RUMBLE...
The ground shook as Capone Bege—now fully transformed into a living fortress—continued to expand, crushing the surrounding cobblestone streets and wooden structures beneath his massive weight.
Before the terrified eyes of Keya Town's awakening residents, an enormous, fifty-meter-tall castle giant sprawled across the center of the district, occupying hundreds of square meters of space.
In the original timeline, Bege's Big Boss form two years down the road would be even more gargantuan. But currently, having possessed the Castle-Castle Fruit for only a few years, a fifty-meter structure represented his absolute physical limit.
"Now then..."
Bege's booming voice echoed from the central tower of the stone giant, looking down at Ornn like an insect. "Do you still think you can beat me in this form?"
"How will we know unless I try?" Ornn replied with a calm smile.
In the next second, his own body underwent a violent transformation.
THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.
Driven by a surging, reverberating heartburst, Ornn's frame expanded rapidly.
His height skyrocketed from just over two meters to nearly seven meters tall. His lean, functional build widened into a massive, iron-cast frame. The muscles along his arms swelled, glinting with a metallic sheen under the moonlight.
Two sweeping, dark-curved horns erupted from his brow, engraved with glowing runic lines that pulsed with dark-red magma in sync with his breathing.
FWOOSH—
Before Ornn could fully settle into his Hybrid Form, a brutal gust of wind tore through the street as Bege swung a massive stone arm straight toward him.
Bege wasn't the type to stand idly by while an opponent transformed. Taking advantage of an unprepared target was his cardinal rule.
The wind pressure whipped Ornn's dark-red hair and beard, but his expression remained entirely unbothered. He drew back his right fist and punched straight into the oncoming mountain of stone.
BOOM!
A human-sized fist collided with the massive, grey-white stone forearm. Though entirely mismatched in scale, the impact equalized in mid-air, creating a shockwave that blew the surrounding dust clear off the street.
Bege stared down at the half-beast giant who had just stopped his fortress arm with pure muscle, cursing internally: What kind of monster is this?!
Yet the real shock was only beginning.
"If that's all the weight you can throw," Ornn said smoothly, "then I won't hold back."
CRACKLE!
Golden, liquid magma surged from Ornn's skin, coating his fist in a blinding sheen of heat.
The moment the molten magma made contact with the stone arm, the rock began to liquefy and erode at a visible rate.
Bege winced in agony.
Unlike the Stone-Stone Fruit possessed by Pica of the Donquixote Family—which allowed the user to assimilate with ambient rock without taking direct damage—Bege's Big Boss form was an extension of his actual body. While its baseline defense far surpassed ordinary stone, any structural damage directly transferred back to his physical frame.
The moment Ornn's magma melted through the outer rock, severe blisters erupted across Bege's actual right hand within his internal space. If the magma penetrated any deeper, his real arm would be scorched to the bone!
Gritting his teeth, Bege attempted to bring his left arm down to crush Ornn before his right arm was completely ruined.
However, in his giant fortress form, Bege's speed was far too sluggish compared to Ornn. Before the left hand could sweep down, Ornn vaulted agilely onto Bege's right forearm.
"Relying purely on passive melting is a bit too slow..." Ornn mused as he dodged a secondary sweep. "Let's try a proper smithing approach."
Opening his mouth, Ornn unleashed a dense stream of superheated flame.
The breath of the forge scorched the stone arm, heating the rock to a glowing, cherry-red state within seconds.
"Next... eighty, eighty, eighty!"
Grasping his hammer with both hands, Ornn swung the weapon in a full arc, slamming the glowing head directly onto the red-hot stone.
CRACK!
Spiderweb cracks erupted across the forearm.
Dodging another clumsy swipe from the giant, Ornn repeated the process—heating the stone with his breath before delivering a heavy, impact-driven blow. After three quick cycles, the glowing cracks spread across the entire right arm of the castle giant.
"BREAK!" Ornn roared.
The magma-wrapped hammer slammed down one final time.
The structurally compromised arm shattered into thousands of heavy boulders, raining down onto the street below in a massive cloud of dust.
"AAAAAAAAHH!"
Bege shrieked in unhinged agony. Inside his internal castle space, his actual right arm snapped at the elbow, hanging limply as severe burns covered his skin.
I can't win...
For the first time in his life, true despair gripped Bege's heart. Even the fortified stone of his Big Boss form was shattered like cheap porcelain by this monster.
What do I do? Surrender?
Inside the central control chamber, Bege's conscious projection clutched his broken arm, kneeling on the silk carpet with his head low.
Yet the moment the thought of surrender crossed his mind, he raised his left hand and slapped himself violently across the face.
Surrender?! How could I even entertain such a pathetic thought?! I am Capone Bege! I don't kneel!
If I'm going down, I'm taking him to hell with me!
A manic, unhinged gleam flashed in his eyes. He lit a cigar with his left hand, drew a deep breath of harsh smoke into his lungs, and tossed the burning stub onto the carpet.
The projection dissolved, and Bege took full control of the fortress once more.
Seeing Ornn moving toward his remaining arm to repeat the breaking process, Bege didn't hesitate. He shifted his center of gravity and threw his entire fifty-meter body sideways!
CRASH!
The massive, multi-ton castle collapsed directly over its own left arm, crushing the stone structure to pieces—and trapping Ornn underneath the falling mountain of masonry.
The sheer scale of the falling fortress meant Ornn couldn't sprint clear of the impact zone in time.
"GOT YOU!" Bege screamed through the pain, his voice echoing from the crumbling stone mouth. "If you want my life, come to hell with me! Castle Pulverizer!"
The main entrance gate of the castle—the massive iron-rimmed archway—opened wide, swallowing Ornn as the collapsing weight pinned him beneath the stone structure.
The moment Ornn entered the internal castle chamber, the environment warped violently.
The walls, floor, and ceiling morphed into hundreds of interlocking, massive iron gears. The heavy teeth ground against one another, turning the entire room into a giant meat grinder designed to crush the invader into paste!
"Your resolve is commendable, Capone Bege," Ornn's voice resonated through the grinding room, completely devoid of panic. "But unfortunately... the game is over."
Ornn's body shifted once more.
His form expanded further, dropping from a bipedal stance onto all fours. Golden, molten magma erupted from his skin, coating his entire frame in a blinding, liquid sun.
Within a breath, Ornn transformed into a massive, twenty-meter-long elemental ram, enveloped in continuous, superheated magma.
Scraping his front hooves twice against the stone floor, Ornn lowered his head, targeting the main structural wall of the internal castle with his massive, rune-engraved horns.
[Call of the Forge God — Bellows Charge!]
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