The aftershock of the severed lightning still crawled across the White-White Sea.
Blue-white sparks scattered through the air like dying fireflies, flashing over the cloud beach, the fallen Shandia warriors, and the scattered chunks of Vearth that had crashed down from the sky.
Zaraki stood at the center of it all.
Oto and Kogarashi hung from his hands, their damaged blades still giving off faint wisps of smoke.
The heat from Enel's lightning had left the edges slightly warped, and the cracks from the battle with Golden Lion had deepened by a fraction.
His clothes were already torn beyond saving from the fight with Shiki and the fall from the sky, but the lightning had failed to leave a new burn on his body.
A few arcs of electricity still clung to his hair and shoulders.
He shook his head once, making his hair stand up even more from the static.
"Tch."
Zaraki raised his gaze toward the clouds above Upper Yard.
"Hey, you up there! The one playing with electricity."
He lifted Oto and pointed the damaged sword toward the heavens. The corner of his mouth split into an arrogant grin.
"Was that little firecracker supposed to be your greeting? Wash your neck and wait. I'm coming up there to cut you down."
Dead silence.
The entire battlefield seemed to lose its voice.
Wiper, half-embedded in the broken trunk of a giant tree, stared at him with bloodshot eyes. Gan Fall hovered above on Pierre, his old face stiff with disbelief.
Even the Shandia warriors who were still conscious forgot to breathe.
This madman had cut apart 'El Thor'—the God's Judgment itself!
And now he was challenging God.
High above, the clouds seemed to stop flowing for an instant.
Then the distant thunder grew low and oppressive, like the growl of some colossal beast that had finally been provoked.
Meanwhile, in the distant direction of Upper Yard's shrine, several figures hurried through the forest in panic, rushing toward the divine throne.
...
God's Island, Upper Yard.
The shrine, which had stood for hundreds of years, felt unusually restless today.
The usually quiet corridors were broken by hurried footsteps.
Four figures rushed past stone pillars wrapped in vines and stopped before a massive curtain.
"God Enel!"
The one who spoke first was a round-bodied man wearing sunglasses.
He was Satori, priest of the Ordeal of Balls.
His round face, which usually carried a mocking smile, had turned deathly pale.
"A huge piece of land fell to the white white sea! And on it... on it is an extremely dangerous man!"
Satori wiped at sweat that did not actually exist on his forehead and spoke at high speed.
"Shura sensed it through Mantra. That Blue Sea man defeated the Shandian forces, including the Battle Demon Wiper, in almost an instant! Those guerrillas were scattered before they could even form a proper attack!"
The other three priests—Shura with his long blade, Ohm with his arms crossed, and Gedatsu with his eyes rolled back—did not speak.
But their tense muscles and slightly trembling fingertips revealed the unease in their hearts.
In their understanding, Blue Sea people were fragile creatures.
This one was different.
Behind the curtain came a crisp crunch.
It was the sound of teeth biting through an apple.
Then a lazy voice drifted out.
"So?"
That single word made the four priests stop breathing.
"S-so we should gather the Divine Soldiers immediately," Satori stammered. "Or perhaps the four of us should go together and—"
"No need."
A hand wrapped in golden bracelets lifted the curtain. That hand still held half an apple.
Enel was bare-chested.
The four thunder drums on his back swayed gently with his movement. He half-reclined on the divine throne, too lazy to fully lift his eyelids.
"Yahahaha... because I already greeted him."
The four priests raised their heads.
"You mean that God's Judgment just now?" Satori instantly understood.
An exaggerated smile appeared on his face, and his previous nervousness vanished.
"I see! Since God personally acted, that Blue Sea monkey must have already turned to ash! Yahahaha, as expected of the all-knowing, all-powerful God!"
To show his loyalty, Satori knocked his head against the floor.
But the laughter he expected did not come.
The pressure inside the temple suddenly dropped.
Static electricity filled the air, prickling against the skin.
The smile on Satori's face froze. He carefully raised his head and met a pair of cold eyes.
Enel was not looking at him.
He was looking at a strand of electricity flickering on his fingertip.
"Who told you he died?"
"Huh?" Satori froze.
"He cut it apart."
Enel casually threw the apple core into the corner.
"That Blue Sea man used two swords to cut apart my lightning."
The temple fell into dead silence.
Blue veins bulged on Ohm's hand as he gripped his sword hilt.
Shura's goggles slipped halfway down his nose. Even Gedatsu, who was always absentminded, forgot to roll his eyes and opened his mouth wide.
Cut apart lightning?
Was that something a human could do?
"How... how is that possible..." Satori instinctively objected, his voice turning sharp. "That was God's thunder! The strongest force of nature! How could a mortal touch it, much less cut—"
Bzzzt!
A tiny streak of blue electricity shot out from Enel's fingertip.
It grazed Satori's round cheek and burned a black hole through his comical hat.
Satori's voice stopped instantly.
His whole body collapsed to the ground like a ball of flesh, trembling.
"Are you questioning my eyes, Satori?" Enel leaned forward slightly.
"I would not dare! This subordinate would not dare! God, forgive me! God, forgive me!"
Satori desperately knocked his head against the floor.
"Yahahaha... don't be so nervous."
Enel suddenly laughed again and leaned back against the divine throne.
The killing intent in his eyes vanished, replaced by the interest of someone who had found a new toy.
"I've stayed on this boring sky island for so long, watching those Shandian monkeys jump around every day. I was almost tired of it. Rarely does a sturdier toy come along."
He stood and cracked his neck.
"That big thing is still under construction but useable, right?"
Ohm reacted immediately and lowered his head respectfully.
"Yes. The main structure of the Ark Maxim has been completed. Only the final adjustments to the power system remain."
Enel walked to the edge of the terrace and looked down at the endless white sea of clouds below.
"Since we have a guest, we ought to prepare a grand game. But before that..."
His body gradually elementalized, turning into a flashing human-shaped mass of lightning.
"I should personally go meet that Blue Sea man who can cut lightning.... I hope his bones are harder than his swords Yahahahaha!"
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