Who were they?
Kings? Gods… or demons from the abyss?
The moment he saw those thirteen figures, that question flashed through Bullet's mind.
And almost immediately—he regretted looking.
Because at the exact instant he raised his head to meet their gaze, one of them looked back.
Their eyes locked.
A chill exploded up from the soles of his feet.
It shot through his legs, climbed his spine, surged up his neck—
and detonated in the back of his skull.
One of the warhorses snorted, blue lightning bursting from its nostrils.
Then—
the thirteen silver-armored knights moved.
Heavy hooves struck the ground like the ticking of a death clock.
Wherever they stepped, everything turned black.
Bullet stared blankly at the knight before him.
A look of pure terror spread across his face.
It was different from the fear he felt toward Rōmu's overwhelming strength.
This was deeper.
A fear rooted in the soul itself.
Bullet had seen countless killing intents in his life as a soldier.
But never—
never had he seen eyes like those.
A darkness so absolute it felt bottomless.
One glance…
and it was as if his entire being had been dissected down to the cellular level.
"Bullet!"
Roger's shout rang out.
But it was already too late.
Bullet's pupils had turned blood-red.
His mind had fallen into a berserk haze.
He could no longer hear anything.
"Bullet!!"
His body erupted into his Bullet Form.
A colossal suction force burst outward.
Weapons from the dead, shattered armor, broken blades, rocks—
all inorganic matter nearby trembled and tore free, fusing into his body.
"Stop, Bullet!!"
Roger roared, trying to halt him.
But Bullet no longer responded.
He continued absorbing matter madly.
Then—
his absorption completed.
Before everyone's stunned eyes, his body transformed into a massive azure giant.
He launched forward.
Like a meteor.
This was no ordinary strike.
This was Bullet Form's strongest blow—
an attack capable of rivaling an Admiral.
"Damn it…!"
Roger's face went pale.
He still didn't know who—or what—these thirteen knights were.
But provoking them head-on was the worst possible choice.
Because every single one of them—
felt stronger than all of them combined.
As expected.
A transparent force field shimmered before the knight.
The moment the blue giant closed within several dozen meters—
the fused inorganic armor began melting.
Dripping into black liquid.
At the same time—
Bullet felt his own power draining at a terrifying rate.
The knights showed no anger.
No surprise.
No emotion at all.
They simply continued advancing at the same steady pace.
Only one change occurred.
The knight's lance—
which had been dragging along the ground—
rose.
"RUN!!"
Roger and Rayleigh shouted together.
"Divine Departure!"
"Thunderfall Slash!!"
Two overwhelming sword waves erupted—
shattering cracks across the invisible field.
Crash!
Bullet Form broke free and fell.
But before he could react—
the fractured field snapped back alive—
binding him again.
Such resistance…
was meaningless before these knights.
"Garp!"
Roger roared.
They had to save Bullet.
He had already lost one crewmate.
He would not lose another.
Garp clenched his teeth and stepped forward—
—
But at that instant—
BOOM!
A wave of ghostly light burst from the knights.
It became countless spectral warhorses.
They galloped through Roger, Rayleigh, and Garp—
like phantom mounts of hell.
No physical damage.
Yet—
all three froze.
Their expressions locked in place the moment the phantoms passed through them.
Roger's knees buckled.
He almost collapsed into prostration.
In his eyes—
the silver knight had become a god descending from heaven.
An existence that demanded submission.
Worship.
Forgiveness begged at its feet.
Rayleigh and Garp were the same.
All three knelt.
Their pupils unfocused.
Their voices hoarse with reverence.
"God…"
Steelbone Kong and the others stared in horror.
God?
Were gods real?
Why were they here?
Why attack them?
But Rōmu saw something else entirely.
He could sense it clearly.
That phantom cavalry—
was nothing more than Conqueror's Haki.
Yet its magnitude—
was beyond anything he had ever known.
Rōmu's own Conqueror's Haki was already monstrous.
Enough to knock out top-tiers like Zephyr.
But compared to these thirteen—
it was an entire realm lower.
They had suppressed Roger, Rayleigh, and Garp instantly—
and forced them to kneel in conscious submission.
