Loggert's pupil contracted violently as he stared at the fully unleashed Black Blade · Eight Desolations in Gern's hand.
The dark-red fissures crawling along the blade, and the high-frequency hum of vibration tearing through the air, stabbed straight into his eardrums.
"…That's a damn fine weapon," Loggert muttered.
Not just any weapon could endure Devil Fruit power being channeled through it—
and the blade in Gern's hand was clearly far beyond ordinary steel.
"C-Captain! That's… a Devil Fruit ability?!"
The Blood Spear pirates finally reacted, swallowing hard as they shouted.
"Paramecia…?"
Loggert's expression slowly twisted into something feral.
"No wonder you dared to come alone."
He paused, eye narrowing.
"But… this power feels familiar."
"Captain Loggert—"
"What are you afraid of?!"
Loggert snapped, whipping his cloak aside. The salvaged Marine insignia clattered sharply against each other.
"I've seen more Devil Fruit users in the Grand Line than you've had hot meals!"
Before the words even finished—
Loggert exploded forward.
Blood Beak shot out like a venomous serpent, the hooked spearhead ripping through the air as it went straight for Gern's throat.
"Die, you Marine brat!"
Gern didn't move.
He didn't even blink.
Buzz.
The spear pierced straight through his body—
yet there was no blood.
"What?!"
Loggert's eyes bulged as he stared in disbelief at the empty strike.
In the next instant, Gern's body dissolved into countless trembling particles—then reformed behind him.
"Just as I thought," Gern's voice came calmly from behind.
"You assumed I was Paramecia."
Loggert spun around.
Gern stood three steps behind him, the vibration sphere in his hand glowing brighter than before.
"No wonder you fled the Grand Line," Gern said, undisguised mockery in his tone.
Loggert's face turned livid.
With a furious roar, Blood Beak split apart and reassembled mid-motion, becoming twin short spears. An eerie crimson glow flared at their tips.
"Don't look down on me, brat!"
He crossed the spears and lunged forward like a phantom.
"Twin Beak—Heart Piercer!"
Gern finally moved.
He simply raised a hand.
Vibration particles flowed like water, wrapping around his arm.
"Vibration Wall."
BOOM!
Both spears slammed into an invisible barrier. A violent shockwave detonated outward, flinging nearby pirates off their feet like rag dolls.
The ground cracked. Stones exploded upward.
Yet Gern didn't so much as stir—his clothes didn't even flutter.
After several seconds of relentless assault, cold sweat began to bead on Loggert's forehead. His hands trembled slightly from striking the vibrating barrier again and again.
He grit his teeth and leapt backward, forcibly widening the distance, his expression flickering between rage and shock.
"Damn it… cursed Logia…"
His voice warped with disbelief before erupting into a furious howl.
"That's why I hate you bastards blessed by fate!"
He stomped down hard—
the ground shattered beneath his foot.
Blood Beak spun in his grasp, its hooked spearhead turning jet-black with hardened Armament Haki.
"You lucky freaks who think a single fruit makes you special!"
Veins bulged in Loggert's eyes.
"In the Grand Line, I've seen plenty just like you—
and they all died like stray dogs!"
Gern didn't answer.
His figure vanished.
"Vibration Shift · Rail Slide!"
Transparent vibration rails appeared in midair. Gern's body was launched forward as if fired from a cannon.
In the same instant, Eight Desolations rose overhead.
The vibrations condensed into a visible white blade of light as it came crashing down toward Loggert's head!
Before the sword even landed, the ground split apart from the sheer force. The dockstones crumbled layer by layer like brittle crackers.
Loggert grinned savagely.
He didn't dodge.
Blood Beak, coated in Armament Haki, thrust upward to meet the strike head-on!
CLANG—!!
A deafening metallic crash erupted as blade and spear collided, sparks exploding in every direction.
"…What strength!"
Loggert stiffened for a split second, clearly startled by the sheer force behind the blow.
At the same time, Gern's eyes narrowed.
Loggert's Armament Haki had actually withstood the vibration head-on—and the rebound sent a numbing shock through Gern's grip!
"Hey, Marine brat," Loggert spat, twisting his spear.
"Your combat experience is garbage."
Black mist-like Haki coiled around the spearhead, the hooked barbs gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Gern said nothing.
He raised Eight Desolations, the blade screaming as high-frequency particles danced along its edge like lightning.
"Vibration Break."
The blade fell.
The air was ripped apart.
A massive fan-shaped slash carrying violent vibration waves tore forward—
the ground shattered, buildings collapsed, even space itself seemed to crack!
Loggert snarled and charged straight into it.
"Blood Feast Thrust · Sea-Piercer!"
The Haki-hardened spearhead slammed head-on into the vibrating slash.
BOOM—!!!
The shockwave exploded.
Loggert was hurled back several steps, blood bursting from his torn grip and dripping down his wrist.
At the same time—
A thin line of red slowly appeared across Gern's chest.
A shallow cut.
His body—meant to be fully elemental—had been grazed.
"…Armament Haki?"
Gern retreated half a step, surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Ha… hahahaha!!"
Seeing Gern hesitate, Loggert burst into manic laughter, eyes blazing with unrestrained excitement.
"You don't even know Armament Haki?!"
Gern glanced down at the wound on his chest, genuine surprise flickering across his gaze.
That reaction sent Loggert into full hysteria.
He slammed Blood Beak into the ground and lifted his chin arrogantly.
"Didn't expect that, did you, brat?!"
"I'm a man who's fought real monsters in the Grand Line!"
"Haki—that is the proof of the strong!"
Seizing on Gern's weakness, Loggert surged forward.
Blood Beak became a storm.
Each thrust was wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki, stabbing out like a torrential downpour.
"Blood Feast · Thousand Spears!"
Gern retreated rapidly, swinging his blade to block.
Eight Desolations clashed again and again with the spear, showers of sparks bursting nonstop.
But as the exchange dragged on, Loggert's expression slowly shifted.
Something was wrong.
At first, he'd thought Gern was at least following the path of a swordsman.
But now…
Gern's swordplay was completely unstructured.
There was no form. No finesse.
Every strike relied purely on Devil Fruit amplification and the brute durability of the black blade.
Each swing was powered by violent vibration particles—
not the refined, lethal precision of a true swordsman.
Loggert's grin widened.
He had found it.
Not just a lack of Haki—
But a fatal lack of real combat experience.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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