"What… is that?!"
Even in Paper Art: Martial God, Zephyr felt his pulse spike.
His gaze snapped upward—
toward Romu, standing atop a crimson flower, his aura climbing higher and higher.
No…
He cannot be allowed to finish this.
Zephyr didn't know what technique Romu was charging—
but every instinct screamed one word:
Danger.
Absolute danger.
"Tap—tap—tap—!"
His Moonwalk accelerated violently.
His figure blurred into streaks of black across the air as he closed the distance—
then—
BANG!
He slammed into something invisible.
An unseen barrier stopped him cold.
Before Zephyr could counter—
the ocean moved.
Deep below the sea—
a pale sphere appeared.
Rough-edged.
Pulsing.
Breathing.
Then—
the light condensed.
A pillar of blinding radiance erupted upward—
piercing ocean and sky like a newborn sun.
"MY EYES!!"
"I can't see anything!"
"Is that Admiral Zephyr's ultimate attack?!"
"…Or is it Romu's?!"
The Marines in the cages screamed, blinded by white heat.
Zephyr shut his eyes again—
feeling instead of seeing.
Seconds passed.
The glare softened.
Shapes returned—
sky.
sea.
clouds—
but beneath the surface, energy surged.
The ocean began to split.
From abyss…
to midwater…
to surface—
the sea heaved apart as if pried open by giant hands.
Waves clashed against waves—
layer after layer—
until blue turned black.
And black touched cloud.
Ocean and sky fused into a single towering wall.
Every witness thought the same thing:
Is the sea… being divided?
Two meters.
Eight.
Twenty.
Thirty—
not stopping.
The ocean roared like a wounded god.
Wave crests pierced the clouds.
The sky and sea became one towering mass of darkness.
Kilometers away—
fishermen stared at the horizon.
"This… a tsunami?!"
"No wave connects to the sky!"
"Then what is it—?!"
An old fisherman screamed:
"RUN!!!"
Panic erupted.
Villages fled for high ground.
A wave like that could erase an island in seconds.
Back at the battlefield—
the sea suddenly froze.
Zephyr felt it—
looked down—
and saw land where ocean should be.
At the exposed seabed—
a brown humanoid figure crouched.
Glowing faint white.
It grew.
Man-sized.
House-sized.
Larger—
larger—
until it dwarfed even the colossal tree holding the ship—
and still it grew.
Then—
Romu pressed a hand to his chest—
and pulled out a glowing emerald core.
His face paled.
Half his power—
distilled.
He hurled it.
The light sank into the wooden giant's brow.
The world held its breath.
Steam hissed from its mouth.
Eyes snapped open—
burning amber.
An ancient warrior awakened.
The giant rose—
and roared.
"ROOOOOAR!!!"
Green beams tore into the heavens—
obliterating clouds and wave towers alike.
Darkness shattered.
Sunlight returned.
A rainbow arched across the mist.
Then—
the giant swung its arms.
Shockwaves exploded outward—
forcing the sea aside into walls hundreds of meters high—
revealing a massive corridor across the ocean floor.
Another swing—
spiraling pressure blasted outward—
cyclones dried the seabed in seconds.
The darkness was torn apart.
The ocean was carved open.
And Romu's current ultimate technique—
Wooden Giant Manifestation—
descended upon the world in overwhelming majesty.
Nearby islanders froze again.
Moments ago—
apocalypse.
Now—
sunlight and rainbow skies.
Natural phenomenon?
No.
Nearby Marines and pirates knew better.
This was the mark of monsters clashing.
And reports were already racing toward the highest powers.