Rōmu's fists clenched.
His expression darkened.
These thirteen… things…
were utterly alien.
Uncanny.
Cold.
Like beings that should never exist.
For the first time since his transmigration—
Rōmu felt true danger.
A crisis greater than even the moment he first arrived in this world.
Then—
the knights spoke.
"Rebel."
The voice thundered like divine judgment.
Emotionless.
Absolute.
The nearest knight raised his lance.
Its runic patterns glowed.
The tip pointed—
directly at Bullet's heart.
The warhorse's mane streamed in the wind.
Silver armor gleamed.
The lance's tip pulsed with death-cold light.
The motion was slow.
Almost ceremonial.
As if this were not slaughter—
but a sacred rite.
"Damn it…!"
At last, clarity returned to Bullet's eyes.
But along with it—
came absolute certainty.
He was going to die.
"BULLET!!!"
He roared.
Matter surged toward him again—
forming a colossal stone shield hundreds of meters wide.
He raised it with all his strength—
against the knight.
The lance met the shield.
Stone melted like ice under magma.
"They really are… gods…"
Bullet whispered.
There was no saving him.
No rescue possible.
Before this being—
all resistance was futile.
The silver lance pierced through the shield.
Like black starlight.
Not cruel.
Not savage.
Almost holy.
Because in the knight's eyes—
judging rebels was sacred duty.
Bullet closed his eyes.
Time slowed.
Memories surfaced.
The Bullet Unit.
All members named "Bullet."
He—Unit 9.
The Ninth Bullet of Douglas Squad.
Battlefields.
Hero.
Then departure…
Joining Roger's crew…
The shield shattered.
The lance entered flesh.
Blood sprayed.
"So this is death…"
"…Too bad."
"I never saw the final island… Captain spoke of…"
The lance pierced through his heart.
His body blackened instantly.
Withered.
Shrank.
Fell from the weapon.
A plain thrust.
Douglas Bullet—
dead.
"BULLET!!!"
Roger, Rayleigh, and Garp snapped awake.
Horror flooded their faces.
From afar—
Rōmu's gaze flickered.
But not because of Bullet's death.
He had sensed something else.
Bullet's corpse…
held no soul energy.
The body was saturated with death aura.
Unabsorbable.
At the same time—
the ritual altar's expansion suddenly accelerated.
At this rate—
God Valley would soon be swallowed by the sea.
Rōmu's mind turned cold.
Something had gone wrong.
Far beyond his expectations.
He had already gained everything he came for:
Thousands of souls.
And above all—
Rocks.
There was no need to risk more.
Decision made—
Rōmu turned.
The crimson flower carried him toward the island's edge.
He reached it quickly.
Then stopped.
A barrier.
The entire island was sealed in a massive energy field.
Hoofbeats again.
This time—
all thirteen knights moved.
One each toward Roger's group.
Seven toward Rōmu.
Because they sensed it—
Rōmu was the strongest rebel.
"Don't engage! Stall them!"
Kong shouted.
Any being that could kill Bullet instantly—
was beyond them.
Rain began to fall.
The night grew darker.
The seven knights chasing Rōmu transformed.
Lightning surged through their mounts—
and from their backs erupted enormous black wings.
Dozens of meters wide.
Ghost-green fire ignited along the feathers.
The heat warped space.
Rain evaporated before touching them.
They took to the sky.
Thunder-snorting winged warhorses galloping on air.
Rōmu narrowed his eyes.
A wooden toothpick appeared between his lips.
The last of his uncertainty vanished.
What remained—
was violence.
Jet-black Haki exploded around him.
The crimson flower beneath him expanded—
becoming a colossal wooden dragon hundreds of meters long.
His arm swept outward.
Emerald light condensed—
forming a dragon-engraved wooden sword in his grasp.
Rōmu laughed coldly.
"Persistent bastards…"
"God or devil—doesn't matter."
"Today I'll bury you all."
He did not retreat.
Unlike the others.
He charged.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Thunder split the heavens.
Lightning illuminated the eternal image:
Rain-drenched sky.
Seven celestial knights on winged warhorses—
and opposite them—
Rōmu,
standing upon a dragon's head,
sword raised.
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