of thousands of fissures were spreading simultaneously. The cracks snaked and crawled, pulsating like blood veins within the earth.
Then, the ground violently ruptured!
Pitch-black energy spewed forth, pouring down like liquid night. It devoured light, corroded the air, and even dyed the color of the sky into a gloomy crimson-black.
Within those churning black flames, an indescribably ancient power slowly awakened.
Whoosh—
The howling wind abruptly stopped. Only a deafening roar like a beating heart remained between heaven and earth.
A colossal dark silhouette that blotted out the sun and sky rose from the abyss.
It was an existence that could not be described with words—
Behind it stretched a pair of massive, bat-like black wings. Bizarre runes flickered upon the wing membranes;
A long, pointed tail coiled in the air, its terminal bone spur shaped like an arrowhead, gleaming with a dark red light.
Her face was covered in shadows. Only those deep red, slit-like pupils could be seen—indifferent, ancient, looking down upon all creation.
—Imu.
That name, erased by history and forgotten by the world, finally emerged from hell once again.
Roy raised his head, his eyes narrowing slightly, a very faint smile curling on his lips.
"Yo~ This look... it really has been a long time."
The black wings spread open in the fierce gale, the resulting air currents slicing through the air like blades.
Beneath those sky-obscuring wings, shadows swallowed half the firmament.
Imu's ancient and hollow voice slowly echoed, carrying a coldness that was both pitiful and arrogant:
"Roy, I did not wish to make an enemy out of you... why must you take things to this extent?"
Roy raised his eyes, his expression calm and unruffled: "Saint Imu—drop the act."
"I couldn't be more familiar with your 'tricks'."
"Whether it was thirty-eight years ago, or eight hundred years ago..."
"—What?!"
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this!
Even Shanks's usually calm face instantly displayed an unbelievable tremor.
Saint Garling roared angrily, his voice echoing between heaven and earth: "Nonsense! Roy!! What delusions are you spouting—!!"
However, Roy's gaze remained entirely unmoved.
He couldn't even be bothered to look at that group of roaring "Divine Puppets."
His gaze was firmly locked solely on the pupils of that black-winged demon.
"Elbaf... Rocks..."
He softly uttered those names long buried by time, his voice carrying a bone-piercing sneer.
"This time, I absolutely won't let you use those methods again—to make an entire era repeat itself."
As those words fell, Imu's pupils shrank slightly.
Black energy surged at her chest, and the air abruptly solidified.
After a moment of silence, her voice abruptly turned freezing cold.
"...Roy, you have ultimately reached this step after all."
Immediately after, she violently flapped her wings—
"—Annihilate them, completely!"
That single command was like a god's judgment upon all creation.
"ROAR—!!!"
The four Mythical Zoans roared simultaneously. Heaven and earth shuddered, and the airwaves transformed into monstrous tidal waves sweeping in all directions!
They charged forward in unison with the nine God's Knights. Their speed was so fast that the air let out wails of agony!
The ground beneath their feet was torn to shreds, rolling forward like a raging magma tsunami!
Just at the instant the killing intent swept over, a blindingly bright, searing red light suddenly illuminated the sky!
"RUMBLE—!!!"
An earth-shattering boom, followed immediately by two roars that shook the nine heavens—
"—Ryusei Kazan (Meteor Volcano)!!!"
"—Asaenjaku (Morning Flame Sparrow)!!!"
The voices detonated like thunder, descending from the sky with endless majesty!
Countless giant magma fists and azure flame fireballs poured down from the cloud layers. Tearing across the horizon like falling meteors, they dyed the entire sky into a sea of raging flames where red-gold and azure-blue intertwined!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!"
The firelight of the explosions swept out like raging waves. The ground trembled, burned until it cracked and churned. The heatwaves were like the breath of hell, scorching the air until it warped!
"Foolish mortals—!"
A furious roar echoed from below. Saint Warcury had completely transformed into a massive Mythical Boar. Covered entirely in heavy black armor, his eyes had turned into blood-red orbs of fire!
He leaped fiercely, his colossal body jumping straight hundreds of meters into the air.
"ROAR—!!!"
Using his mountain-like back, he forcefully met the sky full of magma fists and fireballs head-on!
"BOOM—!!!"
Continuous explosions lit up the firmament. Raging flames and magma detonated across his back, the golden-red firelight burning his thick carapace until it glowed red-hot.
But he still gritted his teeth and roared, using his sturdy body to block this first wave of heavenly fire bombardment.
However, before the firelight could disperse, new auras pressed down from the horizon—
BZZT—!
Lightning tore through the air, and golden light pierced through the cloud layers!
High in the sky, four formidable auras abruptly appeared!
Lightning, golden light, magma, and airwaves intertwined into a dazzling torrent, illuminating the entire battlefield!
Four figures emerged side by side in the sky—
Sakazuki, Borsalino, Enel, and Zephyr!
Sakazuki snorted coldly in a deep voice. Magma flowed down his shoulders, dripping into the void like molten iron.
"It seems... we arrived just in time."
Kizaru had his hands in his pockets, his mouth crooked in a lazy smile, yet his tone lacked its usual frivolity:
"Kowai ne~ (How scary~) Once this fight is over, I'm retiring~"
Lightning burst beneath Enel's feet. Holding his golden staff horizontally, his expression was rebellious and wild: "Heh... I finally get to electrocute a few guys who call themselves 'Gods'."