Chapter 581: Kizaru Expresses His Intention to Watch a Show
Time flies.
Deep within the enormous magic mine, thousands of meters underground, tension filled the air.
Several teams now stood face to face, the official team of the Anti-Demon Guild among them.
According to maps purchased through certain secret channels, these teams had gathered at this very location before.
Now, once again, their paths had naturally crossed.
The team led by the Anti-Demon Guild continued their march through the depths. Along the way, they cut through hordes of monsters and beasts, forcing their way forward.
Finally, they reached a thousand meters below the surface, where a vast passage led even deeper underground.
As they entered the sloping walkway, the oppressive darkness began to fade, and suddenly, light poured into view.
What appeared before them was so astonishing that everyone froze in disbelief.
Even the audience watching from Sand City gasped collectively.
Before their eyes lay a massive underground space, rising up one or two hundred meters high and stretching nearly ten kilometers in length and width.
Gigantic stone pillars, each tens of meters thick, connected the ceiling and the ground like mountains turned vertical.
But it wasn't the pillars that shocked the magic pattern users the most.
What truly stunned them was the staggering concentration of magic ore on Gigantic stone pillars, far beyond anything they had seen before.
Veteran magic pattern users could immediately sense it: the ore's magic content exceeded eighty percent.
It was no exaggeration to say that each entire vein here was a pure magic mine in itself.
And looking across this enormous space, there weren't just one or two, but dozens, maybe even hundreds of such mines.
The sight was overwhelming.
Emotions surged violently among the magic pattern users.
How much magic ore is all this worth?!
They could practically see the fortune shimmering before them.
Greed flickered in their eyes; some even turned red with desire.
Just thinking about all the wealth contained here made their blood boil, and their hearts ache.
Because they knew none of it was theirs.
The World Government would claim everything.
That thought alone made their faces twist in frustration.
Damn it!
Why didn't these magic mines belong to them?
They wanted to seize it.
To take it all.
To never let those officials have the advantage!
And they weren't alone in thinking so, countless others shared that same burning desire.
---
"The number of magic mines here is truly absurd. Did the pure demons move most of the ore down here?" Doflamingo asked, still sounding surprised.
He stood atop a massive inverted stone cone hanging down from the cavern ceiling, a colossal structure shaped like an upside-down pyramid.
Suspended halfway down from the cone were several long stone bridges, swaying slightly as if hanging between worlds.
From where Doflamingo stood, the view stretched wide and deep, like standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking an entire city below.
Below him, black stone buildings dotted the terrain, homes for the pure demon race who lived here.
"It's a spectacular sight," said a man dressed entirely in black, strange glowing lines tracing his face.
"With this kind of construction, it looks like the pure demons have developed quite well. This battle won't be an easy one."
This man was Shadow Night Emissary, the ace of the Shadow Demon faction.
The relationship between the Shadow Demon organization and the Demon Alliance was not hostile, in fact, it was like that of an old clan's younger brother.
Though not openly stated, the Magic Alliance often funneled benefits to the Shadow Demon faction, acknowledging the key role Dark Screen had played in expanding the New World Alliance's influence.
"The pure demons down there have already spotted us," Doflamingo said, his trademark grin widening. "Seems they're well prepared."
He tilted his head slightly.
"No idea how this will turn out… but I'm looking forward to it."
With his hands casually in his pockets, he walked to the edge of the stone bridge, and without hesitation, leapt off.
Behind him, the entire Magic Alliance team followed.
Their sudden movement jolted the other magic pattern users back to reality. One after another, they began to act again, preparing for the confrontation ahead.
---
Meanwhile, in the center of the underground world, a dark palace built entirely of magic ore glimmered ominously.
Inside one of its vast chambers, voices echoed fiercely.
"Sure enough, the humans above are restless," one pure demon growled.
"It wasn't enough for them to plunder the ore on the surface, now they've dug their way down here."
"It seems we have no choice but to fight," another replied coldly. "This is our home ground."
"Those greedy humans… they will never succeed," said a third, his claws scraping across the floor.
A dozen pure demons and monster-like beings of various forms gathered in that room, all deep in discussion.
Contrary to what humans believed, the intelligent demon races did not slaughter each other aimlessly.
Here, in this massive subterranean world, they had learned to coexist, to live in harmony.
Their original plan was to develop quietly, unnoticed by the world above.
But the humans came knocking first.
So be it.
They would fight back.
This was their nest, their birthplace, and they would never surrender it.
Their decision was unanimous.
The demons and monsters, driven by shared rage, would rise and become the kings of this war.
They were not without confidence either.
In addition to having the advantage of terrain, they had two terrifying foreign allies waiting in the wings.
The humans would not be leaving this place alive.
Soon after, the demon and monster armies began to move.
Some surged through the passageways, crushing or ignoring weaker creatures in their way.
Others gathered from within the palace itself, their formations converging into a massive, unstoppable tide.
Moments later, the two sides collided.
---
In Sand City, Morgans stared wide-eyed at the live battlefield feed.
On the screens, the camera zoomed in on the dense, black tide of demons.
Creatures once rare and barely seen in the outer demon mines now appeared in swarms. There were towering beasts with magic marks etched into their flesh, pulsing with black energy, and countless monstrous warriors, all gathering into an overwhelming force.
Just by numbers alone, there were tens of thousands.
And many were enormous, taking up huge swathes of space as they moved.
The sheer visual impact of it was staggering.
Even those watching around the world felt a chill run through their spines.
This was the home of the demon race, and the humans had just invaded it.
The assembled Demon Pattern Guild numbered only two or three hundred.
Could they really hold their ground against such a terrifying army?
Even if they were powerful beyond normal standards…
A single person facing a hundred enemies, how could they possibly win?
At this point, this was no longer a competition.
It was a war.
No one had expected that the so-called Magic Pattern Ceremony would turn into an outright battlefield.
---
In a quieter corner of the vast underground, at the edge of the conflict, a strange, enormous flower bloomed, shaped like a giant morning glory.
Its petals glowed faintly with a white, magical light.
Standing casually atop one of the petals was a man, gazing without emotion at the chaos in the distance.
"It's really scary down here," he muttered lazily.
"Honestly… why do I have to take on this kind of mission?"
Under the flower's glow, the man adjusted his sunglasses with one hand.
It was none other than Marine Admiral Kizaru.
To prevent unexpected incidents during the Magic Pattern Ceremony, the Five Elders had personally dispatched him here.
The Marines had agreed to the mission for political and strategic reasons.
Kizaru, however, was far from pleased.
Still, the vacation time and salary raise promised by Sengoku had managed to improve his mood, if only slightly.
He sighed, a faint smirk curling at his lips.
"Well then," he said lightly. "Guess I'll just sit back… and enjoy the show."
(End of this chapter)